While some high school seniors spend their summers at the beach or working a part-time job, Senior Lillian Duncan is not among them. Instead, she focused vacation time on social justice by traveling to Ho, Ghana in June and working with young children.

"I wish I’d had more time," Lillian admitted about her three-and-a-half-week visit. "It was an eye-opening experience for me. I’ve learned so much about other people and cultures, but I actually lived this."

Lillian worked at the Goodwill Nursery School, a head start preschool program for children ages one-and-a-half to four years old. With sometimes as many as 60 children in a classroom, Lillian helped full-time teachers and other volunteers teach English, colors, shapes and songs. She helped serve lunch and spent time playing games.

"There was one student I met while I was there who I really connected with. When I began, he also was starting his first day of school. So, we grew in the program together," she said. "Even though he’s young and I know he’ll never remember me, I really felt like we had a friendship. I loved spending time with all the kids - they are so incredible."

She was encouraged to travel to Ghana with Cross-Cultural Solutions by her sister, Emily, a teacher at Sylvan Rodriguez Elementary School. They lived in house, with hostel-style sleeping arrangements, not too far from the school campus, visited the town and spent time at the local Internet café during their off-duty hours. In spite of being from typically humid Houston, adjusting to Ghana’s climate took time.

"It took a little while to get used to the heat. We also had mosquito nets on our beds to sleep under at night," she remembered.

Lillian, who plans to attend Rhodes College or Holy Cross College and study government relations or business, is a member of the Academy’s Student Council and Key Club. She’s also volunteered locally at the Rise School.

She took two duffel bags of classroom supplies with her for her trip and her parents mailed two, large boxes of school equipment. Last spring at St. Agnes, Lillian organized a large school supply drive to for her visit to Ghana. She hopes to send helpful materials to the school in the future and also make a return trip.

"I have a newfound respect for teachers and for government work like international affairs. I definitely want to go back and do more for this country and the people," Lillian said. "It is a safe, friendly place, and I have so much respect for these people. There is so much more we can learn from them."