Katherine Jeane, ’21, of Greenbrier, will be spending 11 months in 11 different countries next year with the World Race mission trip.

“In each country that you move to you get assigned a different mission to do,” she said, “like community outreach, working in a school for one month, or doing construction.”

The mission trip will begin in Guatemala. Jeane will travel through Central America, continue to South America and end in Southeast Asia. She will share updates on her World Race travel blog.

Jeane originally came to Lyon planning to pursue occupational therapy but ended up majoring in psychology. As her senior year came to a close, she started applying to graduate school programs for occupational therapy and chiropracty and also applied for the World Race on a whim.

“I thought it was just a dream,” she said, laughing. “Lyon has given me an awesome opportunity to have options and to look into such different programs.”

After getting accepted into both chiropractic school and the World Race, she decided to serve with the nondenominational Christian mission program overseas as part of a gap year before attending graduate school.

“I really like Logan University right outside St. Louis,” Jeane said. “Luke Shackelford, ’20, goes there and has been a good point of connection for me.”

She believes majoring in psychology at Lyon gave her a lot of insight into different fields and how people work and think.

“All the connections I’ve made here with professors and students have propelled me forward into wanting to apply for these opportunities and saying ‘the sky’s the limit.’”

The College taught Jeane that she is not limited by where she came from or the schools she has attended.

“It’s up to you where you go next, and Lyon has prepared me to make those decisions.”

Going to a liberal arts college helped Jeane step outside her comfort zone. She played volleyball at Lyon her first two years before deciding that path wasn’t for her.

“I realized education was where my passion was,” she said. “Sports were my identity for a long time, and stepping away from that to join the Phi Mu sorority and different groups on campus has given me awesome opportunities.”

Jeane is going to miss her professors and classmates at Lyon the most.

“Taking the next step is always scary, but it’s exciting because it’s a fresh new start and you can be whoever you want to be.”