The Links Inc., Pine Bluff chapter, held the second in a five-session collaborative project on international affairs with Dollarway High School on Feb. 18.
In this virtual session, the presenter was Carol Crabbe, who is the lead consultant and organizer of key international projects for the Washington, D.C.-based Wilson Global Communications USA marketing consultancy.
Through its LIFE project (Links International Foreign Affairs and Business Empowerment), the International Trends and Services Facet of the local chapter invited Dollarway students and staff members to participate in the discussion, according to a news release.
From Ghana in West Africa, Crabbe shared information about connecting people across cultures. With the Wilson company, she works in media, government relations, business, education and study-abroad programs. Her projects are located in 13 countries on four continents and focus on cultural literacy.
Crabbe stressed certain skills that students need to develop to help satisfy their international dreams:
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• They should develop skills needed for any job they accept.
• They should learn about others and not be restrained by prejudice and stereotyping.
• They should pay attention to the world around them.
• They should learn to communicate, both by listening and by speaking.
• They must develop good writing skills.
• They should learn to adapt to various ways of interaction (through technology or in person, for example).
• They must learn to multitask by keeping an open mind to knowing that working well with others as a team yields a good project.
In order to get started in international work, she said, students should read, watch and listen; learn their crafts; find a mentor; evaluate what they accomplish daily; and plan for the future.
In response to a question concerning her work with Historically Black Colleges and Universities in an attempt to establish a relationship-building program with Chinese universities, she said that the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff is included in that project.
Freddiemae Thompson, a student, said the presentation was “both informational and inspirational” and that it made her aware of both national and international options available to her and others like her.
The Links is an international organization established in 1946, with a current membership of more than 16,000 professional women of color who are committed to sustaining and enriching the cultures and economic survival of citizens of African American ancestry.
The president of the Pine Bluff chapter is Yvonne Blevins. The International Trends and Services Facet of The Links is sponsoring the project with Dollarway. Members of the facet are Brenda Martin and Arlene Woody, co-chairs; Eula Liddell; Eva McGee; Jacquelyn McCray; and Carolyn Blakely.