Selina Noor '22 RGLP Reflection: Culture as a Gateway to Identity

As a first generation American-born citizen, I’ve had the privilege to grow up in an environment where my cross-cultural experiences have shaped me and influenced my perspectives on the things that define me. It’s possible to say that a child raised to enjoy quintessentially Bangladeshi dishes like murgi bhuna, listen to Bruce Springsteen on Sunday night drives, wake up at five in the morning to start prayer during Eid al-Adha, and scream her lungs out while watching her hometown football team, the Kansas City Chiefs, score a touchdown has a diverse outlook on the atmosphere around her. I’ve been blessed to be able to incorporate my two cultures into my daily life such that my identity would be incomplete without them. The perspectives I’ve gained while learning about what it means to be a Bangladeshi American with multicultural interests have enabled me to appreciate others’ diverse backgrounds and try to learn more about the connections different cultures share. RGLP helped me understand how realizing that such connections exist is vital to leadership through a global lens. Respecting and truly valuing the diversity present in this world not only enriches our range of perspectives, but aids us to approach uncomfortable situations and unfavorable circumstances in a meaningful way.