Beginning her life growing up on a farm just outside of Carrollton, Georgia, Kaytlin Eldred had big dreams for pursuing her passion to make the world a better place, one person at a time. Now a resident of Boston, Massachusetts, she has transformed her small-town life into being a world traveler and professor of Global Health at Boston University.
Kaytlin graduated from Oak Mountain Academy and continued her education at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Global Health with a minor in Social Entrepreneurship. She later attended Boston University and completed a Masters of Public Health with a concentration in Global Health and focus on program implementation and infectious diseases.
Following the completion of her master’s degree, she worked in development for a non-profit organization based in Boston that aims to enhance academic achievement within Boston’s public school system.
She later began her career in 2017 as an adjunct professor at Boston University, before becoming a full-time lecturer of Health Science and Global Health at the University’s Sargent College.
Kaytlin’s travels have allowed her to see more than 20 countries across six of the seven continents and during the summer of 2019, she circumnavigated the globe. So far, the only continent she has not visited is Antarctica, which she hopes to visit in 2021. She tells us, “Before I turn 30, I want to see all 7 continents and all of the wonders of the world, which include the New World, Ancient World, and Natural World.”
So far Kaytlin has seen the only standing Ancient World Wonder, four of the seven New World Wonders, and one of the Natural World Wonders — the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. This year she plans to see the Taj Mahal in India, The Great Wall of China, and Christ the Redeemer located in Rio, Brazil.
Kaytlin also travels abroad with undergraduate students for various learning experiences. As a frequent traveler, she no longer experiences the culture shock that one would experience the first few times being abroad, but she is able to relive that excitement through her students as they journey to different parts of the world for the first time. She explains, “One of my favorite pieces of my job is being able to see students experience new culture, language, and food and guide them through that experience. I honestly couldn’t imagine doing anything else with my life.”
To keep up with her travels, follow her on Instagram @kaytlineldred
