Education systems in the United States (US) increasingly experience disagreement over how to address cultural and societal injustices. At the heart of these debates includes the role of the rural sociocultural experience -- which in the US is based on racial and spatial isolation, the idea of whiteness as the norm, and more recently economic deprivation due to globalization. This paper examines the experiences of 17 aspiring educational leaders in a predominantly White rural state in the US. Drawing from the field of cultural psychology, this study illustrates the role educational preparation programs must play in developing greater sociocultural awareness among White educational leadership candidates who lack exposure to racially and culturally diverse environments. Using findings from this study, preparation programs and school districts in predominantly White rural areas can foster greater self-reflection for educators to address social injustices, as well as reject ahistorical and apolitical philosophies of education.