Global Learning Experience
Leila Camplone's global learning experience as an undergraduate student at Florida International University
About
Hello! My name is Leila Camplone and I am graduating Spring of 2024 with a Bachelors of Science in Crime Science and a certificate in Cyber Threat Intelligence from Florida International University (FIU). I am also a member of the Honors College and a Global Learning student.
After I graduate, I hope to start my career in the local or federal government. I have always been passionate about public service and the law.
Throughout my time at FIU, I have had many experiences that influenced my global citizenship. This website will further delve into my global awareness, perspective, and engagement.
Acquired Skills
Leadership
I've held multiple leadership positions throughout my time at FIU, including Resident Assistant (as pictured), Global Resident Assistant, Peer Advisor, Historian of Kappa Kappa Psi, Head of the Brotherhood Committee of Kappa Kappa Psi, and a Disc Jockey at The Roar.
Through my leadership positions, I learned how to confidently lead a group, what my leadership style was, and what it means to be a good and effective leader. I also learned how to communicate with different people, which is an extremely important life skill.
Mentoring
One of my favorite positions at FIU was as a Peer Advisor; a student leader that helps guide first-year students at orientation.
Through this position, I was able to mentor hundreds of incoming students from different backgrounds and help them start their journey at FIU. It was an incredibly fun and rewarding experience!
Global Awareness
I expanded my global awareness in more ways than one. Volunteer work with the BC Community Project allowed me to learn more about Miami history and interact with local communities, meeting immigrants from Cuba to Haiti. For the BC Community Project, I volunteered my making PB&J sandwiches and distributing them through Overtown and at the community fridge.
Working as a Global Resident Assistant allowed me to work hands-on with hundreds of students from around the world, where I got to learn more about their culture.
Last, I got to attend many roundtables and fireside chats held at FIU. My professor from my Comparative European Politics class held a roundtable including two representatives from the EU, where they discussed the Aachen Treaty. This event, pictured on the right, broadened my global knowledge.
Teamwork
I participated in the FIU Marching Band for 2 years. This was a valuable experience as it taught me many skills, like how to work well together with others. I performed with over 100 other band members and had to learn how to communicate effectively with them in order to put on a good performance.
I have also had other teamwork experience within my research. I was partnered with a classmate to conduct research on China's influence in Latin America and the Caribbean. I learned how to utilize our strengths to come up with a strong research product. I also learned how to present to an audience with a partner; a valuable skill that I will use in my future career.
Global Learning Courses
ANT 2000 (Fall 2019)
Intro to Anthropology
IDH 3034 (Fall 2021)
Honors Seminar: Music
CJE 3444 (Spring 2022)
Security & Crime Science
IDH 3035 (Spring 2022)
Honors Seminar: Psychedelic Renaissance
DSC 4012 (Summer 2022)
Terrorism and Homeland Security
IDH 3035 (Spring 2023)
Honors Seminar: Quantum Physics in the Narrative
AMH 2020 (Fall 2023)
American History Since 1877
IDH 3034 (Fall 2022)
Honors Seminar: Radical Feminism
My Honors Seminar class of Radical Feminism was one of the most impactful during my whole undergraduate career at FIU. This class changed my outlook on gender and what it means to be a woman. We did a deep-dive into feminism, not only looking at literature from famous feminist authors, like Virginia Woolf, but we also studied female artists from underrepresented disciplines and backgrounds. This included flamenco dance and dancers from Spain and the Roma people, female Yoruba dancers in Cuba, and female authors from Africa. This made me understand what feminism and femininity means around the world.
One of the assignments from this class which highlighted my global learning was identifying misogynistic cultural practices and their representation in art. I chose to focus on Roma culture and used Belen Maya's dance piece, Romnia, for my performance art piece. I have attatched this assignment for viewing below:
Working with Global First Year
My senior year, I became a Global Resident Assistant (GRA) for the Global First Year Program at FIU. This program is for first-year international students studying here at FIU. I wanted to become a GRA because I love learning about different cultures and meeting people from around the world, so I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to increase my global awareness.
