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
“The Factory”
Mai Lee
2012-08-02
Fresh, raw, and unknowing of the surrounding world, we are placed at the start of the conveyor belt at birth. Yet to hold an identity or purpose, all we possess is boundless potential and curiosity. And so the process begins; each step shapes us to fit a pre-made mold, designed under society’s standards for “the...
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A New Adventure
Kalea Moore
2012-07-31
Hello my name is Kalea Moore. I am often thought of as the one who dares to be different. In school, I was never the one to follow the rest of the crowd. So, when the opportunity to take a Global Citizen Year presented itself, I jumped at the chance! I love to help people...
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Conviction, Dreams, and Adulthood
Emily Soule
2012-07-23
Someone commented yesterday about how hard my decision must have been, “giving up a year to go abroad…not seeing your family. You must have had to think on that one a long time.” I smiled and nodded; yet did not bother to contradict her statement. The truth is choosing to participate in Global Citizen Year [...]
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Nature
Galen Tsongas
2012-07-20
I am human. My nature is peace, chillness, and love. Why does no one help each other in this city of mine? Why are people more content with material objects, and less with living? I’m from San Francisco, California, where I’ve lived for 18 years. I’ve been surrounded by ignorance and hate all my life...
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How I Got Here
Jordan Lee
2012-07-19
Hello everyone! My name is Jordan Lee. I didn’t seriously consider an international Gap Year until the start of my senior year. By that time, I had travelled a fair amount internationally and studied in various academic environments, but when I started thinking about college and what I wanted to get out of the experience,...
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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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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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Pondering the Word Can’t and SYDNI
Sydni Heron
2012-07-11
Once, I counted how many times I’ve moved in my life. Twenty-one. When I meet new people, one of the first get-to-know you questions they ask is “Where are you from?” And I’m not sure what to say. I was born in Wyoming, have happy memories in Kansas and North Carolina and Illinois and Minnesota,...
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