02/05/2018
‼️STUDENT SPOTLIGHT‼️
Meet Megan Boyer, a graduating senior from UConn! Megan has had a focus on Molecular and Cell Biology and Psychology in the Honors program and will be attending medical school next year. First, Megan was a participant on the Atlanta Public Health trip in 2016 and then progressed to Trip Director for the Philadelphia Healthcare Access and Educational trip in 2017 and the National Parks Environmental Conservation trip in 2018. Read more about Megan below!
1. Why did you get involved in Community Outreach’s Alternative Breaks program?
I first heard about alternative breaks during my sophomore year of college from a friend. Approximately one week before the application deadline, she told me that each trip had a different focus and that there was pretty much one to fit every social interest. I researched the trips on the Community Outreach website, and found one about Public Health in Atlanta that caught my attention. As someone who had her eye set on becoming a physician in the future, I thought it would be a cool opportunity to look at health from a more holistic perspective. I ended up applying and getting a spot on the trip, and it was a fantastic experience! I caught "the alt break bug", and just wanted to get more involved after that trip.
2. What was the impact you had on the area and people you were visiting?
On that first public health trip in Atlanta, and on the subsequent healthcare access and education trip I led my junior year to Philadelphia, the focus was on social interactions with the community. We would evaluate what the community itself needed, and try to tailor our activities to those areas of interest. In Atlanta, we worked with people suffering from drug addictions and the organizations that helped them get back on their feet, soup kitchens, nursing homes, and the CDC. In Philly, I really tried to get my participants to look at several aspects of health, including access to health insurance, alcohol and drug addiction, children's hospitals and nursing facilities, and chronic illnesses. On the alt break I led this past year, we focused on environmental conservation, along with its political and social impact. All of these actives helped us understand how we could advocate for the people we met and the places we saw, so that we would be educated enough to continue the momentum back at UConn.
3. How did your Alternative Breaks effect you and the other participants from UConn?
I believe that both my participants and myself came out of these experiences with a broader knowledge base, and resources to make a difference. We all came to realize how intersectional each issue is, as no one problem is isolated from the rest. For example, the National Parks provide a tourist outlet that brings money to states, but also limits the amount of economic growth due to the fact that so much land is protected. There are huge divides within states over the legislature of these land designations, and mixed feelings about current monument cutbacks. This is all information we did not know ahead of time. Alternative breaks give you a chance to connect with peers you never would have met, learn from each other, and learn from the community partners you interact with. You come back from these trips inspired to make a change, to live each day to the fullest, and commit yourself to forming strong connections with the people around you.
4. What was the most beneficial part of your experience?
The most beneficial part of my experience was connecting with peers and community partners I would not have met otherwise. Everyone has a unique background, opinions, or ideas that are worth sharing, and that we can all learn from. Hearing what others think during worksite or end of the day reflections helped me think about the topics we were learning about in a new way, and opened my eyes. I am grateful to have met so many insightful and inspiring people over the past three years. They are the ones who make me want to continue on a path of social change, and not return to my normal routine after getting back from a trip. Instead, I have tried to make small adjustments in my daily life to create sustainable change for my local community.
Thank you Megan Boyer for all your hard work and congratulations!
