Black History Month

[Disclaimer: The ideas, opinions and comments of this podcast do not represent the viewpoints of Middlebury Institute of International Studies-Monterey or Student Council and are solely the opinions of the individuals who participated in the podcast. In addition, the contents of this podcast may contain sensitive topics and explicit language- Thus, listener discretion is advised.]

In 1976, President Gerald Ford decreed Black History Month to be nationally observed .

 

We can seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black

          Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.”

 

With this in mind, among many other things, the producers here at MIIS radio decided to launch a multi-episode podcast with a focus on Black history. After lengthy but productive discussions we realized there were several important ideas driving the the vision of this podcast.

  1. Black history is American history
  2. Black history should not be restricted to one month in of the year. Neither should Black issues, Black accomplishments, or Black advocacy .

We then decided that this discussion should span beyond the one month of February. And so, on a rainy day at the end of February, we sat down with our first panel, that comprised of a range of your peers & colleagues here at MIIS, to share their insight, experiences and stories about black identity at MIIS, in the community, in the United States and abroad. Our conversation covered history, its impact on the present, and our hopes for what the future might look like.

Tune in here! https://soundcloud.com/miisradio/podcast-episode-2-bhm

 

Have a listen & , share your thoughts with us in the comments section below.

We hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed being part of it.

Thanks for tuning in.

 

MIIS Radio Team

Gabe S., Susan W., & Radwa W.

MIIS’d you in action: Davos Competition Winner

As you walk around the MIIS campus, you realize it doesn’t take a lot of steps to get to your classes. What’s more you tend to bump into your classmates as you cross Van Buren or strike up a conversation with professors as you queue up for the lunch line at Samson. If you’re lucky you get to sit down and talk a few times a week, but it’s probably impossible to get to know everyone.

So the day-to-day grind becomes a bit of a mindless routine for everyone. We walk to our classes, we wave hello to our friends and walk past familiar faces…

It was one afternoon as I entered the library this scenario popped into my mind.

“I’ve walked past that person about five times today…wonder what’s his story…”

That’s when it dawned on me, sometimes I forget that these familiar faces I see are actual students, actual people. Sometimes I fail to realize everyone at MIIS is here for a reason. Everyone has made the journey here to pursue something, to share their knowledge, and put forth their energy towards projects that can further empower others. MIIS may be a small campus, but it’s bursting with innovative ideas, people who are excited, and passionate to make the world a better place. It’s understandable that we might miss the inspiring stories of our classmates in the hustling of grad school.

MIIS Radio’s new mission is to bring those stories to you so you can get to know these people better, learn from their experiences and action–maybe inspire some action of your own. 

Here’s one that you might have missed–or one about which you may have wanted to learn more. For the second year in a row, a team from MIIS won the MBA Case competition in Davos, Switzerland. Their team’s challenge from the competition sponsor, BNP Paribas:

Develop a new and actionable idea that will enable meaningful investment in the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals while creating new growth opportunities for BNP Paribas CIB division. The case study can be found here.

Sounds an awful lot like a prompt from a policy course…go figure! Here’s the team in all their glory:

We brought these four students together on a sunny day on the second floor of the Digital Learning Commons to share their story. We wanted to get a better understanding of how they got to Davos–a feat in and of itself–and won.

Click here to have a listen on soundcloud

Left to right: Dan Swinyard MBA ‘18, Ameen Beydoun MBA/MAIPD ’18, Arti Dhar MBA ’19.  , Alexandra Cohen MBA/MAIPD ’19,

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoy the podcast? We’d love to hear your thoughts. Comment below!

 

Are you working on an amazing project? We’d love to hear from you! Contact Gabe Sanders gbsanders@miis.edu

Sneak Peak of Episode 1: Davos Competition

Heard of Davos? Could you find it on a map? Wait, what does MIIS have in relation to Switzerland? Here’s a little sneak peak.

The MIIS Team that won the Davos competition

You might have missed this story–or one about which you may have wanted to learn more. For the second year in a row, a team from MIIS won the MBA Case competition in Davos, Switzerland. Their team’s challenge from the competition sponsor, BNP Paribas:

Develop a new and actionable idea that will enable meaningful investment in the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals while creating new growth opportunities for BNP Paribas CIB division. The case study can be found here.

 

Tune in on Friday 3/9/18 for the release of

Episode 1: Miis’d you in action: Davos Competition Winners