World Traveler

Dancing has brought Wallace to several places across the United States, but she takes more pride in her various international travels, while still at a young age. New Zealand, Ireland, Switzerland, France, Hawaii, Scotland, the Bahamas and the U.K. are just some of the expeditions she has taken part in. Many of her trips have been through the organization, People To People. People to People is an organization that allows teenagers to visit many different countries in the world. Through travel, she has become obsessed with learning new cultures and pushing herself into a new comfort zone.

“This program was there to push you past your limits and go full on. Don’t waste a second of your life and make every moment count,” Wallace said.

Her journey to New Zealand stays with her every second of her life. While traveling with People to People as an eighth-grader, she was the youngest in the group, but that didn’t stop her from making friends much older than she was. Wallace became very close with high school students, many of which were seniors.

During this trip, she climbed many mountains, went hiking, repelled down cliffs, and even slept in a mining shack. No two days were the same in New Zealand, or during any other journey Wallace has taken. Creating lasting memories, building relationships, and exposing herself to new experiences is what drives her through her life.

“By building bonds with people that don’t live in Minnesota, or near me at all, it makes you realize that no matter where you go or who you’re with, you’ll always have a place… There’s bigger things for you in the world,” Wallace said.

Wallace’s main goal in life is to inspire people to do their best, and live their lives knowing that they finished on empty. Next summer, she plans to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Ascending 19,341 feet will be a great challenge, but her work ethic through school and dance shows that training will not be a problem for her. As far as fear goes? She’s not worried, every experience up to now has prepared her for this feat.

“Fear is just a thing in your mind. If you know your plan, and execute steps A, B, and C, you’re going to be fine,” Wallace explained. “If you repel down a cliff it’s going to be one of the more memorable things in your life. It’s important to not let fear get in the way of that.”