My name is Rebekah Thorne and I am currently a student at Shoreline Community College, located near Seattle Washington. Although I come across as full White American, I am also one eighth Alaskan Native, and I continue to discover what this means to me every single day.
I am majoring Biology with a focus in the Animal Sciences. Yet, I also intend to minor or double major in Gender, Women, and Race studies. It’s an odd mixture to look at, to be sure! (I’ve had my share of bewildered looks.) But, I know I’ll find a way to weave both of these passions together.

Thanks to the help of FEA, I am closer to my goal of studying abroad in Cape Town, South Africa, an adventure I’ve always known that I’ve wanted to take. Residing there for four weeks will not only give me the opportunity to live beyond my comfort zone, and step into the unknown, but it will also fulfill a deep desire I’ve cultivated ever since I entered college. I want to change the countless social equity issues we experience here in the United States. The chance to retrace Nelson Mandela’s journey through Apartheid, and be an observer within a country that is healing from this dark time, is a profound opportunity linked to the very dreams I aspire to.

I cannot wait to begin. I cannot wait to discover.

I cannot wait for my life to change.