My first time traveling was unlike most people's first time. The first time I set foot on a plane was at eight years old when my mother and I left a refugee camp in Tanzania to settle in the United States. Living in refugee camps and resettling in America changed my life. At such a young age, I knew that the world was full of so many people different and similar to myself in many ways. I developed a curiosity for learning languages, living with people from different cultures, and building a community. My curiosity exposed me to different cultures, enabling me to be more understanding and inclusive of others, be a more effective advocate, and live a richer life. That is why I study Political Science and Sociology and minor in German. In the spring of 2022, I studied abroad in Accra, Ghana where I learned from Ghanaian professors and students about women and gender issues, the political economy of Africa, and globalization. While I would have learned about such topics at my university in the U.S., traveling to Ghana during my spring semester of Sophomore year ensured that my learning continued even after I left the classroom. I not only read about these issues, I saw the issues and lived with the people working to solve them. After this transformative experience, I decided to study abroad again, this time in Berlin, Germany. There, I concentrated on learning about European migration from the 1950s to today and European integration. During my semester in Berlin, I visited a women's refugee resource center and even went to the European Union. Again, my knowledge was deepened by talking to Germans and migrants and discussing with Eurocrats in Brussels. All in all, my study abroad experiences have allowed me to understand humanitarian issues and international relations at a macro and micro level. Given what I have learned in the past 4 years, I plan to continue my education by pursuing a Masters of Arts in International Affairs at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) starting fall 2024 in Bologna, Italy. I will be studying there as a 2024 Thomas R. Pickering Fellow, a State Department diplomatic fellowship. After my studies, I will join the U.S. Foreign Service and use my knowledge, cultural competence, and language skills in Kirundi, Kinyarwanda, Swahili, and German to improve the United States' relationship with other countries. Moving to the U.S. and studying abroad are the reasons behind my passion for advocating for refugees, empowering women in Africa, and promoting democratic values. Travel was and continues to be integral to how I advocate for these issues. On my campus and social media pages, I share my experiences with other students to encourage them to study abroad because I believe travel has the power to positively transform their life.