Ebony Nuchurch, Nicaragua 2016

My name is Ebony Nuchurch and I graduated from Rutgers University-Newark in January of 2016. My journey with the University finished with/was made complete by participating in the ILE trip to Nicaragua.

My world came full circle. Not only did I leave the experience knowing more about where some of my family comes from, but I also left with the yearning for more knowledge-not just about Nicaragua, but also about countries all over the world where millions of people continue to face the hurdles of marginalization in their everyday lives.

Since participating in the Nicaragua trip two major changes took place in my life. I've started working full time at Meadowview Psychiatric Hospital in Secaucus, New Jersey and I also started graduate school at New York University. Currently I am getting my Masters in Global Affairs, with a concentration in Peacebuilding.

Although I haven't traveled outside of the United States since the Nicaragua Trip, I'm actually scheduled to go to Cuba in July. Interesting enough, I will be doing work similar to what I did in Nicaragua; working with Muraleando which is a community project organization that works to revitalize the community of Lawton, Cuba through art.

What I can definitely say about my ILE trip is that it completely changed my course of action. I've always been big on saying that hearing about something and seeing it with your own eyes are two completely different things. I would hear and read all the time about communities not just in Nicaragua, but around the world, who do not receive the proper support and attention from their governments; finding it hard to maintain a basic living environment. Seeing this first hand, especially at the clinic that my group visited in Cuajiniquil, made me want to dedicate my entire life to building peaceful ties between these small towns and the international community. Before entering the leadership exchange I was almost 100% sure that my concentration in graduate school would be strictly Comparative Politics. After the Leadership exchange, I started looking for programs that would allow for me to do similar work; work that would allow for me to continue the journey that I started when I landed in Nicaragua's capital city of Managua.

I will always be thankful to both Nikita and Dean Walton for making the trip possible, and for being the best support system that my group could have ever asked for.

Keeping my ILE experience in mind always, I will continue to dedicate my studies and my life to marginalized communities around the world.

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