Interview with Abigail Kelble from Millennium Campus Network

First, tell me a little about yourself and your background.

I have an undergraduate degree in Biology and Anthropology and also a Masters in Public Health, specifically global health. After I had finished graduate school, I joined the Peace Corps. I taught Health Education and Life Skills in a small village in Moldova, also conducting a sanitation project building indoor facilities at the school with local partners. After that, I worked as a program manager with City Year where I managed full-time AmeriCorps volunteers. I also lived in Jamaica for six months, creating leadership training programs.

There are aspects of my background that deeply affect how I approach my work like growing up in a single-parent household with a lower socioeconomic status. My first job was at Wendy’s. In many ways I had privileges and in other ways, I didn’t, so I believe I have a nuanced perspective in the work I do.

What sparked your interest in international development?

I grew up with a deep sense of unfairness with how the world works. I noticed and cared about things like poverty from a very early age. As an undergrad, I knew I liked the topics of health and different cultures, but I didn’t know I could make a career in either. One day, I went to the student association for pre-health professionals at CU Boulder. The students there told me there was a medical group and a dental group, but there was no public health group. I ended up starting a group, which I spent the last half of my undergrad career focusing on. Later on, when I was in the Peace Corps, I got more concrete, full-time international work experience.

The main goal of MCN is to create the next generation of global leaders. How do you approach such a large task? What keeps you optimistic?

For me, it all comes down to changes in mindsets and heart sets. In my past work, I found that the biggest problem is how we think about people. I want to pose the question ‘what does it mean to work with someone rather than at them?’. I think so much of our work is directed at people as if they are objects. We have to get out of that mindset. I am really happy and proud of our programming at MCN. It’s all about knowing that there are other people out there in the world who can think differently and who can see others as equals.

What is the benefit to getting involved in organizations like Millennium Campus Network as an undergrad?

Becoming a better leader and having a better kind of influence. A student can feel idealistic. They want to make a difference, but they may not be able to put their thoughts into action. A lot of students focus on mission trips or service opportunities, and in the end, they have mixed feelings towards them. They ask “why am I here?”, and “how is the work I am doing really helping?”. I would like to see students examine these questions more deeply and pursue the path those answers lead them to, finding out for themselves if they are the right person for this work and what is the right work to do in the first place.

If you could do one thing different in your international development career what would it be?

I would never have gone to graduate school immediately after undergraduate. Going to graduate school without experience really doesn’t make sense. You are over-educated and under-experienced so getting a job is difficult.

I also would have explored a wider variety of ways to make an impact. I do not think the nonprofit sector is the ‘end all, be all’ way to make a difference; I don’t think any sector is, for that matter. There is so much work that we can do that challenges the inequalities in the world. It’s a mistake to think “if I want to make a difference I need to join a nonprofit.” We need to explore more and try jobs from different angles.

Another thing I would have changed is I would’ve avoided pinning too much of my happiness on my job. I found that that’s really limiting and that there’s so much more to a meaningful life than the career you pursue.

Do you have any general advice for undergrad students looking to do international development work?

I think students should look at problems in their own country first because they are really complex. It’s so easy to think of others’ problems as simpler. You can make a difference by being active in your community, by participating in civic and community organizations. I don’t think international development is the only way to improve the world. You can start by being kind to the five people you interact with most and advocating for your own community. If everybody did that, we wouldn’t all have to hop around to different countries.

I also think it is important, to be honest with yourself about who you really are. Be honest with what motivates you and what doesn’t motivate you in this work. How bad of a decision can you make if you are honest with yourself? You are inevitably going to change careers and directions throughout your life. You won’t know the arc of it until you’re looking back.

Finally, be comfortable giving of yourself. Sometimes, we withhold the best parts of ourselves in trying to make a good impression. My advice is to add your opinion, your angst, your sense of humor. Add who you are to your work because nobody else can add that. You have no idea what your insights can do for someone else.

Do you have any resources you use to keep up to date on international development affairs that you would recommend to students?

I read a lot: about leadership, global development, social justice issues, and good fiction (it’s good for empathy!). It is important to seek out views that you don’t agree with and try to understand them by reading articles that are critical of your own sector and caring for people who don’t come from your background. Being curious about the world and remembering that every country counts as ‘international’ is also key. If you’re not curious about the world, then the quality of your work is dependent on others (your boss, your institution, your country) providing the ‘right direction’ or acting with the ‘right values’. Curiosity is what helps us avoid assumptions, pivot after failure, be open to changing our minds with new information, really listen to others, and create the sounding board we all need to imagine new paths.

Book recommendations: The Road Less Traveled, Leadership, and Self-Deception, The 360 Degree Leader, Oh the Places You’ll Go – Dr. Seuss, and any fiction/non-fiction that captures your imagination.

 

Interview Conducted by Mary Cunningham

College of the Holy Cross, Class of 2017

Please feel free to contact Mary at mary@bnid.org if your organization is interested in being featured in a blog post.