2017 Ambassadors: Juliana is going to the Galapagos!

Juliana is a sophomore from Rye, New York, and is incredibly excited to celebrate her 16th birthday in July with Global Works’ trip to the Galapagos Islands: Marine Service and Adventure. In fact, service and adventure are perfect words to describe Juliana’s philosophy. She loves to surround herself with fun, caring people who share her enthusiasm to lend a hand, support and spend time with others. She has already met her school’s community service graduation requirement, most recently having participated in service activities with the local animal humane society, church food pantry, Midnight Run coat drive, and school toy and clothing drive for local children in need. Actively seeking out new service opportunities, Juliana looks forward to spending her Saturdays with old friends while also making new ones, laughing, listening to music, and posting to Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat to share these fun times with her friends and family.

On to adventure; Juliana is a thrill-seeker. Of course she cannot get enough of roller-coasters, and she celebrated her 15th birthday in a helicopter, doors off and freezing cold. It was definitely worth it, and she had a blast. Juliana has a long, long bucket list of must-try-once adventures that includes looking into an active volcano and swimming with manta rays and sharks! She is thrilled she will do both this summer in Ecuador!

Juliana is a high honor roll student with a rigorous schedule of AP and honors level classes. Juliana is a member of her church youth group and local Girl Scout Troop. She also participates in her school’s Breast Cancer Awareness Club which raises funds for local hospitals and the American Cancer Society, and is a contributing photographer for the school’s magazine. Using skills learned in her digital photography and media arts classes, Juliana won the 2016 Clear Minds Poster Project sponsored by RyeACT, a community drug and alcohol awareness coalition. Her poster aimed to educate middle and high school students of the consequences of using marijuana.

Juliana absolutely loves the outdoors. She started swimming at the age of 3, and joined the local YMCA swim team in elementary school. She qualified for the state championship meet four times for free, back and butterfly strokes. Juliana also plays soccer year round with her town travel team.  And while the goal is to win, and winning is great, the best part of being on these teams is the fun she has with her teammates, especially at the overnight meets and tournaments. This friendship and camaraderie is something she can’t wait to share with her future friends she will meet this summer.

While Juliana does truly enjoy all of her high school classes, her current passion is American Sign Language (ASL). She combined her high school class with a local adult enrichment class to accelerate her vocabulary. She is simultaneously in her fifth year of Spanish at school and her goal is to become fluent in Spanish/ASL translation as well as English/ASL translation. Living in an area with a large immigrant Spanish speaking population, Juliana knows there is a need for this skill and hopes to work with ASL-Spanish speakers this summer.

Juliana’s adventurous spirit and endless energy will serve her well this summer in Ecuador. She is so excited to be an Ambassador of the Global Works community, and is grateful for the opportunity to travel to the Galapagos Islands. She cannot wait to share photos, stories and memories when she returns home.