A local graduate picked up her diploma and a travel visa in the same month. Many grads might spend their first free year abroad looking to discover something they didn’t find at home or in school, but Stella Mozin will be giving just as much as she will be gaining.
The 18-year-old left to volunteer in Nepal on July 12. She will spend two weeks teaching English in Kathmandu and another two weeks volunteering in an orphanage in Chitwan. Mozin spent the last year planning her trip with International Volunteer HQ.
“I’ve always wanted to do a volunteer program,” said Mozin. “I chose Nepal because it’s really different, completely different than North America and a completely different culture. I’m going to university in the fall and I wanted to go to somewhere else for a change and get a different perspective on things in a foreign country.”
Mozin will be attending the University of British Columbia’s Okanagan campus in September and plans to pursue either education or international relations. She will gain experience in both with the IVHQ program.
“I need to explore and expand my horizon more and find out if that’s what I want to do,” she said, adding it is also important to help the less fortunate.
She’ll be working with kids from four years old to teen-aged. Mozin speaks several languages and says if they pick up English well she will try teaching French, German or Spanish. Much of her suitcase is filled with gifts for her students.
“Rather than just seeing their culture, I want to understand it,”
The leap is big for the 18-year-old and she is appreciative of her parents’ support in the nerve-racking decision to travel alone. The only thing she knows about her destination is the representative who will meet her in Nepal.
IVHQ is based in New Zealand, working in 18 countries and sending more than 4,000 volunteers abroad annually.
“The decision to volunteer abroad is not an easy one to make,” wrote program co-ordinator Margarete Lua. “Stella is making a big commitment by traveling abroad to volunteer and her work is much appreciated.”
Her travels will not stop with Nepal, though. Mozin wants to volunteer as many places as she can and will likely be planning her next adventure soon after her return.
“For me, my end goal is to touch base on every continent so I really understand every culture and why they work in a specific way.”