Jesse Appell believes the future remains rich for those who make an effort to show up and find a way to exist between cultures.
That was the message the comedian and author of “This Was Funnier in China” shared during his keynote speech at USC’s Language and Career Week kickoff on Wednesday. The comedian, who is well-known for his stand-up work in China, recognizes firsthand how important a diverse environment is in understanding various cultures.
“A lot of people might think, ‘Oh, studying another culture takes energy,’ and it does,” Appell said. “But what you [gain in] your own life and your own enjoyment of being on this planet is more than worth it.”
He preached maintaining curiosity and interest, as these are key traits of those who learn something about how to live from other cultures.
“There’s not going to be a textbook that just teaches you how to live between cultures,” he says. “The resources that USC puts right in front of the students are a great place to be getting ready to go out into the world and have a foot in both cultures.”
Appell was just one of the speakers involved in the three-day Dornsife event that featured panels, interactive roundtables and networking events.
William O’Brian, USC senior and panelist at one of the Dornsife events, said learning another language is never a waste, adding that it opens up doors to both communicate with people and experience cultures through their mother tongue.
“A lot of people bring different things to the table, and knowing another language is something that will really make you stick out amongst your peers and your competition,” he said.
O’Brian said his fluency in French helped his application for an internship with the U.S. Senate stand out.
“I also did my interview while I was in France, and the Eiffel Tower was in the background,” he said. “The interviewer said, ‘It just showed that you’re a rich cultural person.’”
About half of the world’s population is bilingual, yet only 20% of individuals in the U.S. can speak a second language fluently, according to the Washington Technical Institute. Bilingual employees can earn up to 20% more than their monolingual counterparts.
Mina Soroosh, an assistant professor of French, said she wants students to possess what she described as “intercultural competence.”
“Really understanding what other cultures do and how they act and how they behave maybe differently from an English speaker — that’s something I think that’s twofold,” she said. “We teach our students language as well as kind of really being comfortable in interculturality.”