College Station to Kilimanjaro

Texas A&M University School of Nursing former student and Kingwood, Texas, native Peyton Shamp ’23 reached the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa, on June 18, 2023, at 6:20 a.m.

Shamp is exploring Africa this summer with the non-profit organization A Broader View, where she will provide health care to underserved families in Kasoa, Ghana, through the Kasoa program. This program aims to eliminate poverty and poor health conditions in Ghana. Program volunteers are part of A Broader View’s public health outreach team, which travels and delivers health education programs to students.

Peyton’s student organization experiences as vice president of the Aggie Military, Veterans and First Responder Healthcare Alliance and member of the Wilderness Medicine Student Interest Group assisted her during the climb. Both organizations focus on strengthening knowledge in various health care scenarios.

“I used my knowledge about oxygen saturation to help monitor myself and other climbers for altitude sickness,” Peyton said.

Before her climb, Peyton volunteered with fellow Texas A&M Health students studying nursing, medicine, pharmacy and public health for the weeklong 2022 State of Texas Operation Border Health Preparedness (OBHP) in Harlingen, Texas, which provided her with valuable skills needed to deliver global health care. OBHP is a training exercise facilitated by the Texas Department of State Health Services that allows local, non-profit and state entities to establish and operate temporary health clinics that may be essential during an emergency event.

Upon returning from Africa, Peyton will start her nursing career in Austin.