How to College: Tool & Skill-Building Academic Success Program
Transitioning into (or out of) college (or post-graduate school) is not always easy… especially if you are the first in your family to attend, if you are a part of an underrepresented community, or if you regularly find yourself with more questions than answers.
Initiatives for Identity, Inclusion & Belonging (i3b) partners with the Academic Success Center to create opportunities for students to develop the skills and gather tools they need to experience first-year success! These sessions are not limited to exploring academic success skills and principles but also an opportunity to explore tools for navigating issues of discrimination, bias, and microaggressions within academic spaces while highlighting our identities as assets within the wider campus community. Sessions typically explore university resources, key skills for student success, and opportunities to connect with student leaders.
DreamZone: Immigrant Allyship Development Workshop
This all-day workshop is designed to help students, staff, faculty, and alumnx create a more welcoming, affirmative atmosphere for immigrant members of the UMBC community. The program includes various activities for community members at all levels of knowledge and comfort with the immigrant experience and concerns, from basic terminology, core concepts, immigrant intersections, and stories to skills-based sessions on immigrant-based policy and allyship development. Participants will have the opportunity to be the first ones to join UMBC i3b’s formal network of DreamZone Ally List.
How to Be A Better Ally: Allyship Development Workshop Series
How to Be A Better Ally is an interactive workshop focused on helping participants learn how power, privilege, and oppression impact others to incorporate best practices to refine their allyship techniques. After each workshop, participants complete an allyship action plan in connection with the highlighted population in an effort for them to practice active allyship skills that they can take with them to allow them to integrate them into their daily practices in their personal and professional lives.
Inclusion. Diversity. Education. Access. Leadership. (IDEAL) Training and Facilitation Internship
The IDEAL Internship, which stands for Identity, Diversity, Equity, Access, and Leadership, focuses on cultivating a community built on a foundation of inclusive excellence and social justice. IDEAL is a paid internship for students who are passionate about social justice and interested in facilitating workshops with and for their peers.
Interact Dialogues Program
INTERACT is a five-week dialogue program for UMBC students.
Through four short sessions, you will join a small group to learn and practice the necessary SKILLS to become INCLUSIVE LEADERS and ENGAGED COMMUNITY MEMBERS.
By completing INTERACT Dialogues, you will join hundreds of other students who have made the commitment to ensure UMBC is a place where all students feel that they belong.
What is Dialogue?
Dialogue is a focused and intentional conversation where people listen deeply and share authentically.
When and where can I participate?
There will be 5 – 7 small groups of up to 15 participants happening in residence halls and other locations across campus at different times.
What do I get for participating?
New i3b swag such as a free t-shirt AND the chance to build community, develop leadership skills, and cultivate a deep sense of belonging to the UMBC campus and community
MediaBytes: Media Dialogue Program
MediaBytes is a dialogue program using different forms of medium, including Podcasts (i.e., PodBytes), VideoBytes (i.e., Video), and so on, to engage in difficult dialogues around challenging topics. This is a space for community members to talk about the media they love while connecting it to a broader discussion on the highlighted topic for each session. No prior knowledge is required-just an openness to listening and engaging as we explore media together!
Multicultural Leadership Experience (MLE): Student Identity-Conscious Leadership Initiative
The Multicultural Leadership Experience (MLE) initiative is a UMBC collaborative departmental effort that consists of two programs: MLE-Series and Multicultural Leadership Cohort Experience (MLCE), which focus on student leadership development through an identity-conscious lens while centering on cultural humility. Campus Life and i3b collaborate to offer MLE to student organization leaders but equally target students with limited exposure to positional leadership. MLE is currently the only leadership initiative designed with unique student experiences, identities, and skills.
OCA Mocha Mondays: Diversity Dialogue Program with i3b
OCA Mocha Mondays is a Diversity Dialogues program that connects members of UMBC’s campus and the local community to engage in dialogue about different social justice topics. In alignment with the acronym that inspired the café’s name, OCA (Opportunities for Community Alliances), Mocha’s mission is to bridge the gap between our campus and community. OCA Mocha Mondays are designed to engage people of various backgrounds, identities, and skill levels to discuss social justice issues that impact our society. Free Transit lines are available for UMBC students, staff, and faculty with limited transportation or as an eco-friendly option. To see the bus schedule, please visit the UMBC Transit Schedule Website.
Social Justice Dialogues – First-Year Seminar (FYS 102 – 25)
This course is designed for students who have a deep interest in issues related to race, social justice, power, privilege, oppression, intercultural dialogue, and the ways such issues influence our leadership abilities and interests. By focusing on how we think and talk about social justice broadly, including race and other intersecting social identities in the United States, students will deepen their understanding and simultaneously learn techniques to engage in constructive conversations and critical dialogues across differences. Students will simultaneously develop skills for facilitating and leading difficult dialogues in ways that help them become more inclusive leaders and active contributors to a diverse and inclusive campus community.
Please note that this is a 3-credit course, fulfills the cultural graduation requirement, and is subject to undergraduate tuition, fees, and prerequisites. We encourage you to talk to your academic advisor if you have questions about your graduation requirements.
Workshop Wednesdays: Social Justice Skill Development Workshops
Workshop Wednesdays are monthly opportunities for faculty, staff, graduate students, and adult learners to engage in social justice topics that can support their personal, academic, and professional development. All sessions are interactive and designed for skill-building and practice. Through reflective and interactive activities, participants explore their own social identities, consider the intersectional impact, and will develop personal action plans relating to the highlighted topic. This program is particularly useful for UMBC community members who have been looking for ways to learn and engage with social justice-related concepts but have not had the opportunity to through other avenues.
SafeZone LGBTQIA+ Allyship Development Training Workshop
The SafeZone LGBTQIA+ Allyship Development Workshop is designed to help create a more welcoming, affirmative atmosphere for LGBTQIA+ community members of UMBC and beyond. The program includes various activities for participants at all levels of knowledge and comfort with LGBTQIA+ culture, topics, and concerns, from basic terminology, core concepts, LGBTQIA+ intersections, ranging from how to support those in the “Coming Out” process, to skills-based sessions on pronoun usage, to best allyship practices. It includes various distinctions and intersections between sex, gender, sexual orientation, romantic orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and other social identities relevant to the LGBTQIA+ experience.
This training is composed of five modules in either a day-long or multi-session structure. Once completed, participants can join UMBC’s formal network of SafeZone LGBTQIA+ Allies that functions similarly to the UMBC OutList. SafeZone Allies will receive a placard to signal to UMBC community members of their commitment of allyship toward the LGBTQIA+ community. Please note that all sessions must be completed in order to receive the placard.