Global LAB Alumni Spotlight

Periodically, Global LAB will feature alumni from prior programs whose cross-cultural experiences helped to shape their future paths, commitments, and interests. Check back for these personal insights, updates, and inspirational stories from these exceptional individuals. If you are a Global LAB alum and would like to share your story for a future spotlight, please answer the two questions below, submit a recent photo and email us at info@global-lab.org. Short videos/digital stories are welcome too!

Lara Glass, India Semester, 2008

Lara preparing a meal with friends at Grinnell College

When I decided as a sophomore in high school that I wanted to graduate a semester early and participate in some sort of gap semester study abroad program before heading off for college I expected to be stimulated by being in a new place, and I had hoped to connect to people in ways that I hadn't before. My semester in India with Global LAB far exceeded any expectations or hopes that I had, in these realms as well as in all others. The semester was hands-down the most challenging and rewarding experience I had ever had, and what I learned in that semester has aided me in countless experiences and relationships since.

The group-oriented nature of the program fostered communication and openness in ways that I had never experienced with my peers before. The leadership was outstanding, constantly reminding us to challenge assumptions we had about anything as well as encouraging us to delve deeply into day-to-day experiences to pull out both universal aspects of human experiences as well as particular cultural manifestations of these universals, learning to be both respectful and appreciative as well as intelligently critical of all human cultures, including our own. I am deeply thankful that the organization of the program was such that we were never allowed to act as though we were simply on vacation, we had our tourist times, but I am immeasurably glad that the program organization and leadership made each day a challenge, beyond simply the challenges of getting around in a foreign environment, but a challenge to what we thought we knew about the world, each other and ourselves.

Participating in a Global LAB semester before heading off to college provided me with a well of strength that I continue to pull from in my life in ways that still surprise me. It challenged me to break apart my pre-conceived notions of reality and shatter romanticisms I had about life in ways that, instead of being paralyzing or disillusioning, opened up new realms of possibility regarding my hope for human-kind and my place in the world.

I went to northern India with Global LAB in spring 2008 about to enter as a freshman at Grinnell College. As I now look with some trepidation and a lot of excitement upon entering my last year of college and the post-grad world, I remind myself of one of the greatest things I learned from my semester with Global LAB: To be confident in myself and my own abilities and cognizant of my reliance and interconnectedness with others, and to always seek and appreciate the beauty in true communication beyond all perceived or real differences and boundaries.

Gabriella Crimi, Morocco Semester, 2010

Gabriella (second from left) with fellow students Emanne and Kelsey,
and newlywed in-country coordinator, Fatima, on the Morocco fall '10 semester program

What was the most valuable thing you learned from living/traveling in Morocco?

After spending three months in Morocco, I knew how to successfully maneuver the medina's alleyways. I had already learned how to communicate in Darija, the Moroccan Arabic dialect, and my bargaining skills made my home-stay family proud. I had not merely experienced Moroccan culture, but embraced it. However, I learned my most valuable lessons during the time I spent with my Moroccan home-stay families. My six weeks living with my home-stay family in Fes, along with my week of living with families in the High Atlas Mountains, allowed me to directly experience Moroccan culture and, more importantly, gave me a deep and personal understanding of Islam--one of the best gifts I have brought back with me. I came to realize that no matter how many differences there seemed to be between me and another person, there was always something that could be found that would connect us.

In what, if any, ways is your international experience influencing what you are doing now?

My time in Morocco has influenced my life in many ways already, and I know that it will continue to do so throughout the rest of my life. I am continuing Arabic in college and hope to not just study abroad for a full year in the Middle East, but to work abroad in a Middle Eastern or North African country. I was introduced to a whole other culture that I fell strongly in love with.

