Hello Glimpsers and families!

My name is Holli Van Zandt (She/Her), and I am honored to be one of your Global Glimpse Leaders for our Juan Dolio trip! It has been a pleasure to meet some of you in the information sessions, and I can already tell by your positive attitudes that this trip will be everything we want it to be. I can’t wait to watch you all grow and change over the two weeks we have together. Two weeks may seem like a long time, but it will fly by!

Now, for a little bit about me. I absolutely love travelling and take up any chance that I have to do so. I had the wonderful opportunity to lead a GG trip in the Dominican Republic last year as well, so I am incredibly excited to return to a place that was so beautiful and welcoming. My love for travel really took root my Junior year of High School when my choir took a trip to Canada, so this GG program is very near and dear to me. It offers me the chance to see students in the same age range as I was when I first left the country. I can only image how powerful it will be to see that spark of travel fever ignite within each of you! Besides travelling, I have also taken up residence in a foreign country to study. During college, I studied and lived abroad in France to finish my degree. This live-in experience offered me the best possible opportunity to fully immerse myself in the culture of another country and learn about them to the best possible degree. While there, I was able to travel the course of Europe and discover things about myself I would have never known if I hadn’t taken that plunge!

Out of the 15 countries I have been to so far, I tend to favor history and landscape over the more traditional touristy activities. I closely follow the philosophy that the best way to learn is to fully dive into a culture and experience life as they do. Through this philosophy I have been much more openminded to activities that honestly scared me a bit in the past! Without this open minded attitude, I wouldn’t have been able to climb a mountain in Switzerland, go cliff diving in France, experience the thrills of dog sleds in Norway, seen the Auroras, or even have tried scary foods like whale and snails.

On a personal note, I have a cute little cat named Beau (government name Beauregard) that I will be leaving at home. He is the goofiest boy who gets into the most trouble, LOVES trash, and  is the best cuddler in the world. I will also be missing my library as well as some of my more artistic endeavors like painting or rehabbing furniture. I am typically a lover of the Chicago summers (minus cicadas) and love going to concerts and a good rooftop restaurant. During our free time in the DR you will likely find me curled up with a book or beating you at a game of cards! While my favorite genre at the moment is queer romance or fantasy, I am open to book recommendations. I am always trying something new! One thing I am NOT sad to be missing is this crazy cicada infestation we’re about to have. Fingers crossed we escape to the DR during the height of their season!

While there will certainly be some growing pains along the journey, but those difficulties offer us the chance to learn more about our own limits and how we can push them. One of my biggest philosophies in my teaching practice is that if you aren’t challenged, you aren’t learning! I teach at Morgan Park High School, an IB school, and we always push our students to become strong global citizens. This trip will open your eyes to the world around you and how others live. Ultimately, you will be able to bring back what you learned about the world and encourage your fellow classmates to see the world through different lenses. I will be there, happily supporting each and every one of you to ensure we have the best trip possible.

Let’s do this thing!

Holli