Fellow Stories
True gap year stories from Fellows abroad!
Check out the latest blogs from Global Citizen Year Fellows in Brazil, Ecuador, and India!
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From Development to Culture Shock to Avatar: a Typical Day at Fall Training
Charlotte Benishek
2011-08-23
Up to this point fall training has equipped the Global Citizen Year Fellows with broad skills required to be successful in our Global Citizen Year, such as mindfulness, self-awareness, and engaged leadership. However, on Saturday we departed from this theme and delved into international development specifically. The day began with a conference call with David...
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57
Joan Hanawi
2011-08-22
It’s craziness. It really is. 57 like-minded youth from all over the United States—flying, driving, doing whatever it takes to congregate in one singular place. 57 young adults who have all been consumed by the same passion—to tap into innate potential by willingly embracing a cross-cultural immersion. 57 students attempting to break societal restrictions and...
Read MoreAlum Post: The Year of the Coaster
Emily Hess
2011-08-05
Towards to end of my bridge year, every expert, friend, Peace Corps volunteer, and staff member warned the fellows that life after this, to say the least, would be a “roller-coaster”. By that, they meant that there would be a fair share of ups, downs, loops, side spins, twirls, jerks, and bumps. The description of...
Read MoreGlobal Citizen Year: My Gateway from High School to Sociology
Lucias Potter
2011-07-15
My name is Lucias Potter. I am from Oakland, California where I spend most of my time advocating for social justice, writing, or spending time with my cousins. I believe that the human race has a responsibility to make sure everyone can live comfortably. I believe that when people give power to their government to...
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The Colors of the Rainbow
Henrietta Conrad
2011-07-05
“Other” was the name of the box I checked off for the ethnic questionnaire on standardize tests but “Other” isn’t my race. “Other”, in fact, is the substitute for a word that doesn’t exist because a blend of sorts is difficult to define. A mouthwatering dish is a blend of subtle flavors in...
Read MoreNous Sommes Ensemble
Tess Langan
2011-05-25
I left my little blue wallet with my two credit cards, half of my monthly stipend, a hundred dollar travelers check that my visiting mom had posed there, my emergency contact information, and the scribbled passwords for both of my credit cards in a local boutique when I went to buy a little sack of...
Read MoreThe Girl at The Glass
Tess Langan
2011-05-02
After living here for six months, however, I no longer find myself comparing life in America to life in Senegal...Instead, I find myself comparing Tess American to Tess Senegalese.
Read MoreA Responsible Night In Peace
Emily Hess
2011-04-25
Looking back on some of the first nights in my homestay, I remember seeing the two-year old of the family sleeping on a mattress in the living room without a mosquito net. There was a mosquito net, but it was tied up above the bed of my parents in the other room. For the most...
Read MoreUnplanned Parenthood
Tess Langan
2011-03-28
I came to Senegal with high hopes of embarking out on my own and weaning myself off the comfortable interdependence of my family. There were my dreams and then, there was the reality. I am now an eighteen –year old, self-defined feminist …with a two-year child. Alaine and I walk hand in hand to school...
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