Scholar Profiles
Liz Francis '08
Major: Premed and Spanish
“Starting GlobeMed has definitely been my most rewarding college experience by far just because it allows for such a wide range of activities and knowledge.”
Two years ago, a seminar at Johns Hopkins University changed Elizabeth Francis’ life.
It was during the program that a panel of international doctors discussed their experience helping patients across Africa. Elizabeth, a premedical studies and Spanish dual major in Penn State’s Schreyer Honors College, knew at that momentthat she, too, wanted to make a difference treating patients in underdeveloped countries.
Soon after the seminar concluded, a student in the audience told Elizabeth about an organization called GlobeMed.
GlobeMed supports health organizations in poverty-stricken communities. After learning about it, Elizabeth said she remembers thinking, “Wow, I want to bring this to Penn State.”
“The whole reason I really wanted to start a club that would allow for service and education was because I remembered being in Peru, my mom’s birthplace, and learning that small acts of kindness really meant the most,” Elizabeth said. “I wanted to allow my college peers to have the same experience.”
Elizabeth proposed the idea of GlobeMed to other students and she,alongwith seven others, started a Penn State chapter in spring 2006. However, the organization’s initial launch was not exactly easy. The challenges facing the founding members were to “create an interest for all majors and somehow time-manage for all the experiences to occur,” Elizabeth said.
Once established, GlobeMed’s members decided to direct their efforts toward helping medical patients in Honduras. Elizabeth worked hard to partner with CURE International and created Project Honduras, which funds travel expenses to and from clinics to increase patient access to healthcare.
As the club’s current president, Elizabeth was recently able to see direct results from her work with GlobeMed by traveling to Honduras with four other members in the summer of 2007.
“You could see that there was true happiness there and that they could find happiness not in material things but in their families, dreams, and goals.” Elizabeth said, “It’s a place where you realize how lucky you are to live in a country with so many opportunities.”
Not only did Elizabeth coordinate the trip, but she also designed an independent study course entitled “The History of Honduras,” volunteered to help community members, translated Spanish, and did extensive work on her thesis.
Elizabeth said that the Schreyer Honors College thesis paper was one of the reasons she wanted to become a Scholar. Her research is on the social impact of clubbed foot in Honduras, the country’s most common orthopedic problem.
“A doctor suggested I take this angle and put it in writing, that way doctors can refer back to my findings in the future and know how to interact with patients,” she said.
Besides having the opportunity to write a published thesis, Elizabeth appreciates the Honors College for its flexibility in course scheduling. She has taken advantage of the independent study program by designing her own courses.
The Honors College also supports Elizabeth’s role as GlobeMed’s president by allowing her to use facilities for club meetings and guiding her through the process of establishing a global health minor for the Penn State curriculum.
“The Honors College has wonderful resources and very friendly, encouraging advisers,” she said.
Following graduation in spring 2008, Elizabeth plans to continue her education in medical school and pursue her career as an international pediatric doctor. She also hopes that GlobeMed will continue to serve those in need in future years.
“It’s more than just simple generosity,” she said. “It’s teaching someone to be self-sufficient. It’s teaching someone to fend for themselves”
It was not long ago that a seminar changed Elizabeth’s life. Two years later, she is attempting to help change the lives of others in need. After all, she knows with a little bit of time, ideas can travel great distances.
