Samantha Perez OC ‘21

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Gadjah Mada University, Indonesia (2021-23)

Samantha Perez ‘21 is a Sociology and Latin American Studies double major. As a Bonner Scholar, she has dedicated over two years to the El Centro Volunteer Initiative as a Program Coordinator and tutor for US Citizenship and English classes. Her interest in language learning and teaching began during her time abroad learning Spanish in Guadalajara, Mexico and continued through her internship with GirlForward, where she taught English to high school girls with refugee backgrounds. In the summer of 2020, Samantha interned with the Chicago Transit Authority, crafting and delivering professional development curriculum virtually to Chicago youth. She has also been involved in Oberlin Student Cooperative Association (OSCA) and enjoys cooking meals with friends in Third World Co-op. Samantha looks forward to exploring Javanese culture and furthering her teaching career through the Shansi Fellowship.

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Saying “Yes”
Saying “Yes”

By Samantha Perez ‘21, UGM Fellow

In a few months time, I’ll have been in Indonesia for a year.

Do NOT Grab Your Grab Driver
Do NOT Grab Your Grab Driver

By Samantha Perez ‘21, UGM Fellow

The global pandemic prevented me from making the journey to Yogyakarta in August of last year as planned, and what was meant to be two years in Indonesia became fifteen months. I spent August through April teaching from my childhood bedroom at night, exhausted from my shift as a server at a local restaurant. Most of my friends had moved into the city or across the country, leaving me in the suburbs with my cat as companion and occasional confidant. I would scroll through Instagram stories of friends traveling around Europe, Latin America, sometimes countries in Southeast Asia, and try my hardest to not be bitter about it. Eventually I started to live as if I wasn’t going at all, so as to avoid disappointment.