Please help fund an experience of a lifetime.

Hi, my name is Keanna, and I am a sophomore at Muhlenberg College majoring in English and Creative Writing. I have been granted the opportunity to participate in a MILA, a Muhlenberg Integrated Learning Abroad (MILA) course. MILAs combine traditional semester-long study with short-term travel. My semester-long course is entitled, "Writing About Place," and we will be traveling to Northern Italy at the end of May 2023. We will stay in the daughter of the American poet Ezra Pound's 13th-century castle, the Brunnenburg Castle. Here, we will work with locals on its organic vineyard, talk to the region's sustainability movement leaders, and hike in the Alps and Dolomites. I’m really excited to see a completely different part of the world, one far away from the bustling streets of New York City (my home) or Muhlenberg’s quiet campus. I’ll be living every poet’s dream– to be fully immersed in nature and use the beautiful landscape as the muse for my writing.

As a first-generation student from a low-income family, this is a rare opportunity for me to travel outside the country. My parents are both immigrants who grew up on farms in the Dominican Republic. My parents are really excited for me to take this MILA and work in the vineyard, as they haven’t had the chance to take me back to DR to see first-hand the beauty of the countryside.

More so, as an English and Creative Writing major, this course will aid me in becoming a better writer and introduce me to new ways of understanding one's connection to the world. This course also concerns travel writing, and as an editor and writer for The Muhlenberg Weekly, my school newspaper, I am extremely interested in exploring this mode of journalism. I often write about student events on campus, and I’d love to take my reporting to a global level. Furthermore, this semester, I am covering a course in which authors come in and speak about their books. By reporting on this class, I’ve gained so much insight on writing, and I’m excited to take what I’ve learned and use it in my writing throughout this MILA.

However, financial obstacles stand in my way. The total cost of the MILA is $5000, and while I did receive a generous grant from Muhlenberg College, and my family is helping me as much as they can, I am still short of $2000.00.

I plan on working during the school year and over the holiday breaks, but I still need your financial help.

Please help me take advantage of this incredible opportunity– to not only hike the Italian alps and live in a castle but see the beauty of nature as my parents do.