Roxanne Moss, CEA MOJO Photographer

Why did you choose to study/intern abroad?
I’ve been very fortunate to grow up in the town that I did, filled with people like me. And although it’s nice being surrounded by people of a similar demographic, I’ve grown to feel almost trapped in something. Piedmont is a prominently Caucasian town filled with extremely wealthy families, of which we are not. I’ve always felt close to my peers but they’re on a total different financial level than me. And this wealth creates a sort of distorted reality which all my peers live in. As I’ve gone out more in the world and experienced different communities and cultures. I’ve realized that I crave this difference. A culture that is welcoming, vibrant, exciting, loud, energetic…the list goes on. At first I wasn’t really sure where I wanted to go abroad. But when I found myself scrolling on the Barcelona trip I couldn’t shake this drawing energy of its culture and life.

Why did you choose your study/intern city?
The spirit of the city seems so exhilarating and that’s the type of energy I crave. In Barcelona, it seems as though there’s always something going on that celebrates its history, culture, and people. That pride and belonging is something I yearn for. I’m more than ready to get out of my small home town of Piedmont to broaden my horizons and experience a culture so vivacious as Barcelona.

What are you most looking forward to during your abroad experience?
I am most looking forward to discovering a part of myself that I haven’t yet and developing my independence and self-sufficiency. I’m so excited to be fully immersed in a new culture and have to problem solve and trust myself in a completely new environment.

Fun Fact (hobbies, interests, accomplishment, etc.)?
I have always been into photography and I did yearbook all four years of high school and was the editor-in-chief. Other fun facts are that I really love dogs and cooking.