Leslie Osborne

My name is Leslie Osborne and I graduated as an HAB in 2012. I moved to the Republic of the Marshall Islands in the South Pacific to be a volunteer English teacher. I went with the WorldTeach Program and lived for two years on a remote island teaching English as a second language to elementary school aged children.

The Republic of the Marshall Islands is a small island country composed of several tiny atolls that were taken by the United States from Japan during World War II. The natives strive to hold onto their traditions and culture as the world develops around them. As a volunteer, I was fully immersed in the Marshallese culture, living with a Marshallese family and having very little contact with the outside world for two years. I learned how to cook over an open fire, weave handmade sleeping mats from dried pandanus leaves, and all the different ways to eat and use coconuts. I became fluent in Marshallese and was welcomed into the community.

Shortly after returning home, I left for a ten-week cultural experience in Sweden. I am now back home, preparing for my next overseas adventure and applying for graduate school in Applied Anthropology, which I hope to start in fall 2015. My time as an HAB and my experiences since have made me realize my desire to understand people, where they come from, and who they are.

My education and experiences in the HAB program are some of my best memories from Xavier. The HAB program, my professors, and my fellow students shaped my experience at Xavier and prepared me for life beyond the classroom. I am very lucky and grateful to have been part of this program. Being an HAB is about so much more than mastering Latin, Greek, and Philosophy. Xavier's HAB program taught me how to think for myself, analyze the world, and instilled a sense of discipline in me.