Racial Awareness Program (Honors Experience #4)
I had heard about the Racial Awareness Program (RAPP) numerous times during my first year at UC and decided to apply to be in it. RAPP is an organization that brings together students to talk about serious topics concerning race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, equity, equality, and many other topics. Before our first meeting, I was a bit nervous, as I was afraid I would not be as knowledgeable as others in the group and that I would be to shy to talk to a whole group of strangers. Within the first few minutes of the meeting, I was comfortable enough to talk and found that many other new group members did not know a lot about some of the topics we would discussing throughout the year.
RAPP was a wonderful experience because it taught me so much about cultures, people, and the complexities of the intersection of those two groups. RAPP also helped me gain confidence in voicing my thoughts and opinions and helped me to become a better listener. Though I was intimidated, at first, by some of the topics we discussed every week, I realized that RAPP was always a safe and welcoming environment where these topics could be discussed. By the end of RAPP, the whole group had become very close and we were sad to know we would not be seeing each other for three hours every other Wednesday. I was afraid that outside of RAPP I would never have such deep discussions on such heavy topics again.
Coming home after the school year ended, I began to see some of my friends from high school again and I realized that my skills from RAPP really did translate to the world outside of RAPP. I was able to have heavy conversations on controversial topics with my friends and, after the discussions, everyone was better informed on the issue or topic and we all learned a little more about each other. RAPP truly allowed me to share my thoughts on something controversial rather than shy away from it or agree with something because the majority of those close to me do.
I am excited to further my experiences with RAPP by becoming even more involved on campus and utilizing my skills in other group settings. In addition, I will be doing more activities with those in the RAPP community and will be constantly telling people that they need to join RAPP. RAPP is an experience that taught me so much about others and about myself, and I cannot believe that how much I have changed since I started RAPP. If there is one honors experience I would recommend to others on campus, it would definitely be the Racial Awareness Program. RAPP provides its members with the basic skills to facilitate thoughtful and empowering discussions on difficult and controversial topics, which is a skill I think every honors student could utilize.
RAPP was a wonderful experience because it taught me so much about cultures, people, and the complexities of the intersection of those two groups. RAPP also helped me gain confidence in voicing my thoughts and opinions and helped me to become a better listener. Though I was intimidated, at first, by some of the topics we discussed every week, I realized that RAPP was always a safe and welcoming environment where these topics could be discussed. By the end of RAPP, the whole group had become very close and we were sad to know we would not be seeing each other for three hours every other Wednesday. I was afraid that outside of RAPP I would never have such deep discussions on such heavy topics again.
Coming home after the school year ended, I began to see some of my friends from high school again and I realized that my skills from RAPP really did translate to the world outside of RAPP. I was able to have heavy conversations on controversial topics with my friends and, after the discussions, everyone was better informed on the issue or topic and we all learned a little more about each other. RAPP truly allowed me to share my thoughts on something controversial rather than shy away from it or agree with something because the majority of those close to me do.
I am excited to further my experiences with RAPP by becoming even more involved on campus and utilizing my skills in other group settings. In addition, I will be doing more activities with those in the RAPP community and will be constantly telling people that they need to join RAPP. RAPP is an experience that taught me so much about others and about myself, and I cannot believe that how much I have changed since I started RAPP. If there is one honors experience I would recommend to others on campus, it would definitely be the Racial Awareness Program. RAPP provides its members with the basic skills to facilitate thoughtful and empowering discussions on difficult and controversial topics, which is a skill I think every honors student could utilize.