Briefly discuss an activity or organization that you have participated in, or are currently participating in, outside of your own cultural group.
For most of my life, cultural differences were not something that I'd ever paid much attention to. I learned about them in some of my classes but they were never really something that I'd experienced firsthand. However, this all changed when I met a boy named Sangjun Kim.
Sangjun, or "June" as I called him, was a foreign exchange student from Korea. I walked into my marketing class one day to find him sitting in the seat next to mine. I introduced myself as I figured he was a new student and I would probably be sitting next to him all year long.
As days went by, we began to talk more and more. I began to get used to his strong Korean accent and mediocre English. Many of the things that he taught me had to do with the Asian culture and I really saw how different it was from the American. I found out that June hadn't really made any friends yet and was having a hard time making them, so I took him to the one place in our school that I knew he'd fit in: the Asian Pacific American Club (A.P.A.C.).
I walked in the room of the club with him and saw not only excitement, but also surprise spread across his face at first glance of the room. "I never realized there were so many Asians here at your school!" he had told me. Upon sensing his nervousness, I ended up staying the whole time with him, although I felt very out of place being only one of two non-Asian attendees. I wasn't treated any differently because of this, though. Everyone in the club was very welcoming.
I continued to attend A.P.A.C. regularly and made many friends, had a lot of fun, and learned many things about a different culture. Both A.P.A.C. and June really opened my eyes to culture differences. I now see the problems that other cultures, such as Asians, face living here in the United States that I'd never seen before. I have learned great respect for how they deal with and overcome them.
I believe that this knowledge and experience has taught me to really appreciate diversity. As the world continues to become a global economy, diversity is more present now than ever. Valuing diversity is critical in order to be successful.
For most of my life, cultural differences were not something that I'd ever paid much attention to. I learned about them in some of my classes but they were never really something that I'd experienced firsthand. However, this all changed when I met a boy named Sangjun Kim.
Sangjun, or "June" as I called him, was a foreign exchange student from Korea. I walked into my marketing class one day to find him sitting in the seat next to mine. I introduced myself as I figured he was a new student and I would probably be sitting next to him all year long.
As days went by, we began to talk more and more. I began to get used to his strong Korean accent and mediocre English. Many of the things that he taught me had to do with the Asian culture and I really saw how different it was from the American. I found out that June hadn't really made any friends yet and was having a hard time making them, so I took him to the one place in our school that I knew he'd fit in: the Asian Pacific American Club (A.P.A.C.).
I walked in the room of the club with him and saw not only excitement, but also surprise spread across his face at first glance of the room. "I never realized there were so many Asians here at your school!" he had told me. Upon sensing his nervousness, I ended up staying the whole time with him, although I felt very out of place being only one of two non-Asian attendees. I wasn't treated any differently because of this, though. Everyone in the club was very welcoming.
I continued to attend A.P.A.C. regularly and made many friends, had a lot of fun, and learned many things about a different culture. Both A.P.A.C. and June really opened my eyes to culture differences. I now see the problems that other cultures, such as Asians, face living here in the United States that I'd never seen before. I have learned great respect for how they deal with and overcome them.
I believe that this knowledge and experience has taught me to really appreciate diversity. As the world continues to become a global economy, diversity is more present now than ever. Valuing diversity is critical in order to be successful.
