Shelly Bogard was born in California and made the move to Illinois when she was two years old, but that was not the first place she visited. Before her second birthday she was immersed in the world of travel. Every year Bogard’s grandmother would take each of her grandchildren on a one week vacation to a different place. Her grandmother’s goal was to make sure her grandchildren had a chance to see all 50 states.
Mission Accomplished
After several years of travel Bogard has now been to all 50 states, Northern Europe, and Jamaica. When asked what her favorite destination was she couldn’t decide.
“There are different places I like for different experiences,” Said Bogard.
She said that for a vacation spot she enjoys Edisto Island, one of South Carolina’s Sea Islands. For experiencing the joys of nature she enjoys Yellowstone National Park. For a cozy, small town experience she recommends Italy and for history she is partial to Berlin, Germany.
Not only did Bogard love going on these escapades but she found it fun to share them with someone she was close to. For five of her traveling years Bogard chose to combine her solo trip with her brother Richard’s so they could have their adventures together.
“Shelly and I wanted to go together and so we did. We combined ours and went on whatever vacation our grandparents had planned as the two of us instead of each of us getting our own individual weeks.”
Richard Bogard
With every trip Bogard brought a piece of it back with her by collecting a keychain. Bogard has keychains from every place that she has visited.
Living Day to Day
Bogard’s life has not all been exotic cuisine and sandy beaches but she has had to live with Type 1 Diabetes. Bogard was diagnosed in the 6th grade the day after her twelfth birthday. She was in school experiencing a horrible stomachache. She was rushed to the Children’s Hospital and as she says “The rest is basically history.”
It is something that affects her daily life, but she never let it keep her down. Bogard joined the color guard in high school and participated in that all four years and into her freshman year of college. During her time on the team in high school she was chosen as both Captain and Acting Coach since there was not an active coach for two of her years on the team.
In her spare time Bogard has enjoyed taking part in aerial silk dancing and she will do Geometry for fun.
What Comes Next?
Bogard has been making plans for the future as she works towards the end of her college career. As a Multimedia Communications Major with emphasis in both TV/Video Production and Ministry Media she hopes to find a job that she is passionate about that she can work towards. As of now she has already been offered a job at a Megachurch in Florida, but has decided to focus on school for the time being. She is open to most possibilities when it comes to video production and is just waiting to see where she will end up.
You must be logged in to post a comment.