91ֱ�� Named Top Producer of Fulbright Students for Tenth Consecutive Year</h1> <article> <h1>91ֱ�� Named Top Producer of Fulbright Students for Tenth Consecutive Year</h1> <p>eulrich — Thu, 21 Mar 2019 20:12:38 +0000</p> <span>91ֱ�� Named Top Producer of Fulbright Students for Tenth Consecutive Year</span> <span><span>eulrich</span></span> <span><time datetime="2019-03-21T16:12:38-04:00" title="Thursday, March 21, 2019 - 16:12">Thu, 03/21/2019 - 16:12</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>First introduced by then-Senator J. William Fulbright, Congress created the Fulbright Program in 1946, designed to foster international goodwill through global learning initiatives for students. The Fulbright U.S. Student Program now offers opportunities for recent graduates and graduate students to engage in international exchange and learning in more than 160 countries and awards 1,900 grants annually. Funded through an annual appropriation by the United States Congress to the Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the program is the largest of its kind in the United States.</p> <p>91ֱ��’s 220 total recipients of Fulbright U.S. student grants have engaged in a wide range of international learning experiences, from <a href="/node/43071" target="_blank">studying violin in Samoa</a> to <a href="/node/85706" target="_blank">studying anti-obstetric violence law in Argentina</a>. <a href="/node/31851" target="_blank">Director of Fellowships and Awards Nick Petzak</a> says that the breadth of skills Fulbright students gain through their diverse experiences gives them a leg-up professionally. “Fulbright students are engaged in practical, intense professional experiences—the kinds of experiences the global economy demands and employers value,” Petzak says. “These kinds of experiences can be personally and professionally transformational.”</p> <p>Transformation, Petzak says, is a common theme shared by 91ֱ�� Fulbright alumni. Theodora Nestorova ’18, <a href="/node/85246" target="_blank">who is currently studying vocal pedagogy in Vienna, Austria</a>, echoes this sentiment. “Professionally, my life plan has always included taking an international approach to my career as a classical singer and vocal pedagogue and voice researcher,” she says. “My Fulbright year here in Vienna has solidified that desire for a trans-Atlantic connection and opened my eyes to new perspectives and possibilities.”</p> <div class="obj-center"> <figure class="captioned-image"> <figcaption>Theodora Nestorova '18 and Emma Ellis '18, both Fulbright recipients, attended the Fulbright Berlin Seminar, where they represented 91ֱ��<br> Photo courtesy of Theodora Nestorova</figcaption> </figure> </div> <p>Fulbright students design their own research projects, live with host families, and are immersed in the culture of the country they reside in during their grant year. Thus, Fulbright recipients act not just as cultural ambassadors, but as 91ֱ�� ambassadors in other parts of the world. Petzak says that 91ֱ�� students are well-prepared for this responsibility.</p> <p>“91ֱ�� students are steeped in ethical understanding and the critical thinking, interpersonal, and professional skills needed to succeed as cultural ambassadors,” Petzak says. “They know how to engage in unfamiliar contexts, how to listen, and how to promote a sense of community. These are skills and habits of mind crucial to the ‘promotion of international goodwill’ that drives the promise of the Fulbright program.”</p> <p>Many alumni have used their Fulbright year to prepare for their professional lives and enhance their 91ֱ�� education by applying it to a global context. A history and creative writing graduate, <a href="/node/86726" target="_blank">Olivia Maia Fondaras Goffman ’18 is currently teaching in Malaysia through a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship</a>. “Every day I’m in the classroom, I’m reminded of how much I love to work with adolescents,” she says. “This experience has cemented my desire to continue working with that age group in my professional life.”</p> <p>While some Fulbright alumni’s experiences have helped crystallize their future career plans, Petzak says that many are inspired to pursue new paths. “91ֱ�� Fulbright alumni have exciting careers in law, education, media, finance, the arts—the range is incredibly broad. Through applying their 91ֱ�� education in a new context, Fulbright alumni discover fulfillment and interest in challenges they had not anticipated; they discover new contexts for what is possible and change directions.”</p> <p><a class="view-more" href="/node/49176">Read more about 91ֱ�� awards and honors recipients.</a></p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2019-03-22T12:00:00Z">Fri, 03/22/2019 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Erin Ulrich ’18</div> <div class="text-content field field--name-field-intro-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>91ֱ�� was recognized as a top producer of Fulbright Students for the 2018-19 academic year, an honor the college has received annually for a decade.