Yesterday Facebook reminded me that 17 years ago I studied abroad in Budapest, Hungary. How was that 17 years ago? It seems like it was just yesterday I was having this photo taken of me playing on that swing in a little Hungarian town in the countryside.
A lot of lessons and growth happened during that experience. I think the one that had the most impact on me was realizing that people, no matter their background or where they are from, have a lot more in common than what makes them different.
During my time in Hungary, I visited another small town in order to learn more about the Romani people. While sitting in a desk at a school, I looked down and saw that a student had etched AC/DC into the writing surface of the desk. I had to smile because I had grown up listening to the same famous rock band. To think-an old school, Australian rock band was uniting two strangers from different countries and cultures through music. I had something in common with a Romani student who lived halfway across the world from me.
Being able to see the similarities in things that seem very different has been an invaluable asset in my career. I love working with drastically different teams that on the surface don’t seem to be similar at all. I love finding the common denominator to bring everyone together. This fostering of community has been a highlight throughout my career, and to think the seeds were sown a long time ago, far away from home.
Caroline Evans 
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