Alumni
Katy Wyszynski
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Becca Stevens writes, "Living in paradise means looking for every opportunity for service. When we live full of service in love, we are already there." Katy tries to live her life through love and service with her community. Her passion for service began at The Hockaday School in Dallas, while it has been further cultivated since coming to Vanderbilt as an Ingram Scholar. Katy has learned that she is involved in more than community service, but rather working towards social justice.
During her first year at Vanderbilt, Katy explored many different service endeavors. Many upperclassmen Ingram Scholars introduced her to their projects. She volunteered at The Afterschool Program and Vanderbilt After-school Program tutoring and mentoring low-income children. She also served as a teacher to a class of girls in Pakistan through the Vanderbilt-Pakistan connection. Every week she got up at 5am to teach a lesson via Skype. She was grateful that she experienced a variety of tutoring and mentoring programs, however she learned that her career interest in healthcare and service are not mutually exclusive.
Katy has found her niche in the service healthcare industry in Nashville through a variety of organizations. She began volunteering at Monroe Carell Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt in the Emergency Department helping patients and families with their needs. Since her first year, she fell in love with Project C.U.R.E., a global healthcare non-profit that has a branch in Nashville. She completed her summer project at their international headquarters in Denver, CO. during the summer of 2015 creating and analyzing impact evaluations. She has also created an on-campus club for volunteers at Project C.U.R.E. where they sort and package medical supplies to ship to clinics in developing countries. Katy also loves using her knowledge of Spanish by volunteering as an interpreter at Siloam Family Health Clinic.
In terms of global health, Katy spent six months abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina working at a healthcare research institute and implementing public health programs in coordination with the Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE). She also had the opportunity to work in Quito, Ecuador for a month working with physically and mentally disabled persons.
Looking forward to her senior year, she is excited to continue the most interesting projects including working at Siloam, Project C.U.R.E. and the Children's Hospital. In addition, Katy wants to explore whole body healthcare through volunteering at Small World Yoga. After graduation, she hopes to pursue a research fellowship and apply to medical school.