CCU Founding Committee Members

“I am the daughter of two Syrian immigrants. I was born in Washington, Pa., and lived with my great-grandmother and my parents because my father was attending graduate school and my mother was working as a nurse at a Pittsburgh hospital. My grandmother lived with us for awhile as well. When I was 13 years, we moved to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where we served as United States diplomats and lived as expatriates for eight years. I went to boarding school in Greece and my middle brother went to boarding school in the United Kingdom. My folks moved back to the United States when I was 21 and just graduating from college. My parents believe the United States is the absolute best place on the face of the Earth to live and have taught us how to be proud and respectful of our cultural heritage, while at the same time being proud Americans. Thanks to my experiences, I love to travel and have shared this with my husband and daughters. There's no replacement for experiencing different parts of our great world and I tell my girls to always take advantage of any opportunity to see another aspect of it. The more we see and experience, the more we understand, respect and value both our differences and our similarities.”

"My cultural uniqueness is both historical and perpetual. It is historical because I acknowledge and embrace the heritage of my immediate and extended families. It is, furthermore, ongoing; I accept new experiences that contribute to my cultural understanding of others."

"I am culturally unique because of my family. I grew up just outside of Indianapolis. My mother was born with one arm and is an artist and my father was one of ten children. I am a first-generation college graduate in my immediate family and the first in my entire family to earn a PhD. Working hard to overcome obstacles was part of what we did as a family and that has shaped me to be who I am today. My husband and I adopted our daughter, who is black, in 2015. We are now a transracial family. This has shaped my culture, my family, and how I perceive situations in ways I never would have imagined."

"I am inspired by different cultures around the world. I enjoy learning from them and respect and accept their uniqueness. I cherish my own heritage and believe in building bridges than building walls"

"Growing up in a small town outside of Toronto, Canada in a Portuguese-Canadian family made me aware of what cultural uniqueness is. Participating and emerging myself in athletics throughout my entire life has provided me the opportunity to understand and build a culturally unique foundation. I was provided the opportunity to be on numerous teams in different countries that not only helped me understand different cultures, but helped emerge myself in building relationships and collaborating in team settings with individuals to create our own culturally unique identities. These experiences have provided me with insight into the importance and need for the understating of cultural uniqueness in society today."

"I am culturally unique in several ways. I live with mental illness. This means that I am one of many people who must navigate the maze of stigma and misunderstanding surrounding disability in the United States. In terms of ethnicity, my ancestors were principally Hungarian and Swiss, and I enjoy learning about these cultures."

"As a first-generation college student from a single-parent household, I have found that I can connect with Tiffin University's students at a unique level since many of them share these cultural attributes. Our 'culture' is one of breaking away from traditional family norms combined with a perseverance to navigate and be successful in new environments. I also have traveled extensively, visiting 25 countries and counting! My experiences with different cultures has enabled me to expand my worldview and appreciation for the differences that make us not only unique, but also very much the same!"

"The languages I speak, the way I understand the world around me, the way I was raised (low middle class, in school, at church, by a staying home mom who experienced poverty as a child and by a hard working father), and my ability to see beyond people's physical characteristics make me culturally unique."

"I am unique because I love to meet new people and I embrace change. I have a passion for education and am a lifelong learner. I have always appreciated and respected the richness of difference that exists within our society. Through partnership, education and service, I strive to counter stereotyping, prejudice and fear."

"I am one of eleven children in a family. This unique family created a different culture from other family structures. Differences included age of parents which impacted life cycle of family relationships, and the use of resources such as food, clothing, and normal child needs and the habit of hard work for the benefit of family survival."

"I am culturally unique because my story is my story and no two stories are the same. I grew up with a parent in the military I was afforded the opportunity to travel and live in many different states and countries. I was immersed in many different cultures and exposed to a variety of ways of life and I was taught inclusion, respect, and to appreciate differences as a child. I am committed to helping others in their journey to learn about what makes them and their neighbor culturally unique."

"Growing up immersed in a strong-willed, hardworking Greek-American family, I have come to value and appreciate the qualities that make me different from others. Because of my upbringing, I have developed a passion for learning and helping others learn. Working in higher education allows me the chance to challenge myself while challenging others to open their minds to new possibilities and experiences. We all learn and grow when we take the opportunity to interact with those who are different from ourselves."

"What makes me culturally unique is the knowledge of cultural differences in understanding of the role that culture plays in behavior, the ability to translate knowledge of such into practice; in techniques and strategies that assist at the individual and institutional levels, employing awareness of my own ethnic and cultural beliefs, biases, behaviors, and stereotypes and how such enhances professional and personal relationships coupled with an understanding of the socio-political factors that impact the daily lives of underrepresented groups."

"Born and raised by my mother and grandparents on a small Ohio farm, I am a first-generation college graduate. Teaching has allowed me to visit the world through the experiences of my students through all walks of life including those in my own back yard. It is my goal to inspire my students to live consciously of each other--with our unique cultural backgrounds together--to go out in this world and make it a better place!"

"I believe what makes me cultural unique is the fact that both of my parents were adopted. In as much, I have no real cultural identity. This can be a plus, as well as a minus, at times."