My Nominee for Global Citizen Award: Interview wiith Teresa--ISB, USA, and words from around the world

Virtually every college or university now touts their efforts to globalize. For some places, this means sending many students abroad. For others, it means shipping in many students, mostly from China. But the people I know whose voices should be heard when it comes to knowing how to live globally are the ones who do far more than travel from one place on the globe to another. Teresa embodies the best traits of what many describe as global citizen.

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Can you tell us a little about yourself?  How many are in your family and where you live in Thailand?

I’m not really sure where to begin with this first question, so I hope that it would be all right if I just start with some dry biographical data. I’m 21 years old, and am currently a 4th year at the University of Virginia. Before coming to the US for college, I had grown up all my life in Bangkok, Thailand where I attended the International School Bangkok (ISB) for thirteen years, from kindergarten to grade twelve. I am the only child in my family.

International School of Bangkok

You enrolled at the international school in Bangkok rather than a traditional Thai school. What was the reason you and your family did this?

My father had a big vision for my future, I think from the beginning he had intended for me to go on to study in the US, and in order for this to happen he knew that not only did I have to develop fluency English but that I had to also get used to being around foreigners, especially Americans. So at a very young age he sent me to an American international school. I must say, he got what he aimed for and beyond as I became more fluent in English than in Thai.

Can you describe a little the international composition of your school? A lot of people in the US do not have a good idea of how diverse the student body can be.

I did not fully realize how diverse the student body was at ISB until I came to my current highly selective research Unie where I did not encounter nearly the same level of diversity. Growing up, I had friends and neighbors (I lived in an expat community, and had neighbors from Armenia and Denmark) that were from all over the world. My close friends from ISB, for example, are from Thailand, Taiwan, Japan, the United States, Australia, Sweden, Philippines, India, the Netherlands, Korea, and this is only just to name a few. We made a very a cohesive group of friends, and because it was such a normal occurrence at ISB, I did not realize how special that was until I came to university in the United States.

ISB Tennis Team

What did you like most about ISB and what did you like least?  Would you want to send your own children to a school like this? Why or why not?

I am not quite sure how to articulate what I like most and what I like least about ISB, because what I think now in hindsight is very different from my thoughts on this were while I was attending the school. I like very much how there were students of so many nationalities, but then again everyone sort of had the same culture at the school, there was no cultural immersion or anything like that even though people were from all over the place. Looking back, I don’t like how there was a lot of exclusivity and superficiality among the students, but at the same time while I was attending the school I truthfully did not mind, hardly noticed and (this may sound ugly) even appreciated this. Students in secondary school are not always focused on the larger issues in life, so we tend, at ties, to focus on the small and sheltered world we are in. The experience is a mix of cultures, races, and talents; at the same time, we are all from families that are global in ways that make mixing easy. We did not think too much about beig global because that is just we were. I can’t imagine any other context where I’d meet that many different people who also shared similar experiences.

You decided to apply to highly selective schools in the US. Why? Did you ever think about the UK or Australia or a Thai university?

I did not exactly decide for myself. iI was my father’s plan and it became so normalized for me that I did not even consider (or desire to consider) any other options. I think he fell in love with the US and all the opportunities that it offers when he came to study here. A Thai university was never in our plans because my father felt like the way for me to move ‘forward’ in life and make something of myself was not to stay in Thailand. He understood the need for leaders to have a global vision.

Many internationals students have a difficult transition when they arrive in the US. Was this true for you and if not why not?

This tough transition was extremely true for me, partly because I did not expect the difficult transition at all. I spoke English like a native speaker, had traveled to the US before on family vacations, and many of my good friends were from here. When I arrived, however, I felt like all this helped very little. I found it so difficult to connect with most Americans, like I couldn’t really be myself around them because I felt like we were from two different planets and I couldn’t create a bridge of understanding-- not in language but in thoughts, values and ways of being.


For example, one of my sutiemates was from a small rural town. She was very religious and I felt judged by her because I was not. And then there were the times when people could not understand things that seemed natural to me. A studet could not possibly understand how it was that I spoke Spanish. She said to tothers: “Teresa can’t speak Spanish she’s from Thailnad.” Her assumption that I could not be fluent in another language other than my own stuck in my head for a couple weeks. Or then there were times that I saw typical American guys at a party making fun of Asians singing karaoke. In addition, very few in the US know much at all about Thailand and this took some getting used to. It’s just true that many people who have grown up in the US don’t really have a broader sense of the world.

In seeing you around from time to time you seem to have friends from all over the world. Do you hang around with a mostly international crowd? If so, why? Do you spend much time hanging out with other Thai students?

