Bryanna Entwistle '23 RGLP Reflection:

This past term of engagement in RGLP has played a significant role in the development of my capacity to lead in this globalized world. I was raised as a third culture kid (TCK), a term used to identify someone who spent their formative years as an expatriate. I was born in Hong Kong and raised in both Mumbai and Singapore, educated through the international school system. As a TCK, I was exposed not only to my host cultures of India and Singapore but also an extensive number of others through my classmates. I had friends from Mongolia, Bolivia, Brunei, and everywhere in between -- I was the only person of european descent in my high school friend group. Coming to Dartmouth marked thus a significant culture shift in my existence. Despite being raised with American parents as a US citizen, I’ve found it hard to fully integrate to the fundamentally elitist, east coast culture that is often perpetuated at Dartmouth. As a result, I’ve found myself missing the casual, globalized conversations that I’ve had with my peers back in Singapore. RGLP has served as an excellent mechanism through which to engage in the kind of conversations that were so prominent throughout my youth. The RGLP team has brought together an exceptional group of Dartmouth students who hail from all over the world. RGLP has been, by far, the most diverse program I’ve partaken in at Dartmouth. The conversations that we’ve had have been exceptionally productive, especially within the current America-centric political climate. Over the past few months, we’ve discussed everything from existing biases to degrees of adaptability. Through a lot of self-analysis and reflection, I’ve been able to synthesize the skills learned throughout my youth as a TCK and identify the means through which I can utilize such to lead effectively in a global context.