Danicka Leeds (Chile, 2023-24)

Danicka Leeds is a Human Developmental Sciences major at UC San Diego with a double minor in Spanish Linguistics and Psychology who will be studying abroad at the University of Chile. She plans to stay at a local family home upon arrival. Danicka writes of the opportunity to study abroad: “I want to gain insight into another culture and be entirely immersed in a different way of life to gain appreciation for another way of living and apply the values I’ve learned to my own life. I want to be able to redefine the narrative that travel is only possible if you’re rich and to show that a girl like me whose family comes from a line of homelessness can be able to make these dreams a reality. I want to be able to learn medical terminology in Spanish so that I can connect with Spanish-speaking patients without the use of a translator to show that I care for them and that I want to know them.” She plans to work as a phlebotomist in Chile to gain more medical terminology in Spanish and gain hospital experience.