Courtney Thomas
Candidate for Bachelor of Arts at the University of Florida
International Studies and Political Science
Gatorship
January 13th -15th, 2017
Gatorship is a social justice and diversity leadersip weekend retreat that Multicultural and Diversity Affairs puts on each Spring at UF. The main goal for Gatorship is to help build a more inclusive environment on campus which can then be transferred to your personal and professional life regardless of where you might end up living. Gatorship gave me not only the skills and confidence to partake in these conversations with people who are different than me – whether that be religious beliefs, gender, sexuality, culture – and learn to understand them and their problems. It also gave me the knowledge about these diverse topics that not only apply on UF campus but in general society as well.
Gator Global Initiative Conference
November 4th-5th, 2016
In fall, the Center for Leadership and Service hosts a Conference called Global Gator Initiative. GGI revolves around social change and when I attended in Fall 2016 the theme was, "Creative Minds Igniting Social Change." What I really liked and appreciated about GGI was that they didn't just focus on social change solely within the United States but they had Master Classes about human rights, peace building efforts, health disparities and so much more. They also didn't just focus on having only UF Professors speak and brought in speakers from all around Florida including a Professor from UCF. This multi-day conference allowed for important and relevant discussions to take place focused in both local and worldwide communities as well allowed for open dialogue to talk place.