AD+PR Student Fosters Residence Hall Community as MRULE-Intercultural Aide
By: Daniela Del Castillo
Finding ways to foster community in the residence halls is a difficult task. However, creative advertising student, Wanny Ng, finds confidence in embracing her role as a Multi-Racial Unity Living Experience-Intercultural Aide.
The MRULE-Intercultural Aide program is a learning experience designed to unite diverse voices, one conversation at a time. Intercultural aides like Ng create safe spaces for residents to engage in round-table discussions on weekly topics they choose.
Spark Curiosity, Ignite Change
Ng’s journey began as a sophomore when she was participating in round-table discussions. There, she connected with the intercultural aides facilitating the discussions and discovered a passion for fostering similar connections for others. Today, she is an intercultural aide herself, giving back to the community from which she benefitted.
“I get to do all these activities, such as facilitating the round-table discussions for other students,” said Ng. “[I want to] bring the same space and environment to other people, like my ICAs did to me.”
Every Tuesday, Ng meets her intercultural aide team in the McDonel Kiva classroom to prepare for the evening’s round-table discussion. She says she believes that people participating and contributing their experiences is the main goal of the discussions. Her most successful round-table discussion was when participants shared personal experiences regarding their friends, or even something that they encountered.
“At the end of the round-table discussion, I had a lot of participants come up to me and tell me that they really like the topic that they really learned a lot because they never heard of [the topic] before,” said Ng. “I think that was one of my most impactful moments that stood out to me.”
Beyond the Classroom
As an intercultural aide, Ng’s academic background builds a strong foundation for her endeavors. For all advertising majors, Introductory Psychology is a core course. She uses the knowledge gained from the class to understand how people think and approaches round-table discussions from their perspectives.
She also has the responsibility of advertising the round-table discussions through graphics and clear messages. Her advertising classes teach her to identify her target audience – in this case, the residents – and tailor her message accordingly.
Beyond crafting messages, Ng thrives on collaboration, a skill essential in both her intercultural aide role and the advertising industry.
“Working in teams is definitely crucial in this role, and I feel like that applies to the advertising industry, you never do anything alone,” said Ng. “You share some sort of responsibility with other people, you work together to achieve the greater common goal.”
As an MRULE-intercultural aide, Ng has continued to strengthen her advertising creative skills while strengthening the Spartan community, an experience she will treasure as she furthers her career journey.
To learn more about the MRULE-ICA program and to get involved, visit https://mosaic.msu.edu/mruleICA-program/.