However, my experience in Morocco has not only changed my future goals and living situations. It has also changed the very people I am friends with and my daily life! During the second part of my gap year I studied abroad in France. One day I overheard a worker at a fruit stand speaking Arabic to his friends. I joined the conversation and from that day forth I began working at the fruit stand because the owner and his wife, from Tunisia, were so delighted that I spoke some Arabic and was interested in their culture. I became very close with this family--even attending a sister's wedding--and their niece is coming to stay with me in just a few weeks. Not only did this relationship enrich my experience in France, but it also allowed me to continue speaking Arabic and learning about North African cultures. This experience would never have occurred if I had not spent time in Morocco. My time abroad gave me the confidence to go up to people and to start conversations. It ignited a curiosity deep within me to learn all I could about the language, history, people, and culture of not only Morocco, but any culture different from my own.

Read Gabriella's college essay on her Morocco experience here:

Gabriella's Application Essay.pdf

Sandy Wood, India Semester, 2008

What was the most valuable thing you learned from living/traveling in India?

At graduation, I heard a friend describing her motivation for taking a gap year: she wanted to experience the world before she could know what she wanted to bring to it.

I went to India with Global LAB knowing that I was interested in Community Service and eager to learn more about developing nations and communities and how to better help. I came home having completely redefined my conception of "service" and the unidirectional arrow that the term implies, and questioning assumptions about what "progress" looks like, realizing presuppositions I'd held about modern "development" as an innately positive cookie-cutter grail. India--and most significantly, exploring its manifold faces with my leaders and peers--helped me identify and uproot assumptions I hadn't even been aware of harboring and practice seeing the world around me with perpetually fresh eyes.

In what, if any, ways is your international experience influencing what you are doing now?

I'm lucky to have a connection with a remote school in the Himalayas of northeastern India, founded very recently by a man from the region. This link was part of my initial interest in traveling in India in particular. I went to visit the school a month before I embarked on my adventure with Global LAB. After that first visit, I knew it was an incredible project, with broad-reaching impacts both in the lives of the kids there and the communities from which they come. I fell in love with all the kids and the spirit of the community as a whole. I knew I wanted to do whatever I could for as long as I could to help it continue its work and grow sustainably and intelligently into its full potential.

In a most practical sense, Global LAB gave me skills I've needed for that: a basis in Hindi, a comfort getting around in India specifically and, in a more general sense, a confidence in my ability to navigate and integrate into a world with which I'm unfamiliar.

I have been back to visit Jhamtse Gatsal for the last two summers, and have been doing basically whatever I can from home in the time inbetween to help the community thrive: I've been working on extensive fundraising here at Vassar, and it's been a huge motivation for me to get as much as I can out of my studies. I know the things I'm learning will be useful in helping my friends at Jhamtse in their work for years to come, and the more I learn in this environment that I am so, so fortunate to be able to be in, the more I can share with those who don't have the same opportunities I do. My experience imbued me with the gift of greater awareness and critical thought, and has given me the chance to consider abstract concepts (like poverty, education, globalization, and cultural heritage) through faces, and stories, and people I know, rather than solely through generalizations read from a book.

Isabella Kulkarni, Morocco Semester, 2008

What was the most valuable thing you learned from living/traveling in Morocco?

The confidence to be able to navigate through an entirely unknown culture and forge lasting connections with individuals--from the shopkeepers in the medina to the peers in my program. I returned home feeling not only that the world was my oyster, but that I could go anywhere on a whim with my pack and my travel smarts.

In what, if any, ways is your international experience influencing what you are doing now?

Despite being constantly surrounded by people in Morocco, my experience was very introspective. I had the opportunity for the first time in my life to grow in whatever way I desired. Nothing was mapped out, nothing dictated aside from a highly flexible travel itinerary. I was able to investigate my individual wants, and needs in a table rasa setting.

I arrived at Macalester as a freshman with a wealth of experiences and a sense of groundedness amidst the host of opportunities which I am always forced to choose between. Morocco served as such a sensory overload that I felt very well equipped at managing my time.

Furthermore, my semester in Morocco was a time for me. I was able to realize what I need to do to make me happy--not just successful. A pause from academia helped me realize my priorities and satisfy my soul.

