I am a 22-year-old from Wisconsin, in the United States Midwest. I grew up in the suburbs of Milwaukee but spent most of my summers in a small town in northern Wisconsin. There were always lakes nearby, so I grew up on the water—swimming, boating, kayaking, paddle boarding and waterskiing. I even used to lifeguard. The summers in Wisconsin were lovely but the winters were frigid and cold. I quickly developed thick skin to stay warm and learned to appreciate the sunny skies, even on a cold winter’s day.
I come from a huge family. In fact, I’m the middle of five children. It’s easy to feel lost in the chaos of a big family but as I grew up, I learned how to center myself. We bicker and fight and get in each other’s way when we have to share the bathroom, but I love my family. Everyone is extremely competitive. We play board games all the time, sometimes betting that the loser has to clean up the kitchen after dinner. Now that we’re older and live far from home, we stay in touch with family group chats or Snapchat groups. Coming from a big family has taught me how to handle conflict, when to compromise and how to be a team player.
I went to college at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. There, I got a great education, made wonderful friends and cultivated a wider worldview. I learned I wanted to see more of the world. When I was 20 years old, I studied abroad in Seville, Spain.
