Jane Sluis is a freshman at Pennsylvania State University majoring in Psychology with minors in Human Development and Family Studies as well as Child Maltreatment and Advocacy Studies. This topic is important to her as she comes from a family of educators and hopes to work with children in the future, so she believes in helping to create the best possible educational environment for students where everyone is represented in what they are learning. She believes that by incorporating other cultures into education, students can see themselves in what they are learning, and this will help them feel more comfortable in their learning environment.

 

Kirsten Ally is a first-year student studying psychology and internal business at Pennsylvania State University. Multiculturalism in education matters to her because as a woman of color that attended a predominantly white school district, she often felt alienated and forgotten. She believes it is important that students learn about all cultures because school is meant to be a safe place for everyone. Additionally, she feels that we must work together in order to find solutions for this issue.

 

Logan Todd is a freshman studying computer engineering at Penn State, with a passion for understanding how what he writes affects the world around him. He has 3 younger brothers in elementary through high school, and is passionate about getting them the best education he can. Additionally, he wants to help students be better educated.

 

Lanie Pishotti is a first year student at Penn State studying nursing. She is from Cincinnati, Ohio, and went through a fairly large, diverse, liberal-minded, public school system. However, she spent some of her elementary school and middle school years in Erie, Pennsylvania, and attended schools with a mainly white, Christian, conservative population. She noticed extreme differences in the multicultural education she received between the two schools, and evidently realized how being taught about other cultures, races, and ethnicities affects children and the development of their kindness and tolerance. She is passionate about multicultural education in schools, from elementary school to higher education.

 

Shrietika Siingh is a sophomore studying Psychology at Penn State. Shrietika is a passionate advocate for promoting multiculturalism in schools. Having grown up in a culturally diverse community, she has witnessed the firsthand positive impact of fostering an inclusive and accepting environment for all students. Shrietika believes that exposure to different cultures and traditions enhances understanding, empathy, and respect among students, and ultimately helps build a more cohesive and tolerant society.

 

Sophie Grunzweig is a Freshman at Penn State University intending to major in Psychology and Human Development and Family Studies (HDFS). She cares about this topic because she wants to work with an age group that is in their prime education years, and finds it extremely important for them to get a well-rounded education to be as successful as possible. She wants to promote this type of learning to better everyone involved.

 

Miso Lee is a freshman liberal arts student at Penn State. She’s from South Korea, an only child. As someone from a different country, she believes understanding different cultures is fundamental to understanding the world.

 

Charlotte Gougher is a freshman psychology and human developmental and family sciences major. Charlotte’s mom is an elementary school teacher, as were her grandmother and great-grandmother, so the constant strive to better our children’s education is a cause extremely personal to her. She strongly believes that every student deserves to feel represented and supported in the classroom, and that cultural representation is vital to promoting a comprehensive sense of self in adolescence. She also believes that teachers are thoroughly over-extended and under-compensated, so the epidemic of insufficient multiculturalism in schools is a discussion that needs to be had.