Cultural Paper

Lee Griffin
University of Saint Mary
September 22, 2015

Abstract
My paper will discuss an over-view of where I come, experiences and cultural
background. I will elaborate about my family, beliefs, educational experiences, and experience
with handicapped people. My experiences will highlight on the importance of global
interdependence, interconnectedness, diversity, change and teaching.

I am born and raised from San Antonio, Texas. San Antonio is the six largest city in the
United States. San Antonio is the second largest city in Texas and the largest growing city in the
United States with a population of about 1.5 million people. The main tourist attractions that San
Antonio presents are the Alamo, Riverwalk, and Sea World. San Antonio is a diverse city that
resides a variety of different cultures. There is a diverse population of ethnicities in San Antonio.
The majority of the population is white but Hispanics are right under the majority line. San
Antonio is an city known for having an heavy Hispanic based culture.
In my intermediate family I have two brothers and two sisters. I am the youngest in the
family. My family isnt traditional. I didnt grow up with both parents in the household during
my childhood. My mother was married before she met my dad. My mothers husband had passed
away from cancer. My mothers first husband was my oldest brother and two sisters real dad. My
other brother and I have the same dad. In my intermediate family we all have the same mom, but
different dads. With us having different dads has not conflicted with our bond as being siblings.
My familys socio-economic status would be considered as the lower class. We had things we
needed, but would struggle just to get by or make quota. There times things would get cut-off or
we had to live with other members of the family to save up. As a family we are strong and fight
through situations due to our beliefs and faith. My family beliefs would fall under being
Christian. Growing up my mother was an active members of a couple of churches, which she
would require us to go to church services majority of the time. My family believes vary
depending on the person. I would consider myself as a Christian, but I am not deeply in tune with
the bible and scripture readings. I believe in a higher power, and would consider myself as being
above average with spirituality.

I attended John Paul Stevens High School on the Northside of San Antonio. John Paul
Stevens was a new school. My first year attending John Paul Stevens, it was the second year the
school was open. At John Paul Stevens High School we had a diverse population. I graduated in
2010 at the top 15% of my class. I graduated from a class of 580 students, but our school had
about 2,300 students total. I am the first in my family to go to college. I attended Bethel College
for three years, straight out of high school. I attended Bethel College from 2010-2013. I was
majoring in Physical Education and Special Education. At Bethel College I worked with many
students with a variety of diverse backgrounds. I have worked with students with special needs. I
have done camps, tutoring, field experience, observation, Special Olympics, and more
experiences. I transferred to the University of Saint Mary in the fall of 2013. USM is more
diverse that Bethel College, so it was also a new experience of working with individuals different
than me. I am currently serving my third year at the University of Saint Mary which I plan on
graduation in the spring of 2016.
My older brother is diagnosed with a condition that I am not familiar with. He spent his
first seven years in the hospital. There were times when the doctors had to bring my brother back
to life but he continued to fight. Till this day doctors didnt think they were ever going to be able
to see him reach this age. He sometimes has to use a wheelchair due to his leg and lungs
problems. He is still able to walk and run, especially while he participates in the Special
Olympics. He is what I believe to be a living miracle in my eyes. As I think about my brother I
see my life as a blessing because Im able to do a variety of things that he wishes or wants to do.
Growing up with having a brother with special needs has impacted my life and recently losing
my oldest brother during my sophomore year of college. My brothers have impacted my life and
have helped me put things into perspective.

Even though Im the youngest in my family, people look up to me due to the road I have
been through. My family is proud of me attending and pursing college with odds set against me.
Attending Bethel College to USM has provided me with a variety of different cultural
experiences. Even though I grew up in a big city with a diverse population, college has provided
me with more cultural diversity. Once I came to Kansas I experienced diversity differently than
what I was use to in Texas. College has provided me different opportunities in meeting people
from different backgrounds and cultures. The change Ive experienced coming to Kansas has
helped me grow more independently from experiencing things more outside my comfort zone.
From the different people I met, teachers, and students I worked with has provided me the
background needed for the teaching field. Interconnectedness, diversity, and change are
important to be experience with any field of work especially teaching. My personal experiences
and background has prepared me to handle diversity with my future students. It has enlightened
my awareness and perspective on different cultures and diversity to help me be a good teacher in
the future.