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Despite record rainfall, flooding, broken water pipes, power outages, and a washed-out bridge, the first ever Maricopa Community Colleges Global Leadership Retreat (MCGLR) was an outstanding success.  Held on the weekend of February 11-13, the retreat in Prescott, Arizona's Anytown Camp was the result of months of work by a dedicated staff from across the Maricopa district. The team members, representing Chandler-Gilbert, Glendale, Mesa, Phoenix, and Scottsdale, joined forces to give life to an idea that has been under discussion for several years - bring together international students and American students from all ten of the district's community colleges in a place up in the mountains away from hectic lifestyles, email, junk food, TV, and other distractions for a few days to focus on problem-solving, leadership, and cultural identities. The retreat accomplished this goal, according to Adjeiley Obedekah, a young woman from Liberia attending Glendale Community College: "The retreat brought students together and got us to interact with each other."
The students arrived at the camp by bus on Friday afternoon. First, they went to their assigned cabins, unpacked, and got settled. They reassembled at the camp dining hall for a brief orientation and chore assignments. After dinner, the tables were cleared and the students formed into groups to work on their first assignment - design the "ideal country," including its geographic features, natural resources, and demographic profile. The groups even had to design a flag for their imaginary nation, and write and sing the national anthem!
Other exercises during the weekend included playing a card game called "Barnga" that simulated a cross-cultural experience, workshops on leadership and intercultural communication, and a "Culture Night" that turned out to be a kind of talent show in which participants organized themselves into groups and presented a song, skit, or dance to represent their culture.
The diversity of backgrounds of the participants added to the impact of the retreat. From a total of 67 attendees, 49% were foreign students, while 51% were American-born or immigrant U.S. citizens. The male/female split was also close to half and half. There were students representing every continent on earth and a wide spread of age groups. A virtually unanimous 99% of them agreed that the retreat increased their cultural awareness and understanding and made them feel better connected to students at their own college as well as the other Maricopa community colleges. Fully 94% of them rated the experience as "good" or "very good." As one participant commented, "...after this retreat I am going back home a new person."
One measure of the success of the retreat in meeting its objectives is apparent in the degree to which the students have kept in touch since their bus trip home. Without encouragement or prompting from the retreat organizers, they have held their own reunion party, shared photos and quips through email, and even set up their own "Global Retreat Website."
The enthusiasm shared by the students was contagious and spread to the college staff who planned and implemented the retreat. Typical of their observations was the following remark by Bonnie Gass from the International Education Program at Scottsdale Community College:
The lasting impact of the MCGLR on students and how it has connected many of them cross-culturally and across colleges makes me realize that the year-long planning process was well worth the effort... My sincere hope is that this pilot program will become an annual event... It has been a pleasure to be part of this district-wide program. I would do it again in a heartbeat!
The event planners were Ken Bus (Glendale Community College), Bonnie Gass (Scottsdale Community College), Annie Jimenez (Chandler-Gilbert Community College), Nellie Torres (Phoenix College), Emi Kawasaki (Mesa Community College), and Amanda Copetillo (Mesa Community College). The retreat was made possible by a grant from the Maricopa Community Colleges' Division of Academic Affairs and the Office of International/Intercultural Education.
 Ken Bus, Glendale Community College
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