Dear Dr. Laurie Elish-Piper,
Hello Laurie, I am Joseph Mwachullah and I am one of the students lucky enough to get blessed with the opportunity to go to Belize last Spring. First, I want to say thank you for the support you’ve shown our team. This opportunity would not be possible without you and the help of many others. This trip was life-changing, I’ve found I have the ability to do things I would’ve never imagined. While in Belize, I led an intense panel discussion that changed my life and set the tone for the remainder of the summit. In the panel we addressed the social issues and started discussing how we can make a change.
Something I’ve always feared was public speaking and for me to go up on stage and fostering discussions with the great people in Belize is a moment I’ll never forget. Being a part of this team is something special, we push each other to be great and always have each other’s back. I’m so grateful that Dr. Jacobs and the team believed in me and allowed me to experience something so great.
One of my goals for this trip was to become better at holding and fostering conversations. Reason is because I want to be a Physical therapist, and in order to do that I need to be good at one-on-one interaction. I’m more of a laid back type of person, so I thought this goal was going to be a little out of my comfort zone. I was wrong, the conversations in Belize were flowing naturally and the vibe I got from everyone was great. I got to Belize nervous that I wasn’t going to fit in or that I was too quiet, but I left Belize with strong newly built relationships and confidence I’ve never had.
Belize is my happy place. This trip has changed my life and I am so grateful for your help. Thank you!
Joseph Mwachullah
