Page ID: A picture of sand sits in the background at the top of the page. The rest of the page background is white. The phrase Abroad Experiences sits in big black bold left aligned letters atop the page. An Angela Davis quotes and a blurb about the function of the pages sits below it. Pictures and descriptions of various abroad experiences are provided with IDs.
Abroad Experiences
“It is in collectivities that we find reservoirs of hope and optimism.”
― Angela Y. Davis, Freedom is a constant struggle
I've had the great fortunate of traveling this great big world and making connections with all kinds of people and communities. Here are some of those experiences:
ID: A medium brown skin Deaf man stands in the middle of a green screen in Gallaudet's film studio with a large light above him and other cameras pointed at him.
Gallaudet University Exchange Program (Spring 2020)
I studied at Gallaudet University as a visiting student focusing on Deaf Liberatory work and film. I was able to take incredible classes like Dynamics of Oppression with the renowned Dr. Carolyn McCaskill. My work with the Deaf community has always reminded me of the importance of solidarity. This photo was taken in Gallaudet's studio lab for a Film Production class I was in. It is my job to figure out how to use hearing privilege to better uplift the Deaf narrative: to know when to be behind the camera.
Greece (Fall 2019)
I spent 4 months at the American College of Greece in Athens studying psychology and film. Greece was transformative for me on a personal level. Greek culture has such a welcoming relationship with time. It was the first time I was actively encouraged to just "be." To sit in a café for hours as a sign of cultural respect. I was forced to confront was sustainable self-care looked like for me. How do I dedicate myself to my own self care even halfway across the globe?
ID: A silhouette of Travis on a boat with long box braids flowing in the wind as the sun sets on the Aegean Sea.
Costa Rica (Summer 2019)
For the 2019-2020 academic year, I purposefully decided to spend my year abroad. I studied in Heredia, rounding out my Spanish minor. Costa Rica was the restoration that my soul didn't know it needed. My two years at a predominately White institution had left my sense of community deeply fractured. I'd come to learn that Costa Rica wasn't too different from the Bronx. It's good to know that across the diaspora, there's a cold beer and some claves waiting for you: un tipo especial de sabor y tumbao.
ID: Travis with box braids down his back in a sleeveless shirt and shorts faced away from the camera hugging a 400 year old Ceiba tree.
Scotland & Ireland (Spring 2017)
My community graciously came other to send me on this trip as a graduation gift my senior of high school. Seeing the complex history of the political struggle in Northern Belfast was my favorite part. It helped me further grasp the concept of identity as a political framework, especially while being taken on this trip by a Catholic school. The culture shock of seeing that few Black people and the cold surely prepared me for my freshman year of college in Boston.
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ID: Travis sitting against a railing smiling directly at the camera wrapped snug in a black hoodie, green scarf, and his infamous unicorn hat. He holds a wrapped pamphlet in his hands that are clearly in desperate need of lotion.
Spain & Portugal (Summer 2015)
I was invited to be a part of the People to People Student Ambassador Program. I remember my mother working her third job to raise the funds to send me on this trip. I remember sitting on the rocks of the Mediterranean with the rest of my mostly Black cohort in the complete surrealism of the sand we could now touch. We were really, actually there. It helped me see how big the world really was, and how much more there was to learn and love.
ID: Travis and his cohort standing with staff in front a red building with scripted lettering that reads Huerto Alegre: an environmental education center in Granada, Spain.