Hannah Meganck, Class of 2011

Hometown: Corvallis Oregon OR The Hague The Netherlands

Citizenship: USA

High School: American School of The Hague

Major: (maybe) Communications

Living overseas has opened up my eyes to so many details I feel I would never have been aware of otherwise. Thanks to my father’s job with the United Nations, I have spent the past 18 years of my life traveling worldwide. By the time I was in elementary school I had already lived in Maryland, Kingston Jamaica, Bangkok Thailand, and Osaka Japan. Only seven years old and already I could say ‘thank you’ in Japanese, write my name in Thai and you could even trace a hint of Jamaican accent in my English. I knew the rules of sumo wrestling like the back of my hand and I could move my knees doing the butterfly dance of Jamaica ten times better than my two older sisters. I had ridden an elephant, discovered the stench of the Banyan tree fruits, and even lived through the 7.2 Kobe earthquake.

Now, as an 18 year old woman, I have gained even more knowledge across cultures after spending the last four years living in The Netherlands and attending an international school. I have spent my entire life learning to adapt to the current culture around me, learning the language, the customs, and embracing the innumerous walks of life I encounter, all the while holding tight to my personal identity. Something I realized early on about this nomadic lifestyle is the importance of learning who you are and loving who you see in the mirror. It took sometime for me to recognize myself, as I was constantly comparing myself to those around me and wondering why my skin didn’t look like theirs or why I couldn’t understand what they were saying. Learning to be strong and confident in myself was the only way I was able to thrive and embrace each new experience.

Coming to Lewis and Clark has presented me with yet another new handful of cultural obstacles – except this time I look like everyone and I sound like everyone, but it’s the inside that feels so different. America is where I am expected to fit in, but I find my mind wandering over oceans constantly. Luckily, the support for global students here on campus is fantastic; every other week there are group get-togethers where we can all gather and talk about the things we are having trouble with or what we miss the most or current events happening in countries dear to us. I plan on being a Communications major because I believe bridging unnecessary gaps between people and cultures is essential to our developing world. I also hope to eventually find a career that will allow me travel and to open up my own family’s eyes to the world in the same way my parents revealed all of its wonders to me.