Afia Owusu Obeng ’12 09X
Major: Psychology
World Partners in Education—Manye Academy
Kpone Barrier, Ghana
Afia will be spending her Tucker Fellowship at the Manye Academy, a primary school in the Kpone Barrier, Ghana. The Manye Academy was established in 2002 to serve the needs of this growing and changing community. Since that time, Manye has nearly doubled in size and also developed a relationship with Dartmouth students through the World Partners in Education. Afia will be a teacher’s assistant during the school day, from 6:30am until 3:00pm. After school, she will serve in a number of respects, including tutoring and mentoring. In addition, she is a great cook and hopes to make cooking an after school activity at Manye. At home in Staten Island Afia is a Sunday school teacher at her local church. Working in this teaching capacity has taught Afia that when given the necessary attention, children are “willing to listen and can learn an enormous amount”. Afia hopes to use these experiences and lessons as a teacher during her time at Manye.
Afia feels very fortunate to receive an education at Dartmouth and wants to share her knowledge with the children in the school. She is passionate about empowering children through education and teaching them about all of the possibilities the world has to offer. Afia hopes to elicit a yearning for knowledge and passion for education in the children. She writes: “if during my time I can convince a student to enjoy reading, I will be elated and know that I have made a positive impact on someone”. Afia hopes to provide the students of Manye with a positive environment and a place to omit any negative emotions. Afia believes that “when a person gives selflessly, one will benefit and that’s what I plan to teach the children that I come in contact with”. Afia realizes that she does not know all of the answers to the problems that will arise at Manye this summer, but wants to explore the answers through her successes and failures.
Over the last several years, Afia has become much more open to new experiences and meeting new people. The past hardships she has overcome have made her determined to give back to less fortunate people around the world and to be a good role model. Her long term goal is to go to medical school and become a doctor, and she also hopes to one day create a foundation in Ghana for homeless people at some point in her future. Afia is very adaptable, disciplined and is a great listener. Her honestly, sense of responsibility and positive attitude will all serve her well at Manye.
Yana Ernazarova ’12 09X
Major: Undecided
World Partners in Education—Manye Academy
Kpone Barrier, Ghana
Yana will be spending her Tucker Fellowship at the Manye Academy, a primary school in the Kpone Barrier, Ghana. The Manye Academy was established in 2002 to serve the needs of the growing and changing community. Since that time, the Manye has nearly doubled in size and also developed a relationship with Dartmouth students through the World Partners in Education.
Yana was attracted to the program because of its ideology of proving an accessible education and its proactive attitude within the community. During her time in Ghana, Yana will primarily serve as a teacher’s assistant in the classrooms. She also hopes to lead several afterschool activities, including Tae Kwon Do, which has been a passion of hers for many years. Yana believes that these afterschool programs will be valuable to the children by giving them more unique alternatives to spend their time outside of the classroom. Yana has an infectious spirit that greatly aids her leadership abilities. At the same time, Yana’s maturity, adaptability and perseverance have been vital to her own personal growth.
At the age of fifteen, Yana was accepted into the Future Leaders Exchange Program. The program brought her from her home in Kazakhstan and placed her with a host family in Texas to take classes in the United States. Yana was not allowed to see her family for the entire year and did not expect how difficult the process of cultural orientation to the United States would be. This experience taught Yana how to adapt to a completely new culture and community of people. Despite the initial culture shock, Yana was able to thrive in her new circumstance and make many new friends. At Dartmouth this process of cultural transition has continued. Yana is excited to be completely independent and accountable for herself and her actions. Dartmouth has challenged her in new ways, yet she continues to be successful and overcome these challenges.
