Welcoming the world to Wheaton
The Marshall Center for Intercultural Learning offers programs that allow all students in the Wheaton community to explore their backgrounds, lived identities and shared humanity to gain a better understanding of who they are and who they want to become.
by Raquel Ramos, Dean of the Marshall Center for Intercultural Learning and Parent, Classes of ’18, ’21, and ’23
This summer marks the 20th anniversary of the Multicultural Center, which we now know as the Marshall Center. Things have changed a lot in my time at Wheaton. The Center evolved from a multipurpose, unstaffed space reserved by students for special events and meetings to a fully staffed Center beginning in 2001. In 2005, upon her retirement, our building was named in honor of the late President Dale Rogers Marshall based on her commitment to inclusion and community. She supported the hiring of staff and providing the financial resources for us to be able to grow the space into the Center. We would not be here today without her vision and support.
Students can get involved with the Marshall Center in a variety of ways. We run an Early Arrival Program , just before New Student Orientation. We work closely with the other Centers on campus and their Early Arrival Programs to get students acclimated to campus, introduce them to campus resources, and help them establish a network of peer support. We connect with many students during that time.
The Marshall Center has also been running weekly Intergroup Dialogues for the past 10 years. That is one of our signature programs and one that attracts students every semester. The student-facilitated dialogue groups meet for 10 weeks and come together to dialogue across differences, to practice what it means to listen for understanding and find common points of connection. These are invaluable life skills! We have students who participate and decide to return the next semester and also have students that participate in the facilitation training to become Dialogue Facilitators.
We host heritage month programs designed to enhance campus programming and celebration of cultures; workshops around a variety of social justice topics such as inclusive language; and offer cultural enrichment activities like tickets to plays in the Boston and Providence areas or museum trips. This year, we have hosted a number of sessions to help students talk through, share experiences, process and better understand national events. We’ve been working with students on co-curricular opportunities like our Wheaton Inclusive STEM Excellence initiative to make STEM more accessible to students. We also meet with students and club leaders to collaborate on and co-sponsor programs and events. There are many ways to be involved! All of our programs are well-publicized and are open to all.
I truly believe that we provide a transformational college experience for students. I have seen students attend Early Arrival Programs unsure of themselves, but with the goal of graduating, grow to become student leaders, take advantage of study abroad opportunities, conduct research with a faculty member, end up going on to graduate school, apply for national fellowships and do amazing things with their lives after Wheaton. It is gratifying to see where our alumni are now and the virtual platform has helped current students to connect with them more readily. We have hosted a number of programs that bring students and alumni together. As a parent of three Wheaton students, I am confident that Wheaton was the right choice for their college education. I am proud of the growth I have seen in their time here at Wheaton. They took advantage of study abroad opportunities and internships that were instrumental in helping to solidify future career paths and enrich their college experience. The small class sizes allowed them to work closely with their professors and peers, which helped them to maximize their learning potential and deeply explore their academic interests. The friendships they made through club involvement, leadership opportunities and participation in athletics, will remain with them forever.
I hope that your students will benefit from the Wheaton experience as much as mine have. Here’s wishing you and your student the best as we close out the spring semester!