Those behind the MOSAIC Center at Frederick Community College believe in bringing people together. In fact, MOSAIC stands for “Making Out Spaces An Inclusive Community.”
This year, the center has gone even further to achieve that goal by implementing daughter clubs, community activities and dinners.
Cody Rosenbarker is the manager of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at FCC. He used to work in the adult education English as a Second Language (ESL) and English assembly virtual program.
“Even when I was a professor working with these students who are from all over the world, I felt the disconnect between the main campus students who were in person for credit classes,” he said.
What drew Rosenbarker to higher education was, “Because I wanted to work with international students, we’re just trying to find new and better ways to make sure that people feel like they belong on this campus,” he said.
According to Rosenbarker, what inspired his vocational journey was his own experience as an exchange student in Western Europe.
“I became an exchange student in Belgium, and so for me, it was the people that acted as a kind of cultural liaisons; that took me under their wing and showed me how to live life,” he said. “They lived theirs but also welcomed me into it, and that made a huge difference for me. So, without that, I wouldn’t have been able to learn the language and be integrated with the culture. My experience would have been very different.”
Rosenbarker said when he came back he thought the exchange students needed some help and that he could make a career out of it.
In Rosenbarker’s aim to make international students feel at home, the MOSAIC center has added many new editions to their events this year. Rosenbarker named fall festivities events such as pumpkin carving for Halloween and a Thanksgiving dinner “to provide them the American tradition.” He said they were being explicit in that they were “bringing international students into it,” which is why the meal was a traditional american holiday meal.
It is important to note that Rosenbarker said he does not handle the coordination and planning of these events by himself.
“I have what is called an event planning guide, and that’s been developed over the past two years, and so for the most part, we work together in kind of setting up the framework of it, and then I give them (MOSAIC student assistant) the reins, and so they have assignments,” he said. “They know the due date and can work in advance. I set milestones, but for the most part they are doing great. They are not necessarily volunteers, though, we have MOSAIC Center student positions.”
Alvina Bracewell, a new student assistant this semester with the Mosiac Center this fall, came up with her own project.
“I’m the one who came up with the Thanksgiving cards for the elderly event,” she said.
According to Bracewell, it is all about teamwork.
“Teamwork, teamwork, teamwork. My sister works with an elderly support program, but they recently changed the main organization, and the new organization is trying to be stingy with their resources,” she said. “I thought of this as a way to support the elderly community using mine and the school’s resources.”
Prior to Bracewell being a MOSAIC Center student assistant, she and her sister still took the initiative.
“Last year was nearly the same thing, except my sister and her co-worker would buy the cards themselves and fill them out. They would just ask for support in buying the cards–this time around they weren’t allowed to. Because I worked here, I just pitched the idea to Cody and we worked on it together,” she said.
The MOSAIC Center has provided Bracewell with more than just vocational motivation.
“At this age, coming here and being able to relate with your peers outside of just the normal small talk, hearing how people perk up when they talk about the struggles they go through on a daily basis, and having someone to talk to is a great experience,” she said.
Like Cody, Bracewell’s passion for diversity, equity, and inclusion stemmed from her own experiences. She said she is originally from Liberia and moved to the U.S. about four years ago and first went to college in Virginia.
“I was considered an international student because of some odd international stigma,” she said. “Americans celebrate Thanksgiving the same way we celebrate New Year’s and Christmas. I have lived here long enough, now, to celebrate it that way. It was different at first, though.”
Obi Celebre claims to be the MOSAIC Center’s mascot.
“I don’t actually work here, but I was here for the entirety of the Cards to Elderly event. This event was for the elderly who don’t necessarily have family,” Celebre said. “There isn’t a lot of support for programs that encourage emotional connection and structures in the elderly facility. So that’s what this event really was for; being able to show up for a part of the community that does not necessarily have a lot of human interaction. I participated by writing two cards, and assisting students.”
The MOSAIC Center started as a way for Celebre to see their friends, but it became something larger as time went on.
“The mosaic center started off as oh, I have some friends in here and it kind of built into enjoying being a pillar of the community,” they said. “I now volunteer with a lot of places, including the Frederick Center; I run their adult D&D (Dungeons and Dragons) group–and it is something I took full charge of.”
According to Celebre, supporting your community is more than just being a good civilian.
“Being able to support a community makes me feel like I am having a direct impact rather than a passive one,” they said.
To learn more about The MOSIAC Center, go to: https://frederick.edu/student-resources/mosaic.aspx.
