MSA Celebrates Culturally Aware Leadership With Medallion Ceremony

NC State’s Multicultural Student Affairs (MSA) department is hard at work providing the campus community with culturally aware student leaders. 

This fall, MSA saw its first student cohort complete the newly minted Multicultural Leadership Challenge. 

This program requires students to complete four workshops conducted by MSA, five hours of professional development of their choosing and 10 hours of community service. The MSA-led workshops explored multicultural leadership, values and ethics in leadership, leadership identity and visioning and goal setting. At the end of the semester, students share their journey via poster board presentation, and each receives a certificate of completion. Recently, MSA recognized the nine students who completed the challenge this semester in a medallion ceremony. 

Participants completed over 55 professional development hours through over 30 initiatives or programs at NC State and over 85 community service hours at at least 15 locations both on and off campus.

“I think it was exciting to see everything come to a grand end, but also a smooth beginning,” said MSA Assistant Director Trevis Belle. “We’re listening to the students’ feedback and the different workshops that they engaged in, we listened to them about how they wanted to be celebrated. Seeing them happy, bringing their friends, supporters and family to the medallion ceremony, seeing that medal placed around their necks, and knowing that they could walk with that across the stage for graduation, was really cool to see.” 

Madiya M. Ahsan, Reanna Bissessar, Braxton Cumbo, Shaniya Simone Edmonds, Emily Grace Falconer, Donna Yee McLeod, Katelyn Nguyen, Jakevious J’Kwon Pollard and Ranjani Sathyan made up the first student cohort to receive medallions for the 2024 fall semester.

At the ceremony, McLeod, Nguyen and Kayla Brawley, a Bachelor of Social Work Intern for MSA and one of the leadership challenge’s facilitators, all gave remarks. 

“What truly stands out to me is watching the students transform over the course of the program,” Brawley said. “When they first arrive, many are shy or unsure of their place in the room – unsure of what they have to contribute or what they might gain from the experience. But session by session, as we engage in meaningful dialogue, share stories and challenge our perspectives, I see them blossom. There’s something so powerful about witnessing students light up when they realize their voice matters.”

The Multicultural Leadership Medallion Challenge is open to students from all backgrounds and aims to help them become more culturally aware learners. It also allows them to gain critical thinking and problem-solving skills and gives them a space to explore their values and reflect on how those values impact their lives and those around them. 

Before beginning her remarks, Nguyen asked a simple question: how many of us think about our cultural background on a daily basis. 

“Before coming to NC State, I never once gave a thought about my background as a Vietnamese-American,” Nguyen said. “I saw the Multicultural Leadership Challenge as a great way to connect with my peers and explore the varieties of culture that NC State has to offer. I also saw the program as a perfect way to start exploring and reflect on my own background.”

Belle said that MSA hopes to expand the program, with a second cohort already planned for the spring. 

He also said he hopes to see other students from various departments and colleges across NC State engage in the leadership challenge moving forward. Belle explained that many students who participated in the first challenge were first-year students, giving them another way to immerse themselves in college life. 

“I wanted to make building and exercising my leadership skills a goal,” McLeod said. “Cultural awareness plays a significant role in becoming an inspiring and effective leader. This challenge has pushed me to reflect on my weak areas and take action to strengthen them. Striving for achievement is crucial to me, making progress towards my goals is essential. To those who are interested and feel you need a little push towards progress for your own goals, I highly encourage your participation in this challenge.”