This post is part of our series outlining O’Neill’s commitment to excellence in undergraduate education by R.J. Woodring, Associate Dean for Educational Programs, and Andrea Need, Director of Undergraduate Academic Affairs.
At the O’Neill School, we are committed to fostering a diverse, equitable, and inclusive community for everyone who engages with our institution—placing justice and equity at the core of our mission and values.
We believe in the power of diversity to enrich learning. Our programs incorporate global perspectives, helping students become culturally competent and globally aware.
Diversity and global learning at O’Neill
This commitment to diversity and global learning is one of the high-impact practices embedded into our undergraduate curriculum. We offer courses that help students explore cultures, life experiences, and worldviews different from their own to prepare them for leadership in diverse settings. As a school that prepares students to address complicated issues affecting communities around the world, issues of diversity are infused into multiple courses in each degree program. For example, students studying law and public affairs will be able to explain the concept, central features, and significance of due process and equal protection under the law.
More than one-third of our students choose to deepen their learning of cultures and concepts through our study abroad programs. We offer 20+ options for overseas study, including semester exchanges, short-term spring and summer overseas courses led by O’Neill faculty, and international internships.
Ky Freeman, BSPA’22, offers a prime example of O’Neill’s commitment to global learning. Freeman spent his time at O’Neill committed to causes of diversity, equity, and inclusion. He led the Black Student Union in 2020 and was elected IU Student Government president for 2021-22.
Through O’Neill, Freeman was able to study Ireland’s history of conflict and ongoing reconciliation with Professor Gary Branham. Freeman visited Dublin and Galway in Ireland, as well as Londonderry and Belfast in Northern Ireland, where he studied the overlap between the civil rights movement in the U.S. and the conflict with Northern Ireland.
“I’m the first one in my family to ever go out of the country. I was able to bring back all that knowledge and information, and [it shaped] a lot of my responses and the way that I go about doing things because I was immersed in a culture not my own,” said Freeman. Freeman now works as a consultant with Accenture Federal Services in Washington, D.C.
When Zoya Ehsan, BSPA’23, wanted to learn how other countries and governments approach climate change, she applied for a scholarship that allowed her to take a course on sustainable development in Portugal.
“The O’Neill International Office offered incredible funding for me. Getting to actually be on the ground and gain that global perspective, and then to bring that back to Indiana, was very valuable to me,” said Ehsan. After graduating, Ehsan received a clean energy fellowship from the Roger Arliner Young Fellowship Program, which supports BIPOC professionals in environmentally related sectors.
The O’Neill International Office consistently creates quality opportunities for students to get hands-on experience just like Freeman and Ehsan. With long-running programs in Europe, South Africa, Vietnam, and more, every student at O’Neill has an opportunity to experience cultures from around the world and further their education in their field of study.
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