The Ones That Stay With Us.

Earlier in the year my grandmother renewed her passport, and that made me smile and it made me think:

I am fortunate to have such an adventurous family and privileged to possess the motivation and means to travel, but most of all I am beyond lucky to have formidable, active, and powerfully unique mentors in my life.

From childhood to the beginning of my adult life they have been a nurturing presence: Jo, Nell, Barbara, wonderful women all who taught me what graciousness, strength, and intellectual voracity were.  Men too, fewer and farther between, have given me examples to appreciate and aspire to.  My father and I have talked about what it is to be a mentor, as it’s a role in which he finds much personal meaning.  It’s a unique opportunity to pass along knowledge and condensed years of experience to someone you care about.  It involves having the courage to share yourself, your accomplishments and failings with someone while giving them the space to make their own.

Study abroad is a great opportunity for finding mentorship.  Don’t let it pass you by.  Put effort and respect into your relationships with peers, professors, and advisors.  You will reap the benefits of your effort many times over, but more importantly you will find personal fulfillment, a sharing and exchange of ideas and values, una grande amicizia.