I think that a love for travel and a longing for adventure has been instilled in me by my parents. My mom moved to the US alone from the Philippines and my dad moved from Missouri to Florida alone. Both have been taking me on trips to them since I was born and have encouraged me to seek adventure as often as possible. However, it is at the University of Florida that I learned to appreciate international travel for myself.

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I started at the University of Florida as a business major, with dreams of someday working for a big corporations and managing a company. However, business was never a true passion of mine and I was not particularly good at it. By the end of Freshman year, I was having a difficult time staying motivated and engaged in my classes.so the University of Florida encouraged me to change my major. I chose to study Classics and I can truthfully say that it saved my life. I had taken Latin in high school and always had a fascination in the ancient world. I thought that, if all else fails, at least I can teach Latin to high school students. However, what I discovered in the Classics department was so much more than job training. I found a close network of people who were interested in the same things as me. I met students who also found the intricacies of the Latin language stimulating and teachers who were so passionate about archaeology that it inspired me to volunteer. I had never experienced people so devoted to a certain area of study and it made me even more interested in the world of Classics.

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The Classics department also encouraged me to study abroad. It is one thing to read and research about historical art and buildings, but it is much different to see them in person. Having learned everything about buildings like the Parthenon and the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, it is only natural that a Classics student would want to see them for themselves. Seeing these ancient monuments is a sacred experience and I now understand why people worshipped the Greek gods for so long. I never would have chosen to study abroad in Greece had it not been for my background in Classics. I never would have volunteered at Despotiko or have taken a solo trip to Delphi or have met some of my best friends. More than that, I would not have expanded my world view beyond the lens of the United States.The people in Greece taught me how to cook, how to eat, how to tip, how to nap, how to work, how to travel, and all of it was different than how I had experienced these things in America. It showed me how different cultures are but how they can still respect each other. 

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After coming home from Greece, I wanted to keep exploring this wide new world that I found. I wanted to keep pushing the boundaries of how I understood the world and the people who lived in it. I wanted to use all that I had learned while studying abroad and apply it to the rest of my life. However, I was unsure about where to begin. I started by joining the Eta Sigma Phi honors society for Classics which introduced me to the International Scholars Program. This program taught me how to promote the lessons I learned in Greece and also how to continue to explore other cultures within Gainesville. Through this program, I have reveled in the art of Enlightened artists, listened to the adventures of a journalist in Soviet Russia, and swayed with the traditional music of Ghana. I have expanded my understanding and my empathy for other cultures and I have learned the importance of my own time abroad.

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As I move on from the University of Florida, I plan on continuing my exploration of the world and the people that inhabit it. I am going to attend law school in the Fall and hope to study International Business. I want to use the lessons and experiences that studying abroad and ISP have given me to influence my work in the legal profession and help others widen their world view.