My name is Ben LeBuhn and I am an undergraduate student studying Integrative Biology with a secondary in History. Currently, I am hoping to continue my education by attending medical school. With the support of ASPR, I participated in the Harvard summer program in Kenya this past summer. As a part of this program I spent 6 weeks with 15 other students in Kenya studying everything from wildlife ecology and zoonotic disease transmission to paleontology and human evolution. My experiences in Kenya were enriching and diverse. Through the program, I was given the opportunity to see and study amazing wildlife and ecological diversity at places such as Mpala Research Center. I also had the opportunity to visit countless famous paleontological sites in the Turkana region with the Turkana Basin Institute and learn about the geology of the region. Throughout the program we interacted with influential scholars and researchers who gave lectures and taught field courses to us. Furthermore, the coursework that we completed while in the country was well tailored to help us make the most of our time in Kenya and gain an understanding of what working and learning is like while in the field or abroad.
Some of my favorite experiences while in Kenya were the times we got to interact with local communities and learn about their culture and traditions. We got to visit pastoralist villages while at Mpala and attend goat roasts and Edonga dances while in Turkana and the experiences we had within these local communities proved to be some of my favorite moments of the program. I truly feel like this summer program in Kenya has shaped my worldview and cemented my plans to continue studying biology in hopes to pursue medicine in the future. Not only do I feel like the program was academically rigorous and engaging but it also proved to be extremely socially and culturally enriching. I am extremely grateful for all of the work the program director and TA’s, staff members at the various research stations in Kenya, and ASPR did to provide me with the opportunity to have such an amazing summer!