When I interviewed for a job a few years ago, one of the questions they asked me was "what does diversity mean to you, and why is it important?".  I told a story in that interview about a woman I had worked with at my old job who uses a wheelchair and is also non-speaking.  She had a communication device and was capable of using it; however, she wasn't very motivated to do so.  She frequently refused therapy and was depressed.  I knew her abilities and things that she enjoyed doing in the past, but was struggling to find a connection and ways to encourage and motivate her to communicate more.  Then I started working with a student intern who was also a wheelchair user.  My depressed client now attended all her therapy sessions, and seeing the two of them going down the hallway together on their way to and from the clinic, a giant grin on her face, actually brought tears to my eyes.  I realized they had connected on a level we never could.  Here was a mentor just like her.  I even had co-workers comment on the difference in her demeanor and how incredible they thought it was.   

What are some of your stories about the importance of diverse connections?  These stories are the heart of the meaning of "diversity" and can also be shared in poetic form.  I would love to see some of them included in our upcoming poetry anthology.  Writing this blog has inspired me to create a poem about the individual in the story above, and I will include it in the anthology.