Conceptualizing Diversity: Undergraduate Student Involvement in Multicultural Student Organizations and Their Perceptions of Diversity

Vincent Frank Andrew Buonocore Jr., University of South Carolina

Abstract

In an increasingly globalized world, students graduating from college are expected to be able to communicate and work with people who are different from themselves. The skills needed to compete in this global workforce are not easily learned in a class or seminar, but obtained through experience and interactions with diversity. Involvement in multicultural student organizations or identity-based groups affords students the opportunity to explore their identity and gain experience in understanding diversity. With the growing demand for multiculturally competent graduates increasing, this study seeks to understand students' experiences in multicultural student organizations at the University of South Carolina.