Prishaani Govender '20: Pursuing Her Passion

“I have wanted to become a doctor for as long as I can remember. It makes me happy thinking about all of the people I could help and make a difference for.”

Passion is what lead Prishaani Govender '20 from her home in South Africa to the classroom at Moravian University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Through her education, Govender now focuses that passion and energies toward helping others and making a change in the world. With a generous heart, she aims to return home with very much to offer her community.

Although Govender’s trip was a magnificent journey in itself, she did find American culture a little difficult to adapt to, at first. One of the first things she noticed: her new community holds great value in things not nearly as celebrated in South Africa. Not surprisingly, Govender also noticed her peers tend to take advantage of little things that are miraculous elsewhere in the world. Govender’s strong will—and determination to make the world a better place—didn’t distract her from pursuing her passion.

Govender greatly enjoys Moravian University: she loves the diversity of the campus and the feeling of connection among the community. “Moravian University is somewhere that I have always wanted to study,” she says. “I saw a great opportunity to study here and could not turn it down.” Govender is impressed by the many educational opportunities available to students; thanks to the University’s many partnerships, this biology major is able to actively engage herself in real work experiences and partake in opportunities that few other colleges can provide. As a future medical student, she finds the University’s strong relationship with St. Luke’s University Health Network (a local leader in healthcare) to be particularly valuable.

Govender is not simply striving for a successful career for herself—she is gaining the skills to help others, and her goal is to pay it forward. To make a difference in the world. Although she misses the South African culture she has grown to love “the ability to network with people from all over,” and the hands-on experience in the medical setting gives her hope and drive to return home with much to offer. She does miss the food from back home, but the joy and well-being she will provide to her future patients overshadows the struggles.