Ciera Gardner

Selfie of me during a break from mulching blackberries for 5 hours taken on 7/17

Learning about cross-cultural competencies has been useful even before I learned about it during this week's connection. I can use the knowledge I gained about cross-cultural competencies to reflect on the time I planned the Junior Ag Day event for the kids in the community in June, as well as the Somerset County Fair that occurred this past weekend. For both events, I served "dirt cups," which consisted of pudding, Oreos, gummy worms, M&Ms, and sprinkles representing the layers of the soil. The gummy worms contained gelatin, which is a pork product that certain religions restrict the consumption of. To make the dirt cups accessible for everyone, my mentor and I decided that I would ask the students if they wanted gummy worms, allowing them to follow their dietary restrictions.

We can grow cross-cultural competencies to work effectively across cultures by holding workshops and seminars that provide information about the cultures most prevalent in that specific community. We can also promote language learning, which allows for outreach to even more of the community. Lastly, providing work trips or virtual meetings that allow cultural exchange and immersion is a great way for both cultures to learn about each other, resulting in close bonds and fun opportunities.

My last week working in the field was great. I wanted to focus on finishing as many projects as possible and at least reach a stopping point so my mentors would have made progress on their experiments. I appreciated the learning experiences I gained this summer!

Image of a beetle on the grass while I was doing field work taken on 7/24