Megan Williams ’16 went to western Africa last summer to help people see. While she was there, she formed a vision for her own future.
“Each day, got up at the crack of dawn and got on a safari bus,” she said, recalling her internship with Unite for Sight. “We would camp out all day to give eye exams and give out medicines or eyeglasses.”
“I decided that is what I wanted to do. I wanted to help other people,” she said.
Megan recently was accepted to the Peace Corps. After she completes her degree at LC, she will travel to Togo, a country next to Ghana, where she will help with malaria research and prevention, as well as providing healthcare to new mothers and conducting HIV awareness and prevention education.
Before that, she will go to Costa Rica for a spring semester internship, during which she will assist with medical consultations and work on health education campaigns.
Dr. Charlotte Guynes, chair of the health promotion department and director of the master of public health program, said Megan is the first health promotion major to join the Peace Corps, although some others have worked with AmeriCorps.
Megan said her education at LC has helped her learn to relate to people in other countries on their own level — meeting them where they are and helping them improve their health. Her summer internship added to that with actual international experience. She is excited to continue working abroad.
“I felt like this was my calling,” she said.
