Miton Clayborn has been crossing cultural boundaries since birth. Recently named the new manager for the Cross Cultural Center at Saint Louis University, the self-proclaimed military brat is no stranger to diversity.
Clayborn helps mentor and advise several student-run groups out of the Cross Cultural Center in the Busch Student Center, including the Muslim Students Association, the Black Student Alliance and the International Students Federation among others.
“It has been amazing at SLU. The quality of students is beyond impressive,” Clayborn said.
She said that part of her goal is to encourage harmony among the groups, which she said have a “common respect for one another. With that I hope to bring them to embrace one another.”
Clayborn and Cross Cultural Center Program Director Donna Bess provide planning support for group events, as well as help in contacting vendors, recruiting rooms and handling logistics.
“I call Donna Bess the ‘superstar,” Clayborn said. “She knows a lot of people, and she’s been very instrumental in getting me in contact with the people that I need to know.”
She said that Bess and other faculty have been welcoming and acclimating Clayborn to her new position.
“They had a reception with chicken wings and everything, and they have done a fabulous job,” Clayborn said, also noting several training courses she has completed for “literally everything.”
Clayborn lived at different military bases throughout the world until the age of 6, when she and her family moved to St. Louis.
She has traveled to Japan, France and Germany, among other places, and she said that most of her “lightbulb moments,” have taken place abroad.
Clayborn’s unique first name is a variation of her late father Milton’s name. She is close with her family: her mother and sisters still live in St. Louis, and she said that she hopes to have her nieces visit her soon at SLU.
Prior to her position at SLU, Clayborn taught communication courses at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. She also served as volunteer manager and public program manager at the St. Louis Science Center. There, she helped organize volunteer programs for children, including Youth Exploring Science, a program that allows more than 150 underserved young people to study science, math and technology.
After earning both a bachelor’s in communication and a master’s in multi-cultural education from Southwest Missouri State University (now Missouri State University), Clayborn went to Japan’s Yakota Air Force Base for three months.
There, she developed co-curriculum programs for children on base during the summer break.
Clayborn plans to continue her own education further by getting her doctorate at SLU.
“That would probably start next year, and, of course, I’d have to take the testing and everything . in this setting, most of my colleagues have acquired a [higher level] degree. [Being at SLU] fits perfectly,” she said.
Clayborn recently traveled with the BSA to Branson, Mo., for a what she referred to as a “cultural extravaganza,” and a bonding opportunity.
“When you start anything new, you’d like to have a few people to depend on and know. I had literally 46,” she said.
Clayborn said that with the combination of travel, programming, mentoring and the multi-cultural experience, her new position at SLU integrates all of the components that she said make up her dream job.
