When walking down the halls of Bridgeport High School, it’s hard to miss the collection of photos outside Mr. Jared St. Martin-Brown’s room.  They feature the faces of a culture half a world away, but they have a familiar feel as they laugh and work and play.  The collection is the result of BHS alumnus Jessica Pigott, who first honed her photography skills under the legendary Alice Rowe at BHS.

 

“I first started getting interested in photography during my freshman year at Bridgeport,” said Pigott. “I took photos for the yearbook every year of high school, but after I graduated, photography took a backseat to college life.”

 

Pigott is pursuing her post-secondary education at Harding University in Arkansas.  Majoring in English Education, with a minor in Missions, she has become very familiar with Ghana, visiting for the third time in as many years.  As a Christian university, Harding University has a global outreach program that focuses on domestic and international mission work.  Pigott had been interested in mission work since middle school, but college provided her the opportunity to travel abroad and experience it first-hand.

 

As a freshman, she jumped at the chance to travel to Ghana and work with Ghana West Africa Missions, thinking it might be her only chance to do mission work.  As she has found out, her minor in Missions has quickly turned into a major part of her life as she feels called to the mission field full-time.

 

“There’s no denying that God intends for my career to be in mission work,” she said.  “The first trip to Ghana truly changed my life and getting to know the people, the culture and the mission field has given me a strong foundation on which to build my career.”

 

The mission team works in Yendi, located in Northern Ghana.  The Harding University students teach classes in the College of Science and Technology, which is less of a traditional college and more of a junior high boarding school.  

 

“Education is so important to the people there and we have had the opportunity to teach science, literature, and, of course, the Bible,” said Pigott.  “We spend the afternoons hanging out with the students, building relationships, and distributing clothing.  We also work with water well drilling and community development programs.”

 

Harding University’s partnership with Ghana West Africa Missions (GWAM) has proven to be very beneficial to the students from both countries.  GWAM has drilled over 1,000 wells, repaired and disinfected thousands more in over 1,500 villages.  They are committed to eliminating extreme poverty in the North and to providing clean drinking water, education, sanitation and nutrition to the people of Ghana.  

 

The GWAM representatives make sure the Harding students have hands-on experience in every aspect of the culture, from shopping at the local marketplaces to dancing with traditional African dancers and singers.

 

“The mission has taught me about the beauty and diversity of God’s creation,” said Pigott.  “When you spend your whole life in one place, you eventually put God’s creativity in a box.  By exploring another culture, I have had the opportunity to see a side of God I never knew before.  It’s very powerful to realize the world is much bigger than your own experiences.”

 

This summer, as she returns to Ghana for the third time, she is realizing that the two-week annual trip simply isn’t enough for her.  She will co-lead a mission team this year, a position that both humbles and excites her.

 

“I was very broken as a teenager and the mission experience has shown me how God can not only heal, but put me in a leadership position where I can share my faith on the other side of the world,” she said.  

 

Next spring, Pigott will be graduating and, although she’s leaving the details up to God, she plans to create teacher training, curriculum development, and sustainable school options for those in underdeveloped countries.

 

“I always believed education was the most powerful tool someone could have and making it accessible to every human being is a goal that is important to me,” said Pigott.