19岁的塞拉·吉尔哈特, 公共政策和法语双学位，辅修数学, has traveled around the world as part of her studies at the 威尼斯人平台. She spoke recently at the Celebrating Endowment luncheon during 同学会 and Parents' Weekend. 以下是她的评论.
“我要去管理一个地方，我要去一个地方。.翻译过来就是:“我们吃饭是因为有人在挖。.” These were the first words said to me by my coworker Dominique, an immigration lawyer in Geneva.
有一些经验教训是最好的 外 教室的.
Do you know how to say “hello” in Siswati, [the langu年龄 of the Swazi people]? 或者还有孩子住在曼齐尼之外, [斯瓦蒂尼(前斯威士兰)的一个城市], 谁是天才足球运动员? 你晚上开车经过斯瓦蒂尼的时候知道吗, you feel like you’re floating through sea of stars because the hills are lit up with lanterns and there is no electricity? 你知道吗?, 瑞士法语区, 我们有一个专门的词来形容寒冷刺骨的风, la寒风? Or that the first question you’d be asked about your native langu年龄 is the meaning behind “Rock and Roll”?
你知道选择是一种特权吗, 斯瓦蒂尼的孩子们, 一个99%的斯威士兰人的国家, 也许会得到一个长得像我的娃娃, 或者根本没有娃娃. That blonde hair and blue eyes can often earn you a trust and privilege you did not merit and certainly do not deserve? Did you know some situations are so painfully human you don’t need langu年龄 to understand?
如果没有这些经历，我就不会是今天的我. Many universities plaster the catchphrase “experiential learning” across brochures and recruitment flyers––but I don’t believe any quite understands what this means like the 威尼斯人平台.
Charitable giving is what brought me to Redlands in the first place. I was raised in Eugene, Oregon, did not truly expect to leave my hometown for college. 我很幸运，我从来没有机会回头看. 五月学期，我在斯瓦蒂尼度过了19岁生日, 由本大学资助，研究全球医学伦理学. I fell into step with the Department of 公共政策 and was pushed to my limits by professors and friends, 比如格雷格·索尔森, 为了追求我对公共卫生的兴趣. I spent the fall of my junior year in the mountain town of Saint-George, 就在日内瓦城外, 瑞士, where I studied global health and development policy and attended briefings at the international organizations I had always read about. 我去了摩洛哥，住在一个寄宿家庭. 第二年夏天, I returned to 瑞士 for an internship with a human rights organization in Geneva, working on a health promotion program for migrant women called “Femmes-tische.”
Throughout my life, all of my studies and work experiences have been conducted in my first langu年龄. I was born into a family with two English-speaking American parents, 他们自己也出生在同样的环境中. I had always been at ease linguistically before traveling abroad to study and work in my second langu年龄, 法国. 在最初的几个星期里, 我对自己犯的错误感到非常沮丧, the feeling I was wasting my coworker’s time when I misunderstood a task or conversation. I felt trapped and unable to express how much I was learning and the extent to which I appreciated this opportunity. Working in a second langu年龄 means relying on intense observation of mood and tone. It [means] relying more heavily on your empathy and on small gestures for the people you work with. Working in a second langu年龄 means constantly reevaluating what is important enough to find the words to express.
Over the summer, I worked for an organization to connect migrants with community resources in Geneva.
然而，我自己也是一名移民.
I remember preparing to translate a CV for a highly qualified refugee who had been forced to start over with her career after fleeing her country. With two master’s degrees in peace and conflict studies and numerous international publications, it seemed clear to me she was overqualified for the majority of positions. 然而她不会说法语. For the first time, I understood how frustrating that could feel. I am returning to 加州 with a true sense of empathy for those in my community in these circumstances––a position I had always sympathized with but never fully understood.
整个夏天每天都在公交车上上班, 在我周围的对话中，我至少听到了四种语言. I sat next to high-level workers at the World Health Organization and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. I ate lunch in the same cafeteria as those at the International Organization for Migration. I spent a day at the lake with the family of a UN representative who worked on public health in Hungary and heard conversations over coffee about the next steps needed to truly eradicate malaria. I attended conferences in my free time and met American human rights activists such as Kenneth Roth and Catherine Flowers––with whom I was able to discuss the prevalence of poverty-driven illness in the American South. 今年夏天是一个 梦想––humbling, motivating, grounding in every sense of the word. 对我的投资不仅仅是金钱上的. 这些都是信仰的贡献, 的激情, of a desire to share gratitude for this institution with the students of my generation.
Grateful is too light a word for the way I feel about my experiences at this University and the ways I personally have been supported by everyone in this room. 谢谢大家, 感谢您对我教育的支持, 增长, 和学习, 无论是在这个校园还是在千里之外. Thank you on behalf of the many others on this campus who continue to learn and grow as a direct result of your commitment.
要了解有关Gearhart的更多信息，请参阅 Och玉米粉蒸肉 杂志上的一篇文章，“环球旅行的好处: 永远你的 在行动.更多信息也可在 永远你的 运动, 公共政策专业, 出国留学机会 与威尼斯人平台合作.
