April 28, 2008

KATHERINE PETERS PHOTO GALLERY

By Bob Healy, MSU Sports Information

College students typically experience a routine series of events upon graduation - they find a job, move out of their parents' house, and begin their life in the real world, hopefully doing what they love for a living. For former MSU soccer player Katherine Peters, this process involved one more, not-so-typical step - move to Africa.

Before her move, Peters played three seasons at defense for the Spartans, appearing in 16 matches and helping the team reach its second-ever berth in the NCAA Tournament in her senior season.

Peters is currently working as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Uganda, where she plans activities for local children, maintains an HIV/AIDS and STD clinic, and visits local villages to offer HIV counseling and testing - all free of charge - as the Kayunga District Youth Recreation Center Coordinator.

Peters' decision to move to a different continent wasn't a knee-jerk reaction, though. After spending a summer volunteering in a hospital in Ghana, she couldn't wait to go back.

"I absolutely loved the experience," she said. "It was a chance to be able to experience a new culture, a new lifestyle, the people, and to be able to live in a society vastly different from ours."

The three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection is also putting her degree in nutritional sciences to work, educating local HIV patients on how to stay healthy. The program serves a dual purpose - keeping HIV patients healthy and getting them involved in the community.

"The general idea of the program is to create a sustainable way for malnourished HIV patients to improve their nutritional status," Peters said. "So, my organization and I are starting three `nutrition farms' that will be run by local HIV patients and they will offer food to those who need it."

While the nutrition education program is her main assignment, Peters is involved with other various projects, including the organization of essay competitions and sports tournaments, teaching reproductive health to local girls and even teaching a weekly yoga class.

Helping out in the community is something that just comes naturally to Peters.

"I have always felt that I have an obligation to share my blessings with people who live in societies that have fewer opportunities than our society provides," she said. "I really wanted to take some time in my life and share the knowledge and the experiences - that I have gained growing up in America - with other people."

One thing that she has learned about during her stay in Uganda is just how far off most of the stereotypes about African culture can be. Violence, poverty and disease are undertones in a society that Peters says is misunderstood.

"A lot of African countries have ongoing violence and disease that perpetuates (negative stereotypes)," she said. "I also think that the extreme poverty contributes to the existence of violence and there are many areas that are not safe. However, the majority of the people I have encountered have been very kind."

Peters adds that she has found the negative connotations can go both ways.

"Some Ugandans tend to think that all Americans are extraordinarily rich, own guns and drive BMWs. I have also had people ask why our government only allows people to have two children," she said.

Peters does have to deal with the sometimes less-than-cushy lifestyle thrown her way. Volatile storms, the occasional snake in her kitchen and commuting to work through muddy marshes are all part of daily life.

"There was one day that I had gone on a VCT (voluntary counseling and testing for HIV) outreach very far out into the bush," she recalls. "As the day progressed, I found myself being paddled through a very muddy, dirty swamp in a dug-out canoe that was half filled with water. It was one of those moments where you stop and wonder how exactly you got to where you are."

Although it may be hard at times to find a statistic that can truly portray the value of a defender on the pitch, numbers aren't necessary to justify the work that Peters has done for the Ugandan communities that she is currently involved with.

Peters could have used her degree in other ways, but instead chose to help those less fortunate. She could have been a dietician, a nutritionist, or even a dietetic consultant anywhere in the country.

But that would have been typical, which is something that Peters has proven that she is not.