The following article was published in February of 2008.

Amy McKee was always intrigued by the interplay of theory and practice. As a political science and sociology/anthropology major, she studied cultural patterns with Gwen Kennedy Neville, professor emeritus of sociology and anthropology, and social movements with Eric Selbin, professor of political science and University Scholar, who became her mentor. Outside the classroom, she pursued her passion for social justice through the Gender Awareness Center and Destination: Service. By the time she graduated, McKee knew she wanted to work in a “helpful” profession.

Selbin recalls, “Amy could have done anything…but she wanted to make sure she didn’t end up in an ivory tower. She wanted to affect people’s lives.” In the twelve years since graduation, McKee worked as a social worker and researcher with Worldwide Ministries in Nicaragua, earned a master’s degree in Latin American Studies from Georgetown University, promoted human rights policy issues as a Presidential Management Fellow at the U.S. State Department, volunteered as a patient advocate at George Washington University Hospital and served on the Darfur Atrocities Investigation Team in Chad, all the time seeking to learn how the threads of culture and political policy run through the everyday lives of individuals.

Today, McKee is studying to become a physician assistant. While working to affect sweeping change through policy has been rewarding, what she finds most fulfilling are the day-to-day interactions with people. When others express surprise at her choice to make this major professional shift, she responds that when one is equipped with general background knowledge and the ability to think critically, “the world is your oyster…you can pick up and re-educate yourself and change the direction of your career, or your personal life, whenever opportunity presents itself to you, or you can create that opportunity for yourself.”

Reflecting on her life’s trajectory, McKee does not think in terms of life before and after entering the health field. Rather, she sees her experience as taking place on a continuum that began even before she graduated. “Southwestern really helped me know that all of these different currents of knowledge and experiences are all part of who we are. It’s a real blessing to be able to explore them all when you’re at Southwestern.”