When I lived overseas, one of the most celebrated aspects of my international schools was cultural diversity. At the International School of Kuala Lumpur, Taipei American School, and Canadian Academy in Japan, I had classmates from all over the world. With such a diverse student body, there was a natural openness and acceptance of one another, fueled by a genuine curiosity to learn about different cultures.

That changed when I moved to Virginia for high school and college. The cultural diversity I’d experienced during my first thirteen years of life seemed to vanish. Most of my classmates had grown up in Northern Virginia and had known each other since elementary school. Coming to America was a culture shock.

My positive experience growing up overseas, along with 13 years of working in international equities, are part of the reason I’ve enrolled my children in a Mandarin immersion school. We value