Cultural diversity had been something that was really ‘tucked under the rug’ in my life until coming to Minnesota State University, Mankato (MNSU). I grew up in a small, mostly white, stereotypically American cultured town in central eastern Minnesota. I had never really been exposed to many different cultures. Coming to MNSU, I was quickly exposed to many different groups of people with different cultural backgrounds than myself; MNSU has a large international population in attendance. None of these new interactions really struck me until I was introduced to the idea of shaping myself into becoming more culturally diverse within MNSU’s Honors Program. I have grown very much so in the realm of cultural diversity since becoming a part of this program.

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My journey within the Global Citizenship competency of the Honors Program truly began in the Honors 201 Introductory course where we discussed readings about what life might look like for people of other cultures. These discussions helped put into perspective that different cultures face different challenges, have different norms, and might be oppressed in the United States.

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I then delved deeper into the idea of trying to understand other cultures better by attending American Indian night in the fall of 2018. To be quite honest, I probably hadn’t thought about the American Indian culture more than a handful of times throughout my life in my own free time. This culture night introduced me to multiple American Indian languages and other cultural customs such as dancing and food. I was now beginning to be able to appreciate and further question cultures other than my own and decided that a good next step would be for me to interact more with other cultures.

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During spring break of the 2018-2019 academic year, I took a trip to Isla Mujeres, an island off of Cancun, Mexico. I made it a goal of mine to speak as much Spanish as I could, as Spanish was the second language that I became proficient in prior to coming to MNSU. This was much more challenging than I expected, but it helped me to realize some major cultural differences between this new culture and my own, including things like nonverbal communication skills, such as hand and face gestures.

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I was further able to utilize my second language skills and also gain a better knowledge and understanding of other cultures throughout my time as a volunteer at the Open-Door Health Center (ODHC) here in Mankato. Here, I interacted with the Spanish community more, along with some members of the Somalian culture as well. This position also introduced me to the cultural group of people that needed the services offered by ODHC – generally those of low income, or those that were in need of more affordable healthcare options. My experiences here led me to understand better what it might be like to be a part of a minority group living in America.

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I was really able to become more self-aware of how I perceived different cultures and my own internal prejudices while I worked at the Harry Meyering Center (HMC) here in Mankato. HMC is a corporation that houses and aids in the day to day lives of adult individuals with disabilities. Here, I was introduced to a culture that I, so wrongfully, never gave enough credit. I worked one on one with individuals of all kinds of mental and physical disabilities and was able to better understand their lifestyle and give them the respect that they so crucially deserved as equal pieces in our society.

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All of these experiences led me to be better able to communicate with, understand, question, and relate to people of other cultural groups. These skills will be very useful to me in my future occupation someday, as an aspiring physician. I will encounter people of all cultures and ethnic backgrounds in my daily job, and I now feel more equipped to being able to communicate with and relate to them better.