Name

Rikiya Hatano

Major and Class Standing During Program

Undergraduate Senior, International Agricultural Development Major, International Student

Graduation Year

2024

Virtual or In-Person

In-Person

Program Title, Location, Duration

Global Learning Conference at the International Center on the UC Davis campus

What motivated or led you to participate in your program?

I heard about the Global Learning Conference when I was asked by the Global Learning Hub to share my experiences on the Study Abroad Nepal program. I decided to participate in the conference because I was interested in hearing other people's global stories, learning new perspectives on global experiences, and networking through various workshops and presentations.

What was your experience like in this program? What did you learn? 

Through the conference, I had an opportunity to listen to and learn from the keynote speaker, Aaron Brieno, and also participate in various sessions—including two concurrent sessions, the exhibitor fair, the Career Skills Plenary, and a networking session. I had the chance to talk with professionals and students from different backgrounds and who work in many different fields. Networking with them made me rethink what the important factors are for me when it comes to my career, what values I cherish for my life, what experiences have shaped me, and how I can make use of those experiences for my future career and life.

What was the most challenging part of your program and the most rewarding?

The most challenging part was networking, since it is personally new to me. But I like listening to people's stories and asking questions because I am always curious about stories I have never heard. So, even though networking was a little bit challenging, I enjoyed having conversations with other people at the conference who I met for the first time and learning their values, perspectives and future plans that might be helpful for me when I struggle with life decisions.

What’s one of your most memorable experiences from your program?

One of the most memorable experiences was the first concurrent session I participated in, "Beyond Dichotomies: Understanding our Biases," presented by Randeep Kullar. In the session, there were a number of activities that made me re-realize how naturally and unconsciously I have bias for something based on visual information. In the first activity, we made assumptions about one child in a picture. Every time the presenter changed the picture with the child, my assumption about the child changed. I realized the power of visual information that influences people's interpretations, perceptions, decisions and ways of thinking. 

The second activity was also a memorable and valuable experience for me. In that activity, we needed to find a partner and view two words represented on the screen. Then, without discussion, we needed to tell the partner to go to the side of the room that corresponds with the category the partner fits into. For instance, if the words on the screen show "Male, Female," I need to decide which category my partner fits into without discussion and tell them to go to the side of the room. This activity was conducted with respectful ground rules and it seemed to me like everyone in the room enjoyed the activity, because we rarely experience this type of activity in daily life. Through this activity, I learned that it is really hard to identify who a person is based on visual information without verbal communication. In the activity, I was misidentified as a domestic student and a grad student even though I am an international undergraduate student. That misidentification was really interesting for me because it gave me an opportunity to think about what factors made them think so, what I look like and how I feel after being misidentified.

It is important to have broad and diverse perspectives when initiating communication and conversation with someone new. At the same time, I think that it is important to accept that misidentification does happen and we must try and understand each other, because we have the ability to understand through communication. I think this is really essential when we communicate with people from different countries, work with people who are from completely different backgrounds and even when we travel around the world.

How do you think your program experiences will benefit you in the future?

Thanks to this conference, I was able to talk with many people whom I have not talked with before and broaden my horizons both in terms of my career plans and my life, more generally. Thank you for holding this great conference!

About the Global Learning Hub at UC Davis

As a part of Global Affairs, the Global Learning Hub aims to inspire and advance global curiosity, understanding, and engagement.

Through the Global Learning Hub, every UC Davis student can find global learning opportunities available on campus, in the region, virtually, and internationally. The Hub offers global learning programs, workshops, and resources that enhance all UC Davis students’ academic and career pursuits through four broad areas of opportunities: Community Engagement; Global Skills and Leadership; Internships and Research; and Study Abroad. UC Davis is committed to preparing the next generation of global problem solvers and change makers. As such, we aim to prepare our undergraduate, graduate, and professional students to solve global challenges collaboratively, equitably, and sustainably.