Hometown: Bronxville, New York
Current Location: Garden City, NY (Right now, I am attending high school in Manhattan.)
Relationship to VISIONS: 2017 British Virgin Islands participant
What was most memorable about your VISIONS experience?
I think the sense of community all around was the most memorable part about my VISIONS experience. The community of people on the island of Tortola were so incredibly sweet and welcoming, and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know them. Additionally, the community of the program participants and leaders was amazing, and I love that I still talk to and visit other program participants outside of the VISIONS programs. The beaches and scuba. experiences were also pretty memorable, haha.
What is it like to walk in your shoes every day?
Quite literally, it is a lot of commuting. My school is on the Upper East Side of Manhattan and I live in the middle of Nassau County on Long Island. So, it takes me about an hour and a half to get to school, with a combination of trains and subways and buses. Not so literally, it’s pretty fun. I strive to smile frequently and try to make people laugh through (not so great, admittedly) jokes, so day to day I’m pretty happy.
What did the VISIONS experience mean to you?
The VISIONS experience meant a ton to me. It was amazing to experience such a happy environment of the program participants who all had the common goal of helping on the island. I also enjoyed the amazing experience of learning about a new culture, through exploring the beaches of Tortola, talking with local fishermen, and socializing with other local children and adults. The VISIONS experience helped me to appreciate a culture that I previously did not know much about.
