Each year, MSC FLI facilitates a trip to Costa Rica with a group of students in various FLOs. This trip takes place over Spring Break and is a “Service-Learning Experience.” As such, there is both a service and a learning component. The service component of this trip differs each year and can range from painting a building to teaching a curriculum to a group of Costa Rican students. For the learning component of this trip, students go on various excursions to learn about Costa Rica’s unique biodiversity. Some of these excursions include hiking through the rainforest at night, visiting Arenal Volcano, and touring a local town. Applications for this trip are open to all freshmen in FLOs and is a great opportunity for students to make new friends and live out MSC FLI’s mission statement to promote international awareness and cultural understanding.
To learn more about the Costa Rica Service Learning Experience, or how you can apply to be part of this years trip, click here.

This program was entirely freshman-created and focused on raising awareness for gender inequality in education. It was a 3 day event starting with interactive displays to engage the campus, raise awareness, and inspire students to be grateful for their education. The event concluded with a showing of “He Named Me Malala,” a movie depicting teenage Malala Yousafzai (the youngest Nobel Peace Prize Laureate) as she emerged to become an advocate for human rights. Dr. Valerie Hill-Jackson was also invited to share her experience in education and women’s rights, as well as the impact that educating women has on a global spectrum. Members of the audience were encouraged to share their thoughts and feelings on the topic, enabling further exploration into the idea of educational parity.

The goal of MSC FLI: Global Citizenship Campaign was to empower students at Texas A&M with the knowledge and on-campus resources to truly make a difference, not only in the immediate community, but globally as well. GCC was a four week program, where we raised awareness and brought to light issues that demanded our attention. During those 4 weeks, we shared articles and stories through our various social media pages. We also had interactive displays every Wednesday that allowed students and members of the B/CS community to actively grasp the influences that Human Rights, Ethnic Conflict, Economic Disparity, and Ecological Implications have on our everyday lives. One of our greatest successes was the Unity Wall, a massive display on which various stereotypes about different races, religions, and Texas A&M University were written. Participants dipped their hands in paint and put their hand print over those stereotypes to visually show that they are standing up against racism, profiling and stereotypes. This was an opportunity for A&M students and the surrounding community to visualize an ending these harmful practices, and provide for them a stepping stone to make real change in their respective communities.

MSC Freshman Leadership International and MSC L.T. Jordan Institute for International Awareness held “RefYOUgee” February 24th, 2016. The event was comprised of a simulation based off of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) awareness game called “Passages.” The event also included a room dedicated to international service with a focus on refugees, and a panel where the implication of refugee migration was discussed further. The simulation required participants to make some of the difficult choices that refugees must make during their journey to a safer area. In the service room, a variety of organizations, including the Alliance, MSA (Muslim Student Association), Refuge, Refugee Services of Texas, and the ICBCS (Islamic Community of Bryan-College Station), were available for people to ask questions and get information about how they may be able to support the services and programs currently in place for refugees. This room also showcased data like migrant maps and special stories focused on refugees.

The event concluded with a panel and open discussion between refugees, family members of refugees, and students, allowing participants to continue to explore what life as a refugee is really like.

Women in Global Society is a panel discussion on the role women play in both the workforce and academia domestically and abroad. Our esteemed panelists will address topics including imposter syndrome, handling invalidation by colleagues, and their research. The panelist will also be taking questions from the audience at the end of the presentation!

Allegra J. Midgette, Ph.D. is a Visiting Assistant Professor and ACES Fellow in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Texas A&M University.  She received her Ph.D. in Human Development in Education from the University of California, Berkeley and recently completed a two-year NICHD T32 postdoctoral fellowship at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Midgette’s research investigates the origins and social processes that support individuals in developing an understanding of justice and learning how to care for others in an inequitable and unjust world.

Rebecca Hankins is the Wendler Endowed Professor and certified archivist/librarian at Texas A&M University.  United States President Barack Obama (2008-2016) appointed Hankins to the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), where she served from 2016-2020.  She is an affiliated faculty and liaison in the Africana Studies, Women’s & Gender Studies, and Religious Studies programs.