By WILLIAM CORBETT
September 26, 2006

Earlier in life, diversity seemed like a simple number telling me how many different people were from a certain amount of countries. Now the word diversity makes me think of the opportunity to learn about different people and cultures.

As a freshman, I have come from a high school with little diversity in terms of different nationalities. The most different culture I was exposed to was that of a west coast state -- that does not significantly constitute much diversity.

Now that I have come to the Abbey, the diversity of the real world has been shown to me. This variance in student backgrounds makes for a quality college experience in many different ways.

As there are many new influences when you enter college, the people you interact with seem to have more effect on you than anything else. This has been my first real experience interacting with anyone from a country other than the United States. I have been able to see how the real world will be like: different people from different places and cultures, coming together for one purpose.

This principle can relevantly be applied to the business realm. The business world demands cooperation within the social aspects of a company, thereby strengthening the importance of any kind of interaction with different peoples. With people from all around the world, the Abbey allows a wide spectrum of convergence and divergence among cultures.

It is interesting to see what other cultures or countries think about the United States, considering our opinions of ourselves are limited and inherently narcissistic or exaggerated. So, accepting criticism or judgment about ourselves takes some humility and open-mindedness, but is rewarding in the end. The varying population of the school allows for this growth, and we should be grateful that we have the chance to expand our views.

Belmont Abbey College students come from 28 different countries. Other schools might boast similar statistics, but the Abbey is unique because our overall student population is relatively small. Larger colleges and universities may have students from as many or more countries, but they are dispersed amongs thousands of students. As students of a university with a comparatively small population, we should see that we have a unique option to interact with people from nearly every continent and nearly every major culture of the world. Few people get to study abroad, but we have the chance to take from several different countries every day.

Because our culture often encourages a self-interested mindset, many of the fundamentals of other cultures are lost in our egotism. Because college is usually a liberal influence, this is the prime time to grasp an improved attitude that takes other backgrounds and different types of people into greater consideration. Respecting people should especially be at the forefront of American thinking these days because of the bad reputation America has among other nations.

Overall, diversity is a good influence, and not just with different kinds of people. Different classes to take, different achievements to make, different restaurants to eat at -- anything that challenges the normal routine makes life interesting. This is why the diversity of the school makes the educational experience more than just an education.