In this episode, Emma and Cadie are joined by Dominick Wormley to discuss the Global Affairs club!
EMMA: Hello, welcome to CHSS Connection, a podcast where we interview different students about all things CHSS, from academics to careers to everything in between. This is a student success podcast for CHSS students by CHSS students. However, if you're not a CHSS student, welcome! We're glad you're here. I'm Emma Howard. CADIE: I'm Cadie Junker! BOTH: And we're your hosts! CADIE: In this episode, we're talking with a senior global affairs major, and he's here to tell us all about the GLOA Club. Please welcome to the podcast, Dominick Wormley. Dominick, thank you so much for joining us. How are you doing today? DOMINICK: Doing good. How are you guys doing today? EMMA: Doing well. We're happy to have you here. DOMINICK: I'm happy to be here. CADIE: Just got out of the undergraduate research symposium. Shameless plug, if you're listening to this in the future, check it out. EMMA: I saw that you won something. CADIE: I did. I won the esteemed researcher award. EMMA: Okay. CADIE: I think is what it's called. I don't know. I kind of like, not blacked out because that sounds real dramatic, but I just kind of was like, “Oh, okay!” I did not expect to win, but thanks guys. EMMA: I believe it. CADIE: Okay. We are going to go ahead and get into the interview with our very first question being, can you tell us a little bit about your path to becoming a GLOA major? DOMINICK: So, I transferred here to Mason in 2024, and at my community college, I did this program called Scholars of Global Distinction. It was a program about international learning and education. And so that really sparked my interest about learning about the world. And so when I came to Mason, I was looking for a German major, and we don't have German majors here at Mason. So I set up for the next best thing, which was Global Affairs, which is something I kind of fell in love with at my time here at Mason, learning all about the different parts of the world and how they all come together and how we all affect each other with our actions. EMMA: Where did you transfer from? DOMINICK: So, I came from Wayne community college in Goldsboro, North Carolina. It's like a small military town. So yeah. EMMA: Oh, wow. Well, that perfectly leads into my next question of why'd you come to Mason? Why'd you choose Mason? DOMIMICK: So, I have originally really wanted to go to UNC Chapel Hill. That was like my top choice to transfer. And then I came up here to visit my aunt because she lives up here and we toured Mason and I fell in love with the campus and I had a really good tour guide and that kind of led me to meet a tour guide at Mason. So that's kind of why I picked Mason, because I felt like it's a place I can belong at and call home. EMMA: That's wonderful to hear. CADIE: Absolutely. Now, this is indeed the resource episode and we're here to talk about the GLOA Club. So my very first question about this topic for you is what is the GLOA Club and when and where do you guys meet? DOMINICK: So the GLOA Club is a club for all global affairs majors here on campus. It's also for international politics. It's for anyone who wants to join. We meet at different locations at different times during each month. I know next month, May 2nd, they're going to Embassy Week and to the Capitol. They tour different embassies and learn more about different cultures. It really depends. They kind of post their schedule online of where they're going to meet at. They do fun craft projects, their own career fairs. There's a really good resource for global students to get connected with other global students and kind of learn more about what our major can do. EMMA: How did you find the club and become involved? DOMINICK: So actually, my friends started the club in their capstone class, and so I knew a lot of them that said, “You should join the club!” And so I joined the club, which was something I was super excited about because I really wanted like a club focusing on our major because a lot of other majors have that, and I thought it would be really cool to join. CADIE: Yeah, absolutely. What sort of events does the GLOA Club put on? DOMINICK: So, one of the first events that they ever did was a career event. So they have like different career people there talking about like employment opportunities, job opportunities, education. So it's really to get us more into the field because the career fairs at Mason didn't offer a lot of things for Global Affairs majors. So I thought it was like a really cool resource to learn more about what I can do after I graduate from Mason and going on to my future education. CADIE: Absolutely. EMMA: It sounds like you guys have a lot of really like neat and opportunistic events that go on. What has been your favorite event that you've gone to? DOMINICK: My favorite event is going to be the career fair again. I really, because I'm graduating and I want to know like all the options I have when I graduate for, job-wise. I really learned a lot about like the upcoming majors, if I want to continue my Master's in Global Affairs, or want to switch to a conflict analysis revolution, or even get like a AI certificate to like further my education and knowledge to help me get jobs in like the United States government, etc., so. CADIE: Is that sort of the end goal is getting a job working for the U.S. government? DOMINICK: No, not quite. I kind of like pivoted during the semester because of one of my classes, we focused on like media consumption, and I really found that aspect of our major very interesting and how it kind of influenced the global world, and so I kind of lead into more like marketing and communications field. CADIE: That's what I like to hear. I'm not biased whatsoever as a communications major with a concentration in public relations. EMMA: And going into accelerated masters. CADIE: And going into, officially, officially going into accelerated masters. I start my grad classes this summer. I'm so excited. By the time you guys are hearing this, I'm in COMM 600 and 650. What event do you want to see the GLOA Club sponsor or put on? DOMINICK: I want to see like a culture potluck where people bring like different foods from their culture so we can kind of learn more about other cultures, or also like taste it and experience it at the same time. I think I have like a really cool and fun idea for an event. I may have to pitch it to my friends after this podcast but that's what I want to see. EMMA: That's a great idea especially considering how diverse and multifaceted our university is. I imagine too that I mean I imagine that GLOA Club is, you know, welcoming of GLOA students, but I imagine you could