All he needed was a backpack, a tent, some clothes and cooking gear. The $200 in his pocket was only buying a father's peace of mind. Like the rest of his high school graduating class, Joseph Hunter Sizemore was ready to take on the world- but as a homeless person.

He had a roof and a bed back home in Ray City, Ga., but Sizemore wanted more --or rather, less. Choosing to spend two weeks living alongside the homeless, he hopped on a bus to Knoxville, Tenn. and started a new love affair with experiencing culture.

Sizemore, now 22, witnessed drug addiction, laughed with the Rainbow Tribe and traveled. After countless mornings of having listened to NPR and thinking there was more than his small, southern town, the experience allowed him to see for himself.

That same immersion of being out in the field is what brought Sizemore to journalism. A senior graduating in May 2010, he is working toward a minor in anthropology and a certificate in international relations.

Sizemore has been passionate about music since a young age, inspired by his father's love for The Eagles. He plays acoustic guitar and marched in his high school marching band with the saxophone and electric bass. He enjoys researching different world recordings, including some he picked up during a recent trip to Guatemala.

"It has as much to do with culture as it does with music, because the amount of time I spend learning about the music is equal to the amount of time I spend listening to it."

After graduation from UF, Sizemore is considering joining the Peace Corps.

"I want to travel and I want to learn. I don't really want people calling me up for debt collection and I don't really want to go hungry."

- Lindsay Wadelton