In the best of cases, a college career is often a time of tumult and transition, a succession of new faces, a million conversations that begin with: 鈥淲here are you from?鈥�
For students like Nika Hoefle, whose family had moved from Minnesota to a small city in northern Thailand when she was 14, that question doesn鈥檛 quite work like the simple ice-breaker it鈥檚 supposed to be. Telling people she鈥檚 from Thailand 鈥� which she considers home 鈥� can be awkward. It can almost come off arrogant. It often just brings the conversation to a halt.
鈥淧eople don鈥檛 really know how to interact with you,鈥� says Hoefle, a senior majoring in as well as . 鈥淭he questions that people ask once they鈥檝e figured out that you鈥檝e lived abroad can be vague and difficult to answer.鈥�
E.g: 鈥淥h鈥� What was that like?鈥�
How are you supposed to answer something like that?
Hoefle is what鈥檚 known as a , or TCK. The term was coined decades ago to describe someone who鈥檚 spent a 鈥渟ignificant part鈥� of their formative years living in a country or culture different from their parents鈥�. The 鈥渢hird-culture鈥� bit refers to the mixed identities they develop as a result, neither fully belonging to their parents鈥� culture, nor to the one(s) in which they鈥檝e lived.*
91短视频 dozen on campus
The definition of a TCK is somewhat nebulous, and 91短视频 doesn鈥檛 track official enrollment numbers of students who consider themselves to be TCKs. But based on participation in a special orientation held prior to the start of each academic year, more than a dozen TCKs are now studying at 91短视频.
One of Hoefle鈥檚 classmates and fellow TCKs, Alena Yoder, lived in Kenya from second to seventh grade. Though the two lived overseas in entirely different parts of the world, they share the experience of feeling like outsiders, at times, in the country where they hold citizenship.
鈥淔or a long time, I just didn鈥檛 fit in,鈥� says Yoder, a senior history major.
She struggled to make friends and recalls her eighth-grade year after her family鈥檚 return to Indiana as the worst of her life.
Hoefle and Yoder are co-presidents of a that meets monthly on campus to discuss their experiences of adjustment, challenge and growth. 91短视频 10 students have been active in the club this year.
鈥淚t鈥檚 definitely a support group,鈥� says Hoefle. 鈥淲hat we try to do as a club is be a safe place for people to talk about what鈥檚 going on 鈥� Without that strong support group at 91短视频, I don鈥檛 know how my transition would have gone. I can鈥檛 really imagine it without those people, even though we were from such different places.鈥�
More than 20 TCKs among faculty and staff
, an education professor and faculty sponsor of the TCK club, said the group 鈥減rovides that safe space for challenging each other but also for providing support during the challenging times.鈥�
鈥淚 think it is [also] a place where they can experience a sense of home 鈥� home that lies in relationships, not in geographical location,鈥� she added.
Leaman co-sponsors the club with her husband, , a business professor who grew up in East Africa and is among the nearly 20 91短视频 faculty and staff who are TCKs. Lori Leaman says the large presence of TCKs across the entire university community, along with the focus on cross-cultural understanding that permeates the curriculum, makes 91短视频 a particularly supportive place for TCK students. (The Leamans also spent 12 years in Nairobi, Kenya, where both of their children were born.)
鈥淚 think the emphasis on 鈥榯he common good鈥� for every single person on this globe resonates with TCKs,鈥� she continues.
A ‘comfortable’ place
As their graduation rapidly approaches, Yoder and Hoefle both say they鈥檝e had great experiences at 91短视频.
鈥淭here are people here on this campus who very much understand that TCK narrative,鈥� says Yoder, who plans to stay in Harrisonburg after graduation. 鈥淚t feels comfortable here to be a TCK.鈥�
As a legacy of her past, Hoefle expects she鈥檒l always have an unconventional notion of 鈥渉ome,鈥� one that鈥檚 not necessarily rooted to one specific place.聽 Sometimes, she says, she鈥檚 jealous of peers who have deep, deep roots in one particular community. Other times, she鈥檚 grateful that her life has been so varied.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 better or worse to have lived abroad,鈥� Hoefle says. 鈥淚t just depends on what you do with it in the end.鈥�
Read Hoefle’s opinion piece published in the Weather Vane, “The Truth 91短视频 Being a Third Culture Kid.”
* Definition adapted from: Pollock, David C. “Being a Third-Culture Kid: A Profile.” Raising Resilient MKs: Resources for Caregivers, Parents, and Teachers. Colorado Springs, CO: Association of Christian Schools International, 1998. 45-53.