Cultivating connections

Internships gave him professional skills. Study-abroad experiences showed him the world. His fraternity, which he served as president, showed him how to manage relationships among friends with very different personalities. And his position as a student member on the UC Board of Trustees taught him leadership.

It’s those people and experiences, Maull said, that took him where he is today. After graduating from Cincinnati, he began a job in Connecticut with Unilever as a trainee in the consumer-products giant’s three-year-long Future Leaders Program.

“Cincinnati does a great job of providing people who aren’t of the majority, who are in under-represented groups, with a sense of community,” said Maull. “You’ll always find a home at UC. There are a million ways to get involved, and everyone at UC is always looking to help make sure you feel included.”

Finding your place in the community is a huge part of being successful in college. As a first-yearstudent at a comprehensive, research university like the University of Cincinnati, you are suddenly one of more than 46,000 individuals — making a connection and finding a sense of belonging is critically important.

Luckily, Cincinnati offers dozens of ways for students to make that connection. The university’s Office of Ethnic Programs and Services, LGBTQ Center, African American Cultural and Resource Center, Accessibility Resources, and Women’s Center are all designed to advocate for and provide support to students of historically underserved populations.

Universities of all sizes have discovered that diversity makes its communities stronger. Being exposed to different cultures and outlooks enriches students’ lives. And even more important, prepares them for the global workforce that awaits.

Maull’s involvement with the African American Cultural and Resource Center’s “Transitions” — aprogram pairing first-year students with more experienced mentors — took him in directions he didn’t foresee in high school. At first, Maull was hesitant to join: He had already taken plenty of advice from his older brother, who was the first in his family to go to college and had inspired Maull’s own journey.

“I thought, ‘What is this for? My brother told me everything I need,’” Maull said. “But looking back, if I hadn’t been connected to those mentors and only took the path my brother laid out for me, my college career would have been much different. I wouldn’t have been exposed to other things and would have just followed in my brother’s footsteps, which wouldn’t have been a bad thing, but it wouldn’t have been best for me.”

Maull also joined Business Fellows, a program for African-American, Hispanic/Latino and NativeAmerican students within the Lindner College of Business. The director of that program urged him to apply to the university’s honors program. “She saw something I didn’t see in myself at thetime,” Maull said. “It changed the trajectory of my career at UC.”

The power of those supportive networks inspired Maull to give back to other high school and college students during his time on campus. “A lot of my work at UC involved giving people the same opportunities that I had,” Maull said. “No matter what your background is, or what your experiences have been, you have the power to affect change. If you believe in yourself and you have allies on your side, you can accomplish anything.”