Hi fellow travelers! My name is Giovanna, but my friends call me Gigi! I’m currently eighteen years old. I’m from the mountainous region of Upstate New York (about three hours from New York City.) However, I recently made the big move cross-country to Orange, California, to pursue my dream of working in the entertainment industry. Currently, I study Strategic and Corporate Communication at Chapman. I plan to double-major in Public Relations and Advertising.

Although I love living in sunny California, New York will always be my home. Living roughly ten minutes from both Vermont and Massachusetts, my friends and I grew up going on day-trips to the Adirondack Mountains or just to small coffee shops in a neighboring state. Where I live, I’m roughly twenty minutes from any civilization, so I’m always outdoors!

I like to think that traveling as a child made me who I am today, even just traveling to Vermont to see a movie with my parents impacted me significantly.

In my free time, I love to take pictures of absolutely everything, from flowers to pretty sights. I also love to listen to music. I also love going to concerts! My favorite artists are Alessia Cara, LANY, Shawn Mendes, and Taylor Swift! When I’m not studying, I’m either at Disneyland or the beach!

Over the past three years, I have had the fantastic opportunity to travel to several different countries through a program called EF Tours. In partnership with my high school, EF has brought Spanish-taking students on adventures in the vast jungles of Belize, to the bustling streets of Barcelona.

In my sophomore year of high school, I had the opportunity to go on a ten-day trip to the Dominican Republic as part of a service trip. There, we went horseback riding through the jungle, snorkeling, and we got to help build a university that focuses on preserving the environment.

Jump to junior year— I was able to go to Costa Rica. I learned about their culture, traditions, and way of life. I also got to do some pretty awesome things: I went white water rafting through the rainforest, ziplining through the trees, and even got to kyack around Mt. Arenal, a famous volcano.

Lastly, in my senior year, I went to my absolute favorite place, Peru. I was pretty skeptical about this trip. It was double the price of my previous trips, and I only knew one other person going from my high school. However, Peru was the most uplifting and eye-opening experience of my life. Hiking Machu Picchu, one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, was indeed the best thing I’ve ever done in my life.

Traveling over the past eighteen years of my life made me the person I am today, someone who is curious, a risk-taker, and open-minded. In the future, I hope to travel to new and exciting places!