Keane prepares to study abroad

Shae Keane, a junior, has organized many events to increase the student body’s knowledge of global events.

Keane will be traveling to Rwanda, where she will conduct her thesis and participate in a study-abroad program.

Keane has always known that she wants to make a difference in the world around her.

Keane will be traveling to Rwanda in the fall to help out with the humanitarian missions ongoing in the country.

“A lot of my interest since I came to ETSU was on spreading awareness of global issues and also promoting activities and initiatives that allow students to get involved with things that are related to world issues or cultural understanding,” Keane said.

Keane is also a member of the Model United Nations, a group that gathers and conducts events that simulate a real-world UN Summit.

Keane organized the Genocide Awareness Days in spring.

“It’s kind of like the sequel to International Day of Peace,” Keane said. “There [were] events on campus that actively encourage students to be thinking about things in a global context and thinking about things not only in their community, their state and their nation, but in the world.”

Genocide Awareness Week was Keane’s latest attempt to give students an in-depth look at the atrocities of genocide.

“Genocide Awareness week was a more specific issue,” Keane said. “The purpose of that was primarily to allow students to understand genocide and recognize how it develops.”

In August, Keane will be leaving for Rwanda as part of a study-abroad program. She will be conducting her thesis on Rwandan women while living there.

“A lot of times what we see on a global level is when there is mass conflict, women are relegated to a position in which they don’t have voice in a situation,” Keane said. “I’ll be speaking with the women there, and hopefully, they’ll teach me [about] how the perceived women’s role in society … has changed from pre-genocide to post-genocide.”

Keane will also travel to parts of Uganda as part of her study abroad program.

Keane says that her family is sometimes concerned about her choice of career, but they support her in the work that she does.

Keane said that she is aware of the dangers involved in what she does but finds the undertaking fulfilling.

“My biggest accomplishment was realizing how beautiful the world is and how much that it can change a person’s life when they begin to embrace that, and when they begin to celebrate it with people all over the world,” Keane said.

In her spare time, Keane enjoys hiking and running. She also enjoys writing poetry.