also get a lot of non-GLOA students come to that as well. DOMINICK: Yeah most definitely. I think food is like a love language for a lot of people and I think it'd be a great way to unite the many different majors and many different cultures here at Mason. EMMA: 100 percent. CADIE: I also think something like that will create a sense of community and home, especially for like international students as well, where like... I don't know. I know in state, in the states, and in certain parts of the states, you just can't get certain ingredients that you can get at your home and in your home country. And so to have an opportunity to kind of bring together and being with people who are all kind of experiencing similar things, I think would be a really unique and enriching experience. EMMA: 100 percent. What also sounds like an enriching experience is your meetings and your events that you have going on. CADIE: Now that's a good segue. EMMA: Yeah, oh I know, thank you. So if someone were to walk in on a random meeting what would they see? DOMINICK: That's a good question. I think friends. I think we all get along really well at the GLOA Club. We all have like similar interests and similar passions within our major, and we all kind of talk about the state of the world and where we kind of want it to go in the future. And so if you kind of walk in on our meetings, you're going to see us having a lot of fun just joking around and just having a good time. CADIE: Yeah. Can I ask how often do you guys meet? DOMINICK: So, it's about once a month they do like a meeting. It's like the middle of the month or like the end of the month they'll do like a meeting for everyone to come and have fun. EMMA: Very nice. CADIE: Very neat. I know it kind of says it in the name, but I still want to ask this question anyways. What sort of student would benefit from joining the club, and how can they get involved? DOMINICK: Well, I would say any student that wants to further their knowledge about the world and learn about the world will benefit from this club. You'll kind of learn about like the different crafts or the different career opportunities, even if you're not a GLOA major, you kind of still explore these international relations-type of jobs. If you come from like Communications or English, they're still needed, and you still get like that diverse perspective and background, which would be beneficial. EMMA: That's great to hear. It's nice you guys talk about like international relations and so many different things, but wow, I'm really trying to force this segue right now. CADIE: It's okay. EMMA: But you, also, I imagine as a club, as an organization, you need to have relations on campus, and so does the GLOA Club partner with any university-wide resources? DOMINICK: That I'm not 100% sure. EMMA: Yeah, no worries. Well, if not, or if you're not sure what university-wide resources do you recommend GLOA students check out? DOMINICK: I will always say the OSCAR office. It is our research area on campus, and they can help fund your research experience and give you like helpful and useful tips to further that project that you're doing. I know a lot of my friends went on like a research expo last week in Richmond to present their research to a lot of people that was funded by the OSCAR office. So if you really want to like, do research and get involved as a GLOA student, there's plenty of opportunities for that. You can always talk to your teachers and faculty members because they're always happy to help you get involved into learning more about our world because that's what they're here for, so. EMMA: That's wonderful. CADIE: I'm curious, not necessarily about GLOA Club, but speaking about research, I am very research-pilled today, guys. EMMA: You are. CADIE: Also, if my voice sounds a little bit different in this episode, I just got out of the three-hour research symposium where I talked to people about my research for three hours. So, my voice might be a little bit more raspy than usual. My bad. Did not think about the implications of that when I scheduled this interview, but that's okay because we're here and we're having a great time. What sort of research have you done, and if you haven't done any what sort of research would you be interested in doing in the future? DOMINICK: So, for my capstone, we did research into illegal gold mining in the Amazon. It was a diplomacy lab from the Department of State, and so they kind of gave us this multi-faceted issue, which was really fun to solve but was also really hard to solve, and I don't think we really had like a permanent solution. It was a lot of like micro policies to kind of change the way people mine in the region or the way we consume gold from that region of the Amazon. But if I were to do like, a research project, I really want to do a research project into the way Disney perpetuates gender stereotypes. CADIE & EMMA: Ooooo. DOMINICK: Because I'm doing like a podcast project on that this semester, and it's really fun, and I really want to dive more deep into it and kind of see like the effects that it had on people growing up and developing in America and outside of America because I know it's different with people from around the world viewing Disney and how that affects like their culture as well. CADIE: Absolutely. EMMA: That's so cool. CADIE: Your gold mining anecdote reminded me of another anecdote that I had. So, this happened while I was still in Spain, and I was taking this class, and one of the projects for this class was to do a research project, and we could do any topic we wanted. So me and my friend, we were placed in the same group, and we were like, “You know what we want to look into? I want to look into the diamond industry and how corrupt it is, right?” And my teacher gave us the feedback that we shouldn't do it because it was too dangerous. So, I'm really glad your teacher let you look into gold mining in the Amazon because it is an important topic. EMMA: Yeah. CADIE: And I was told no. EMMA: That's wild. CADIE: Because it was too dangerous. EMMA: Oh my gosh. DOMINICK: I'm not surprised. There's a lot of corruption going on within these illicit mining activities. CADIE: Well, I mean yes, but I was also just really surprised because we're at the undergraduate level. I mean, maybe because I was in Spain, it hit a little bit closer to home, but I was like.... Anyways, it was just interesting. But that research sounds amazing and very fulfilling and very eye-opening. DOMINICK: Yes. CADIE: Our next question for you. How does the GLOA Club's programming relate to your in-classroom experiences here at Mason? DOMINICK: I think we're always told to be and to be open-minded. And I think when you're in a