My name is Haley, I’m 21 years old and my parents tell me I have a hard time staying in one place. I ended up at Belmont on a whim, with no particular reason except that my mom knew I would be bored if I stayed at home (Tucson, Arizona). With that in mind, I decided to attend the school farthest away from home which I applied to- because why not? And here I am in Nashville, Tennessee. I’m an International Economics and German double major- two decisions I also made on a whim, which turned out well. After three years, I am confident that Belmont is exactly where I need to be and those subjects are exactly what I should be studying.

Aside from my studies at Belmont, I spend much of my time babysitting for wonderful families in Nashville and volunteering at Overton High School with Young Life. I love children and the opportunity to care for babies – I have an especially soft spot in my heart for them. I also love that people want to pay me for it! Young Life brings a lot of joy into my life, and, you could say, it “keeps me young”. I can guarantee I know at least 50% of the hip lingo high school kids are using these days, although I cannot guarantee that I can use it correctly.

I hail from the sunny city of Tucson, Arizona where I lived with my parents and four siblings. We’re a large bunch. One special thing about my family is that they raised me to love travel and a strong desire to “go”. It’s even more apparent in the way my four-year-old brother Joseph’s favorite thing to do is “ride the FastPark bus to the airport”. Through Belmont I’ve been afforded two incredible opportunities to be abroad, initially in a month-long study abroad in Berlin, and now the opportunity to spend a semester abroad in Regensburg, Germany immediately following my project with Lumos. Receiving the Lumos award is by far my favorite opportunity thus far, allowing me to combine my love of travel, desire to help others, and strong interest in learning about how to raise the standard of living for people in developing countries.

I can’t put into words how thrilled I am to be departing on this adventure, and look forward to sharing about it with any and all that are interested!