Yazmin Baptiste
IES Abroad Rabat & IES Abroad Rome • Lafayette College
Yazmin's passion to support immigrants and refugees led her to volunteer in Rabat and Rome, research for-profit companies benefiting from immigration in Italy, and conduct field research in New York and Texas about U.S. immigration issues.

2019 Finalists
“Volunteering is complicated. It can be good one day. It could be bad the next. It could be iffy in the middle. Having a strong sense of accountability for what you do in the world is important ... have patience with others and yourself to think through the ways that we can improve our future.”Yazmin Baptiste • 2019 Global Citizen of the Year Award Winner
Breana Ross
IES Abroad Cape Town Customized Program • University of Miami
Breana took her passion for service from Florida to South Africa and back again. While studying abroad in Cape Town, Breana worked with SHAWCO Education to assist in the classroom with underprivileged students. What she learned there continues to influence her creative writing program with youth in Miami.

2018 Finalists
“I learned that, while places and people around the world share differences, we share more similarities than we think we do.”Breana Ross • 2018 Global Citizen of the Year Award Winner
Yesenia Ayala
IES Abroad Santiago • Grinnell College
As a first-generation college student, Yesenia Ayala understands the barriers that many low-income students face when pursuing higher education.

2017 Finalists
“I strongly believe that working with communities creates a bigger impact than working for them.”Yesenia Ayala • 2017 Global Citizen of the Year Award Winner
Sydni Williams
IES Abroad Madrid • University of Michigan
From Detroit to Madrid, Sydni followed her commitment to improve youth education around the world. Discover how her internship with the Social Services Center of Los Yébenes in Spain reinvigorated her passion – one which inspired us a student-focused, mission-driven, organization.

2016 Finalists & Honorable Mentions
“I plan to continue to advocate for our youth around the world and teach them that with determination, effort, and compassion they can be anything despite all doubt that they have experienced in the past.”Sydni Williams • 2016 Global Citizen of the Year
Learn More About Global Citizen of the Year
