Baileigh Moquin - Dare To Dream

Rotarian Tina Medina introduced this week’s guest speaker, Baileigh Moquin, a Pal-Mac Senior and recipient of the “Dare To Dream Travel Scholarship,” founded by Pal-Mac graduate Joshua Ford. This program provides $3,000 each year for a Pal-Mac student to pursue his or her travel dreams. Following a rigorous application process, the selected student spends six weeks between their junior and senior year abroad fulfilling a program tailored to their particular dream.

Last year, Baileigh spent six weeks in Peru volunteering in a center for teen mothers, and hiking in the Andes – a feat in itself! She described her adventure with a video she produced herself, and introduced members of her host family.

It is not an exaggeration to call Dare to Dream a life-changing experience. Baileigh noted that before embarking on her trip to Peru, she had planned a career in Bio-Engineering, but after her experience with so many youngsters there, she knew she wanted to become an elementary school teacher. Following her graduation from Pal-Mac this year, she will enter SUNY Geneseo to do just that!

The Dare to Dream program was established by Joshua Ford, a Palmyra resident and 2007 graduate of Pal-Mac High School. Many members of our Club recall Josh’s local achievements, including winning the 2006 District 7120 Oratorical Contest. Immediately after graduating from Pal-Mac, Joshua postponed his full scholarship to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to spend a year in Ecuador, where he taught English and started a non-profit organization to improve access to, and the quality of, education in rural Ecuador. He then went to UNC, graduating with honors, and was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to live and work in Mexico for a year. Since then he has learned four languages, and has lived and traveled across six continents. Little wonder, then, that he has been motivated to share his “dream” and love of travel with other members of his Pal-Mac community!