Planes, Trains and Automobiles
I made the decision to defer at the beginning of June, leaving me the summer to figure out how I would spend my time off. In that time I took three trips that proved hugely important in shaping my gap year: one to Honduras, one to the East Coast, and one to Haiti.
My trip to Honduras was my first time traveling to Central America. We met our team before sunrise in the Columbus airport lobby, and touched down in Honduras around lunchtime. On the ride through Tegucigalpa we observed piles of burning trash in the streets and balding stray dogs weaving in and out of traffic—a stark contrast to the Mediterranean beaches and Parisian streets I encountered on my previous international travels. We drove just over an hour through the mountains to Montaña de Luz, where we would be staying for the next week. Montaña de Luz is a faith based organization creating a loving home for children in Honduras who are affected by HIV/AIDS. The love at the mountain was infectious, and by the second day I was already asking when I could come back. Our team’s service project for the week took place at the older boys’ home, working to build the foundation and walls for an outdoor kitchen. Spending much of our time at the bottom of the mountain allowed us to get to know the older boys well. We each brought with us varying Spanish language skills, and were able to share jokes, magic tricks and many laughs during our morning work time. When we were not mixing cement and laying bricks at the bottom of the mountain we had the opportunity to lead activities and play games with all the children. We played cards often, and the crowd favorite was Spoons. The week was full of smiles and only occasional screams when someone was discovered with a spoon in their lap. I will never forget my first trip to the mountain, and am especially thankful I was able to share the experience with my dad. At the end of the week it was hard to say goodbye, but for many on the team a return was certain.
The purpose of my trip to the East Coast was to explore potential career paths after abandoning the pre-med route. Through a family connection at God’s Love We Deliver, I was able to spend several days behind the scenes at this nonprofit organization in Manhattan. God’s Love We Deliver provides nutritious, individually-tailored meals to people who are too sick to shop or cook for themselves. I spent the first day in the kitchen helping prepare meals for distribution. God’s Love sees 10,000 volunteers annually, and every one I saw had a smile on their face. I saw the same spirit that afternoon when I interviewed several members of the staff to understand what behind-the-scenes work is necessary to make a nonprofit run. The next day I went out in one of the trucks for deliveries, and even crossed state lines to reach clients in New Jersey. It was 94° and the sun was relentless, but at the end of the shift I decided to walk home. While walking I reflected on my time at God’s love and wondered if I saw myself involved with nonprofit work in the future.
I had more time to reflect the next day when I boarded a train at Penn Station and headed to Boston. When I arrived at South Station I set off to find the bus terminal for the last leg of my journey. My final destination was Cape Cod, where I spent the rest of my trip staying with my Aunt and catching up with family. We discussed, among other things, my decision to defer, and how I was planning to use my year off to help shape my future. At the end of the trip I felt slightly dismayed. I left Ohio hoping to return with a direction of study, but found instead I had crossed another off the list.
In August I left for my final trip of the summer: a medical mission to Haiti. People are often surprised when I say it was awful. I was prepared for the burning trash and naked children, and cramped, unsanitary accommodations. My frustration stemmed from the apparent lack of organization and communication within my group, misconstrued notions about my role on the team, and mixed feelings about the work we were doing. I worried we were contributing to the problem of dependence within the communities we visited instead of helping empower the local people and teaching them skills to help them on a path to self-sufficiency. One night while lying on the roof of a building and watching the stars with my cousin I articulated the reasons for my discontent. I wanted to leave something behind on missions, so the people I worked with were not waiting for my return. I wanted to participate in sustainability projects. He suggested I do this by pursuing an engineering degree. Immediately I objected because I was not interested in a technical role. I saw myself managing the team designing solar panels or organizing the trip to install a hydroelectric generator, not crunching numbers or figuring out where to put them. Research industrial and systems engineering, he told me. As soon as we were connected to WiFi again, I did. The more I read the more intrigued I became. It combines the technical foundation of an engineering degree with project management and organizational skills. Industrial engineers focus on efficiency of systems and a working relationship between man and machine. As I read through course descriptions I was amazed; this sounded like the way I ran my life already. I felt a strong draw to the program and confidently declared I had found my new direction.
None of the three trips was quite what I imagined, but each was valuable for its own reasons. Through each flight, ride and hike in the mountains I was growing my independence and shaping my perspective, and I knew this would only continue as the year progressed.