We receive more than 150 Correspondent applications every semester, including students of various backgrouds and skills in creating different types of content. This year, we've selected IES Abroad blogger Avery Trinidad (IES Abroad Berlin • Fall 2021 • Williams College) as our 2021-22 Correspondent of the Year.
Avery has astounded us with his immersive writing skills showcased in his study abroad blog during his time in Berlin. His writing is compelling and visual, allowing the reader to dive deep into the experience with him as if experiencing it themselves. Not only does his style elicit emotion, it elicits conversation, as well bringing the reader along for the ride. You can read Avery's interview here as he reminisces on his time in Berlin.
While interviewing him on his experience studying abroad and as a Correspondent, we asked Avery a question about identity. His answer was so profound and thought-provoking that we felt called to detail it in full in a separate Student Voices piece.
Here are some of our favorite quotes from Avery that kept us hungry for more:
"Study Abroad is about exploration—of course you’re gonna want to see all the sights, of course you’re gonna have trouble navigating a new place, of course you’re gonna find out what you like in the neighborhood, of course you’re gonna depend on what’s familiar, of course you’re gonna want to have fun, of course you’re gonna have trouble with the local lingo, of course you’re gonna try and act like you’re from here, of course you’re gonna want this to be your city too.
Study Abroad is an invitation to change how you engage with new places. To recognize that intentional exploration, really, should mean self-exploration. To recognize the cultures of others not as static, unchanging things to study under a microscope, but rather vast, living, metaphysical organisms that are performed and reinvented every day." - Urban Epilogue
"You don’t have to have a love life abroad. I mean, if you do, it doesn’t need to look anything like mine—everyone’s experiences abroad are shaped by circumstance, from your own positionality to the positionality of the city you’re in. But the relationships you do end up having—romantic or not—are always shaped by the ones you’ve already had. And, with any luck, they’ll help you learn for the many, many others to come in that long, long rest of your life. You’ll become a little more mature with them. I know I have." - Love Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow: Dating Abroad
"In a city like Berlin, there’s always something new to see.
And as you grow as a person, there’s always new eyes to see it with." - A Little Older, A Little Bolder
"Heck, never feel the need to have as much as a Wild West weekend as the one I just described—if you’re back in your room by 9 PM, binging Netflix, having a hot cocoa, and that’s your definition of a good night? Then that’s your way of experiencing Berlin, and a totally valid way, too." - Being Young While the Night is Young
Avery is currently studying at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts where he's furthering his roots in writing and encouraging others to share their stories. We are so glad to have been a part of his journey and see the impact that study abroad can have as it bridges identities and experiences to welcome something more.
Congrats, Avery!
Get the real-life scoop on study abroad from IES Abroad Blogs, where our Correspondents share their unique adventures across the world through writing, photo, video, and more.