club, about curiosity, about the world you kind of engage more in that learning behavior and how to sharpen those tools to be better at using it in the workforce. And so, when we go to the Embassy Week, and you see people from all around different cultures, you kind of got to put back your bias and kind of open up to see why they do things and why they behave this way. So I think it really fosters that idea that we should always be open-minded and ready to learn anything new and adopt that into our lifestyle. EMMA: That's amazing. It's always lovely when you have that mindset and that culture promoted, not even just like in the club, but also in your classrooms and by your professors, and that's wonderful to hear. So, in true CHSS Connection fashion, what connections have you made through the GLOA Club? DOMINICK: I would say a lot of teacher and faculty connections because I had different teachers and faculty at that career fair, and I was able to learn more about Carter, and I got cards from like the faculty members there and from the GLOA department to kind of get more involved in GLOA if I were to stay here at Mason for my Master's. And so I thought that was really important because I think teacher connections help you go a long way. Even if you leave Mason, you can always email your teacher and be like I need help with this and they'll be happy to help you with your projects or your research. So I think that was one of the biggest connections, is like professional connections. EMMA: 100% I definitely can understand how those are exciting connections to make because those are ones that you can utilize post-grad and even take on as like mentors, and so that's wonderful. CADIE: I have another question for you. Shocker. The interviewer has questions, but this, we had somebody on the podcast earlier this semester, shout out to Faith, who kind of walked us through the process of running and starting a club firsthand. I'm really curious, since it was your friends who were starting the club, how did that process or what did that process look like to you? DOMINICK: I'm not too sure how their process looked. I kind of know about like they have like these club contracts they kind of have to do with like elections and getting new officers, and how long people have to be in a club to actually run for office. I know a little bit about that, but they didn’t really tell me like all the behind-the-scenes details, which is something I'm curious about too. CADIE: Fair enough. Would you ever be interested in running for an officer position? DOMINICK: Yes, so I do hold like an e-board position for Mason Ambassadors right now, but definitely if I were to be here at Mason longer, I would want to run for like an officer position and kind of leave my own club and people in it. CADIE: Yeah, that'd be super cool. What club, do you, would you want to run? DOMINICK: The German club. I'm learning German now for my major, and I really like, love the language and love exploring how unique and similar it is to the English language, and so I really want to have a club for people to come and experience and learn more about the German culture. CADIE: Yeah. German is just so it's so funny because like I bought into that stereotype that it was a very intimidating language right until I actually went to Germany. Oh, it's, it's so fun! It's so fun! you go up to somebody you go “Hallo!” and that's how they actually say “Hallo!” It's, it's a joy, and it and it brings a, it brings a smile to my face. DOMINICK: Yes, it brings a smile to my face every day. EMMA: Brought a smile to my face. Our final question of Act One, wow, can't believe we're already at the end of Act One, what's your favorite memory involving the club? DOMINICK: I would say our craft day. It was really nice to come and talk to my friends and hang out while I tried to do origami, which I'm not that good at. It's a skill that's developing for years and has not improved ever but it was really nice to talk and catch up, and kind of like talk about this day of the world, and kind of how we feel about it, and kind of like our academic journeys, and kind of the different avenues we're taking to achieve our goals, and so that's like one of my favorite memories with the GLOA club. EMMA: That's amazing! And I think that's a great place to end Act One. We are going to now go to the Bulletin Board where you're going to hear some announcements, and shout-outs, and... CADIE: A correspondent piece, and we're going to hear from Dr. Ashley, who's going to tell us a bunch about global dialogues. Very excited for that. EMMA: All right, we will see you back in Act Two. EMMA: And we are back! We're back for Act Two where we're gonna have some deeper reflection, and, Dominick, and we're gonna ask just more about your more personal life, and experiences here at Mason. DOMINICK: Okay. I’m down for it. CADIE: So our first question I know you had mentioned in act one that the podcast is your capstone. DOMINICK: Yes. CADIE: Very exciting. I would love to know how that experience has been as a podcast host for people who are listening to this, because podcasting is actually a very common final project here, especially for programs that deal a lot with media, and it seems like GLOA does deal a lot with media, which is something that I didn't know about. So yeah, I'm very curious how has that experience been for you? DOMINICK: It's been challenging and fun at the same time. At the start of the semester, teacher was like, “You guys are doing a podcast,” and I'm like, “Oh no, what do I want to do about this.” And I had like a lot of initial ideas, and then my teacher kind of like narrowed it down because it was very broad. It's a seven-to-eight-minute podcast, and so I'm like, “I'm going to do culture homogenization,” and she's like, “That's really broad.” And so I narrowed it down like three days before I interviewed my professor for this podcast, and so I've landed on gender stereotypes perpetuated by Disney animation, and so, which is something I'm really interested in. I've taken two media classes. One focused on film and one focused on animation, and we really talk about Disney kind of heavily in those classes and how they kind of influence people and marketed people with nostalgia and like more hype. And so I really wanted to see like how this affects the way people perceive gender, and I'm specifically focused on gender expectations for male audiences because it was something that I really haven't seen talked about in the media case a lot. It's normally focusing on females, and I kind of found during my education, taking a Grim airy Tale class, is that it also perpetuates those stereotypes towards males as well. They have to be perceived as like