Shepherd Student: Kyle Meehan

“Patients with whom I worked as an intern at Bellevue Methadone Treatment Clinic spoke about the human dignity often stripped from society’s marginal and vulnerable populations, such as immigrants, addicts, the poor, and those who are mentally ill.”  . . . more

Shepherd Student: Chonyang “Chony” Lu

Name: Chonyang “Chony” Lu

Hometown: Gurnee, IL

Major: Biology, Pre-med

Where you interned: PACT Therapeutic Nursery for Homeless Children, Baltimore MD

Capstone Topic: State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP): Insuring a Better Future for Children

Community Service/Involvement:

·         Emergency Room Volunteer

·         Community Service Co-Chair for Kappa Alpha Theta Sorority

·         Volunteer Venture Pre-Orientation Group Leader

·         Nabors Service League

Reflection:

When I visited Washington and Lee as a high-school student, my host first introduced me to the Shepherd Program. I knew right away that I wanted to take part in this exciting and unique experience. What I did not know at the time was how challenging this program would be and how it would change some of my fundamental beliefs regarding poverty.

As a science major preparing to enter medical school, I was initially intimidated by the thought of reading social scientists such as Amartya Sen and Thomas Pogge. However, once I pushed myself further, I finally began to understand the complexities of poverty. No longer did I see this social phenomenon as exclusively the fault of the individuals in poverty, nor is it solely caused by social factors. As my old assumptions regarding poverty fell away, I realize that the Shepherd Program has molded me into a more well-informed and perspicacious individual.

Not only did the Shepherd program challenge me through coursework, but it has also given me the rare opportunity to be totally immersed in an area of poverty for eight weeks. During my Shepherd Internship at the PACT Therapeutic Nursery for Homeless Children in Baltimore, I saw the stories and illustrations from class come to life. At the Nursery, I saw unemployment, drug addiction, and struggling single mothers; but I also witnessed countless stories of hope and triumph—of children and parents fighting tenaciously to break out of the cycle of poverty. I realized that I was not very much different from the people I met at the Nursery—we all shared the same fundamental desire for safety and security. While in Baltimore, I also saw the prominent role of community-based, or non-profit organizations in the fight against poverty,

The Shepherd Program, while challenging, has also been immensely rewarding. I am now a much more well-rounded and free-thinking individual than I was when I first entered Washington and Lee University. I have also learned invaluable lessons about fundamental human rights and our shared obligations to protect these rights. My scholarly research in SCHIP and health care policy will also play a role in my future as a physician, and I truly believe that my undergraduate education has been made complete through my participation in the Shepherd Program.