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After holding a newborn baby in the district of Kayunga, Uganda, Jonathan "Caleb" King, felt the experience obligated him to help the less fortunate.
"After seeing what I saw in Africa, I feel like I am mandated to go back there," he said.
King had never witnessed anything like when the baby was born in an unsterile environment.
The West Virginia University senior biology major went to Africa as part of a scholarship from WVU’s Alumni Association’s Loyalty Permanent Endowment Fund.
King traveled to Uganda and Tanzania last summer as part of his travel stipend.
"Nothing really prepared me to see how they lived on a day to day basis," King said. "It was a real culture shock."
King’s influence to travel to Africa sparked after taking a class sponsored by the Amizade Global Service-Learning Consortium.
"Amizade is trying to connect people across cultures," he said. "(It’s) trying to make sort of an exchange, so that we can learn from (Africans), and they can learn from us."
King worked in orphanages and hospitals helping to entertain the children and patients as well as harvesting water for communities in Tanzania, among other things.
"I went over to Africa with a lot of American clothes on purpose," he said. "We did sort of an exchange, I gave them some of my clothes, and they gave me some of theirs."
While he’s experienced great things abroad, the Charleston, W.Va. native is fiercely loyal to his home state.
"There’s no greater place than West Virginia," he said. "They’re the most welcoming people. I hope I have adopted that as a true West Virginian."
As far as WVU goes, King is actively involved. He sits on WVU’s Student Health Advisory Board, is president of Beta Beta Beta, the biological honor fraternity and is a member of the Honors College, among other things.
Along with his accomplishments, King has been awarded multiple scholarships as well as running and eventually selling his own self-made business.
"I like to stay busy," he said. "I’m happiest when I’m busiest."
King plans on conducting his medical residency in Charleston, if accepted into WVU’s School of Medicine this fall.
"Charleston has given me so much," he said. "I want to give something back to it."
King attributes his successes to his parents and older brother.
"My parents raised me with good moral value," he said. "They sacrificed so much for me."
King’s leadership skills were honed at a young age. He founded King’s Cuts, a landscaping business, in his Charleston neighborhood in high school.
"It started out when I was 12 or 13," he said "I was just trying to make some extra money."
King eventually sold the business to a landscaping company in order to attend WVU.
Finishing his senior thesis on the genetic variation of aspen trees tops King’s priorities in the near future.
Research for his thesis allowed him to travel to Yellowstone National Park and Canaan Valley, W.Va., a place he knows well.
"My grandparents have a cabin there, so I’ve been going up there since I was a little kid," he said. "I always wanted to do research there."
While King hopes to attend WVU’s School of Medicine, his ultimate goal is to be happy.
"I think what’s successful is what makes you happy," he said.
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