A note from Missy: We’re on a search for some new volunteer Melibees! Our priority in this round is DIVERSITY! We want our hive to reflect the world we live in and right now, we are heavily female and white. Our sole male Melibee, Kyle Rausch, shares his best pitch to encourage other men (aka “drones” in bee speak) to join us. But don’t get us wrong here – we want ALL types of diversity in our hive! Read on!
Melibee is searching for a few good bees, and while we’re at it, might we encourage some drones to apply?!
As you may know, a drone is a male honey bee, and as the lone drone of the Melibee hive, I think it is time we added a few of my male counterparts! With the most recent Open Doors data citing that female participation in study abroad participation has maintained around 64% the past decade, us guys have some work to do if we are to encourage those of our gender to become more actively involved in international education here in the States.
Aside from joining a team that is dedicated to diversifying the field of international education among other goals, why else might you be interested in being a part of the Melibee team? First and foremost, the lovely ladies I get to work with virtually are a team of dedicated professionals that are engaged in transforming the status quo of a field that has become comfortable with maintaining it in recent years. These fearless leaders aren’t afraid to enter into thoughtful conversation with other leaders in the field to challenge the oft-repeated rhetoric we hear, such as calls for quantity over quality. If you view yourself as someone who has strong beliefs about the shortsightedness of our otherwise well-intentioned field, then we definitely need you to be a part of our cause!
Secondly, being a part of the team affords me the opportunity to exercise my innovative and entrepreneurial spirit. While I love my day-to-day job, it’s no secret that working at a large institution requires some stifling in the creativity department. This is definitely not the case at Melibee – in fact, we’re constantly pushed to look at what everyone else is doing and purposefully go in the complete opposite direction. It’s what has led to the production of creative products and resources like Beyond Abroad: Innovative Re-entry Exercises and the free website, Better Abroad.
Finally, on a personal level, being a part of the Melibee team has given this little drone a voice in the big field of international education. Thanks to the trust of our leader, Missy, and the other bees, I am encouraged to develop and share my viewpoints on important aspects of our field on our blog and in working with the development of our workshops. I also have been fortunate to be a part of collaborations with other leaders such as Dr. Anthony Ogden and Dr. Darla Deardorff, interactions which help to ensure that I both stay abreast of and think critically about the hot topics in the field.
So, fellow drones – we need you! Diversity in the field will take on many forms, but including the voices of fellow males who are passionate about meaningful international education experiences is one important aspect that Melibee recognizes is necessary! If you’re interested in joining our team, please apply here by November 3rd!