"Having grown up in a pretty rural place, my first real exposure to a diverse environment came during my time in the military. During my service, I was blessed with the opportunity to serve alongside many people from very culturally diverse backgrounds. This experience really helped me mature by taking the time to talk to people who were different than me, get to know them, and see where they were coming from on various issues. Today in my career, I carry this same appreciation for working with a team of diverse colleagues. In my current role, I work with a couple of outstanding mechanics who were born in other countries, and our training paths led us to all have very differing styles of work and ways of solving problems. I appreciate the times that we can learn from each other to become a more efficient team."