19 January 2010
Megan Kerr: Millersville visits South Africa
Some individuals are born with the drive to succeed and make things happen. This is just the case for Megan Kerr, a senior PR major and biology minor at Millersville University. A transfer student from Chestnut Hill college, Megan has made the most of her time at Millersville by doing whatever it takes to make her credits count and cause every opportunity that Millersville offers to become available to her.
Spring semester of her junior year, Megan boarded the long flight to study for a semester in South Africa. “I was the only student to go from Millersville, so I went all alone. It was kinda scary, but I was so excited!” comments Megan. Suitcase and passport in hand, Megan braved the unknown and jumped full-force into the South African culture. 
(Megan poses with a small child she met in South Africa.)
When asked what her most memorable South African experience was, Megan immediately replied, “Great White Shark cage diving!” Dressed in a wet suit, she and several other students took a boat out into an area famous for attracting visits by Great White’s called "Shark Alley." Megan explained that blood and meat is dumped into the water, while everyone sits and waits until the sharks arrive. As soon as the sharks swam into the area, Megan was lowered into a cage and was able to use a snorkel mask to peer down into the ocean. Unfortunately though, this did not go as smoothly as it should have. Upon entering the water, Megan realized that she had too many weights on her body and her wetsuit had a rip in the leg, exposing her flesh to the Great White's. Realizing both of these things, she panicked. Quickly, Megan tore the weights off and threw them into the boat. Finally, she able to calm down and enjoy watching the three different beautiful Great White Sharks swim beneath her. Despite the rocky start to her adventure, watching these beautiful, powerful creatures in their natural habitat made the entire experience more than worth it for Megan.
Megan comments that, "visiting South Africa was one of the most incredible things I've ever done and ever will do. I feel like the entire experience was so awesome, I can never do anything that will be better than that!" She learned about people, experienced a foreign culture, made new memories, and helped make a difference in other peoples’ lives. Its incredibly fitting that Megan's name in the South African native language is Khumbula, which means “Remember.” Without a doubt, Megan certainly will remember her amazing six months spent in South Africa.
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