Global, Cultural and Language Studies

Testimonials by GCL (formerly LIS) Graduates

LIS graduates seated at the table (L-R): Lauren Satterlee, Rachel Satterlee, Clara Gabriel and Jonas Kelsch.

My Languages and International Studies coursework transformed both my views on the academic world and my own identity. Before finding my niche in this department, I had previously studied texts and lectures simply to get a good grade. In LIS classes, however, such apathy was not an option and the professors made classroom topics meaningful and relevant. This in turn made me a more passionate and ambitious person. The courses I took and my faculty mentors played a large part in my decision to go to law school, where I plan to concentrate in International Human Rights Law. The foundation provided by St. Scholastica and its LIS department has prepared me well for the rigors of law school and wherever life takes me afterward!

It is difficult to truly express what the Languages and International Studies department has meant for me, and how it has shaped who and what I am today. The LIS department has taught me to push myself, to raise the bar, ask the uncomfortable questions and try to seek out a just answer. We'll see if I can carry that with me not only in my future studies, but throughout life as well. [...] I feel that the LIS department's requirements have brought me into classrooms [which] taught me to look at situations, history, current events and mindsets with another's point of view in mind. Sounds easy, even elementary, but it is difficult. Again, this reflects the ability to ask the right questions, even of ourselves, not just of those around us. [...] As far as the next step, I am hoping to take some time off, and then return to graduate school at the University of Alaska Fairbanks working towards a degree in Northern Studies.

The Languages and International Studies program has been possibly the best thing that has happened to me in college. When I first arrived at St. Scholastica I wasn't very outgoing and I didn't really have a direction or drive. My first two classes in LIS-which were Intro to International Studies and Intro to Political Science-really opened my eyes to everything that was going on in the world. I'm proud to call myself an activist now and I am determined in my life to change things in the world. [...] I believe I have moved from a dreamer to a go-getter within this program and I feel enlightened and aware about things I [had] never thought of before. Now that I am graduating I hope to continue working with people in need - refugees, genocide victims, etc. - and empowering others to do what they can to make this world a better place. After one year I want to go to law school so that I can be in a better position to change things around me and be heard.

In today's ever more globalized world, knowledge concerning foreign countries and their peoples is not only increasingly valuable to obtain, but often necessary for meeting one's personal and professional goals.  The GCL major allows one to achieve a thorough understanding of the political, social, cultural, and economic factors shaping the world of today.  Plus, students even have some fun while pursuing this noble aim.