{"id":13380,"date":"2022-12-01T00:40:57","date_gmt":"2022-12-01T08:40:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/?p=13380"},"modified":"2026-02-20T09:46:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T17:46:08","slug":"kole-lappe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/2022\/12\/01\/kole-lappe\/","title":{"rendered":"From Montana to Spain: First-Gen Abroad Program Preps Kole Lappe for International Travel"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Group
\u201cGrowing up in a town of 36 people, the idea of traveling to Europe seemed like a distant dream,\u201d says Kole Lappe (center back).
(Courtesy photos)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n
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\"Kole
Kole Lappe in Seville<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Kole Lappe<\/a> grew up on a cattle ranch in Montana, but realized he wasn\u2019t cut out to be a cowboy in his pre-teen years. Instead, he was drawn to cities and distant places he saw on the news.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was 11 or 12 when I stopped competing in rodeo and told my parents I wasn\u2019t interested in riding horses anymore,\u201d Lappe says. \u201cI started to really think about what I wanted my future to be.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With career goals that include traveling for work, Lappe is majoring in international business<\/a> with a finance concentration at the Carson College of Business. He took his first extended trip out of the country through WSU\u2019s First-Generation Abroad<\/a> program last summer, spending four weeks in Spain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGrowing up in a town of 36 people, the idea of traveling to Europe seemed like a distant dream,\u201d says Lappe, a junior. \u201cStudying in Spain taught me so much about other cultures. Not only did I meet new people and see beautiful scenery, I learned a lot about myself and what I want out of life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Removing barriers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

First-Gen Abroad helps remove barriers to overseas study for first-generation college students. Donations from WSU alumni subsidize students\u2019 travel costs. They also take a 1-credit course that covers what to expect in their host country, cultural values and bias, how to get a passport, and what to pack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lappe says he appreciated having a class tailored to first-gen needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs first-generation college students, our concerns are usually a lot different than other students,\u201d he says. \u201cMost of us are low-income. No one really knows how to use financial aid for study abroad or take out a loan, so having an advisor to walk us through the process was helpful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lappe also enjoyed spending time with a cohort of other first-gen students. In high school, he often felt like he was preparing for college alone, relying on what his friends\u2019 parents were telling them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing first-gen, we were all in the same boat,\u201d he says. \u201cIt was nice to be with people who could relate to that experience, whether it was troubles with school or not having your parents to assist you with your college career. Not because they don\u2019t want to, but because they\u2019ve never experienced college.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

\r\n \n\n

Carson College alumni Gary Schneidmiller<\/strong> (\u201971 Busi., \u201973 MA Agribusi. Econ.<\/em>) and Chris Navan<\/strong> (\u201913 Intl. Busi., \u201914 MBA<\/em>) made generous contributions to 2022 First-Gen Abroad to help defray student costs for the program.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\r\n\n\n\n

Spanish history and culture<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In Spain, Lappe lived with a host family in Seville, a metro area of 1.5 million known for its history, architecture, and flamenco dancing. His classes, designed to meet WSU core requirements, focused on Spain\u2019s post-civil war history and popular culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of his class assignments was to visit a pub multiple times to get acquainted with the employees. He wrote an essay about contrasting cultural norms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAmerican-style pleasantries and small talk aren\u2019t as common in Spain,\u201d Lappe says. \u201cYou don\u2019t hear \u2018please\u2019 and \u2018thank you\u2019 as much. People are more abrupt, which can come across as rude to Americans.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s also true in eating and drinking establishments, where servers don\u2019t work on tips. \u201cThey aren\u2019t constantly asking you how your food is,\u201d he says. \u201cIf you need something, you ask them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But after several visits, Lappe says the staff warmed up, and he started to feel like a local in the neighborhood pub. \u201cIt was cool to see how much more personable they were as they got to know you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students also explored Seville\u2019s history and culture with visits to museums and even a flamenco workshop. \u201cIt was like a beautiful chaos,\u201d Lappe says of the Spanish dance form.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spain\u2019s afternoon break also made an impression on him. During the hottest part of the day, offices and stores closed while workers took an extended lunch break and nap. \u201cIt was time you spent with family and friends,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Traveling solo<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

After his time in Spain, Lappe traveled solo in Europe for a couple of weeks before ending up in England, where he joined a WSU friend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was a difficult decision to go off on my own, but I knew it would force me out of my comfort zone and make me a lot more independent,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019d really have to talk to people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Language barriers were a challenge, Lappe says. \u201cYou didn\u2019t know if people spoke English, and you didn\u2019t want to come across as rude by expecting everyone to speak English.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But engaging strangers in conversations was also rewarding. \u201cThe simple question, \u2018Where are you from?\u2019 can lead to such long conversations,\u201d Lappe says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During spring semester, Lappe will take business classes at the University of Liverpool for his international business major. First-Gen Abroad was a good introduction to overseas study, he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt affirmed my decision that this is what I want to go into,\u201d Lappe says. \u201cI love being in an airport, going someplace new, and meeting new people. That really, really appeals to me.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kole Lappe took his first extended trip out of the country through WSU\u2019s First-Generation Abroad<\/a> program last summer, spending four weeks in Spain. \u201cGrowing up in a town of 36 people, the idea of traveling to Europe seemed like a distant dream,\u201d says Lappe, a junior.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":[634],"featured_media":18189,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[612,425,430],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13380"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/634"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13380"}],"version-history":[{"count":29,"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13380\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18843,"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13380\/revisions\/18843"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18189"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13380"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13380"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13380"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/business.wsu.edu\/edividend\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/author?post=13380"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}