CICE Alternative Spring Break 2019 CICE Alternative Spring Break 2019 Thank you for your interest in this year's Alternative Spring Break: Colonialism and Indigenous Justice Today for students at Puget Sound. Please fill out the application below. There is a multi-part application for the spring break trip. First, please fill out your basic information below. Applications are due by Wednesday, January 23 at midnight. Interviews may be scheduled following our review of applications depending on the volume of applications. Scholarships/financial support are/is available on request. Email cice@pugetsound.edu for more information. Name * First Last Email Address * Cell Phone Number What are your pronouns? Select all that apply. they/them/theirs she/her/hers he/him/his ze/hir/hirs Other What year in school are you? First-year Second-year Third-year Fourth-year Fifth-year Do you have any food allergies or needs? * None Gluten-free Dairy-free Soy allergy Pescatarian Vegetarian Vegan Peanuts Tree Nuts Shell Fish Other Are you part of the Civic Engagement Pathway Program? * Yes No How did you hear about the Alt. Break Program? * Will you be applying for a scholarship to help you participate in this Alt. Break? Yes No ESSAY QUESTION: CULTURAL AUTOBIOGRAPHY. YOUR RESPONSE SHOULD BE NO LONGER THAN 5 DOUBLE-SPACED PAGES. PLEASE COPY AND PASTE YOUR ESSAY BELOW. The autobiography is an analysis of how you came to be who you are. Before we can fully understand others as cultural beings, it is important to understand ourselves. As you reflect, consider what attitudes and beliefs about the world around us have influenced who you are. You should describe how your demographic location (your ethnicity, gender, economic situation, race, sexual orientation, cultural background, nationality, etc.) interacted with your social, cultural, and geographic location (those people and places around you – family, teachers or mentors, friends growing up, etc.) to help shape your identity. Ultimately, it is your story that you are telling. Our stories will help to illuminate the way we organize and understand our experiences. The autobiography is not meant to be a chronological report of the major events in your life, but should highlight the major themes of your life that have helped to determine who you are. You may wish to focus on exploring your sense of self and identity in the context of family, community, nation, and/or world. Some important questions to consider before and during the composition of this paper: • How has your family influenced your development? What are some of the values and beliefs shared by your family that you hold? • Was there a time when you were unconscious of your cultural self/identities? • When, why, and how did you first become aware of them? • When did you first become aware of being different from those around you? • What supports did you have in the struggle to come to grips with your identity? • Are certain aspects of your demographics more influential in your life than others? • Do you consider yourself a member of a dominant culture, minority culture, or both? • Can you identify certain values and beliefs that you hold in common with or differ from mainstream social justice culture? These are only a few of the aspects you should examine in order to write your story with accuracy and strength. Though you should not feel tied to these questions, and certainly you should not undertake answering them all in a direct or “list” fashion, but it would be hard to write a cultural autobiography without considering at least some of them. Feel free to render the narrative in whatever style best fits your life and your mind. Most importantly, remember that it is your story. What experiences have shaped your story and influenced how you understand your identity and your relationships with others from different backgrounds? The purpose of this application essay is threefold. First, it will help focus your thinking about issues of cultural diversity and the manner in which they are lived. As we know, culture and demographics are not abstractions, but lived realities. Second, it will provide you the opportunity to explicitly name your own position in culture and society, a crucial prerequisite to understanding the perspectives and positions of others and thus become a good leader in a diverse world and good participant on this alternative break. Third, this application essay helps us create a break team that is equipped for this kind of educational trip, ready to learn through experience and self-reflection. (Essays will be reviewed by both members of the Alt. Break planning team as well as outside members of the campus community who will not be attending the break). *