I'm Kaya Watkins, a current sophomore at Smithfield High School. I'm an honors student, a cheerleader, and an aspiring bilingual. As of this year, I've already taken Spanish I, II, III, IV, and I’m currently taking Spanish V. I'm extremely dedicated to learning the Spanish language and I'm working hard toward my goal of fluency. I have a very clear idea of what I would like to do with my studies in the future and I believe that traveling abroad will help me accomplish my goals. I hope to go to a university in a couple of years and double major in Spanish and journalism. When I graduate college, I hope to go into a broadcast journalism career and hopefully be able to travel with my job. The opportunity to be fluent in two or more languages opens countless career options and opportunities for me.  

I'm hoping to study abroad in Chile in order to expand my horizons, improve my Spanish, and experience the bright culture of South America. I think this opportunity would not only improve my language skills, but also help me to gain more responsibility and independence. It will give me the experience to immerse myself in a new culture in order to thoroughly understand different world views and traditions. I'm looking forward to hopefully experiencing Chilean food, culture, clothing, beautiful scenery, ancient architecture, and grand celebrations. While in Chile, I would be enrolled in a local high school and studying the same subjects as I would be in the United States, but instead I would be taught in Spanish. Though it will present a challenge, I will pick up on more vocabulary as the semester goes on, and eventually be able to understand everything more fluently. Stepping out of the classroom and into a native Spanish-speaking country would challenge me to use more active listening and speaking skills on a daily basis.

I would be incredibly grateful to anyone kind enough to make a donation, big or small. I will be keeping you all updated on my experience throughout the semester. The program costs between 12,000 and 15,000 dollars total, and my family is not able to pay the whole cost. Paying these expenses are almost completely my responsibility, since my parents are not able to cover the cost on their salary, despite all their efforts. Over the span of a couple months, I have applied for several jobs and I'm trying to find something available, but it's difficult for me considering my busy schedule. (I'm at school from 7am to 2:45 pm and I often have cheerleading practice after school) I am spending time tutoring younger children to earn some extra money. I also plan to do some additional fundraising to try to find the money necessary to study abroad. However even with all of my efforts, I will not be able to pay for all of the costs of the trip. I'm hoping that a good portion of the funds can come through this website because of the financial obstacles that I have. Thank you so much for reading, and if you could donate anything it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you again.

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