SAM GRUPPO

Wesleyan University (CT), B.A., Sociology

While at Wesleyan, Sam focused on sociology, as well as studying Spanish and Portuguese. Sam spent time living in a small town outside of Córdoba, Argentina, working in the local youth recreation center. Sam also had the opportunity to work for the Philadelphia 76ers in their Community Relations Department, as well as flexing his digital marketing muscles in New York City. Outside of these jobs, Sam has also traveled in Chile, Brazil, Uruguay, Colombia, and extensively in Europe on his own. Sam is passionate about his work as co-founder of Kids for World Health, a nonprofit organization which aims to prevent the spread of and eradicate sleeping sickness, as well as other treatable neglected diseases in under-resourced communities in Africa and around the world. Sam is fluent in Spanish and hopes to improve his Portuguese. Along with music, film, traveling, and the ocean, Sam is an avid sports fan and loves to play basketball. This fall, Sam will be teaching English in Spain.

JULIANA GUTIERREZ

Pontifica Universidad Javeriana, Industrial Designer graduate

While studying at Javeriana University, Juliana worked as a senior instructor and program director in Off Bound Adventures, an outdoor education company in Colombia. She has traveled extensively in Colombia, her home country, with students from different schools. She focused her studies in social and innovative design and won a scholarship to attend a Short Course in Brazil with the United World Colleges, a movement that she has supported and volunteered with ever since. After graduating with high honors, Juliana started full time work with Off Bound Adventures. Juliana has traveled on her own and in student expeditions to numerous Latin American countries such as Brazil, Argentina, Cuba, and Panamá. She was a ballet and contemporary dancer for many years and is passionate about getting to know the culture of every place she visits. For the past year, she has been living in Luang Prabang, Laos, and is working at Fair Trek as a program manager, organizing community-based tourism projects for student travel groups from all over the world. Juliana led Putney’s Community Service program to Costa Rica in 2015. She speaks English, basic Lao, and is a native Spanish speaker.