But I suppose I should start from the beginning. It began in December, when Lawrenceville released information regarding the William Welles Award. The award, given by the family of a late alumnus, is a grant for summer travel, particularly "a project or research or writing, which meets a high standard of excellence and promise." (at least, according to the school website). Long story short, I figured I'd go for it.
One small dilemma though: as much as I liked to convince myself that most things I did met a "high standard of excellence or promise," I had absolutely no tangible options on which I could write my grant proposal. So, I toyed with a few ideas, and even wrote the award's prerequisite proposal for some, but none of them hit home. Gradually, I came to realize that at that point, I was applying for the grant not to enrich myself or others, but to bask in the glory of yet another accolade.
And then I met Paul Wilkes. Mr. Wilkes is a family friend and fellow Wilmingtonian, but more importantly, he is the coordinator of Home of Hope India, an organization that operates schools and orphanages for girls in India. My father had told me about the organization in passing, and it piqued my interest. So, on a cloudy evening in the week before Christmas, I arrived at his home to listen to him tell of his orphanages, of the extreme poverty that plagues India, of the countless girls who, through the Home of Hope, have been saved. I was hooked. That night, I wrote my grant proposal; upon returning to school after the holidays, I delivered it to the office of the Dean of Academics with my fingers crossed.And then, nothing, for three months. Come spring break, I started to assume that I hadn't won the award and, disappointed, I began to make alternate plans for my summer. But one night in early April, I returned to Cleve House to find a letter addressed to me. "Dear Nash," it read, "I am delighted to be able to tell you that as one of the winners of the Welles Award for this coming summer, you have been awarded a grant of..."
And now, two and a half months later, I find myself on the brink of traveling halfway around the world to spend three weeks in India. Tomorrow afternoon, my mom and I will fly from Wilmington to Atlanta, then Atlanta to Paris, and then Paris to Bangalore. From there, I will go on to the town of Hassan, in the Indian state of Karnataka. I'll be in Hassan for two weeks, working and teaching in a Home of Hope-operated school for girls. After I leave the orphanage, my mom and I will move onto Delhi, which will be our home base for a week as we explore the sights of northern India.
I plan to post regularly, and will be available via Skype (username: nashjenkins).
My thanks to: my mom for sacrificing the time to accompany me on this adventure. Paul Wilkes for both working with us to plan the trip and committing himself to the cause. Lawrenceville for making this possible. Mrs. James B. Welles, Jr. for funding the award. Everyone else for taking the time to read this.
Namaste,
Nash
