After one transformational summer at EXPLO, Tori is excited to connect with new friends and pour her heart into the EXPLO experience once again.
I’d like to say I’m passionate. I pour my heart into everything I do. While I’m here I pour my heart into other people and having conversations with people and getting to know them. I pour my heart into my classes and do the best that I can. This summer I am taking Debate and Gender Portrayals in the Media. I like to argue and I’m good at arguing. I got convinced to join my school’s Mock Trial group for this upcoming year, so I’m excited to start Debate and get some practice. EXPLO makes everything so interesting and every class I’ve taken I’ve gotten so into, so it should just rev me up for Mock Trial in the fall. I’ve also always just been interested in looking at gender and how it’s represented. I’m just really excited for the learning experience that course will provide.
I was changed after my last summer at EXPLO. I was a bit more reserved before, but after EXPLO I was just so excited about life and learning. I just had this zest for it. I felt so much happier and enthusiastic about everything that I approached. EXPLO fueled my desire to be passionate about things. I see it happen a lot here. People who come here quiet and shy leave looking more comfortable and confident.
I came back to EXPLO because I love the people, the atmosphere, just everything about it. I like how everyone is different and from a different place. It creates an endless excitement here. I get bored really easily, but I never feel that way here. EXPLO makes it easy to find people that have common interests to you. EXPLO is about role models for me — and that’s not even just with the staff. You find peers here that are your role models. You think, “Oh, I want to be just like you!” You find what you love about other people and learn from them to become a better person yourself.
Ally Marcino