LIM, a Tucker Foundation program introduced in 2009, aims to foster college awareness and intercultural competency among high school students from under-resourced local schools, according to student director Gabriela Meade '14.
As part of the program, undergraduates who have had significant intercultural experiences also travel to local high schools and deliver presentations about their time abroad, according to Meade. The 24 undergraduate students currently involved in the program presented to approximately 900 high school students this year, an increase from the 400 students reached last year, Meade said.
The program strives to "expand students' perception of what is possible in their lives," Davis said.
LIM exposes students to the benefits of attending college and of experiencing different cultures, according to Mercedes West, a senior at Stevens High School in Claremont, N.H.
"It gives high school students a push to study abroad and not just live in the confined bubble of New Hampshire," West said.
Rachel Meager, a junior at Windsor High School in Windsor, Vt., said she had not considered studying abroad before attending the LIM presentations.
"It opened up a lot of doors, and now I'm starting to look at schools because of their study abroad programs," Meager said.
While she has reservations about studying abroad because of the distance it would put between herself and her family, Windsor freshman Jessica Lawson said she enjoyed hearing about other students' experiences and learning about the world through their stories.
The LIM program encourages students to "think in a cross-cultural way" and expand their own perspectives, according to Davis.
Following a session about South Africa, Stevens High School student Ashley Giannuzzi said she learned that the country was not "a barren wasteland" as she had initially thought, but a country with a vibrant culture.
"By the end of the presentation, my view was completely changed," she said.
In addition to benefitting high school students, the program offers undergraduate volunteers an outlet to share their personal experiences, enabling mutual growth and learning, Meade said.
LIM members attend public speaking workshops to improve their presentation skills, according to Meade.
The program is unique because it allows students to serve their community by speaking about their own experiences, Davis said.
"We're trying to leverage the talents and passions of Dartmouth students to make a difference in the lives of high school students," he said.
Ben Kahn '11, who hosted a session about his experience teaching in the Marshall Islands, said he enjoyed speaking with students informally about a different culture.
"Being exposed to different ideas and ways of living can open up people's perspectives on the world and life and what it can be and gives you a chance to reflect back on our own American culture," Kahn said.
LIM also organizes professional development workshops for high school faculty, including a recent session with Director of the Rassias Center Helene Rassias-Miles. The program provides funding for teachers to travel to national conferences.
The program currently works with Lebanon High School, Stevens High School, Windsor High School and Rivendell Academy in Orford, N.H., according to Meade.
LIM is sponsored by the Tucker Foundation and funded by an Arthur Vining Davis Foundation grant, according to Davis. The original Language in Motion chapter was founded in 2000 at Juniata College by Deborah Roney '73.
