Doing Well While Doing Good “I really like looking
SHAKER LIFE | SPRING 2014 49
Morgan Hammonds still finds time to row on the crew team when
she’s not encouraging others to “Paint Out Poverty” as an advocate
for Nourish International. “We ask people to paint out the word
poverty with words like love, peace, empowerment – whatever they
think it will take to end poverty,” she says. “That is our goal.”
at things from an
international view.”
Community service and social justice have always been
important to Morgan Hammonds. At Shaker, she was
involved in several student advocacy groups – SGORR,
Student Health Advocates Reaching Peers (SHARP) and MAC
Sisters, a peer-mentoring group focused on minority achievement.
The IB Diploma Program’s emphasis on community
service appealed to her. So did the fact that it was new.
“I like to try new things and be part of something
that is growing and has the potential to be great,”
Morgan says. She also was enticed by “the more
worldly aspect to the classes, in literature, history,
and music. I really like looking at things from an
international view.”
It’s no surprise that she found a way to
conjoin those interests as a student at The Ohio
State University, where she majors in public health
and minors in non-profit studies. “The Diploma
Program really helped prepare me for college
coursework, especially in my public health and
sociology classes, where I do a lot of writing and
research,” says Morgan.
In true IB fashion, she applies those interests
well beyond the academic sector, as an active
participant in a national student-run non-profit
called Nourish International. “One of our activities
is to sell jewelry created by women in Uganda.
The money we raise will be used to fund a sustainability
project in Ecuador later this year,” she says.
“Through IB, I learned how everything we do has
an impact somewhere else in the world.”
In addition to the enhanced organizational,
time management, research, and writing skills
she developed, the IB Diploma Program provided
another very tangible benefit: college credit.
Morgan made sure to apply to schools that would
accept IB credit, which allowed her to place out of
several classes at OSU.
While the Diploma Program was a valuable
experience, Morgan credits her Shaker education
in general for her success at college. “Being a Shaker
student, I had all of these opportunities I probably
wouldn’t have had anywhere else. I probably never
would have started rowing if I hadn’t gone to
Shaker. And Shaker showed me the importance of
meeting people with different backgrounds.”
The advice she would give to students
who are embarking on the IB Diploma process
now? “Be open-minded. Students need to be
self-sufficient and hard working, and willing to
ask for help when needed. It is challenging, but it
is doable,” says Morgan.