The power of education

phillip-moore

The power of education

By Phillip Moore

At the end of our study abroad experience, our class was challenged to create a photo essay that spoke to our own personal focus during the trip. I chose to make my photo essay about the importance of education, especially amongst the youth of this and future generations. Education is such a powerful tool and it can be the determining factor in many social movements. When populations start to make significant changes in lifestyles, the youth must be educated as to why these changes are being made and they must have the opportunity to either follow in their parents footsteps or make their own educated decisions.

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Looking Back at Nepal

phillip-moore

Looking Back at Nepal

Terraces of green | woken by a blood red sun | rain to wash the soul

My first morning in Nepal I woke to a blood red sun peaking over one of the countless mountains that make up the foggy horizon. I arose right in time as if the sun was calling me to take part in this daily ritual that on a normal day never seems worth the cost of extra sleep. But days in Nepal were different; they were never normal days, and it’s for this reason that I decided to write a Haiku for each day of the trip (the one above was written on my first morning in Nepal). The days were full of moments that took your breath away, made you think and humbled you in ways you could never imagine. Looking back on this moment it feels like it’s been an eternity, not just a couple months. However I sit here now, back on US soil trying to digest everything my senses have absorbed from this study abroad experience. And it’s tough. Three weeks in Nepal and four weeks in India (a trip I planned after the Global studies program) may not seem like that much time, but it was to me. This trip challenged me in many ways: it forced me to adopt a different perspective, it challenged me to find comfort in complexity and it tested my positive attitude time and time again.

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