Margaret Mead, an American cultural anthropologist, had this to say about diversity “If we are to achieve a richer culture, rich in contrasting values, we must recognize the whole gamut of human potentialities, and so weave a less arbitrary social fabric, one in which each diverse human gift will find a fitting place”. As school, work, and our neighborhoods become increasingly diverse, we must amend our current way of thinking to be considerate of multiple cultures that are now present in our daily lives. As I set out on a quest to observe this diversity, I will evaluate the ethnicity, race, gender, and age of the people within my neighborhood, school, and work. In addition, I will assess my role in these diverse environments as well as the consequences of my observations. I was born and raised in a neighborhood located in Southwest Denver. I was able to walk to elementary school where the students were predominately white. From what I recall, the students all played together, as young children do, without separating into groups based on what race or gender someone was. My school experience changed drastically when I went to middle school. In the 1970s, the state of Colorado decided that even though there was no legal segregation, the racial makeup of the schools was unbalanced, so the controversial policy of busing was implemented. This controversial integration policy would force me to attend schools comprised mostly of African Americans and Hispanic students. During grades eight and nine, I experienced a tremendous division between students primarily due to the lack of understanding and or education with regards to diversity. It was not until the tenth grade that I felt students truly began to understand and accept each other. Unfortunately, forced busing would end at the completion of my sophomore year. I truly believe my experience with diversity at a young age gave me the ability to value, and accept all people regardless of our differences. The diversity that surrounds me in my current environment varies significant from one aspect to another. As I observe my neighborhood, I find a dispersion of predominately white, middle aged families with children in their early teens. However, as I expand my observation to the surrounding community, I immediately notice a change in the racial and ethnic make-up of the people within this environment. Unfortunately, the results reveal that the diversity within the surrounding community is mainly due to a large Hispanic and African American service workforce. As I evaluate diversity at school and work, I find a tremendously diverse

environment. The Auraria campus, as we all know, has a tremendous amount of diversity due to its non-tradition and international student body. Finally, the diversity within my work environment encompasses an enormous distribution of race, ethnicity, gender, and age. Fortunately, my position at the Denver Veterans Hospital gives me the opportunity to be part of a diverse work force that is continually changing. I view diversity as a blessing; a way to learn, a way to grow, and a way to perhaps understand our role within society. I have spent most of my life experiencing traditional cultures of America as well as very complex cultures throughout the world. As an adult, I spent most of my life traveling throughout Europe, the Middle East, and Asia as part of the US Navy’s operational forces. Unfortunately, my travels were more often than not filled with enormous amounts of tension between various cultures. Fortunately, for me, this tension between cultures allowed me to understand diversity and the sensitive nature of our differences. As my career progressed, my interaction with various cultures increased as well. By the end of my twenty three year career, I felt more comfortable living abroad than I do living in my own country. I believe this feeling is the result of other cultures having a better acceptance of diversity. Unfortunately, back here in America, I feel that I am on the outside looking in. What do I mean by this? I see society here in the United States as one that accepts diversity through forced scenarios like work, school. However, at the end of the day, we seem to return to our lives absent of diversity. Although the implications may appear to be negative in nature, I view my observations as a method of understanding my role in society as it pertains to diversity. That is, we must continually reassess ourselves due to complexity of our surroundings. For example, studying diversity in organizations has allowed me to reevaluate diversity within my own life. Just as a company’s success depends on its ability to embrace diversity, we as individuals must understand the success of society as a whole depends on our ability to effectively manage diversity. In addition, these observations play an important role in how I expose and teach my own children about diversity. Diversity reaches far beyond the workforce. Our daily lives depend on the understanding and acceptance of the differences between various cultures. Failure to accept our differences will continue to promote discrimination, stereotypes, and prejudices within society.

Work Cited

"Margaret Mead." Brainyquotes.com 09 Sep 2011 <http//www.brainyquotes/quotes/authors/m/margaret_mead.html>