Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up. - Pablo Picasso

NOTE: This essay reflects my experiences up until 2005. I currently live/study fashion design in Manhattan, as I eventually want to start my own fair trade clothing company that will be non-exploitative at every level.

I have studied economics, international relations, and foreign languages, volunteered for NGOs in the USA, India, and Cape Verde, and attended dozens of conferences, workshops, and meetings seeking knowledge about the most critical issues facing our world; yet, it is the creative spark my parents instilled in me as a child growing up in Maryland that is most responsible for leading me to where I am today, and where I hope to go in the future. Creativity is an element which is often overlooked in working with others; someone who is creatively minded is more open to new ideas and searches for understanding. I believe it is what will eventually help world leaders to negotiate peace in the Middle East, governments to enforce human rights, scientists to find an AIDS vaccine, and impoverished families to break the cycle of poverty.

My mother and father, both fine arts painters, encouraged me to draw, paint, and explore whatever artistic notion that came to mind. No matter the problem of color, texture, line, or shape, I learned to turn a seemingly hopeless painting into something beautiful and meaningful. My artistic endeavors taught me to think confidently, independently, and "outside of the box." While I continue making art, I have found that the same discipline I gained as an artist applies to the rest of my life. I have made intelligent decisions about college majors and careers, I easily set goals and achieve them, and I face obstacles knowing that the solution I come up with will be better than I had originally expected. Most recently, while working at an NGO in India, I used mural art with at-risk youth to create meaningful dialogue, interactive games to teach life skills, and community events to promote social issues.

In order to fuel my creativity, I often turn to other cultures and languages, as they always have ways of thinking and doing things that are new to me. My desire to travel began in third grade when my father, an arts educator, gave a slide show at my elementary school on his sabbatical in the Andes. Shortly thereafter, I located an international pen-friend organization; by eighth grade, I was writing eleven children in different countries on a regular basis. In high school, I spent my junior year in Catalonia, Spain with American Field Service (AFS), returning from this experience a culturally sensitive, mature, and bilingual teenager.

Learning Spanish apprised me of the fact that there is much more to the language and culture than what I had experienced. My fascination spread to Latin America, and at Smith College I decided to major in Economics and minor in Cultural Anthropology with a focus on Latin American economic development. This combination of studies, one focusing on numbers and demographics, the other on history and heritage, helped me continue cultivating both my practical and creative work. Through an NSEP Scholarship to Chile my junior year, I was able to experience the Southern Cone's unsteady political, social, and economic systems first-hand. With a newfound appreciation of my privilege as an American, I realized that I wanted to use my creativity, drive, and unrelenting fascinations with world cultures to empower vulnerable populations.

After college, I absorbed the many facets of microenterprise development while working in a prestigious investment bank during the now infamous dot-com boom. While this was interesting, volunteering at several local NGOs served as a better outlet for my creative skills and knowledge, and I quickly desired more leadership responsibility in humanitarian work. A year later, I became a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer in Cape Verde, the Portuguese-speaking archipelago off the coast of West Africa. Serving as a Microenterprise Advisor, I developed a distinct perspective on the difficulties of achieving sustainable economic development. I implemented solutions to challenging problems in three villages. Being the first volunteer to attempt this kind of work was very challenging. However, I put energy and creative drive into every obstacle I faced, from teaching single mothers marketable skills to helping community leaders take action on malnutrition, HIV/AIDS, teen pregnancy, school attendance, and environmental protection through frequent workshops, mural projects, adult education classes, girls' exchanges, and a school garden.

Having completed a Rotary World Peace Fellowship in Asia, I am even more aware of the strengths and skills needed to establish a career as an effective leader in any organization. My goal is to encourage individuals how to tap into their creativity, thinking outside of the box to improve their own and their communities' futures. They must see that the world is full of hope, for they are the masters of line, shape, color, and beauty. For those who have never touched a palette, I can help them paint the world.

To learn more about my Peace Corps experiences, visit my Cape Verde site.