Bay Area Scholar Becomes World Traveler

by Christin Ayers and Jennifer Mistrot

(KPIX 5) -- During her childhood, Brenda Vasquez never thought she'd go to college let alone become a world traveler. But in just two years she has hopscotched across more countries that many people will visit in a lifetime.

Along the way, Vasquez has collected keepsakes like a music box from St. Petersburg, Russia. But it's the experiences she has collected that Vasquez treasures the most.

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Travel has become a passion Vasquez did not know she had. In her early days at Berkeley High School, Vasquez never dreamed of going to college. But then she got into an intensive college prep program and received a scholarship from Students Rising Above. Before Vasquez knew it she was off to Long Beach State.

It was during those college years that Vasquez discovered she had an adventurous streak. Students Rising Above sent her an application for a summer internship that gave her the chance to travel to Bangalore, India.

"I ended up falling in love with India," said Vasquez. "I owe it all to Students Rising Above because if it weren't for them, I would've never gone abroad for the first time."

After India, Vasquez was officially bitten by the travel bug. The following summer, she explored Eastern Europe and Scandinavia. Suddenly, crossing the globe was not just a stretch for the child of a once-struggling, single mom. When Vasquez was just seven years old, her mother, a child care worker, broke her leg on the job and Vasquez had to take charge of the house. The grade school-aged Vasquez cooked, cleaned and worried about the bills her mom struggled to pay.

Eventually her mom recovered and returned to work.  And with the help of SRA, Vasquez graduated from high school, then college. Now she is off to see the world. The first stop is Mexico to see family, then she will travel back to India to teach English as a Fulbright Scholar.

"Being abroad makes me feel there's not that much differences amongst us," explained Vasquez. "It's more like we need to focus on our commonalities and see that there's a lot more that we share in common than people see."

Vasquez is also currently mentoring other SRA scholars who want to volunteer overseas.