5 Ways to Embrace Culture and Lead with Purpose

 By Darja Bassut

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Culture has always been a part of my life, but it took time to understand how much it shapes the way I lead and serve. As someone who has moved between countries, languages, and communities, I have learned that embracing culture is not just personal. It also helps us connect with others, understand different perspectives, and build stronger communities. 

Learning to embrace my own culture has helped me grow as a communicator, advocate, and leader. It has also made me more aware of the cultures around me. 

For anyone looking to lead with more authenticity, here are five ways to embrace your culture and apply it in the work you do!

 

1. Use Creative Expression to Share Your Culture 

Culture can be communicated clearly through what you create. If you are an artist, performer, writer, or even someone who enjoys crafting or photography, your creative work can tell a personal story that reflects your roots. This could include painting scenes from your family’s history, wearing traditional clothing in a performance, or using symbols from your background in your visual work. 

Creative expression invites others into your world without requiring them to already understand it. In my experience as a speed painter, I have found that showing cultural stories through art can open meaningful conversations. It becomes a way to represent both yourself and the people you come from. Start with one piece of creative work that feels connected to your heritage and build from there. 

2. Learn or Reconnect with Your Heritage Language 

Language holds personal meaning, even if you are not fluent. Learning your family’s language, or even a few key phrases, can help you feel more grounded and confident. It also helps you communicate more effectively with elders, cultural groups, and community members who may not speak the same language as your peers. 

When I speak Spanish or Russian, I am able to build trust with people who may not otherwise feel comfortable sharing their stories. You do not need perfect grammar or pronunciation. You just need effort and curiosity. Apps, books, and conversations with family members are great ways to begin. Over time, this learning becomes a resource you can use to connect across generations and backgrounds. 

3. Participate in and Share Your Cultural Traditions

Cultural traditions are often passed down in everyday activities. Cooking a family recipe, observing a holiday, or learning a traditional song or dance are all meaningful ways to stay connected. These small actions are important forms of cultural preservation. They also give you something personal to share when you are in leadership settings or public service roles. 

Sharing a tradition is not about performance. It is about showing pride and inviting others to learn. For example, I have introduced friends and peers to Hawaiian celebrations and explained the reasons behind them. These moments create mutual respect and help people feel more open about their own backgrounds. If you are not sure where to start, ask your family members or elders about something they remember from their childhood. 

4. Make Space for Culture in Your Digital Presence 

Your online presence is a reflection of what matters to you. Posting about your culture, whether it is a caption about a traditional outfit or a video teaching a phrase in your language, can educate and inspire your audience. It also gives others permission to share their own stories. 

You do not need to post all the time, and you do not need to overexplain. A simple post with a personal connection is often more impactful than a long explanation. When I share Ukrainian, Hawaiian, or Latin content on social media, I focus on why it matters to me and how it relates to what I am doing now. It becomes a record of identity that supports the rest of my leadership work. Think about one part of your heritage that you would be proud to post about and use that as a starting point.

 

5. Let Culture Inform the Way You Serve Others 

Your background gives you insight. It shapes your values, your perspective, and your understanding of community. When you take time to reflect on your culture, it helps you identify the causes and communities you feel most connected to. This can guide your leadership decisions, your service work, and your long-term goals. 

My own nonprofit work and community service are based on the values I learned from my upbringing as a war evacuee, military child, and global student. Unity Across Borders came from the idea that we can build empathy through cultural understanding. I would not have reached that mission without looking inward first. Take time to think about what your background has taught you about responsibility, family, and justice. Use those lessons as a foundation for how you lead. 

Final Thoughts: 

You do not have to change who you are to step into leadership. Your culture is part of your identity, and that identity has a place in every room you enter. Embracing it helps you lead with more honesty, more care, and more connection. 

It also helps you better understand the people around you. When you take time to explore your own background, you become more aware of the diverse experiences and values that shape others. This awareness strengthens your ability to lead with respect and inclusivity. Culture is not only something to preserve, it is something to celebrate, both in ourselves and in others. When you bring your full self into your work, you create space for shared understanding. That is where real leadership begins.

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Darja Bassut is the current Miss Oahu (HI). You can find her on her title's Instagram.

Find here other guest blogs for Section 36 Forevers here.

