McKenna Manderine
Being a part of the Global Citizens Scholars Cohort has contributed and added so much to my College Experience thus far. I am extremely proud of the work each and everyone of us put into this project. As a part of Cohort 5 we conducted an oral history project looking at the COVID-19 Pandemic as a syndemic and giving a platform for less commonly heard voices to be shared. I want to thank Barbara Riess and Brian Miller for the countless hours they put into our project and being great mentors to our Cohort.
Nicole Recio Bremer
I have learnt so much so far by being part of this cohort. Learning about the local, then national and concluding with the international perspectives helped me grow academically but also as a human being. I want to thank and congratulate our mentors Prof Barbara Riess and Brian Miller and all of my cohort classmates for making this project successful.
Lauren Petrarca
Being a part of a program like GCS so early in my college career has given me so many unique experiences I would not have been able to have otherwise. GCS aims to expand your knowledge and viewpoint of others to serve your community better and has done so for me through its local, regional, and global lenses and interviews. Without the guidance and connections of Brian Miller and Barbara Riess, it would not have been possible to complete this project.
Elle Carpenter
Amidst being a Global Citizen Scholar, I have learned considerable social skills, which I was able to apply to our memory project. This project is so special to me because of the platform it provides and will continue to provide for the less commonly heard voices within the three communities we conducted interviews with. My interactions with my different interviewees and even with the faculty and students in this cohort have been life-changing, and I am grateful to anyone who partook in this project.
Anh Nguyen
As a member of the Global Citizen Scholar program, it has been an absolute pleasure to share our knowledge and efforts with the college, local, and international communities. I am deeply appreciative of the opportunity to expand my horizons through exposure to diverse cultures, develop my critical thinking skills through interpersonal interactions, and contribute to meaningful goals alongside fellow passionate individuals. It’s worth noting that education and personal growth are not confined to the traditional classroom and lecture settings, but rather extend to real-world experiences that shape us in profound ways.
Zula Stenger
Having grown up in a rural town in West Virginia, I yearned for a community of like minded peers and an opportunity to broaden my perspective. The Global Citizen Scholars program has been instrumental in shaping my understanding of how we can embody the principles of global citizenship. As a member of cohort five, I was privileged to gain unique and profound insights into the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic as a syndemic through the diverse perspectives of our interviews.
Sarah Allison
Coming into college as a first generation student can always be intimidating, but through Global Citizens Scholars I found a community that pushes me to broaden my perspective of self as well as become more aware of the World as a whole. In GCS cohort five, I had the privilege of communicating with people that I otherwise wouldn’t have had the opportunity to speak with if not for this cohort, and I was able to get a sense of their diverse experiences during the Pandemic in relation to it being a syndemic.
Barbara Riess & Brian Miller
Barbrar Riess is Professor of Spanish in the Department of World Languages & Cultures. Brian Miller is Assistant Professor of History in the Department of History and Philosophy. Barbara and Brian are co-directors of Global Citizen Scholars Cohort V. Barbara and Brian combined their educational interests in international studies and diversity with exploring the practice of community engagement in GCS. Conceived in early 2021, the topic for Cohort V could not have been another. An historic event of global consequence, the COVID-19 pandemic marked each and every life with a reference point when there would be a “before” and “after.” Exploring the topic through student and community engagement helped to make and find meaning during these confusing years.