What personal and/or professional interest compels you to apply for participation in the Global

Citizenship Project? 2. How do you envision sharing your experience with others once you return to
Shenandoah University the following year?

As much as I love my home, I’ve always yearned to leave it. My home is my comfort zone, and
throughout my life I never tried to venture outside of my comfort zone, it always just happened by
accident, until the end of my senior year. As a senior at a private college prep high school I was the first
person in a few years to decide to take a gap year. I had decided to take my gap year to grow as an artist
and dive further into my passion of theatre. Being an actor, knowing how people experience their
everyday life is important. As a native of Cleveland Ohio, I was lucky enough to be able to immerse
myself into the lives of people with many different backgrounds. I began my gap year performing in
shows and working as a barista at University Hospitals in a downtown location. At work I would hear
different stories about people’s families and what there life was like outside of the hospital. Eventually, I
created a routine and for months I would go to work, rehearsal, then home to sleep. This routine
worked until one day I realized I had become so comfortable with my everyday life in Cleveland, I began
counting down the days to Shenandoah. With a few months left of my gap year, I thought what was one
more adventure I could go on and the answer was a five hour drive away. Over Memorial Day weekend I
convinced my parents to take me and my parents to Toronto, Canada. Whilst we were there, I ventured
on my own to some of the local shops, and even saw some local theatre.
When I returned from Canada, I had expanded my comfort zone and renewed my passion for travel, my
only wish was that I had realized this passion sooner. One of the reasons I chose Shenandoah was the
encouragement of international travel. Since being at Shenandoah for a week, I’ve learned that I have to
keep pushing myself outside of my comfort zone and going on GCP would fulfill that for me. I would love
to experience the culture of another country, one week is just enough time to get a taste of how
someone else lives their life without getting too comfortable in it. One of my favorite ways to remember
my travels is to make videos of the places I’ve been. If I were chosen to go on GCP, I would make sure to
capture it and share it with everyone the moment I got back, and encourage them to share it as well.