Kate Huisman ’16, an elementary education and Spanish major from Sioux Center, Iowa, worked for nonprofit Hope Haven in Rock Valley this summer.
by Elizabeth Carman
After returning from a semester in Granada, Spain, Kate Huisman ’16 didn’t expect to experience the challenges and rewards of a new culture just 20 minutes away from her hometown.
Huisman, an elementary education and Spanish major from Sioux Center, Iowa, wanted a summer job close to her hometown after being abroad for over four months. In nearby Rock Valley, she found Hope Haven, a nonprofit, Christian organization designed to serve individuals with disabilities.
While Huisman initially wanted to work at Hope Haven to practice the skills she had learned in her education classes at Central College, she quickly learned she would not always be the one teaching the eight teenage boys she served.
“These boys are so different,” Huisman said, “and yet, every single one of them has something to teach me. Though I’m working with them, they teach me more than I could ever teach them.”
Spending time with these boys on a daily basis provided Huisman with firsthand experience of their different culture. While adapting to a group of individuals with disabilities was not always easy, Huisman said it was more challenging to teach people outside Hope Haven about this organization and its people.
“The challenging part isn’t understanding where they come from,” Huisman said. “It’s the ability to explain to those around you in your community that they are individuals and deserve as much respect as we do.”
This is one of the main goals of Hope Haven: showing others that people with disabilities have something special to offer. In pursuit of this goal, Huisman said she spent most of her time hanging out with the boys and participating in community events.
“These boys are so different—and yet, every single one of them has something to teach me… It’s a whole different culture right in front of my face that I had overlooked.” – Kate Huisman ’16
Cultural differences are an expected part of studying abroad, Huisman said—but she never expected to develop close relationships with people from such different backgrounds in the U.S. “Being abroad, you open your eyes—obviously it’s going to be a different culture,” Huisman said. “And this summer, all of a sudden I’m working in a house with people who struggle with behavioral disabilities or different learning disabilities, and it’s a whole different culture right in front of my face that I had overlooked.”
According to Huisman, her time in Spain and on campus at Central was essential in preparing her for this job. In particular, Huisman said she sought to apply what professor of education Esther Streed always reminds her classes: “different means different.” Streed explains that this philosophy encourages students to overcome prejudices and appreciate the value of unique individuals.
Huisman said she has realized this idea is important to many aspects of her life, especially her time at Hope Haven. “Every single person is different—every day is different,” Huisman said. “I sit there in class and think every time she says that, and a different situation pops into my head that I can apply it to.”
Huisman is confident she will be able to apply what she has learned this year in her future occupation, but her time at Hope Haven has not ended yet. Huisman will continue to work over breaks, and she often writes letters to the boys. Huisman plans to work at Hope Haven again next summer, and she said the lessons she’s learned have already changed her in ways she cannot describe. Wherever she ends up in life, Huisman said she plans to keep this important lesson in mind: everyone has something special to offer.