Personal Narrative: I Am Estefania Perez

I am Estefania Perez. I am a first generation Mexican-American college student. Growing up we did not have many luxuries. However, my family and I were fortunate enough to take a few trips to Mexico. We stayed in my grandparent’s farm, a remote rural area 45minutes away from the closest city. The houses are still made out of adobe and the night sky is brighter than any city. This is the place where I fell in love with simplicity and where my appetite for adventure was triggered. During my stay I was free to roam the country without any worry but with curiosity, something I couldn’t have back in Chicago. As I grew older and enhanced my education I kept looking back at my travels and knew they held something meaningful but I wasn’t certain what

that meaning was. It wasn’t until I transferred to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and once again I stepped into something different, that I realized that my education was far from unconventional. I recognized then what those trips to Mexico held for me, a longing for the exploration of ideas without systematic procedures. To be free to learn through hands on experience and to have natural social interactions were an optimal part of learning. Study abroad from my perspective encompasses these qualities in its teaching approach. Due to that reason I know study abroad has to be part of my college experience. As an environmental scientist, worldwide perspectives on social perceptions and practices and hands on experience are highly needed for innovative thinking. Another key influence Mexico had on my decision to study abroad was water quality. While in Mexico I experienced the difficulties of accessing clean water on a daily basis. My family in Mexico gathered rain water, traveled 45 minutes to the nearest water well, or found themselves using dirty water for daily activities. This experience sparked my interest in water quality in rural areas around Latin America. In order to better understand not only the scientific basis behind water quality but the social impact it carries in communities, physical presence is undeniably significant. Study Abroad will be in integral part of my college experience because it gives me a sense of realism. A realism that is connected back to my roots and motivations. My motivation comes from communities that unfortunately are deprived of many basic human necessities due to a lack of knowledge in environmental crisis. Much of this ignorance in environmental crisis stems from the lack of global awareness and interactions that can be experienced through study abroad.