Andrew Weaver, India Semester, 2009

Andrew in a light-hearted semester moment in Jaipur, Rajasthan

Throughout my ninety-four days in India, I kept a daily journal of everything that happened to me. I didn't want to forget a single moment of my time there, and so ended up each evening writing down all that had occurred during the day, followed by my reflections and thoughts on the events, and finally some assorted worries and hopes. There are three sections in the journal, demarcated by elegant pairs of curly little lines, that I put down directly after uncovering each of the "big" lessons India decided to teach me. Tongue-ever-so-slightly-in-cheek (it must have been the lightness I felt at learning them), I decided to title each one a "Grand Realization of My Trip to India." Here they are, in their condensed versions:

1) There is no discrepancy between people--whether in language, religion, culture, class, economic standing, race, or nationality--strong enough to outweigh the one fundamental commonality that we all share, constantly and forever: we're all human beings. When I was able to remember this on my trip, connecting with others, even through the mud of Hindi Pocket Translation Guides and misunderstandings about feet, became the simplest task in the world.

2) That old phrase, "It's a small world," is complete crap. But so is its cousin, the one that goes, "It's a big world out there..." They're both wrong. The world is at once the biggest and smallest place imaginable. Figure that out.

3) There are no endings--to anything, really. Once something has begun, it has begun forever. A semester in India, for example: it might look like it ends at a certain point in time, sure, but in reality its effects survive forever, in those whose lives it touches and changes. It sets off a ripple of consequence and reward that can never be undone. It lives on.

Settling in to college, I'm convinced, was infinitely easier for having spent time in India. All the things I gained have been of benefit. A further reach of patience...intimate familiarity with the deeper parts of myself...even simply the knowledge that there's something OUT there beyond my insular little bubble of college life. I became very interested in Buddhist studies on my trip, and plan to pursue them further here at school. I'm establishing a Middlebury chapter of Students for a Free Tibet. More than anything, though, I'm counting the months until a return trip is possible.

Ella Mitchell, Morocco Semester, 2008

What was the most valuable thing you learned from living/traveling in Morocco?

There are too many things! Beside the feeling that I know Moroccan culture pretty much inside and out, I think the most valuable thing I learned was how to make the most of a trip and push my limits. I've traveled a good amount before, but this trip gave me the responsibility of engaging myself with our activities and the culture. There were definitely difficult parts, but I know now that I can not only survive, but also thrive, in a foreign environment.

In what, if any, ways is your international experience influencing what you are doing now?

I think the main way my trip is influencing me now is that it has helped me mature and adjust to college that much more quickly. My experiences in Morocco have made me more flexible and adaptable to my college environment, but I also have a more global perspective than before. Though it's still a year away, I am also strongly considering studying abroad in North Africa or the Middle East and will be starting Arabic classes this fall. I now recognize the value in immersing myself in different cultures, and I can't wait to do so again!

Katie Finnigan, India Semester, 2006

What was the most valuable thing you learned from living/traveling in India?

I learned that many things that I had thought were natural, innate traits were in fact cultural. For example, in the United States the idea of increasing efficiency is almost always good. Even in the non-profit world, organizations are always trying to streamline their processes and boost production. In India, many things are not efficient at all (try finding a working ATM or a train that's running on time). I found this to be among the most frustrating and most rewarding things about my trip. In India, it may have taken me 4 hours to mail a package, but while I was trying to get it done, chances are I'd have a crazy adventure or meet an extraordinary, interesting person who would invite me back to their house for tea. It is convenient to have things like shopping or shipping so streamlined in the United States, but I had no idea how much spontaneity and human connection we lose along the way until I went to India.

In what, if any, ways is your international experience influencing what you are doing now?

I had wanted to work in non-profits before I went to India, but my trip solidified that goal. When I came back, I started canvassing door-to-door for an environmental campaign and started a club on my college's campus to raise awareness about poverty in my college's town. Going to India also gave me a desire to work internationally. I've
graduated college now and I'm currently preparing to go back to grad school in global communication and development.