Hi, everyone! My name is Martha-Grace McLean (AC'20). I am an incoming fourth year majoring in cognitive and behavioral neuroscience on a pre-medical track. I serve as the executive director of Project Makeover, give campus tours as a cicerone, and volunteer within the community through a pre-health honor society. I also work as a laboratory technician in population genetics and a research assistant in disability advocacy. My decisions to join ADPI my sophomore year and to study abroad this past summer came from the same desire: to make memories and escape living life like a to-do list. Not to mention that studying abroad also appealed to my childhood obsession with Mamma Mia.
In accordance with the plan Donna (Mamma Mia reference) set in motion, I decided to study abroad in Greece. While in Thessaloniki, our class went on a variety of cultural excursions and learned about healthcare innovation and design. Every morning, my small group went to the Down Syndrome Association of Greece to have breakfast and experience different activities with the beneficiaries. They taught us not only specific cultural dances and how to greet each other in Greek, but the importance of moving through life with joy. Although we couldn’t speak the same language, we bonded over what we could understand. The experience reaffirmed to me the importance of connection and relationships in life. Studying abroad gave me closer friendships from the 25 people in the class (including one of my friends in ADPI, Myah Rhines), to the beneficiaries in the Down Syndrome Association, to strangers in coffee shops I’ll never see again. As I return from my travels and head back to school, I’m thankful that I have another year to value and cherish the relationships I have in ADPI.
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