Hi everyone, my name is Jocelyn Aguayo and I am from Oakland, California. The idea of me taking a gap year before I heading off to college all started last summer when I went to Matagalpa, Nicaragua. The purpose of the trip was to focus on education awareness in the world. I had the chance to experience what Nicaraguan students do for a day at a private high school and learn how to live off of a dollar a day. In turn, the Nicaraguan students learned English from the classes that my program (Global Glimpse) offered at the local community center. I never imagined the extent of what I would learn during my stay. I gained a new awareness and appreciation for what is given to me in the US. I used to not value the education I was getting here, however, I now realize that I have more opportunities here than in Matagalpa. The eye-opening experience that I had in Nicaragua sparked my interest of exploring different place and cultures. When I came back from my trip I started to search for opportunities for taking a year off on Google, which led me to Global Citizen Year, and it was a perfect match. A long conversation with my mom is what pushed me to apply, but when I got accepted everything became real. Never would I have imagined that the course that I set for myself since middle school of going to a university right after high school would have changed so dramatically. I am so proud and ecstatic to say that I am going to be in Brazil for a year to volunteer. I’ll be making new friendships and memories that I look forward sharing with you all (:
THANKS FOR READING,
JOCELYN
