Most people have lived in the same place, or at least the same country for most, if not all of the first eighteen years of their lives. But not Nicole Banister. Nicole is what some people would call a third culture kid, meaning she has moved around a lot and has had the opportunity to grow up around various cultures.
During her middle school years she lived in Houston, Texas and then moved to Singapore for her freshmen and sophomore years of high school. Afterwards, her family relocated again to California for her junior and senior year of high school. “I technically don’t have a home,” says Nicole who states that the longest she has ever lived in the same place has been during her years here at Georgetown.
Nicole’s international background is what led her here to DC because of the city’s diversity and Georgetown’s School of Foreign Services (SFS). Her background also led her to join Alpha Phi Omega, a co-ed community service fraternity. Nicole joined the frat in her freshmen year because she wanted to help serve the Georgetown and greater DC community and also because she loves and believes in social justice. Nicole also participates in prison outreach where she tutors inmates once a week so they can get their General Equivalency Diploma (GED).
Although Nicole believes school is important she also agrees that sometimes missing a day of homework to help out a community is worth it. “Homework is just homework but helping people improve their lives is [something that lasts] forever. If I don’t do homework sometimes to do community service I think it’s a fair trade.”
Nicole is also co-captain on the step team, where her step name is “Hi-Top STOMP” because of her love for hi-top sneakers (“I wear hi-tops every single day”). She is also a Resident Assistant (RA) and works as a student guard. You can see Nicole stepping and also helping her community at the UnityLive Concert to benefit Metro TeenAIDS this Friday at 8 PM in Gaston Hall. Tickets are $7 in advance and $10 at the door.