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30 CAVALIER CORNER cavalier profile EMMA CALL Third-Year • Cross Country/Track Third-year Emma Call has developed into one of Virginia's bet- ter long-distance runners. But what she's done on the track pales in comparison with what she did last summer in Tanzania, which is located in eastern Africa. Call joined GIVE (Growth International Volunteer Excursions), whose volunteers work with people in communities to lay the foundation for change. They partner on projects designed to make a long-lasting difference. "We worked alongside locals to build a school in a community called Cairo," Call said. "We did the grunt work like moving bricks. "That was part of our day. The other half was spent teaching. Most everyone taught English, but I taught a computer skills class. It was more word document skills and an introduction to the Internet." Call and her colleagues lived in the community for two weeks and adopted the cultural norms. "My knees and shoulders had to be covered all the time," she said. "It was a form of respect for them. "On weekends we would go on an excursion to support the local community, and that included swimming with dolphins. If there wasn't a tourist industry for swimming with dolphins they would be poached." Call was prompted to join GIVE because one of her two sisters went on a similar trip the previous summer to Thailand. "I wanted to do some sort of volunteer experience plus travel and go to a different culture I had never experienced before," she said. "And I really wanted to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. "Teaching my students gave me the most satisfaction. I got to know them on a personal level, and we developed a relationship. I felt I was impacting their lives in terms of their job options." Call, who recorded a career-best time of 4:28.61 in the 1,500 meters at the 2018 ACC Outdoor Championships, is majoring in kinesiology. "After going to Tanzania, my outlook on what I want to do after college changed," she said. "I'm in a health and well-being mi- nor. I'm flip-flopping on being a registered dietician or a holistic private coach." — Mike Scandura Photo by Jim Daves/courtesy UVA