I do hang out with a mostly international crowd, this may seem strange because from my previous answer you would assume that the only people I would hang out with then would be Thais, when I actually have very few Thai friends at my Unie. Maybe it is all a part of my imagination, but when I hang out with fellow international students I feel like we automatically “click” on a very fundamental level. We somehow end up having very similar childhoods, mutual friends, and just a general awareness and appreciation for the other’s background and culture. In a way you can say that we speak the same invisible language, even though on a literal sense we (natively) speak very different ones. It’s a bit difficult to explain all the nuances of this.

There is a certain open-mindedness and warmth that characterizes an international crowd that I’m attached to. The reason why I do not spend much time with many other Thai students is because there is first of all an actual language barrier between us (I’m really not familiar with ‘young-people’ Thai that includes slang and all that) and second of all, we grew up very differently (I was raised in a very “westernized” way, straying from what is “traditional”) resulting in a huge divergence in ways of thinking and being between myself and other Thais who did not attend international schools. The trade off of being raised in a global way and being in an international school is that in I am not as fully immersed in my own culture as others who have been brought more traditionally and attended local schools. Life is full or trade offs.

Were the academics what you expected at your university? Were the classes harder or easier than you thought they would be?

I thought the academics were what I expected at university, until I hit second year. I think that this is part of the reason why I did not do as well as I could in my first year, because I maintained a continuation of my high school approach to school. The number of assignments in university is not directly proportional to the level of difficulty of the course, as it tended to be in high school. The classes were harder than I expected because they required an analytical understanding of the themes and topics mentioned in class, whereas in high school there was analysis in essays and assignments, but they mostly required a superficial understanding of the material.

Do you have a favorite class or professor that you could describe?

I tend to like classes that are small, in which I could get to know the professor, and he or she could get to know what kind of a student and person I am. I have a few professors who I really like and admire, in history would say Professors Stolz and Nair. In literature, I would say Professors Farooqi, Bouchard and Connolly. My interest I language and writing has let me take great courses in Russian literature, Spanish literature etc. and my interest in global affairs and history has let me take great courses that focused on parts of the world that I was interested in (Central and South American for example). I have tried to give myself a chance to learn from the great writers and thinkers from around the globe.

You have chosen to focus on majors and classes that few students from your part of the world take. How did this happen?

This is very true, my tendency is towards the humanities and not numbers and science, areas that are usually considered the ‘traditional’ paths for Asian kids. I think a lot of this is because my father is a man of words and not numbers. He loves letters, he loves English, he loves the law. I naturally followed in his footsteps, he did not force me towards this direction, maybe because he fostered in me a love of reading since I was little. He would always read to me before bed every single night. Also, my Dad and I have always shared a weakness in mathematics.

You have an interest in law. If you become a lawyer what would you like to do?

I really am not quite sure…yet. There are many options I am considering.

This summer you worked for the UN. Can you describe what it was you were doing and what you have learned?

It was a really great experience. I did a lot of secretarial work, such as filling out Microsoft Excel charts and updating names and addresses, but the tasks I enjoyed most: writing articles for our department’s regional website, helping my boss create presentations for his meetings, reading actual UN documents and attending meetings in other departments, and seeing how policies are planned and carried out. The main thing I had learned is a bit contradictory. Firstly, I learned how specialized and cut up into units the UN is; it is comprised of many different and separate departments. At the same time, I also learned how interconnected these departments are, they require each other’s work and presence to function. In a meeting for women’s rights, for example, our department (the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification) was required attend.

What has been the activity outside of class that has been most important to you?

I think my most meaningful participation in an organization would be my time in in the ESOL program at the Albemarle High School helping students from different countries (most of whom only recently arrived to the US) to learn English.

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Bangkok: Temple of the Dawn

This week, there has been a great conversation about global citizens on the NAFSA LinkedIn discussion site. (NAFSA = The name of the association has changed since its inception in 1948 to reflect the expanding roles of NAFSA members into all aspects of international education and exchange. The original name of the association was National Association of Foreign Student Advisers (NAFSA.)

The definition is anything but stable and agreed upon, but certain common traits stand out: the ability to move in and out of places and cultures, the ability to see the world from a sympathetic and accepting point of view, and a willingness to share knowledge and experience. Teresa seems to me to be the perfect candidate for being honored as a verified global citizen.

Her words not only give a great view of growing up in a specific place and going to a great international schools, she’s also honest and smart enough to know that every choice involves trade offs. While she may have a far greater international perspective it has come at the cost of not being as culturally fluent in her own land. On the other hand, her elite schooling has prepared her to contribute significantly to any global firm, business or organization. Her interest in the literature and cultures include Thai, English/American, Spanish, and Russian. This kind of cultural fluency is very rare, but her ability to do this should inspire others too.

The photos of Teresa and her friends demonstrate that she lives a life in which she participates with people of many backgrounds. In Thailand, there are flowers everywhere. Its people are, by and large, as open and kind as any anywhere. Teresa’s words prove this and the flowers she has given us are her views and nuanced thoughts. For this, and for her friendship, I am lucky and grateful.

                                                                  Lakme:  Flower Duet