Real alumni. Real journeys.

My time in Ocho Rios was everything that I hoped for. Being intentional about what I wanted to do was fairly simple. To be present, and to allow myself to be open. There were moments when I missed home. And now that I am home, I miss Jamaica. I am already considering ways that I can volunteer again.

While volunteering with the Galápagos National Park at their plant nursery, I learned about endemic plant species from Isabela Island and helped grow seedlings to be replanted in the wild. I stayed with a kind homestay family who even celebrated my 30th birthday with me, and I met volunteers from all over the world. I'm so thankful for it, and for the help coordinating my AmeriCorps Education Award to fund it.

Thanks to my AmeriCorps Education Award and IVHQ, I volunteered with a community development organization in Quito, Ecuador. I also visited Cotopaxi National Park, Mindo Cloud Forest, and the Galápagos Islands. Swimming with sea turtles and sharks there is an experience I will never forget. The people I met and places I visited in Ecuador will always have my heart.

My time on Isabela Island was absolutely awe inspiring. Nature was everywhere: iguanas, sea lions, tortoises, sea turtles, sharks, manta rays, penguins and much more. I learned about sea turtle conservation and felt that what I was doing was important, alongside volunteers from five different countries and a host family who were caring and lovely.

This experience truly was life changing for me and was something I am extremely proud of myself for overcoming. Doing something as ambitious as going to another country for the first time by myself and volunteering really gave me a taste of what it's like to be independent and strive for my goals.