Yana loves working with kids. She believes that “educating children is the best investment for the future, because they grow up to be leaders of their country”. Yana is dedicated to being a positive resource in any way possible for the children of the Manye Academy. As she best states it, “in my face, the students will always have a good friend, a valuable source of information and a mentor”. She is also excited for the potential personal and spiritual growth from her fellowship. Yana believes that this is the right time to expose herself to new ideas and mentality; “because for my personal growth now what I need is to learn how to appreciate what I have and how to help people who don’t necessarily have those things”. She believes that it is “very important to know who you are and know what your values are” and she will engage this philosophy with those she interacts with in Ghana.
David Knight ‘10 09X
Major: History
Amy Biehl Foundation
Cape Town, South Africa
David’s Tucker Fellowship will take place in Cape Town, South Africa. He will be volunteering for the Amy Biehl Foundation (ABF), an organization founded in remembrance of Amy Biehl, an American college student and anti-apartheid activist who was murdered in South Africa fifteen years ago. The Tucker fellowship program has recently developed a relationship with the Amy Biehl Foundation, agreeing to send up to three fellows to Cape Town each year. ABF works to empower at-risk youth in the surrounding townships through engaging them in a variety of education, artistic, athletic and cultural programs.
David will be working with children from ages five to eighteen in a variety of arenas, including community development and afterschool programs. He hopes to be an outlet for these young people to learn and grow in positive ways. David was particularly interested in the program’s focus on youth development and empowerment. He believes that the problems of a community can reflect the overarching problems of a nation. David has a strong commitment to social justice. Since coming to Dartmouth, David has participated in many community service projects on campus. He has worked with the Codman summer enrichment program, the Pre-Orientation First-Year Prep team, SEAD, and America Reads. David is also a very active member of DREAM, a mentoring program that works with kids in the Upper Valley from under resourced homes. The experience has taught David not only how to work with younger people, but also how great of an impact family environment can have on young people’s self-concept and aspirations. David participated in an alternative spring break trip to Montellano, Dominican Republic in March 2009, teaching HIV/AIDS information sessions and helping to build a sports field in the village. The trip helped David realize the similarities and differences between the problems of international communities and the United States.
These experiences and others have all helped David in the process of “learning who I really am” and “gaining more respect for where I come from.” From his personal upbringing and mentoring experiences, David understands why the children he will be working with may question their abilities and lack direction. His teaching and problem- solving skills will be vital to assisting these youth in their process of growth.
David hopes to eventually get a Ph.D. in education and/or history. He believes that this Tucker fellowship will help him “learn precisely what I can do to tackle specific problems faced by youth, and this, I believe, will be of invaluable importance to the work I hope to do in my life and to my knowledge of international social and racial problems in general”. David’s recent discovery and reassurance of his values has made him a more confident leader and more understanding of other people’s perspectives. He is excited to continue this path of personal growth during his time in South Africa. David hopes that his experience will provide the children a “lasting positive experience from which they will come out of the better and that is in some way tangible.”
Hannah Raila ‘10 09X
Major: Psychology
Association of International Development and Exchange (AIDE)
Domestic Abuse Recovery Program
Ambato, Ecuador
Hannah will be spending her Tucker Fellowship working at a domestic violence shelter in Ambato, Ecuador with mothers and their children who have been subject to domestic abuse. Hannah will be working hand in hand with the shelter’s psychologist and social workers to coordinate the women’s counseling and support groups. Her particular tasks include self-esteem workshops to encourage the women that they have the power to rise above their abusers, informal discussions in which the women share their abuse stories, and educational sessions to teach women about the cycle of abuse and how to end it. Hannah will help these groups by bringing her own perspective and psychology background. In a less formal sense, Hannah will act as a mentor and as a pair of ears for the women and children in the shelter. In addition, Hannah may also hold English lessons and teach the women “gymcraftics”—a form of exercise and passion of Hannah’s that can increase cohesiveness and self-confidence in groups.
