Director of Diversity and Inclusion Toni Williamson encourages her students to dream big for their service learning projects, and Bridget Warlea did just that.

Between her junior and senior years, Bridget traveled to the West African country of Liberia to teach a group of girls there about gender and sexual based violence. “We talked with the girls about where not to go and how to keep yourself safe and how your body is not an invitation,” says Bridget. “The girls were very attentive and smart and aware.”

Bridget, who was born in Monrovia, Liberia, left with her family in 2000 to escape the civil war. “I was three when I left,” she says. “With the opportunities I’ve been given I felt I should do something and not let those opportunities go to waste.”

Bridget hopes to return to Liberia, perhaps to study there while she is in college.