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2373">Awards and Honors</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2368">Alumni</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2393">Internationalism</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2356">Conservatory</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=35596">Voice</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25361">Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25381">History</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25326">Creative Writing</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/history" hreflang="und">History</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/creative-writing" hreflang="und">Creative Writing</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/conservatory/divisions/vocal-studies" hreflang="und">Vocal Studies</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/gsfs" hreflang="und">Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Christopher Navin</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Studying Race in Brazil</h1> <p>Anonymous — Mon, 07 Nov 2016 18:01:20 +0000</p> <span>Studying Race in Brazil</span> <span><span>Anonymous (not verified)</span></span> <span><time datetime="2016-11-07T13:01:20-05:00" title="Monday, November 7, 2016 - 13:01">Mon, 11/07/2016 - 13:01</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p><a class="newshub_embed" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRMORYpd7G8">Racialeyes</a></p> <p>While studying and teaching through a Fulbright Fellowship in Brazil, Laura Li ’14 noticed in discussions about race that the conversation was limited to black and white, leaving out the complexities surrounding the Asian diaspora and other minorities like the indigenous people of Brazil.</p> <p>Although Li had studied abroad previously in Ecuador, she said she was not prepared for the situation surrounding the Asian diaspora in Brazil. “In Brazil, political correctness does not exist in the same way as it does in the United States. Brazilians live in a ‘postracial democracy’ so comments on race are read as jokes or teasing. So, there were many instances in which people would pull their eyes at me and would refer to me as ‘japa’ when my heritage is not Japanese; would call my eyes ‘puxados,’ meaning ‘pulled’ or ‘pulled back’; and many other things that I would consider microaggressions or even aggressions,” she says. Knowing fellow Fulbright Scholar Mia Yamashiro shared the same frustrations, the two decided to cofound <a href="http://racialeyes.wix.com/home">Racialeyes</a>, a multimedia project specifically pertaining to the Asian community in Brazil.</p> <p>Li explains that the Racialeyes project draws its name from the verb “racialize” and the idea that eyes are often what isolate people of Asian descent and mark them as “other.” Li and Yamashiro recorded 14 interviews with people of Asian descent spanning four generations, and subsequently published an <a href="https://issuu.com/racialeyes/docs/racialeyes_vol_1_eng">e-book</a> available in both English and Portuguese. They have also released a promotional video and <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1cxRmrlkY1s7tw_hQ8kYYjZSE3TOTXeZC624i9efy8bc/viewform">survey</a> to gather more information about the effects beauty standards may have on the perceptions of different eye types.</p> <p>Coordinating so many personal narratives can be a complicated process, and Li credits a travel writing course she took with Professor of Rhetoric and Composition Laurie McMillin for helping her learn to think about storytelling and character development from multiple perspectives. “We had so much flexibility and creative license to build a story, and in order to do that we had to dig deep and think about how we interacted in the spaces we were in abroad. I had to think about my identity and the many other cultural and societal factors at play and how they structured my experiences—which may be very different than another person going through the same experiences.” She says this approach has helped her tell the project participants’ stories in a structured, compelling way.</p> <p>While at 91ֱ��, Li studied politics and was a member of the varsity field hockey team for four years and captain her senior year. She also worked as a tutor for America Reads, and participated in the Taiko ExCo, Asian American Alliance, Chinese Student Association, Student Athletic Advising Committee, and 91ֱ�� College Democrats.</p> <p>Looking to the future, Li is considering either working in education and developing curriculum for pluricultural education or attending law school with a focus on education or housing discrimination.