At Dartmouth Hannah has participated in Big Brother Big Sister, is currently an Eating Disorder Peer Advisor, and is a pole vaulter on the varsity Track and Field team. This past fall Hannah did a transfer term to Cadiz, Spain. While in Spain, Hannah developed a new sense of independence, self-sufficiency, and most importantly an ability to adapt to new cultures. Hannah feels blessed for the opportunities and skills that Dartmouth has provided her and now wants to give back to the world. During her Tucker fellowship, Hannah hopes “not only to value what I have been given but recognize that I have the capacity to help those who are not as fortunate”.
Hannah is passionate about issues relevant to helping address domestic abuse. Her interest in clinical psychology has made Hannah very enthusiastic about “making people’s (thinking) as healthy and positive as it can be”. Her experiences and knowledge have given Hannah very a heightened sense of others’ emotional disposition. Hannah is a very empathic, passionate person and a great active listener. She has an amazing ability to make others feel comfortable in stressful situations. Hannah is very curious about the world, especially the gender roles that exist in Latin America and Ecuador in particular.
Hannah believes that the Tucker fellowship is an “opportunity for spiritual growth through empowering others to rise above the negative effects of domestic abuse.” She states that “by building self-confidence in others, I will grow stronger as well.” The Fellowship experience will allow Hannah to learn from the psychologists she will be working with and give her first hand experience in a counseling setting. At the same time, Hannah hopes the experience will give the individuals she is working with the confidence to leave the shelter and return to the world as evolving self-sufficient, strong women. Hannah is excited to make lasting friendships with people from all over the world. Until her departure, Hannah is using as much time as possible preparing for this experience by practicing her Spanish speaking skills and working with local domestic violence abuse organization named WISE and their on campus associates at the center for women and gender. “I see the fellowship as one step towards fulfilling my duty to make a positive difference in other people’s lives.”
Alex Caron ‘10 09X
Major: English
Youth Bridge Global—Youth Theatre Project
Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Alex will spend his summer as a Tucker Fellow in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina as part of an international team of educators through Youth Bridge Global. Along with several other members from the Dartmouth community, Alex will help facilitate the production of a youth theater project for the summer as a peace and reconciliation initiative. The actors/actresses will come from three distinct local ethnic groups within Bosnia and Herzegovina: Muslim Bosniaks, Orthodox Serbs, and Catholic Croats. The group will be performing Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing”. Alex will assist these youth improve their group and leadership skills, mediation skills, public speaking abilities, and English language skills. Alex will also run workshops and exercises that focus on acting skills and developing confidence. On the more technical side, Alex will be in charge of blocking many of the scenes of the play and rehearsing them with the local actors.
Alex hopes that this project will help “ease ethnic differences and encourage understanding across ethnic and cultural lines”. Alex believes that the play will encourage a sense of understanding and respect between the different ethnic groups and build up each individual’s confidence. On campus, Alex has worked with professor Garrod of the education department in researching socio-moral development in American and Bosnian children.
Alex expects that his previous educational and mentoring roles will assist him during his Tucker fellowship. He is an RWIT tutor, which helps fellow students with their writing skills. This experience has taught him how to best relate with fellow students and develop interpersonal skills. He was also a mentoring coach for SEAD (Summer Enrichment at Dartmouth) this past summer, where he worked with a student from Dorchester, Massachusetts. Alex was able to connect with his mentee through educational means such as poetry.
Alex has developed a much greater confidence in himself during his time at Dartmouth. Much of this confidence has come from a greater understanding of his values and personal identity. He has become very interested in education, partly through reflection and analysis of his own educational tract, and believes that having a critical eye has helped him grapple with issues such as sexism, classism, and race at Dartmouth.
Alex has a great willingness to teach that allows him to adapt to most student needs. The opportunity to gain experience in teaching, mentoring and supervising will help Alex improve his ability to relate and engage with younger people. He writes: “I hope to expand my vision of how literature can be used in schools and what students may gain from these uses”. Alex believes that by the end of the summer he will have a “renewed commitment towards working with young people throughout my life and career,” and looks forward to the opportunity to test his own abilities and to see himself as a positive force on others’ lives.
