Welcome Tessa!

So if you saw Tuesday's "Beyond the Stars and Stripes" post, you may have realized we have a new face 'round here! I'm so excited to introduce you to Tessa who will be writing and sharing some of her amazing experiences with us. Today's post is all about getting to know more about her and her wonderful story! Enjoy!Hi! My name is Tess Venizelos. I was born and raised in sunny Los Angeles. I am 22 years old, a recent graduate, and an aspiring world-changer. I got a dual degree in Peace Studies and French from Chapman University in Orange County. During my college years, I had the privilege of learning about different cultures and development around the world, both through my studies in the classroom and through my experiences traveling.I started to develop a passion for traveling and for learning about the world in my senior year of high school. It was then that I went on my first major trip outside of the country with a group of eight other students. Our leadership team traveled to Catacamas, Honduras to work in a medical clinic that an alumna from our high school had started. During that trip, my eyes were opened to a world that possessed many different cultures, experiences, and ways of life.Throughout college, I expanded my knowledge of these different ways of life through learning about international conflicts, social movements, and peace efforts. In my second year of college, I was given the opportunity to travel to Gulu, Uganda for a two-week trip in which I worked with my team to provide medical care to several villages in Northern Uganda as well as work with community and educational institutions. By the time I had gone, Gulu had gained widespread attention for the actions of Joseph Kony in building his army of child soldiers. Gulu was also popular for the efforts of organizations like 31Bits, Krochet Kids International, and Invisible Children in attempting to combat violence through community efforts to rebuild Gulu. Needless to say, my eyes were opened to the personal stories that made a distant conflict in Northern Uganda all the more real to me. My trip to Gulu ignited a passion in me to advocate for the peace and human rights of those around the world who are lacking any part of it.In my third year, I embarked on a study-abroad trip to Cape Town, South Africa. There, I stretched my knowledge of international development through my studies at the University of Cape Town, but also through my time volunteering in a local township. While teaching a group of junior-high school students English language skills, I was able to gain insight into their lives which taught me how Apartheid in South Africa was still affecting their lives and fostering racial tensions in their communities. The stories I heard from those students in Cape Town re-ignited a passion in me to advocate for peace to be restored in communities around the world.In my final year of college, I was able to tie in my French studies with my experiences in peace advocacy. In a short excursion to Paris and London, I researched political and social messages displayed through street art. My travels also placed me in Paris shortly after the attack on Charlie Hebdo. Dispersed throughout the streets of Paris, and even throughout London, I saw homages paid to those who lost their lives to the attack on Charlie Hebdo, usually with the phrase “Je Suis Charlie”. I also saw provoking paintings and images that challenged society to fight against violence and to restore peace among differences of race, ethnicity, and culture.All these experiences have led me here, to LOLOMag. No words of mine can express how thrilled I am to have the incredible opportunity to express my passion in writing about culture and the world that is just outside of us. I hope to join you all in this journey of learning a little bit more about this world we live in and about ways that we can advocate for the lives of others around the world and join with them in embracing what makes this beautiful world of ours so exquisitely diverse.Xo, Tess