As a child, Meghan Curley ’16 supported her aging great-grandmother as she walked and readily came to the aid of a neighbor with autism. She was always trying to help others. Curley chose to join the Assumption community because she found that people shared the same commitment. In January, the human services graduate from Seaford, NY, guided by a passion to serve that was nurtured at Assumption, answered a call to help 1,800 Peruvians hear for the first time.
“I knew right away this trip was something I wanted to be a part of,” Curley said. “Providing people who have otherwise been living in a world of silence with the ability to hear themselves and their loved ones is an experience I knew would forever change my life.”
Curley and her doctorate of audiology classmates at the Long Island Doctor of Audiology Consortium spent 10 days traveling with the Starkey Hearing Foundation, which, according to the organization, “gives the gift of hearing to people in need in the U.S. and around the world.” They visited the Peruvian cities of Pisco, Ica, and Cusco, helping hearing-impaired individuals by evaluating them and fitting them with hearing aids at no cost.
“The mission to Peru was eye-opening and put everything into perspective for me, both in the audiology field and beyond,” Curley said. “This experience showed me the social and emotional sides of hearing loss and how it not only affects people’s ability to hear, but also their connections to their friends, family, and themselves. I was able to help give them the gift of hearing, but I feel as though the experience was just as much a gift to myself.”
While a student at Assumption and a member of the Women’s Lacrosse team, Curley participated in Team IMPACT, a national nonprofit that connects children facing serious and chronic illnesses with local college athletic teams to form lifelong bonds and life-changing outcomes. She also volunteered at the annual Victoria Sousa 5K and participated in food drives for those in need.
“One of the … reasons I chose Assumption was … I felt it was the perfect place to continue to put faith at the center of my life,” she said. “I have always loved serving and helping others, so being at a school that had the same values I did was very important to me. Attending Assumption further fostered my love for helping others and encouraged and inspired me to pursue a career in a health field.”
Curley is in her third year of a four-year doctoral program and continues to advance her audiology career and to serve others when she can, tutoring young students and volunteering as a youth and high school lacrosse coach. “Assumption’s mission of serving others is something that will always remain in my heart,” Curley said. “I treasure the experiences I had while I was at Assumption and will forever carry the same values with me throughout my life. It means the world to me to be part of someone’s success or life-changing experience.”
