The furthest Danny Baldocchi travels on the baseball field is 360 feet, when he jogs around the bases after hitting one of his signature home runs. However, off the field the junior first baseman's life-long travels have been much more diverse and lengthy.
 
This past winter term, Baldocchi and his parents embarked on a journey to Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand.
 
In Vietnam, Baldocchi first visited the northern portion of the country and was in awe at seeing the corpse of the iconic Ho Chi Minh.
 
"It was laid out under special lighting and was guarded by the military. You weren't allowed to raise your arms as they were fearful you might desecrate his body," Baldocchi said. "It was an unreal experience to me because we obviously don't have that here in America where we put our presidents on display."
 
After a few more tourist-type experiences in Vietnam, the Baldocchi family headed to Cambodia with the main goal of visiting Angkor Wat, the world's largest religious monument, which is considered by some as one of seven wonders of the world.
 
"The whole Angkor area is incredible. The complex is filled with other temples and every tower has a different Buddha face on it. Having seen it, I'd agree Angkor Wat is totally deserving of its praise as one of the seven wonders. Each rock is intricately carved and everything is so beautiful."
 
As a politics major, Baldocchi stressed the importance of the trip as a way to learn about each country's government. He made it a point of it to ask his tour guides what they thought about their respective governments.  The answers varied.
 
"Their descriptions ranged from complete autocracy to fake democracies, where they have a vote, but the person they vote for doesn't actually win. I remember in Vietnam our guide was very critical of his government whereas in Cambodia, this young female guide refused to talk about hers because she was fearful of getting in trouble."
 
He was able to experience firsthand what could happen when the people of a particular culture don't necessarily agree with their leadership.
 
"I was in Bangkok when the authorities shutdown the city because of a protest. Our guide wouldn't let us leave the hotel because tear gas was being thrown into the crowd. To be in a lockdown like that was a surreal experience. The government was extremely fearful that if foreign tourists were injured during the riots it would completely cripple their tourism industry."
 
While Baldocchi has used his winter term to travel the world, he sees the summer as a time to focus on his future goals.
 
Last summer he worked in the office of Congresswoman Barbara Lee, who represents for California's 13th district. He assisted with event planning and community outreach to educate constituents on the Affordable Care Act.
 
"Congresswoman Lee was the only person in the 435-person house to vote against the authorization for use of military force (AUMF) as it related to President Bush's deicision to go to war with Iraq. This really made me want to work for her even more as I agree with some of her ideals."
 
This summer, he's planning to work for SCN Strategies, a high-profile private firm that manages the public images of politicians.
 
"While I enjoyed working in the public sector, I believe with my skills I can have a bigger impact working in the private sector. I will have more room to be creative and use my knowledge to succeed."

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