The following are real quotes from real Redefining Community Experience participants...

• RCE exceeded my expectation and hopes by leaps and bounds. I left with such a sense of empowerment and hope! EVERYONE should be able to experience this!
  
  
• All I can say is that RCE is an amazing experience. I went in not expecting much, but it was amazing how open, honest, and friendly everyone was. Because of this, we were able to learn together the meaning of COMMUNITY here at WashU and create ideas for change and improvement of the places we live in. – Jon
  
  
• RCE was an incredible experience. I became so close to so many people from such different backgrounds in such a short time. RCE is a great opportunity to discuss and learn in an open, trusting environment. – Melissa
  
  
• When I realized that I had to go to RCE first thing on a Saturday morning, I was dreading the fact that I had signed over my 3day weekend. After the first hour of being at the retreat, I could not imagine ANYTHING I would have rather been doing. –Ngbede
  
  
• I loved every single person at RCE. It is a place you got a chance like no other to bond with people who are unbelievably accepting and where you can open up with your identity and not be judged. I wanted to come to WashU to be exposed to different students of this world, and RCE has fulfilled that for me. – Cameron
  
  
• RCE gives you the opportunity to re-meet people and then emphasize that YOU must be the person to maintain those relationships. This lesson is invaluable to living in the world because it encourages you to create your own agency.
  
  
• I absolutely love the structure of RCE and its power in establishing lasting connections between people who would have never otherwise met or known each other. – De
  
  
• RCE has been extremely beneficial to me. I originally came not expecting to learn anything new since I had been to diversity campus before. However, I was Pleasantly Surprised. I learned more about my strengths, weaknesses, and identities. I appreciate everyone's opinions and ability to listen. The games were age appropriate and a microcosm of American life. I LOVED it. – Diamond
  
  
• RCE opened my eyes to the diversity all around me. Sharing experiences and learning about what it means to be different changed my whole view on life. – Guillame
  
  
• Coming to RCE was probably one of the best decisions that I've made since coming to WashU. I learned so much about myself, and the fact that I don't have to be stifled by my multiple identities was very liberating! I loved the experience and the many amazing individuals that I met. – Jasmine
  
  
• I had more honest conversations about difficult topics with amazing, diverse, opinionated people whom I have grown to trust. I've been able to identify my frustrations about my community, create and discover concrete ways to combat them, and improve my community. I regained hope in those around me- that people care, desire change, and will work for it. – Natasha
  
  
• I signed up not knowing anything or anyone related to RCE. I came back with 30 new friends and a much better vision of what I can accomplish at WashU. It's a great experience for meeting different kinds of people and challenging how you think about and take action in your community. – Laura
  
  
• RCE was an amazing experience for me. I learned so much about myself and how I can impact my community at WashU. – Tobi
  
  
• I thank OSA deeply for this wonderful workshop. It's been a life changing experience because I shared myself honestly with my peers and I have learned to listen, appreciate, and understand them and there they are coming from. I would encourage the OSA to repeat this seminar again. Young leaders need a vehicle to discover themselves and others like them.
  
  
• I will definitely stop thinking so narrow-mindedly and be open to different kinds of people.
  
  
• Redefining Community was a creation and maintenance of a truly safe space where people could be who they are unapologetically and come to respect and love others for who they are.
  
  
• I learned that I am a unique person because not everyone at Wash U. is here today or would want to be so that makes me unique.
  
  
• The opportunity to ask questions I had never been able to ask and hear answers that opened my mind was of particular significance to me.
  
  
• The friendships and deep connections made with students and learning not to fear but embrace was of particular significance to me.
  
  
• Understanding not to feel guilty or ashamed about privilege-to do something positive with it.
  
  

• Being able to share a part of me that I've never completely and openly shared with anyone else.
  
  
• Learning more about friends I knew and making new ones; self-disclosure.
  
  
• The dialogue. In both sharing and listening, I learned.
  
  
• More faces associated with the issues, the "isms" to make it all more human-provides more fuel for passion for me.
  
  
• Being able to openly discuss things, allowing me to learn more about myself.
  
  
• Getting to know and bond with so many new people and the opportunity to realize how I can make a difference in my community.
  
  
• Being able to have the 2 day period to form a comfortable environment where personal experiences could be appreciated (micro level) in order to fully understand the -isms that exist on the macro level.
  
  

• The idea that there are millions of sides to ever story and everyone has a reason for believing what they believe.
  
  
• I think I've gotten a better sense of empathy that will serve me well in leadership positions.
  
  
• Things to teach student leaders how to implement these same skills in different settings, such as with family or peer groups.
  

• I learned that I don't always give groups a chance; before coming here, I thought I was the only freshman who cared about these types of issues.
  
  

• Sharing what I have experienced and being that advocate that will stand up for change.