Hey there, it has been about two weeks (we made it here late May 31st), and I am feeling okay — it has been an adjustment integrating back into society for sure. From little things like not discussing personal details to larger things like bills, a corporate job, and my social life. It has been a challenge, but I think from a more positive perspective, that just means I learned a lot and I am okay with that growth, despite it being difficult.

In the last two weeks, the most visible change within myself has been my mood. I have really been focusing on being purposeful with what I say, how I say it, and how I react to situations both good and bad. This has shown up in stress management scenarios in both my personal and professional life. Despite being an organized and process-oriented individual prior to the trek, I have handled higher emotion scenarios with much more ease and grace. Whether it has been a disagreement with a loved one, confusing and overwhelming feelings at work with a project, or just something that makes me upset, I have created a process for it instead of just reacting. I feel like prior to the trek I would always tell myself I want and need to change, but never actually do it. So, this has been a confidence booster as I am actually sticking with it.

I really think the question “Identify skills and knowledge gained on the program and how you plan to integrate this skills/knowledge into your academic and professional endeavors” is too complex to answer here. I could sit here and name skills I have improved on like communication, compassion, process, and self-reflection. Or same thing with the knowledge gained in leadership and most importantly myself and others but I almost believe that the integration will simply take awareness and time. As I have mentioned, I have been able to successfully add processes and better communication. But I still have a long way to go and I truly believe this experience will be one I rely on for a while when specific scenarios arise.

Anytime I am having a hard time with something or confused, I always think back to moments during the trek where I experienced similar feelings…this has been extremely helpful. So has talking with the people I got really close with during the trek (Shoutout to the “quadrangles”). Having a supportive safe space with people who understand what you went through has been a pivotal moment in my growth.

Overall, I really enjoyed the trip, but I also have a decent number of things I would give feedback on. My personal expectations were mostly met within my self-realizations and growth. However, I really felt the structure of the curriculum lacked in a lot of ways. I did not learn nearly as much about culture, politics, flora/fauna, and feedback as I would have wanted too. I do not know why this was, but a sense of me has been feeling incomplete due to this. What is important to note however is that there were a lot of things I did not expect to struggle with/ learn from like I did. And I think that is one of if not the most important things I gathered from this trip — sometimes the most influential learning comes at you unexpectedly. And let me tell you, being stranded 8000 miles away from home, 11 hours ahead, and not speaking the native language was a very real example of this.

And with that, I would like to shoutout Bryan Shultz, G (or OG), Vishal, Vipul, Shantanu, Vinni, and some of the amazing team members I got to learn and grow with. I am so grateful for this experience and despite the hardships, I would do this trip 100 times again.

That is it from me everyone…Kat out.