Renae’s Story

I’m Renae, and I’m passionate about helping people connect across cultures.

I grew up in a small, homogenous community in western Michigan. I didn’t see much cultural diversity around me, but even as a teenager, I had a sense that the world was bigger than what I knew. A high school trip to Mexico sparked something in me. I learned, I practiced my Spanish, and I came home feeling like I had only scratched the surface. I wanted more, even if I couldn’t yet articulate what was missing.

In college, that curiosity grew. A South Korean suitemate taught me her alphabet one night, and I was fascinated. I studied Spanish, blasted Shakira in my dorm, and kept feeling this pull toward cultures beyond my own. I think a lot of people relate to this curiosity about the world, and the desire to explore it.

After graduation, I took a leap and moved to South Korea to teach English. That year changed everything. I navigated daily cross-cultural communication, explored Seoul every weekend, made Korean friends, studied the language, and learned to love kimchi. It was beautiful and meaningful, but also challenging and, at times, painful.

Coming home was its own shock. I realized that the perspective that I had wanted to change had changed. But in a way that I hadn’t expected. I struggled to put words to what I had experienced, until I discovered a book by Geert Hofstede called Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind. The book taught me about cultural values, which gave me language for the confusion and the culture shock I had lived through. Most importantly, I realized: I finally understood what it meant to be a foreigner. And I wanted to support others who were living that experience.

That led me to refugee work. I volunteered with newly arrived families, tutored English, taught a young friend from Burundi how to drive, and listened to stories from people rebuilding their lives. Later, working in refugee resettlement deeply expanded my understanding of global cultures. I learned from colleagues and clients from Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, Iraq, Kurdistan, Bhutan, Myanmar, and many more. They taught me how to adapt my English, how culture shapes communication, and what resilience truly looks like.

All of these experiences—abroad and at home—have shaped my mission: to help people rethink how they see the world and how they show up in it. You can learn about the world from anywhere, if you’re willing to pay attention.

My favorite framework for understanding culture is the Cultural Intelligence (CQ) model, and I’m trained and certified by the Cultural Intelligence Center to deliver CQ assessment debriefs and workshops. I love helping people identify their cultural patterns, build adaptable skills, and grow into more thoughtful global humans.

If you’re ready to learn more about yourself, engage more respectfully across cultures, or prepare for travel, study abroad, or global work, I’d love to help you on that journey. Click below to send me your goals or schedule a free consultation.

Let’s explore how cultural learning can change the way you see the world—and how the world sees you.