Feature Friday: Keeping an Open Mind

Feature Friday highlights the tremendous personal stories our coaches and cadet-athletes have to share on a weekly basis. Each Friday, a new feature story will be prominently highlighted on GoArmyWestPoint.com. The features will include multimedia pieces, as well as written stories by media outlets and the Army West Point athletic communications staff.

Cadets are provided an endless number of opportunities to pursue their dreams at the U.S. Military Academy, whether it be militarily, professionally, athletically or personally. For Tyler McKinney, a senior outfielder on the Army West Point softball team, those unique opportunities allowed her to travel to the other side of the world for a life-altering experience.

McKinney chose to go to Thailand last summer on the academy's version of a study abroad trip with some of her fellow cadets. The Academic Individual Advanced Development (AIAD) was made possible through Cross Cultural Solutions. She had narrowed her choices for which trip she wanted to take down to Costa Rica, Thailand or Tanzania. The ability to experience the unknown was a big determining factor for the South Canaan, Pa., native, who was unfamiliar with the Thai culture before stepping foot in the country.

"I chose Thailand without any background of their country, customs or culture," McKinney said. "What made it special was just having the opportunity to be able to go there. I had a chance to be at West Point over the summer for another military detail and continue to develop myself militarily, but I think an important aspect of being a leader is developing yourself on a cultural level. In the Army, we can be deployed pretty much anywhere in the world, so dealing with different ethnicities, cultures and learning how to interact with them by respecting those differences is a key skill to have."

Despite her lack of knowledge about the Thai people and their culture, McKinney jumped in head first and wanted to experience everything Thailand had to offer. She was placed with a host family in Bangkok. While there, she taught English to students of the Adaentire Anpawan Suksa Elementary School.

McKinney's group was specifically tasked with teaching the students about clothing, while other groups taught things like greetings and the weather. While the lesson plans were designed to teach the students English, McKinney noted that they were able to teach the children valuable life skills through a fun classroom environment.

"I immersed myself in their culture to be able to lead the kids and teach them English," she commented. "Overall, we might have taught them some English, but I think we really taught them leadership skills and how to be confident through different exercises that made learning fun for them. We incorporated music and the different activities like the hokey pokey and the chicken dance, and you realize how, no matter the language barrier, music and having a happy aura helped them feel welcome and comfortable in the classroom. We taught them more than just English. We taught them how to work together to achieve a common goal. And we made it fun."

The environment that McKinney and the other cadets created in the classroom allowed them to see the interaction between the male and female students and provided them the means to bring in competition and cohesion. The students naturally separated in the classroom, but when they started to incorporate physical activities at recess, the kids meshed seamlessly.

They had dress up competitions where the kids split off into two teams and saw who could get the correct clothing on first. McKinney mentioned that the coolest part of the entire experience was seeing that, through exercise, they were able to bring camaraderie and a competitive spirit to the students.

In addition to adjusting to being halfway around the world and working around the language barrier, the cultural differences were a definite eye-opener for McKinney. However, her concerns about having to adhere to all of those cultural changes quickly vanished once she got there.

"It was very intimidating for us to go in to a different country with unique cultural boundaries, but when we walked in, they were so welcoming," McKinney remembered. "You could feel the passion and care from the Thai people and how welcoming they were to us, both to their country and their school. When we got there, all of the kids ran up wanting to slap my hand. I felt like Justin Bieber or some other celebrity. There were hundreds of them, and everyone wanted to touch your hand and give you a high-five. All we had to do was smile, and that meant the world to them."

One of the principals asked McKinney and Rabble Rouser Bailey Bowlin to lead the entire school from third to sixth grade through a group exercise as a warm-up. The only problem was that they were unsure of how to start the warm-up and couldn't verbalize any instructions to the students. They eventually started by just doing some jumping jacks, and, without saying anything, had hundreds of children mimicking their every move. The duo proceeded to do pushups with the kids copying everything they did. That led to McKinney and Bowlin breaking out in a cheer: The Rocket.

"That was the coolest thing for me, being able to bring people together through physical activity," she commented. "It was truly amazing to see as an athlete and Kinesiology major."

One of the biggest differences she noticed though was the limited window they have to capitalize on educational opportunities.