strong and brave, but they don't have to be intelligent, and so I.... That's my, like, whole drive for this podcast, and so it's been going good. I just finished my final first draft for my script, and I'm going to like re-edit it tonight and hopefully start recording it because it's due next Monday. I'm down to the wire but I'm really excited about it and hopefully it turns out well. CADIE: Yeah absolutely. Congratulations. That topic honestly sounds fascinating. I've done similar “research” and I say research in quotes. I wrote an essay in high school about how Disney portrays like romantic relationships and how that may affect like the experience of young girls, in particular, growing up watching Disney movies. What do they think love looks like and how might that impact that which, honestly, I might, I might revisit that subject because low-key.... I have so much appreciation for my sophomore year self. That girl could not write a research paper. DOMINICK: So real. CADIE: She didn't know how. Nobody had showed her how, but maybe. Maybe I revisit that. Anyways, getting back on track. I just, I wanted to talk about podcasting because I don't, I don't know if you guys know this, but I I really like podcasting. EMMA: Really? CADIE: Yeah, I know. It's kind of like not a well-known fact about me. EMMA: Wow, and all the months I have known you through this job as podcasters. I didn't know that. CADIE: Yeah, I know. EMMA: Amazing. CADIE: Fun fact. So, how has joining the GLOA Club benefited your experience here at Mason? DOMINICK: I think it connects you with more GLOA students. I had a pretty good community of GLOA students before, but I think since going to this club, I got to interact with a lot more GLOA students, and kind of meet more, and kind of build that network with other GLOA students. Because we're going to be in the same career field in the future, so it's really nice to have those connections, because you never know what you may need down the line in the future, so. CADIE: Absolutely. EMMA: Speaking of connections, how have the connections you've made with the club impacted your experience at Mason? DOMINCK: I think it bettered it. I think a lot of people struggle with community, period. No matter what school you go to, no matter where you at. People struggle with community, and I think it's really nice to have a club dedicated for your major. Because it kind of feels weird doing like a Communications club or something that's not directly tied to your major. So I think when you have a club like that, it's a great way for people to make friends, and to bridge connections that is a little less fearful, because well, we're in the same major, we're going to have the same classes together, so might as well get to know this person besides like venturing off into this new organization all alone so yeah. CADIE: Absolutely. And I think at Mason too we kind of have that reputation of being a commuter school, so clubs and different organizations, you know, it's so wonderful that you've been able to build that community here at Mason with something that, not necessarily as simple as the GLOA club, but you know the GLOA club is something that is very approachable. It's something that students run, they put on. It’s not quite as intimidating as joining, maybe like an honor society, or Greek life, or something of that nature. Like, it's very approachable, and it's great because you're still able to build that community through it. DOMINICK: Yeah. EMMA: It's low stakes but high reward. DOMINICK: Yep exactly. CADIE: Yes. So we've talked about your favorite memory with the GLOAA club but I'm curious ,what is your most valuable memory of the club? DOMINICK: I think being bold and being curious. I think, as like a common theme within our major, is that you're gonna have to be out there and venture off into unknown places, maybe where you're not known, or you don't speak the language. But I think it's to be curious, and to be open, and to be bold, and it's to try new things, no matter like the fear of the bad outcome that may happen, and so I think it's really one of my favorite experiences is to kind of do things I'm not comfortable doing. Maybe like talking to people that I don't know or learning. I end up engaging with someone from like a different culture. It may not be the most comfortable experience, but it's like a valid experience that you need to like thrive in this career field. EMMA: It's really great that you're starting to get that comfort, comfortability with being uncomfortable, and going into new terrain. And that leads into my next question of looking ahead post-grad how has your experience with the GLOA club influenced your plans? DOMINICK: Okay. I think back to career fairs, they teach you a lot about yourself, and your major, and if you go to a career fair, and you find no jobs you like, well, you know you don't like those certain type of jobs. And it kind of narrows down what you do like, and it's like a process of elimination, and so with that career fair, I'm like, “Maybe this is not what exactly what I want.” Even though you imagine it to be something spectacular, you kind of like realize it's not all that for me, and it's completely different for someone else, and it kind of helps you narrow down what you want to do in the future. And so, I kind of learned like maybe I want to focus more on the media route besides getting pulled away from my interest, just to like dive straight into it and kind of find that path I want to go to my life. CADIE: Yeah. Well, it's interesting to me that like media really does affect everything that we do. And it's really cool, you know, you hear media, and the majors that I immediately think of are Film, Comm, and English, and I don't really think of others. But through talking with people in CHSS and even talking with people outside of CHSS, media truly does matter to all of our studies, and I just think it's really cool how we can approach the same topic, even though it's a very wide topic like media, all from our different disciplines, and then take a different level of research or a different outlook from it. DOMINICK: YEAH CADIE: So, another thing that you had mentioned at your meetings a lot is you guys talk about the state of the world and things going on. It's a global affairs club, and not to get political on this podcast, but there are very concerning things happening within the world, and there are very hard things happening within the world. So with that in mind, how has the GLOA club and community helped you process that state of the world? DOMINICK: I think a lot of people feel isolated in the way they feel no matter like what your views are in the state of the world, you think you're the