When I was attending DeSoto High School, predominately made up of one race, I experienced a lot of racism, stereotyping, prejudice, ignorance and violence at that school. I was never happy and felt like the odd one out.

Since coming to McNeil, where it is a gigantic melting pot of various races, it has come to my understanding that this school is a much more positive and encouraging place to be. It’s as if every country got together to decide that this school must represent all countries, more so representative of what America is, which is a diverse country made up entirely of different people.Coming from a school that didn’t embrace or have much diversity, this school is a wonderful place that allows everybody to be immersed in the variety of ethnicity and culture that the world has to offer.

We are offered an opportunity to be surrounded with students ranging from Korean, Ethiopian, German, Saudi Arabian, Nigerian, Filipino and Puerto Rican backgrounds, just to name a few.

To be more specific about the attendees of McNeil and their background here are some percentages: White 53.8 percent, Hispanic 20.88 percent, Asian 11.58 percent, African-American 9.95 percent, other 3.8 percent. From country to country, we’ve got them all.

Being in a school that is multicultural allows people to be more open minded, accepting and aware of the different lifestyles and ethnicities in the world. It also gives people the ability to develop an understanding of the unique perspectives of their peers from different backgrounds and learn to function in a multicultural, multiethnic environment. To be clear, not all schools with a one-race environment create negativity.

Also, prejudices and stereotypes are broken down when people have the opportunity to get to understand others with different backgrounds on a personal level. Overall, cultural diversity enhances the school experience and enables us to experience more.