2006 POINT SCHOLARS

Anna McCrerey

John Hopkins University

Public Health

Committed to social justice grassroots activism, Anna devoted the bulk of her University of Virginia undergrad experience fighting for gender equality and queer rights, as well as engaging in HIV/AIDS research. As student liaison to the Executive Committee of the LGBT Resource Center, Anna helped renew the organization’s commitment to confidentiality and support for closeted and questioning students by launching UVA’s 2003 SAFE SPACE Campaign in coordination with the Office of Student Life, reaching all 2500 members of the faculty and administration. Because of her high profile position of Queer Student Union co-president, the Office of Dean of Students selected Anna to share her story and come out to the entire incoming freshmen class during their orientation as part of the ground-breaking “Different Voices, Common Threads” program.

With an academic focus in international HIV/AIDS policy, Anna applied and won two prestigious research awards, designing and executing independent research projects in West and Southern Africa. In Mali, she studied growing partnerships between Western HIV/AIDS NGO’s and local Imams, while in South Africa, she investigated the complicated relationship of U.S. donor dollars and community-based HIV/AIDS organizations. Eager to share her research with others, Anna wrote, edited and produced a documentary, and at the completion of her work, UVA’s Women’s Center honored Anna as their 2003 Young Feminist Scholar and invited her to present her work in their Artists, Scholars, and Leaders Lecture Series.

Upon graduation, Anna returned once again to Africa -- this time in the capacity of a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer in Swaziland doing HIV/AIDS education, care, and impact mitigation where her work included helping establish an orphan feeding center and informal school, an AIDS support group income-generating project, and an out-of-school youth prevention program. Pursuing her Master of Public Health degree, Anna is committed to a career focused on HIV/AIDS policy and prevention in Sub-Saharan Africa.

In Anna's own words: “Revolutions do not all have to be Che Guevara size. Revolutions happen whenever and wherever socially conscious people decide to make a difference, take a stand, and speak out against injustice.”