Oh, the Places Your Dreams Will Take You

 By Shannah Weller

You know when you’re a kid, and someone asks you “what do you want to be when you grow up?” you say, “a doctor!” or “the President!” or some other illustrious career! For me, my answer was “a scientist!”. In the third grade, I remember learning about the planets, stars, and galaxies that light up our night skies, and I was enamored by them! However, like many of us, as I got older, I let my dream of becoming a scientist go for many years. One of the reasons I lost sight of my dream of solving the mysteries of the universe and our world was because outside influences told me that my dreams were impossible to achieve. Throughout high school, I had teachers and counselors who were less than encouraging when it came to my interest in science. They would say things like, “not with that grade you won’t become a scientist,” or “but you don’t look like a scientist. You look like the type of girl who insert stereotype here”. I was bombarded with similar attitudes constantly, and once I graduated, I was convinced I didn’t have what it takes to see my dream come to fruition. 

Fast forward to 25-year-old-Shannah. She’s three years into an international trade career at an aerospace company. Then COVID hit… Life changed, and she decided to go back to school part time. Unfortunately, a year prior to COVID, she lost her sister Jana to Cystic Fibrosis, a genetic disease that chronically damages and hinders the lungs, causing the inability to breathe properly. Jana was a fighter. She too, was told by authority figures her dreams were unobtainable because of her physical disability. But unlike me, she didn’t listen! She traveled internationally on her own as a volunteer and missionary throughout Central America. It wasn’t until after working through the grief of losing my sister that I was able to take inspiration from her, fully realizing if she could do it, I could do it too! So, I left my career to go back to school full time. I was 26. Thankfully I had some credits under my belt already before enrolling at Saint Michael’s College two years ago! Now, at 28 years old, I’m

a senior and on my way to getting a Bachelor of Science in Biology! I’m currently a lab assistant in the Environmental Science Department at Saint Mike’s and am doing limnological research on Lake Champlain! I’m doing what I love and loving every moment of it! I’m a scientist! I also now run a nonprofit donation drive called the For the Love of Science (FLS) Donation Drive, where I collect donated STEM kids’ activity kits and donate them to afterschool programs around my state. One of my goals as the new Ms. New England Petite is to expand FLS throughout New England! 

My hope is to show the next generation of dreamers that no matter what, you can see your dreams come true. And it doesn’t have to be a dream about becoming a scientist! The most important thing is we stay true to ourselves, believe in ourselves, and celebrate the most authentic versions of ourselves! 

Keep dreamin’, reader! Because your dreams are closer than you think!

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Shannah Weller is the current Ms New England Petite USA. You can follow her on her title's Instagram and website. 

This is her first guest blog for Section 36 Forevers.

21 things I learned by 21

By Arianna Shanks-Hill

In the month of December I celebrated my 21st birthday. The night before, I sat down with my journal and I wrote about all the things I was grateful for: all the things that made the first 21 years of my life remarkable. Then, I thought about all of the not so great things I experienced that taught me some extremely valuable lessons. I decided to write some of those down as well, because there are no amazing highs without the accompanying lows (which arguably stand to teach us the most about ourselves). As I sat and wrote these lessons down it occurred to me that some of them would have been very helpful to have at an earlier time in my life, and most of them I'm still working on mastering. So, whether you find something you needed to hear or are reminded of an important lesson you learned in your own life, here it is:

21 things I learned by 21…

1. Other people’s opinions of you are none of your business

2. You are destroying your own peace by responding to everything. Not everything deserves your time or attention

3. It is always better to try and fail than not try at all. 

4. There is no such thing as “the right time” there is only time and what you choose to do with it

5. You are entirely up to you. No one else's actions will ever define you

6. Someone else’s qualifications do not take away from yours. Have faith in what makes you, you

7. There is always room for more people at the table. Don’t be afraid to support and uplift others on your way to achieving your goals

8. Embarrassment is subjective; its only embarrassing if you let it be

9. The only person who is coming to save you is yourself

10. If outside validation is your only form of nourishment then you will be hungry for the rest of your life. Fill your own cup

11. Do not let the things that have happened to you turn you into a person you are not

12. The universe will keep sending you the same lesson until you learn it; whatever you are not changing you are choosing

13. Whatever it is, do it scared. The time will pass anyway

14. It is literally impossible to miss out on what is meant for you

15. the way people treat you says more about them than it does about you; forgiveness says more about you than it does about them

16. If you are only focusing on what you don't have, you will never be satisfied. Be grateful and count your blessings and your blessings will never run out

17. Suffering does not make you brave

18. To love and be loved is rest

19. Some people will love you no matter what you do, and some people will never love you no matter what you do. Go where the love is

20. Do not borrow grief from the future. Let today be today and tomorrow be tomorrow

21. Love comes from so many places other than just romantic relationships. There is never a replacement for true, genuine friendship

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Arianna Shanks-Hill is the current Miss Tippecanoe (Indiana). You can find her on her title's Instagram and/or her personal Instagram. She is also frequent and valued contributor to Section 36 Forevers. 

