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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Dawn" data-source="post: 1503951" data-attributes="member: 209684">Diversity is about learning from others who are not the same, about dignity and respect for all, and about being open to learning about our differences. I know that for myself that I treat everyone that I serve with dignity and respect, regardless of our differences. For example, I am biracial: my mother is Mexican and my father is Black. I was raised in a community where most of the population was Latino.I grew up in the Latino community for over twenty five years so eventually I learned how to speak Spanish fluently. This community is part of my heritage  that is important to me as a Black woman. Because I want to do research in the area of Latino community, I want to be able to help improve the lives of the Latinos. My cultural background has provided me with the capacity to work effectively with individuals from diverse backgrounds.When I moved to California, my viewpoints were broadened by other cultures and I was more open to learning from people of other cultures.I started working at a residential treatment facility as a counselor and one of my friends I met while working there was from the Philippines. To me, learning about her culture was interesting because I even though our language spoken was different most of the words in the Philipine language sounded the same in Spanish. I embraced this moment that I got to appreciate and respect our differences. Diversity can make working with people from diverse backgrounds a dynamic environment to be a part of. I learned during working with individuals of different backgrounds that we all just have different ways of looking at things, views, and different ways of solving problems. On the one hand, we need to be open to learning from people of different cultures to understand that diversity can enrich our lives. So, I could never imagine working in a place where everyone did and liked the same things. I believe that diversity opens the doors to learning. I am culturally competent in my language ability to relate to individuals who speak Spanish. Because I can meet their needs and assist them in however they need help whether it is with helping them overcome ther problems or emotionally. Thus, it is important to have some knowledge and awareness of individuals culture and background to have some positive affect on helping them cope better with their problems.</blockquote>

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