Por Ellen Ríos de Acarón (ellen.rios@upr.edu)
January 25, 2019

In 2018, I won a travel grant to attended the Golden Key Leadership Summit at Melbourne, Australia. The conference was celebrated from February 8 th through the 10 th at RMIT University. During the 3 days of conference, I learned about the Sustainable Development Goals from the United Nations (UN). I listened to lecturers that were selected from UN as role models to represent one of the seventeen goals. I had the honor of talking in person with some of the role models, and would say that it was rewarding getting to know people that are making the difference in the world. I was impressed with Stephanie Woollard, an Australian who created Seven Women, an organization that empower women in Nepal through education and employment (If you are curious, check out the website sevenwomen.org). Furthermore, I met people from all around the world, got to know peers from Golden Key International, and made friends that are still in contact to this day. It is satisfying to get to know people that come from other countries, whose mother tongue differs from mine, and yet, we were able to communicate and share our experiences and goals. As a side note, I have visited or gotten visited by some of the friends I made in the conference.

Taking advantage of being on the other side of planet Earth, I took a few days to discovered Melbourne and Sydney. Some of the places I visited in Melbourne were the Eureka Skydeck, Melbourne Museum, SEA LIFE Aquarium, Carlton Gardens, and State Library Victoria. Once I got to Sydney, I petted koalas and kangaroos, and later ate kangaroo (YES! The same day, don’t judge me. P.S. It tasted good, you should try). I visited the Sydney Opera House, saw a play, and took a guided tour on the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Also, I took a beach day and visited Bondi and Mandy beaches.

It was a great experience being able to participated of the GK Leadership Summit. I got to know remarkably people who remind me that a single person can make a difference, and also, found people willing to create teams and work towards a same objective. The biggest lesson that I can share with you is to say “yes” to new experiences and be willing to do it (even if sometimes it means doing it alone and/or in a completely new place). You will never regret getting to know new people, learning a new culture and flourishing (pinky promise!). Don’t let fear stop you, in any case, do it with fear.