Off the Beaten Path: My Roundabout Journey to Humanitarianism

Maya Dayal is a (fairly) normal American teenager. There is one thing, however, that sets her apart from other teenagers: her global travels. Since she was a young girl, she has been traveling with her family to remote destinations, including the North Pole, the South Pole, the Galapagos Islands, the Amazon Rainforest, French Polynesia, and the jungles of Uganda and Rwanda.

Every trip she takes compels her to question the status quo: Why do social inequalities exist? To what extent is it her responsibility to bring awareness to these issues? What exactly is her place in the world?

As she becomes shaped by the things she’s seen and the people she’s met, she begins to work on creating awareness of the global issues she has seen firsthand. Her travels inspire her to create presentations, start clubs, launch websites, and establish a socially-conscious company that donates profits to charities.

Her inspirational story can serve as an example to young people around the world.