My name is Yemi Tesfaye, I was born and raised in the Washington D.C. area, but my family’s background is from Ethiopia. I was surrounded by my Ethiopian heritage even growing up in the United States, but it’s only recently I’ve really learned to appreciate it. After going to Ethiopia for the first time at sixteen years old, I was surprised to say the least at my parent’s fond memories of their homeland and what it had become after decades of unrest and political instability. The country had made huge technological strides, but the poverty I witnessed was like nothing I had seen before, I felt inspired to do something. I changed majors a few times as an undergraduate, but finally decided on the pre-Law track and graduated with a B.A. in Political Science with concentrations in Public Policy and Administration. After graduation, I went on to work in a couple different law firms to see if law school was the right fit for me, but I quickly learned that it was impossible to help people the way that I wanted to within the confines of such a rigid, unchanging system. I did a study abroad program in Rome and Barcelona as an undergrad and knew I wanted to go abroad again and that’s when I discovered the MESCI program. MESCI combines several of my passions and interests in international development; poverty reduction, food sustainability, education expansion, women’s rights, etc. I feel extremely fortunate to have found such a unique program that allows me to experience so many different cultures and ideas.