Hi everyone! My name is Jessica and I am currently a student at Grand Valley State University. I am going into my third year and pursuing a degree in elementary education and Spanish. I hope to one day work in bilingual schools or areas large in immigrants as my primary goal is for students to receive a quality education without a language barrier. My passion has always been teaching despite the many negative comments I have received as "You can do so much more" "Teachers don't make much money" "That's all you're doing?" Despite these comments I have stayed true to my passion and plan to share this passion and drive with my future students. This coming fall I will be studying abroad in Granada, Spain for the entire semester to improve my Spanish oral and written skills. In all honesty, Spain was my last choice but I had decided on Spain as a result of my restrictive diet, the classes offered, and the housing.  

Although I have been blessed with an amazing scholarship, I have seem to come up a little short to make this study abroad happen between deposits and flight prices. I have been saving to try to cover the costs and currently work full time but I'm afraid I will still come up a little short. I had the opportunity to go abroad once before but like that time, money came up short to make deposits. My sister and I planned to go but I gave her the money saved up for my trip so she could at least go abroad and get the experiences. This will be my first time going abroad and I am really excited and blessed to have this opportunity. 

Any bit of donation, no matter how big or small puts me one step closer to accomplishing my dream and goal of going abroad. Even if you cannot contribute, please keep me in your thoughts and prayers for a safe trip. Thank you so much for taking time out of your day to at least read through this! 

Also, if you donate, I will be 100% willing to send you a postcard while abroad explaining the experiences you helped me experience! 

Best,

Jessica