</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2016-05-25T12:00:00Z">Wed, 05/25/2016 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Kasey Cheydleur</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2368">Alumni</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2393">Internationalism</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2360">After 91ֱ��</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2373">Awards and Honors</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2389">Young Alumni</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25416">Politics</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/politics" hreflang="und">Politics</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">Li (left) and Yamashiro (right) with their interviewees at the Racialeyes e-book pre-launch event</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Laura Li</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>London Calling</h1> <p>Anonymous — Mon, 07 Nov 2016 18:01:50 +0000</p> <span>London Calling</span> <span><span>Anonymous (not verified)</span></span> <span><time datetime="2016-11-07T13:01:50-05:00" title="Monday, November 7, 2016 - 13:01">Mon, 11/07/2016 - 13:01</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>New York and Chicago may be theater powerhouses, but no city is more central to the history and vitality of English-language theater than London. The 2016 Theater in London winter-term trip allowed 12 students the chance to experience the history and variety of the London theater scene firsthand. For two weeks, the students studied theater in performance by preparing for, attending, and discussing 10 plays currently in production.</p> <p>The trip was led by David Walker, professor of English and creative writing, who is no stranger to London. He has taught and led the <a href="/node/152326">91ֱ��-in-London Program</a> six times and co-directed London theater trips for 91ֱ�� alumni every other summer since 1996. He has also lived in London for extensive periods and says he knows it well. “I love introducing students, and others, to one of the most dynamic cities on the planet,” he says.</p> <p>Each morning the group met for discussion and regrouped later in the evening to attend the performances, which included both classic and contemporary works. There were also organized excursions to the reconstructed Globe Theatre and Exhibition, a backstage tour of the National Theatre complex, and visits to relevant exhibits at the Museum of London and the Victoria & Albert Museum.</p> <p>“I chose to go on the Theater in London winter-term trip for a few reasons,” says third-year English major Gracie Freeman Lifshutz. “The main reason was that I am very passionate about theater and the performance arts, but I had never really gotten the chance to study them in depth. The opportunity to study the theater culture of a place like London, which is such an artistic and cultural hub, was one that was too exciting to ignore.”</p> <p>The New York City native says the experience has changed the way she approaches theater. “While studying abroad this semester, a friend and I went to see a play at our local theater, and I could feel the difference in my approach to it. I found myself watching it and thinking about it more closely, and I think it enhanced the experience for me. Whenever I see or read a piece of theater now, I know that I have a greater vocabulary and framework to approach it with.”</p> <p>Second-year Will Osborn agrees that the experience has helped him appreciate theater differently. “I certainly feel more connected with what’s happening onstage,” he says. “There’s not a self-imposed barrier of ignorance between me and the stage. I feel like I’m worthy of being in my seat at a show.”</p> <p>In addition to learning more about theater, second-year Charlie Kimball says the trip’s flexible schedule left a lot of time for the students to explore London and the United Kingdom on their own terms. Each student received unlimited metro and bus passes, which he says made travelling throughout the city easy and allowed him to experience London’s thriving music scene. One of his favorite moments from the trip was when some of the group took an excursion outside London to Dover Castle.</p> <p>“I was a bit of a war-history nerd when I was younger and it was exciting to see how much history was still intact from battles that happened 800 years ago. I think that living in the U.S. can give you a weird frame of reference for historical narratives. A historian at the castle mentioned that it’s not unthinkable to go into your backyard and accidentally stumble upon an 1,800-year-old piece of clay pottery from when the Romans held Britain,” he says.</p> <p>Walker says that from his perspective, the trip was a tremendous success. “The group bonded and learned a great deal from each other, and I think they came away from the project with an enhanced understanding of and appreciation for theater. It was a great pleasure to introduce them to my favorite city.”