Sophia Garrido is a Communications major at UCSD studying abroad at Royal Holloway in the United Kingdom for the 2021-22 academic year. Sophia was born and raised in Orange County, California and is very passionate about studying different cultures and communities. She loves learning about how media, politics, history, and society all work together to create a culture’s values. At UCSD, she is a member of the sorority Pi Beta Phi, and the UCSD Women’s soccer team. Sophia wants to “challenge herself to become comfortable with the uncomfortable.” In addition to her course work, she is playing competitive soccer. Sophia reports that, “Already, my time abroad has helped me narrow down the path I want to take for my future. It has shown me my passion for international relations so much so to the point where I decided to apply for a summer internship with the U.S. State Department. There is an embassy in Italy that works on promoting religious freedom, as well as an office in Washington DC which does the same. I’ve applied to both, so fingers crossed!”
Shellsea de Leon (France, 2021-22)
Shellsea de Leon is a Political Science major at UCSD studying abroad at Sciences Po in Paris, France. She has been studying French since her first year of high school and has loved every second of it. Shellsea is the first in her family to go to college and she wishes to make her academic career the best it can be to make her family proud. After graduation, Shellsea hopes to pursue a law degree and work as a lawyer or in a government agency like the Environmental Protection Agency. She writes, “In my class on climate change it has been very insightful to have conversations on the Paris Accord, but also on COP26 and how countries determine who is the most responsible for carbon emissions and pollution.” In her free time, she enjoys hanging out with friends, hiking, or singing with her dad. While in France, she aims to fully immerse herself in the culture and its people and practice her French in order to become fluent. Shellsea writes that her comprehension of the French language has increased significantly. “I remember when I first came to France and I was absolutely confused as to what everything meant, even though I had years of learning the language. I think, however, thanks to my engagement and pursuit of taking French classes, it gave me an amazing opportunity to get more involved in the culture.”
Neil Dudheker (England, 2021-22)
Neil Dudheker is a Biology major at UCSD studying abroad at University College London for the 2021-22 academic year. He was born and raised in Southern California. Neil believes his experience abroad will allow him to pursue unique connections pertaining to his field of study while also receiving a high-quality education at a competitive university. With the goal of becoming a successful cardiologist in the future, Neil values the opportunity to network with new people and become a more well-rounded individual. He believes that the defining quality of an excellent physician is their ability to connect with their patients, and he hopes that his experience in a diverse city like London will help him develop his ability to connect and communicate with a variety of people. He has found a solid group of mostly British friends who are introducing him to London. Neil writes, “They’ve taken me to Nando’s, which they claim is a cultural necessity. And we spend a little too much time arguing about the correct way to spell and pronounce most words. But overall, they are responsible for making my study abroad experience so special.”
Rebeca Brambila (Italy, 2021-22)
Rebeca Brambila is a first generation Mexican-American college student majoring in International Business and minoring in Real Estate and Development at UCSD. Both of her parents are from Mexico, but her great-grandfather was from Italy, where she is studying at the University of Bologna this year. In order to finance her study abroad, she juggled working part-time while being a full-time student. Rebeca writes that “this scholarship has made going abroad not only possible, but my reality. I cannot thank this organization enough for this amazing financial contribution that will allow me to fulfill my dream of going abroad.” Rebeca plans to immerse herself into the Italian culture, make connections with diverse people from different cultures, and take on an internship in Urban Planning. Thus far, she has made a lot of new friends in Italy, many from different countries around Europe, like Lithuania, the Netherlands, Ireland, and Poland. In January she will be moving into an apartment with two roommates, including fellow Borton Scholar Daniela Mendoza!
Daniela Mendoza (Italy, 2021-22)
Daniela Mendoza is an International Business major at UCSD studying abroad in Bologna, Italy for a full academic year. Daniela fell in love with the Italian language and culture on a trip to Europe in 2018 and has completed the Italian language sequence at UCSD. In her free time, she enjoys eating good foods, watching the sunset, reading books, going for long walks, and listening to music. Much of what she reads and listens to is either in Italian or Spanish. Daniela finds that “learning a language is not always just learning how to speak it, but also listening to it and reading it can help to train your mind to using it more often.” She loves the beautiful buildings where lectures are held at the University of Bologna and writes that there are “classrooms all over the city and even though it can be stressful to go from one class to the other, it allows you to explore the city even more.”