The NCAA's official website continues it series on student-athletes and their humanitarian work during the summer. This installment features a swimmer who had much more than her sport in mind when she enrolled in college.

Lauren Ackerman, a swimmer at the College of Notre Dame of Maryland, turned her passion for travel into a humanitarian effort this summer as she researched how the once war-torn country of Guatemala is achieving peace since ending its 36-year civil war in 1996.

Ackerman, a rising senior from Gettysburg, Pa., and three of her classmates were recipients of a $10,000 grant from the 100 Projects for Peace program to research the topic “Perceptions of Civil War and Peace in Two Western Highland Towns of Guatemala.” The program, which was created by philanthropist Kathryn Wasserman Davis in celebration of her 100th birthday, funds grassroots efforts with a global reach.

The group visited the city of San Lucas Tolimán in Guatemala, a more peaceful place than other cities during the long civil conflict.

“We wanted to talk with the people and learn from them in hopes to apply their situations to other situations of inner-country conflict throughout the world,” said Ackerman.
Ackerman gained a better understanding of the country’s history during the trip, and how it has progressed since the end of the civil war.

“You can read a lot of books and articles, but when you talk with people who were involved, you gain a whole new understanding and that was our goal,” said Ackerman. “We learned that peace is a utopian idea and has a lot to do with having basic needs."

The epitome of a student-athlete, Ackerman was named the Atlantic Women’s Colleges Conference Scholar-Athlete of the year in 2007 after posted a 3.947 grade point average and winning the 100 and 200 yard backstroke and 100 yard butterfly events at the league championship.

“One of the reasons why I chose the College of Notre Dame was because it is Division III school and I had the opportunity to take on amazing study abroad experiences and have a coach who understands that I have a passion for swimming, but that I also have a passion for travel,” said Ackerman.

Click here to read more about Ackerman's travels, including where she is heading next, on the NCAA's official website.