January 192 , 2017 The SEGway News Page 3
January 192 , 2017 The SEGway News Page 3
Dereck Kamwesa loves stories . He loves to hear stories , celebrate them , and perhaps share a few of his own .
Dereck was born in Kenya , and grew up there until moving to Richmond , Indiana at the age of 15 . He explained that this value for story and love for diversity began to grow in him from the start within his family . “ My parents were from two very different tribes — as kids , we were made fun of because we were not full blood in one or the other . There was always something — we talked funny , we were not from that town , and we were also considered ‘ those light-skinned kids ’. It ’ s such a human way — if others cannot offer us anything , then we ’ re always looking for ways to push them aside .” Dereck described this experience as an early exposure to being deemed always as “ the other ”.
While this type of experience is never easy for a child to experience , Dereck is able to see so much beauty in the experience now . “ I grew up with parents who helped us to understand that being different was not deficient . We spoke three different languages at home , and so I had the blessing of being able to communicate fully on both sides .” Because Dereck has an understanding of the value in different perspectives , he looks to each person as someone who can teach him something — he chooses to assume that he does not already know , and wants to learn more .
Dereck came to Indiana at 15 , and moved around the US for a few years until coming to college as a student at Taylor . As a student , he studied abroad in several different places and continued to broaden his scope of und e r s t a n d i n g . “ I loved what Taylor
had to offer , but
Personality Dereck Kamwesa : Working with multicultural students
was also excited about ways we could improve by welcoming world-wide perspectives . The students are the ones who change things ; they are the ones who come t h r o u g h and have h e l p e d to establish t h a t we are better when w e
start t o v a l u e diversity and see from different vantage points ”.
D e r e c k now works as the Enrollment Manager with Multicultural Students at Taylor University . He has worked in this office for 11 years , and loves what he does . In this position , he travels all over the world and gets to do what he values most — hear people ’ s stories . He develops relationships with students and gets to see into their lives and into their culture , then walk with them through the transition as they acclimate to a new way of living in college .
Having experienced world-wide foods for most of his life , Dereck is an avid cook . As he shares his vision for an ideal community , he places
“ The students are the ones who change things ; they are the ones who come through and have helped to establish that we are better when we start to value diversity and see from different vantage points .”
it in a colorful metaphor . “ Community is a place where each individual is valued — I use tossed salad as a visual . There are vegetables , blueberries , arugula , lettuce , and fruit from all walks of life — maybe a little dressing too . The complexity of each piece coming together is what gives it that rich phenomenal taste . You want each piece to be ‘ as-is ’, to love each individual part . If you took anything out , or put it all in a blender , suddenly you wouldn ’ t get that value .”
Dereck encourages each of us to start actually seeing each other , and let our interactions stem from genuine interest in each of our differences .
Join us for an auction , dinner and dancing ! Proceeds of the evening will benefit Family Service Society , Inc . who has cared for the community ' s children and families for nearly a century .
thank you to our Community Partners
Buy Online- www . wedoauctions . net / famservices Contact Iris Brunner ( 765 ) 662-9971 ext103
To learn more about Family Service Society , Inc . visit www . famservices . com