Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a South African social-rights activist, once said: “We inhabit a universe that is characterized by diversity.” Cultures, religions, political systems, businesses, landscapes, climate or seasons — we can find diversity in all of them and the list could go on and on. Diversity creates contrasts and contrasts make life exciting; some people even say contrasts make life possible. A friend of mine mentioned that he finds his evening beer tastes better after a hard working day. Another one said that he could only appreciate the great Boston summer after the tough winter.

At Bentley, there are contrasts and diversity everywhere. We have up to 18 graduate student groups some focusing on distinct countries or parts of the world, such as the Bentley European Club or the Chinese Student and Scholar Association. We have culture fests that introduce student into traditions, dishes and habits of other countries, all organized by students. I work, study, converse and hang out with people from all over the world. Fifty percent of my classmates are internationals; the others are from the U.S. It has been an invaluable experience to have that foreign perspective and context. In a recent class called “Leading Responsibly,” a Chinese student told us about his paradigm shift that he experienced in the classroom.

When we talked about high-power distances and fear-based leadership, he said that he just realized that he fears all his supervisors and that he believes it is just a cultural thing that he wants to change for his leadership style. Most of us mentioned they have never experienced that kind of leadership in the Western world. Whenever there is something to discuss that requires the international perspective, we just ask the students in the classroom: “How is it back in your country?” That unbiased and native testimonials of all the different countries make the classroom experience special. I can say I have learned as much from the people in my classroom as I have from my professors.