Christabell Makokha 09X
Major: Engineering
Nanyuki Children’s Home
Nairobi, Kenya
This summer, Christabell will serve as a Tucker Fellow in the role of teaching assistant in the Nanyuki Children’s home just outside of Nairobi, Kenya. Public education in Kenya currently includes a significant number of under-resourced, community-run schools that often need the support of volunteers, and Christabell hopes to address this need by contributing her skills and knowledge. Christabell’s daily tasks will include leading lessons for both pre-schoolers and those at the primary school, who will possess varying levels of literacy or comprehension of math and science. Consequently, Christabell will work closely with the school and her supervisors to address the potential gaps in the children’s education. Additionally, Christabell plans to seek further service opportunities with the Internally Displaced Person’s Camp of Nakuru, which may include teaching or mentoring the youth of the camp. Currently, a large proportion of the displaced people have been personally affected by the violence of the elections, and Christabell hopes her service will contribute to the efforts of reunifying the Kenyan society. Through recognition of both the uneven distribution of resources in the world and a conscious assessment of her relatively unique position, she also plans to “take Dartmouth [and UWC] home” and encourage students to apply for universities in the United States and help them out with SAT’s and university applications”. Christabell’s desire to serve the Kenyan community stems from the fact that she has “become more aware of my role, as an African woman in the Diaspora, in the future of Africa; more so in the great need for me to get involved in civil work and being ‘the change I would like to see in the world’ “.
As a Tucker Fellow, Christabell has the opportunity to provide both skilled and personally relevant aid, and her previous service opportunities will undoubtedly aid her in this pursuit. Prior to matriculation, Christabell served as a Childline counselor to youth facing issues ranging from abuse to personal identity problemsand her subsequent success has translated to her current position as a Undergraduate Advisor on campus, and will provide a foundation for her role in the Nanyuki community. In addition, she has broadened her experience as a leader through programs like the Diversity Peer Advising program, the Undergraduate Advising Program, the Harambe Endeavor Alliance, and the International Student Association and will be better prepared to address issues of diversity and pluralism within her home community. Although Christabell volunteered previously as a teacher in Mombassa prior to this Fellowship, she now hopes to synthesize her recent educational experience, personal growth, and aspirations for the future in order to build upon her past service experiences.
Rachel Gozman 09X
Major: Psychology
Russian State Clinical Children’s Hospital
Moscow, Russia
Rachel’s motivation for serving as a Tucker Fellow and volunteer counselor stems from the fact that “many children in the Russian State Clinical Children’s hospital are orphans, and knowing they endure illnesses alone is painful […] I want to be what the children need me to be—a listener, advisor, and someone who understands how confusing life can be”. As a Tucker Fellow in the State Children’s Hospital, Rachel will be able to provide immediate assistance to the community through mentoring services, art therapy, and general hospital assistance while fortifying her aspirations. Rachel will be involved in providing mentoring to children in various wards. Her Russian language skills will be invaluable as she communicates with children, many of whom are orphans and who may have no other outlets to express themselves or improve their mental health. However, Rachel also recognizes the variety of challenges she may face, since “many already cope with familial, social, and economic hardships;” and physical illness may compound an individual’s physical illness and negatively impact their mental health. She notes: “I will mainly treat children in the cancer hospice and trauma wards. Unfortunately, chronically ill patients in the hospice are not going to recover like the acutely ill children in the trauma ward will. However, I hope to improve and facilitate the terminal children’s ability to cope with their circumstances.”
