May 11, 2025 My Polish heritage is the root of my identity. Every ancestor of mine spoke Polish, and I see it as my responsibility to carry that legacy forward. I grew up in a bilingual household, and over the years, my primary method of keeping my skills alive has been speaking with family. I try as often as I …
Capstone Seminar
Ethical Research Abroad
April 18, 2025 This past semester, my Earth and Environmental Science class traveled to Puerto Rico to conduct field research for our Senior Seminar class. The trips purpose is to allow student to create and develop their own research project and plan, and how the opportunity to conduct it hands-on in the field. I was beyond excited to go but …
Political Messaging in Brazil and Cuba
For this assignment, I was asked to reflect on an image that another student found thought-provoking and analyze what I think is important about this image, before and after reading the accompanying essay. I chose a photo set in Havana, Cuba, taken by my peer, Henry Leighton. March 31, 2025 Henry’s photo of a billboard initially appeared to be a …
Solitude in Florianópolis
April 28, 2025 I didn’t expect to become a beach person. When I was a child, every winter my family drove down to Florida, and I despised the idea of going. I’ve never felt drawn to the idea of lying around in the sun, doing nothing while being sticky with sweat and surrounded by other people. But in Florianópolis, Brazil, …
Lembrança do Senhor do Bomfim da Bahia
October 28, 2024 The first and only time I went to northern Brazil was for a field trip to the city of Salvador, in the state of Bahia, with other students from the Brazil Middlebury Schools Abroad program. It was around noon, and the sun burned everyone and everything in its path. I was immensely grateful to be on this …