Ashley Lennon

ELED 310.003
April 8, 2014
Community Cultural Event - Burning Compassion and Love for the Resilient
The first community cultural event I attended profoundly impacted me. Thus, I had high
expectations of being greatly impacted by the second cultural event I would attend. As the first
cultural event was religious, I had to experience something completely different. Unintentionally,
I put aside all of my own bias so that I could be more receptive to the experience of attending
this community cultural event.
On April 2, 2014, I attended War, Trauma, Resilience, and Recovery, hosted by James
Madison Universitys Center for International Stabilization and Recovery (CISR). The speakers
were Elaine Zook Barge (a representative from Eastern Mennonite Universitys Strategies for
Trauma Awareness and Resilience (STAR)), Cameron Macauley, Jean Claude Nkundwa (a
refugee from Burundi, Africa), and Dr. Anne Stewart (an expert on response to trauma). To
begin, Jean Claude Nkundwa informed the audience of the political tension between the Tutsis
and the Burundi from 1960-1990s and the malicious destruction and violence that was the result.
He also described in detail his connection to the genocides that took place and his experience in
fleeing Burundis instability. After he spoke, the rest of the panel discussion spoke about the
impacts of trauma, response to trauma, and how to overcome traumatic experiences. Elaine Zook
Barge, Dr. Anne Stewart, and Cameron Macauley participated in the discussion panel by sharing
stories of their experiences assisting trauma victims and their findings from research concerning
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trauma. The discussion contributors agreed that the resolution in overcoming trauma was
resilience.
From attending this discussion panel concerning trauma and resilience, I was thoroughly
intrigued by Jean Claude Nkundwas optimism and positive passion despite the violence and
hardship he became victim to. As I want to teach inner city elementary students, I thought of my
future students, who, quite likely, will be victims of violence too. As their teacher, I want to be
their biggest advocator and supporter; I want to be their resilience trainer. Like Jean Claude
Nkundwa, I do not want my future students to be discouraged and limited by the traumatic
experiences they may endure. I want to help hurting students heal and confront what pains them,
so that they may be resilient, optimistic, and passionate advocators for change.
As it relates to this courses subject on diversity, I was able to listen to the experience of
someone who had been victim to a traumatic experience and later became resilient. While I have
not been a victim of a traumatic experience, it is very possible that my future inner-city students
will be victims of a traumatic experience. I must be prepared and ready to support them in every
way possible. I must understand that trauma impacts all aspects of an individual, such as their
physical state and mental state. I must be respectful of them and know a plethora of ways that I
can help, such as learning from Strategies for Trauma Awareness and Resilience (STAR).
Overall, attending this discussion panel made me more compassionate towards the
resilient. I have much greater respect and appreciation for those that have endured traumatic
experiences. I was also fascinated by the many methods and strategies for healing from traumatic
events and the steps to healing. I hope to be a resilience trainer and resource for healing for my
future students.
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