Mara Gordon | Finding my way

On the last day of classes, I ran into my freshman advisor on Locust Walk. She and I had a quick catch-up as we walked together before the mayhem of Hey Day began.

The last time we had really talked was my sophomore year, when I had just declared my American History major and thought I wanted to be a political journalist. So I felt weird telling her that I had done a bit of a 180, and I was planning on moving to Africa.

"I'm actually going to be living in Tanzania for a year or so," I told her sheepishly. "I guess things change."

She laughed and hugged me. "Mara, that's what's supposed to happen in college!"

I feel incredibly lucky that it did. So I figure after I've spent the last four years complaining about Penn as a writer for The Daily Pennsylvanian, it's finally time to write this school a long-overdue thank you note.

Last spring, as my friends were gearing up for a summer of suits and long hours in New York, I was itching to go abroad. My internship at home in D.C. the previous summer had left me restless, and I was nervous that I lacked the focus and step-by-step life plan that all my friends seemed to have. I wasn't sure exactly what I wanted to do, but I needed to see more of the world.

On a bit of a whim, I applied to the Penn in Botswana program. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I took a leap of faith and got ready for a summer working in an orphanage, funded by a grant from the Provost's Office.

It's trite, but it's true: The experience changed my life.

In Botswana, I saw the realities of global inequality. I saw what it's like to live in poverty. But I also saw how quickly I made friends, how easy it was to connect with people who live halfway around the world.

I can't really guess what I would be doing after graduation if I hadn't gotten the grant. But I do know that three months living in Gaborone opened my eyes in ways I never expected. My education at Penn was transformed.

I always joke that I'm an unlikely poster child for this University. I don't have a 4.0; I hardly go to any basketball games or student government events. But what happened to me, as my advisor said, is exactly what's supposed to happen in college - and it's all because Penn has made undergraduate opportunities like my trip to Botswana a priority.

I still don't have a life plan. I'm not sure what I'll be doing a year from now, let alone 10. But I am thrilled about moving to Tanzania this summer and passionate about the public health work I'll be doing there.

If you had asked me freshman year if this is what I anticipated, I would have laughed. Now the idea of spending next year in Washington or New York seems almost as foreign.

So thank you, Penn, for giving students like me the opportunity to travel, to explore, to see what life is like in other parts of the world.

All it took was a plane ticket - and I like to think that because of it, I'll be able to do some good some day.

Mara Gordon is a College senior from Washington, D.C. Her e-mail is gordon@dailypennsylvanian.com. Flash Gordon appeared on Wednesdays.

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