</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2016-03-03T12:00:00Z">Thu, 03/03/2016 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Kasey Cheydleur</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2402">Winter Term</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2393">Internationalism</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25441">Theater</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25346">English</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/theater" hreflang="und">Theater</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/english" hreflang="und">English</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">The Theater in London winter term group while on a tour of the Globe Theatre.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">David Walker</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Volunteering in Vietnam</h1> <p>Anonymous — Mon, 07 Nov 2016 18:01:50 +0000</p> <span>Volunteering in Vietnam</span> <span><span>Anonymous (not verified)</span></span> <span><time datetime="2016-11-07T13:01:50-05:00" title="Monday, November 7, 2016 - 13:01">Mon, 11/07/2016 - 13:01</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Having spent his previous winter terms at home and on campus performing neuropharmacology research, Gabriel Hitchcock decided to try something completely different for his third winter term. The neuroscience major and art history minor investigated his options and discovered <a href="http://www.projects-abroad.org/?gclid=CNyR-pXS3soCFQ6SaQodIAwJJQ">ProjectsAbroad</a>, a nonprofit that connects volunteers with opportunities around the world. Through this organization he was able to arrange a trip to spend four weeks in Hanoi, Vietnam, volunteering at a traditional medicine hospital. </p> <p>Hitchcock, who is originally from Grass Lake, Michigan, says each day in Hanoi began around 7 a.m. with a run and a breakfast of instant coffee and mango. Next came a hair-raising commute to the hospital by motorbike taxi—“Let me tell you, nothing wakes you up like a death-defying commute on the back of a motorbike,” he says. Once at the hospital, Hitchcock prepared drugs, accompanied the head nurse and other interns to check on patients, and administered medicine. After a break for lunch and some time to explore the city, he returned to the hospital in the afternoon to repeat the routine as well as observe or help prepare for surgeries. How he spent his evenings varied, but he says it usually involved a lot of walking and excellent food. </p> <p>The trip was Hitchcock’s first time in Asia and, while it took a little time to adjust, he says Vietnam is one of the most beautiful places he has ever visited. He says one of his favorite moments from the trip was when he took a day trip and rented a motorcycle to drive the 60 kilometers to Ba Vi, a national park and mountain range. “Driving on deserted mountain roads through the jungle is definitely up there on my list of unforgettable experiences,” he says. </p> <p>In addition to learning about medicine and the inner workings of a hospital, Hitchcock says he also had several fascinating conversations with local friends about Vietnam’s communist government. “Learning about the political landscape of a communist country from the perspective of its citizens was, for me, a very meaningful experience.” </p> <p>After graduation from 91ֱ��, Hitchcock says he would like to work in the health sciences either in a research or administrative capacity. “The opportunity to work and have conversations with the administrative staff at a foreign hospital was invaluable,” he says. </p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2016-02-12T12:00:00Z">Fri, 02/12/2016 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Kasey Cheydleur</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2402">Winter Term</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2393">Internationalism</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=4861">Neuroscience</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/neuroscience" hreflang="und">Neuroscience</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">Gabriel Hitchcock ’17 spent his winter term in Hanoi, Vietnam, volunteering at a traditional medicine hospital.<br> <br> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Gabriel Hitchcock</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Filming Wine in France</h1> <p>Anonymous — Mon, 07 Nov 2016 18:01:50 +0000</p> <span>Filming Wine in France</span> <span><span>Anonymous (not verified)</span></span> <span><time datetime="2016-11-07T13:01:50-05:00" title="Monday, November 7, 2016 - 13:01">Mon, 11/07/2016 - 13:01</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>For the French, and for faculty in residence at French House Thomas Chevrier especially, wine is not simply a drink.