WILMINGTON, Mass. (AP) - The average high schooler may take time to enjoy their vacation during the summer months. Some get a seasonal job. Some do extracurricular activities.
But Wilmington’s Jade Brennan is traveling to Ghana for three weeks in July to complete a volunteer medical internship through Projects Abroad before entering her senior year. “I’ve always loved helping people,” she said. “When I was younger I wanted to teach. We had this chalkboard paint on one side of the room. I’d sit my sister down and teach her and try to help her learn stuff.”
But a lot has changed from Brennan’s younger years to her teenage years. She was influenced by her high school anatomy and photography classes before making the decision to head overseas.
“Just seeing how all the systems worked together and separately, it was so cool,” Brennan said of her anatomy class. “I’m actually interning for my teacher next year, so I’ll get to help people learn the anatomy the way I learned it.” But it was her photography class is what prompted her to put in her first application. The class was on the topic of photojournalism. During class presentations, Brennan got an unsettling feeling after seeing Kevin Carter’s Pulitzer Prize winning photo of starving child in Sudan with a vulture in the background.
“I was sitting at the computer and after we finished the presentations I immediately went into an application for an internship and put it right in,” she said.
Brennan said she also wanted to be a better pediatrician than the doctor she had. Later on, a friend recommended she look into the Projects Abroad program. Brennan did her research and began the application process, but at first, she wasn’t taken seriously by many. Her father, Kevin Brennan, said he would have never expected this of his daughter. When she first brought the trip to his attention, her father gave her a list of questions to find answers to - like how much it would cost to get vaccines before heading to Ghana. It wasn’t until she reported back to her dad with an estimate for the vaccines and told him she had already set up a GoFundMe campaign, that he knew she was serious.
“I’m proud of my daughter,” he said. “I know she’s going to feel better in herself. I think what she doesn’t realize is how much it’s going to make her grow up, which is a bummer is some ways for me as a father, but I’m also extremely proud.”
A number of people, including teachers, have donated to her GoFundMe campaign, which has received nearly $ 1,000. Others have made donations to her directly to show their support. She has also contributed a great deal of her own money she has saved up in order to make the trip happen.
During her time in Ghana, Brennan will spend five days a week, five hours a day, volunteering. During her free time she will get to explore, will learn about the culture and will always be with a group.
“I just love learning new things. I want to get outside my comfort zone. Helping people, the good feeling that comes from that, is one of the main things I’m really excited for,” she said, adding that she is also looking forward to being exposed to the culture and meeting new people.
Being away from home not only gives Brennan the opportunity to help others. She hopes the trip will allow her to reflect on herself and take a break from technology.
“I feel like people should focus more on themselves in a way that they can help others,” she said. “I feel like people should step away from the technology and focus on more important things.”
When Brennan returns from her trip, she will be looking to secure an internship in a hospital setting. During the upcoming school year she will be taking AP biology and honors physics. “I am looking toward working with kids, but I’m kind of leaning more toward a hospital (setting),” she said. “I’m still not sure and I’m hoping this trip will set some more things in stone for me.”
Her father has been satisfied with Project Abroad and recently got the itinerary for his daughter’s trip. He’s also comforted to be part of a closed Facebook group with members of parents and other students taking the trip.
“She’s got two little sisters who adore her and are blown away by what she’s doing as well,” he said. “I can’t wait to hear all her stories and just see who she becomes.”
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Online: https://bit.ly/2v30j17
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Information from: The (Lowell, Mass.) Sun, https://www.lowellsun.com
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