One Step of Courage: Keivon's Blue Marble Bash Speech
Our annual Blue Marble Bash event always features three speeches from students and community members who share their FIUTS stories with guests. Since we cannot gather in person this year, we’ve recorded our three speakers to be a part of our Virtual Bash!
Our first speaker is Keivon Gunn. Originally from Ohio, Keivon is a senior studying Economic and Environmental Geography at UW an getting ready to graduate during this unprecedented time in our world. Keivon has been involved with FIUTS for two years as an incredibly dedicated facilitator, having facilitated over 250 hours worth of events, and this year he has also worked part time as a student assistant in our office.
FIUTS allows students like Keivon to stretch outside their comfort zones and grow into courageous young leaders with cross-cultural communication and diplomacy skills that will serve them, their communities, and our for the rest of their lives. Watch Keivon’s speech (or read the full text below) and support the FIUTS programs that have helped him to get to where he is today at www.fiuts.org/bash.
Keivon moved from his hometown in Ohio to a new region and a new educational experience. He discovered the courage it takes to meet and understand people from other cultures.
Full Text of Keivon’s Speech
Welcome. My name is Keivon Gunn and I’m originally from Ohio. In my hometown, there was a lack of cultural diversity. Cultural festivals were non-existent unless you count St Patrick’s Day and Cinco de Mayo. In fact, the most diverse food available was Taco Bell and the local Chinese takeout. My main motivation coming to Seattle was to gain more exposure to other cultures, and, of course, more-restaurant-options. Three years ago, before I became active with FIUTS, I was a classroom facilitator for another program in which I conversed with students learning English as a second language. This was my first real encounter in a space where people were from around the globe.
My first event with FIUTS was the “Dinner with the New International Students” where pairs of facilitators took a group of 20 students to a restaurant on “The Ave”. Sounds easy, but even though I had already been at UW for a year, like most of the brand-new international students there, I still did not know what “The Ave'' meant. The panic set in as the students were receiving instruction about dinner.Talk about the perfect first facilitator event, take a group of people from foreign countries to a place I don’t know. Luckily, my partner knew what “The Ave” was. Imagine my reaction when I realized it’s right next to the university. From there, we all went to Cedar’s - a local Indian Restaurant. For those of you not familiar with Cedar’s, let me just say, the food was a great upgrade from Taco Bell. As we waited for dinner, the group swiftly started to get to know each other and they realized many of them were from the same countries; particularly Australia and Taiwan. Once the conversation moved from small talk, the biggest commonality that we all discovered was that we all left our family, friends, and hometown to live in a new city where we did not know anyone. At that moment, I related more to the international students than I did to the Washingtonians. For an 18-year-old me, this was quite the revelation.
This proved to be just the start of my relationship with FIUTS. Four months later, I applied to become a Lead Facilitator. The responsibilities included delegating tasks, ensuring communication among facilitators, and responding to challenges during events. The following month, I co-led FIUTS Connection, a program where students meet weekly for six weeks to connect with the wider Seattle community through exploration and self-discovery. After that I continued to become more involved with orientation events such as FIUTS Camp, the International Welcome Party and by becoming a FIUTS Orientation Assistant, while also becoming a camp counselor for the SLCI. Most recently, I contributed to the operations for this year's CulturalFest Expo and Showcase.
People often ask me why I do so many things with FIUTS. In short, it's fun to participate. At length, I believe by educating ourselves to different ways of life, we open ourselves to unforgettable experiences. Education gives us the tools to explore the world, but exposure to new cultures help us understand ourselves. The FIUTS trip to the Dia de los Muertos celebration at Seattle Center is perhaps one of my favorite examples of this. During the ice breaker, a student from Mexico explained she had been looking forward to this event since she could not be home. Many in the group, myself included, never participated in this event before. As we explored the showcase, the participant explained what each tier represented and shortly after she won the grand prize in a contest. It was an exciting day for everyone.
For those of us with a great curiosity of other cultures, FIUTS provides a unique opportunity to engage with individuals of diverse backgrounds on a personal level. By directly engaging with different cultures, I have learned a lot about my own. All it takes is the courage to try something new. The same courage it took to leave my hometown and to experience more than what was offered. As current events in the world unfold, people are misled into believing that “other cultures” are “wrong”. Culture is a unifying force that makes us stronger and allows us to endure difficulties. At the core, this is what FIUTS strives to do: encourage cultural exchange among students while having fun. Facilitators and the participants interact to gain a deeper appreciation of these cultures as they share what is important to them. Through FIUTS, I have had the opportunity to learn and experience on a personal level that culture can open a new world for you. All it takes, is that one step of courage.