LIFE programs offers scholarship, travel opportunity
Nov. 23—Cekayla King had little idea when she departed for Ghana that she'd return almost two weeks later with a completely changed perspective about her future.
King, who grew up in Glynn County and graduated in 2020 from College of Coastal Georgia, traveled to the West African country in 2019 thanks to a scholarship she received through the LIFE program sponsored by the Brunswick Chapter of The Links, Incorporated.
King has since become a local ambassador for the program, visiting area schools and attending an annual LIFE event at the college to share her experience.
She also completed her undergraduate degree and began working for MAP International, a nonprofit organization based in Brunswick that provides medicines and health supplies to those in need around the world.
"It's a full-circle moment because MAP is the company that provided the medicines for us to take on the medical mission trip," King said.
King is one of many local students who have benefited from the Links International Foreign Affairs and Business Empowerment (LIFE) program, which aims to expose minority high school students to career possibilities in foreign affairs and international business.
Margie Harris, a Links chapter member who coordinates the LIFE program, said she works closely with local schools to choose students who will receive this annual scholarship.
Scholarship recipients must be students who plan to enroll at CCGA for their undergraduate studies.
Harris said King is among the LIFE program's many success stories.
King is also completing her masters degree in human resources management at Troy University's Brunswick campus.
The trip to Ghana impacted her deeply and altered her plans for the career she would soon embark on.
She said she learned a lot during the time she spent in Ghana, and her eyes were especially opened to the differences between life there and her experience growing up in Glynn County.
"You take a lot of things for granted, and when you get over there you see how people don't have access to things that we can just go up the street to get," she said.
Food, medications and other life necessities are not as easily accessible for many families there as they are for families in America, she said.
King traveled with several companions, including Shirley Wilson, a member of the Brunswick Chapter of The Links, Incorporated.
They visited several clinics in different parts of the country, where King met families and brought donations, including toys and food.
"We started this LIFE program to encourage students to develop an interest in international and foreign affairs, and I thought this would be a great opportunity for local students who are considering traditional careers to look at non-traditional careers and for them to really consider it wholeheartedly," Wilson said.
Before the trip, King said she did not know what to expect. She encountered and experienced differences in culture and witnessed firsthand the significant needs of some residents.
She returned home with a new perspective and a desire to find a job that would allow her to continue this kind of work.
She encouraged local students to attend the LIFE program at the college and explore the opportunities it can provide.
"When I went, it was mainly at first to tour the College of Coastal Georgia, to see what's in my backyard that I didn't even realize," she said. "I hadn't been able to visit the dorms prior to that program or see the different buildings that they offer the classes in."
The program also gave her a once-in-a-lifetime travel opportunity that she values.
"The LIFE program is a key part of where I am today, and it really helped me get here," King said. "It's really been a part of making me the person who I am today."
To learn more about the program, visit brunswickgalinks.org.
