Edayatu Lamptey

Edayatu Lamptey (Accra, Ghana) envisioned a career in medicine—and her first few semesters at Allegheny were filled with courses in the natural sciences.  But when she took a political science course with Professor Sharon Wesoky, Edaya discovered how she could blend her skills in the sciences with her passion for community development.

“I felt like I was doing the work for myself—not just because it was a requirement,” says Edaya of that class. A political science major and biology minor, she later enrolled in a cooperative program offered by Allegheny in Washington, D.C. While there, she secured an internship at the Center for Concern, conducting research on the global food crisis.

“Halfway through my research, I started to wonder—who is going to be reading this?  I felt as though I weren’t making a real difference, sitting in an office,” Edaya says.  “I then realized that any real change must start by working directly with those most affected by world crises.”

After returning to campus, Edaya has continued to explore her passion for service.  A regular volunteer for the Meadville chapter of the American Red Cross, she also serves on the College’s Global AIDS committee, works with Habitat for Humanity, and mentors other students as a Resident Advisor. She’s even traveled to Kentucky and New York State on two Alternative Spring Break trips, where Allegheny students come together to work on service projects.

With the skills and talents she’s gained at Allegheny, Edaya hopes one day to help fight the global spread of HIV and malaria as a public health educator. “Allegheny has helped me gain an understanding of important global issues,” she says, “and taught me how to communicate with people with diverse backgrounds, experiences, and levels of education.”