BTE Student Stories

Student Ambassador Aliyah Saleem
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Aliyah is an ABTS 2018 Student Ambassador representing Bound Brook, New Jersey! While at ABTS, she explored Portugal and earned a digital badge in Intercultural Fluency. Here’s what she had to say about her time in BTE and at ABTS:

My Favorite BTE memory is…

My favorite BTE memory was exploring Portugal with my site coordinators and my partner Jaisuan. I enjoyed seeing what a day in the life of Portugal was like. It made me realize what other countries have to offer! It was completely mind blowing to witness how beautiful Portugal was!

To me, BTE has meant…

To me, BTE has meant a variety of things. After meeting with fellow student ambassadors and establishing a connection with them, I now have an even bigger family. In addition, BTE has meant a lifelong relationship with J&J, Janssen, all the mentors, site coordinators, and everyone who contributes to BTE.

The most important thing I will take away from BTE is…

The most important thing I will take away from BTE/ABTS is everyone’s experiences with BTE. I look forward to coming home to share with my classmates some changes we can make to improve our site. For example, participating in community service, table manners, dressing appropriately, for interviews, etc. I feel as though this is crucial to learn in the kind of world we live in. And not only these, but incorporating some fun activities to do to engage students.

I wanted to come to ABTS because…

I was interested in attending the ABTS program as a student ambassador for many reasons. I looked forward to learning about different experiences and research that this program offers, and the opportunity to meet new people and to travel outside of the United States.

Thanks to my time in BTE and at ABTS, in the future I will…

Thanks to my time in BTE and at ABTS, in the future I will continue to hold leadership qualities and values. In addition, I will continue to appreciate and learn about other cultures while challenging my own biases. To conclude, I have improved working with others and look forward to continuing building multicultural relationships.

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We are proud to award Aliyah a digital badge in Intercultural Fluency for her work at ABTS 2018. She showed improvement in skills allowing one to work with people from other cultures. These are:

  1. Show Curiosity
  2. Recognize and challenge one’s own cultural biases
  3. Appreciate Diverse Perspectives
  4. Demonstrate Self Awareness