Celeste Thomas, director of EMU\u2019s Multicultural Student Services, worked with graduate student Talibah Aquil during a summer STAR II training. The partners are using STAR materials to develop a fall workshop for African and African-American students on the legacy of slavery.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n<\/div>\n
Celeste Thomas brought a counselor\u2019s insights to her STAR I training, having previously worked with survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. As director of EMU\u2019s Multicultural Student Services, she works with and empowers students of all cultures.<\/p>\n
Thomas was drawn to the organizational focus of her STAR II training, but didn\u2019t have a clear idea of how she might specifically use the training until she connected with former Peace Corps worker Talibah Aquil, who was entering her second year of graduate studies at CJP. The women found a common interest and concern in the sometimes tense relationships between African and African American people.<\/p>\n
\u201cBoth of us had fruitful and hurtful experiences with African people in different contexts, Talibah in her work and me working with students of diverse cultures here in Virginia,\u201d Thomas said. \u201cWe did some soul-searching and had some deep discussions around this disconnect, and decided we needed to take some action because it\u2019s not healthy for any of us. We share a common ancestry, but there is a lot of distrust and misunderstanding that is complicated by today\u2019s political and social environment. We should be supporting each other and drawing strength from each other, but we need to have conversations first.\u201d<\/p>\n
When the partners invite students into discussion groups this fall, Thomas said that STAR materials on understanding and unpacking historic harms will be particularly beneficial. A field trip to Charlottesville or Richmond to further explore issues of the legacy of slavery and white supremacy may culminate the series.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
For some participants, Strategies for Trauma Awareness and Resilience (STAR) I is an \u201centry point,\u201d the first opportunity for an extended conversation about trauma and resilience, how traumagenic events can ... read more about The expanding universe of STAR II<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":40511,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12503,17562,8845,6393,6394,12537,12499],"tags":[],"feature":[17427,17424,17426,17241],"class_list":["post-40510","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cjp","category-digest","category-emu-at-lancaster","category-ma-in-counseling","category-ma-in-education","category-star","category-spi","feature-emu-home-page-feature","feature-featured-graduate","feature-myemu-feature","feature-news-feature"],"yoast_head":"\nThe expanding universe of STAR II - EMU News<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n