S-Stem Scholar Jaira Munoz Zavala's Blog

For my class I connected with a mentor and attended NCUIRE symposium.  I learned that networking is approaching people first by asking about their work before asking for help. Also, the two most important aspects of networking is to listen to the person you connect with and to keep in contact with that person.  Personally, I prefer to connect in person. In person, the conversation flows more naturally. Also, one doesn't have to wait for an answer for few days. However, the major reason why I dislike connecting online is because is harder for me to communicate through an email/text. I overthink my words, and I might not see grammar errors. Finding the balance between a long email and a pretty short one is complicated. It makes me wonder if the person might feel bored or confused about my words.  In April, I attended a conference in Seattle. There, I was able to network with multiple people. However, I found it harder to connect with people close to my age. Mostly, I felt like I had

Something that I learn about cultural intelligence and cultural responsiveness is to first have cultural openness and cultural awareness. From what I understood one has to be open to learn about other people's culture with an open mind. However, this doesn't mean to be invasive or assume somebody's cultural background.  I like the definition of  Business professors P. Christopher Earley and Elaine Mosakowski about cultural intelligence. They define it as “an outsider’s seemingly natural ability to interpret someone’s unfamiliar and ambiguous gestures the way that person’s compatriots would.”  This means to have the ability to relate to people from other cultures by empathizing and actively working to understand customs and norms of other cultures besides our own  ( What Is Cultural Intelligence and Why Is It Key to Business? – Nationwide , n.d.). Now, according to the National Center for Culturally Responsive Educational Systems (NCCREST), “cultural responsiveness is the ab