only one experiencing it or feeling it. I think when you have a community of like-minded people who kind of see it from the same way that you see it, it's easier to manage those emotions and navigate it, and they know it's not all doom and gloom as you make it up to be in your head. That it's possible to fix, and possible to solve, and it may take time, but you have a community to help you get there. And it's a really good, like, support this event about how you feel, and so that's kind of how it has helped me. And I know it helps a lot of my other classmates when we discuss those things in class because it really shows that you're not alone in the way you feel, and you have a community you can lean on. EMMA: Exactly. I imagine it must also help that inherently, given the background of the GLOA Club, it's primarily attended by GLOA majors, you're getting to vent and communicate your worries or your concerns with people who are informed or with people who are educated, and know how to conduct diplomatic, calm, discourse around troublesome or concerning events, and then I imagine that could be a very, like, a safe haven of sorts. DOMINICK: Yeah. It works just like that, as you was describing, because we all kind of.... You learn how to like navigate your emotions and that not everything is met as a direct attack towards you. So, if someone says something like this bothers me or that bothers me, it's really a way for them to navigate their emotions and it really shows that you can take a step back, and put your emotions aside, and kind of comfort someone else's emotions, and it kind of helps knit us as a community. Because we all believe in, like, the same goal, but we may have different avenues of approaching it, and so I think the difference and the solidarity helps us grow as a club in a community on campus, because I think the conflicting of ideas kind of helps foster better and new ideas to better the future. CADIE: Yeah, I think like diversity of thought is so essential to the way that the world works, and I'm really appreciative that the GLOA Club creates a space to do that. It's funny because a lot of the themes that you're talking about, it's very similar to like what we're learning about in our intercultural communications class right now. It's very like.... One of the things that we're talking about is just how much culture truly affects every single thing that we do. This past week, we were talking about how it affects our internet personalities. Which I thought was fun as a media person, of course, but also like our sense of time, our sense of commitment, the way we approach relationships, the way that we approach conflict, the way that we approach just talking to somebody else or introducing ourselves to somebody else are all influenced by our culture. And when you have a club like Global Affairs, where it highlights and illuminates so many cultures, and is open to so many cultures, I think that's really great that you're able to have that opportunity to kind of bring to light the intersectionality and the diverse student body of Mason. DOMINICK: You're in the same class I am. CADIE: Yeah, so for context, it's an asynchronous online class, so I didn't realize that we were in the same class until today because you responded to one of my posts, and I was like, “Oh okay!” DOMINICK: I did it early. I'm like, I'm not gonna have any time Thursday, so I just start typing away, and I'm like it's done. CADIE: Yeah, I still need to do-. Our professor makes things, makes the weekly rotation of Friday through Thursday instead of like a Monday to Sunday or like a Sunday to Saturday. EMMA: Interesting. CADIE: Yeah, it is interesting. It's very interesting. But he gives us grades and feedback like immediately on Friday so I can't complain too much. EMMA: Yep. So, you touched on this a little bit in your previous answer, but I think it's well established that global affairs is a program that looks at things from a global scope. Your classes can focus on issues from all over the world. Now with that in mind, how has the GLOA club broadened your mindset when it comes to the field? DOMINICK: I'm gonna say it's okay not to know, and it's okay to make mistakes. I think we kind of walk through this life of perfection that you have to say everything perfectly or know everything perfectly, and I think it kind of shows that we don't have to know everything perfectly and that it's okay to make mistakes. It's very human to make mistakes, but I think it's important to learn from those mistakes and to kind of better the way you see life after those corrections. And so it kind of teaches to not be disrespectful, but to kind of be open and open to change and open to new ideas and customs, because like the way you kind of view life in that moment may not always be correct, and that it should be improved upon. So, I think that's one of the lessons it has taught me, and that there's so many opportunities to grow with GLOA, so. CADIE: Is there a particular aspect of global affairs interculturalness, I don't know if that's the right way to say that, but we'll go with it, intersectionality, things like that, that you want to grow in with GLOA? DOMINICK: Yes, I think I really want to experience more cultures to make me more well-rounded. I did a lot of study abroad because of my major, and I went to Japan for six weeks, and I kind of learned Japanese, and additionally to learning Japanese, I learned a lot of different culture and customs in Japan. But like, you're not supposed to leave your chopsticks in your meal bowl because it's a sign of like a funeral. And so there's like a lot of different things that I didn't know before I stepped into this major that has made me a much more well-rounded person. And I do really want to continue to explore the world. I think it has a lot to teach me and I can learn a lot from people all around the world that I can't necessarily learn in a textbook. And our major really does push like study abroad. We have our teachers lead study abroad to different countries to learn about climate change or culture dysphoria like displacement. And so it kind of teaches us a lot more and we kind of feel we're kind of sheltered where we live at as a country. We're not affected by most things, but I think when you study abroad, you can kind of see the effects of life, positive and negative, from your country. CADIE: I know when I was in Spain, I felt physically closer to a lot of the global issues because America is a very big country and I mean that very literally like we are miles and miles and miles apart. That's also part of the reason why we Americans don't mind long commutes because when you put our country onto a scale of Europe, suddenly our