</p> <p>This January, Chevrier, whose father sells wine in France, took advantage of the possibilities of 91ֱ��’s winter term to lead a group of students to the picturesque vineyards of France. While there, the group shot footage to make a documentary film on winemaking and the people engaged in the process.</p> <p>Chevrier and a group of seven students spent 10 days traveling through Alsace, the Loire Valley, Burgundy, and the Rhône Valley interviewing wine sellers, wine makers, scientists, and others involved in every stage of the process of creating this essential French staple. Associate Professor of Russian and Environmental Studies Tom Newlin, a connoisseur of French wine, accompanied the group, assisting Chevrier with the logistics of the trip—driving, cooking, preparing for activities and interviews. The group filmed in shops, cellars, vineyards, and museums, attempting to capture the culture and people surrounding their subject. Copious wine tasting, of course, was also necessary to the project.</p> <p>For Morgan Daruwala, a third-year neuroscience and French double-major, one appeal of making the film was discovering the reasons behind the cultural devotion to wine. “It was cool to watch people get excited and passionate about what they do, and seeing them talk about their stuff,” she says.</p> <p>Thanks to Chevrier’s careful planning, the group was able to meet with an impressive number of experts. Their areas of expertise ranged from advising people around the world on which grapes to plant according to their region’s specific soil properties to giving biodynamic wine certification status to growers throughout France.</p> <p>“Each person we went to was surprised that we were able to get an interview with the last person,” says Jean-Paul Gilbert, a third-year Russian language major. “We didn’t initially totally understand the caliber of the people we were meeting with.”</p> <p>Chevrier views the way wine is produced as indicative of a larger commentary on the state of our world. “Wine is a product of civilization, made from nature but developed by man,” he explains, and the current landscape of industrial agriculture has posed deep challenges for a cultural product so closely tied to specific places and unique tastes. “You can mass produce it, with a single type of grape grown with chemicals and pesticides, or you can make wine that is more of an art, that is different from bottle to bottle and each having specific characteristics,” Chevrier explains.</p> <p>This tension between old and new methods of producing wine is a large theme of their documentary, but it’s not the only one. The education in wine the students received from this experience ranged from what Daruwala called an “education in how to appreciate things”—like the subtle tastes and smells so important to wine-drinking—to an improvement of their French speaking skills and understanding of this aspect of French culture.</p> <p>The process of interviewing and continuously editing, Chevrier notes, adds to the medium’s particular effectiveness as a pedagogical tool—and with roughly 70 hours of footage, the group’s project is extending beyond winter term. They plan to work on the film for the rest of the semester and aim to show it to the public and potentially enter film festivals with their completed product.</p> <p>There is much more to wine than what you see in the bottle. As third-year computer science major and math minor Louis Daligault put it, “Drinking wine in the United States won’t ever be the same.”</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2016-02-08T12:00:00Z">Mon, 02/08/2016 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Chloe Vassot</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2402">Winter Term</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2393">Internationalism</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25356">French</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/french-and-italian" hreflang="und">French and Italian</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">Students filming winemaker Vincent Laval in his vineyard in Cumières, in Champagne, France. </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Thomas Chevrier</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Teen Research in Action</h1> <p>Anonymous — Mon, 07 Nov 2016 18:03:59 +0000</p> <span>Teen Research in Action</span> <span><span>Anonymous (not verified)</span></span> <span><time datetime="2016-11-07T13:03:59-05:00" title="Monday, November 7, 2016 - 13:03">Mon, 11/07/2016 - 13:03</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>This summer marks the conclusion of Professor of Psychology Nancy Darling's work with <a href="http://prepare.b.uib.no/project-summary-2/">Prepare</a>, an HIV prevention group funded by the European Union, of whose advisory board Darling was a member. Initiated in 2010, Prepare sought to educate youths in sub-Saharan Africa in healthy sexual practices.