Surrounded by the Elkhorn, Missouri, and Platte Rivers, the residents of Omaha experienced flooding in early 2019 so catastrophic that one emergency management official called it “biblical.”

But amid the despair, native Nebraskan Scarlett Wedergren, CAS/BA ’24, Kogod/BS ’24, felt compelled to help. As she studied news conferences with the mayor and emergency management agencies in the wake of the disaster, which caused an estimated $1 billion worth of damage, the seed of changemaking was planted.

“I was inspired by the ability to mobilize very quickly to provide help during a disaster,” Wedergren said.

Now a junior double majoring in business administration and public health, Wedergren is studying abroad this semester at the AU Nairobi Center in Kenya and interning with a global humanitarian organization, Ananda Marga Universal Relief Team (AMURT), to help mitigate a different kind of crisis.

AMRUT offers low-cost primary and newborn care, nutrition, and testing and treatment for HIV and tuberculosis, which are among the leading causes of death in Kenya. During her semester abroad, Wedergren is observing and supporting the group’s clinical work; she’s also learning Swahili.

Just a month in, Wedergren—a member of the AU Honors program and a 2022 nominee for the prestigious Truman Scholarship—is already calling the experience “transformative.”

“One of the hallmarks of studying abroad is to be open to growth and change, and I’ve already found the trip to be very impactful,” she said. “I feel a greater call to action. I want my work to respond to crucial needs both in my community and nationally.”

Scarlett Wedergren has brought an emergency management perspective to public health work. (Courtesy of Scarlett Wedergren) 

Putting that mission into practice included an internship last fall with AU’s Office of Global Safety and Compliance, where Wedergren worked with DC officials on emergency preparedness and public health plans.  

“Scarlett brings a seriousness to any work she does and asks great questions to understand why we do things,” said Matt Verderosa, AU’s director of global safety and compliance. “She’s extremely organized. You don’t see many students with an interest in emergency management and public health, but those things drive her.” 

That drive has taken her from the Dominican Republic—where she asked the children she met on her mission to draw pictures, later auctioning them off and donating more than $2,000 to a soup kitchen—to the Red Cross, where she interned with the organization’s National Capital and Greater Chesapeake Region chapters, working on shelter agreements with churches and community centers in disaster prone areas. She also directed a musical theater camp in a Native American community, organized weekly activities at an assisted living facility, and interned at the Department of Homeland Security, where she shaped strategies to improve communication between government agencies. 

The opportunity to work alongside national policymakers was a key reason Wedergren chose AU.

 “You’re so close to national issues, and you feel like you’re a part of the conversation,” she said. “And I’ve gotten to help address some of the issues that I care so much about.”