As our Joyce community gathered over coffee and pastries on the morning of May 6, Gonzalo Petschen, of Cargill, Inc., began to share his story of immigrating to America from Chile when he was just five years old.

He shared memories of those first days in America, and how challenging it was in terms of culture, means, and language. Petschen vividly recalled his first day of school — none of his teachers spoke Spanish. “I remember the feelings. I remember the stress. I remember getting sick.” All in all, he noted, it was not the best day.

He contrasted that with the experiences he has heard about from current Joyce parents — how their culture is embraced, how parents and children alike can use their native languages, and how the Joyce community comes together to make sure each family has the means to succeed.

“If I could choose for my five-year-old self, I would choose the classroom environment here at Joyce,” Petschen said.

Now, as a leader in the MSP business community, Petschen can see the long-term benefits a program like Joyce would have for his peers: the need for multiculturalism and workplace diversity is at its peak in an increasingly global competitive marketplace. Multicultural teams inherently provide many perspectives and ideas that can bridge the gaps — gaps that otherwise may be left unnoticed. The best way to develop these multicultural teams? Providing a strong educational foundation for academic success, starting at the beginning: preschool.