Student Feature Friday - National Defense University Visits Nipmuc

Señora Blackburn's class hosting our
guests from the National Defense University.

"This is amazing. The students are friends with their teachers. The teachers do not rule, they lead." 

"Students are so mature in their time management - to balance so many things with so much autonomy." 

"The school is beautiful, so the students know their education will be beautiful."

-National Defense University International Students 

Last Friday Nipmuc was fortunate to welcome nearly 70 international students from the National Defense University (NDU) to meet with students and learn about American education. Our visitors included representatives from approximately 60 countries who are earning a Master's degree through the NDU which is affiliated with the US Department of Defense and the National War College. The group represents some of the brightest diplomatic minds in the world. The students who visited Nipmuc will be some of the world's most influential leaders in the decades to come.

The group visited the school as part of their year-long program. Each month the students travel to a different part of the United States in order to learn about American life and culture. During their visit to Massachusetts they had the chance to see the USS Constitution Museum, the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the US Senate, Harvard University, several non-governmental organizations, and Nipmuc. During their visit Mrs. Moran and I offered a briefing on American education followed by nearly an hour of questions about every aspect of our schools. The highlight of the day, however, was giving our guests the chance to shadow students to their classes, eat lunch with students in the cafeteria, and develop relationships.

Nipmuc is exceptionally thankful to have this opportunity and proud to welcome back graduate Nathaniel Kahler (Class of 2007) to the school. As the Field Studies Manager for the NDU, Nathaniel has coordinated this visit for us over the course of the past two years. We're thankful for his support and thrilled to see him in such an impressive role.

Our students were impressed and thankful for the opportunity; I know our guests were equally thankful. Following the trip Nathaniel sent me feedback from the NDU students including the following comments:

• "This is amazing. The students are friends with their teachers. The teachers do not rule, they lead."
• "Students are so mature in their time management - to balance so many things with so much autonomy."
• "The school is beautiful, so the students know their education will be beautiful."

It was an absolute privilege to see our students interact with this impressive group of international leaders. Included below are some collected reflections from our students about this experience. Enjoy! (comments may not display on a mobile device)