Students

Kim spent two months this summer in Malawi, one of the poorest nations in the world, seeing first-hand the linkage between malnourishment and vulnerability to diseases like tuberculosis, malaria, and HIV/AIDS. Through the Center for Social Concerns and its International Summer Service Learning Program, Kim connected with Catholic Relief Services, which placed her first with a program that focuses on feeding families at risk of starvation and then with a community care center for orphans.

Many of those orphaned had lost one or both parents to HIV/AIDS, which is especially ravaging to the malnourished, Kim says. Her experiences, which included on-site service to the CRS clients as well as communication and database assistance to boost organizations’ efficacy and influence, increased her interest in pursuing a master’s degree in public health and eventually working in international relief and development.

“I like to think of myself as a world citizen,” explains Kim. Her own roots are Korean, but she was adopted by American parents; two summers ago, she worked with a social welfare services agency in South Korea, and on her flight back to America she volunteered to accompany a child who was also being adopted in the U.S. The idea of human caring that literally spans cultures and continents “makes me want to give back.”