On the side of the road leading to the busiest area of my town is an old, sprawling, cemetery. It spreads all along the road, and if you look into the cemetery, you can tell it goes on for thousands of graves. 

A few weeks ago, I found myself in the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya, in Kibera and Mathare, Africa's largest slums and home to some young men and women whose world is riddled with painfully common gang and sexual violence. It's a constant struggle to access clean water, find toilets. Their families live on next to nothing, but if a student here wants to go to secondary school, the government requires they pay school fees.

Got the travel bug? Always planning your next big trek? I have had it bad, but as a teacher, funds were limited. Sigh...

I decided to feed my travel bug by sponsoring overseas student tours, which gave me an opportunity to see the world (for free) as I exposed my students to life beyond our northwoods community. Traveling with teens was a joy (well, mostly)—their enthusiasm great fun. 

Some books come into your life and stay with you. For whatever reason, they strike a chord and fit right in. And while this is rare, it does happen. One book that is forever lodged in my heart is Lassoing the Sun: A Year in America's National Parks, by Mark Woods. It's a personal look at natural spaces, at family and friends, at moving and doing, at being in nature. It's a thoughtful record of exploration and listening and thinking, of love, of essence of place.

Publisher's note: Today, in Orlando, there are 170 young people coming from 20 countries, speaking 12 different languages. They are coming to compete in the World Ballet Competition. And while it is breaking our hearts to face this tragedy, we can't let that overcome the beauty in life. We welcome these young dancers, as they are the ones that will bring us forward.

Cleo Reiss is a 22-year-old University of Delaware graduate with a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing. She has spent her first year out of college teaching English as a language assistant at a bilingual high school in Madrid. In her spare time, she is learning Spanish, blogging, volunteering, and traveling around Europe. She will continue teaching next year in Madrid and is looking forward to another fantastic year filled with challenges and adventures.

Adam Lough is a senior Supply Chain Management major at the University of Pittsburgh. Aside from majoring in supply chain, Adam has also received a Certificate in West European Studies and concentrations in Spanish and German language. He has had several internships and jobs, including an internship at DHR International, working on a consulting project for the Sarah Heinz House, an internship with Bosch Automotive Steering, and has been working at the International Business Center since August 2013.

Being a teen is hard. Being a teen with a series of life changes is even harder. One new YA book that explores this theme is Avenging the Owl, by Melissa Hart.

Hi, I'm Alexandra Oetzell, I graduated spring of 2015 from SDSU and completed my degree in Studio Art in 4 years. I spent my final year abroad, studying in Florence, Italy. I love to paint and draw, but as long as I'm working with my hands, I'm a happy girl! Since I returned from my 12 months abroad, I picked up this school bus project.