Hate Ends With Me: No Room for Enemies in Today's World

Sunday, April 13. 2:00pm-3:30pm. Lopez Room.

Description 

Adolescence can be a time of idealism, moral growth, and the formation of lifelong friendships. If not managed properly, it can also be a time of impulsivity, extreme loyalty to familiar groups, self-centeredness, and polarization from adults. Today’s world requires that we create spaces for youth to meet other youth whose lives and backgrounds are significantly different from their own. Our planet will not survive if youth are allowed to hate and objectify others simply because their values do not fit their own. This workshop will present best practice approaches to the development of cross-cultural compassion and global citizenship in adolescents. It will also address the importance of supportive transitions from childhood into adolescence through collaborative mentoring partnerships between adults and youth.

Presenter Bio 

Selena Sermeno, PhD & Students, United World College – USA

Selena is a licensed psychologist and a native of El Salvador residing in Santa Fe, NM. Her doctoral dissertation, "The Impact of Political and Social Violence on the Moral Development, Potential for Antisocial Behavior, and Symptoms of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder of Adolescents," is a seminal study cataloguing the suffering of and post-traumatic ramifications for Salvadoran youth as a result of chronic exposure to civil war and social violence. The study creates a context for the compassionate understanding of how violence impacts the moral and character development of youth. She had the privilege of studying with the late Dr. Virginia Satir, a pioneer in the field of family therapy, and served as Dr. Satir’s translator in Central America. She has also worked with and served as translator for Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Rigoberta Menchu-Tum of Guatemala. Selena is the recipient of many humanitarian awards from groups in Central America, including Special Service Awards from the Ministries of Justice and Education in Costa Rica and El Salvador. In 2003, she was chosen by The Virginia Satir Global Educational Network as recipient of their Living Treasure award. Currently, Selena serves as the Ambassadorial Chair for the Bartos Institute for the Constructive Engagement of Conflict of the United World College-USA. In this role, she is a mentor to adolescents from over 80 countries, and provides training on issues such as compassionate dialogue, diplomacy, reconciliation and forgiveness.