Student Feature Friday - National Defense University Delegates Shadow Nipmuc Students

On Friday, November 14, Nipmuc had the opportunity to host more than 60 international fellows from the National Defense University (NDU). Focused on educating, inspiring, and developing national security leaders, NDU provides graduate learning opportunities for international military leaders. The visit was part of NDU's efforts to provide the leaders enrolled in their program the chance to "get a better understanding of American culture and government" by making trips across the country to learn about culture, politics, and economics.

This distinguished group of approximately 60 international fellows (representing 44 countries) came to Nipmuc for the day to learn about American education through a briefing on American schools and the opportunity to shadow our students. As described by the NDU to our students, "the colonels and generals who visited Nipmuc are among the best of their countries' military and the next decades' senior leadership in their nation." It was an amazing experience for our students that I've asked them to comment on in this week's feature Friday post. Enjoy reading about this amazing experience!

Q: What was the most memorable or meaningful part of hosting an International Fellow from the National Defense University?

Maddie Davidshofer - Hosting an International Fellow from the National Defense University opened my eyes to the vast world outside of Massachusetts and even the United States. After spending a short time with an International Fellow from the Czech Republic, I gained insight on his culture back home, his role in the military, and how the United States influences the daily lives of Czech citizens. I learned about popular sports played in his home country, how his two daughters moved to the U.S. with him and transitioned into the American public education system, and how he is a huge ice hockey fan. Not only did he learn about Nipmuc and what it's like to be a high school student in 2014, but he taught me the power of determination. He assured me I will be successful in whatever I pursue as long as I keep focused and put forth the effort. I was impressed with his fluency in English because he only started learning it at the age of 30. This experience was extremely valuable and crucial to a deeper understanding of our world and the diversity of culture. I am very thankful for this opportunity and I hope future students will see the value in having an International Fellow shadow them for a day.  Prior to my International Fellow's departure, he presented me with a gold coin that was a symbol of respect and thanks. In the military, it is common to reward guides or mentors with gold coins if they do an exceptional job. I will always remember how Jack gave me this memento inscribed with military symbols and his time shadowing me.

Kylie Gallagher - The most memorable part was being able to learn about their opinion of our school and how our school compared to their country's school systems. I was very fortunate to show someone from the Philippines and from Pakistan Nipmuc. Both of them had children in school and said how our school was very close to their children's schools. But it was inspiring to learn the small differences in the different school systems. It was also very meaningful to me to be the one to educate these international fellows about American education.  They also seemed very intrigued about the iPads. It was very interesting to hear the International fellows' questions on how we use IPads in our classrooms, and how we incorporate technology in our learning environment.

Samantha Galicki – The most memorable part was how genuinely excited they were to be at our school and to see what we were learning.  Everyone who was involved was super nice and I would love to have this opportunity again.

Jack Gallagher - The ability to learn all about a culture while teaching yours to someone else was an experience that very few high school students are able to get. This made me realize some of the things we take for granted were considered luxuries for these fellows. For example they were amazed we even had a chemistry lab in our high school as they said labs were really only for colleges in Greece.

Ryan Kelleher - The fact that I got to engage with a man from the other half of the world and be able to compare school systems, culture, and lifestyle was unbelievable. Also, I liked how I was able to teach another person about the iPad program and how we run our school. In addition, I learned a lot about the United Arab Emerites. I loved this experience and I hope that we can do this again.

Sean Kelleher - The most memorable or meaningful part of hosting an International Fellow from the National Defense University is learning so much about their way of life in their country and comparing it to our way of life here in the U.S.  It was very interesting hearing how much of the stuff we have in America and use in our schools is used in other countries. One interesting fact was that one of my fellows from the U.K., Simon Joll, said his kids used iPads when they lived in England but since they are in an American school that doesn't have them, they now get to use them for enjoyment.

Hannah Martel - The most meaningful part of hosting an International Fellow from the National Defense University was the opportunity to talk with people who have experienced so many different things.  Being able to absorb their knowledge and learn about the incredible things that they do was an experience I will never forget.         

