Figuring out what to do over the summer can be a trying task. There are so many options and so many things to take into consideration. Take a summer job back at home? Just relax and take it easy? Or maybe you want to make more of an impact with your time. Maybe a mission trip? Study abroad in the summer? How about a little bit of both?
Meet Notre Dame junior, Cody Gilfillan!
Cody spent the majority of his summer helping others while exploring a new culture in Cuenca, Ecuador with Social Entrepreneur Corps.
What drew you to this opportunity and how did you choose this particular program?
I wanted something unique and to travel; also to make a visible, tangible impact to people who needed it, and Social Entrepreneur Corps made all three of those aspects possible.
How long were you there for?
8 weeks, June 2 – July 26.
Where did you stay and what was it like?
4 weeks in Cuenca, 4 weeks in the amazon-area. I stayed with a homestay family whose house was a 20 minute walk from the forest; on a dirt road with lots of bugs.
What was one thing you found the most interesting or surprising?
Even though the people we stayed with didn’t have our conveniences (like no running water, were in and out of electricity, and had no internet) they were just as happy as privileged Americans.
What exactly did you do with your time?
Two things. 1) I trained and helped local Ecuadorians by supplying them with water filters, flashlights, and reading glasses 2) On off days, we helped local businesses in all the homestay communities.
What was it like living where a different language was spoken?
Well, I had no Spanish knowledge so I was pretty nervous, and it was interesting that the local people could not understand what I was saying. It was surprising how much I could learn in 8 weeks, though.
What did you miss the most about the US?
The Internet because contact with family was hard. I only spoke to them about a few times.
What was the most important thing you took away from this experience?
I was on a lot of buses and spoke with different people so I realized that everybody in the world has a story and everyone’s story deserves to be heard and told.
In addition to doing all of the above while in Ecuador, Cody kept a blog and his four-minute recap video is attached! Cody is an Economics and Computer Applications major whose favorite spot on campus is sitting at St. Joe’s lake looking out across at the dome. In his free time, he runs a hall business called Stanford Smoothies!
Check out Cody’s SIBC International Blogs! Blogs 1, 2, 3.
Cody also has an awesome recap video about his trip.