Senior Nicole Humphreys is opting to pass up the majority of her last semester of high school in order to pursue a dream. Nicole has a desire to see the world as it is, without the constraints of a classroom and without boundaries.
Humphreys is taking nine weeks to travel to Cuzco, Peru where she’ll be teaching English to students, working with environmental conservation organizations and volunteering at orphanages.
“Picking a college is a really big decision and I don’t feel like I have enough life experience to make that decision right now. I wanna see the world outside my immediate surroundings into places I’ve never been before where I can learn from experiences that can’t be taught in a classroom,” said Humphreys.
Humphreys admits she’s nervous about pursuing such an unfamiliar trek. She’s never been outside of North America before and hasn’t yet met the people she’s going to be spending nine weeks with. But Nicole is firm in her belief that the things that make you the most nervous in life are the things that make you grow the most.
Humphreys leaves Jan. 30 and will return sometime during early-to mid-April, depending on how things go. She’s not the first from Lakeridge to choose this option. In the last four years at Lakeridge three students have undertaken similar study abroad opportunities across the world. There is a growing trend of students opting for this pathway before college and organizations are now catering to make trips like Humphreys’ more possible.
Programs once offered exclusively for college enrollees are being tailored to fit the schedules of seniors in high school just like Humphreys.
Humphreys isn’t worried about missing out on some aspects of her last semester at Lakeridge.
“At some point during senior year it’s easy to start having the feeling of why am I here. I feel like there’s a lot to experience, I’m really ready to get out and I feel like this is the right decision for me. It’s fun to enjoy a more relaxing senior year, but I know I can spend my time more wisely and this is how I want to do that,” said Humphreys.
When making her decision, Humphreys says the advice of Lee Brown was one of the final things that made her know this was the right thing to do.
“The world is your classroom, go learn,” said Brown to Humphreys. It gave her the confidence to make her decision and start her journey.
When Humphreys comes back from Peru, she hopes to have a newfound experience under her belt and an idea for what she wants for her future.