Some students have moved to Storm Lake and integrated into the community, while others, like junior Shannon Schultz, have grown up in Storm Lake their entire lives.
Schultz says that although those in SLHS see many positives to the diversity displayed within the walls of the school. Some who look from the outside in may see negatives.
Some not from the SLHS community sometimes stereotype it as a “ghetto,” and Schultz says this is confusing because she doesn’t necessarily understand why.
“Just because the people aren’t white doesn’t make me uncomfortable,” Schultz said, quoting one of her teachers.
The SLHS community has been combatting the negative image from their diversity for quite some time.
Jodi Theisen, an ex-resident of Marcus, Iowa, and a Guidance Counselor at SLHS has experienced the backlash of diversity with her students as well as celebrated their diversity with them.
Theisen recalled a moment in March 2013 when a class in "cultures" from Marcus High School visited SLHS to learn more about diversity from students in Theisen's class. The students had a unique experience and according to Theisen, “[The diversity] is amazing.”
A unique way SLHS celebrates the diversity in the school as well as deters students from forming a negative self-images is Diversity Day, a day that celebrates every culture in the school.
Diversity Day begins with a parade of flags, and students are welcome to present about their cultures and ethnicities. Students, as well as faculty alike, are encouraged to learn and appreciate the people surrounding them.
Jayson Langfitt transferred into SLHS and recognized the diversity almost immediately. He then immersed himself into the arts programs at SLHS and learned a lot from the multiple cultures exemplified on Diversity Day. Langfitt was mostly interested in the ways students from each respective culture could teach others about themselves and display that through their culture's artwork, particularly anime.
“You got to choose a specific session that you wanted to go to, and it was either students that were teaching you how to make a certain food from their culture or traditions of their culture. There was a session on anime which is just like popular things from their culture. I thought it was really cool learning about like the background of some of the things that we do, like I said anime. There was origami, and learning about the history was pretty cool,” Langfitt said.
The students at SLHS celebrate and appreciate the multiple cultures within their school.
Students and faculty alike are able to share interests, hobbies, cultures, and ethnicities with many people, so walking into Storm Lake High School is not like the school with the same students, same faculty, and same interests.
The students here embrace diversity, and the faculty and staff help to see how exposure to diversity prepare them for the world outside the building walls.
Picture this: You are in high school again. You walk inside the front doors through the main office, and you notice something. Everyone around you is the same: same color of skin, same color of hair, and same lackluster clothing. Everyone has the same interests, same style, and same abilities.
Of course, this scenario is impossible because of the uniqueness of humans, but at Storm Lake High School, this image is especially far-fetched. SLHS is one of the most diverse schools in the state of Iowa, including in the categories of racial and ethnic diversity.
Currently, there are seven different races, and many more ethnicities represented in the school's hallways. In the district's 2014-15 Annual Progress Report, it lists "our diverse schools and community" as the first in its list of values.
Storm Lake High School Guidance Counselor, Sandy Mouw, knows the ways young people can be affected by their surroundings and their peers. She says the diversity in SLHS is positive because students can be influenced by and experience different cultures at a young age. She says that the diversity prepares students for the “real world” experience better than at a school with less diversity.
“You know, students grow up understanding and respecting different cultures of all sorts, not just ethnic backgrounds,” Mouw said.
The students come from a variety of circumstances, cultures, and perspectives.
To an outsider, Sam Kelley, a current student who moved to Storm Lake from Iota, Louisiana, such great diversity was a surprise.
“There were a lot of African Americans [in Iota]. There weren’t necessarily so much as a diverse amount of people,” Kelley said. “They had pretty much two kinds; they were African Americans and Caucasians, and they were more leaning towards the African American side. Very rarely you would see Hispanic or an Asian in Louisiana or in Iota.”
Kelley says that his experience of increased racial and ethnic diversity at SLHS has been positive, and he appreciates the different cultures represented.
“You don’t get that very often, so you’re pretty much aware of diversity around you,” Kelley said.
Sandy Mouw talks about diversity in Storm Lake, IA.
Jodi Theisen shares the experience of Marcus High School's visit that further reflects on the negative assumptions of diversity.
Samuel Kelley talks about culture opening minds.
Shannon Schultz tells a story highlighting the negative assumptions with diversity.
Jayson Langfitt talk about how the various culutres interact with eachother.
Diversity
By Emily Johnson, Madeleine McCormick, & Nathan Connelly
“Sometimes I think we get a little blasé. We need to celebrate it more, maybe not celebrate like it’s a badge of honor, but I feel that we could elevate in so many different levels with the student’s experiences.”
~Sandy Mouw,
SLHS Guidance Counselor
“I think it’s great. I like having diversity in my school, gives me more opportunities to learn about different cultures.”
~Shannon Schultz,
SLHS junior
