[Community-service] Board Member Spotlight

[Jeanetta price]

BOARD MEMBER SPOTLIGHT:

Johna Wright - Vice President 

Johna is from the rural town of Thomson, Georgia. She is a current junior at Mercer University, and she is studying Forensic Psychology with minors in Creative Writing and English. She hopes to become a university professor and researcher, while also devoting a portion of her time to international, national, and community service.

She is a Service Scholar, which is an elite group of university honor's students who devote much of their time to service. She recently returned from a three-week service trip to Cape Town, South Africa, in order to serve the impoverished communities through small business consulting work. She also serves on the executive board of MerServe, the service engagement committee at her university, and enjoys helping many students get involved in whatever way they choose.

Johna also enjoys volunteering as the lab manager for PLeaD Lab, where she plans and conducts research studies related to false confessions as well as other subareas of Forensic Psychology. As the first student with a disability to volunteer in the lab, she enjoys raising both students’ and professors’ expectations of someone who is blind.

Additionally, Johna obtained funding for a pilot program to assist incoming college students with disabilities in overcoming the unique challenges of acclimating to a residential college campus. She hopes that this program – ABLE Mercer – will inspire leaders at other institutions to devise similar programs and reach out to more students. Also, she aims to expose these students to advocacy and community service in order to give back to their communities and disabled peers.

Outside of school and research, Johna is an active volunteer with the American Red Cross. She is a certified shelter worker, Disaster Action Team (DAT) member, Disability Integration Specialist, and on-call house fire responder. Johna is also CPR/first aid/AED certified through the American Red Cross. She has always had a passion for service and strives to prove that blind people can give back as opposed to only receiving from others. She hopes that as the Vice President of the Community Service Division, she can assist both blind and sighted individuals while also growing as a leader.
#LetsGetInvolved



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