Program Helps Black and Latino Students Study Abroad

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STUDYING IN SOUTH AFRICA AND LEARNING WHO I AM

Of the more than 330,000 U.S. students studying abroad, only 6.1 percent are African American and 10.1 percent are Latino. This is one in a series of articles by students of color who are breaking down barriers by studying abroad thanks to the Frederick Douglass Global Fellows program, which awards 10 full scholarships a year to students at Minority Serving Institutions.

These students will periodically share their stories, hopefully inspiring others to apply. Join our social media campaign, #CIEEmpowered #MSInspirational #FrederickDouglassGlobalFellows, launching on January 7, 2019 that will celebrate these extraordinary students and their experiences studying abroad.

By Darielis Cruz

Nationwide  -- I was born in Moca, a small city in the Dominican Republic, and today I am a 21-year old junior at Mercy College, in New Jersey. Thanks to the Frederick Douglass Global Fellowship, I studied in South Africa last summer, and it was a transformational experience for me. For the very first time, I learned about myself, who I am as a person. Here is my story:

When I was five, my father left to get a job in the United States, packing boxes at an Oreos factory in New York City. One of my earliest memories is being under the guava trees, saying goodbye to my father. Every day, he called me and told me about metal bridges that float over the water and white frozen water that fell from the sky and looked like cotton candy. Once a month, we would get care packages with Oreos in them. I would read my favorite book, The Giving Tree, and eat Oreos.