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Reflections of My Diversity

Reflections of My Diversity
Zakeia L. Thomas
HRMG 5000
Webster University

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Reflections of My Diversity

Abstract Diverse groups consist of people of all different backgrounds. This could include people of different religious backgrounds, the rich or the poor, gender, or ethnic groups. The number of diverse groups is large. Growing up in a different home environment and going to school changes your views. Learning the difference between yourself and others is the only way to bring about change. Diverse groups give people more depth to life by learning different walks of life.
By educating oneself one can handle being put into different environments with ease. This can extend to higher education experiences and potential employment opportunities. This paper deals with my personal experience with diverse groups and how I handles going from coming into minimal contact with diverse groups to having to deal with many diverse groups. The paper also reflects an issue of discrimination in regards to hiring someone in a minority group. Last it shows what I could do as to change my actions regarding diverse groups.

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Reflections of My Diversity

Coming in contact with other people throughout life set you up to deal with diverse groups. The list goes on from wealthy to the poor to people of different races and ethnicities.
These differences make up factors that change people's way of thinking either for the good or the bad. Contact with diverse groups gives a better understanding of how to handle situations according to whom you’re speaking to. It also provides for those unspoken social messages we all follow such as what customs are accepted in each group. Starting from the first day of kindergarten to working for an organization is a daily wealth of knowledge on people of different backgrounds. I received a culture shock when I went to college. I grew up in a predominantly African
American neighborhood and went to predominantly African American schools where I could count the number of people from other racial backgrounds. I did interact with people of different ethnicities due to being in different classes for my high grades but it was on a grand scale going to college. My experiences in college led me to be a little more at ease among me people of different races.
When I got to Winthrop University things were definitely different. First it was a small
African American population and a large Caucasian population. The first couple of classes I had
I was the only or one of the only African Americans in the entire room. It was a new experience for me. I wasn't completely uncomfortable because I had friends in middle and high school who were Caucasian, Hispanic, etc so it was more of a wow it’s only me type of feeling.
I had no choice but to get to know everyone do to group assignments, email buddies, etc due to teacher's requests. It helped me become more comfortable because getting to know the

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Reflections of My Diversity

other people in my class helped me get my grades but also I made new friends and had new experiences with everyone. I interacted with other ethnicities before but it was different because some of those kids from my earlier school years assimilated to us to fit in. It was funny how we felt like they were "one of us" in a way.
The impact we had on each other was noticed. My friends from class would ask questions about my church or life where I grew up. I would ask back and we truly got to know each other.
Sometimes they would ask questions that normally would affect