My story begins in my junior year of high school English class. Like most juniors in high school, my mind was preoccupied with figuring out where I wanted to go to college, what I wanted to major in, and what I wanted to do with my life. I have this very vivid memory of searching through different universities' major lists, when I stumbled upon St. Ambrose University’s website and saw the major, forensic psychology. It was at that moment, sitting in my English class, that I had this unexplainable feeling of “this is what I’m supposed to do.”
Choosing a university and major was the easy part, now I had to figure out what I wanted to do with my degree and how I wanted to build my career. After hours of countless internet searches and talking with my peers and professors about career opportunities, I found out about the FBI’s Violent Crimes Against Children (VCAC) Program. Once again, that unexplainable feeling overcame me, and I knew, whatever I ended up doing with my career, it would have something to do with fighting against sex trafficking. I began to immerse myself in research and was appalled and heartbroken by the horrifying statistics of the prevalence of sex trafficking. That night, I wrote “FBI Violent Crimes Against Children Program” on a sticky note and put it on my laptop. Five years later, that sticky note is still there.
These two moments sparked a passion I did not know I had: advocacy. While at St. Ambrose, I fully immersed myself into this passion and added a double major of justice, diversity, and gender studies. The courses I took through that major exposed me to the harsh reality that vulnerable populations are at a significantly increased risk of victimization. The ability to engage in conversation regarding oppressive and discriminatory systems that disproportionately affect vulnerable populations, helped me find my voice. With this new found skill and the knowledge I gained through my justice, diversity, and gender studies major, my desire to ensure the voices and stories of vulnerable populations are heard was only further deepened.
I truly believe that every decision I made from the moment I decided to major in forensic psychology, led me to this moment, writing this blog post and training for the craziest and most exciting adventure of my life.
When I would tell people that I was passionate about combating human trafficking, I would get weird looks or questioning comments. It wasn’t until I met my roommate Ally Tripure, 2023 Pedal the Pacific alumna, that I felt a piece of myself truly come alive. That spark and desire to fight for a safer world, where people aren’t for sale, was stronger than ever.
Shortly after I moved in and began to express interest in Pedal the Pacific, Ally sat me down and showed me the Pedal the Pacific documentary. Again, that unexplainable feeling was back. In that moment, I knew I was exactly where I was meant to be and that I had to pedal the pacific.
Everything I had worked for, the endless late hours in the library, the tears of confusion and exhaustion, and following my heart, even when it involved making hard decisions, was worth it.
I didn’t find Pedal the Pacific, Pedal the Pacific found me.
Pedal the Pacific has provided me with the opportunity and space to continue to grow my passion of combating sex trafficking, as well as, providing me with a community of remarkable women who share the same passion as me.
Every training ride I do, every time I want to give up, I remember my why.
I ride for a safer future.
I ride to shed light on victims and survivors whose stories have been kept in the dark far too long.
I ride to advocate for more humane treatment of survivors.
I ride for the little girl who was brave enough to chase that unexplainable feeling.
I ride for the women who rode before me.
I ride because I want my voice to be heard.
I ride because no human being should be for sale.
So yes, I ride for something greater than me, but I also ride for the 16 year old girl sitting in her English class. The girl who was searching for what she was meant to do. Who found the desire to advocate for vulnerable populations. Despite the path not always being clear, she continued to grow her passion. Who never gave up.
Every human being has the right to feel safe on this Earth and that is why I ride.
