Tell us a bit about yourself and your interests.
I love all the arts, but I love fashion design especially and have been both sewing and designing for over a decade now. I plan to attend university next year for fashion design and to one day hopefully be a bridal designer.

What made you apply to SYA?
A family friend of ours went to SYA about six years ago and absolutely loved it. She gushes about her experience, and the second I heard about it four years ago I knew I would love to do the same one day too. I’ve taken French for a long time, and after a few circumstances changed in my life last year I knew that coming to France this year to solidify the language and learn the culture was what was right for me.

What are your hopes for your SYA experience?
I hope to make the most of this year. I would love to see as much of the country as possible, to do as much as I can. If I leave in May feeling French comes naturally to me, having done and experienced everything there is to offer here, I’ll be overjoyed. This program is so rich in opportunities and the intercultural experience is something that I think will make well-rounded individuals of all of us.

What are you most looking forward to this year?
I’m looking forward to seeing everything. I love to travel and experience the world, and every day here is undoubtedly a new experience. I’m looking forward to our Paris trip in February — the idea of simply being in the city makes my heart scream — but honestly even more I’m looking forward to Lyon. I’ve never visited Lyon, never been to Europe at all before this year, but what I see from my family there is so breathtakingly beautiful I want to get there as quickly as possible.

What would you say to the donors who made this experience possible?
I want to thank the donors who made this year possible for me from the depths of my heart. This truly would not have been possible for me otherwise by a long shot. The greatest blessing of my life thus far was to open my acceptance email and see that I had been offered a scholarship completely covering my tuition. Reading that email felt like the final puzzle piece sliding into place in my life and I knew immediately what it really meant for me. My biggest fear awaiting the decision process was that I would be accepted but be unable to go for financial reasons. Through the donors who provided me with this scholarship, that fear was completely washed away. So to them, thank you, so very much.