Punzabo Winner Gifted By Passing Bird! (October 2008)

The winner of the October 2008 travelBIGO Punzabo Award (and $100) is Quinn Yanaga! Her essay entitled The Bird’s Gift retells the story of a rather large “present” that a bird left on the rearview mirror of her family’s rental car on their first day in England. 

Since taking the trip in 2007, Quinn, who hails from Costa Mesa, California, has started her freshman year at UCLA. She is currently undeclared but is considering studying Art History, English or Political Science. As a student new to university life, Quinn has been enjoying meeting new people and getting involved in extracurricular activities, including intramural soccer and the Campus Crusades Club.

Quinn has a strong passion for travel and in addition to England she has been to Japan, Canada, Mexico, Germany and Austria, as well as numerous parts of the United States. She hopes to study abroad in England or Scotland sometime during her college career.

Quinn’s most recent journey was her high school senior trip to Costa Rica. When her class explored the country for 10 days, they went horseback riding, whitewater rafting, zip-lining and even toured a chocolate and coffee plantation. Recalling her favorite moment in Costa Rica, Quinn said, “Most memorable, however, was seeing Volcan Arenal at night, with lava going down the side of the volcano. We could also hear the boulders as they broke. It was an amazing sight and something I will never forget.”

Quinn is honored to have won the Punzabo especially because it is the readers who are rating the essays and thus picking the winner! She said, “It’s nice to know that other people enjoyed my writing when I had such a fun time sharing my experience.”

Help pick next month’s Punzabo winner (PunzaboAward rules for Travel Journals) by rating all the stories you read on travel BIGO. And remember, you can be next!