TLO Statement

So, I bet you're wondering what exactly I'm doing while in Brazil as well as what I'm hoping to get out of it. Below is my written statement for the Univeristy of North Florida's Transformational Learning Opportunity Grant Application. I hope it gives the best description for your understanding!

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"As is typical of any study abroad, I expect to widen my perception of the world and hope to grow substantially from the experience in this study abroad in Brazil. What is unique about this study abroad from those currently offered at the University of North Florida is I will be participating in community outreach in Brazil. Brazil has one of the most extreme disparities between the rich and the poor in the world. Ten percent of the richest people in Brazil own more than that of the poorest fifty percent. These figures terrify me, and I desperately want to see what it takes to help close the gap.
Additional personal development I predict relates to my degree focus in percussion performance. Brazil, particularly the northeastern state of Bahia, has a rich culture and musical heritage, and the Brazilian martial art capoeira is a part of this. Capoeira involves the heavy use of percussion in its performance, and as a percussion performance major, this is very interesting to me. Since I will soon be graduating with my Bachelor of Music degree at UNF, I have been thinking heavily about my future and have found an interest in ethnomusicology. Professionally, what I hope to accomplish in Brazil is to conduct research on the music of Capoeira and compile the data and materials into an article to be published in Ethnomusicology and Ethnomusicology Forum, nationally recognized ethnomusicology journals. Overall, this experience will transform who I am, how I think about poverty and music, and where I will lead myself and others in this world."