Although she expects to face some obstacles, particularly as she helps patients transition to the hospital environment or breaches stigmas associated with both physical and mental health, Rachel values the opportunity to learn about Russian culture and apply her knowledge. Her previous experience as a counselor ranges from her role as a former Special Strides assistant for disabled children and DREAM mentor, to her current role as UGA, and also includes several peer advising groups in campus. Her previous experiences as an advisor have helped her appreciate the importance of active listening and treating others with compassion. The skills she acquired from these opportunities will assist her in communicating with the children. In addition, her experience as a Psychology major and Research Assistant in Professor Norris’ social psychology lab has exposed her to various issues that she will gain firsthand exposure to within the hospital. In terms of her career, she hopes to develop a “new perspective on and appreciation of psychology’s history and progress”, and fortify her desire to pursue a career in pediatric neuropsychology. Her adaptability, warm personality, commitment to the children, and wide range of skills are well suited for this fellowship.
Caitlin Boucher 09X
Major: History
09X
Konditi Primary School
Kisumu City, Kenya
As a Tucker Fellow, Caitlin will be volunteering as a teaching assistant at Konditi Primary School through World Partners in Education. The school serves 298 students, but employs less than a dozen teachers. The majority of the larger community of Kokech is well below the poverty line and has been devastated by the effects of the AIDS epidemic, leaving many children as orphans. As Caitlin notes, education is key to the success of the community because “situational factors such as these mean that a strong education would be of especial benefit to the area’s children. Achieving educational success increases financial success, which in turn leads to greater access to health care.” Her responsibilities will include mentoring, working on extracurricular programming, tutoring, and developing programs to better suit the needs of the community. This will not be Caitlin’s first time leading a classroom—in the summer of 2007, Caitlin was a teacher atSuperKids Camp in Baltimore, Maryland, and last year she was also an America Reads tutor to children in the Upper Valley. Both experiences have greatly influenced her present goals and career plans. Her definition of service and its role in her life was most strongly influenced by her experience as a SuperKids Camp teacher, during which she was brought to “the firm realization that what I will do in my life must have a real, tangible meaning. As much as I love academia and have thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to learn at Dartmouth, my work here will feel self-serving until I apply it to helping others.”
Caitlin’s past pursuits have prepared her well for the fellowship. As a former intern to the Center for Educational Partnerships in Berkeley, she “gained greater insight into the issue of unequal access to education […] and experience communicating with people from a diverse array of communities […] through organizing and conducting interviews for a written publication.” Caitlin will have the chance to expand her educational experience in Konditi. She believes that “serving in an area so radically new to me will test my understanding of the world and significantly broaden my world view”, and by removing herself from her comfort zone, she hopes to show her commitment to the children and community at large. She is looking forward to sharing her mentoring skills with the Kokech community and hopes to build strong relationships with the children in her classroom. Although the prospect of travelling to a new community is somewhat daunting, Caitlin expresses great enthusiasm to learn about a new culture and positively impact a community.
Dana Daugherty 09X
Major: LALACS
09X
Women's Prison
Quito, Ecuador
Dana will be interning at the Women's Prison in Quito, Ecuador for her Tucker Fellowship. By using her academic knowledge of circumstances surrounding imprisonment and the various social justice issues inmates face during their time there, Dana hopes to work with and enable the women to better provide for themselves and their families upon release. The majority of her involvement at the prison will include teaching English, Math, and leading lessons geared toward hygiene, nutrition, and STD prevention, but may include opportunities to participate in the women’s music club and tutor and arrange activities for the children who live with their imprisoned mothers. By providing resources that would otherwise be unavailable to the women and children, she seeks to give them valuable tools for the future.
Dana believes this is the most appropriate time to pursue a Fellowship because at this point in her life, she has both the academic and practical background to make this experience as meaningful as possible. Her academic and extracurricular pursuits have been influenced by an understanding that "before empowering someone, you need to understand what the issues are that a person has experienced in order to understand how best you can help them." Prior to her Fellowship, Dana accumulated experience and knowledge by volunteering for the WISE Program (Women's Information Service in Lebanon) as an advocate for victims of physical or sexual abuse. In addition, she has worked for Hannah House of Lebanon, NH, where she was a caretaker for the children of teenage mothers. Dana has also received training to be an Eating Disorders Peer Advisor and Sexual Abuse Peer Advisor, and is an Undergraduate Advisor on campus. Her participation in these programs has broadened the scope of her knowledge, particularly pertaining to the difficulties women of various backgrounds face.
