Building a Better World

Below are excerpts from Halle Jenning’s winning essay for the Independent Travel portion of the 2019 Building A Better World Scholarship. Go here to find the 2019 Building A Better World Scholarship Award Winners…

I have opportunities… “Living in a first world country, I feel like I have more opportunities as well as a loving family who supports me with school, my hobbies, and other extracurricular activities. This has instilled in me a passion for giving back as much as possible and caring for the ones who need it most. This is what I look forward to each and everyday. I volunteer each summer at Camp Sunshine, where I interact and meet new friends who suffer with life-threatening illness. I’ve also volunteered at my local hospital by holding and caring for babies with drug addiction. My love for volunteering and helping others is endless and my goal someday is too adopt a child of my own from an orphanage.”

My mom and I will visit Bam… “One of my biggest aspirations in life is to participate in a trip where I am able to experience a whole different culture, but also be able to volunteer at an orphanage… My Mom and I will head to Bangkok, Thailand (summer of 2020), where we will reconnect with my sister Bam, who was my family’s exchange student in 2015….Bam will give us a tour of her home town and some places that are her favorites. With her living there, we will have a better chance to experience and see their culture closer up. What interests me the most about Bangkok is the Grand Palace. The Grand Palace is described to be the most visited attraction in Bangkok, due to the fact that it is known to have been home to the country’s royalty. Considering the fact that I love to eat, I would want to take a food tour and check out the local floating food markets.”

The Orphanage… “After the four days, I will be volunteering (with my mom) at a local orphanage called “The Friends for Asia Foundation” for two weeks in Bangkok. While I’m there, I will be getting kids ready for school, participating in afternoon activities such as, gardening, painting, cooking, and picking up food from the market.  When the kids get back home from school, I will help with homework, cooking, and cleaning. We will get to have lots of free time with the children, which is great for building special connections with them…  I will be there to volunteer my time and effort to provide care and love to these children and build special connections with them lasting a lifetime.”

My dream is to make a difference in the world… “Going on this journey is something I’ve always wanted to do. My dream is to make a difference in the world with all the power and ability I can. I want the chance to impact others lives and build relationships that I will forever cherish.  I feel this trip will push me in the right direction to pursue that dream and give me a great opportunity to see the world and change people’s lives.”

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Halle and her Mom are going to Thailand.

and check out Halle’s plans… “I am going to be a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner. I will be attending Lake Michigan College in the fall to play softball and to also get a bachelor’s degree in Nursing. Eventually I plan on getting my Master’s degree as a bedside registered nurse in a level 3 NICU. My journey of making a difference in the world begins the summer of 2020, where my mom and I will travel to Bangkok, Thailand and volunteer for 2 weeks. I plan to visit the Friends for Asia Foundation every summer and my goal is to later adopt. I want to make a difference in the world for those who don’t have anything and I also want to make people aware of the changes they can make on others lives just by volunteering.”

Thank you for your support through the years.

Together, We Can.

Below are excerpts from Nicole Ortiz’s winning essay for the Independent Travel portion of the 2019 Building A Better World Scholarship.  Go here to find the 2019 Building A Better World Scholarship Award Winners…

I would love to travel to Nepal…If I had the opportunity to travel anywhere in the world, I would love to have the opportunity to contribute to a good cause that would also benefit me. This is why I would love to have the chance to travel to Nepal and volunteer in the refugee camp through the International Volunteer HQ. This would give me the most amazing gift of being able to experience cultures first hand and bring awareness to the refugee crisis.   …I would bring my best friend Hanna Kirschner with me because I know that we share similar philosophies on travel and global awareness. Also because we have always talked about how badly we have wanted an opportunity to volunteer outside of the country, so now is our chance.

I want to capture their stories… “I am interested in going to the camp in Kathmandu and through the program; I would go for a two-week stay. These are people that many in the world see as a nuisance or are often just misunderstood. While I am there, I want to capture some of their stories and make podcasts to show the world, or at least Wolf Lake, the truths behind these people. People who are seeking safety. People with nowhere to go. People who are displaced. People who have had their homes taken from them…”

The world must act.. “…Many of them are in these camps for years; their lives set on pause, for who knows how long. The least I can do with an opportunity to travel is to seek awareness for people who need it the most. These are basic human rights that they are losing, and the world must act, not just view.”

We… “In order to build a better world, people need to think of life in more of a “we” concept and not so much as “me”. By this I mean, instead of thinking about where you can vacation, given all the options in the world, we must think about others and who we can reach with such a rich opportunity. Nepal to me has it all, the ability to help others while still enriching me with its vibrant culture, and even providing the  opportunity to bring my message home as well. If we all practiced this we would build a better, more understanding world.”

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and check out Nicole’s plans… “I will be attending Oakland University in the fall to pursue a bachelors degree in Journalism. Once I graduate I hope to become a travel journalist. I have always been fascinated with being a travel journalist because this way I will be able to bring stories to the surface of those who need to be heard the most. I believe that in this way we become more globally aware. Traveling to me is also an opportunity to help those who weren’t fortunate enough to be born in a first world country. This is why this trip to Nepal is such a big deal and focused around helping in a refugee camp along with sharing their stories. I can’t wait to see what this world has in store for me.”

Thank you for your support through the years.

Together We Can

Below are excerpts from Hanna Kirschner’s  winning essay for the Global Awareness portion of the 2019 Building A Better World Scholarship.  Go here to find the 2019 Building A Better World Scholarship Award Winners…

I need to expand my bubble… “In order to fulfill my personal responsibility of being globally aware, I feel that I must continue to do three things throughout my life: I must be kind to everyone, no matter their differences, I must immerse myself into other cultures, even if it puts me outside of my comfort zone, and I must learn everything I can about anything I don’t know already. I need to expand my bubble as far as I can to become the best person that I can.”

Be kind… “The first step to being globally aware is to be kind to everyone, to see someone that might not look like you or have the same things that you do and not treat them any differently than anyone else. I think that this is the most important thing you can do, but you must do it consistently.”

Just jump in and do it… “You also have to be able to push through your comfort zone into customs and cultures that are not like your own. Being open to try new things, new foods, new experiences is so important, especially if it is hard for you to understand a culture without being apart of it…That is something I need to work on; I am pretty good at observing, but I need to teach myself to take risks, to just jump in and do it.”

Lastly, I simply need to learn “…Living in a world that is constantly changing, you must be constantly learning or you’ll fall behind. You can always learn about different cultures, different people, different lives. They expand your mind. They make you more aware. Learning is never a bad thing to do; it is how you grow as an individual. You must take in everything you can, analyze it, and propel yourself off of it at every opportunity.

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and check out Hanna’s plans… “Although I ultimately wanted to go away to college, I chose to attend Muskegon Community College first with the Muskegon Promise to really figure out what I want to do with my life, what I want to become. As of right now, I plan on studying psychology, unsure as to what specific field I want to go into, but I want to learn as much as possible to fully take advantage of this opportunity. Maybe psychology won’t be what’s best for me, but I will figure it out eventually. All I know for sure about my future is that I am going to travel as much as possible and learn from every person I meet, to expand my bubble as far as I can, while I’m here in this world.”

Hanna at Dexter Baptist Church in Montgomery Alabama. Spring 2019.

Thank you for your support through the years.

Together, We Can.