Joseph Berberich '24 on a zipline across a gorge at Victoria Falls, at the borders of Zimbabwe, Zambia and Botswana.
For helping to provide adventures on an off-campus program, there's something special about the Kevin Williams '10 Endowed Memorial Fellowship Award and its recipients.
As written by Joseph Berberich '24.
The Kevin Williams '10 Endowed Memorial Fellowship Award dramatically influenced my life-changing study abroad experience in South Africa. With the funds, I went on weekend excursions to Walvis Bay, Namibia, and Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Botswana). My itinerary was jam-packed with adventures despite my short stay.
In Namibia, I was kissed by a pelican (or pecked, depending on your perspective), partook in the incredibly thrilling sport of sand surfing, and rode ATVs through the Namib desert — the first desert I ever saw. Coming from Long Island, the desert and skeleton coast looked like an endless beach. At Victoria Falls, I went on an aquatic and terrestrial safari, ziplined across a breathtaking gorge, and swam at the very edge of Victoria Falls’ “Devil’s Pool” (aptly named, I felt my life flash at least seven times).
I also used the award funds to help finance smaller, equally exciting adventures within Cape Town, South Africa. I went skydiving for the first time; the anticipation and adrenaline that builds as the plane climbs is intense. Additionally, I went caged-shark diving. Sadly, I could only see a few sharks above the water since the ocean was particularly murky.
Later in the semester, I went on a Wine Tram expedition to the Franschhoek region with Colgate’s very own Mike Loranty and geography major Jason Qian '24. I ended my travels with an educational tour of Cape Town’s Langa, Khayelitsha, and Gugulethu Townships, illustrating how the horrors of Apartheid continue to affect citizens years after its abolition.
The Kevin Williams '10 Endowed Memorial Fellowship Award was established in memory of Kevin Williams '10 to provide stipend support for one or more geography majors to travel while studying abroad.