three-hour drives don't look so bad. I told my host family that we would go up and do three-hour drive like day trips, right? That's kind of like the limit you can do for day trips, but I've done three-hour drive day trips before. They're manageable. And he looked at me like I had just told him I had driven eight hours. I had gone all around the country. It's like no, three hours, way too much, way too much. But, you know, studying abroad, you feel the influence of so many other cultures within the place that you're standing. I think even more so when you yourself are more of an outsider. And I say that in quotes, but I do think most people who study abroad have experienced that feeling of being an outsider. And so you're able to experience and see and recognize other cultures more in that place that you are ,because you're so desperate. I don't know if that's the right word, but because you're.... because you're so willing to look for other community. EMMA: Dominick, where else did you study abroad? You mentioned Japan, but you also mentioned that there's other places. DOMINICK: So this winter break, I did a study abroad to London. London's a culture shock, not in the sense of language, but we speak the same language, but our use of words are different from theirs. So, like one of the biggest things when I frequent like some of the pubs is that crisps and chips are like two completely different things. And if you ask for chips after hours, the kitchen's closed. But then if you ask for crisps, you're going to get a bag of chips. And so, it's like the dialogue is very different in the way we use our words to communicate. And so, you speak the same language, but some of the words have different meanings and can be offensive or just like wrong. Asking for an item like we don't have that anymore. So, it was really a culture shock. But then it was really so similar to life here in the US. I was in London, so it was very diverse. It was like a melting pot, and it reminded me a lot of home, which is kind of comforting in the same sense. And so I felt like even though I was in a different country, I would still have like that connection to home with the language wise and seeing the melting pot of people in that country. So it was a great experience. CADIE: Yeah, absolutely. I-. Two things. I was a big fan of Great British Bake Off. I still am. And I remember the first time I watched it, and they were talking about Pudding Week. And I remember the first signature challenge was some sort of, I think it was like what we would call here a molten lava cake. I was so confused because they were talking about these cakes and their final products look nothing like pudding. Because I don't know if there's any English people listening to this, but just so you know, our pudding over here in the States is like a cream. EMMA & DOMINICK: Yeah. CADIE: It's a very sweet cream. It is not cake. There is no wheat in that thing. So seeing that was very, very shocking to me. And that reminded me of your chips and crisp anecdote. The other thing too, London, I think, honestly, people might experience more culture shock there because they're not expecting culture shock. Like I know when I went to Spain, I was very much like, oh, I know it's going to be uncomfortable. I know that like the language is going to be different. The culture is so different. They put us through all this prep work. So that way, when we got out there, the process was as easy as possible. But for London, it's like, oh, the language is still the same. The cultures are relatively similar. They're not the same, but they are relatively similar. So you might not get that same prep work. DOMINICK: No, it's like, oh, it's similar language, similar customs are kind of similar, but you get there. It's like accents are kind of different. So it's hard to understand what people are saying. The uses of your words are different. And so I think it makes communication a tad bit more difficult than what people expect and are prepared for when traveling. CADIE: Yeah. And speaking of studying abroad, other cultures, and experiencing those, how has the GLOA Club contributed to your understanding of other cultures and how they impact Global Affairs? DOMINICK: I think we lead with bias a lot. And so, when you're at these career fairs and you learn about your different opportunities, whether it be education or whether it be job wise, you can go a lot of places with international relations jobs. And so I feel like it teaches you opportunities to grow and to study in new places. So, like there was this program with the Carter School on conflict analysis resolutions in Malta. And I'm like, “Oh, that seems really fun.” And you learn a lot about these opportunities that can kind of shape your perspectives of the world. And it's just to be ready for anything, like your job can take you anywhere. Even though you start here in the States, if you work for the United States government, you can end up doing six months in Japan or France or Germany with our ally countries. And it kind of is to be open and to be ready for that movement and change in your life. And it's not always going to be like a comfortable change or change that you may prefer, but it is going to make you grow into a better person and a more understanding person of the world and the people in it. EMMA: That's lovely to hear. We are beginning to close out, but kind of like some of our last questions. The GLOA Club sounds, frankly, incredible and like a great community with a lot of opportunities and just a wealth of resources and connections. What would you say to listeners who want to get involved either with the GLOA Club or with the GLOA community but are hesitant? DOMINICK: I would say just go for it. Even if you don't want to join the GLOA Club, there's Women in Diplomacy, which a lot of people join and do a lot of great things. I will say don't let fear stop you because fear is there to help you grow. And if you don't take that fearful step, you're not going to grow into the person that you need to be to help the amount of people you want to help or change the lives you want to change. So, I'm going to say don't let the fear stop you. The fear of being an outsider or being new to somewhere. You're always going to be new. You're always going to be an outsider somewhere. So, I say embrace that and use it as an opportunity to learn within yourself and in your community and how you can better others. And then when you are in that position, you can also accept others easier because you know what it's like to be an outsider in a new environment. CADIE: Yeah. I have a bonus question for you. DOMINICK: Okay. CADIE: You have been with the GLOA Club pretty much since its