Worldly opportunities

Jumping on the back of a motorcycle with a guy she just met in Costa Rica was a big chance for Liana Robinson to take.

“He closed up the surf shop and comes around on a motorcycle,” she said, beginning to laugh. “Here I am, in the middle of nowhere, no one knows where I am and I’m hopping on the back of this motorcycle and going down a dirt with some guy I don't even know, going, ‘I might be killed now,’ but it was quite fun. That’s how I got my first apartment there.”

Robinson, 36, grew up in North Idaho and has gone on to lead a life full of surprises. She has taken risks and seized opportunities that have allowed her to travel the world and meet interesting people while following her passion to help others.

She knows that sometimes, in order to really experience life, you have to take a leap of faith.

“You get braver as you start traveling,” said Robinson, in an interview last month in Coeur d’Alene, on a trip home to visit family. “You realize that things work out and you can, for the most part, trust people.”

Robinson graduated Magna cum Laude from Colorado Christian University in 2001 with a bachelor’s degree in history and minors in chemistry and biology. She taught English as a second language in locations such as Ecuador and Seoul, South Korea. She works as an online editor for a media company and she has authored and worked on several phonics and grammar books for students of all ages. She competed internationally when she played Gaelic football on the women's A team in the Asian Gaelic Games while working in Seoul. She lives in Jaco, Costa Rica, where she established and directs the only public library in the Central Pacific coast of Costa Rica — the Library and Learning Center of Jacó — where she encourages education and helps shape the minds of underserved children.

To emphasize her passion for learning and knowledge, Robinson is the founder and president of CornerStones Education Foundation, a nonprofit that supports her library and educational endeavors. She is also a horse wrangler and guides guests along Costa Rican beaches and into the rainforest jungles, much like a modern-day Indiana Jones.

Robinson said her early life in North Idaho and her family were instrumental in giving her the inspiration and ability to go out in the world and make a difference. She went to Dalton Elementary, Canfield Middle School and graduated from Coeur d'Alene High School. She attended North Idaho College for a semester and realized she wanted to travel the globe.

“I had never really traveled much until high school when the drama teacher organized a trip to Europe when I was like 16,” she said. “That really opened my eyes to the world. That was one of the biggest events in high school that made me go, ‘Oh, I want to do this.’”

Robinson is proof that North Idaho kids can do anything. She said she has noticed a North Idaho influence throughout her travels and experiences — the confidence instilled in her by her mom and grandma, her ability to juggle multiple activities thanks to extracurricular involvement as a youth and even her love of horses, wildlife and nature stem from a North Idaho upbringing.

“Growing up in North Idaho, you always remember the nature, you always remember the experiences of hiking and seeing bears and all those things,” she said. “Once you leave North Idaho, you realize those are unique experiences. When you're growing up it’s just kind of part of it, but it's always very special.”

Initially, Robinson wanted to be a doctor to help people in third-world countries. Her academic career was heading that way until she began to contemplate the expenses of medical school. She had been awarded numerous scholarships for her hard work, but medical school would have been out of her own pocket.

“I became aware of the fact that by the time I graduated from medical school and paid off all my debts, so many years of my life would have gone by that I hesitated in doing that,” she said. “For me, taking on that debt was something that just really weighed on me.”

When her college roommate got a job on a cruise ship, Robinson was motivated to look for other ways to help people. She found an ad online for teaching in South Korea and she went for it. She was able to quickly pay off her college debt by sending every extra cent home.

“I was excited for the new adventure,” she said. “Everything was new. Somebody picks you up from the airport and you have no idea what to expect. Coming from North Idaho, and spending some time in Denver, which is bigger, you're still not prepared for Seoul, with all the neon lights and people walking everywhere.”

Robinson said her worldly adventures have taught her a lot about people, the difference one person can make in a child's life and how, when you want something, nothing should stand in your way.

“Think about what you're comfortable with and find a way to make that work,” she said. “If you want to travel and don't want to go by yourself, get someone to go with you at first and ask people questions when you get there. Observing, too, that’s one of the best traits I picked up on. When you're in a new situation and everything is scary and you don't know what to do, if you just watch people in front of you, you kind of pick up on what to do. Observation is key when traveling, especially if you don't speak the language.

“You can do anything. There is a way to make things work.”

For information about Robinson's foundation, email cornerstonesfoundation@gmail.com.