Whiz Kid: Juliet Crain, A Volunteer Abroad

While many students spend their spring breaks and summer vacations hanging out with their friends or lounging by the pool, Juliet Crain, 17, has made several trips to Guatemala to volunteer at Santo Hermano Pedro, a hospital whose mission is to assist those who have been disabled or abandoned. 

“There is so much to do to help people, you can’t be oblivious to it or say I’m just one person,” said Juliet, “You can help people and do it any way you can. Just learn what is needed and then help.”

On her first visit to Guatemala in 7^th grade, Juliet traveled with her mother, Nicole Crain, visiting professor of economics at Lafayette College, and a group of her students, for the January Off- Campus Interim Programs for an intensive cultural immersion experience. 

Juliet has also been to London and San Salvador as a tourist but notes that these trips were "not the same." The trip lto Guatemala left Juliet with a lasting impression that she could make a difference in the quality of people’s lives.

“They did not have enough nurses to take care of all the patients or to give them the time and attention they needed,” said Juliet. “I read to them, hung out and fed them.”

One of the most apparent virtues of Juliet is that she has the vision to recognize how her own talents and abilities might be utilized to help those who are less fortunate by making connections on a human level.

Juliette has gone back to the hospital several times, sometimes for a few weeks during spring break or as long as a month during winter and summer breaks.  

Currently, Juliet is participating in the Star Talk 2011 Chinese for High School Students at the University of Mississippi, one month of intensive instruction of Chinese language and culture.

“I am already fluent in Spanish and I really wanted to learn another language,” said Crain, “My Spanish teacher, Mrs. Ann Roman, recommended this program to me.

“I love languages- there is something about going to a foreign country and being able to have a conversation with anybody” said Crain. “It’s cool.”

At the Star Talk, Juliet met a counselor named Gabe Lee who told stories about a village in China that was two days away from supplies and medicine. She recognizes that her volunteerism and linguistic skills can be utilized to help small communities in China. 

Combining her experiences into her academic life at Moravian Academy where she maintains a 3.9 G.P.A., Juliet made a movie about immigration where she interviewed people from Guatemala and the United States called The Face of Immigration. Her message is not only the help others but inspire others to help as well. 

Her key to awesomeness is her finding what she believes is her purpose at such a young age, “when you feel something you love, stick with it and don’t drop it for 10 years ... go for it now.” 

Juliet has found great meaning and satisfaction in volunteering abroad. “It would be great if I could use my skills ... learning Chinese, maybe I could go to China and do something similar to what I have been doing in Guatemala.”

Although she in uncertain about her future, she said, “I would love to do something with medicine, maybe something with translation or technology.” 

Integrating in her love of languages and interest in communication through film with her genuine concern for the well-being of others, this whiz kid is on the path of making a difference as a volunteer and advocate for those in need of care, medicine and basic necessities.