From University of Rochester Athletics
When a student chooses to take part in a Study Abroad program, it is usually to seize the opportunity to learn a great distance from campus and from home. Anna MacDonald, a rising senior on the women's volleyball team, chose her destination for different reasons.
The Hopkinton, Mass. native (east of Worcester, west of Boston) wanted a lifestyle challenge. She found that and an education as well, all through the eyes and hearts of children. Anna had a chance to reflect on that experience once she returned stateside:
Why did you select South Africa for the Study Abroad semester?
I chose South Africa because I knew I wanted a different study abroad experience from the 'typical' experience. I wanted to go somewhere different from the lifestyle I grew up in and have the opportunity to really push my own limits. South Africa provided the perfect blend of western society and traditional African way of life. I'd been to Africa previously (to a country called Mozambique) and always knew I would be back. South Africa was as close to Mozambique as I could get and provided an incredible academic reputation. The timing was also really exciting, SA is 20 years out from the ending of apartheid and is going through their civil rights movement right now, so it is a really monumental time that I was thrilled to be a part of.
You are majoring in Brain & Cognitive Sciences. Was the Study-Abroad semester geared around your major?
Not specifically. In order to graduate on time with the majors and minors I want to (B.Sc in BCS, B.A in Psychology and minor in biology), I needed to take a minimum of 2 classes where the credit would transfer. Unfortunately the neuropsychology-focused classes (which would have been the closest to a BCS class) started a few weeks earlier than the regular classes because it was in a different section of the university, so I wasn't allowed to take any of those.
I ended up taking an intro computer science class, as well as anatomy and physiology class whose credits both transferred (so with any luck I'll graduate on time!). I also took a religion, gender and sexuality class, and a service-learning class (which is where the opportunity arose for me to work in the counter-trafficking arena).
How difficult was the travel to get down there?
It was definitely a process. I went down to South Africa two weeks before we were supposed to report to the international program to go through orientation and all the usual processes of trying to get us somewhat accommodated before we began classes. Those two weeks are when I worked at Michael's Children's Village (MCV). So initially I flew from Logan (in Boston) to (London's) Heathrow (5 hours), then about a 2 hour layover in Heathrow. From Heathrow, I flew into Johannesburg (which was about a 12-hour plane ride), and from there to Nelspruit, where MCV is located, it was only about a 45 minute plane ride. All in all it was a 24 hour journey. Then after the two weeks I flew into Cape Town, which was only about a 3 hour flight.
Coach Iya said you worked at Michael's Children's Village and then with the Cape-House Cape Town Safe House for Human Trafficking. What was the environment like at Michael's Children's Village? Did you have the chance to interact with any of the children?
MCV was (and is) incredible. We know the couple who are the directors of the village, Jean and Teisa Nicole, and when they found out I was coming to South Africa they wouldn't even hear of me not spending some time with them. MCV is an off-shoot of a larger ministry called Iris Ministries which runs orphanages around the world.
MCV is different from the other Iris bases I've been to in that they are very community focused. There are about 20-30 kids who are currently living at MCV (from newborn to 18) and they stay in houses with their Mommas' and 'Poppas' in a very family-oriented model. These kids are taken out of abusive or otherwise questionable living situations and placed in a family dynamic that is gives them the opportunity to heal and grow. Not only does MCV provide the kind of emotional and spiritual support that the kids desperately need, but MCV also enrolls all of their children in school and encourages them to take ownership of their education. That in itself gives them unimaginable opportunities and hope for their future.
The stories and backgrounds that these young men and women come from are heart –wrenching: babies found in the streets, boys found wandering around looking for their parents, but when you walk in to MCV you only see the remnants of that life. What shines far brighter is the joy and new life in their eyes, and the hope in their smiles. I had the incredible opportunity to return to MCV before leaving South Africa and if I wasn't sure before then, I'm sure now, those boys and girls hold a very special place in my heart. Leaving them the second time was so much more heart-breaking than the first.
Please tell us what the Cape Town Safe House was like.
I can't really say much about the actual safe house for safety and security reasons, but essentially what I did at the safe house was run workshops for the residents. I ran workshops once a week over a 4-week span. The workshops centered around photography and the basics of PowerPoint. We would go for a walk around the surrounding area and take pictures. Later I would teach them how to import the pictures and turn them into a presentation. The residents do different workshops throughout the week, teaching them skills and life techniques they can use once they move out of the safe house.
