by Natalie Cicala, staff writer
Not many high school seniors are willing to take their own summer time to visit Africa and help children in need. Katie Murphy, however, went around Ghana and performed different types of testing to ensure everyone was healthy and living well.
By balancing friends, family, and academics, this student is an excellent example of a well-rounded person.
Seeing a future in a medical career, she felt a sense of motivation. Katie said, “I want to become a doctor and do Doctors Without Borders, so I thought this would be a good experience.” She was interested in providing emergency medical care and assistance to people who tend to neglect their health.
There were many things that Katie hoped to accomplish during her time in Ghana. “I was hoping to gain medical experience and explore a new culture and country” She informed.
While in Africa Katie “travelled to different orphanages and villages throughout the country to give health screenings to people. [She] would take blood pressure, temperature, prick their finger to test for hepatitis b malaria, and glucose levels.”
While being there she felt a sense of happiness. “I was really excited about going to a new country with new people, I love the different cultures and have always wanted to travel so being able to learn about Ghanaian culture was very cool,” she replied.
Not many people can say they have done something like this, especially teenagers who often only worry about balancing social lives as well as academics.
The experience also broadened her outlook on life. Katie admitted, “This trip made me really appreciate what I have here in America and gave me a new perspective.”
But traveling to Africa wasn’t as easy as it seemed. Katie explained, “There wasn’t really any running water which made showering and basic hygiene very difficult but I adapted to using bottled water and taking bucket showers.”
Despite the troublesome environment, Katie was able to overcome the impediment and focus on the people.
Katie loved this opportunity saying, “I would definitely do this again, all of the people were great, I made a lot of new friends, and I helped many people.”
One of Katie’s friends, Serena Taj, stated, “I was really happy for her because I knew she would meet a lot of new people and experience such a different culture,”.
Serena would definitely participate in something Katie did. Serena admitted, “Yes I did feel motivated and would like to do something like this in the future because I knew she was helping sick orphans who are much less fortunate than we are.”
Finally, she responded, “Katie is very different from my other friends. I have been friends with her since elementary school. She is very outgoing and fun and constantly has positive energy.