The first time I heard about this amazing opportunity, I was sitting in Oates Theater with some of my friends. The video showcasing the international trips that Collegiate offered began to play. The trips to Spain, France, and Italy; all ones that did not catch my attention, began playing. This year being my second year in high school meant that I had already seen this video. I began to avert my attention to something else when a new trip began playing. It was a unique trip offered only one year to go to Namibia and study cheetahs. At the time, I was excited; knowing that I could have an opportunity to go on this trip. I went home, did some research, and presented the trip to my parents. Surprisingly, both of my parents agreed on allowing me to go on the trip. I received the application and filled it out. Several days later, I was thrilled to find that I was one of the five students going on the trip. I was just as excited as a child finding out they are going to Disney World. Then I quickly began to prepare for the trip.
Since my realization that I was going on the trip, I have completed an extensive course; learning the history and culture of Namibia. This course used both videos and articles to teach us the income gap that Namibia faces (one of the largest in the world), the horrible Namibian genocide during the early 1900s, and the information on the Cheetah Conservation Fund; a group that we will get to know very well as we spend several days with them during our trip. In Namibia we will spend several days with the Himba tribe; learning their culture. From their, we will travel to Etosha National Park to explore the big game. Then, we will finish our journey at the Cheetah Conservation Fund in which we will study cheetah DNA, collect cheetah scant to study, and observe the cheetah's in their habitat. I am very excited to be going on this trip and I can not wait to share my story.