Alexandra Leone '14, now a junior at Yale University, was part of Solebury School's Teach2Serve Cohort 2, whose theme was "empowerment through education." Learn how she was able to pilot her capstone project at Yale...

"At Yale, I'm majoring in political science, working on fulfilling a concentration in gender studies. I'm currently studying abroad in Copenhagen, Denmark, where my core course is 'Prostitution and the Sex Trade in Europe.' On our study tours to Sweden and the Netherlands, we've discussed how different legal approaches to sex work affects the safety of prostitutes.

"I was able to pilot my Teach2Serve capstone project at a local magnet school in New Haven for a semester. My fellow mentors and I worked every other week with 14 7th and 8th grade girls on healthy relationships, study skills, community service and budgeting. We had so much fun together! Along with some other socially minded clubs at Yale, like Circle of Women and Net Impact, I was the co-president of two dance groups, the Irish dance club and the urban, contemporary African dance team, Dzana. Last summer, I worked for the Bahasa Ingerris 1Malaysia program with SOLS 24/7 for an English-language program in Ipoh where I taught and helped with operations in general. (Ever made 100 chocolate chip cookies in tropical heat without A/C, a hand mixer and a functioning oven? I wouldn't recommend it.)

"This summer I will intern with The Bronx Defenders working in their Civil Action department. I will be contributing to their holistic defense approach to intervene in the cycle of imprisonment and poverty. My current plan is to work in a social enterprise or for a consulting firm for a few years after college then attend law school. Ideally, I will continue to work for empowerment and prevention programs for domestic violence survivors (like I did with A Woman's Place during Solebury School senior project!) in a legal role."

Follow Alex's study abroad adventures on her blog!