Be A Global Citizen!

This is the eleventh installment of the interview series called 'Foster the GCs.' I spoke with Mary Patrick Kavanaugh who is the Director of Special Projects & Program Development at Soka University of America. Mary Patrick has worked at SUA for over 10 years and has created incredible programs such as Soka Changemakers and Bridges 2 Business. She has a fascinating career background that spans private investigation to social enterprising to business consultancy to higher education. Moreover, she shares powerful insights about diversity, business for social good, and global citizenship in this episode. I really enjoyed learning about how the Soka community is advancing in its mission statement through the important work of individuals such as Mary Patrick. Enjoy!

In January 2013, I traveled to Brazil for the first time with a group of classmates and a professor to collaborate with a NGO in a rural town in the state of Minas Gerias. This experience has such a positive influence on my journey as a global citizen given the fact that I would go on to spent six years teaching in Brazil. With the passing of ten years, I organized a virtual reunion with my class, the NGO, and the community to think back on those experiences. On this episode, I share what this trip was all about and how the experiences I accrued from it inform my notions on global citizenship. Enjoy! 

We are back with more GC Talks! To kick off the New Year, I spoke with Terry Peet-Lukes about his thoughts on global citizenship. He has over 30 years of experience as a leader in market research and data analytics. Before retiring, he worked as the Vice President of Market & Business Insights for Laureate Education.  For more than 20 years, Laureate Education has remained committed to making a positive impact in the communities they serve, by providing accessible, high-quality undergraduate, graduate and specialized degree programs. Let’s get right into the conversation! Enjoy!

Today on the podcast, I spoke with Shivangi Khattar about her thoughts on global citizenship. She is a Doctoral candidate at Ashoka University in the Department of Psychology. She has been a consultant counselor and research associate as well as a career support mentor. Let’s get right into the conversation! Enjoy!

Here are the article and video references that Shivangi mentions at the end of the episode. Check them out :) 

https://uclpress.scienceopen.com/hosted-document?doi=10.18546/IJDEGL.8.1.05

Here are the videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVr8SH0t8EI&ab_channel=GlobalEducationFirstInitiative

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xx6975PyEA&feature=emb_imp_woyt&ab_channel=SokaGakkaiOfficial

This is the tenth installment of the interview series called 'Foster the GCs.' I spoke with Linda Kennedy who is the Executive Director of Philanthropy at Soka University of America. Linda has worked at SUA for almost 20 years and shares how much joy she feels for the work she does in supporting the incredible donor base for the University. Her spirit for SUA is contagious, and she emphasizes how important it is to really 'walk the walk' and 'talk the talk' when it comes to global citizenship. Her attitude has its source from a culture of care that speaks to an important theme of global citizenship: compassion. Enjoy this conversation with Linda!  

I'm joined by Allie Wong who shares how she discovered her love for teaching in Elementary school and how her passion to support and guide students towards unlocking their potential informs her approaches to education. Currently, she is working for an innovative non-profit organization that trains teachers across the nation in methods of project-based learning. Allie is a former graduate of Soka University of America and went on to do a masters at the University of Pennsylvania. Please enjoy our conversation about how Allie views the concept of global citizenship and the diverse ways in which this concept manifests in her  interactions within the class, design to projects, and engagement with local/global community spaces. 

I spoke with Sofia Dugas who is the founder of Kyo Nutrition where she coaches leaders in the art of self-mastery through meditation, nutrition, and speech interventions. Currently, she lives in Bogota, Colombia. Sofia shares about her journey of uncovering her ancestral roots to Cuban culture through bold initiatives, language acquisition, and soul searching. She is also a fellow alum of Soka University of America! Please enjoy this joyful conversation about functional nutrition, language-identity, self-care, and following your own path towards value creation. 

For more about Sofia's company, you can follow her on IG @kyo_nutrition and her linktree (linktr.ee/kyosanacion). 

This is the ninth installment of the interview series called 'Foster the GCs.' I spoke with Rob Duran who is a 2nd year student at Soka University of America in the Masters of Arts program in Educational Leadership and Societal Change. Rob has many years of work experience in the non-profit education sector and his current research interests look to how the private sector and public sector negotiate and form agreements on social responsibility to fund public education for the betterment of society. Check out how the mission statement of SUA ties into Rob's journey to build community on campus, while envisioning a world that values an education that informs how one lives a contributive life. Enjoy!

Today's episode looks at the intersections between Chinese medicine and global citizenship. My guest is Dr. Corina Giselle who is a Doctor of Chinese Medicine and an acupuncturist. She runs her own clinic called 'Yin and Well' in Woodland Hills, California. She also happens to be a former classmate of mine at Soka University of America! I'm so happy to hear more of her journey in the field of medicine and the roots of her practice in global citizenship. She shares information about what is Chinese medicine and how her passion for this area emerged through many different experiences that took her to China, London, and many other places. Enjoy! 

This is the eighth installment of the interview series called 'Foster the GCs.' I spoke with Giulia Paié who is a current 4th year student at Soka University of America. Giulia is from Brazil, and has done excellent work creating content on social media for those in Brazil who are interested in studying abroad. She shares her experiences about getting to SUA and what her journey has been like through the pandemic. Check out how the mission statement of SUA ties into Giulia's journey to uncover her own sense of purpose on campus and beyond. Enjoy!