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Mentor Advice

Question

When going abroad, you meet several people from different nationalities. What do you feel you gained most from meeting people from a diverse set of backgrounds?

8 Replies from Mentors

  • mentor picture Isabel Allende
     
    Isabel Allende
    Latin American Author
    Independent
    The more I think about peace, I think peace starts and ends in connection. When we connect, we...
    The more I think about peace, I think peace starts and ends in connection. When we connect, we learn about the other. It's not tolerance, but understanding, acceptance. In the connection, everything starts to happen.
  • mentor picture Rae Rae
     
    Rae Rae
    Senior Year Student
    Loyola Marymount University
    I gained a greater global perspective on other cultures, and also re-evaluated my own background...
    I gained a greater global perspective on other cultures, and also re-evaluated my own background and beliefs as well. When you learn about others situations, it really makes you appreciate (or in some cases question) the values you were raised with and help you grow as an individual. Even at home, I try to surround myself with diversity in gender, race, class and other experiences so I can become a more complete person. It’s easy to be biased and narrow-minded if you do not know much about others. But if you make the conscious choice to learn about others experiences and appreciate them, you will become a much better person and understand the world better. To me it’s not about simply tolerating other people, it’s about understanding them and learning from them, even if you do not necessarily agree with their positions.
  • mentor picture Jessica
     
    Jessica
    Graduate Student
    Loyola Marymount University
    The more diversity the better! By creating relationships with people of different backgrounds my...
    The more diversity the better! By creating relationships with people of different backgrounds my understanding of the world deepened, which I found to be humbling and empowering. In addition, establishing relationships with people of other nationalities has facilitated increased travel opportunities.
  • mentor picture Barack Hussein Obama
     
    Barack Hussein Obama
    44th and current President of the United States
    United States
    Simple exchanges can break down walls between us, for when people come together and speak to one...
    Simple exchanges can break down walls between us, for when people come together and speak to one another and share a common experience, then their common humanity is revealed. We are reminded that we're joined together by our pursuit of a life that's productive and purposeful, and when that happens mistrust begins to fade and our smaller differences no longer overshadow the things that we share.
  • mentor picture Barack Hussein Obama
     
    Barack Hussein Obama
    44th and current President of the United States
    United States
    When you have a chance to meet people from other cultures and other countries, and you listen to...
    When you have a chance to meet people from other cultures and other countries, and you listen to them and you find out that, even though you may speak a different language or you may have a different religious faith, it turns out that you care about your family, you have your same hopes about being able to have a career that is useful to the society, you hope that you can raise a family of your own, and that your children will be healthy and have a good education -- that all those things that human beings all around the world share are more important than the things that are different.
  • mentor picture Condoleezza Rice
     
    Condoleezza Rice
    Former Secretary of State
    United States
    …I remember teaching a young woman from Timishoara, Romania, who had been through as a 13-year...
    …I remember teaching a young woman from Timishoara, Romania, who had been through as a 13-year old, some of the worst violence in Romania during the December Revolution. And one day, we were talking and she wanted to know whether in segregated Birmingham in 1963 during violence I had experienced something like she had where young children had been killed. And I told her about my experience in losing a little classmate…And I suddenly realized that across this vast divide from Romania to Birmingham, Alabama, there was a common experience that brought us together…She's a student that will always -- I'll always remember…
  • mentor picture Kimberly
     
    Kimberly
    Senior Year Student
    Loyola Marymount University
    I feel that I gained new perspectives on other cultures around the world. I not only learned how...
    I feel that I gained new perspectives on other cultures around the world. I not only learned how people from other states approach certain issues, but how other countries see these issues as well. What I most learned is that despite our differences, everyone from around the world is the same regardless of their ethnic or national makeup. Everyone wants to be successful, to have fun, and be happy. If anything, through study abroad, I made friends from all over the world that I can visit now and learn even more about their culture.
  • mentor picture Ashley
     
    Ashley
    Junior Year Student
    Loyola Marymount University
    I think that being exposed to so much diversity in different countries really opened my eyes to...
    I think that being exposed to so much diversity in different countries really opened my eyes to the bigger picture. I have been born and raised in America so I grew up learning about other countries, but there is a great amount of knowledge that I know I could only acquire through a personal experience such as studying abroad. Both the working atmosphere and the educational environment were really different and I’m glad I had a chance to experience both in another country.