{"id":4798,"date":"2020-10-30T00:37:22","date_gmt":"2020-10-30T00:37:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/takeflyte.org\/?p=4798"},"modified":"2020-10-30T00:37:22","modified_gmt":"2020-10-30T00:37:22","slug":"donor-profile-colton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/takeflyte.org\/donor-profile-colton\/","title":{"rendered":"Donor Spotlight: Colton Oliphant"},"content":{"rendered":"
FLYTE is more than a non-profit organization. It is a community built by supporters and donors who want to empower students to change their lives \u2013 and the world \u2013 through travel.<\/i><\/p>\n
When travel fundamentally changes your life, wanting to help others have the same global experiences comes naturally. Inspired by his own enlightening travels, Colton believes other people having these kinds of experiences makes the world a better place. We are so grateful for his generosity which will help our FLYTE students to do so.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n I grew up in a small town in Western Washington named Onalaska. My family consisted of only my parents, my older sister, and myself. We would travel to the beach almost every year and stay in a little mobile home owned by a family friend. This was my first introduction to changing my own personal scenery. <\/span><\/p>\n Beyond that, we popped into Canada once before passports were required, but the first time I flew was to a basketball tournament in San Diego (in high school). The next time I flew I was on my way to do a month-long program in Germany learning about the Lutheran Reformation during my senior year of university. I was hooked. Not only was it enjoyable, but it was also fascinating. I loved all the little differences between how the German people did things as compared to how I was used to doing things. It opened my eyes and made me thirsty to learn about more different cultures, and I did, to the tune of visiting 5 different continents (I\u2019m eyeing you Australia and Antarctica!).<\/span><\/p>\n A funny thing happened somewhere in between, though. While initially, the thing that struck me was how different we all are, the lesson that stuck was that deep down we\u2019re all pretty much the same. That realization is a game-changer. That breeds so much understanding and curiosity and compassion that the lesson is priceless.<\/span><\/p>\n It fundamentally changed it. If not for seeing new places, I wouldn\u2019t have the career that I do now in international education. I\u2019ve been in the field for nearly a decade, and I don\u2019t see myself switching gears any time soon! It\u2019s also given me a much more robust sense of empathy as well as a more complete broadened perspective. That\u2019s especially useful when it comes time to problem solve!<\/span><\/p>\nTell us about yourself.<\/strong><\/h2>\n
How has travel impacted your life?<\/strong><\/h2>\n