Alexis Angulo began his ARC transformational essay with the question “What is home?” He wrote the essay in the final week of the 2015 Yosemite Summer Immersion Course, which he attended as a rising high school junior. Like many of us in high school, Alexis was questioning his identity and how he fit into the larger world. He had moved from Mexico at a young age to the small agricultural town of Gustine in the Central Valley. Alexis describes Gustine as a “rural place” in a “rural county.” As a sixteen year-old, he was an exceptional student trying to imagine what the future held beyond the fields of almond trees and cotton that surrounded him. Where would home be and what did home mean?
ARC helped Alexis answer this question. The 40-day course made him realize that home could be wherever he builds community. He wrote then, “[At ARC], I finally found the friends I had been in search of for a long time…a friend who is willing to listen, understand, and help.” He added, “Getting to know the other ARC students’ stories inspired me to trust them and believe that they will be there for me.” The ARC summer course allowed Alexis to imagine what it would be like to be away from the Central Valley. He could pursue his academic dreams far afield and still feel a sense of belonging. He said, recently, reflecting on his ARC summer, “I gained the confidence in myself to be able to build community.”
Alexis is now in his final two quarters before graduation at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. In rural New England, he quickly built a network of friends, joining three clubs and going on outdoor excursions. “Before ARC, I was never in the outdoors. Going to Yosemite was my first time going camping or going to the mountains. It really piqued my interest.” The outdoors became a way for him to connect to his new classmates. In a short time, Alexis found himself feeling at home over 3,000 miles away from the Central Valley.
Alexis has begun his job search for life after college and is attracted to the idea of living and working in Washington, DC. He had an internship in DC after his sophomore year at ClearPoint Strategy and starting this month will be an intern at the Center for New American Security. He is especially interested in positions related to politics and government. “I’m really excited about my next step and what could happen next,” he says. Whether camping alongside Ostrander Lake in Yosemite or sitting in a political science class in Hanover, New Hampshire, Alexis has found that home is where he makes it. If you would like to connect with Alexis about opportunities in DC, please contact ARC at info@adventureriskchallenge.org.
