I am a student, but also a professional.

I am a student but also a professional.

I chose this as my identity statement as a result of certain experiences I have had in the past in internship and job settings. I have been placed in scenarios in the past in which it was my responsibility to meet with leaders in business communities or with press figures that have been entrenched in their field for years. As a student it was easy to feel like I was the odd man out. There is definitely a perception of slight inferiority from others upon realizing they are dealing with a student intern. Sometimes it cause a positive experience with the “professional” patronizing or helping a student through the process, but there is still a sense of not being on a level playing field.

After working in a field for over two years and learning the ins and outs of it, I feel as if I’ve earned my stripes and consider myself a professional within it. It is an interesting phenomenon thought that I’ve noticed how professional figures take me more seriously if they don’t realize I’m a current student. If a certain performance level is there, I do not see the difference it makes whether I’m working as a student or a full time position.

So for my identity statement, it was important for me to point this out. If a student is effective at what they do, why should it matter that they are also in school?

How to become involved!

If you are interested in learning more about the "I am __ but also __" project, we are having our second event on Library Bridge April 10th and 11th. Please come by to view our clothes line of t shirts and fill out an "I am __ but also __" card. 

To contact us we are on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Iambutalso

or

Email us at iambutalso@gmail.com

You can also leave your statement with us anonymously. Click on the following link to leave your comment.

http://cuidentity.blogspot.com/p/give-your-i-am-but-also-statement-here.html

Visual Group Thoughts

I am in the visual display group, and I think one of the biggest challenges we faced was trying to come up with a display that still related to last year’s project, yet at the same time made our project different and unique. I think the banner is a great idea because, in my opinion, it is the aspect of our project that is the most unique from last year. I think that the clothesline is a really interesting visual display because it definitely catches people’s attention. Often on campus we are bombarded with flyers and posters, but never before have I seen a clothesline on campus. I always felt that incorporating the clothesline into this year’s project was important because it still catches people’s attention, while at the same time referring back to last years project and tying the two together.

One issue that our group felt came from last year’s project was the fact that, until the clothesline was actually put up, students weren’t able to look at other student’s responses to the prompt. Having a banner on library bridge is important because students will be able to look at the responses already put up and find more inspiration or direction to where the project is going. I think that if I were asked to fill in the prompt “I am, but also” without any type of example, I would have a hard time answering. Furthermore, hopefully some of the responses will be so thought provoking they will encourage others to share more personal responses. For those who are not comfortable sharing their ideas in such a public way, we will provide note cards to write on. People in our class will write the answers on the note cards on the banner.

            

The second aspect of the visual group that sets us apart from last year was our incorporation of buttons into our project. We definitely did not want to get rid of the t-shirts: the problem with t-shirts is their expense. We want as many people as possible promoting our slogan around campus- buttons offer us a way to do that. Students will be able to write their responses on the buttons and then wear them on their shirts, backpacks, etc. Furthermore, the buttons are big enough that they are noticeable but not overwhelming.

            

I think that, overall, our group does a good job of talking over our problems, like figuring out whether to order buttons, stickers, wrist bands, etc., and coming to a decision that everyone feels comfortable with. One complaint I have about our group is our lack of communication with other groups. I think that going forward I am going to make a conscious effort to not only accomplish the tasks set out for our group individually, but communicate better with the PR and film groups to make sure they are comfortable and aware about the decisions we make. Our project won’t achieve anything if all members of the class don’t promote it, just like we are relying on other members outside of the visual group to help us with our display on library bridge. The second complaint I have stems from trying to make our project different from last year’s project. I think all of us take pride in this project and want it to be our own, but are having difficulty making it unique, while at the same time trying to make it tie in with what last year’s class has already done. At this point, it seems that all plans for the rest of the semester are already in place, so there is no point in readjusting anything we have already planned. I just wonder if there is something that we could do at the final event that would help set us apart. Hopefully if we get more people to interview for the film crew we will get more personal insight than last year’s group, and will be able to take the project in a new direction.

Reflecting on "I am __ but also__" Statements

As we receive "I am ___ but also__" statements, we become more enlightened to hear everyones reaction and ideas of what this project means to them. We have come to find that statements do no have to be so profound or deep in meaning to have powerful effects. Sometimes the most compelling statements are simple and often times mean lots to those who wrote them. Personally, I gain even more respect for the project as time progresses and Clemson's campus becomes more involved. 

Statements can be funny, some are serious, many are deep in meaning; but either way they have people talking on campus and that is what we want. Our hope is that Clemson will become comfortable in talking about identity in order to break certain stereotypes and create a more acceptable outlook on those around us. Feel free to comment on our blog and give us your "I am _ but also _" statement. 

Reflections on the Library Bridge Event

This was a big week for our Comm 495 class as it was our time working the library bridge and unveiling our Identity Project to Clemson’s campus. As I was working the table, I found myself relieved to finally get started and proud of the work our 495 class has put in so far. Sitting at our table and interacting with passerby’s was a unique experience in that I got to see the reactions of students and faculty, many of whom had never heard of our Identity Project. Variety was the name of the game today. Initial reactions on the bridge ranged from confused, to supportive, with one student exclaiming that he loved our project and had hoped we would be back again this year! It seemed as though conceptualizing the idea of one’s identity was difficult for some, yet simple for others.  Some students were very protective of their responses to the I am___, but also____ prompt, while others were very open and wrote them right on the banner with everyone watching. Examples written on the banner were comical, intellectual, ironic, thought provoking, and everything in between. If anything, the reactions and responses we received yesterday illustrate the diversity that exists on Clemson’s campus. Overall, I enjoyed seeing our Identity Project get off to such a great start and look forward to seeing its continued success through the remainder of the semester! 

Our First Dialogue Experience

A few weeks ago, we had the opportunity to do something unique that allowed us to put our “I am __ but also __” conversations into practice. Our 495 class was asked to go into a Comm 201 class and facilitate a dialogue session.

This was my first experience being a part of a dialogue session, much less leading a group, but I felt like it went really well. We split ourselves into 4 groups and the Comm 201 class was split into 4 groups. We started out by explaining last year’s project and then told them about this year’s project. Our group wasn’t familiar with the project last year, but they were fairly talkative and willing to share their opinions on identity issues. Most of them admitted that they had felt stereotyped at one point or another in their life.

One of the questions we asked them was “do you recall a time when you were discouraged from discussing/asking questions about identity?” The group had a hard time coming up with specific examples, but they felt like these issues are often hard to discuss because they require you to dig beneath the surface and enter into a more serious conversation, which is the goal of our project. One girl said that it’s not exactly “dinner table conversation.” She said it wasn’t something that her and her friends choose to discuss frequently because there is a level of discomfort and it can also affect relationships. Our group also said it’s hard to talk about identity issues sometimes because people have changing identities. They also discussed how it’s hard to rise above expectations and stereotypes at times. At the end of the session, we gave group members the option to fill out a “I am ____ but also ____” notecard.

I found the dialogue session to be very insightful and helpful to our project. We will be holding dialogue sessions at our culminating event, so this was good practice. I’m excited to be a part of more conversations to come as we make people aware of our campaign through conversations on the library bridge, wearing our T-shirts and buttons and leading discussions during our culminating event on April 25^th.