News Story

A life of international diplomacy is in the cards for Kirsten Cruz, a senior at International Leadership of Texas Windmill Lakes-Orem High School who spent most of her high school years immersing herself in foreign language.

“All countries really depend on each other to really function in the world,” said an excited Kirsten, when talking about her interest in a career in foreign affairs. “That's why international affairs really caught my eye, because you can see how something that could be taking place somewhere randomly in like the Middle East, could have a long term effect on us.”

Like every ILTexas student, Kirsten learned in English, Spanish, and Mandarin Chinese. The Houston-area senior participated in several of ILTexas’ Exceptional Learning Opportunities (ELOs), including a Chinese language summer program at the University of Mississippi. Following that, she spent several weeks putting her new skills into practice during an immersive ILTexas trip to Taiwan.

“A lot of the terminology that we were taught in Ole Miss became useful in Taiwan because the teachers were of China and Taiwan descent,” she said. “We were able to actually know how to say certain things that could become useful.”

After graduation, Kirsten will attend Oberlin College in Ohio for international relations. Her hope is to earn a graduate degree from an Ivy League school.

In addition to participating in travel opportunities with ILTexas, Kirsten is part of National Honor Society, Student Council, and our Model United Nations team. She’s also part of the Marine JROTC program at Windmill Lakes-Orem. She credits her experience in JROTC, as well as the leadership classes each student is required to take at ILTexas, for her expected success in an international relations education.

“There was an entire lesson on how to show empathy, and how to how to navigate cultural nuances and cultural differences. I think skills like that are really useful in these kinds of majors,” she said. Her favorite teacher while at ILTexas was Mr. Jacob Mexicano, who inspired her love of social studies.

One of her favorite things about her time at ILTexas is the sense of support she felt from her teachers and classmates. Kirsten said, “It really creates more of a sense of community within the campus.” She’ll continue getting that support as part of the Posse Program, an exclusive scholarship program aimed on building support systems for incoming college freshmen.