Furthermore, she believes " doing hands on service work within Latin America outside of the classroom not only applies the knowledge I have of Latin America to action, but also provides further growth and reflection on what I have learned about community development issues as they relate to Latin America". Dana hopes this Fellowship will continue to guide her personal and career related decisions in the future. She states, "I am hoping through this internship that I am able to add to my knowledge of women's and social justice issues. I would love to be able to come back from the internship and continue studying more about what I learned in Ecuador."
Lauren Campfield 09X
Major: Sociology
09X
The Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity
Benque Viejo del Carmen, Belize
As a Tucker Fellow, Lauren will be working with The Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity, a Catholic organization that sponsors educational, health, and occupational initiatives in Benque Viejo del Carmen, Belize. As a fellow, she will serve primarily as a volunteer in schools, acting as a teaching assistant, and tutoring children in English and Math. She will also be organizing recreational activities for the children and will possibly coach an after-school sports team.
Lauren is a Sociology major and Education minor and hopes to pursue a career in public education. A member of the Dartmouth Varsity Cross Country and Track and Field team, she is an assistant coach for Girls On The Run, a non-profit organization that educates pre-teen girls to “develop self-respect and healthy lifestyles through running.” She was also a counselor at a summer day camp in Temecula, California, and a music instructor for children with disabilities. In addition, Lauren was involved in initiating a youth program that facilitates activities between Dartmouth’s Catholic Student Center and St. Denis Parish in Hanover.
In 2008, Lauren taught English at a local elementary school in Costa Rica. This experience has allowed her to not only gain insight on teaching English to a Spanish-speaking classroom, but to also learn “a community-oriented way of living, centered around hospitality.” Her experience in Costa Rica will be of use in Benque Viejo del Carmen, where her English teaching skills are particularly needed. Because the official language of Belize is English, not speaking the language places inhabitants at an educational and occupational disadvantage. Given this need, Lauren’s skills and experience teaching English will be of particular use in the community. Her Spanish skills will enable her to interact with the community she seeks to serve and will empower her in her role as a teacher.
Lauren’s personal philosophy has led her to community service. She writes: “I’ve found that intellectual development, while a noble objective, is not fulfilling in itself, and is not an end in itself, but a means to a greater end.” It is her belief that from her faith and “compulsion to remain true to myself, has emerged a great desire to serve—to love other people unconditionally. It is the natural fruit of my faith, the manifestation of peace, the union of contemplation and action.”
Through her interactions with people of diverse backgrounds at Dartmouth and beyond, Lauren has acquired a “greater appreciation for those things that we all seem to share – a desire to be loved and accepted.” She hopes to share her knowledge, skills and passion for life and learning with the students she will be working with. Lauren’s past teaching and mentoring experiences and future goals in education have shown her that, “I want to teach because I want those I encounter to realize the incredible potential that is their life – to think for themselves and live fully, freely, and happily.”
Motema Letlatsa 09X
Major: Undecided
Amy Biehl Foundation Volunteering Service
Cape Town, South Africa
Motema’s Tucker Fellowship will take place in Cape Town, South Africa. She will be volunteering for the Amy Biehl Foundation (ABF), an organization founded in remembrance of Amy Biehl, an American college student and anti-apartheid activist who was murdered in South Africa fifteen years ago. The Tucker Fellowship program has recently developed a relationship with the Amy Biehl Foundation, agreeing to send up to three fellows to Cape Town each year. ABF works to empower at-risk youth in the surrounding townships through engaging them in a variety of education, artistic, athletic and cultural programs.
For her fellowship, Motema will assist in the After School Care and HIV/AIDS education programs of ABF, which are designed for underprivileged youth ages five to eighteen. For these children, sports, music, drama, dance, and HIV/AIDS education help establish a safe environment “away from the violence and drugs that plague the Township areas.”
