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Brenna Hughes "I want to use college as a time to learn the tools that I will need to bring the best quality of life to the most people." "Individuals feel powerful because they are able to use their skills to explore their unique environment without limits. When people are able to experience the marine ecosystems in their local waters, communities realize the need for stewardship. I want to enable people to experience their surroundings and realize the need to protect it. I find inspiration in connecting with the places that I am in and the cultures that surround me." "Through seeing such varied and beautiful landscapes, I've gained a great deal of respect for the power of the environment. That power can create social change. However, I also realized how delicate the environment is. There is a need to protect wild spaces. I am inspired by the power of the environment that can be transferred to create social change."
Brenna Hughes and Davante, a local Bahamian girl, reading a pamphlet about local farming for the "1st International Eat In Act Out" week. Brenna Hughes' academic interests lie in the connections between biology and medicine as they pertain to environmental studies. Reading Mountains Beyond Mountains, Tracy Kidder's book about the humanitarian work of Boston's Dr. Paul Farmer, made a great impact on her. Dr. Farmer, a specialist in infectious diseases, is founder of a hospital in Haiti. The book strongly influences Brenna, not only because she wants to become a pediatrician, but also because she has studied and worked on a Caribbean island.
Brenna Hughes and her SWIM students in Eleuthera, Bahamas. Growing up in Scituate, Brenna attended the Middlesex School and enters Dartmouth College this fall. She spent her 2003 semester at The Island School on the Bahamian island of Eleuthera (www.islandschool.org). "Eleuthera entered a state of crisis when tourism failed in the late 1970s. The island currently has an unemployment rate of 80 percent. I was immersed in the use of sustainable systems (rain-water collecting cisterns, solar panels, and wind generator). I saw what so many Americans think is impossible work on a daily basis. It opened my eyes to the possibilities of sustainability." Brenna's experiences at The Island School resonated so deeply that she returned two years later on another mission. "I realized that there was an alarming paradox on the island. Most of the people had lived in its coastal communities all their lives and could not swim." Together with her friend and fellow student Sally Elliott, Brenna founded SWIM (www.swimtoempower.org). This one-month-long summer program in the community of Deep Creek empowers individuals by teaching them basic swimming and safety skills so that they can fully experience their immediate surroundings. During the first summer of SWIM, Brenna taught 15 students from age 7 to 45. At first, many were very fearful of the water and could not float. Gradually they learned to perform all basic swim strokes competently. "Environmentally, this experience is huge because it enables the communities to see what they need to preserve and protect. One of my biggest realizations was witnessing the difference between teaching a person a skill and giving an ephemeral gift," Brenna explains. SWIM was a complete success story and will continue in summers to come, perhaps even in other coastal locations. "We are hoping to add medical training to the program next summer and certify people in CPR and first aid. There is a huge need for this in Eleuthera because there is no hospital or doctor's offices on the entire island, not even one x-ray machine." In the future, Brenna wants to take her entrepreneurial, skill-based spirit to other places, such as Africa. "I would love to start a farm program in African communities. I am intrigued by the connections between health and what you eat, and am a firm believer in eating locally produced food. Like swimming, farming empowers people. By growing your own food you are able to create a sustainable food source and be more self-sufficient." Brenna's enormous energy stems from her first-hand exposure to positive, sustainable, efficient, systems-based approaches to environmental problems. "So many people need help, and it is relatively easy for me to be trained and then be the one who can help." But she is also propelled by her ability to find and feel the extreme beauty of any environment in which she finds herself. "I am fortunate to have had opportunities to explore the oceans through SCUBA diving and the mountains through backcountry camping. Protecting our local and global environment is important in our lives. I recognize that my most meaningful realizations have occurred in unintentional outdoor classrooms." |
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