Out of adversity, a determination to serve
Sname Wilson ’09
Sname (pronounced S’nah-mi) Wilson dreams of addressing the United Nations (U.N.) G eneral A ssembly one day. She’s not exactly sure what she’ll say, only that she’ll be stressing the importance of HIV/AIDS education in Africa.
“Two-thirds of all people infected with HIV/AIDS live in sub-Saharan Africa,” says this concerned young woman who recently graduated from WestConn with a B.S. in Health Promotion and Exercise Sciences, option in Community Health. “There is such a stigma attached to the disease. People there are dying needlessly because they don’t know what to do to prevent it. I want to have a part in addressing that problem.”
There’s real inspiration in her vision of standing in front of a future audience of dignitaries and making a case for world wide response to this devastating problem. Born in Liberia, Africa, Wilson has lived in the U.S. since she was 13 and is very aware of the opportunities that have opened for her here.
“I came to America to be educated, to have a better life,” she says. Her family had been living in Ghana after fleeing civil-war-torn Liberia when she was only seven. Eventually, Wilson, her grandmother and her brother, Worlorbah, now 18, were relocated to the U.S. through the humanitarian organization Interfaith Refugee Ministry.
“The youngest and the oldest in families were allowed to come,” Wilson explains. “We were settled in New Haven, Conn.” That was 10 years ago and it was a big adjustment.
“I miss my family, my homeland, but I’m glad I’m here,” she says, adding that there was never a doubt that she would attend college and go on to a career. “I started out in nursing but switched to health promotion. I like the idea of advocating for change, of working for the health of a community.”
Currently, Wilson is a case manager at Ability Beyond Disability in Danbury, where she implements life-skills programs for traumatic brain injury clients. As a WestConn student, she also interned with AIDS Project New Haven and worked with clients living with HIV/AIDS. That’s where she formulated her plan about working in Africa.
It’s a goal informed by her past and the circuitous path to the U.S. that shaped her sensibilities and sharpened her loyalties to her homeland. “I know I’ll be going back,” she says.
Her instructors and others who admire her expect Wilson to achieve that dream. "Sname personifies strength and dignity, having survived adverse conditions and now addressing them,” says Assistant Professor of Health Promotion and Exercise Sciences Virginia Verhoff of this student who brought her extraordinary story to the classroom.
Wilson isn’t sure if she’ll choose to study social work or health care administration in graduate school. She sees herself involved in both aspects of community service. “I’m still deciding,” she says.
One thing, though, is sure. She’ll eventually return to Africa, where she’ll work to educate people about HIV/AIDS.
And after that she will have her U.N. moment to look forward to.
