Intercultural understanding and team building skills are just some of the many things students that are attending University of Michigan-Flint’s Intercultural Leadership Seminar will experience. The Intercultural Leadership Seminar, or ILS, is a five-day seminar that will be held during spring break from Feb. 27 through March 2 at Butzel Conference Center in Ortonville, Michigan.

Malin Clark, program coordinator for the International Center, will also be a facilitator at the seminar. Clark said that this is the second year that UM-Flint is holding its own ILS exclusively for UM-Flint students. In previous years only a small amount of UM-Flint students were selected to go to the semi-nar that was sponsored by UM-Ann Arbor.

“So 2011 was the first seminar that we had as UM-Flint and this year we’re looking forward to the second time,” Clark said.

Students were able to begin applying for the seminar in the Fall 2011 semester with a priority deadline set in mid-December 2011. Clark said that approximately 30 students were selected and that selection was purposely diverse.

“I want to mention that the seminar deliberately sets the group up so we have a diverse group of people,” Clark said. “And half of them, I would say about 50 percent are international students and 50 percent are American students just so they get the whole perspective in culture and diversity and backgrounds.”

Clark also said that all of the spots for ILS 2012 were currently filled, but students that still had interest to attend may be able to if another accepted student were to drop out.

During the five days, students will participate in

workshops and discussions and listen to guest speakers regarding topics such as intercultural leadership skills and communication. Facilitators include UM-Flint students, faculty and staff members with lead facilitator being Mary Jo Sekelsky, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs. Other facilitators include Clark, Daniel Adams, director of the International Center, Riddhi Mehta, a graduate student and past participant, and Felipe Andres, an undergraduate student as well as a past participant.

Guest facilitators include Rudie Altamirano, director of international student and scholar services at the University of Pennsylvania, and Amer Ahmed, associate director of the Office of Multi-Ethnic Student Affairs at UM-Ann Arbor. Guest leaders include Tendaji W. Ganges, executive director and assistant to the chancellor at UM-Flint, and Ghassan M. Saab, owner of Sorensen-Gross, Inc.

“The way the workshops were conducted, they’re very, very focused on how easy it can actually be to break these barriers between people because we all are working in a very globally diverse workplace today or even in your school or anywhere,” Mehta, who is pursuing her MBA in international business and marketing said.

Jenee Price, a senior Spanish major, is also a past ILS participant. Price, who has a Japanese language background, shared her experience.

“Actually there was one girl from Japan that was there and it was interesting because she and I and one of the Korean girls actually had a conversation about the English language,” Price said. “Which was cool, because I realized how similar Korean was in a sense to English, but then again I see the similarity between Spanish and Japanese…”

She also advised students to come with an open mind and not have conversations based on stereotypes.

“It is a very nice seminar and the students who apply, they do all have an interest in learning about other cultures and about other people and it does lead to very interesting conversations, fun conversations, sometimes hard conversations,” Clark said. “It’s just a mixture of emotions and in the end they all come together and have a great time.”

Mehta said she developed a realization of how similar people are and that it doesn’t matter what one’s background is.

“I feel that no matter how we’ve been brought up, what language, what food you eat, where you’re from, at the end of the day we are all the same people. And that is what is so amazing – to see how we connect – so there should be no fears. Just go there as if you’re going to spend five days with friends and you will see how if you go with an open mind how beautiful you come out,” Mehta said. “This is something I feel everyone should have experienced once in their college life.”

Clark said that those interested in the 2013 seminar can begin applying in November 2012. For more information regarding ILS or other International Center services and events contact Malin Clark at malinc@umflint.edu or visit the International Center on the second floor of the UCEN.

Brittney can be reached at brittnwa@umflint.edu