It was the spring of 2014. Joseph Vegso ’17 had just finished up his first semester of college and had tailored his class schedule so he’d have afternoons free to focus on the non-traditional season of varsity football at Gettysburg.
Vegso quickly realized the six-week long spring season of football wasn’t going to fill up all of his time so he had two options: fill the daily void with a two-hour nap or go out and find out what other activities Gettysburg College had to offer.
Vegso chose to get involved and in doing so, opened a long line of doors to endless possibilities.
The first organization to catch his interest was one that has guided his involvement on campus ever since. Vegso, raised Catholic but not overly devout, decided to learn more about a religious-based group called Disciplemakers Christian Fellowship (DCF) at the urging of a former teammate.
Vegso attended weekly Bible studies where he started to understand the Gospel on a more personal level. Additionally, Vegso witnessed a different kind of leadership within the organization, one that strongly appealed to his sensibilities.
“I saw society going in one direction and these guys were going the other direction,” said Vegso, who is currently Co-President of DCF. “They were doing something different, living different, and they weren’t getting caught up in what you would call worldly successes.
“Disciplemakers has probably had the biggest influence on me at Gettysburg of all the organizations I’ve been a part of. It’s drastically influenced the trajectory of my life and the way I view things the way I do.”
Vegso, also a member and former philanthropy chair of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, also credits DCF for opening another unlikely door.
At 6-2, 215 pounds, Vegso is built for his position as a linebacker on the football team, but that didn’t keep him from taking his footwork on the gridiron to the dance floor. He joined Dance Ensemble during the spring of his freshman year and it’s added another dimension to his college experience. Vegso’s focus on the dance floor has been in swing dance, something he never imagined doing prior to Gettysburg.
“It was an absolute blast!” he said. “It’s a whole different community at Gettysburg you get to know.”
A career-inspiring journey
In his junior year, the Health Sciences major discussed his opportunities with the Center for Global Education for studying globally. Initially, he thought he would study in Australia, but discovered the program that best matched his interests was the Refugees, Health, and Humanitarian Action program in Jordan, sponsored by the School for International Training. The program focused on public health and specifically concerned the influx of refugees from neighboring Syria.
“I really wanted to challenge myself,” said Vegso. “I’m going to learn the most, grow the most, and garner the best experience if I force myself out of my comfort zone and into a unique place - the path less travelled mentality.”
The program was field-based with 50 percent of the time devoted to lectures and the rest devoted to on-site learning in refugee camps, health clinics, non-governmental organizations, or host communities. Vegso also took an accelerated program to learn Arabic so he could communicate with the refugees and healthcare workers.
“Before going, I couldn’t put a face to a refugee,” said Vegso. “Spending time with them, hearing their stories, it made it so real. Doctors are seeing 50-100 people every day. It’s like an assembly-line and there is no patient-provider relationship.
“The whole experience really gave me direction. I’ve been blessed with an opportunity to have an education in the United States and be surrounded by incredible medical institutions. I feel like I’m being called to be able to provide and serve those people in crisis situations, whether it’s domestically in the United States or internationally.”
When Vegso returned stateside, he took part in an internship with the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). He worked mainly in the primary care center, observing and working with the nurse practitioner and the nurses. After working with the refugees, the time with CHOP reaffirmed his desire to work closely with patients and pursue a career in the nursing field. It also gave rise to his senior capstone project, “Health Sciences Capstone Internship 2016: The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Karabots Pediatric Primary Care Office.”
“I really enjoyed my time there,” said Vegso. “I got the idea I wanted to pursue the nursing field in Jordan and my time in CHOP over the summer excited me even more for the future I’ll be pursuing.”
