By Janelle Davis
Allison Hunt, a Baker High graduate, has been traveling outside of the United States since high school. In 11th grade she studied abroad in France for a year as part of the Rotary Youth Exchange. Allison enjoyed getting out of her comfort zone and the experience sparked her love of learning about different cultures and languages.
“Instead of just hearing about all of these places that seem so far away, I got to actually interact with people and learn about their lives and their countries, and the different problems they face,” she said.
Allison was inspired to study abroad again in China, which happened to be virtual because of the pandemic. She enjoyed learning about the differences between Chinese culture from her own.
“It was really cool to learn about the different philosophers and how the government works, and how the beliefs and ideologies work there versus here,” she said. Allison believes it’s important to take the time to understand the different cultures and different aspects of society that we see as “normal,” so we can approach solutions with more of an open mind.
She is Fluent in both French and Chinese and is working on learning additional languages. She is the president of Minerva University’s Language Club, a student initiative called Langs.
“I think language says a lot about a culture,” she said, adding that she believes that the better nations communicate with one another and understand each other’s cultures, the easier it will be to solve global issues.
“Allison has been an excellent student ambassador ever since her Rotary Youth Exchange in Lyon, France in 11th grade,” Allison’s mother Barb said. She continues to represent the USA in a very positive way wherever she goes.”
Allison is currently a sophomore at Minerva University where she studies political science and government. Minerva is a unique university based in San Francisco that has a global rotation, so students study abroad in a different location each semester. So far, she has studied in Korea, Taiwan and is currently in Hyderabad, India. The university has students from more than 60 different countries. In addition to what she is learning in her education, she said appreciates how she is constantly learning new things from her college friends and how different things work in their countries.
In terms of her future plans, Hunt hopes to promote educational equity. She’s been working with Teach for India this semester, while also advocating for human rights for North Korean defectors, and teaching English to North Koreans that are living in South Korea. She is also considering a career in international diplomacy.
“There are a lot of possibilities and potential tracks I could take in the future,” said Allison.
In pursuit of that goal, Hunt recently applied for and was accepted as a delegate at a pair of international summits scheduled for this summer: the China-America Student Conference (CHASC) and the Korean-America Student Conference (KASC).
Hunt, who has already spent a semester in Korea and plans to return someday after graduation, said she is interested in discussing education at the conference and emphasizes her belief that different countries should try to understand each other and each other’s systems.
“It would be a lot easier for us to have a more effective and culturally acceptable education system and government when we work together and understand what works for certain countries, and what we can improve on,” Hunt said. “These conferences are important because they are combining young leaders from different countries with different cultures and languages.”
“These student conferences are for the next generation of leaders,” Barb said of her daughter’s involvement in these programs. “Allison would be a great catalyst to help improve relations between China and America. A program like the International Student Conference is a really great opportunity for her to be able to start.”
To help defray the $6,000 cost of the KASC, Hunt has started a Go Fund Me page and is seeking community support and sponsorships. The Go Fund Me page is located at gofundme.com/f/koreaamerica-student-conference-kasc.
“I hope to be a leader and promote cross-cultural dialogue so that we can come from a point of understanding with each other to foster tangible change,” she wrote on the Go Fund Me page. “The youth is the future and by investing in me, I will work tirelessly to bring the world closer and fight for the rights of everyone, everywhere.”
