2023-24 Traveling Fellow
Defining Health: Examining the Role of Culture and Country in Shaping Methods of Acute Care

Catherine will explore global cultures of health and healing through the lens of emergency medicine. By connecting with patients and providers in various acute care settings, she hopes to expand her perspective on what health means to people from diverse backgrounds and cultures. She will compare how these varying definitions of health are reflected in each society’s health policies, response systems, and care practices.

When she's not studying healthcare, find Catherine attending local music events, trying out scenic hikes, and sampling local cuisine!

Hometown: Radnor, PA
Majors/Minors: Medicine, Health, & Society and Neuroscience/Spanish

Catherine grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia and fell in love with travel during high school. Inspired by her own experience with Typhoid Fever in a remote Cambodian village in 2017, she became interested in studying health disparities and emergency medicine on a global scale. 

As an undergraduate, Catherine volunteered as an EMT with her local fire company and became a member of the Vanderbilt ED Clinical Research Team. She also worked as a clinician and research assistant with the Vanderbilt Music Cognition Lab, where she studied the effects of musical engagement on children’s social and cognitive development. On campus, Catherine served in multiple leadership roles, including Co-President of the Vanderbilt Emergency Medical Society, Events Director & founding board member of The Music Room, a worship leader with Reformed University Fellowship, and a Chemistry Learning Assistant. 

Before embarking on her Keegan journey, Catherine will apply to medical school. She hopes to become a doctor who carries with her the knowledge, perspective, and curiosity developed during her year abroad.