Photo by Theresa Schempp
Across the nation, the voter turnout for midterm elections among college students has continued to decrease in recent years. While the locations of election polls play a part in lower turnout, many students feel that their vote doesn’t matter. Listen to this story about the opinion of some Towson students on voting.
When Towson University senior Amy Procaccini studied abroad in Australia in the fall of 2013, it was love at first sight. “While I was in Australia, we also traveled to Fiji and New Zealand,” said Procaccini. “I was so in awe of the beauty.” Procaccini, like so many other people, had caught the travel bug, and was already planning her next adventure.
But if you’re in college, there are a few obstacles before the next big expedition: money, money, and money. College students have spent many a night eating ramen noodles and thinking about the debts they need to pay off and questioning if they’ll ever go on another adventure again.
However, it is possible to satisfy your inner wanderlust without breaking the bank. According to NAFSA, in the 2011-2012 academic year, only 283,332 students studied abroad. It represents about 1% of all U.S. students enrolled in higher education. Here are a few ways that you can be a part of the adventurous 1% without skyrocketing your debts or bursting your budget.
A school bus scorched down the dirt road in San Pedro Sula on a stifling hot July day. Dust choked the exhaust as it rumbled through the city. Motorbikes and cars sped by, narrowly passing between the shoulder and the bus. Inside the bus’ open and dusty windows, twelve other people and I looked out at the scenery. We were on our way to El Progreso, a small town just outside the city, where we would be staying for the next week.
I’d visited Honduras only once, in January. As a member of Students Helping Honduras, I spent the week helping construct a library by shoveling cement, laying the bricks for the wall, and meeting and playing with all the kids. In that week’s time, I experienced a sense of happiness and belonging that I’d never felt before. I bonded with the kids, and promised myself that I would come back as soon as I could. In May, I received a call from my SHH Chapter president asking me to come down in July for Leadership Week. I quickly accepted and then counted down the days until I would see my kids again.
Continue reading “Helping Honduras 2014”
Theresa Schempp 