Student Engagement to host diversity speaker

Justin Jones-Fosu will deliver a message about diversity and its importance on Monday, Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. UNA is recognized as an extremely diverse university, and the speaker has been invited to inform students of how diversity correlates with everyday life and life after college.

Jones-Fosu’s biography can be found on www.campuspeak.com. Jones-Fosu was named one of Ebony Magazine’s “30 Young Leaders Under 30 On the Rise.” He is an author, an entrepreneur and professional speaker. He recently published his first book “Inspiration for Life: Dream Bigger, Do More, Live Fuller!” He also hosts a weekly radio show on WEAA 88.9 in his hometown of Baltimore.

Jennifer Brown, assistant director of Student Engagement for leadership and volunteerism, and Chase Hoagland, the recipient of the Life Leadership Scholarship, have partnered with Allison Ray of SMAC (Student Multicultural Advisory Committee) to plan the event.

“We hope to inform students on what exactly diversity is and how embracing it impacts campus life,” Brown said. “We want students to appreciate diversity.”

Brown also hopes for students to take a deeper look at diversity.

“Diversity is not just black and white,” she said. “There are diverse sexual orientations and religions.”

Jones-Fosu uses dance and music to entertain the audience while educating them on diversity. Brown hopes this will encourage all students to come out and get the cultural experience. Two Lion Cup points are offered to each organization with five members present.

Hoagland and Brown want to focus more on diversity since it has been looked over in the past.

“We do a lot of workshops and haven’t focused on diversity; we need to focus on areas we are lacking in in order to improve our university even more,” Brown said.

Allison Ray has publicized the event with posters, window painting, and word of mouth to get students excited and interested.

“There is an ever-increasing diverse population coming to UNA, and it is critical for students to learn about diversity in order to embrace it and integrate it into their lives,” she said.

Ray works hard to promote diversity on campus, and changes are being made constantly to integrate diverse cultures into the lives of traditional UNA students.

“The one thing I hope for students to get out of Justin Jones-Fosu’s presentation is encouragement to take opportunities to learn more about diversity and how to promote it in their own lives,” she said. “Diversity plays a huge role in everyday interactions and will play an even larger role after college.”