Study Abroad in Greece

Hi friends! My name is Vanessa Cancio and I am planning to study in Athens, Greece (specifically drugs, behavior, and the history of neuroscience) for five weeks this summer under the UCSD Global Seminars program.  I am a third year, full-time student at UC San Diego studying Physiology and Neuroscience and minoring in Psychology. It has been one of my dreams to study abroad, even prior to entering college.

I finally gotten over my anxiety about studying abroad (including cost) and do not want to put it off any further. I believe I will learn many transferrable skills while studying abroad such as budgeting, learning how to navigate an entirely different country, and understanding political, economic, and racial relations in a place other than the US.  I have learned a lot about the construction of race in the US but these ideas extend past this country, and it will be interesting seeing these perspectives in a different Western country.  I am excited to how my Filipina American identity will affect my experiences in a different country.  I am also dedicated to the access and retention of marginalized communities (especially my work with high school students from southeast San Diego) and want to bring my study abroad process and experience to these students so they can see this is a possibility for them too. Getting a chance to study these topics is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I would like to take advantage of.  Granted, I might not have a lot of opportunities to travel as I am planning on enrolling in a physician assistant program in California after I graduate, then working.

The $9,000 goal includes transportation, textbooks, summer session fees, meals, and my temporary housing there.   It would be extremely helpful to me and my mental health if I could enjoy this trip without worrying about finding the money to pay these expenses. I will be making a video/blog online so you can see what I am up to in Greece! No donation is too small and I am determined in meeting this goal. This is only possible with your help and I am so so grateful. 
P.S. My 21st birthday is in September, and a donation is the only present I want this year as the trip will be one of the GREATEST GIFTS I could receive.

Please donate any amount whatsover! Every donation helps, there is no donation too small. Also, if you cannot donate at this time I would greatly appreciate it if you SHARED this (if you donated would you please share as well). Thank you so much!