Below are excerpts from Savana Cooper’s winning essay for the Global Awareness portion of the 2016 Building A Better World Scholarship. You can fine 2016 BBW Winners.
We tend to Isolate Ourselves – “We tend to isolate ourselves in our lives and in our responsibilities, but we forget that there is more. There are more beliefs, more people, and more experiences. These are all things that if we had the interest to seek to understand, it would make co-existing with other races and cultures more experiential and peaceful. Given this, it is indeed our responsibility to become educated on not only foreign cultures, but foreign issues. This is why it is so great that we have an exchange student program at our school, because we get to hear stories as well as personal experiences from students all around the world.”
American Model United Nations at MCC – “On a more personal level, I am currently in the Early College program and attending Muskegon Community College. I have to say that the most informational thing I have done regarding Global Awareness is taking part in the American Model United Nations. For those not familiar with the AMUN, colleges from around the United States choose a country to study all aspects of their economy and politics. Last year I studied food security and nutrition in Rwanda, and I learned so much about Sub-Saharan Africa along the way. During our conferences in Chicago, listening to other college students talk about the issues in their country they represent was very informative. It takes passion, and it takes an open mind to learn about other countries. This coming fall semester at Muskegon Community College, I plan on taking the course again to study a different country.”
American Sign Language – “I have also been taking classes in American Sign Language. This is an interest that I picked up when I traveled to Washington DC last May with Oakridge Close Up. I have recently found a passion in sign language and the Deaf community. An interpreter for sign language tends to travel around the United States quite often. This career field would be quite different than what my original plans are of becoming a veterinarian, so I have not quite decided which one is the best option for me.”
Travel Abroad with WMU – “In the spring of 2017 after I graduate from Muskegon Community College with my Associates in Art and Science, I plan to transfer to Western Michigan University. WMU has a great study abroad program, and has connections with a college in Berlin, Germany. I plan to apply for this program and I await the opportunities this will bring me.”