"In America, you can go to college at 35 or 45," McKinney said. "It's unlimited. Over there, you have to take a test to get into college. And, if you don't make the cut, you don't get to go to college or have the same opportunities in sports or jobs that someone else does. The extracurricular activities that are offered here in America aren't offered there. You don't realize how many opportunities are available to you until you go to a different country where they're striving to make those educational developments."

It was very hard for McKinney to witness this because she wanted all of the kids in her class to have the same endless opportunities that she has here in America. One of her biggest goals was to show them how to work towards being the best version of themselves and not putting a cap on their learning.

While McKinney spent the majority of her time in Bangkok teaching the students, there were many weekends that were spent exploring the country, which allowed her a chance to immerse herself in the culture. She went to Chiang Mai in the northern part of Thailand, as well as venturing south to Phi Phi and Phuket.

In Chiang Mai, McKinney went to an elephant sanctuary where they help rehabilitate elephants so they could return to their herds.

125179 — A drawing Tyler received from one of her students while in Thailand.

Her adventure with the elephants was not over as they herded the animals down to the river to clean them off after they had gotten muddy. During that time, they also went to cut sugarcane, which they were allowed to bring back to the sanctuary. McKinney's stalks didn't make it all the way back though as an elephant reached down and ate all of the sugarcane off her shoulder when she went to walk around it.

To make matters worse, the trail was muddy and McKinney was only wearing flip-flops on her feet, which caused her to get stuck and fall in the mud.

One of the most unique experiences for McKinney and her classmates from the academy was being invited to the United States Embassy for a Fourth of July celebration by the U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Thailand, Glyn T. Davies.

"Just having that connection through West Point and being able to represent the academy at the embassy party for the Fourth of July was incredible," she remarked. "Being away on Independence Day and celebrating in a different country was really cool, and West Point allowed that to happen."

125180 — Fourth of July celebration with Ambassador Glyn T. Davies at U.S. Embassy in Bangkok.

After returning to West Point, McKinney reflected upon all of the opportunities this experience provided for her and how she will be able to apply the things she learned in Thailand to her future.

"The biggest takeaway, socially, was that no matter where I went, smiling and being willing to learn was key," McKinney said. "It doesn't matter the language or culture difference, you just need to have an open mind and an open heart. Those are the biggest things I learned, along with respecting other people's cultures and having the willingness to put yourself in an uncomfortable situation. It quickly becomes comfortable, but you have to be able to put your guard down for a second and be uncomfortable with yourself. That's what made me fall in love with not just traveling, but meeting new people and getting a chance to see the world through their eyes. You can learn so much from others, and I think it not only makes you grateful for what you have but also creates relationships that last a lifetime. "

She remains in contact with some of the teachers from Adaentire Anpawan Suksa Elementary School and helps them practice their English. That is something very special for McKinney. Knowing that even just a normal conversation can have a big impact on someone else, despite being on the other side of the globe.

One of the biggest influences on McKinney that allowed her to be able to adapt to the cultural change in Thailand was attending the academy.

"At West Point, you know coming in that everyone comes from a different background," McKinney commented. "The academy teaches you that everyone is one color, which is a great skill to have. Everyone is green. It doesn't matter where you came from and how different it is from the person next to you because you're all wearing the same uniform and working toward the same objective. When you take the time to embrace and respect someone's culture, it goes a long way. When you're deployed or on a training mission in a different country, knowing the culture around you makes a world of difference with the local population."

The trip to Thailand not only affected McKinney's social understanding of the culture, but also affected her professional career. Prior to the trip, McKinney was anticipating that she would stay stateside with her posting after graduation. Everything changed after that experience, however, as she is now going to report to her first military duty station in Germany.

"When I went to Thailand, I realized that there is so much out there in the world," McKinney said. "The different people and cultures of the world are amazing. Just caring and giving five minutes to a complete stranger can teach you so much. My trip to Thailand is the sole reason why I picked Germany as my number one choice. With that, I'm forever grateful for getting the opportunity to go to Thailand."

That is exactly what West Point is about. They give you so many opportunities to put tools in your kit. The thicker your tool kit is, the better equipped you are to handle different situations as a leader.

"That's what Thailand was for me. Another tool to put in my kit."

Army West Point Athletics

Feature Friday: Keeping an Open Mind

Players Mentioned

Tyler McKinney

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