Student Reflection: Drew Miller

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04/29/2016 Added

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Drew Miller speaks at the College of Arts and Sciences Celebration of Excellence, April 22, 2016. Miller is a senior majoring in Global Studies and Political Science.

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[00:00:02.645]First of all, I'd like to thank
[00:00:03.914]the College of Arts and Sciences, the dean,
[00:00:05.752]and all the professors that have brought me this far.
[00:00:09.191]I was asked to reflect upon my four years
[00:00:11.491]at the University of Nebraska Lincoln,
[00:00:13.005]in two to three minutes.
[00:00:15.047]Even in my final days,
[00:00:16.070]the College of Arts and Science's expectations
[00:00:18.214]are still incredibly lofty
[00:00:19.355](audience laughs)
[00:00:20.834]and as they should be.
[00:00:23.401]As it seems today only one individual in 100
[00:00:26.471]around the globe goes on past secondary education,
[00:00:29.374]such a statistic ought to push students
[00:00:30.598]to value and eagerly sprint
[00:00:32.814]towards a better understanding of the world around them.
[00:00:36.413]And that is truly happening
[00:00:37.435]at the University of Nebraska Lincoln.
[00:00:39.029]Just take a look at campus 9:28 am on a Monday morning,
[00:00:42.617]literally sprinting.
[00:00:45.930]But such an image of the average college student
[00:00:48.862]is portrayed differently in popular media.
[00:00:51.319]College students appear to be naïve, apathetic,
[00:00:53.373]too young, and too glued to social media
[00:00:55.707]to have effective ideas about how to critically think
[00:00:57.968]and solve problems.
[00:00:59.760]I, however, have had a much different experience
[00:01:01.845]alongside my peers at UNL.
[00:01:04.625]Beginning in January 2013,
[00:01:06.140]I started working roughly 30 hours per week
[00:01:08.036]as a refugee case manager
[00:01:10.078]at the Department of Refugee Resettlement
[00:01:11.756]at Catholic Social Services,
[00:01:13.397]contracted with the State Department,
[00:01:14.957]where we resettled roughly 60 to 70 families
[00:01:17.879]from countries such as Iraq, Burma, and Sudan
[00:01:20.989]every single year.
[00:01:22.214]As a political science and global studies major,
[00:01:24.584]I was able to synthesize what I was learning
[00:01:26.303]in my field of work along with my classroom material
[00:01:30.636]providing me with a well-rounded educational experience.
[00:01:33.538]I immediately became interested in security studies
[00:01:36.535]international politics, state building,
[00:01:38.714]but most importantly, how I could some day
[00:01:40.689]play a role in addressing international conflicts
[00:01:42.778]and peace building.
[00:01:44.261]But what was most fascinating was the amount of students
[00:01:46.308]beginning to approach me after class
[00:01:47.859]looking for opportunities to donate time
[00:01:50.675]out of their busy schedules to spend a few hours each week
[00:01:52.632]with individuals who speak little English
[00:01:54.808]and are of an entirely different cultural background.
[00:01:58.127]And so, in 2013, I started a campus-based initiative
[00:02:00.706]called Lincoln Friends of Refugees,
[00:02:02.465]a program that aims to create
[00:02:04.015]mutually beneficial relationships
[00:02:05.401]between new refugee families and college students.
[00:02:08.265]To this day, there are dozens of Arts and Sciences
[00:02:11.891]college students that spend time once a week or more
[00:02:15.639]with families across Lincoln, shaping the way
[00:02:18.385]they not only view the world,
[00:02:19.611]but how they as individuals can actively serve
[00:02:21.581]the community as responsible, proactive, global citizens.
[00:02:26.134]It is this example I point to when measuring
[00:02:27.950]the value of the collegiate experience one may have
[00:02:30.554]at the University of Nebraska Lincoln.
[00:02:32.474]An education ought not be defined by my salary,
[00:02:34.605]nor my GPA, the amount of clubs I joined,
[00:02:37.637]or how many study abroads I participated in,
[00:02:40.083]but should instead be gauged by the kind of learner,
[00:02:42.130]citizen, and neighbor I became.
[00:02:45.078]Standing here today, I am more curious
[00:02:46.508]than ever before in my life,
[00:02:47.817]I'm eager to continue learning, and more importantly,
[00:02:50.147]learning how to learn, an aspect of higher education
[00:02:52.977]that cannot be taught explicitly,
[00:02:54.415]but can only be encouraged
[00:02:56.382]through interdisciplinary opportunities
[00:02:58.506]provided by the institutions like UNL.
[00:03:01.325]So, I'd like to thank the College, my professors.
[00:03:04.043]I wouldn't be the same than I was four years ago,
[00:03:07.477]so thank you.
[00:03:09.225](audience applauds)

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