Class of 2026 graduate Annie Potts plans to devote her career to improving health outcomes for marginalized communities. Driven by personal experiences and insights from study abroad and research opportunities, she is passionate about work related to HIV prevention and sexual and reproductive health education.
“I had some formative experiences growing up that made me especially aware of how context shapes people’s health decisions. That perspective has made me very empathetic and has drawn me toward this work,” Potts said. “When I got to college and learned more about the contextual factors that lead women in general toward exploitation and high-risk sexual behavior, I became very interested (in global health).”
From Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Potts chose to attend Mercer University because of its pre-medical and study abroad programs.
“I knew that I was going to study biology. However, I met my introductory advisor at Mercer and they told me that based off of who I was as a person, I would fit well in the global health program. I fell in love with global health and ended up (pursuing) a dual degree,” said Potts, who is graduating with a Bachelor of Science in biology with a chemistry minor and a Bachelor of Arts in global health studies with a Spanish minor.
Traveling has been a big part of her life, and she has already visited 37 countries. Many of her trips growing up were with her dad, who researches snakes as a herpetologist. During high school, she lived with a host family in Ghana for a time and did marine conservation work with the Great Barrier Reef Foundation Citizen Science Initiative in Australia.
“I have participated in a lot of study abroad (trips) my entire life. It’s always been a form of escape for me,” Potts said. “I’m willing to travel under any circumstances. Sometimes it’s a little more rugged, but it’s worth the experience.”
A Mercer On Mission trip to Mongolia with Dr. Chinekwu Obidoa, associate professor of global health studies, after her freshman year introduced Potts to a new culture and new infrastructures for supporting vulnerable populations. While teaching reproductive health to teen girls, she saw the impact that could be made through global health initiatives and wanted to do more.
This led her to her involvement in Dr. Obidoa’s Coalition for Collaboration on HIV/AIDS Research and Intervention in Middle Georgia. As Dr. Obidoa’s research assistant and mentee, Potts researched educational HIV/AIDS interventions and their impact on local communities; analyzed data; contributed to research reports; designed the program website; and created monthly newsletters.
“It has been a joy to watch Annie’s interest, knowledge, passion and research skills in the field of HIV/AIDS prevention advance over the past couple of years,” Dr. Obidoa said.
Potts was also a major contributor to Dr. Obidoa’s “Untrapped: Teen Pregnancy Prevention Curriculum,” which is tailored to Middle Georgia youth and harnesses the power of storytelling. She had the opportunity to present this curriculum at the International AIDS Society’s HIV Research for Prevention conference in Lima, Peru.
That project landed Potts a spot in the Person-Centered Care Advocacy Academy fellowship with the International AIDS Society and a summer research internship at RAO Community Health, a clinic that specializes in providing HIV treatment to vulnerable populations. Her work with Dr. Obidoa also enabled her to become proficient at data coding and creating data visualizations, which allowed her to take a part-time job with health informatics company Real Chemistry.
“One of the most impactful (things) for me as a student at Mercer has been the research mentorship I’ve received through the global health department,” Potts said.
For her global health senior project, she used some of Dr. Obidoa’s previously collected data to analyze the role that men have in impacting teen pregnancy outcomes.
“I’m most proud of my senior project because it’s been all my coding. The analysis was conducted only by me. I’ve put a lot more work into it. It represents what I’ve taken from my college experience effectively,” she said.
On the biology side of her studies, she presented a project on HIV viral proteins during Mercer’s 2026 BEAR Day.
Over spring break this year, Potts learned about international approaches to public health intervention during Dr. Obidoa’s study abroad program to Marrackech, Morocco. This summer, she will teach English and robotics to children in Colombia during a Mercer On Mission trip led by Spanish Associate Professor Dr. Jose Pino.
As a Mercer student, Potts was also an executive board member of Mercer’s Mock Trial Competition Team for three years; active in the Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) organization for three years, including as an officer her senior year; and a member of Alpha Gamma Delta sorority.
“Being involved on campus was a valuable and important part of my college experience,” Potts said. “The Mock Trial Competition Team molded my leadership skills as the team developed and gave me a lot of opportunities to travel domestically, competing at other universities. HOSA became an opportunity to practice leadership in a context that intersects with my career interests. Getting to know the girls of Alpha Gamma Delta helped heal my relationship with women and changed my mindset around Greek life all together.”
In September, Potts will begin a two-year Peace Corps assignment as a health educator in the North Andean region of Peru. Her twin sister, Ellie, who is graduating with a biology degree with a focus in global health studies at Oberlin College, was selected for the same program, and their work will primarily focus on teen pregnancy prevention and malnutrition prevention.
Following the Peace Corps, Potts plans to continue her education.
“I think I’ve been exposed to so many different environments and different strategies of approaching public health,” Potts said. “I’m (deciding) between med school and a Ph.D. public health program, and I think that will help me regardless of which way I go. Biology gives me the mechanisms for health outcomes and global health gives me the context.”
Potts has already been accepted to two Ph.D. programs but has requested deferrals while she is serving in the Peace Corps and considering her options.
“Her selection into multiple Ph.D. programs, the HIV Patient-Centered Care Advocacy Academy and the Peace Corps demonstrates that her global health education at Mercer equipped her with the skills needed in the global health workforce,” Dr. Obidoa said. “I know that she will make Mercer proud wherever she goes.”
