At ABTS 2018, Mark Coll represented his community of Phoenixville, PA, USA as a student ambassador. While there, he studied Intercultural Fluency, and practiced these skills in touring Portugal and working with an international team of student ambassadors on the ABTS challenge. In the challenge, student ambassadors put together STEM2D demonstrations geared towards getting students to study STEM2D subjects. Here’s what Mark had to say about BTE and ABTS:

My Favorite BTE memory is…

My favorite memory about BTE is going to Portugal and representing my school and town. I also like how I met different students from different nations and made some new friends. We got to know each other really quickly. I will miss everyone who went to Portugal with me.

To me, BTE has meant…

To me, BTE has meant a lot because BTE shaped who I am now as an adult. They taught me how to socialize with people. BTE gave me hope for the future, that I’ll find something that will help me in becoming who I should be as a professional.

The most important thing I will take away from BTE is…

The most important lesson I will take away from BTE is to treat everyone equally. BTE has taught me to respect everyone around me and treat them nicely.

I wanted to come to ABTS because…

I’m really into new cultures. I wanted to see people from different cultures in real time and talk to them face to face. I hoped to learn more about what the student ambassadors have done with their programs and what they learn about.

Thanks to my time in BTE and at ABTS, in the future I will…

Thanks to my time at ABTS, in the future I will make sure that I graduate high school and college so that I can get a job and a good life.

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We are proud to award Mark a digital badge in Intercultural Fluency at ABTS 2018. He showed improvement in skills allowing one to work with people from other cultures. These are:

1. Show Curiosity
2. Recognize and challenge one’s own cultural biases
3. Appreciate Diverse Perspectives
4. Demonstrate Self Awareness