The summer of my freshman year in 2001 was spent in blazing hot India and Nepal. This was my first experience with "real" and hard-hitting poverty, and it did not disappoint.  Translation- I was confronted early and often with the tragedy of poverty.  We spent time at an orphanage in Nepal, debriefed while riding elephants in the rain at a national park, worked with the amazing sisters at Mother Teresa’s Home for the Destitute and Dying in Calcutta, and took in the majesty of the Taj Mahal.

I appreciated our team leaders’ commitment to not only engage us with the poverty of these two countries, but also their beautiful diversity and rich cultural heritage.  I left these places with a passion to serve the poor and make an impact in people’s lives.