Ever curious about world cultures, Kathryn seized the opportunity to travel to Switzerland and participate in the 2003 Caux Scholars Program.

For Kathryn, building relationships with other young people from all over the world was a joy and a blessing. The community established at Caux crossed some of the racial and cultural divides that Kathryn had felt growing up in relatively homogenous communities in Virginia and Tennessee.

She compares relationships to bridge-building: “Cultural and social bridges, like physical bridges, need to be cared for and repaired continually and that means interaction, involvement and active listening in meaningful discussion.” Deeply inspired by the experience and enthusiastic about continuing the dialogue, Kathryn’s new friends and fellow CSP alumni created a class website that to foster ongoing conversation from all over the world.

With lessons she learned at Caux in mind, Kathryn currently pursues a career in journalism and will intern with Newsweek International this summer. Just as open dialogue built relationships between people of various cultures at Caux, she hopes that the media can provide an open forum for significant, earnest and honest communication worldwide.

By Chris Breitenberg