Community Corner

Ellicott City Native Travels World as Volunteer

Meghan Yi is also Siena College's Student of the Year.

The Siena College Student of the Year is a captain of the school’s Division I cross-country team. She also has traveled around the world to teach underprivileged children. Her next goal is to ride her bike nearly 4,000 miles to raise money for affordable housing.

And she’s from Ellicott City. 

Recently profiled in the Albany Times Union, Meghan Yi is graduating this week from Siena College in Loudonville, NY, with a major in biology and a minor in French.

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She will be biking from Jacksonville, FL to Fresno, CA as part of the “Bike and Build” program, according to the Times Union, during which she and classmate Julie Juchno hope to raise $4,500 to be distributed to affordable housing programs.

The River Hill High School graduate told the Times Union that, “A home is lasting,” and she was "riding to help build stability for families.” 

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Yi is no stranger to volunteerism. She traveled to Namibia last summer where, for seven weeks, she taught math and English to elementary school students, according to Siena College.

The student senate also bestowed the Student of the Year award on Yi, according to the college.

“I feel really honored to receive this award,” she said.

She was inducted into the Alpha Kappa Alpha Honor Society for her academic achievements and for her concern and action to combat societal problems.

Yi, who also sings in the college chorus, said she’d like to put her studies to use.

She said she wants to enroll at Albany Medical College and eventually become a pediatrician. Her plan after that is to do more volunteer work in a French-speaking African country.


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