The University’s campus, encompassing more than 1,500 acres, is bubbling with ethnic and racial diversity. In this environment, students are quickly learning that to compete in today’s increasingly global workforce, requires a more multicultural outlook.

According to the Princeton Review, of 28,931 students, 4 percent are international students from China, Taiwan, Korea, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates; 7 percent are black; 13 percent are Asian; and 6 percent are Hispanic.

The increasing amount of diversity on campus reflects the continuingly changing face of America. As the statistics continue to grow, borders and boundaries begin to fade as people communicate across cultures and countries. Graduates entering the job market confront the challenge of presenting skills beyond a studied field to accommodate this international community.

Erika Ryser, associate director of the Study Abroad Office, said that “Multicultural skills coupled with technical and specialized skills, the marriage of the two, provide a base to become a leader in your field. I don’t know of any industry that doesn’t need people who are multi-culturally aware and bilingual.”

Rania Huntington, University professor of Chinese literature, voiced the advantages of multicultural background of any extent.

“Having multicultural knowledge shows an employer that you are not afraid of a challenge especially if you have studied a language that is less common,” Huntington said. “It shows that you are capable of great perseverance and that you can think outside of what is expected.”

Having a multicultural background has its advantages in any field, but especially in that of education.

According to Mildred Trent, Educational Career Services office director, there is an obvious demand for bilingualism in the school system. “The bilingual, especially Spanish speaking, population continues to increase in this country,” Trent said. “Because of this increase, there is a greater need for bilingual educators. Some school districts in the southwest have even mandated bilingual education.”

According to the American Association for Employment in Education, Inc.’s 2006 Job Search Handbook for Educators, the overall need of bilingual teachers is identified as a pressing shortage. In a scale of 5.00 (that signifying the greatest demand), the need for bilingual teachers rates at 3.98.

Fluency in a non-native language and multicultural skills can be acquired during studying abroad programs. As reported by the University’s study abroad office Web site, close to 25 percent of students choose to study abroad.

“Studying abroad, you’ve experienced being an outsider culturally and linguistically. It can give someone the ability to put themselves in other’s shoes,” Ryser said. “Studying abroad is a tangible way to show a potential employer that, one, you had courage, two, you had wisdom to know that it was a good idea to participate, three you had the skills to succeed, and four you had determination because you stuck with it to get through a difficult situation.”

She added that studying abroad also helps students attain a more profound sense of global awareness.

“Adaptation skills are important. The person that doesn’t know how to interact with people of different backgrounds is at a severe disadvantage. In the work environment, being multi-culturally skilled allows you to quickly think about a problem or situation in different perspectives,” Ryser said.

Nirav patel, senior in business, studied abroad in Barcelona, Spain, and said that studying abroad exposed him to a variety of things that he never would have known before.

“I found out that there is a lot more out there than you realize,” Patel said. “It opens you up and makes you a lot more understanding of different ideas and people.”

And he added that studying abroad has also helped him gain a more competive edge in the real world.

“Picking up another language, especially in the business world, can be an advantage because you’re going to encounter people who don’t necessarily speak English,” Patel said. “It makes you better prepared for whoever you will meet.”