Meet the New Director of Intercultural Life
“Always understand before you want to be understood.” “Always make people feel they are welcome to your world.”
Growing up in an Indian family in Singapore, Raj Sethuraju heard these phrases constantly from his father, and learned those values by heart. Now, as Carleton’s new director of the Office of Intercultural Life, Sethuraju has brought to the College his interest in creating dialogues and enhancing diversity.
“Always understand before you want to be understood.” “Always make people feel they are welcome to your world.”
Growing up in an Indian family in Singapore, Raj Sethuraju heard these phrases constantly from his father, and learned those values by heart. Now, as Carleton’s new director of the Office of Intercultural Life, Sethuraju has brought to the College his interest in creating dialogues and enhancing diversity.“The mission of the Office of Intercultural Life is to strengthen the presence of minority students on campus,” says Sethuraju, who has lived in the United States for 16 years and has a master’s in counseling and a Ph.D. in sociology. “We need to create a campus climate that works toward building bridges that will help us learn from one another.”
A community built on understanding will be a stronger place for students of color, says Sethuraju. “What we need for this community is not to transcend different cultures. We don’t want people to lose their own identities,” he explains. “We want people to be proud of their own cultural heritage and have the faith that other people will understand it.”
Although Carleton’s population of minority students has been growing steadily, not all members of the campus community have fully embraced the idea of diversity, says Sethuraju. Despite the popularity of various cultural performances and food events, he adds, when students leave such events they tend to return to their “comfort zones.” “If we limit our understanding of other cultures to their food and performances, we’re missing a lot of wisdom we could learn from,” he says.
To increase this kind of cross-cultural understanding, Sethuraju has begun to collaborate with other offices on campus, including the Office of International Student Programs, the Gender and Sexuality Center and the Career Center. “In the end,” says Sethuraju, “a community built upon understanding will benefit us all.”