Nos Vemos Pronto!

My name is Joel Agbasoga-Solow (pronouns they/he), and I will be one of your Global Glimpse Leaders (GGLs) in Constanza, Dominican Republic! I’m super excited to get to meet you all in the next month, and learn more about ourselves, each other, and the world through travel.

I grew up in Inwood, which has been a major Dominican community in NYC for many years, but I’ve never been to DR myself. My home neighborhood means the world to me, so among other things I’m really looking forward to learning about the home of so many of my neighbors alongside our Glimpsers.

This will be my first trip as a GGL, and I was immediately interested in the opportunity because of how powerful travel was for me as a teenager. When I was 12 years old I had the privilege of traveling to Gujarat, India, as a youth reporter, and at 16, I did a 5-week homestay service trip in San Isidro Del General, Costa Rica. Both trips were crucial to my growing sense of self, and my understanding of my place in the world. I’m honored to be a part of making that experience for young people.

As an adult, I’ve traveled across the US by bike and by train, have travelled with friends in Puerto Rico, and solo-travelled in Mexico and Guatemala. My travel dreams are to see much of the rest of Latin America, Southeast, West and South Asia, and West and East Africa. My favorite part of travel is getting over my worries that my language skills aren’t good enough or I won’t know what to say, and getting to know new people, figuring it out, and growing in the process. This is my 9th year as a Special Education teacher in ELA and second year in Math, and I have a deep love of helping young people learn, build their confidence, and explore the world.

See y’all in a few weeks!