~Facilitators Needed~

Are you looking for a way to develop yourself personally and professionally while also educating and shaping communities at Ohio State? Then, become a CommonGround facilitator!



What is CommonGround?
Common Ground is an undergraduate and graduate student led, peer-to-peer workshop program that facilitates community development workshops on social identity and social justice in residence halls, student organizations, classrooms, and other venues.

These short, request-based workshops strive to promote and enhance awareness around social identity development and group dynamics, prejudice, stereotyping, power, privilege, and oppression. Through these workshops, both graduate and undergraduate students develop as facilitators while building a community of social justice educators on campus.

Why become a facilitator?
In addition to having an opportunity to shape the Ohio State community and positively effect the climate for diversity on campus, becoming a CommonGround facilitator is a tangible way to illustrate to future graduate programs or employers that you have the skills required to be successful in today's global marketplace. By being a CommonGround facilitator, you will:

1. Be certified as a diversity workshop facilitator and can note this on your résumé and in interviews.
2. Develop and enhance your training and facilitation skills,
3. Be able to readily demonstrate knowledge concerning issues of diversity and social justice,
4. Facilitate dialogue on diversity and potentially sensitive issues, and
5. Teach individuals and groups skills for diversity, social justice, ally development.

What is the program commitment?
Like any developmental program, the commitment is largely what you put into it, and many will come to this program with a history of sustained commitment to facilitating and being a part of the social justice community on campus. Beyond one's own commitment to building communities committed to diversity and social justice, incoming workshop facilitators are expected to:

1. Attend a new facilitator orientation on Friday, January 29th from 5pm - 8pm,
2. Attend a weekend training retreat from Saturday, January 30th at 8am to Sunday, January 31st at 6pm. (This may be an overnight retreat.),
3. Commit to facilitating 6 hours (about 2-3 workshops) per month, which includes time commitments and energy, and
4. Attend monthly training programs on the first Thursday of every month from 5:30pm - 7:30pm: February 4, March 4, April 1, May 6, and June 3rd.

Anyone interested in becoming a CommonGround facilitator can visit http://mcc.osu.edu/education-and-engagement/commonground/ to obtain the application. The application can then be submitted to Brian Gibson, Graduate Administrative Association for Workshops and Trainings at the Multicultural Center, via email at bgibson@studentlife.osu.edu.