the school’s mission is one that I took full advantage of while I was there. I enjoyed summer trips abroad and international- oriented experiences on campus like participating in the Model UN and the International Club. Those types of opportunities inspired a life of international adventure that continues in me today. During my junior year, at Greensboro Day School, I joined the Model UN. Our team went to Appalachian State University for a Model UN Conference where I represented Mongolia. I learned that it is a fascinating place filled with nomadic families who live today in much the same way as they have for the last millennium. In July of this year, I finally visited Mongolia where I reflected on what I’d learned all those years ago. While I was there, I spent a few days living on the Steppe – an experience that reminded me of my own junior trip spent backpacking through Western North Carolina. GDS also gave me tools I use to survive in far corners of the planet. I’d just landed in Asunción, Paraguay when I faced a dilemma. Because of a delay, I’d arrived much later than planned, the airport was dead, and my ride was long gone. Almost no one was there. The Spanish first introduced to me at GDS would come in handy here. (¡Gracias Señora Fung y Señorita Olson!) With that Spanish, I found a janitor who delivered me to the only remaining taxi, which dropped me off at a flea-bitten hotel, where I fell into what could barely be called a bed. These are the moments I live for! As I drifted off to sleep, I felt gratitude for the foundation I got at Greensboro Day School. The greatest gift I received there was much more ethereal than basic language skills, though. At GDS, I was able to feed my curiosity and wanderlust and gain the confidence to embrace it for the rest of my life. As a rising senior, I recall another summer trip to Europe with Ms. Arnette and Mrs. Alberson. This time we explored Greece. Before we went, these magnificent teachers encouraged us to read as much as we could about the places we’d see. It would give us context, they said. Theirs has been some of the best travel advice I’ve ever gotten. Recently, I read 1493 by Charles C. Mann. In this sequel to his best-seller 1491, he traces the post-Columbian history of the “New” World. There’s a footnote about a mountain in Bolivia called Potosí, the largest silver mine ever discovered. Even today, 500+ years after the first silver came out, it remains an active mine. Before I knew it, I was on a plane bound for Bolivia. I had to go! On that visit, I discovered an entire culture about whom I’d known nothing. The Tiawanaku people predated the Incas and are – as far as I’m concerned – far more interesting. This enigmatic civilization lasted twice as long as their more famous successors. Their technological prowess surpassed anything at Machu Picchu (or anywhere else in the Incan world, for that matter). Their art can only be described as otherworldly. Can you tell I’m a fan? Further, thanks to that trip, I have gotten to know Dr. Ed Barnhart, one of the world’s leading experts on Meso-American cultures. Together, we are engaging in some fascinating research on the Tiawanku people and their relationship to nearby Lake Titicaca. All of that occurred because Greensboro Day School introduced me to the idea that the world exists to be explored. As the planet grows more fractured and tense, it becomes all the more important for us (especially students), to expand our horizons and make connections with people in other corners of the globe with backgrounds vastly different than our own. The earlier we gain exposure to these foreign places, the better. As Mark Twain said, “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.” I’m grateful to Greensboro Day School for helping me “become a constructive contributor to the world” who doesn’t “vegetate in one little corner of the earth.” Although, let’s face it, our corner here in the Triad is pretty special! Jeb Brooks is the President & CEO of The Brooks Group, one of the Top 20 Sales Training companies in the country. He’s the author of five books including the soon-to- be-released The Sales Manager’s Dilemma. He also maintains a blog at OutOfPlace. com n GDS Magazine | 35