Joshua+E.

Phase I: Who Am I? What's My Place?

I think MY identity is made of a few very interrelated facets, mostly made of **relationships**: relationships in and among my family, my friends, my colleagues and mentors, and my students. I think my **past** plays a HUGE role in who I am today, especially since my actions, thoughts, and perceptions have constantly shaped by something I've experienced before. And then I think of all of the **places** that have impacted me: schools, homes, restaurants and social locations here in Raleigh, cities I've visited around the U.S as well as dramatically different cities I've traveled to in other countries, and all of the places I've visited in those cities... I think these are the main pillars of who I am: my relationships, my past experiences, and the places I associate with those. (I think this is true for all of us, but it takes a lot of living to start recognizing it.) I really appreciate what Dr. Beal mentioned in her Phase I introduction about the interconnections among our "worlds." As we grow up, the facets of our identity become more intertwined through our relationships and experiences, and we associate our memories with the places that hosted and shaped them. These connections become increasingly important as they represent the moments that have the greatest impact on who we are growing to become: accomplishments and goals; tradgedies, fears, and frustrations. **The best and the worst of who we are is always tied up in the relationships, experiences, and places that gave us those feelings.** I think MY sense of place is defined by similarities and differences to what I perceive as "American" (which is often not a good thing to be, in my view). So when I travel, I specifically choose places that can (a) teach me more about my own home, and (b) show me something I've never seen before, completely different than the perspective I've been so comfortable in for so long. I've visited the rural, natural, wild Amazon rainforest in Brazil, and I've visited the chic, crowded, ultracity of Bangkok in Thailand. When I got to visit Cape town, South Africa, I had the unique chance to stay with friends living in the city, and then spend time with other friends living outside the city, in some of the poorest neighborhoods in the country. **I am so thankful for the chance to travel and experience new places and cultures, but I believe that visiting other places is not good enough. If we don't force ourselves to visit non-Western, emerging and developing nations, we will never understand the greater global village we are living in.** I think Americans are so comfortable inside our own "walls" that we not only rarely see what is outside of them, but have little value for what is beyond our regular experiences. I believe that place plays the strongest role in our development of a global perspective, because it is often the subtle change of environment or surroundings that can play the most massive of roles in shaping our awareness of what is new, different, and unique.
 * What __really__ makes up your identity?
 * One relationship that has shaped almost everything about my life is my relationship with my mother.** She raised 3 boys on her own while working 70-hour work weeks in a profession dominated by men. That example has certainly modeled for me not only some interesting views of male-female roles in U.S. culture but also my personal beliefs about faith, equality, family values, and dedication to my career. **An experience that shaped me in an interesting and long-lasting way was a "friend break-up"** that happened between me and some of my (up to that point) closest friends since middle school. A few months before graduating from high school, a conflict between myself and some of my other friends played out over time to mean the end of those friendships; thus I graduated high school with very few meaningful friendships I was invested in maintaining. To a high schooler, this was tragic; even today, I view that event as having the greatest impact on how I define and understand friendships, and the values I place on having close friendships with a few, important people in my life. **A place that still continues to have an incredible impact on my worldview is Bangkok, Thailand.** I spent a summer in the city before graduating from NC State, and experienced a culture and lifestyle unlike anything I had understood. I made an effort to seek out things that were different and uniquely Thai - food, transportation, street vendors, living arrangements, parks, the arts - and in the process met some amazing friends who lent me their view into the life of Thais living in BKK. I was exposed to poverty and wealth that I had never before witnessed. I understood the role of simple cultural elements such as food and greetings in a whole new way. And I learned to watch and see the local culture before trying to insert myself in my surroundings: truly the most valuable experience of my life.
 * What __really__ makes up your sense of place?
 * I love the city I have grown up in...** Recently, I've considered pursuing a graduate degree at universities in other parts of the U.S. and I am nothing less than terrified. I am at home in Raleigh. I am comfortable here. I know Raleigh: I know the streets and highways; I know the restaurants, clubs, shopping centers, and neighborhoods; I know the history and the special events and the seasons and the weather... I LOVE this city, and one of my favorite things to do is show visitors or new residents all of the best Raleigh has to offer. But I also recognize that my limited perspective has an impact on how well I can understand the world around me. **When we change our location - our home - we reinvent part of our identity. Place - building, neighborhood, city, region, state, or nation - plays host of all of the relationships and experiences we maneuver our way through each day.** Those places, no matter how invisible they are in the background, often play a significant role in the way we remember the environment around us... at least it does for me. So the fact that I have only gotten to experience one set of backgrounds, I think, weakens my perspective.

