Stephanie Duarte-Pedrosa

Hi! My name is Stephanie. I am from a teeny tiny coal miner's town in Alberta, Canada. I just graduated from Pearson College UWC, a small school on Vancouver Island. I feel very grateful to have grown up in a place with such a strong sense of community. My background has definitely developed my love for the outdoors. I love love love to explore the mountains around my home! In recent years, I have witnessed the strain to our town caused by our economic reliance on non-renewable industry. I hope that both my region and the rest of the world will experience a transition to more sustainable industries in the near future. I want the wilderness to be preserved! I want more cold snowy winters! I am beyond excited to be participating in Global Citizen Year. I am looking forward to the experience of living with a host family and the challenge of learning Portuguese. I am especially excited to spend a whole year learning new things without the pressure that comes from a strict academic environment. (hip hip hooray for gap years!) One of my favorite quotes right now is "I wanna love like Johnny and June" from Heidi Newfield's epic pop country power ballad.