THE WORLD ON ONE CAMPUS

This is the second part of Jiusi’s post about his experience as a minority at DU. If you missed part 1, click here to be redirected.

“I found kind people, one by one and day by day, on every corner of DU. I enjoyed my moments with them and treated it as gifts. I asked myself important questions, that I believe all human beings should be aware of:

• These kind people have given me empathy, sincerity and care. What must I do to be deserving of them?

• Regardless of my ethnicity, these people treated me as an equal. What responsibilities do I have to them?

The answer for me was to give back. Give them recognition, respect, and love in various ways and forms. 

I decided to show these incredible people how much I appreciate their time and all they have done for me in multiple ways.

To my Hospitality mentor who dedicated his time to check on me during the Covid quarantine and even courteously took me to dinner, I wrote a formal nomination letter so that he could win the “Best Hospitality Mentor” award.

To my bestie since Freshman year, who invited me to his home to celebrate the New Year’s with his family, during the peak time of Covid, so I would not be by myself, I made them a music video that included all of our memorable moments.

Every time I came back from China, I brought Chinese traditional desserts for my Student Program faculty member, who gave me free hugs and allowed me to cry on her shoulder when I felt homesick. I also shared those sweets with my freshman-year roommate and his dad, who picked me up at the hospital after my appendicitis surgery and celebrated with me at my graduation ceremony.

To the Chancellor of DU, who gave me the only special fist bump on stage during my commencement ceremony, I went to his inauguration event and offered my congratulations.

To the Sodexo clerk who was always willing to give me a gentle smile and have conversations about my life during shopping every night for four years, I took the time to come to her store and ask her how she was doing and keep the conversation going.

To my professor who welcomed me at her house to celebrate Christmas with her parents and children during the pandemic, I decided to be a positive word of mouth and wrote her praises on social media and also brought her children Turkish delights.

Those are just some of the incredible people the DU community allowed me to meet and share a piece of my life with them. There are so many more of them. They taught me that we are all in the capable of giving and choosing to give. May that either be something material or as simple as a gentle smile and time. Those people are real heroes who help me, a minority in the US, an international student who was alone in a foreign country to overcome hardships. I am proud of being a responsible and grateful minority who repaid their kindness and made their lives better, as an equal.

In the process of building an equal environment, where everyone would be recognized, heard, and cared for, the minorities have just as many responsibilities as the majorities. While majorities are helping improve minorities’ life, the minorities ought to appreciate majorities’ efforts, patiently give feedbacks, express feelings and perspectives calmly and constructively, and work with majorities to improve the environment.”

Jesse’s post remind us all that we should value all those around us and that maybe without even realizing you are creating a big impact in someone’s life. So give it your best and be kind. Remember to show people how much they mean to you. Leave your comments and let us know about someone from DU that impacted your life.