conception. How have you seen it grow and thrive in these past few-? How long has it been since it started? DOMINICK: It's been this semester, so we just got started. CADIE: Okay. Wow. That's very impressive. I did not realize. That's great. I'm so glad that we can have you guys on. EMMA: The way you were talking about it, it sounds like this has been going on for like years and years. So, I'm so excited to see like how it's going to continue to grow. DOMINICK: So, what was the question again? CADIE: How have you seen, through the course of this semester, the club grow? DOMINICK: I think I've seen them really step into like, the leadership roles and the friendly role, inviting new people in, showing kindness and compassion. And I really can't wait to see where they take it in the future for more events. And I know it just started this semester, so they're going to have tons of events. But I really like to see where they'll go and how many more connections they will make with other organizations in the community and partnerships that they will have. CADIE: Absolutely. I think, honestly, a great resource for you guys. I'm curious how much like the international office, if that would be a good partner for you. Like when you mentioned the having the like cultural food potluck, I feel like the international office would be really interested in helping you guys set that up because they do a similar event for International Week. But like there's never enough days in the year to have like cultural food and to like share yourselves and share a piece of your home through food with the community. DOMINICK: Exactly. EMMA: How do you want to see the club grow in the future? DOMINICK: I really want to see it expand into not just activities within our country or our community, but expansive. Maybe host trips, like traveling to different countries to interact, to advocate that application of international engagement and learning, and to navigate through different cultures. Because when you travel to another country, you learn a lot about yourself and what you can handle and a lot about the customs in that country. Because like when I was in Japan, I had to like navigate an airport. I'm like, where is this terminal at? And you had to like use that language skills that you learn to communicate and bridge those cultural gaps. And so, I think that would be a really good place to see them head to in the future, even for like the next four years with the future generation of GLOA students here at Mason. It'd be really cool to see them explore more of the world and learn more about it. CADIE: Absolutely. I mean, here on the Eastern Seaboard, we are so close to so many different countries, especially like Central America, South America. They're very accessible to us. You know, I think people hear of other countries and their mind immediately goes to Europe because of our Western lens and because of our Eurocentric lens. But like the world's a lot bigger than just America and Europe. DOMINICK: It is. CADIE: Go explore. I say that as somebody who has only been to one country outside of America and Europe, but I'm trying to get more. I want to get more. EMMA: As someone who's been to no other countries other than the United States, travel, but do it safely. CADIE: Yes, that too. I see so many like travel influencers online, and they try to hit up every single country in the world. No, no boundaries on like socioeconomic, political reasons. I remember there was this one group of influencers that I followed that went to North Korea. Her husband did on one of the state sanctioned tours and he ended up like going dark and like he didn't necessarily get in trouble. I mean, he's still alive. He's fine. But there was something that happened and he suddenly like went dark and lost communication with her and didn't get back to her when he was supposed to. Because when you're in North Korea, like you can't really access outside world, outside technology, things like that. But I think they had a date that he was supposed to come back from his tour and then he didn't. And like it was really scary. And I remember a lot of people online commenting on it because she was still like she was posting a lot about it. She was, you know, be like, I'm trying really hard not to freak out. But, you know, like this is happening. Just keeping you guys updated. And the comments had very little empathy because of the place that he went to. Like they're like, oh, well, he chose to go to North Korea. He knows that there's dangers about it. And yet, you know, things things do happen there. So I think it's an interesting dichotomy and a much deeper conversation than we have time for today. But the limitations of travel and how we assign morality to countries and to actions based off of culture, I think, is something that fascinates me. DOMINICK: That's really fascinating. I'm like, no matter where you travel to, always be safe and learn kind of the customs and norms before you go to that country. Because what we find as completely normal could be completely disrespectful in another country and can get you in like a lot of trouble. So, like always educate yourself on where you're going. You kind of got to break down those like Eurocentric views or Western views of how society should behave and how it functions. Because not every society functions in the way that we do. So, you kind of got to adapt to their cultures, and their customs, and their norms. And I think it's a beautiful thing because you learn so much more about another country when you do that. And it's kind of putting away your bias and your view of the world to adopt a new one. And I think that's great. CADIE: Yeah. Do you, as somebody who's gone abroad several times, do you have any recommendations for programs that you've used to help learn some of these customs or strategies that you do to help mitigate some of that cultural unawareness? DOMINICK: YouTube. YouTube is so great. You can learn so much from YouTube or Instagram or TikTok. And I feel like we have a really bad negative stigma towards those apps, but you can use them for education purposes and learn about the world. And so, like in Japan, people's like quiet in the train stations on the buses. And I learned that from watching like a YouTube video. And so, there's so much you can learn about the world through media of people from different cultures and different races around the world. And so, if you utilize that before you're traveling, you can learn about some great places to eat and great places to travel to. But also, how to be respectful and mindful in those countries. And so, you don't look like a typical American traveling. CADIE: Right. Because in Japan, too, like tipping culture