United States Coast Guard Academy - Department of Athletics - Women's Crew

Coast Guard Academy junior Sarah Jane Otey had quite an experience last season as she took a sabbatical to do humanitarian work in South America.

The two-sport star, a member of the women’s rowing team who was part of the 2008 Varsity Eight placing sixth at NCAA Championships, as well as an All-conference member of the Bears swim team, took a year off from her responsibilities at the Coast Guard Academy to help others in need.

“Even in high school I had always wanted to have the opportunity to live in another country, experience another culture, and do volunteer work," said Otey. "For that reason, I left the Academy after my sophomore year to take a year-long sabbatical and do humanitarian work in South America."

Otey lived in Peru for six months spending a majority of that time living with a host family in the town of Ollantaytambo. She worked in the clinic in the mornings, replacing a nurse in triage so the trained nurses could help patients, pulling medical histories and took weight, height, temperature and blood pressure.

She was working for a volunteer organization, Awamaki, which also organized donations of baby clothes and other necessities, so she could help distribute those at the clinic.

“In the afternoons, I taught English to both children and adults in the local community center. Most English teachers in the public schools of Peru don’t speak any English themselves, yet learning English is incredibly helpful to the children in a community where the majority of employment is in tourism," added Otey.

When she wasn’t working, Otey spent time with her host family. She would go with them to work in the chakras (farm fields), helping with such jobs as milking the cows and feeding the animals every morning.

"I went with them to some of the traditional festivals in the area and got to truly experience the life of a middle-class, small-town Peruvian family, and it was a wonderful and eye-opening opportunity," said Otey.

She spent the last two months of her sabbatical in Ecuador, doing conservation work first with sea turtles, and later in the cloudforest.

"I wish every cadet had the same chance I did to see just how life in other countries differs from our own, and to learn from the amazing people I met along the way," said Otey.