The Ulster Scholars work with numerous groups on a weekly basis. One group that we meet with every Wednesday from 6PM to 8 PM is the R-City group. During the first hour from 6 to 7 we play a wide range of sports that include but is not limited to soccer, basketball, kickball. We play a variation of different sports to keep a leveled playing field amongst the scholars and so that no one in the group feels excluded. From 7-8 we talk and teach about different subjects presented in a workshop manner. These subjects could include topics like diversity, stereotypes, prejudice or discrimination.
When we conducted a stereotype based workshop for the group, students were asked to associate a job position and description to a picture and name without any other information. They were also asked to think of the reason why they chose their respective association. One student was asked what she had as an answer and I vividly remember her response. She chose a picture of the man and associated him with the job title engineer. What was surprising in her response was her justification, which was that she chose the picture of the man to be an engineer as oppose to the alternative picture of a woman because she said a woman could not be an engineer. I was shocked at how normalized and accepted that response was. I felt like she truly believed that, and that it has been engrained in her subconscious. It then dawned on me, this was not her fault, it was the fault of the environment in which she was brought up in. Our Job, no our duty, as SCL scholars was, and will always be, to help young adults reach their true potential. The process of inspiring includes breaking down mental barriers, especially ones that are completely flawed.
By telling her that women have fulfilling careers in areas such as engineering and given examples, we were able to broaden the scope of the scholar. We were able to disprove what she thought and believed was once true. Perhaps she did not want to be an engineer, but, in her subconscious she always thought that this was something that was unachievable, which by default feeds limitation. We were able to inform her that she is no way limited because of gender. We allowed her realize that she can achieve anything she wants, as long as she was strong-minded and determined. We were able to inspire her. As mentors, we were able to broaden the perspective of every scholar in that room and heighten their aspiration in a way that opens more doors for potential opportunities.
