Elianna De Quesada, a sophomore in Sargent College known for her adventurous spirit and bubbly personality, came to BU from her home in San Diego, California with her passion for helping others.
A Behavior and Health Science major, Elianna is also pursuing a minor in Special Education. When thinking about her future, Elianna says, “I know I definitely want to work with children or students who have disabilities.”
Rather than going back home to sunny California for spring break this year, Elianna has decided participate in BU’s ASB—alternative service break—program. ASB, founded in 1988, gives students an opportunity to participate in community service during their week off school. Along with benefiting the lives of others, students who go on ASB trips also get to develop their own leadership skills and form meaningful relationships with other students on the trip.
Elianna spoke about her upcoming trip, saying, “I’ll be traveling to Springfield, Missouri to volunteer with Champion Athletes of the Ozarks, an organization that serves children and adults with disabilities through sports training and life management skills in order to build self-confidence.”
During ASB trips, students travel to various issue areas in the US and Puerto Rico to help with issues including environmental protection, affordable housing, hunger education, and public health awareness.
When asked why she chose to participate in an ASB trip, Elianna said, “I wanted to do something community service related and something non-traditional. This is definitely a unique opportunity that I have while in college, and I want to take advantage of it. I hope that I learn some new insight in working with people with disabilities in terms of physical activity and hope to be a helpful resource to them and to do what I can to contribute to their life positively, even if only for one week.”
If you thought Elianna couldn’t get any more impressive, think again. A lover of the outdoors, she is a part of BU’s Outdoors Club as well as the Student’s Occupational Therapy Association. Although Elianna admits life after graduation scares her, her goals for the future include (possibly) becoming an occupational therapist or a speech therapist.
Keep on changing the world, Elianna!