Justin Glasgow is a Communication Specialist at Remix Public Relations and a proud alum of The University of Georgia. Go Dawgs! Along with his passion for learning different languages, Justin also has a great love of travel, and often speaks highly of his adventures abroad.
1. What's your story? What makes you unique?
I think that makes me stick out from a crowd is that fact that I have lived in many places, travelled a lot, and speak 5 languages. My entire worldview has been shaped by the things and places that I’ve seen. I’ve lived on both coasts and in the North and South of the US. I’ve been travelling outside of the country from the age of 2 and I speak Spanish, French, Japanese, and Arabic (and obviously English). I say all of that not to toot my own horn, but I always look at life globally and I feel that one of my biggest strength is being able to understand that everyone has his or her own truth and perspective that’s shaped by their individual experiences.
2. What motivates you?
I find that I’m most motivated by human interactions. Someone once told me “every person you meet has a wealth of knowledge that you don’t and it’s your job to listen to that knowledge.” My view of life has really been informed by that piece of advice. I’m definitely a social creature and I want to meet as many people in this life that I can and learn about their experiences to make me a more well rounded person. Some people are motivated by money or success but success for me is the amount of people I can connect with and be able to listen to their stories.
3. Who is a hero of yours?
A hero to me is definitely my high school Spanish teacher Señora Roberson. She not only gave me a love for Spanish and language but she also inadvertently taught me a lot about who I want to be as a person. It’s kind of lame but in high school I would spend the time before class in the morning in her office when everyone else was hanging out in the cafeteria. I was a very unorganized kid and one day in front of the whole class she emptied my entire backpack on the floor and made me organize everything. Her particular brand of tough love definitely helped me through hard times and through more ways than one contributed to the self-confidence that I didn’t necessarily have before I took her class.
4. What's your future plan? Your goals?
My ultimate goal is to work for the United Nations in some capacity. Going along with my love of language and my quest for intercultural awareness, I think it’s the perfect place to use the things I love to try to make a positive impact on the world. I’m still working towards that goal on a daily basis. Also, I definitely have the travel bug so I want to see a lot more of the world!
5. If you could give one piece of advice, what would it be?
My piece of advice is to never be afraid to step outside of your comfort zone. When I moved to Spain I was TERRIFIED. I had never even been to the county before and I was volunteering to live there for a year without any firsthand knowledge! It got so bad that I even considered backing out. But if I had, I would have missed out on an amazing experience because I wanted to live in the safety of what’s comfortable. The human body has to break down muscle fibers before they can grow. That’s the same with you as a person. You have to push and struggle before you get to the good stuff. Also, I know this is two, but I’d recommend that everyone live abroad for a period of time if at all possible.
6. What is something you feel strongly about (a cause, belief, etc.)?
The cause I feel most passionate about at this point in my life is bilingual education in the US. Living and working in Europe showed me firsthand that the rest of the world is far ahead us in that area. The 12-year kids I taught spoke English much better than most Spanish majors I know in the US. I think if we make bilingual education more of a focus from an early age in our education system, we can catch up to everyone else. My goal right now is to find out how I can be a voice for that push in the American education system.
7. What's one of the coolest things you've ever done?
Living in Madrid, Spain was definitely one of the coolest things I’ve done. I met so many interesting people and got to see so much of the world that I hadn’t before. Working, calling the cable company, dealing with a landlord, all in a foreign language and country really pushes your limits of what you feel you can and can’t do. The experience really left a lasting mark on me and I still miss it all the time. What I liked the most is that I felt like I was growing and learning every single day, even with the most basic interaction with the cashier at the local convenience store. I’m trying to get back to a place in life where I feel the fulfillment that living in Spain brought.
8. Anything we haven't asked that you'd like to talk about
No, I think we covered a lot! I’m a bit self-effacing so this was a LOT of me, haha.
If you would like to reach out to Justin he can be reached by email. SaveSaveSave