Globally Focused

Sarah Stubbs, a sophomore Phi Mu majoring in public health and minoring in Spanish with a global health certificate, aspires to work for a global health focused non-profit one day and potentially lead college students on study abroad trips that have a service learning focus. Every summer for the past four years, she has worked for a global health non-profit organization in the Dominican Republic. She has been going on a mission trip every summer since her junior year of high school. The non-profit organization is called 7 Elements. It was founded in 2010. The volunteers focus on 7 elements of human security: economic, environmental, food, health, political, personal, and community. Sarah absolutely loves everyone she works with; they are the most brilliant, genuine and kind-hearted people she has ever met. She has also befriended many of the locals as well. Sarah talks about how the conditions in the Dominican Republic are hard to watch. When she was talking to her boss about the sadness she felt after a 15 year old boy had died of preventable causes one trip abroad, her boss shared this quote with her: “There are two ways for your heart to break. The first is for it to break into shards of glass, sharp and dangerous to yourself and others. The second is for it to break open wider to hold greater compassion for the world around you.” Sarah says that quote perfectly describes working abroad. She will continue to do great service work abroad.