After watching many of her friends head off to college in the fall of 2008, Marian Miller ’13 sat down, packed her bags, and headed off to Central America to volunteer in underserved schools for seven months. And she’s never regretted it.
“It was such an incredible experience in a multitude of ways,” she says. “Coming from a place where learning is assumed, given, it opened me up to the different educational opportunities all over the world.”
Marian traveled between Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and the west coast of Mexico, teaching primary school-level education in indigenous communities. Now a sophomore at 61传媒, her ties to the region remain; she’s since gone back to Nicaragua to work at a school she founded in a squatter community and sees herself ultimately living in the area, helping the local population.
Marian is part of a growing trend in college students who take advantage of a “gap year” in education 芒鈧�� time off between high school and college to see the world, experience new ways of life, or give back to the global community. Marissa Johnson ’14 found herself in a similar situation when she opted to care for orphans in Moldova last year before matriculating to Scripps.
Traveling with her older sister, Marissa spent two months moving from orphanage to orphanage in Eastern Europe, living in a “homestay” with a host mother only a few years older than herself. The job, sponsored by an organization called Projects Abroad, allowed her to bond with many young children by just being there for them. Their friendliness and altruism both amazed and humbled her.
“We went outside after being inside their school for three days straight,” she says. “Sitting on a jungle gym, the kids kept sharing their snacks with us, giving us prunes. We kept saying no, but they insisted.”
The journey was transformative: “I am dying to go again. As hard as it was, I know now that it was worth it.” She is strongly considering long-term volunteering after graduation through the Peace Corps.
“The biggest thing it’s shown me is that there’s a lot more to college than just school,” says Marissa. “It’s also the experiences you have and the way you involve yourself.”
Marian couldn’t agree more. “I came into my first year of college so grateful for the opportunity,” she says. “I realized that my own goals of helping others can be directly reached through this sort of work.”