Summer is a time of winding down and catching up with friends on the beach. But, some students have a thrill for adventure. Laura Grace Caroll, junior at Wake Forest, will be spending her summer in a rural village in Kenya thanks to her newly-awarded Richter Grant. Laura Grace has been there before, however. When she was 16, she came home to find out her family was going to Kenya. Her parents had listened to a talk that preached, “The best thing you can do for your teenagers is take them to a Third-World country”. Next thing Laura Grace knew, she was on a plane to Africa. This summer will be her third time to the country of Kenya.
But, Laura Grace always knew she had a passion for helping others. She spent her last summer in Cape Town, South Africa volunteering at a school. Laura Grace explains, “The other times I was just seeing it, but now I’m going there do to work and I’ll be going alone.” She plans to work at health-care clinic in a small rural village near the base of Mt Kenya. This is the only health facility for 20,000 people. Laura Grace will be using her Communications and Psychology major skills to aid the clinic’s health communication. “The clinic provides emergency care to women in labor and those on the verge of death, but it really does not provide any precautionary aid.”
Laura Grace envisions herself filling this gap. She wants to improve the communication between the doctors and nurses and their patients. “I will help create outlines of points for nurses to go over with patients. I hope the programs I develop will be applicable to many places,” Laura Grace explains. These outlines will consist of everything from how to properly wash your hands to avoiding HIV/AIDS. Perfect preparation for her Health Communications next semester!
So how is Laura Grace able to do this without a dime of her own money? In February, Laura Grace began the tedious process of putting her ideas into a proposal, applying for the Richter Grant. This grant supports independent study scholarships for students in the undergraduate College, the Calloway School and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. It awards up to $6,000 to aid students in their international research ventures. Laura Grace tells collegiettes™, “Take advantage of Wake’s financial support, they can support you in your endeavors.”
It’s time we get out of the classroom and use our knowledge from this prestigious institution to help make the world a better place. “It’s cool to apply what you have learned sitting in class and use that knowledge from the classroom in real world situations, improving others’ standards of living.” How do YOU plan on using your Wake Forest education, collegiettes™?