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Jamie Earnest

Bio Summary
Cohort Year: 
2014
Home Institution: 
Carnegie Mellon University
Heinz Programming Area: 
Arts & Culture
Study Abroad Country: 
Germany
International Experience

Jamie Earnest’s time in Germany really allowed her to grow as a young artist, a young woman, and as a global citizen. Jamie became exposed to Berlin, a leading city in the conceptual art world, which helped her to learn more about this world which she one day wishes to be a part of. What Jamie found most interesting was the level of respect everyone seemed to have for each other in Germany. For example, she stated that the teacher and student relationship was astounding in that the level of respect her professor had for her as a learning vessel, but also as an independent student was much greater in her education than what she has experienced in the U.S. so far. She also stated that people were generally more respectful and trust worthy of each other than in any other major U.S city she had been in. It was a refreshing world to become a part of for two months. It allowed her to shape herself as a respectful, model global citizen. She learned much about all of the different cultures that were present in Berlin and how they affect the economy, the structure, and the social atmosphere of the city. Jamie sees this city as a puzzle that is working together to help build itself; the fuel of people working for the good of the people was much more prominent in Berlin than in America in Jamie’s opinion. It was a different environment, which Jamie believes was beneficial for her as she is beginning to expand her global perspective. 

Community Engagement Experience

The Carnegie-Mellon community has a long tradition of celebrating diversity. The student body represents all corners of the world, and hundreds of different rich cultural customs are found CMU’s campus; examples range from food, dance, religion, games, and traditions. Our campus literally represents so many areas of the world, but we don't really have these global and cultural discussions on our campus too often. Sure, we have student organizations that work to promote knowledge of other cultures, but we wanted to add to that. Typically these organizations do things like food/fashion/music festivals. Our group wanted to start the discussion based on more serious topics dealing with global diversity under one roof; such as stereotyping and things like that. We held roundtable discussions based on these topics. This event provided an opportunity to come together and not only celebrate the diversity of our community, but communicate cultural similarities, differences, barriers, and issues on a deeper level.

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