isn’t a thing. In fact, isn't it-. Please correct me if I'm wrong. Isn't it offensive to tip? DOMINICK: I believe it is. You really don't tip because it's included into like their payment and check already. And so you don't have to tip. And they kind of see it as like a negative thing. So, I was told not to tip when I go to Japan. EMMA: That technique of using social media of YouTube, Instagram, TikTok to kind of inform one's perspective and to prepare and educate oneself on another country in anticipation for traveling. This is like a really, OK, this is like an obscure like connection, but it reminds me of the concept of like an armchair traveler. And that was-. Yep. I'm going with someone with this. I'm pulling this from my Renaissance Travel Literature class in the like during like the peak of like like intercontinental travel and everything like 15th, 16th, 17th century. They there's a lot of travel literature that was coming out and people would go and like write diaries and accounts of different places that they've traveled to from the Middle East to North Africa to the, you know, the Americas. And now a huge disclaimer. These were old white men. Their perspectives were not the most informed or educated or.... CADIE: Nuanced? EMMA: Or nuanced, or morally, or very problematic. But as these travel accounts kept coming out, there was a big culture and a big draw for like armchair travelers, people who would just read these accounts and read about all the different experiences or the language or the culture and mannerisms of other places. And that would be like their way of learning about that was their YouTube in the day. And I don't know that I just made that connection in my brain. CADIE: The original travel influencers. EMMA: Yes! Oh God, white British men. CADIE: Well, OK, there could be something there about the fact that media education and who is saying these messages has largely been limited to people in power. And people who hold the position of power are able to control, you know, the education, what information about this place gets out, what information doesn't get out. The whole like victors tell the story thing can often be used in the wrong connotations, but it is ultimately true. EMMA: Yep. Yep. CADIE: So, Dominick, this has been such a wonderful episode to talk to you about the GLOA Club, and studying abroad, and the culmination of so many different things. We like to give all of our guests here at CHSS Connection the same final question. And that final question is, what advice would you like to give our listeners? DOMINICK: I will say no matter where you're at, enjoy it while it lasts. I think we live too much in the future and not enough in the present. And that we always want the next big thing to come because we think it would bring us gratification and satisfaction within our lives. And I think you find a lot of satisfaction living in the moment and being present in each and every moment that you have, because once that time is gone, you really can't get it back. And I know I spent like my college career like I want to graduate and I want to be free. And then like you come to the end and you realize life's going to be completely different from what you're used to being in school for 21 years, pretty much my whole life. And now it's like you have all this freedom and it's exciting, but it's also sad. And I think it's even sadder when you don't appreciate the time that you had and lived it to the fullest. So I would say go and try that new club or go and try that new restaurant with your friends. Say hi to that person next to you in class. Really make those connections and be present in those moments because you don't get it back. And you can meet really great friends and don't miss out on that. EMMA: Very true. And I think that is a poignant and wonderful way to close out this episode of CHSS Connection. Dominick, is there anyone or anything that you would like to shout out or promote? Where can listeners find you on social media or in CHSS? And what are your post-grad plans? DOMINICK: So, if you want to find me on Instagram, my tag is NickWorm26. My post-grad plans are still in development. I have no clue where I'm going and what direction I'm taking. But I'm here for the ride and it's always exciting to not know something. And I think it's the beauty of life. And sometimes things are planned and sometimes they aren't. And so that's my future, I guess. EMMA: Anything you want to anything or anyone you want to shout out or promote? DOMINICK: I want to thank my wonderful teachers and my wonderful bosses in the admissions office, Olga and James, for guiding me and giving me a lot of direction. Career-wise, academic-wise, and just honestly professional development and public speaking. They have been a great help and everyone should know that. EMMA: Yes. Well, you've been very well spoken throughout this entire episode. CADIE: Absolutely. EMMA: Really incredible. And yeah, well, Dominick, thank you so much for being here. We wish you the best of luck post-grad and everything you're going to do. But yes, Dominick, thank you so much for being here. Listeners, thank you so much for listening to this episode of CHSS Connection. CADIE: Hey, thank you for listening to this episode of CHSS Connection. This podcast is hosted and written by Emma Howard and Cadie Junker. Our audio engineer is Dennis Gabitov. Our supervisor is Eleana Velasco. This podcast is produced by George Mason University's College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Undergraduate Academic Affairs. Special thanks to the Mason Innovation Exchange for their recording studio. The podcast could not happen without them. This project was developed in collaboration with Career Services and the On-Campus Internship Program. If you love the show and want to interact with more of our content, follow us on Instagram @CHSSPod or check out the CHSS website, where there is an ongoing library of our episodes. You can also be a potential guest on our podcast. EMMA: If you enjoyed the show and would like to express your support, there are a few things you can do. You can leave a review wherever you are listening to this podcast. You can help by word of mouth, either by telling someone directly who might be interested in the show or posting about it on social media, tagging @CHSSPod. All these things help support the show and we appreciate anyone who has done it or will do so in the future. Again, thank you for tuning in to this episode. We hope you'll tune in to the next episode where we are joined by Dr. Niklas Hultin for our final faculty spotlight and the final episode of the season. But until then, stay curious. CADIE: Stay creative! BOTH: And stay connected.