The applications for the 2018 USAP Zimbabwe Program are out! We are looking for determined, bright, students from economically-disadvantaged backgrounds who have just started their U6 final year of high school and will be writing A levels in 2018. This new cohort of USAP students will begin the program during their April holidays, and work … Continue reading USAP 2018 Applications Are Out!
USAP Perspective: Check In – December 2017
My host’s living room. It is three days after my first white Christmas. The snow just won’t melt because of the below freezing conditions we have been experiencing for a few days after the snow fell. The sun trickles in through the windows which makes me smile. It is so sunny yet so cold. I … Continue reading USAP Perspective: Check In – December 2017
USAP Perspective: Surround Yourself With People Who Are Good For You
My first semester at Penn has been enriched with wonderful experiences that I have been blessed to enjoy. I am grateful for having gone through this first semester and made it out alive! There are tonnes of things that I have learned but the lesson that comes close to my heart is: Surround yourself with people … Continue reading USAP Perspective: Surround Yourself With People Who Are Good For You
USAP Perspectives: 2017 Looking Back
It’s not even real. 2017 cannot be coming to an end. Despite the gap seven months I had between high school and university, the entire year was still a whirlwind of activity. For the first half of the year, I could have easily kept myself in the world’s waiting room, standing in line for the … Continue reading USAP Perspectives: 2017 Looking Back
USAP Perspectives: Take a Risk – Dance!
Imagine this scenario. I am a thick-boned, black girl standing in a break dancing formation amongst Asian boys. All eyes are on us in anticipation of a frenzy of back flips and life defying stunts. However, I have never danced in my life except for that one time at my aunt’s wedding in 2012. I … Continue reading USAP Perspectives: Take a Risk – Dance!
USAP Bootcamp: The View from Zambia
Having travelled out of my home country for the first time, I hardly believed my experience out there. Through the windows of the King Lion bus on the way to Harare, I could see fresh large water bodies, grasslands, mines and also small monkeys. While in Zimbabwe, I had the best time with my USAP … Continue reading USAP Bootcamp: The View from Zambia
USAP Perspectives: The Simple Things
When someone tells you that you need to appreciate the simple things in life because there is a chance you could lose it all, you might probably think the following: “Lamest cliché ever…” “That will never happen to me…” “Seriously? Do I look that gullible to you?” “Someone grab a pizza to spread all this … Continue reading USAP Perspectives: The Simple Things
USAP Perspectives: To Make Them Count
Had I been told that I would be enriching my mind in one of Philadelphia’s quiet suburbs, I would have deemed that prophecy a faux pax. Had I been told that I would lead a life of Independence 10,000 miles away from home, I would have scoffed at the thought. Nonetheless, the desire to learn … Continue reading USAP Perspectives: To Make Them Count
USAP Perspectives: The Changing Me
7.30am! I place my phone back onto the table, a bit frustrated by the fact that I am up 45 minutes too early. I also know it won’t help trying to force myself back to sleep because my mind’s whispering all the mandatory tasks on my planner. I try forcing myself to sleep anyway. As … Continue reading USAP Perspectives: The Changing Me
USAP Perspectives: ALU – The Never Ending Story
Let me start with the bad news: There I was freshly baked from the high school oven, tired, uneasy, stressed yet optimistic that the future had something special in store for me. Final high school exams had dealt with me thoroughly and I knew exactly what my harvest would look like. My concentration and attention … Continue reading USAP Perspectives: ALU – The Never Ending Story