Previous Recipients - Trent Mikesell

"From Idaho Hick to Global Citizen"

When I stepped off the plane in Lima, Peru, I learned something about myself that I had never before realized: I am a lot more naïve about the world than I thought. I have never before thought that I was an Idaho hick, but I felt like one there. Because my flight for Cuzco did not leave until the next day, I spent a day and a night in Lima, and I have never before felt so small, dumb and scared. I wandered around this city of 9 million people feeling lost and overwhelmed. I was very grateful to leave for Cuzco the next day; however, when I arrived there, I felt equally confused and equally shocked culturally—in fact, the first few days in Cuzco are still just a frightened blur in my mind. Those first few days, all I wanted to do was come back home to security and peace. It wasn’t homesickness—I had lived away from home for a long time and never had that problem. It was simply the overpowering feeling of being in a new world and not knowing the rules of that world. I felt it in Lima and I felt it during my first few days in Cuzco. Thankfully, I learned the rules of this new world. More importantly, however, I overcame some of my naivety and “hickishness” and discovered what it means to be an international citizen, what it means to be someone who is cognizant of other cultures.