One of the first things that really struck me when I arrived at Mac is going to the Cafe Mac, which is where we eat, and actually see flags all around the campus center. It was just really, really awesome. Oh, my God, look at all these different countries, and I can see mine as well. This is just really, really cool. It's very cliche to say, but there's, but when you're in a room full of different people who've had different have different perspectives, and have had different life experiences, you do end up learning from them, and you do end up learning about their experiences. And then start to reflect and question your own experiences and see-- and, in that process, learn more about yourself, and about the world.
I think in learning all those things, and being constantly pushed to learn more and learn different things, we all become better learners and become better citizens. One of my impressions before I arrived to Mac, is when I looked at the statistics and find that at my year, there were 18% international students, however, they come from so many different countries. We have students from Europe, from Africa, from Asia. I think one of the teams I like and that really helped me as a student just get to acquire that internationalism value-- is just being in classrooms, and learning with people coming from so many different places.
I actually get to learn more about the United States, because I don't come from here. And I get to know more about, for example, Ethiopia, because even though I'm African, I also don't necessarily know what's going on in those different places. I get to learn more about India. So whichever continent you were thinking about, actually get to make connections with those people in the classrooms, and hear their ideas, and actually connect academically but also outside the academic sphere. And I think it's just really nice, because those are the like practical things that happen that will help you acquire that internationalism value.
There's a necessity to learn from other people because after you leave college, you're going to interact with somebody with someone else from some different background. Having that experience at a much younger age, it makes you feel more comfortable and more ready to engage with the world around you.
