Karis Sawyer, Class of 2009

After graduating from Georges Valley High School in 2009, I attended Gordon College in Wenham, Massachusetts. At Gordon, I double-majored in Early Childhood Education and Psychology. I worked as a campus tour guide and for an after-school program for inner-city students. During my junior and senior years of college, I participated in service-missions trips to an orphanage in Tijuana, Mexico (pictured here with one of the children at the orphanage). During my senior year, I co-led the trip, and I can say without any doubt that it was my experience in Trekkers that prepared me to lead 21 college students to serve and learn in Tijuana. After graduating from Gordon College in 2013, I got a job teaching kindergarten in Gloucester, Massachusetts. I absolutely love it! Gloucester is a beautiful city; I moved from one fishing town to another.

Writing about how my experience in Trekkers has impacted my life is difficult because it truly cannot be put into words. Trekkers taught me about life, about the world, about citizenship, about leadership, about service, and about how to LIVE IN THE MOMENT. Side note – I now know how Don felt when we all asked him what we were doing next, because I have 20 kindergarteners who ask me this about 50 times a day! I’m trying to teach them to “live in the moment” as well. Trekkers is an incredible program that I was lucky enough to participate in, I can honestly say that I am the person I am today, in large part, because of Trekkers.