Intercultural Affairs' Words of Welcome and Advice

Welcome to Grinnell! My name is Vrinda Varia, and I use she/her pronouns. I have the unique pleasure of serving campus as our associate chief diversity officer for intercultural student life. It is such a joy to welcome you to Grinnell.

My incredible team and I get to work directly with students as they learn about who they are and dream about who they’re going to become through their time at college. We do this through programs in our cultural centers, through engagement with our Multicultural Leadership Council, and through our Peer Connections Pre-Orientation Program (PCPOP).

There are so many ways to get involved with Intercultural Affairs (ICA). I hope that we’ll see many of you at the various programs that we run or that you’ll just stop by our offices to say hello and learn a little bit more about us, so that we can learn a little bit more about you.

One of my favorite pieces of advice for incoming Grinnellians is to be brave. Starting college is a whole new journey, and there’s so much here to explore. I can’t wait for you all to be able to dip your toes into all that Grinnell has to offer and to find what’s right for you.

Throughout today, I’m going to take you around to meet some of the incredible folks on my team, and we’ll stop by at the very end to say hello to PCPOP, the Peer Connections Pre-Orientation Program I mentioned, at one of our monthly pop-ups — just to make sure that they get to welcome you to Grinnell as well.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out. And we look forward to seeing you just in a few weeks, here in August!

Vrinda: Welcome to the Stonewall Resource Center (SRC)! Let’s say hi to Micho.

Micho: Hi, I’m Micho Adler, assistant director of intercultural affairs, LGBTQIA+ student specialist. Welcome to the Stonewall Resource Center.

Vrinda: Do you have any advice for incoming first-years?

Micho: Yes; be open to new experiences.

Vrinda: Thanks, Micho! We’re gonna hop over to the BCC (Black Cultural Center) and say hi to Jenée.

Hi y’all, we’re at the Conney M. Kimbo Black Cultural Center (BCC). Let’s stop in and say hi to Jenée. Hello!

Jenée: Hey, come on in!

Vrinda: How’s it going?

Jenée: So far, so good! How are you?

Vrinda: Good.

Jenée: Hey y’all! I’m Jenée Spencer. I have the honor of serving campus as a director of intercultural affairs, black student specialist.

Vrinda: Thanks, Jenée. Do you have any advice for any incoming students?

Jenée: Of course, because it hasn’t been that long since I was a first-year student myself. I would say, if I had any advice, it would be: Go to everything at least once. If there’s a club that seems interesting or if there is a group that seems like they have a mission that honors your shared goals, pop up. Try it out. And if you don’t like it, try something else.

Vrinda: Thanks, Jenée.

Jenée: Of course.

Vrinda: We’re going to go say hi to Audrey.

Jenée: Hey, Audrey!

Vrinda: Hi, y’all.

We’re stopping in to say hi to Adriana Torres, over at our Latinx Cultural Center. Hi Adriana, how are you?

Adriana: Good. How are you?

Vrinda: Good. Can you introduce yourself to some incoming students?

Adriana: Yes, my name is Adriana Torres. I am the assistant director of intercultural affairs, Latina student specialist.

Vrinda: Awesome. And Adriana, do you have any advice for incoming students?

Adriana: If people offer help, take it. Take all the help.

Vrinda: Thanks, Adriana. We’re going to go say hi to Roy now.

Adriana: Hi, Roy!

Vrinda: See you later. Bye!

Hi, y’all! We’re over by our multicultural suites in the Joe Rosenfield ’25 Center (JRC) to say hi to Roy Salcedo, who works with our Laurel scholars. Hi, Roy!

Roy: Hello, Vrinda!

Vrinda: How are you?

Roy: I’m doing well. And you?

Vrinda: I’m good, thank you. Roy, can you introduce yourself to some of our incoming students?

Roy: Yes. My name is Roy Salcedo, and I’m the director of intercultural affairs, Laurel scholars specialist.

Vrinda: Thanks, Roy. Roy, do you have any advice for incoming students?

Roy: Coming to Grinnell, you’re going to be challenged like you’ve never been challenged before. But more importantly, you’re going to receive the support and resources to meet those challenges.

Vrinda: That’s awesome, Roy. Will you come with me over to the PCPOP (Peer Connections Pre-Orientation Program) pop-up?

Roy: Oh yeah, I’m ready for some pop-up.

Vrinda: All right, we’ll see you all there.

PCPOP (Peer Connections Pre-Orientation Program) mentors: Welcome to Grinnell!