My name is Matt Santana and I'm in my second year at the University of Gloucestershire. I'm originally from California, moved quite a bit and I've now been living in the UK for around ten years. I love experiencing new places and cultures as it gives me wider perspective on how to appreciate what I have in life.

It was before I finished my first term of my second year at university when I came across Choose A Challenge providing the opportunity take a trip to hike up Machu Picchu in Peru, South America. I was instantly stoked about the idea of going and immediately signed up. The trip itself consists of long day trekking, for a week. The Mountain of Machu Picchu stands at 7,972′ ft high so it ain't exactly a walk in the park. Therefore each day will consist of a challenge in terms of physical durability, duration and determination. It was only after we were told that Make A Wish Foundation UK was the charity we were going to raise money for and I couldn't be more happier. It's a privilege to be raising money for such an awesome charity like Make a Wish as it's a cause beyond anything.

Half my heritage is Mexican so I have always wanted to venture around south and central America. As a little kid back in the states, one of my nicknames was 'the little Machu Picchu'. As time went by I came across the movie Motorcycle Diaries, showing the travels of Ernesto "Che" Guevara around South America and the beauty of Machu Picchu. From then on wards, it will always be a movie I cherish for what it means to me and trekking Machu Picchu has always been one of my greatest dreams since.

My determination for raising money and going on this trip was mainly sparked by the event of last summer. The night before I was leaving my University for the summer break, I was told that my step mother who was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2012, died in the hospital couple of hours prior. It's still and will always be something to carry in the future as she was a second mother to my two older sisters and I growing up. I know she would be encouraging me to do this right now so as much as I am going to enjoy this trip, I am going to make the most of it in every way possible. This is because I feel that I'm doing this for her and to prove to myself that I can do this. The trip itself will probably be the most challenging and physically toughest adventure I've undertaken to date and I can't wait.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page and reading my story. I honestly appreciate any donations and strongly encourage anyone who wants to do anything like this to do it. Here's more about the charity if you want to take a look: http://wish.org/about-us/our-story/our-mission

If you have any further questions, don't hesitate to pop me a message on my Facebook and ask :)