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![“When I came into high school, I was ready to be a follower. But DECA was a game changer for me. It helped me overcome my fear of public speaking, and it's played such a major role in who I've become today. To be able to successfully lead a chapter of 150 students, an officer team and be one of the upperclassmen I once really admired is something I'm [really] proud of,” Anvitha Tummala ('21) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-25-at-9.50.05-AM-900x594.png)
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![“I'm not nearly there yet, but [my confidence has] definitely been getting better since I was pretty shy and timid coming into Harker my freshman year. I know that there's a lot of people that are really confident in what they do, and I really admire them. Everyone's so driven and that has really pushed me to kind of try to find my own place in high school and be more confident,” Alyssa Huang (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AlyssaHuang_EmilyChen_HoHPhoto-900x749.jpeg)
Did you know: Senior Natasha Mayor travels to Nicaragua for service project
Courtesy of Natasha Mayor
Natasha and other students on the trip add a coating to one of the tables at Los Mujeres del Plomo for protection against weather and insects. Natasha and 16 other high school students traveled to Nicaragua for three weeks over summer, participating in service projects and learning more about the area.
Straying from the path of summer internships and jobs, Natasha Mayor (12) spent three weeks of her summer in Nicaragua working on service projects, learning about the country and volunteering.
Along with 16 other Bay Area high school students, Natasha traveled to the city of Matagalpa with a program called Global Glimpse, a non-profit in support of global education.
Natasha heard about Global Glimpse through relatives who had participated in the program before and now wants to expand the program to Harker, giving other students the chance to experience a summer similar to hers.
“It kind of just opens your eyes to the world. I didn’t imagine that there’s people living in such abject conditions,” she said. “The only thing you need is an open mind. I think it’s an important experience for everybody to have.”
Over the three weeks, Natasha and the other students participated in numerous local service projects, spent time exploring the area with local guides and learned about Nicaraguan culture, history and politics.
The Global Glimpse students also spent a day at a waterfall called Cascada Blanca. Natasha and 16 other high school students traveled to Nicaragua for three weeks over summer, participating in service projects and learning more about the area.
One of these service projects included volunteering as tutors at a local university. Natasha taught an advanced English course and, despite the language barrier, was able to successfully get through to the students, which she recalls as her favorite part of the trip.
“I was teaching them all these complicated things, [and] I was like ‘I don’t know, are they really understanding this?’” she said. “But then on the last day we gave them this cumulative test, and I was so surprised by how much knowledge they’d actually absorbed.”
In addition to tutoring at the university, the students renovated a store called Los Mujeres del Plomo, which specializes in jewelry made from natural seeds. They worked together to paint the walls and build the store new tables and benches.
The volunteers also created a billboard and a Facebook page for the company, trying to help out with increasing sales and awareness of the store.
Although she says she probably will not return to Nicaragua specifically with Global Glimpse, Natasha still plans to volunteer in other countries, considering her trip as eye-opening.
“It’s definitely made me want to go to more of these third-world countries,” she said. “I definitely want to see what I can do in the global economy to improve their lives.”
The Global Glimpse students traveled to a dump one day with a portable blackboard to teach children there. Natasha and 16 other high school students traveled to Nicaragua for three weeks, participating in service projects and learning more about the area.
Natasha has also been trying to incorporate what she learned and saw in Nicaragua to improve life here in California.
“Everyone [was] so kind. Coming back here, I [have tried] to bring back some of that kindness and happiness, especially with my friends,” she said. “I [try] to treat people better now and just be nicer in general. Everyone there was so happy. If we can translate that more into our culture, it’ll be better for everyone.”
Looking back on the trip, Natasha labels her decision to travel to Nicaragua as an easy one, since she had already known what she wanted to do. In retrospect, she acknowledges the impact her decision has made.
“I actually made a difference in the lives of these people,” she said. “I don’t know how big or how much of an impact it’ll have, but I’ve done something.”
Sahana Srinivasan (12) is the Editor-in-Chief of the Winged Post and Wingspan, having previously served as Managing Editor, Asst. STEM Editor and a reporter....