Megan Kelley (BS ’14) fits as much action as possible into every single day. Her penchant for overloading her schedule began as an undergraduate at the University of Saint Francis, when she first started on her goal of becoming a doctor.

“I was working as a paramedic, and I’d arrive from the night shift and still be in uniform. I’d force myself to sit in the front row to stay awake—lots of coffee,” she said. “Then, I’d sleep in the chairs in Achatz, back in the day when it wasn’t a shiny building. But I do well under pressure and my best grades were my last semester, when I was literally working full-time nights and taking 19 credit hours.”

Little wonder that Kelley is heading toward a career in emergency medicine, encouraged by mentors and her husband Skyler Conatser, a flight paramedic who she met on the job and married in 2021. Emergency medicine is known for long hours, action and chaos, requiring quick thinking and decision-making. Perfect for Kelley. “I don’t think I’d be happy with anything else,” she said.

Kelley is in her final year at the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine (WVSOM). She not only developed her work ethic at Saint Francis, but she also carries with her a strong desire for service, which led to something extra on her schedule last spring. “I wanted to do something with things that I’m passionate about, with medical outreach and medical missions work,” she said.

Dr. Katherine Calloway, regional assistant dean at WVSOM, connected Kelley with her friend Dr. Carolyn Lafleur at Medical Diplomats International. Lafleur sought medical students to travel to India and interact with Tibetan communities from April 5 through April 21. Kelley jumped aboard. “The (group’s) goal was No. 1, education; No. 2, do something while we’re there; and No. 3, generally bring some smiles and some kindness,” Kelley said.

Kelley is attuned to educating patients, her nonstop schedule reflects her desire to “do something” and her outgoing personality prompts smiles and kindness. She used her skills and empathy as the group talked with Tibetan women on the benefits of breast exams.

“There is a stigma there associated with women who have breast cancer,” Kelley said. “We met with multiple local Tibetan communities, their nursing staffs, as well as community members, and talked to them about how to do breast exams and the importance of them. There are cultural differences and that was challenging, so we needed to present this in a way that was not offensive to their culture, by coming from a place of love, kindness and consideration.”

The “do something” portion of the trip came as Lafleur and her team taught self-exams and then went the next step with women who had discovered potentially cancerous lumps. “Those women were taken to the local hospital and Dr. Lafleur footed the bill for mammograms and ultrasounds,” Kelley said.

As for smiles and kindness, Kelley had a memorable encounter with the Dalai Lama.

“It was fascinating to meet the Dalai Lama, just in how connected each individual felt, even from the standpoint of not practicing that religion,” Kelley said. “As a Christian, I still had reverence for them, and it was culturally interesting to see how people view the Dalai Lama. As a doctor, if I treat a Hindu or Muslim, I want to have a basic understanding of what that religion means for them.”

She met the Dalai Lama as part of a group where each person spent a few seconds face to face with him. “I smiled really big and he brings his hand up with his pointer finger—and I froze and was very confused and then start laughing—and he goes ‘boop’ and boops me on the nose. I start laughing and he starts chuckling”

Later, those who met the Dalai Lama talked about the experience. “I’m hearing some of them say, ‘He was speaking to my soul,’” Kelley said. “My experience was, ‘He booped me on the nose.’ Everyone thought it was so funny, but one of the people there said, ‘Isn’t it fantastic that he knew it would be super special for him to boop you on the nose?’

“Even though we have different beliefs, you can see how we all can have a connectedness in this world.”