Hello, everyone! My name is Laurel Dusek, and I am 22 years old. I graduated from Saint Louis University last May, where I studied Political Science and International Studies. I also had two minors—Entrepreneurship and Women’s and Gender Studies.
I am originally from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. I have a little sister, Sydney, and a little dog named Louie. I miss them, as well as the rest of my family and friends, a lot while I am traveling.
So far, I’ve been able to visit 18 different countries including Mexico, Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Colombia, Brazil, Peru, Spain, the United Kingdom, France, Greece, The Netherlands, Germany, Ireland, Poland, Austria, Hungary, and Italy. I love to travel because I love to experience new things, see lots of beautiful places, learn about different cultures, and meet new people. Not only do you learn a lot about the world when you travel, you also learn a lot about yourself, like how you adapt to new places and how brave you can be.
The first time I lived abroad was when I studied abroad in Madrid, Spain. I was 19 and it was my first time out of the country by myself and it was the longest, and furthest, I had ever been away from home—6 months and over 4,350 miles!
