Abigail Gellman - Bridge Year Senegal
I have grown up in New York City where I live with my rather large immediate family; I am a triplet and have stepparents and a 5-year-old brother and stepsister as well. I graduated from LaGuardia Arts, a performing arts high school where I studied vocal music. Besides singing, my high school years were focused on human rights. A visit to an impoverished school in Uganda with a family friend who served as a U.S. diplomat sparked my interest in development in Africa. That experience and Sheryl WuDunn and Nicholas Kristof’s Half the Sky led me to become active in the organization, Girls Learn International and inspired me to apply for Bridge Year. My passion for women’s rights and girls’ education grew as a delegate to the 55th Commission on the Status of Women at the United Nations in 2011 and as an intern at Human Rights Watch. I am so excited to do meaningful service and immerse myself in Senegalese culture. I can’t wait to see how this invaluable opportunity to grow, learn, contribute, and push myself outside my comfort zone will change me and influence my life at Princeton and beyond.