</p> <p>Darling says that she was invited to join Prepare due to her rigorous study of adolescents. For the past 30 years, she has studied the ways in which teenagers interact with their parents and each other, not only in the United States, but in Chile, Italy, and the Philippines, as well. In addition to research published in scholarly journals, Darling runs a blog with <a href="http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/thinking-about-kids">Psychology Today</a> about the subject and has been quoted in<a href="http://nymag.com/news/features/43893/">New York Magazine</a>. "They know about public health," she says of Prepare, "but I know about teenagers."</p> <p>Coordinated by Dr. Leif Aaro of Norway's University of Bergen, Darling was part of a group that included researchers from across the world. Darling worked with researchers at Prepare's headquarters in Norway, as well as in sites in Uganda, Tanzania, and South Africa, to organize surveys for parents to assess their knowledge of their children's sexual activity.</p> <p>As someone who has done a great deal of work internationally, Darling knows that adjusting to one's surroundings is of critical importance when trying to gather information in another region, much less make an impact there. "The context became really important," she explains. "The way that we think of romantic relationships or sexuality in the United States or in Northern Europe was quite different than the context of sexuality in sub-Saharan Africa."</p> <p>While adjusting to this context, the advisory team quickly realized that, in addition to HIV information, youths in Africa were badly in need of information about relationship violence.</p> <p>The Prepare researchers used the information from Darling's surveys, as well as the advisory board's input, to implement two particular programs at the sites in Africa. At the organization's site in Capetown, South Africa, teenage girls reported high rates of sexual assault. In order to help combat this, the Prepare team provided them with cameras to document all the places in which they felt unsafe. "It was a very empowering thing for the girls," says Darling, "and it also increased the parents' knowledge of the kinds of things that were happening in their kids lives."<br></p> <p>In Uganda, Prepare incorporated information about sexual health into English lessons, which are mandatory in schools there. Darling says that this endeavor was tremendously successful. Not only did it inform students, but it also gave them a way to talk to their parents about sex, which researchers found rarely happened at the site.</p> <p>Darling says that she enjoyed seeing her work in action, not just because she usually works in the theoretical realm, but because it confirmed that much of what she's learned studying teenager/parent relationships is universal across cultures. "I think that was important," she says, "because we tend to think of them as 'other.'"</p> <p>Unlike many international projects, in which participants from North America and Western Europe can sometimes dominate, Darling says that there was real cooperation between all members of Prepare. "A lot of time we talk about these North-South collaborations and some of them are just Northern researchers going to developing countries and imposing things, which is the worse type," she explains. "Some of the time it's a true North-South collaboration. I think that is what Prepare is."</p> <p>Though Darling's insights were instrumental to the program, she is quick to praise the African researchers running the project. "They did all the hard work. I'm just on the advisory board."</p> <p>Prepare is applying for more funding from the EU to implement similar programs in eastern Europe, with the effort to be led by the African teams. Darling says she would love to continue working with the organization.</p> <p><em>Additional reporting by Jonathan Jue-Wong</em></p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2014-06-17T12:00:00Z">Tue, 06/17/2014 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">James Helmsworth</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2393">Internationalism</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2414">Faculty</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=25286">Psychology</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/arts-and-sciences/departments/psychology" hreflang="und">Psychology</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Muhammad Mahdi Karim</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Far Afield - and A Court</h1> <p>Anonymous — Mon, 07 Nov 2016 18:04:10 +0000</p> <span>Far Afield - and A Court</span> <span><span>Anonymous (not verified)</span></span> <span><time datetime="2016-11-07T13:04:10-05:00" title="Monday, November 7, 2016 - 13:04">Mon, 11/07/2016 - 13:04</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Studying abroad can be one of the most meaningful experiences as an 91ֱ�� student. But what does that mean varsity who may be faced with giving up precious off-season training time with the team?