My Professional Career Revised

My career has resulted in many encounters with individuals whose traditions, beliefs, and interests vary radically from mine. These experiences have contributed significantly to my professional and social growth. Through them, my self-awareness, worldviews, understanding, and openness to others have grown immensely. One of the most significant cross-cultural experiences I have had is the opportunity to tutor and mentor young refugee/immigrant children between the ages of seven and ten. Most of these children in this program originated from Somalia. The other portion was made of a few Afghani children and one Vietnamese.
Among the first observations I made when I was introduced to this group was that each of the girls wore a hijab that covered the entire body apart from the face. Similarly, the children noticed that I was not wearing a hijab and shouted that my arms’ skin could be seen. In fact, one of the girls asked me why I did not wear the hijab and attempted to pull down my shirt sleeves. She told me that my arms’ skin should be covered. I realized that my dressing habits were unfamiliar to them since I was the only tutor from my racial background that they had encountered. I, therefore, felt that the appropriate response would be to discuss with her my traditions and beliefs and explain their variations from hers. This would make us comfortable with each other.
To achieve this, I introduced my origin as a Californian native. I explained the American culture and traditions which I identified with and which neither consisted wearing a hijab nor covering the entire body.

I could see that the little girl was stunned because I looked like her and everyone who looked like her wore their hijabs and covered themselves. However, this broke the tension and allowed us to speak freely about our days. This experience has stuck with me throughout the years because it taught me how sincere concern for another person could lead to better understanding among different people. It taught me the importance of interacting with different people which enriches one’s horizon.
In the same program, I also encountered the belief that individuals who profess the same faith should wear the same attire. The girls in the program noticed that one of them did not wear her hijab although she was a Muslim. That girl was teased a lot and constantly told that she was not a real Muslim. Over-hearing this conversation, I intervened to; 1. Address the teasing and 2. Discuss personal preferences. I informed the girls that teasing someone because of their difference was utterly wrong. We also discussed the fact that they will encounter people who have the same beliefs as them but have primarily different lifestyles. With a broadened understanding of social dynamics, the girls apologized for their behavior and improved their social interactions. Over time, the relationships between the girls grew positively despite the apparent differences.
Another crucial cross-cultural experience occurred when I worked as a student caller for a liberal arts Christian university. As a caller, I had a chance to speak with individuals of different ages, beliefs, and cultures. One day, a co-worker received a call from an unhappy alumnus regarding the University’s acceptance of individuals identifying as homosexual. This caller refused to support the university any further as long as it maintained this stance and was consequently removed from the calling list. As a team, we shared our experiences within the confinements of required confidentiality to offer support in severe cases. This topic was discussed to support my co-worker and to prepare the other workers in case the situation has aroused another caller. This experience is essential because although times are changing and the world is evolving, I am confident that I will encounter people with unusually strong personal beliefs and I know still should be open to accepting these differences.