The Safe House website says it is a haven for young women coming out of trafficking and exploitation? Did you talk with any of these young women and hear their stories?
Because of the short duration of my stay, as well as my limited capacity to volunteer (Since I was taking classes I was unable to spend as much time at the safe house as I would have liked to), I wasn't really able to talk to the residents. For security reasons as well it was better for me not to know any of their stories or experiences. I was instructed not to ask personal information or about anything involved with their past. I obviously spent a fair amount of time with them but it was mostly shallow conversation and light topics that allowed us to become comfortable with each other.
How hard was it for you to leave the Children's Village and the Safe House to return home?
When it was time for me to leave South Africa, I was ready to come home. The short time I spent back at MCV after my time in Cape Town was definitely too fleeting. If I have any regrets about the timing of my trip home it was that I was not able to spend enough time with the kids at MCV as I would have liked. Those little boys and girls will tie your heart around their finger if you let them, and I have to say the tied mine tightly, and double knotted mine around theirs.
The safe house was easier to say good-bye to mostly because I was never able to develop any real relationship with the residents. In their eyes I was another one of the many volunteers who pass through their doors, but the experience was certainly one I will never forget.
Both places gave me the opportunity to see what my life could have been like, gave me the opportunity to look into the eyes of poverty, destitution, and raw hopelessness. It humbled me, made me grateful for things I had never even realized were luxuries. Both places put me face-to-face with people my age and younger who had been through the types of things you hear on the news and cringe at, and yet both places showed me the unimaginable love and resilience in the South African Spirit.
Based on your work in South Africa, do you know which career path you would like to follow?
When I came to SA, I thought I was going to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. I figured this was 6 months for me to focus on 'finding myself' and 'discover what I was passionate about'. While I certainly learned more about myself in the past 6 months, ironically I am now further from knowing what I want to do than I ever was. Previously I had entertained the idea of doing research, of getting my Ph.D and following that route. I'm now second-guessing that path.
One of the biggest things I learned in SA was that while SA was exactly what I needed in my life at that time, and I will treasure those memories forever, those are not my people. America is my home, and here is where my people live. There are people hurting here and I have an incredible opportunity to try and alleviate some of that pain. That is really the only concrete plan I have for my future career path, which is both terrifying as I prepare to enter my senior year, and thrilling.
What will you do during your senior year on campus (in terms of classes or special projects)?
I'm taking some upper level BCS and Psych classes that I'm really excited about. I will be taking developmental child psychology, game theory, neuropsychology, and psych of gender. I'll obviously be playing volleyball and competing in track and field. As far as extra-curricular involvement, I will be leading a group called Fellowship of Christian Athletes with Kenny Kish (football), will be continuing my work with the Student Alumni Ambassadors, and will be working for the Chapman Lab, which does work in Alzheimer's research. I will also hopefully be working in a counter-trafficking organization based in Rochester but the details of that are still being worked out.
Will you attend graduate school? What will you study?
I think eventually I will and I have looked into some programs in the neurocognition fields. I've found a lot of good programs in the northeast which I will definitely be looking into more, but for the time being I plan on taking at least one year off before pursuing any higher education. I'm still at the point in my life where I am unsure of what I want to be doing, I know I love what I'm studying but am not sure about what type of career I would want to pursue. For me to invest in a Ph. D program I would need to know 100% that I wanted to be working in that particular field, and I haven't yet found that particular nook within the BCS world.
What is your long-term goal for a career?
Still working on it :) If I can make other people's lives better and eliminate the injustice that so many innocent people are suffering from, then I will be happy. And as long as I'm serving the God who gave me this brain and this heart, I know I will be in the right place. So far those are the only concrete aspects in my long-term career plans.
Turning to your sport, did you have a chance to play volleyball – or at least workout or practice?
Unfortunately I didn't have the opportunity to play while I was abroad (sorry coach), and I was able to workout in a limited capacity. While that has made my training harder now that I'm home I wouldn't have changed anything. I was able to slow down, focus on my personal development, and break down the kind of idol I had made my personal strength. Training is a huge part of my life while I'm at school and it was good for me to have to let go of that and instead focus on making my character stronger.