Californian Anya Poplavska came to Allen County this summer to learn more about the Midwest and work on environmental projects. She left last week with a better understanding about what it means to be part of a community. Her introduction to Allen County, though, came with an eye-opening city council meeting in a small town. She felt the judgmental stare from a local resident, who seemed to be sizing her up as a West Coast elitist. “I’d never experienced anything like that, and it was a taste of my own medicine,” she said. “It made me realize we like to put people in boxes. We think we understand people before we even get to know them.” Poplavska spent just about a month in Iola, working as an intern for Thrive Allen County. Though it was a relatively brief time, she took advantage of the opportunity to throw herself into a couple of projects she hopes will benefit the community for years to come. More importantly, she said, she challenged her own assumptions and developed a greater appreciation for the region.
Source: The Iola Register
