Meet Monique, the Winner of EF Ultimate Break’s 2022 First Time Traveler Scholarship
From dreaming about travel but questioning if it was ever possible to road tripping through Europe—this is Monique’s one-of-a-kind travel story.
The best way to learn about the world is to experience it, and we believe everyone deserves that opportunity. Which is why for the fourth year, we’re giving you the opportunity to turn your travel dreams into reality.
A First-Time Traveler is someone with limited to no experience traveling abroad. So if you’ve got big travel dreams, but don’t have the resources to make it happen—due to financial constraints, commitments in your daily life, or any other reasons—we want to help.
Our 2025 First Time Traveler Scholarship is open and awaiting your application! Want to learn more? Read Monique's story (this could be you soon!)
Tell us a bit about yourself and how you found Ultimate Break
I found Ultimate Break when I was a senior in high school. I was just browsing online, trying to find out if there were other people out there that wanted to travel as much as I did—and what do you know, THERE ARE!
What inspired you to apply for the First Time Traveler Scholarship?
Over the years I would occasionally “window browse” the trips and imagine what it would be like to go on one, but it had been a couple months since I last checked it out. One day I randomly decided to browse the site and saw a promo for the First Time Traveler Scholarship—I quickly learned that not only is there a deadline for applications, the deadline was that night. I immediately called my younger sister and told her about this amazing opportunity she had to apply for, to which she said, “why don’t you take your own advice and apply too?” The rest is history. When I think of serendipitous moments in my life, that day is one of them.
What did winning mean to you? How did you react when you found out?
It’s an interesting feeling thinking back on it now. After I applied, I never thought about it again. In my head it was a long shot, so I didn’t really imagine I’d ever win. Then just two days after my birthday, I got a call saying that I got it! I didn’t even know what to say, I was definitely in shock. I think it took me several days to process I had won.
How did you choose a destination? Why was that destination important to you?
I picked the 17 day European Road Trip because I wanted to see as much as I possibly could. I would have chosen a longer trip if I wasn’t concerned about how I would even begin to pack for something like that (chronic overpacker).
How’d you feel leading up to the trip?
I felt excited and nervous. I booked the trip a year out so I had a lot of waiting time. When it finally came time to go, I was surprised all over again.
What was it like to leave the country for the first time?
It was everything I had hoped for. I am not going to lie, a part of me was worried that I wouldn’t get that feeling I was searching for, the feeling that I always believed traveling would give me—but I did. I very clearly remember sitting on the bus in London, enroute to Amsterdam, thinking “this is it, the feeling I’ve been searching for—a sense of fulfillment”. I felt genuine contentment in this bus filled with nice strangers who would soon become my closest friends.
What would you say to others who have dreamed of traveling but have not had the opportunity to?
I would say that the hardest part of traveling is feeling like it’s possible. It was something I wanted for so long, but I didn’t think it was feasible. It's crazy how you can want something so bad but not allow yourself to really strive for it just because you don’t genuinely believe you can do it. So, getting rid of that mental block is the first step, you need to truly envision yourself as someone who does these things, this will reinforce the idea that your goal is achievable. If you are a traveler at heart—follow it.