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Spotlights Anne Gabonay '04 University of Dayton Quarterly, Summer 2006 Most thesis projects do not result in a new building, let alone one named for the student. Anne Gabonay’s did. A four-week immersion experience in Kumba, Cameroon, in 2002 inspired Gabonay to help the community she lived in and grew to love. “I knew I wanted to do my thesis on Cameroon,” she said. “[My host father] said, ‘What about this library project? Can you do something to get that off the ground?’” Gabonay did just that. She raised funds and accepted book donations to send to Cameroon. She received the help of churches, Christmas on Campus, the Honors and Scholars Program, the premedicine program and many others. In 2004, Gabonay returned to Kumba, paid for by her thesis grant, for three weeks to finish her research. As a surprise, her host father, Caven Nnako, a government delegate in Kumba, named the library the Anne Gabonay Municipal Library. It is one of the largest in the country. “Nnako sent me an e-mail with this picture (of the library) and I didn’t even realize it,” she said. “Then I saw my name and I thought, ‘Oh no. I didn’t know he was going to do that.’” Gabonay and Nnako still have big plans for the library: a playground, more indigenous schoolbooks for students, and a computer lab. Gabonay is working with her birth father and UD’s Center for Social Concern to continue collecting books and raising funds. They’ve raised more than $1,000. Gabonay, now in medical school at Indiana University, said she hopes to practice medicine in a predominantly immigrant community or internationally, dedicating her life to the underserved. “I enjoy learning about people,” she said. “I like to build relationships. I think medicine, especially now, is a great way to blend science with human nature.” She also hopes to return to Cameroon. “I had such a wonderful experience in Kumba, and I was so well received,” she said. “My dad’s helping because he knows it changed my life.” —Kailyn Derck '06

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