When Rebekah Mann '14 decided to leave her Springfield, Mo., home and enroll at Concordia, it made complete sense.
That’s because she is a veteran "villager," a multiple attendee of Concordia Language Villages. All four of her siblings have been villagers, too.
Mann attended multiple summer sessions in French, Chinese, Spanish and German. She’s spent six months studying in France; attended summer school in England; did a May Seminar in Greece; taught English in China with the Concordia Global Language Villages program; and stayed with a sister in Kenya, who was a missionary there.
Next semester, she’ll enhance her fluency by studying in Tours, France. For most of her life, Mann has embodied Concordia’s mission of being responsibly engaged in the world by embracing language education.
This all seems natural to her. "My family is very globally aware," she says. "My parents encourage us to learn languages because they want us to be assets to society."
Mann is a French and elementary education major with a minor in Chinese who aspires to teach a bilingual classroom.
On campus, she’s librarian and co-treasurer of Symphonic Band; an officer in French Club who spends weekends working at Lac du Bois - the French Language Village; and she works the highly undesirable 3-6 a.m. shift at the Park Region front desk.
Mann’s parents met at Bemidji State University and were well aware of the nearby Language Villages.
"They are advocates of the immersion style of learning," Mann says. "My parents had a big role in helping me through the Villages and giving me the social skills and confidence to make friends and live outside my comfort zone and be OK with it."
When it came time to choose a college, Mann says being able to work weekends at the French Language Village was a major factor in choosing Concordia.
"I enjoy spending time with kids who are eager learners," she says. "I’m gaining teaching skills and learning counseling. Working at Lac du Bois is good for my career."
Being a Villager helped Mann’s growth as a confident person of the world.
"I learned at an early age to take responsibility for myself," she says. "You also live and participate in a learning community because it’s total immersion in language and culture. I love the community feeling at the Language Villages."
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