By Zoe Collis
Rachel May has been turning heads since she arrive on Campus this summer for DePauw’s ‘Servicio En Las Americas’ program! Whether she’s on Campus or in South America, she’s definitely a Campus Cutie!
Her Campus: Hey Rachel, thanks for letting us interview you today.
Rachel May: Anytime!
HC: Even before you arrived on Move-In Day, you get to spend some time on and off Campus through a program called, ‘Servicio En Las Americas’. Can you talk a little bit about that?
RM: Yes! ‘Servicio En Las Americas’ is a program that DePauw offers to 16 incoming freshmen. You spend two weeks on DePauw’s campus participating in service and taking Spanish classes, and then you spend three weeks in a Spanish speaking country. I met my best friends on that trip, I see them around campus all the time and it was a great experience.
HC: That’s awesome! Can you tell Her Campus Readers more about your experience in Peru?
RM: I had never really been culturally immersed in a country like that before and just the only way that I can describe it to my friends and family back home was that it was not America. You know immediately that you are in a completely different place, it’s like a whole new world. We spent a week in the jungle, where we were sleeping in open air wooden huts with tarantulas on the ceiling and we were participating in service along the river. It was just an extremely humbling experience. You also have the advantage of getting to know the leaders on the trip and the other incoming First-Years really well. And, of course, we’re only speaking Spanish the whole time because it is a cultural and language emersion trip. After we spent a week in the jungle, we went to Cusco and learned about the city by taking Spanish classes and visiting some awesome places like the Sacred Valley. Finally, we spent our last leg of the trip travelling to Machu Pichu, which was a fantastic way to end the Peruvian experience.
HC: That sounds like an amazing trip! Since you’ve been on DePauw’s Campus, what are some other activities you’ve done?
RM: Well, I’m on the DePauw Dance Team, Poms. I participate in TZ Spanish Enrichment, so once a week we spend an hour at one of the local elementary schools teaching the kids about Spanish. Also, I’m in the Honor-Scholar Program.
HC: You sound busy… Thanks for letting us chat with you, Rachel!
Be sure to look out for Rachel dancing at home football and basketball games, around campus, or in a Spanish classroom!