Oct 24, 2018
BTE Student Stories
Jolisa hails from Auckland, New Zealand, a community she represented as a Student Ambassador at ABTS 2018. While at ABTS, she earned a digital badge in Intercultural Fluency and her team won the ABTS challenge, in which they designed an activity around earthquake engineering meant to encourage young students to take up studies in engineering and design. See what she has to say about BTE and her time at ABTS:
My Favorite BTE memory is…
My favorite BTE memory would have to be the ABTS welcome dinner. It was very traditional with the music, dancing, and food, which I believe would have to be the visible 10% of the cultural iceberg, but 90% would have to be how they shared it with us. The songs they sang were very important and the dancing was very unique. Everyone had a good time and I feel like we created a bond with one another.
To me, BTE has meant…
To me personally, BTE has meant that meeting new people and different cultures shows that you are able to step out of your comfort zone and just be who you are. It has opened my eyes to different opportunities in life and has given me knowledge on how important diverse perspectives are.
The most important thing I will take away from BTE is..
The most important thing I will take away from BTE is accepting different people and cultures for who they are. Having that connection with other cultures will enable you to make new friends and be open more often to learn more. Another thing I will take away from BTE is the ability to step out of my comfort zone and take risks to make my long term goals. It will help me inspire other young teenagers.
I wanted to come to ABTS because…
I wanted to experience something new. Attending ABTS was going to be an experience that would help me learn and gain understanding of different opportunities that are available to me in the future. I wanted to be an ambassador because I want to be able to be confident and help other young teenagers like myself.
Thanks to my time in BTE and at ABTS, in the future I will…
Thanks to my time in BTE and at ABTS, in the future I will continue to set goals for myself and build my confidence in being able to take risks. I will use this opportunity and this experience to help me develop leadership skills and be able to socialize more and communicate those with whom I cross paths.
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We are proud to award Jolisa a digital badge in Intercultural Fluency for her work at ABTS 2018. She showed improvement in skills allowing one to work with people from other cultures. These are:
