My experience at Denison allowed me to gain meaningful, rewarding internships working in the non-profit sector in under-resourced communities near my home and in Spanish Harlem, New York.
I graduated from Denison in 2012 with a B.A. in Educational Studies and a minor in Spanish. In the fall of my senior year, I applied for the Shooting Touch Sabbatical Grant - which gives graduating college seniors the opportunity to improve the lives of disadvantaged youth in a developing country by building basketball courts, teaching the game, training local coaches, and emphasizing the ideals of gender equality, health and fitness, disease prevention, the importance of education and leadership. In Rwanda, I worked in the subsistence farming community of Rwinkwavu, where almost all of the kids I was serving balanced schoolwork, agricultural work, and babysitting, along with basketball. It was such a pleasure and privilege to watch them grow right in front of my eyes - both on and off the court. I plan to return to Rwinkwavu sometime in my lifetime to continue services under my own domain.