As a GRA, I assist the Global First Year Students with housing and create fun events catered to them. I make sure to highlight different cultural celebrations to represent their countries and make them feel welcomed. Some events I have held or assisted with are Valentine's Day, Easter, Black History Month, Halloween, and Hispanic Heritage Month.
Through this program I also had international roommates, which taught me a lot about other cultures. My roommates were from Central Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America, and I was exposed first-hand to different languages, foods, and religions that I had little familiarity with before hand. I made sure to share some foods from my culture with them, including Italian and American foods, and I got to try some foods from their countries. It was a great learning experience and one of my favorite jobs!
Fellowship
During my senior year, I got accepted into a prestigious Fellowship program through the Jack Gordon Institute for Public Policy. Through this program, I was able to interact with high-ranking government officials and attend roundtables concerning topics like foreign policy, national security, and international relations.
Our Cohort took a networking trip to Washington, D.C. during Spring Break of 2024. We got to explore the different agencies and see our public servants in action. This photo was taken after a meeting with representatives from the National Security Council at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.
Chinese Influence in Latin America: A Threat to National Security
This is one of the research products I created during my Fellowship. It is a map created with ArcGIS Online showcasing Chinese-affiliated mines that exist in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) and total investment amounts. I presented it at the Undergraduate Research Conference at FIU, at the FIU in DC offices, and to US Southern Command.
For this research topic, I studied China's growing influence in LAC, specifically noting their near-monopoly of critical mineral mining operations in the area. I felt that this topic was important as it holds great implications to US national security.
The map is interactive, and the viewer is able to click on the different points on the map to view information on the mine. The project is ongoing and available for anyone to use as a resource via ArcGIS online.
Reflecting on my Global Learning Experience
Prior to coming to FIU, I did not know nearly as much about global awareness perspective, and engagement as I do now. I am an out-of-state student so I did not experience the beautiful blend of cultures that makes up Miami beforehand. FIU is truly international in its nature, and I experienced this is many ways.
My global awareness grew through my participation in my Global Learning courses. I have completed a total of 8 courses, and in each I learned something new about the world we live in. My four honors courses taught me about the different cultural and global experiences from examining literature, art, music, and nearly every other artistic or scientific medium. My American History course taught me about American issues, trends, and systems from 1877. Intro to Anthropology taught me about the evolution of humans along with the culture and systems that stemmed from different civilizations around the world. Security and Crime Science and Homeland Security and Terrorism taught me global awareness through the lens of national security.
My research, attendance in roundtables/fireside chats, and participation in the fellowship broadened my global perspective. The global awareness I learned provided me with a deeper understanding as to the reasoning behind policy and international relations related issues. My research on Latin America made me realize that LAC countries trust the military and the church the most out of all institutions because of their cultural beliefs (this was from the TTR: Safeguarding Democracies and Rebuilding Institutional Trust: Latin America).
The EU Roundtable I mentioned above made me realize that many EU and other countries base policy on their country's beliefs, like Germany's stance on nuclear energy. For example, Chernobyl and other nuclear incidents have had a devastating impact on Germany and have influenced policy. There was a period where the food sources were contaminated with radioactive substances and as a result, Germans could not eat any mushrooms grown. Their history with nuclear energy is a great motivator for their stance on this global issue.
My different positions at FIU allowed me to become more globally engaged. As a Global Resident Assistant, I worked first hand with students from around the world and provided mentorship and guidance. In return, I learned so much more about the different cultures and way of life of those abroad. I was able to understand any issues they were having, whether it be intercultural or local. I remember a specific time when the Muslim students were having issues with the food; a lot of the food prepared on campus contained Pork or was haram for them to consume. To fix this, I made sure to advocate for them and have Muslim-friendly food options at all my events, as well as provided them with places on campus that they could eat (Miro's and Al Amanzar have Halal options).
My global learning experiences at FIU have shaped my skills and knowledge for the better. Through my participation in global learning activities, I not only gained global awareness, perspective, and engagement, but I also improved my leadership, mentorship, and teamwork skills. Now that I am graduating, I will act as a global citizen by continuing to interact with the local community, visit different countries and learn about their culutre, and learn new languages through the language programs provided by my prospective career path. In all, I am deeply grateful for my global learning experience at FIU.
