Who is The Tall Gringo?

¡Bienvenidos!

I'm Mike. In case you haven’t guessed, I am The Tall Gringo. Why? Well, because I am tall and—err—a gringo.

I graduated from the University of California, Davis in 2009 with a double major in Political Science and History. After graduating, I spent a year and a half working in the private sector in San Francisco.

Despite having landed a secure job at a good company, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I belonged elsewhere. All my life, I had walked the practical path—I went to college, finished in four years and found a “real” job. Although I had done well for myself, I longed to find a way to do well for others—to break away from the safe harbor and do something, anything to make the world a little better, a little brighter.

So I did something some might consider crazy; I turned down an impending promotion, quit my job and moved to Colombia to teach English in Bogotá’s southern slums as part of Harvard University’s WorldTeach program. Although adjusting to a new life in a foreign country has not been easy, I know that I am exactly where I am supposed to be.

In other words, I’m not in that safe harbor anymore.

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