From several countries and backgrounds, a group of UCF students recently faced each other and their cultural differences \u2013 and learned that working together they can create something bigger than themselves: a stress-free community.<\/p>\n
The students from all corners of the globe \u2013 from Spain to South Korea to Libya and beyond \u2013 are all in a UCF English Language Institute communication skills class, and on this day they were part of the first drum-empowerment outreach at the campus\u2019 new Global UCF building.<\/p>\n
Sitting in a circle with a variety of drums, the 10 students were led by Christine Dassow, a student-counseling specialist from the university\u2019s Counseling & Psychological Services. The goals of the exercise, she said, are primarily to familiarize the international students far from home with the UCF counselors in case they ever need them, help relieve any stress the students may have experienced here, and give them more confidence to advocate for themselves on campus.<\/p>\n
When Nicole Ianieri, director of the institute, asked the students if any of them come from cultures that use drums a lot, most of them raised their hands.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo one here today is expected to have any talent or experience,\u201d Dassow told the students before they grabbed either an African \u201ctalking drum,\u201d djembe, versa timbaus, or frame drum. \u201cIt\u2019s about having fun and getting the stress out and feeling better when you leave here.\u201d<\/p>\n
The drum session started slowly as the students pounded out a rhythm and took turns saying their names. Afterward, Dassow introduced new instructions with each round of drumming, sometimes working in call-and-response, sometimes with varying volume, sometimes in syncopation and sometimes not.<\/p>\n
But all of the rounds ended in laughter.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was amazing,\u201d said Mohamed Mohamed, a first-year student from Sudan majoring in cyber information security. \u201cWe need to relax and feel comfortable with people at the same time. I hope we could have this class every week. It\u2019s going to help.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fatemah Tuwainah, another first-year-student from Kuwait majoring in computer engineering, said this was her \u201cfirst time drumming like that together \u2013 with others and freely. I felt positivity and a connection with my classmates.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tuwainah said that even though she\u2019s only been in the United States a month, she has felt the challenges of being away from home and striving to succeed in class.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis did help with the stress,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd it\u2019s a nice change to just listening to lectures.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dassow has long used music in her counseling sessions, but this is the first time she\u2019s taken her drums out of her office to work with a group on campus. She thought this would be a good outreach opportunity for students unfamiliar with UCF\u2019s counseling services.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a universal instrument. And I love that they\u2019re interested in the drums and not shy with them,\u201d she said. \u201cIt feels good to get out that energy and feels good to get out that stress.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the end of the session, she directed the students to do what they wanted on the drums for one minute: \u201cDo whatever you want. It could be a different beat, but we\u2019re all bonded together. You\u2019ll be in rhythm because we\u2019re all in this<\/em> group.\u201d<\/p>\n True to her words, some of them played fast and others played faster. Some slapped the drum head with their palms, others with fists; some hit the center while others grazed the edges. But eventually they settled into a joint rhythm, all of them in unison.<\/p>\n And when Dassow signaled to stop, they erupted in laughter \u2013 all bonded together.<\/p>\n Christine Dassow of the UCF Counseling & Psychological Services office will hold drum-empowerment workshops for other students Oct. 11 and Nov. 8. The one-hour sessions for wellness and stress reduction start at 1 p.m. at 4090 Libra Drive and have a limited number of spaces. Arrive up to 30 minutes before the session to sign up at the front desk. Drums will be provided. <\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"From several countries and backgrounds, a group of UCF students recently faced each other and their cultural differences \u2013 and learned that working together they can create something bigger than themselves: a stress-free community. The students from all corners of the globe \u2013 from Spain to South Korea to Libya and beyond \u2013 are all in a UCF English Language…","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":74203,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"template-twocol.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"lazy_load_responsive_images_disabled":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":"","_wp_rev_ctl_limit":""},"categories":[5,6,27,1],"tags":[697,8989,202,16027],"tu_author":[],"class_list":["post-74154","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colleges","category-community","category-student-life","category-uncategorized","tag-caps","tag-counseling-and-psychological-services","tag-alumni","tag-ucf-global"],"yoast_head":"\n