Uganda: Braeden Yacobucci's Eye Opening Adventure

Braeden Yacobucci Start Date: Sep 11, 2018 - End Date: May 28, 2019

My Travel Story

by: Braeden Yacobucci Start Date: Sep 11, 2018 - End Date: May 28, 2019
If you have made it to this page already, thank you. I appreciate you clicking on this campaign. If you don't want to read this entire thing, here's the short story: I want to go with a small group of students and professors to a non profit in Uganda to study nutrition. Now let me tell you a bit about it. I have never traveled out of the United States. But I so DESPERATELY want to, like most everyone my age. This past year I purchased a passport in order to force myself to travel outside of the country as much as possible before the passport expires in ten years. I am currently a nutrition major at Kent State University in Ohio. I am very passionate about nutrition, however the education abroad opportunities for nutrition at Kent State are slim due to the small number of students studying nutrition. So when I heard about a trip that one of the nutrition professors takes with his students to Uganda every summer, I was immediately intrigued. Of course the first thought that crosses my mind is "There is no way I could ever afford a study abroad trip, but I'll talk to him anyways". I learned that the professor actually has a non profit, an elementary school, based in Uganda which we visit on the trip. We will be studying the malnutrition status of the local children to better understand the differences in the food and nutrition of a third world country compared to the United States. And that is one of the main purposes for the trip, to open our eyes to a culture that has less than we do and how that affects their daily lives, from eating to working to learning, etc. However, we will also be having a bit of fun by traveling into the larger cities and going on a safari adventure. Certain students will be conducting a full research study with the professor on the nutrition status of the locals as well. After discovering more about the trip, I emailed the professor in charge of it and told him I am willing to put down the 60 dollar deposit to claim my spot and that would force me to find the money somehow, so that is what I did and I am doing my best to remain confident I will find the funds haha. The entire reason I wanted to study nutrition was to help people live their most quality lives, and if I am able to make the lives of these people in Uganda even a little bit better during our journey there then it will have been worth it. The people going on the trip have also had a significant impact on my life, from fellow nutrition students to professors who have aided me in my own nutrition journey and given me guidance. This trip will not only be eye opening, but it will also look very good when I am applying for internships or jobs. Very few students will have the grand opportunity of saying they went to a third world country to study nutrition and the trip changed their lives forever. Now if you have made it this far, thank you times a million!! I hope this description was well written enough for you to aid me in any way you can. I will GREATLY appreciate anything from words of encouragement to monetary donations. Have a nice day and stay healthy my friends :)