The Global Fellows Program (GFP) has undoubtedly prepared me to be a more effective cross-cultural communicator and leader, and it has afforded me an excellence space in which I have been able to foster some important skills related to each of these things. Moreover, some of my experiences throughout the GFP have allowed me to identify fundamental intercultural competencies that are integral to my future career as a healthcare professional. In looking at the NACE Competencies for a Career-Ready Workforce, which include Career & Self-Development, Communication, Critical Thinking, Equity & Inclusion, Leadership, Professionalism, Teamwork, and Technology, I believe that the GFP most helped me to develop communication, equity and inclusion, leadership, and teamwork.
Through the various workshops and events organized during the Leadership facet of the program, I was able to form meaningful connections with others while enhancing my ability to effectively communicate with other members of my team. In planning events, in particular, my leadership abilities were furthered, and the GFP greatly readied me to be a more efficacious leader within multicultural spaces. Having various Language Partners throughout the duration of the program also markedly improved my communication abilities, and it allowed me to become more aware of my own orientation in regard to intercultural competency, as well as the areas in which I could improve. The aim of the program, more generally, worked to develop equity and inclusion within all Fellows, and this was applied in the events that we both organized and took part in. Participation in the GFP has rendered me more interculturally competent, and there are many things that I have garnered through my experiences in the program that I hope to carry with me beyond Duke and into my personal and professional pursuits as I move forward.
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