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Intro to Me!

Hello! I want to first begin by saying that getting to know a person never begins with “so tell me about yourself.” I think people need to spend time together to get to know each other, rather than just lay it out all black and white. I am also not very good at describing myself and sometimes I feel like I don’t wholly know myself as much as I’d like to. I don’t think anybody does; people are always changing, myself included. I know what I like and what I don’t, but that’s only one level of who I am.

What I can say for myself is that I’m more complex and eclectic than expected. I chose this program because it fit exactly with what I wanted to do with my life. I cannot fathom life without travelling and experiencing different cultures firsthand coupled with the opportunity to help people. Global Citizen Year also acted as a deviation from something I wasn’t sure I wanted yet: college. College would have been the expected route. But what’s life if everything you do is what is expected!? I needed something more hands on and life-altering. Of course college would change me, but not the way I’m ready for. The best way for me to explain it is that I don’t want to work in an office where I can be easily disconnected from the world. I want to be “out in the trenches”, wherever that may be, where I can do some serious good and personally alter other’s lives and be able to see how I have changed or helped people. For me, Global Citizen Year spoke to that by all measures. This will certainly change the course of my life, and I cannot wait for it to!

Karina Rodriguez

About Karina Rodriguez


Karina spent time in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina working with Habitat for Humanity, which gave her a new perspective on activism and made her an advocate for human rights and cultural understanding. Now dedicated to volunteer work, Karina has also been active in the I Have A Dream tutoring program, helping young students realize their academic potential, and participates in her community’s Latino Cultural Celebration each year.

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