Tell us a bit about yourself and your interests.
I love the performing arts. Particularly, I love acting in plays and musicals; singing in chorus and a capella; composing and transcribing music; and playing instruments, of which I play five (the strangest being a medieval instrument I built myself called the Hurdy-Gurdy). My favorite genres of music are folk, a capella and metal. My favorite movie is The Lion King. I love playing video games. My favorite sport is sailing which I've been doing for seven years and have sailed on boats as small as a nine foot racing dinghy to a 183 foot tall ship. I also like learning about linguistics, etymology and geography.

What made you apply to SYA?
I applied to SYA because I've always loved the idea of living in Europe. Ever since first traveling abroad to Iceland in 2022, my horizons have been broadened. I initially applied to travel to Iceland with my school for one week because I really liked Vikings, but came back with a new world view and a renewed sense of curiosity which expanded from an interest in Northern Europe to seeking to learn more about the world as a whole and its many cultures. By learning about different parts of the world, their cultures and their ways of life, I seek to deepen my understanding of the human experience. SYA seemed like the perfect chance to immerse myself in Spanish culture, exercise and satisfy my curiosity and grow as a person through new and unique experiences.

What are your hopes for your SYA experience?
I hope to improve my mastery of the Spanish language to, ideally, a point where I can converse well without any difficulties and be able to write in and understand Spanish as well as I can write in and understand English. I also hope to make strong and lasting connections with people here and form valuable friendships. Finally, I hope to grow emotionally and intellectually as I gather new experiences, learn new things and meet new people.

What are you most looking forward to this year?
I am most looking forward to traveling throughout the country this year. Spain has so many different cultures, landscapes and languages and I want to experience them all. I look forward to trying new foods, listening to new music and seeing new sights. Right now, the place I want to visit in Spain the most is the north, particularly Galicia, where there is lots of Celtic influence. Celtic history and culture is something that fascinates me. Zaragoza also has many interesting parts to the city that I have yet to discover, so I look forward to exploring more of it.

What would you say to the donors who made this experience possible?
To the donors I would like to say thank you for making this dream a reality for me. I feel very grateful and fortunate to be able to have such a unique and rewarding life experience and opportunity to grow which I otherwise would have no way of realizing. I look forward to making the most of the year ahead!