Margi danced beautifully, skied competitively, played soccer ruthlessly, was an excellent ceramicist, and could speak up a storm in Spanish when at Putney. She is at Dartmouth College now, studying Environmental Studies and Geography (also Ecology, and African Studies).

But it took her an extra 12 months to get to Dartmouth. That's because, before she went to college, Margi took a year to travel and get to know herself better.

This was no tourist jaunt. In Moldova and Ukraine, she learned about the history of her relatives. In Costa Rica she studied the natural history of cloud forests and the organizational dynamics of environmental groups. It was in Lusaka, the capital city of Zambia, in an impoverished compound whose inhabitants bear the brunt of the AIDS crisis, that she created a niche and went to work.

"I'd never seen such a desperate level of poverty on such a large scale. Armed guards, cement walls, and barbed wire separated the wealthier neighborhoods from the Ng'ombe compound only a block away. HIV/AIDS is huge in Zambia, and it's still getting worse. With approximately 17% of the population infected, Zambia is one of the countries hardest hit by the AIDS pandemic. Zambia's average life expectancy is 38 years- that's less than half of the US' life expectancy of 78 years. The devastating pandemic is far reaching and affects all levels of society. Everyone knows someone personally who is sick or has already died, so a common saying is, "if you're not infected you're affected."

"I volunteered with several different projects. I worked particularly closely with an amazing woman named Jeannie Mulenga, a native Zambian. Jeannie runs a group called Hope House, which supports people living with HIV/AIDS. I helped her keep track of expenses, make a budget, and do general computer work.

"Jeanne also started a community school, called the HEAL Project. The school, which has many AIDS orphans and HIV-infected students, gets kids off the street, feeds them a meal, teaches them basic math and reading, and in the process gives them some much-needed support and attention. I worked closely with the teachers and students at the school and helped create lesson plans, set up science experiments, do art projects, and teach songs and games.

"People would show up at Jeannie's door with very sick children and she would help them get medical attention. She also frequently visited the homes of people she knew who were suffering and I accompanied her a few times. At first, when I visited homes with her, I felt like there was nothing I could do for people in such dire straights. I found that although things like food and blankets were greatly appreciated (and needed) even the simple act of visiting and playing games with the kids could mean a lot.

"Before leaving Zambia, I worked out a way for 31 of the students I worked with to continue their education beyond the fourth grade, which is the final grade the HEAL Project offers. I selected the students, visited potential schools, and paid their enrollment fees for the year. When I returned home I found family members and friends to pay for the students' expenses. $160 per student covers school fees, books, school supplies, and uniforms for an entire school year.

"After my year of exploration I felt very ready for college; I knew what my interests were and felt confident that an individual person has the ability to make a difference. I'm so grateful I was able to take the year to poke my head out of the academic bubble—to learn about the outside world and explore how I might fit in to it. In hindsight I am surprised it was such a hard decision to defer college for a year. Of course choosing the unknown, often more challenging, route is always scary. But I seem to seek out these opportunities with their exciting and unexpected outcomes—after all, I guess that's how I ended up at Putney."