Feature Stories
Alumni Group: Cultural Competence, LLC
In 2010, after successful academic careers, three GVSU alumni with a
passion for education and a desire to decrease racial tension started
Cultural Competence, LLC, an organization committed to increasing
awareness of cultural stereotypes. The group is hired to visit schools
and businesses to lead workshops in which these stereotypes are
exposed, addressed, and explored.
Patrick Wilson, ’09 & ’11, started the student organization,
Cultural Links on Understanding Diversity, New Interpretation New
Education (CLOUD NINE) at GVSU. He earned his undergraduate degree in
Health Communications but knew early on that he wanted to work with
diversity awareness in a higher education environment.
To achieve this goal, Wilson enrolled in the College Student
Affairs Leadership (CSAL) program to pursue his master’s in Education.
During and after his tenure in the program, Wilson gained important
experience in the field through several employment opportunities.
“Grand Valley taught me how to be a cultural leader and activist
by providing me with the support to create change,” he said.
First, Wilson worked with the GVSU Disability Support Resources
offices as a learning specialist. In this position, he helped students
gain insight into their own learning style as well as techniques to
help them solve their academic challenges. He also worked as an
academic adviser before and after his finishing his graduate work. It
was during this time that he and fellow alumnus, Darnell Head, ’08
began traveling with Cultural Competence.
Head graduated from GVSU with a degree in Criminal Justice. He
was involved with several student organizations as an undergraduate
but left Michigan after graduation to join Teach for America in
Illinois. He had received strong encouragement from the late Dean
Oliver Wilson, with whom he was incredibly close.
“I chose to teach and become a school leader because I believed
in my ability to impact students’ lives and transform their
possibilities,” he said. “I chose to take the cultural awareness
program that started at GVSU to a national higher education landscape
because of the powerful message of diversity and inclusiveness.”
Head began teaching elementary school in Chicago and also took on
two master’s programs, one in the Art of Teaching program at Dominican
University and the other in Education and School Leadership at
Concordia University. In 2010, he joined Wilson in touring the country
and has since started a doctoral program in higher education leadership.
The third member of the Cultural Competence team is Jessica
Wilson, ’10. While studying accounting at GVSU, Jessica started a
student organization called Minorities Interested in Business through
the Seidman College of Business. She felt something was missing from
Grand Valley’s business program at the time, so she approached her
professors and got all the support she needed to form the student organization.
After graduation, Jessica first became employed as a Tuition
Planner at the American Intercontinental University in Chicago, then
as a full-time accountant at the University of Chicago. After just one
year, she accepted a promotion, became responsible for the
university’s gift and endowment accounting, and began working with
Head and Patrick as the business manager for Cultural Competence, LLC.
She attributes much of her success to the many resources that were
available to her at GVSU.
“My education at Grand Valley gave me the knowledge and
credentials I needed to enter the field of accounting,” she said. “My
experience at Grand Valley gave me what it would take to be successful
in my business career. The career center was always there to help with
many things I needed to help me advance my career.”
In addition to their success with Cultural Competence, Wilson and
Head also work with diversity and education systems in West Michigan
and Illinois. Wilson is the Chair for West Michigan Multicultural
Council and Head is the Director of District and School Partnerships
with Teach for America and works closely with the area’s 165 inner
city schools.
The group also employs a current GVSU student and public and
nonprofit administration major, Danielle Russ, who manages the social
media components of the program.
Together, the team of GVSU alumni works to combat the negative
effects of cultural stereotypes. They will continue to travel the
country with their workshop and they hope to expand globally in the future.
Share this spotlight
Return to the listing of feature stories.