Mom pointed out that some of you reading this might have no idea who the people are that I'm talking about and why I'm over here anyway. So, here's the story.
My second year at UNC I started working for UNC ResNET which is basically in dorm tech support. I got assigned my housing and ended up living in good old Craige again, which nobody wants. So, I didn't blame my friends for not wanting to room with me. I ended up being randomly assigned a roommate and they ended up being foreign exchange students. The first semester was a girl from Singapore named Yiqing aka Rayne. We didn't have too much in common but got along fine. She was only staying for a semester before heading back to Singapore though. I didn't get assigned a roommate until the last minute for spring semester. Not gonna lie, I was super upset at first. It's kinda nice having a room to yourself. Then, I found Charlie on facebook and realized we each had a photo of us doing our nails in the exact same way (I believe it was the Halloween one, can't remember now). Charlotte aka Charlie showed up from England and we had a blast! I was her first roommate because England does things differently so we were both nervous. We met Phil when I went to the desk for something and heard him in front of me and offered to set up his wireless since he mentioned being new. Turns out he was living with the other ResNET person in Craige and already had it fixed but came to hang out with me and Charlie. My memory is currently failing me in how we met Sophie but she also lived in Craige. I'll remember it tomorrow and come back and edit. We also met Johanna (who also went to King's College with Sophie and Phil) because she too lived in Craige and her and Phil decided to play Quidditch! Yay! Johanna will make an appearance sometime next week when I get to Finland.
I graduated from UNC a year early (technically not until July 25th or so) and landed an internship for 4 months in Saronno, Italy which is just north of Milan. This is the program http://siteprogram.pacioli.net/home/project-definition
I thought it would be great to visit Charlie, Phil, Sophie, Jonna, and Johanna (again, read on later) while on the other side of the Atlantic but money is a bit tight (eww, student loans). I actually read my emails and saw one about a travel fellowship. I decided to apply.
http://studentaffairs.unc.edu/sites/studentaffairs.unc.edu/files/TravelFellowshipCriteria2014.pdf
That doesn't mention it specifically but on the cover letter it asked a few specific things: Name, Year, Major, Did you earn Boy Scout Eagle/Girl Scout Gold? Umm, hello, this is what made my application so strong. See, I earned my Girl Scout Gold and I also earned the Venture Crew Silver (oddly, the highest is Silver. Gold, and three Bronzes were also earned prior to Silver, and I got the Quest Award too). Venture Crew is part of Boy Scouts of America. So I had the equivalent of Boy Scout Eagle + my Girl Scout Gold. It made me a bit more confident in my application and it paid off!
http://studentaffairs.unc.edu/awards/gerald-unks-undergraduate-travel-fellowship-winners-announced.html
I actually had a class with Osiris last fall, Ling 547 "Language Deficits and Disorders." We were in the same group for the final project. I remember talking to him about being in scouts after he wore a troop shirt one day.
Anywho, I received the $4,000 and I used most of it on plane tickets. Family and friends have been very generous and sent me graduation cards and money which are also helping with the costs. Luckily I am able to stay with Charlie's family and with Johanna and Jonna so hotel costs are nonexistent. I think this is a pretty good background but if anyone has any questions just comment or message me on facebook. :]
-Alex
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