Student Profile: Kristin Kalita

KRISTIN KALITA

Dedication to Sustainable Education

Prior to January 2010, Loyola University Chicago had organized three medical brigades to Honduras. For their next trip, they decided to become even more invested in the long-term effects of their presence in the communities they serve.  When brigader Kristin Kalita heard about the Health Promotion and Disease Prevention program (HPDP), she knew it was her opportunity both to become involved in leadership within her club and to contribute to sustainable lifestyle change among the patients she encountered.A junior at Loyola, Kristin became involved in Global Brigades because she believes that everyone is entitled to health care and wanted to put her passion into practice in a country whose level of poverty exceeds that of most of the Western world. Despite having experienced how few resources the people of Honduras have as compared to those in the US, Kristin has faith that her work in HPDP and similar efforts by other clubs will prove to promote lasting education and reinforce healthy lifestyles for generations to come. Through the trust that she established with the members of these communities, she was able to teach them basic hygiene practices through an engaging presentation that will result in less illness in the future.

Kristin’s experience has affected her whole attitude toward global health and social service. She plans to lead her own brigade as a senior, and to eventually return as a physician and one day sponsor a child.

Written by Michael Scott and Tom Hutch. Tom is currently a Medical Brigades Coordinator living and working in Honduras. Michael is Co-President, Loyola University Chicago GMB. Contact Tom at: tom@gloalbrigades.org and Michael at: mscott@globalbrigades.org

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