Hello everyone and I just want to apologize for my horrible lack of posts in the last part of my year in Ecuador. It was a crazy time and I was doing my best to live in it before it was over. On that note, I left Ecuador, with 4 of my housemates and the Arbolito volunteers, on the red-eye August 4th and arrived in Idaho the following evening. I have been trying to settle back into life here while also seeing friends and family. As I have mentioned, I am pre-med, so I have also been plugging away at my medical school applications. Such a fun ride!
Along with that, my Rostro experience was made possible by a grant I received from the Kappa Alpha Theta Foundation and I am so grateful. As a part of that grant, I was required to submit a report of my experience when I returned. Below you will find my answers to their questions. It took me far too long to complete as 200 words is not sufficient (hello, this entire blog isn't sufficient!) to tell the story of my time in Ecuador, but I did my best. I thought you might like to see what I said.
How did this
program/experience further your education or develop you as a leader and how
did/does that development benefit you? (200 words or less) *
My
year, living with the Ecuadorian people, cambió mi vida (changed my life). It
influenced my world view, taught me more lessons than a similar amount of
college study and enriched my life with relationships, people and experiences I
never would have encountered otherwise. In tangible ways, I furthered my education
in becoming proficient with the Spanish language, in witnessing poverty and the
structures that contribute to it, in exploring theology with my housemates,
neighbors and personal reading. I lived in a new culture, learning customs and
ways of life. I developed classroom management skills and saw how children do –
and do not – learn.But
it is in the invisible, intangible ways that I have grown and developed that
made this year invaluable and life-changing. I learned the importance of being
vulnerable, how to love someone simply because they exist, that failure is
terrifying, but beautiful and oh so necessary, the importance of the present
moment, leading through action rather than words, what it means to live and
work for the whole & not the individual, and the responsibility I, and
everyone else born to any advantage at all, has to change the world we are
living in.
What was the
personal objective/goal you outlined in your original Theta Foundation grant
application? Did you meet it? How did you measure your success? (200 words or
less) *
In my application, I outlined that: “I want to
grow in my faith and become closer to God, to develop meaningful relationships
with my fellow volunteers and Ecuadorians, to gain perspective on poverty and
living in simplicity, and use all of these things to grow into a stronger,
better person” along with “a lesser goal […] to truly make a tangible
difference in the [Ecuadorian] community […] that will remain after my year is
over.”I absolutely believe that I reached my primary
objective and in ways I never could have imagined. As I mentioned in my
application, success in these areas is difficult to measure in ways other than
self-knowledge and possibly my strength as a medical school applicant. As for
making a tangible difference, I can only hope that lies in the hearts of those
I interacted with every day. That is the beauty and struggle of Rostro de
Cristo, we just ‘are’; we do not ‘do’ and pride ourselves on non-reliance,
non-dependence and sustainability. All the growth and change is in the capable
hands of the Ecuadorians, we just faithfully accompany them on the journey.
How will you
use the knowledge/experience you gained going forward to further Theta
Foundation's mission of reaching your fullest potential and/or making a
difference in the world? (200 words or less) *
This experience developed me as a leader,
Christian, sister, student and more, morphing me into a better medical school
applicant and, more importantly, a better person. This development and
everything I have gained will certainly help me reach my fullest potential. Right
now, that potential appears to be becoming a medical student (and then doctor)
with a broader worldview, a desire to serve my patients, recognizing the value
in every human being and seeking ways to help those in need. Outside of my
profession, as a friend, sister, daughter, and world citizen, my fullest
potential is living a life driven by my faith, ruled by love and knowledge of
truth. All of which I have developed in this past year.Within this, my vision is that I will work to
make a difference wherever I am, however I can, with the insight I have gained
and through my career in medicine.
How did your
grant and this experience impact how you value Theta Foundation’s support of
Thetas? The value of your Kappa Alpha Theta membership in general? (300 words
or less) *
Having
served as scholarship chair and CFO, and benefited from an undergraduate
scholarship myself, the Theta Foundation’s support of Thetas has been something
I have valued for some time. However, in those contexts, the Theta Foundation’s
support was a small, though greatly appreciated, piece of a grand support
system. Our chapter’s events were still a success without bringing in a special
speaker. I still would have attended college and managed to have what I needed.In
contrast, with this grant, the Foundation single-handedly made my year in
Ecuador possible. I was leaving college, completely broke, when this amazing
program and opportunity presented itself in a volunteer year with Rostro de
Cristo with one roadblock: the required fundraising. Thankfully, I am a sister
in the greatest women’s fraternity in the world, whose support of its members only
grows after graduation. So I applied for a Foundation grant, was graciously
awarded one and had the most transformative year of my life as a result. I have
always been proud to be a Theta and now that pride is combined with an
excitement for the years to come and what Theta and I can do together to help
others reach their fullest potential and make a difference in the world.
I hope to post more here on my last months in Ecuador, reflections on how my year continues to change me and the crazy re-entry to the United States. Thank you again for your amazing support throughout the year, reading and praying. I never could have done it without you!!!
Amor y paz
Marisol
