Public Service is a Must!

Esli Morales Start Date: Oct 19, 2021 - End Date: Apr 18, 2022
  • Cultural Exchange
  • Educational/Research Trip
  • Leadership/Training Program
  • Copenhagen, Denmark

My Travel Story

by: Esli Morales Start Date: Oct 19, 2021 - End Date: Apr 18, 2022
  • Cultural Exchange
  • Educational/Research Trip
  • Leadership/Training Program
"I was taught that the way of progress was neither swift nor easy," - Marie Curie.

 It is ironic what the lack of growth and progress can do to a family. In my family, none of my have ever cousins attended college. In fact, it is even a feat to even graduate from High School. Now, it is so much from a lack of opportunity but rather a fixed mindset. 

Consequently, I am the first person in my family to graduate from a University and I am the only person in my family to ever pursue a master’s degree in Public Administration. My decision to continue my education has opened the door for possibility in my own family. Some of my younger cousins have applied for college and have even been accepted. Maybe, it is nothing in the eyes of others, but in our family, an incredible growth mindset has begun.

I want to further show them that there is an entire world available to them if they will just look beyond their windows. There is an entire world filled with incredible sights, languages, and countries just waiting to be explored.

It is difficult to be as afraid when one has gone to an entirely different country that does not remotely speak the same language and especially when the traveler can speak very little of that language as the other. But still, that is the most beautiful part of us as humans. We may speak an entirely different language, but still, we find the means to be able to communicate and understand each other. There is nothing logical about it and yet it is an ability that surpasses the limits of the human mind.

I want to show the power communication can have across local and worldwide boundaries. I have strived to increase the communication in my own community, and I am the first female Hispanic Deputy Recorder in the City of Logan's Mayor Office. I have broken down the first barrier in my local municipality to show to the public we don't all have to look alike to serve and is still possible to work together despite being different.

Many times, I feel that as children we don't believe in greater things, because we simply don't have a nearby example as that dream simply feels far too out of reach. I want to show that someone doesn't need to go to Washington D.C. or the state capital to have a direct impact on the community. On the contrary, it is the local officials that have a greater impact on the day-to-day lives of the community than those of the state or federal government.

I want to continue to be an example to my local community not just as a cultural role model but as a gender role model. The state of Utah happens to be one of the states with the least amount of female elected officials. There is a perception that female officials are not needed, but on the contrary, they are. It is female officials who bring up less thought of topics to the legislature. If there are not enough female voices in the legislature, our voices are more often than not stifled. It is only by communicating our thoughts that we can have a continual impact on the generations and future to come.

The precious opportunity to travel has appeared before me in the form of a Short-term Study Abroad Program to the University of Copenhagen from Southern Utah University for the Public Administration Master’s program. We will be able to participate and learn from the Denmark Public officials. Moreover, as a part of my local government, I want to improve and learn by meeting others who are similar and different from me.

The ability to travel and study abroad forces an individual to grow out of their comfort zone in a good manner. It forces me especially to think of things in a different manner. And better yet cause me to grow and utilize the ability to communicate with another human being. It is a crucial knowledge that seems to be fading away more and more in politics. I truly believe if more individuals had the opportunity to see the world, their perspective would change for the better.

I want to continue to be an example to my local community not just as a cultural role model but as a citizen of the United States. I might not be able to change the world, but I can certainly build my community up to create a better tomorrow. I can lead by example and sometimes that is all that is truly needed to get the ball rolling. It is said that hope is always the last to die and it is that same hope and dream that will lighten my path and that of others.
  • Copenhagen, Denmark

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