Dana Wiggins
JMU ISAT graduate (Class of '02)
Grassroots Coordinator,
Chesapeake Bay Foundation
Student Profiles
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Lauren Myers, Nursing
Helped Hurricane Katrina victims. -
Ben Thomas, ISAT
Worked on an invention, currently attending graduate school at MIT. -
Kristin Lee, Psychology
Interned as a dolphin trainer at the National Aquarium. -
David Strickland, Computer Science
Works to make the world more secure. -
Aimee Labrecque, Health Sciences
Works as a policy-maker for the U.S. Coast Guard -
Jessica Buell, CSD
Worked in Speech-Language-Hearing Applied Laboratory. -
Stefanie Bourne, ISAT
Did research for the National Science Foundation and NASA. 
Laura Goodwyn, Psychology
Taught classes at school in Ghana
Ryan Powanda, ISAT
Undergraduate Research Participant, Morris K. Udall Scholarship Recipient
ISAT Graduate Puts Skills to Use in Africa and at Home
“Life is calling. How far will you go?” When people hear the slogan behind the latest public service announcement for the Peace Corps, most choose to dismiss the challenge.
However, some, like Dana Wiggins, decide to go the distance and answer the call. With a determination to participate in something “meaningful” along with motivation from a friend, the ISAT graduate (’02) left the states for Guinea as an Environmental Education (EE) volunteer for the Peace Corps. As the number two school in the nation among medium-sized universities for students serving in the Peace Corps after graduation, Dana is among a handful of other JMU graduates who have joined the organization as volunteers. Leaving for Africa, Dana says, “I was very idealistic at first. I thought that I would swoop in with tons of great ideas [on] how to do things and change things for the better.” While Dana was not able to save the world in one fateful “swoop,” she admits that she was able to take a lot from the experience.
Arriving in Guinea, the volunteers participated in rigorous training for three months in the village of Yorokoguia comprised mainly of Susu people. This transition to a new country was eased with language and cultural instruction. Despite this, Dana admits that opposing value systems made for a difficult adjustment. She says, “The different definitions of personal space and different visions of what place women held in the society were cultural differences that I struggled with far into my service.” After training, the Peace Corps members were sent to their respective areas to begin an active two years of service. Living in Sannou, Dana was given her own house with a large gravel yard and “most importantly, my own latrine.”
Dana helps plant trees for Arbor Day
As an EE volunteer, Dana was responsible for introducing important environmental, forestry, and agro-forestry topics into the local schools’ existing curriculums. While HIV/AIDS education was a fixed duty for all the volunteers, there were opportunities for many other community and school-initiated projects. For this, Dana says that her ISAT background reinforced her ability to utilize effective problem-solving skills: “A simple tree nursery and planting can have unintended implications for a nearby farmer, and add a jolt in village politics because of its location.” While Dana enjoyed cultivating ideas to fit the needs of the village, a mentorship with a local girl remains her greatest achievement. With a disabling birth defect, Sadou was an outcast from her immediate family and from customary practices such as marriage. As an adopted member of Sadou’s extended family, Dana worked closely with her teaching her various skills to raise her self-esteem. From these lessons, Sadou now looks forward to a career in computers. “I gave Sadou the tools, and she is continuing to improve her own outlook and that will go on long after my service. Peace Corps is about giving people tools to get where they need/want to go or accomplish what they want. Sadou really embodies that,” Dana says.
Volunteers work in the Chesapeake Bay
Coming back to the U.S., Dana remains faithful to her environmental responsibilities as a Grassroots Coordinator for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF). At the CBF, Dana relies on all of her acquired science and technology skills to manage her demanding schedule that includes researching and organizing various events and attending frequent meetings of legislative committees. Dana hopes that her efforts are met with a growing number of advocates devoted to cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay. In the meantime, she reflects on what she is taking from the job: “For myself, I know I’m learning a ton of valuable skills, especially if I stay in the arena of environmental policy. I’m meeting and tracking both influential and upcoming leaders, and I’m adding to my skills set by running programs and events for the Foundation.” Dana accounts this all back to her degree in ISAT, “Although at first I wasn’t sure what I would do with ISAT after college, I now realize that I can do whatever I want, because of the skills set I took with me.”
