Countdown to Buenos Aires

By Emily Rollins

With just four weeks until our departure to Buenos Aires, Argentina, the energy is high. Preparations are in full swing, and every team is hard at work fine-tuning the necessary details before takeoff. Our reporters are reaching out to sources, our videographers and photographers are crafting mini-projects, and our interactive team is designing website mockups to ensure our stories come to life in an engaging way.

This isn’t my first time taking a MEJO course abroad. A faculty-led program took me to South Korea, where all activities were planned in advance by the faculty. But this time, it’s different. The stakes feel higher. The success of our projects depends entirely on our own initiative. There’s no predetermined itinerary, only the effort we’re willing to put in, which is both thrilling and daunting.

My team’s focus is on makeshift homes, a subject that requires both sensitivity and ethical storytelling. We want to move beyond surface-level portrayals of homelessness in Buenos Aires and foster a deeper, more nuanced public conversation. So far, we’ve connected with the director of Amigos en el Camino, a Buenos Aires-based organization that not only provides meals but also builds meaningful relationships with people experiencing homelessness.

I hope that as our relationships with organizations grow, we’ll be able to hit the ground running when we arrive in Argentina. The countdown continues, and with each passing day, excitement grows.