Pre-Departure Reflection

 

Amy Chandler

4th Year, Sociology, Queen's University (Kingston, ON)

I leave tomorrow afternoon for Nairobi, Kenya. I can’t believe that the day is finally here! I am so excited to be finally leaving after reading so much about Kenya and the Sauder Africa Initiative. This program sounds like an amazing experience that I know I will remember forever. I am looking forward to meeting the Sauder students that Frances has told me so much about. It seems like a great group!

As a Sociology student, I think it will be very interesting to be immersed in a new culture and to learn more about real-life in Kenya. It is a bit intimidating to be working with Sauder business students, but I’m confident that my skills will be useful somewhere on this trip! I am so eager to begin teaching! This is a great opportunity to visit a new country, work with students from another University (which I hope to attend in the future!) and to learn alongside the students we are teaching.

One of my goals for the next 10 years is to travel as much as possible! It has been great growing up in a small town, but it’s time to expand my knowledge and experience different places in the world! It will be the longest and farthest trip I have ever taken. I am looking forward to tasting new foods, meeting new people and seeing all the sites!

This trip is important to me because I want to travel and give back to the communities I visit as much as possible. I am so grateful for the life I have here in Canada and want to share this with people around the world. I think that education is incredibly important as it allows for change to happen. I am a passionate student and I am thrilled that I have been invited to join this initiative.

I am also very grateful that I am able to travel with my Aunt Frances and spend time with her. I am so proud of all the work she has done in academia, her life and travels, and with this initiative. It is so wonderful to be able to travel to Kenya and know that Frances will make sure that all of the students and I have a fun and safe trip that we will never forget. I look forward to seeing my Aunt in action as a professor and to get to know her even more.

Can't wait to arrive!!