Meet our 2020-2021 AmeriCorps Member, Grace Gugerty!

Hi! My name is Grace Gugerty, I am the Seven Valleys Health Coalition AmeriCorps member for 2020-2021. I was born in Cortland and graduated from Homer High School in 2015. I studied at Syracuse University where I majored in Anthropology and minored in Medical Anthropology. During my time at SU, I became an EMT and volunteered at SU’s student-run ambulance organization which taught me more lessons than any class I took.

 After completing my undergraduate studies, I was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to teach English in Si Racha, Thailand. I spent 6 months there until I was unfortunately sent home due to the COVID pandemic in March. While not teaching, I travelled around to different regions of Thailand and ate something new and delicious almost every day!

I applied for an AmeriCorps Rural Health Service Corps term at Seven Valleys Health Coalition because I wanted to serve my community in a way that combines my passions in rural health care and food justice. Through SVHC, I see Cortland in a different lens that allows me to build a deeper understanding of the complexity of public health work that encompasses the social determinants of health. My favorite part about my position is talking to my fellow community members. From their stories I hear their resilience, determination, and kindness that makes me proud to be from Cortland! I am so grateful for the opportunity to learn and grow with the amazing folks at SVHC this year. 

Outside of SVHC I work as a hospital aide in Ithaca. In my free time I like to read, go for walks at Lime Hollow, take care of my family’s beehives, and try to become an Adirondack 46er (11/46 peaks hiked!). In the future, I plan on applying to medical school and hope to one day be a physician and practice in a rural area.