LINDA: Kirk, where were you born and raised?
KIRK PETERSON: I was born in Logan, Utah in 1957. I grew up in Smithfield.
LINDA: When did you get to have a wider range of being interested in the world?
KIRK PETERSON: Well, when I was a kid in first grade, we had just moved into our home. And we were surrounded by agricultural fields. And I remember going out to the barbed wire fence and looking at the migrant workers. That was probably the first little inkling that I had been interested in other cultures.
LINDA: What happened as you grew older with your experiences?
KIRK PETERSON: When I was in high school, I started taking Spanish and went on a study tour to Mexico. And that is what really turned me on to wanting to know more about the world.
I served a LDS mission. While I was on my mission in the Philippines, I was bit by the travel bug.
I started my university studies at USU. I graduated in geography. Well, I went back and got my teaching certificate, I was able to have my very first international teaching job in the Dominican Republic. And when I started teaching internationally, it was like I had died and gone to heaven, because the kids were wonderful.
I taught in Bolivia, Switzerland, Oman, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia. I retired in 2017. So I came back to Cache Valley and started getting involved with the International Student Program up at Utah State University. And then in 2019, I found out that I could teach in China, and then COVID broke out, and I taught online from my home, and I've been invited back to China.
LINDA: Of all the countries that you had the opportunity to teach in which one was your favorite?
KIRK PETERSON: My favorite right now, I would say hands down is China.
LINDA: So that makes it even more exciting that you're going back. Can you think of any other stories while you've been abroad?
KIRK PETERSON: Well, one of the biggest things that happened to me was in Sri Lanka in December 2024, it was the 26th, it was the Asian tsunami. I mean, that day that we went from the interior to the coast, I had the most dark feeling I've ever had in my life. And so I told my Sri Lankan friend, let's move up the coast. And when we moved, that negative feeling left me. A couple of days later, we were eating breakfast at the beach when the tsunami hit, and we both got washed away. The important thing is that we both survived. I attribute listening to the spirit and being guided by God.
LINDA: Thanks for sharing that.
KIRK PETERSON: You know, you've seen me come and go. What are your thoughts about seeing your older brother have all these adventures?
LINDA: I feel like I was an armchair traveler, it sparked an interest in me to get out there and experience what's beyond our little valley.
Bottom line, what do you feel like you've gained living and teaching around the world?
KIRK PETERSON: I think it has broadened my horizons. It's made me very understanding. It just makes me realize that the world is a big, beautiful place with fascinating people.
LINDA: Do you feel like you would love to be able to connect with any of those students?
KIRK PETERSON: When I was teaching, I tried to impart a strong sense of helping other people. And in 2019, I was able to return to the Dominican Republic. In particular, I have one student — he graduated from top universities in the US and was working in Wall Street and he just found that that hectic way of life was very shallow. So he decided to go back to the Dominican Republic. And he started a company called Solo Cocoa and he has now become the biggest coconut producer in the Caribbean. He's made it his life's mission to help bring single mothers out of poverty. He hires these women to work in his processing plant. He really took to heart those lessons.
LINDA: Yeah, it's like a ripple effect. As far as I have watched, as you've taught throughout your career, you've been able to experience more in your life than anybody that I know.