To learn more about Arianna, feel free to check out her Interview with Section 36.

Coming Back and Climbing Higher by Arianna Shanks-Hill

Domestic violence awareness month ended in October, but advocacy is a full time job that transcends a calendar. I’ve spent a lot of my life thinking about my experiences with domestic violence; how it’s shaped me, the person I could have been if I hadn't had those experiences, how to prevent it from happening to anyone else. Many of my advocacy efforts involve education and detailed warnings for what signs of intimate partner violence and domestic violence to look out for (for adults, teenagers, and parents on their children’s behalf). I’ve told my story in an effort to educate others on the severity of the situation, and in hopes that other survivors can find community and solace in a girl with a story to tell and a determination to change the world for everyone like her. For a very long time I thought that doing just that would be enough, and that I could make those changes by making people feel connected to me and passionate about helping others like me.

As it turns out though, it’s not enough to provide resources and escape plans and a support system for those affected, or to attempt to invoke empathy from those around you. As it turns out, there will never be tangible change or a future that looks different if there is no hope. The most powerful thing I can do is create hope: for survivors and their futures, and for the communities who want to make a difference. The truth of the matter is that my life after abuse is just as, if not more important, of a story to tell. It tells survivors who identify with me that their life is not over at the hands of someone else, and it tells bystanders that their participation in advocacy helps create certain, beautiful futures. It gives them a tangible effect to believe in. It tells them that their work means something, and that standing with survivors will always be worth it.

 
I tend to have bad days every once in a while, as we all do, and I have the very common experience of what I like to call a “survivor spiral”. In my experience, I start to think about how unfair it is that I have to live with the effects of someone else’s actions. I start to wonder who I would be, and how I would be different if I had never walked through that dark time in my life. It’s a slippery slope and once those moments begin, it's hard to stop them and I tend to find myself in the middle of a panic attack or breakdown. Today though, in the midst of the thoughts of how unfair abuse is, I also realized that there has not been a single moment in the past 2 years where I have not felt loved. And that is exactly what I want to tell you about. The truth of it all is that it IS unfair. It’s heartbreaking and anger-inducing and devastating. But how will we know how beautiful the constellations of stars are if we’ve never walked through the dark? How will we know exactly how to connect with survivors and enact change if we’ve never shared similar experiences? I cannot change the events of my past, but I can walk forward with my head held high, knowing that the person that I have become is cloaked in unimaginable strength and incomparable gentleness that separates me from my abuser with a gap he will never be able to close. When you are brave enough to walk away from what is familiar, and step into the unknown in hopes of a better life, you will find yourself rewarded with more beautiful things than you have ever thought possible. One of my very favorite quotes is this: 
“People speak of hope as if it is this delicate, ephemeral thing made of whispers and spider’s webs. It’s not. Hope has dirt on her face, blood on her knuckles, the grit of the cobblestones in her hair, and just spat out a tooth as she rises for another go.”
Hope has not and will never be an easy thing. It is an action verb that takes the utmost determination and strength to carry out. Over the past few years, I’ve learned through experience that it will always be worth it to take that leap, even if you have to take it while uncertain and scared. Knowing this, and knowing that that is always easier said than done, I want to give you some tangible evidence of what a beautiful, worthy, abuse-free future looks like. 

This August, I moved into my very first apartment with two of my best friends in the entire world. My dad drove an hour and a half to move me in, and put together all of my furniture for me, and took me grocery shopping before he hugged me goodbye and told me how proud he was. I decorated my room exactly to my tastes. I bought a baby pink toaster, and set up my pink Keurig on my kitchen counter. I get to sit on my balcony in the mornings and watch the sun rise, or stand out there and listen to the rain hit the pavement. I created a space that is all my own, covered in dinosaur paraphernalia and girly pink decorations: all things I had previously been made fun of for, or made to feel bad about. I get to come home to a place that has never been marked by violence, or by fighting, or my fear-filled tears praying for something more than the position I was in. 
I met the girls I now live with when I was a freshman in college, still unsure of who I was or how I deserved to be treated. I somehow stumbled into this friendship unsuspecting, and we quickly became an inseparable trio. It is a wonderfully beautiful thing to have them as friends, because I know that I will never have to walk through anything alone. The true test of friendship is finding people who will accept you and love you on the best and the worst days of your life. I got to come home to them when I was crowned Miss Tippecanoe 2025, and I got to come home to them when I failed my first chemistry test. They make me laugh until my stomach hurts, and will sit with me in silence until I'm ready to talk. They have never viewed me as broken, or unworthy, or “too much” to deal with. They love all the pieces of me, including the ones I'm still trying to pick up on behalf of 15-year-old me. To find your village is the best future you can hope for.

