Chi Nguyen, Asst. Social Media Editor–

The first “Identity, Privilege & Allyship” workshop took place Oct. 24 at the Center of Belonging and Inclusion Lounge in Slayter Union. The event was led by two Forward Scholars, Sophia Hwang ‘25 and Klara Thelusma ‘26, 

The workshop introduced students to different terminologies about social identities, the idea of privilege and suggestions on how to be an ally. Moving beyond an informative session, the workshop aimed to be a safe space for students to share personal insights related to their identities.  

Sophia Hwang ‘25, who has been working at the Center for Belonging and Inclusion since her freshman year. She began as a Program Assistant and now works as a Forward Scholar. Hwang expressed her excitement when returning to facilitate workshops. 

“This is the first workshop I facilitated in a very long time. So I’m excited to get back into it,”  said Hwang. “And I’m also excited because we seem to have a lot of people signing up for today’s workshop, which makes me happy that people are looking forward to engaging with the materials.” 

One of her goals was for participants to leave the workshop feeling more comfortable discussing topics related to social identities and understand what they could do with their privilege to support others. 

Workshops are open for all students, faculty and staff on a once a month schedule during the academic year. 

Max Grogan, Associate Director of the Center for Belonging and Inclusion, has been working closely with the Forward Scholars to carry out the workshop. Grogan shared that Forward Scholars went through a formal process of learning the materials related to the topic and practicing with each other on a weekly basis so that they would feel equipped and confident to lead the workshop on their own. The workshop itself is a learning experience for both the facilitators and the participants. 

“Learning can happen in a lot of different ways. We can learn in the classroom. We can learn outside the classroom, for instance, through opportunities with the Center or with our C3 organizations,” said Grogan. “We can also learn in less formal ways as well, such as having conversations with our peers. I hope that students will learn in a combination of three of these ways.” 

This is the first workshop about Belonging and Inclusion that Caliope Mlicki ‘28 participated in. What she found most interesting were the various aspects of social identities that she hadn’t often thought about before. The workshop also provided her with guidance on how to be an ally. 

“You’re always told to be an ally, so having advice on how to do that was really helpful,” said Mlicki. 

The workshop is counted as one of the elective educational sessions for the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity & Antiracism (IDEA) certificate. The certificate was designed to foster the sense of belonging and inclusivity around campus. Students gain comprehensive experience with IDEA topics through participation in educational workshops as well as cultural interactive events. Details on the requirements for the certificate can be found on WhattoDU. 

At the end of the workshop, Hwang and Thelusma stressed that having completed the workshop or certificate does not mean the learning journey has come to an end. They encouraged students to continue educating themselves and working towards allyship to create a more inclusive community at Denison.