The last two semesters at UMass have been amazing! Last semester I got to experience my first spring in Amherst which was such a great opportunity to explore the area more. I enjoyed finding quite places outside to study and do work. Moving out of my freshman dorm was bittersweet, it holds so many memories of my first year here and the start of my college journey. Although leaving that dorm room was kind of sad, I was also excited to start my second year and make even more memories. I was also happy to wrap up my courses and return to our island community. Returning in the fall was much different than the previous year. It felt great to know where everything is and to be arriving to familiar faces.

This fall semester has been a great start to my second year at UMass. This semester I focused on finishing up a couple of gen ed requirements, for example I took a biology course titled: Evolution Explained which was taught by a lively professor who related the material to pop culture references and made sure we were always engaged in class. It was a different approach to biology than I have experienced in the past, but I found myself grasping concepts faster than I thought I would. For my fall semester I set a goal to challenge myself and I did just that. I enrolled in a Linguistics course which is the first step in obtaining a certificate to teach English to speakers of other languages. I am very excited to work towards this certificate and be able to have a full circle moment starting as someone who had to be taught English and now hopefully becoming someone who can teach English. Once again, I am very grateful for MVYouth, and all the people involved in providing me with this amazing opportunity. Thank you for all the support!