Daezia Smith decided to come to Missouri State based on a Google search of universities. She stayed because it felt like home. After traveling from Murfreesboro, Tennessee to pursue an undergraduate degree, she stuck around to complete a graduate program in Global Studies.
Campus engagement queen
A bullet point list is the only efficient way to list Daezia’s involvement and accolades during her time at Missouri State, but we’ll leave that to her resume. Highlights include graduating as an Inclusive Excellence Leadership Scholar, serving on the President’s Diversity Council, the Public Affairs Advisory Committee, Student Government Association, and Phi Sigma Pi. She’s also racked up awards through these roles. She was named the 2016 Missouri State University Woman of Distinction, the Max Wagner Cabinet Member of the Year for SGA, the 2017 Strong Family Graduate Scholar Endowment fund recipient, and the 2018 Robert Peace Scholarship recipient.
We’re also partial to one of her SGA projects, the international flag display in Strong Hall. Daezia worked closely with International Services during the project to make sure the flags are an accurate representation of #InternationalBears. As with any flag display on campus, the caveat remains – we do our best to represent all our students’ nations, but we often run out of space. Let us know if we’re missing your country.
Following her path to success
Like many high school students, Daezia wasn’t aware of the options available in a university setting. She knew there was a world of opportunity awaiting her, but she couldn’t grasp the scope of those opportunities until she arrived at Missouri State.
Exploration of major options took her to Global Studies, where the world opened up for her. In addition to campus involvement, she chose to study abroad. Her program in Spain gave her a new perspective on what it was to be a foreigner studying in a new-to-her education system. This experience would turn out to be instrumental in her role at the International Leadership and Training Center.
Real-world experience
Daezia secured a graduate assistant position with the International Leadership and Training Center. Her role at the ILTC is student-focused. She primarily works with incoming international students who are visiting Missouri State for short-term, customized programs. ILTC students are often on very intense academic schedules, with cultural programs and immersion experiences included. Daezia helps students navigate their time in the US, from their arrival at the airport, classroom experiences, cultural exploration, and beyond.
Preparing the next generation of student leaders
During her graduate assistantship, Daezia volunteered to be a part of an International Programs workgroup with the goal of helping international students feel more involved in the campus community. A new student organization, Global Leaders and Mentors, came from the project.
Daezia will lead 20 students from around the world through leadership development, cultural training, and team building during a five-day living and learning opportunity to start the fall semester. In turn, those 20 students will provide a welcoming community for new international students. Daezia will serve as president of the organization for its first year.
Daezia has great advice for future student leaders:
Not everything will go according to plan. Accept early that there are many things you don’t know, and be willing to learn as you go. Be flexible when plans change and accept good things as they come. Study abroad! Be open to truly experiencing the opportunity and you can’t imagine how the world will open to you. It’s important not to be held back by fear or worries – fully engage and experience the world that surrounds you. Meet people, get involved, communicate openly, and it will be easier than you think.