Kendall Fowler 2015

Being able to learn about someone else’s life, whether that person lives a few hours away or on the other side of the planet, is a humbling experience that is vital to grasping an understanding of our planet and humanity as a whole. Studying languages and different cultures has opened up many opportunities for me to grow as a person as well as learn how to be a more influential and educated global citizen.

While attending Logan High School I was able to take both German and Spanish classes as well as partake in culture trips and activities in each language. During my sophomore year at Logan I was able to travel in the German exchange trip to Freidberg, Germany (La Crosse’s sister city). While there I was able to attend school and live with a host family. This experience changed my life and has inspired me to pursue a double major at the University of Denver in both International Studies and Anthropology. My language experiences at Logan High School prepared me to enter into higher levels in both German and Spanish at the University level.

While at Logan, I had the honor of being the first student from the School District of La Crosse to graduate with a Global Scholar distinction. This program that I was able to partake in gave me an opportunity to further kindle my passion for experiencing and learning about different cultures.

Currently I am using my language skills at the University level in a pursuit of fluency as well as using my passion for foreign cultures to partake in different international opportunities in the Denver community and at the University of Denver. Most recently my passion for travel took me to Nepal with a humanitarian aid mission that used relationship building as a platform to learn about the issues that are plaguing the lives of the people of Nepal after the devastating earthquake that occurred in March of 2015. I will also be using my language skills and cultural curiosity this summer when I travel to Juneda, Spain where I will be living and working for a host family as an Au Pair.

I hope that all of these world experiences as well as my global education will transfer into a career as a Cultural Anthropologist or an International Representative for an International Nonprofit Organization. Before this though, I would like to teach English abroad, attend Graduate School and serve in the Peace Corp.

Learning languages and experiencing different cultures has changed me as a person. It has humbled, educated and inspired me in ways that nothing else could. Learning a language is a monumental step into being able to communicate and understand people with completely different backgrounds. Being able to spend time and interact with people so different from yourself and your own culture is a vital step into gaining cultural understanding. Without cultural understanding and positive interaction between foreign bodies ignorance, fear and violence are sprouted. Global education is imperative to cultural coexistence and understanding. A critical part of global education is language learning.

I would not be where I am today without the support and education that I received at Logan High School. The work that the language and global teachers of Logan High School do for the education of high school students in regards to global understanding has an importance that cannot be understated. I don’t know where I would be without the experiences I gained there.

If there is anything I have learned so far from my travels and experiences it is that to learn a language, see the world, learn something new, be humbled, have your breath taken away – – these are the things that make you feel the most alive.