In the past, Motema has had a variety of experiences mentoring and teaching children and youth. In her home country of Lesotho, Motema worked with HIV/AIDS-affected orphans, mentoring, tutoring and playing with them. She also tutored high school students in her village of Botha-Bothe, and volunteered as a tutor for primary school aged children. These experiences will undoubtedly be invaluable to her as she embarks on her Tucker Fellowship at the Amy Biehl Foundation.
Volunteer work, service, and the ability to give back and share her experiences and knowledge with children in under resourced communities have become very important to Motema since she had the opportunity to come to the United States three years ago. Through her experiences at the United World College of New Mexico and at Dartmouth, she has learned that “diversity should not keep us apart; instead it should bring us together.” With a new sense of growth and a desire to give back, Motema writes: “I hope to serve as an example to these children that everything is possible. I came from a rural village in my country and went to a public school. I was able to do so well that I got a scholarship to the UWC [United World College] where I learned a lot about the world and myself, where I also got the opportunity to come to the United States […] By being a living example that succeeding in the midst of disadvantage is possible, I hope I can serve as an inspiration.”
Motema’s Tucker Fellowship with the Amy Biehl Foundation will be especially meaningful for her because it represents an opportunity for her to go back to an area of the world with which she feels personally connected. She writes: “I have lived in South Africa for part of my life and I know how hard conditions can be. This reality has kept me going and returning there [and] will remind me again why I work so hard, and why I came to the United States in the first place.”
Mihret Getabicha 09X
Major: Undecided
09X
Selamta Children’s Home in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and
Project Mercy in Yetebon, Ethiopia
As a Tucker Fellow this summer, Mihret will travel to Ethiopia and work with two organizations: Selamta Children’s Home in Addis Ababa and Project Mercy in Yetebon. She will spend the first part of the summer term at Selamta Children’s Home, an organization that adopts Ethiopian children orphaned by HIV/AIDS and creates new family units for them, placing eight children in a house under the tutelage of a “mother”. At Selamta, Mihret will implement a project of engaging the older children in acting lessons that will “focus on current social and humanitarian issues in Ethiopia such as the impact of HIV/AIDS and homelessness, which many of the Selamta youths have faced themselves.” The project will include a culminating performance featuring the work of Selamta’s youth.
In addition to the acting lessons, Mihret will lead music workshops in which she will teach the children how to read music and play percussion instruments. Mihret has a firm background in music, both as a performer and an instructor, and has been a leader in marching and concert bands in the past. She has performed with the Dartmouth Wind Symphony and currently gives private saxophone lessons to a local Hanover elementary school student. In addition, Mihret has classroom experience through teaching Sunday school at the St. Augustine Lutheran Church in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and through her work with the L.C. Ward Education Center, an inner city high school facing gang violence in Fort Wayne.
Mihret will devote the second part of the term to working with Project Mercy, a non-profit organization that provides healthcare, education, and skills training to members of an impoverished community in rural Yetebon, Ethiopia. At Project Mercy, Mihret will tutor children. She will also participate in a Summer Literacy Program which partners with educated youth so they are able to extend their knowledge on HIV/AIDS, hygiene, nutrition, basic arithmetic, and literacy to surrounding rural communities. During her time with Project Mercy, Mihret will also lead theater and music workshops for community youth.
Mihret believes that “living in Ethiopia will also be a humbling experience which will further motivate me to be a better student.” After visiting family in Ethiopia several years ago, Mihret has been inspired to one day return and make positive contributions to this society. She writes: “my first trip to Ethiopia has pushed me to excel academically, in order to return one day and help those in need. Humanitarianism and volunteerism have always been important to me, especially since many of my relatives deal with poverty and hunger daily.” Through her fellowship, she wishes to learn “how poverty affects people of all backgrounds,” and hopes to bring her gift of music and compassion to the children she will work with.
