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About Me


WIN_20150822_163746My name is Karen Clifton, and I am a senior at BGSU. I will be graduating in May with a BSBA with a Management specialization. Last year I began working at T.J. Maxx, and I plan to continue working with the company at a corporate level after graduation.

In my free time I do a lot of running; I’ve completed two marathons, 5 (soon to be 6) half-marathons, and numerous smaller races. I also enjoy playing basketball and watching football (go Steelers!).

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High school cross country (2013)

Aside from sports I also love music and going to concerts. At age 13 I began playing the bass guitar, and since then have gone to see over 75 bands live.

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After a Relient K Concert (2013)

 

Probably the most impressive international experience I have had was in 2006, when my family hosted an international student for two weeks. Both my sister an I began taking French classes at age 10, and were given the opportunity to have a French girl stay at our home. Given that I only had 1 year of language experience, (my sister had 3 years, and my parents were completely unfamiliar with the culture and language), communication was difficult. The girl, Astrid, was also young and did not speak much English. Though it was awkward at first, we learned to communicate non-verbally, and did activities that allowed us to spend time together, but did not involve extensive communication (i.e. shopping, basketball, cooking). After the first few days of her stay, I began to notice cultural differences. It was interesting to see what she viewed as “normal”; peanut butter in a jar was strange to her, and french toast became the best thing she had ever eaten.

Being so young at the time, I had never realized how different it would be for someone to live in a foreign country (even temporarily), and what challenges one would have to go through. Little did I know, I would be in the same situation as Astrid two years later.

My Trips

Australia 2007: 2 Weeks

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When I was 12 year old I had the opportunity to travel to Australia with People to People International. Planning and preparation for this trip was extensive; we had monthly meetings to discuss Australian cultures and customs, and also what we should expect upon arrival. The trip began a little rocky; out plane had run out of fuel flying from Los Angeles to Sydney; we had to detour to Brisbane to refuel, they went on our way. Once in Sydney, we visited the Sydney Opera House and several museums, then got the chance to snorkel in the Great Barrier Reef. After staying in Sydney for a few days, we spent the rest of our trip in Brisbane. In Brisbane (and surrounding areas) we learned about caves and aborigionees, went camping and sightseeing, and saw live musical shows. Although the entire trip was awesome, the last, and best part of the trip, was when we went to the Australia Zoo. Here I got to have my picture taken while holding a koala bear, pet kangaroos, and met the Irwin family (sadly Steve had died about 10 months prior).

France 2008: 3 Weeks

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Dinner on the Eiffel Tower

The summer after I traveled to Australia, I traveled to France with my French teacher and other students (from my school district and two others). As I mentioned previously, I had taken French since I was 10; though I had 3 years experience, I wasn’t anywhere close to being fluent, and still had difficulty having full on conversations (luckily my older friends helped me out a lot). In France we traveled around the western side of the country. We began in Normandy and ended our touring in Paris. Though seeing the art museums and landmarks was cool, my favorite part of the trip was the family stay. Each of us had been given a family we would be staying with, and were able to talk to them about 3 months before we arrived. During this week I went to a French school with the youngest daughter, Noemie (who was a year older than me), did some city shopping, and played way too much soccer. Noemie and I began to become good friends by the end of the week, and still continue to stay in touch today.

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