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Class of 2012
College of Arts and Science
Majors: Medicine, Health, & Society and Spanish
Hometown: Leawood, KS
During her freshman year in high school, Abby became involved in the ICAN (International Children’s Awareness Network) Club, a student-run organization whose intent was to promote awareness about global issues affecting children. One of the primary activities of ICAN was an annual fundraising event entitled “The 1,000 Mile Relay,” which benefited Touching Tiny Lives, a safe home for children impacted by HIV/AIDS in Lesotho, southern Africa. In 2005, the Relay raised more than $30,000 for the addition of another orphanage on TTL’s grounds. Abby and two fellow co-presidents inherited the responsibility and privilege of organizing the Relay in 2006. The $20,000 raised went toward the expansion of TTL’s Outreach Program, which provides Lesotho’s destitute villagers with nutritional and sanitation supplies, medical support, educational stipends for young mothers to finish schooling, and information about mother-to-child HIV-transmission prevention. During her senior year, she and her club-mates raised another $20,000 for TTL’s collaboration with a UNICEF nutrition initiative.
Abby has also participated in several mission trips, including one to New Orleans to help the National Relief Network reconstruct homes damaged by Hurricane Katrina; one to Jaurez, Mexico, to build houses for impoverished families; and one to Chimaltenango, Guatemala, to provide dental care to the disadvantaged Mayan and Latino population. On a local scale, Abby volunteered at a children’s hospital, soup kitchens, and food pantries.
Abby is incredibly honored and excited to be a part of the Ingram family. She hopes to volunteer at the Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, as well as interact with and serve the community of Spanish-speaking individuals in Nashville. After college, she plans on joining the Peace Corps and later participating in international medical engagements.
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