Fellow Stories
True gap year stories from Fellows abroad!
Check out the latest blogs from Global Citizen Year Fellows in Brazil, Ecuador, and India!
Category
Class Year
Country
I Wanted More
Ina Shkurti
2012-07-17
My journey with Global Citizen Year started with a neon green sticky note. I was leaving the Summer Search office one fall afternoon, and a mentor stopped me. He asked about my experiences in Nicaragua the previous summer and how I felt since coming back. I told him about the amazing things that I had...
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Introducing Nate
Nathan Edwards
2012-07-17
Hello everyone, I am Nate Edwards and I have grown up in the beautiful state of Colorado. I am very excited to be a part of Global Citizen Year, and look forward to the upcoming challenges and adventures that the next year will have to offer. I have had a strong desire to learn Spanish...
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Time
Chloe Bash
2012-07-17
Sweat dripped down my back as I reached the windy peak. Turning slightly I could see a panorama of the valley, buff stone punctuated by spindling church spires and red flags. Just as in every city and village I had visited, the call of “Allah Akbar,” or “God is great” rang out in the evening...
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An Unboxed Present
Jay Choi
2012-07-17
Hi, my name is Jaeho Choi. I was born and raised in South Korea. What has driven me to take a Global Citizen Year? It’s a difficult question to answer in a simple way. I can easily come up with five decent reasons that are perhaps shared by every equally passionate Fellow: to learn a...
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Adaptability
Kevin Do
2012-07-17
Hi there, I’m Kevin Do. I’ve lived in New Jersey for my entire life, but have been fortunate enough to travel to many different countries, ranging from Thailand and Japan to Australia and Germany. However, while I didn’t get a true cultural experience, I did get snippets of it here and there. These snippets merged...
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My Bridge Year
Becky McClements
2012-07-16
I have known for a while now that I wanted to take a year off between high school and college to do some kind of service, but as the end of this school year approached I had no idea exactly what I wanted to do with my twelve month hiatus from the educational system. That...
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Be Patient
Avery Ashwill
2012-07-16
When I got back to Austin, Texas after living with an enormous host family (16 people!) in The Dominican Republic for 8 weeks, I realized I needed to make some changes in my life. “Don’t rush, don’t rush,” my host sister would whisper in my ear, “Be patient… It will happen when it happens.” These...
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Re-kindling My Love of Learning
Abby Lindsay
2012-07-16
Hi, my name is Abby Lindsay, I’m from Cambridge, Massachusetts, and I am so incredibly excited to be on my way to Ecuador next year with Global Citizen Year! I think that the opportunity to take a year off after high school, before starting college, is one that everyone should seriously consider. Think about it:...
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Why I Chose a Global Citizen Year
Anvy Tran
2012-07-16
Hi everyone, my name is Anvy Tran, and I am an 18 year-old girl from Boston, Massachusetts. Growing up, I have always been keenly in tune with the way things taste, feel, look, sound, and smell. This has developed into my deep appreciation for all the wonderful things I have experienced, and it has stirred...
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Certainty
Sam Garcia
2012-07-16
Honestly, I’m not really sure what changed last summer, but something did and I’m glad that it happened. At this time last year, I was on the summer lacrosse circuit believing that I was going to play the sport in college. For one reason or another, my entire mindset changed going into the fall....
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A Life All My Own
Mary Modisette
2012-07-13
For many it’s difficult to pinpoint a moment in time that changed their entire perspective on life. Often it is a series of events and happenings that occur over a period that shape the way one views the world, even if ever so slightly. This is not the case for me. I was thirteen years...
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Roots and Wings
Devani Santos
2012-07-11
Sometimes it feels like I’m setting myself up for continuous heartbreak. Every place I go consumes me and I become so attached to the people I meet. They become friends, family, loved ones, a huge part of me, and then I’m off again. The people I love with all of my being are all over...
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