I started my junior year of college this year, and I get to spend my days learning from some of the best kinesiology professors in the country. How privileged am I to get to walk with friends to class, sit with and share notes with them, share my joy with them. How privileged am I to sit in a classroom and learn how to help the people around me. I’m ¾ of the way through a bachelor's degree, and I am lucky enough to have one more year of undergrad to be exhausted from studying all night, to be stressed about an exam, to eat terrible cafeteria food. What a joy it is to live out a dream you prayed for over and over. 

In June, I went to Miss Indiana 2024 as Miss Heart of the Midwest. I was nominated as a Joy of Life finalist, an award given for community service and the impact on the people around you. I was given a space to tell my story, and to talk about the girl I've been, the girl I am, and the girl I will be. The whole week was full of memories, love, sisterhood, and joy. I never would have guessed that any of these experiences would be part of my story, but I am so grateful that they are. Pageantry as a whole has brought me so much love, but to get here I had to trust that hope would carry me through. 

Last November I met my wonderful partner, who I am convinced is an angel on earth, and who quickly redefined what I knew love to be. The scars of an abusive relationship will probably always be there, but she loves me regardless, as the whole person that I am. She learned my triggers, and learned how to make me feel loved, and prioritized my joy and safety. I’ve laughed more in the past 12 months than I ever have before. We have coffee dates, and study dates, and spend our days finding adventures to embark on together. I've had to buy multiple new vases because she brings me flowers so often I ran out of clean mason jars to put them in. All of these things are to say that if you start to believe that all you deserve is abusive, manipulative “love”, take my word for it that your brain is lying to you, and that there is a future full of love ahead. There is love out there that does not encompass violence. There is love out there that perpetuates kindness and respect, even within anger. There is love out there that will teach you that not all anger accompanies a fist. There is love out there that will teach you what it's truly supposed to feel like to be cared for; that won't make you cry, and builds you up instead of breaking you down. 

My partner and I even have a beautiful puppy, a sweet girl named Blue. She is my tiny shadow, my companion, and brings me more joy than I even knew I had the capacity for. She is a reminder that there is hope and joy waiting in the form of unexpected experiences, people, animals, feelings, places. Just because you can’t imagine it doesn't mean it isn't waiting for you. All of these things probably seem so frivolous, but to me they are my little pockets of joy. How refreshing it is to have a place to belong; a place where I am wanted and celebrated. How refreshing it is to hear my abusers voice in my head and be able to say “you were wrong. I did it all, and I built a life that is all mine”. How beautiful it is to savor these moments, on behalf of that sweet 15 year old who wasn’t sure if she would live to see 18. I get to have a calm, peaceful, completely uninterrupted life of my own. That is a dream that most survivors do not ever get to live. Some women never make it out. So I sit here today, in my very own apartment, with my beautiful friends, loving family, sweet puppy, and perfect partner, completely full of gratitude. Gratitude for the women who carried my hope for me until I was brave enough to carry it myself. Gratitude for every woman who came before me, and lit the way for survivors everywhere to build a life of their own. It’s my turn to carry the torch. 

My life now is beautiful because I made it that way; because the people around me encouraged me to never settle. Because I found the strength to trust hope and trust love just one more time. If you cannot find that strength alone, please let me lend you some of mine. Heaven knows I didn't get here alone. 
If you take anything away from all of this, let it be this: Do not trust the part of your brain that is familiar with pain and suffering. Do not let it tell you that your life is over. Do not let it tell you that this is all there will ever be. Do not let it decide your future for you. 

You are entirely up to you. No other person’s actions will ever define you, and there is no experience that disqualifies you from being deserving of a love that is safe, secure, and respectful. Allow yourself to make room for unknown joy, and trust the tiny spark of hope in your heart that is whispering to you that a better life is out there. And, when you feel brave enough, take a step forward and seek out the life you deserve; it is waiting for you, whenever you're ready.