                                                                                                                                      
Autumn Morrice - The most memorable part of hosting International Fellows was hearing how our school was different. I had two international fellows both from the United States. One was from Philadelphia and the other was from New York. They each told me a little bit about their high schools; one had a graduating class of 80, the other had a graduating class of 600. Each was different from my graduating class. I also explained how we use technology through the school like the iPads and our electronic lunch system. They both thought that was super cool, and it was unlike anything they had seen since they were in high school. Getting shadowed by people from other parts of the country was definitely interesting because it showed how differently we do things than other schools.                                                                      

Elizabeth Nigro - Having the opportunity to host International Fellows from the NDU was a memorable experience because it gave me the chance to interact with two military leaders, Mordechay and Lior, from Israel. Not only did I enjoy sharing about my school and town, but I found it beneficial because I learned about life in Israel. It was a fun, eye-opening, and educational experience, not only for the fellows, but also for me. I'm thankful for this opportunity!                                                                                                           

Jillian Penfield - I actually really enjoyed learning about my International Fellow's culture. I purposely requested someone originating from Germany, because I became very close with the German exchange students. The exchange students were from Bochum (West Germany) where as my International Fellow was from Berlin. It was so interesting to notice the differences between opposite sides of the country. It seems so weird to me that things are different from other sides of Germany, however if you think about it, things are pretty different between here and California. I also enjoyed just talking to my International Fellow about our school, and just having normal conversations. He was so nice, funny, and easy to talk to. Always cracking jokes to lighten the mood. I loved answering questions because I really wanted to help him in why he came here. I wanted to teach him as much as a could in that short amount of time. It was awesome to hear about comparisons to other schools in America as well. He told me how strict teachers are, and it makes me so thankful for our teachers because I have created such a close relationship with some of my teachers. It was also awesome for me to learn some more German words because I would LOVE to speak German. Overall, this was a great experience I will never forget, and I wish I had more time with my International Fellow. And obviously we had to finish the day with some selfies as well before he left (in chemistry lab attire of course).

Lea Peterson – The most memorable thing about the visit was the amount of interest and respect he had for Nipmuc and me.   The experience was overall very positive and all of the shadows were very nice and kind people.  Would do it again in a heartbeat and glad I signed up.

Victoria Phillips – The most memorable part of hosting an International Fellow from the National Defense University was being exposed to new cultures I have never seen before. As I was touring the school, my International Fellows told me about what their schools were like and comparing them to our school. It was amazing to hear what they had to say about our school, and how much they really seemed to enjoy it. It's really meaningful to be able to say I had two International Fellows shadow me. The experience really taught me a lot about different cultures. Plus, it is really exciting to know I now have friends from different countries!  This was a truly unforgettable experience. Everyone was so nice and friendly! This has been one of my favorite experiences of high school so far.

Rebecca Rausch - I thought it was really interesting learning about the different cultures and life stories of the men I hosted. They were very open and easy to talk to and I learned so much about the lives of people other than myself. I found it very interesting that we connected so well even with such a large age difference. Overall, my experience was excellent and I am extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to meet these people.

Natalie Rodman - For me, the most memorable and meaningful part of hosting an International Fellow from the National Defense University was that they were significantly older than me, and both from very different countries ( Mongolia and Malaysia) however we were still able to keep a thoughtful and provoking conservation going. We both benefited greatly from this experience because I could use my skills taught in school to make the conservations more interesting and I got to learn about life in another country. They got to see American life through me which is also an extremely cool opportunity for them. Overall, I have no regrets about doing this amazing task.  I really tried to grasp what they wanted to do and why they were even in America, and I quickly realized that they didn't want to sit through my classes, they just wanted to pop in. The time when we have the best conversation was when I brought them to the media center, which was quiet and they could sit down comfortably. I realized that they didn't need to know the lay-out of our school, but they wanted answers on how America runs and my views on global concerns. Basically, if any group had a hard time connecting with their Fellows, then going to the media center was the best place to compare and contrast cultures.                                                                                                                             

Katie Sauer - Meeting the fellows from different countries was very meaningful. I thoroughly enjoyed talking to them about the differences between American schools and the schools of their own native countries. It was so interesting to learn about what they were doing and seeing how they reacted to American culture.  I was with Antonio of Italy and Hajime of Japan. Something I found most interesting was how much they loved the art around the school and how often they would recognize it and how beautiful it was.

Carly Thibodeau – It was an amazing experience to be able to show my International Fellow around Nipmuc, not only to introduce him to how our school works and what we do but also to learn about the challenges and wonders he faced in our country. It provided me with a fresh perspective on things I had taken for granted in America.  I would love to be able to have this experience again. It was almost like having a foreign exchange student with us, and since it was an extremely positive experience I am interested in hosting an exchange student. To learn about the life and daily routines of someone from a different country from the person themselves was better than any cultural lesson I could learn.

Sarah Tong - The most meaningful part of hosting an International Fellow from the National Defense University was definitely having the opportunity to interact and connect with them. I hosted two men in the air force: one from Nigeria and one from Norway. I loved learning about each of their lives and home countries, along with teaching them about life and education in America. I enjoyed being able to bring them to my classes and eating lunch with them in the cafeteria. I am so glad I was able to be a part of this experience, as it will be one that I will never forget.

Kelsey Woods – The most memorable thing was when Mr. Cohen invited my shadow Irfan up to teach my AP United States History class about Pakistan.