I think our identities shape the way we interact with others all the time - the way we value their input, the way we strive to incorporate someone else's ideas, the way we set aside out own visions to work with different perspectives. **Most often, I feel like working with a group leads to a final product that is much more creative, interesting, and valuable than anything I could have accomplished alone.** I find it interesting to consider the role of place in collaboration. I'm not sure I have a clear idea of how it shapes our interactions in an academic atmosphere, so I am interested to experience that during this project.
 * What roles do your identity and sense of place play when you work with others in a group project?

I enjoy working with others, especially when I get to be a leader, and I enjoy pulling together several different ideas into something new and interesting. **My goal is to give a voice to some of the young people we're working with** - I'm very excited to hear what you have to say!
 * What are the qualities that you bring to the GLIP conversation that will help you make a contribution to your global group?

I think public transportation is seriously lacking in the Raleigh area. **Our local culture is so dependent upon cars and roads that very few of people in this area even consider taking a bus, or walking or riding bikes instead.** I think the available options have improved over the last 2-3 years, and I am excited about the possibility of a public rail network sometime in the future. **I think the growth rate in Raleigh and the environmental realities of human impact and suburban sprawl are scary enough to warrant some real work.** Raleigh has the potential to preserve its remaining natural areas and implement smart growth development strategies in a way that would maintain the great balance between growth and awareness we are working toward. But we have to do something now. And we have to do something big.
 * What is one local problem (where you live) that you believe needs to be addressed? Suggest some steps could you take to try to solve it?
 * Some solutions might include an expansion of local bus routes, a partnership between companies, schools, and public transit to provide low-cost or even free transportation for anyone who chooses to ride buses instead of driving themselves, and some sort of explicit economic benefit for those that choose to ride public transportation instead.** I've wondered if it would be cheaper for local schools to use Raleigh's CAT buses for school transportation rather than their own school bus fleet. If we could work out a reasonable, safe system, schools wouldn't have to fund their own system, public transportation would have the investment and commitment of the large public school population, and we could raise a generation of citizens to think public transportation before personal cars. **Do you think that could that work?**

Awareness of the real **root causes** behind long-term problems. Willingness to listen to **stakeholders** who are invested in whether or not the problem is fixed, or things stay the same as they've always been. Creativity and **innovative thinking**. The Ability to bring together very different viewpoints in a solution that represents, not a lose-lose compromise, but **a win-win synthesis** of sometimes opposing perspectives.
 * Finally, some problems have been around for a long time. What qualities do you think a person must have to step up and try to solve them?
 * Patience**.

**I'm looking forward to working with everyone!**

Phase II: Sense of Place

I think these two pictures best represent my home by showing the role college athletics plays in our community, and our community's reputation. People from all over the country look to the Raleigh area as the center of the ACC - a group of university sports teams that have some of the largest followings in the U.S. These teams also divide us, leading to heated conversations among friends and family when everyone does not agree on who is the best. My thoughts? GO PACK!

Some other great images that represent my home, my city, and my state: 3 important facts about Raleigh: 1. According to Forbes magazine, **Raleigh is the 2nd fastest growing city in the U.S.** As Raleigh continues growing, it will continue to be an important national center for technology, medicine, and education. 2. **Raleigh is home to North Carolina's annual State Fair.** More than 1 million people attend the fair each year, for rides, exhibits, concerts, and most of all, the FOOD! 3. **The Raleigh area is home to huge range of colleges and universities**, including at least 3 major research universities: NC State University (in Raleigh), the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (in Chapel Hill), and Duke University (in Durham).

An organization in the Raleigh area that brings resources to the local people is the **Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina.** Each year, the Food Bank provides resources for 800 partner locations - support programs, food pantries, homeless shelters - to provide some food sources for the 500,000 North Carolinians who struggle with hunger each year. For the last few years, the students of the NC School of Science and Math (in Durham) have set a world record for raising almost 1 million pounds of canned food for the Food Bank. This year they are even partnering up with the Harlem Globetrotters, and a student-led non-profit group called Kicking 4 Hunger to get even more involvement in their **March 3, 2012** food drive. Can you help too!?

Phase III: Identify Local Issue:

What is your local issue?

What can you do to be address the issue?

What is the global impact of your local issue?

Add these thoughts to your Group's Discussion Forum on Local Issues