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Giving
In this season of giving, Sarah Herrington finds that giving to others offers personal rewards in ways she never imagined. Herrington, a senior in biological engineering, wasn’t sure how her degree could help her help others until she returned to the states after a volunteer trip to Peru. Herrington became sick with a 102-degree fever. The doctor told her the illness was a result of bug bites she contracted while in Peru.
“I went to the doctor and he prescribed tetracycline, which is a $5 drug in America. Within two days I was better.” That’s when Herrington realized, “Here I can take a drug that is $5 and I’m cured in two days and this little kid in Peru got a 102-degree fever and untreated it has a 60 percent chance of killing you. They don’t get medical treatment over there and so stuff like that really hit home when I came back.”
After recovering and returning to her classes at State is when Herrington and her friend got to thinking about how they could apply their biological engineering knowledge to help other countries deliver medical care to people who live in poverty.
“Since I’ve come back, I have a heart for overseas and I’m trying to decide what to do with that. One of my friends told me she had a heart for Africa and that she wanted to simplify medical devices for third world countries. That got me really excited,” explained Herrington. "I asked her if we could modify that plan for South America and she laughed and said, ‘Well, I’m going to go to Africa and you can go to South America and we can have a business partnership while were in the United States.’”
Whether or not Herrington and her friend will live out their dreams is a story yet to be told, however one thing is certain, they both have a charitable spirit and the attitude of giving is the first step in making the world a better place.