</p> <p>For some students, bringing their sport to another country wasn’t only a way to stay in shape in the off-season, but it was an integral part of their study abroad experience.</p> <p>Fourth-year student Matt Tunzi has always found sports to be an integral part of his social life and knew it would be the same abroad. “I’ve always found my group of friends through soccer, so I knew I wanted to play in Spain even before I left,” said Tunzi, who went on the 91ֱ�� Sponsored PRESHCO Program in Córdoba, Spain. With this in mind, he contacted the director of his program, who helped set him up with a host brother who played intramural soccer.</p> <p>Soccer also added to his immersion experience. “On these programs, it can be difficult to break away from the American group and immerse yourself in the culture,” Tunzi said. “Soccer really helped me break the ice. My Spanish wasn’t fabulous, so it was great practice and I was lucky that the team incorporated me in so easily.”</p> <p>Like Tunzi, third-year student Kate Hanick made sports a key part of her abroad experience. Captain of 91ֱ��'s lacrosse team, she joined the team at King’s College in London, where she studied last fall. “King’s College is very spread out, with five campuses, so it was difficult to make friends in the city. Once I joined the lacrosse team, it was easy. It really made my experience.” Coached by the goalie on the Scottish Women’s National Team, Chloe Hunt, the squad practiced once a week and played games once a week.</p> <p>“It was awesome to see my sport in a different culture,” Hanick said. “They have different names for positions and are so much more polite.”</p> <p>It also led her to reflect on her time with the Yeowomen. “The commitment level isn’t the same in London, so it made me appreciate my team here even more.”</p> <p>Fourth-year Brenna Sheldon had experience playing abroad before she even matriculated at 91ֱ��. From playing in Barcelona in high school to Paraguay during her gap year, her most recent experience brought her to Berlin after receiving a grant from 91ֱ��’s department of German language and literatures to take classes there over the summer. “It’s the aspect of taking your sport abroad, and making a unique connection with someone in another country, that matters to me. It brings you together in a way that is really difficult for internationals to do normally.”</p> <p>91ֱ��’s Athletics Department realizes the importance of studying away and even encourages such experiences. “Studying abroad is a transformative experience and is an opportunity our department supports,” said Delta Lodge Director of Athletics Natalie Winkelfoos. "It gives athletes a global perspective which they can bring back and share with others.”</p> <p>Emmanuel Lewis, also a fourth-year, plays basketball at 91ֱ�� and experienced this growth first hand. Last summer, he participated in the Basketball Beyond Borders program, which took him on a six-week long trip to Costa Rica. After training for four weeks, he spent the last two weeks traveling the country and playing games against professional teams in Costa Rica.</p> <p>“Even though basketball is very similar throughout the world, there were some definite differences,” Lewis noted. “Outside of the U.S. the game is very team-oriented. It’s about working as a whole, whereas in the U.S. it is more about the individual. I thought it was great to see that.”</p> <p>While Tunzi and Lewis have now wrapped up their senior seasons, Hanick and Sheldon are back with the Yeowomen for spring competition.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2014-04-04T12:00:00Z">Fri, 04/04/2014 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Phoebe Hammer</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2411">Athletics & Wellness</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2393">Internationalism</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">Emmanuel Lewis ’14 (second from right) with his Beyond Borders teammates.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Emmanuel Lewis</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>New Shansi Director Brings Experience, Vision to Program</h1> <p>Anonymous — Mon, 07 Nov 2016 18:04:25 +0000</p> <span>New Shansi Director Brings Experience, Vision to Program</span> <span><span>Anonymous (not verified)</span></span> <span><time datetime="2016-11-07T13:04:25-05:00" title="Monday, November 7, 2016 - 13:04">Mon, 11/07/2016 - 13:04</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>This year, <a href="http://shansi.org/news/">91ֱ�� Shansi</a> welcomes Gavin Tritt as its new executive director. A nonprofit located on 91ֱ��’s campus, Shansi facilitates programs that place 91ֱ�� undergraduates, recent grads, and faculty in China, India, Indonesia and Japan, where they teach English. Shansi also brings individuals from those regions to 91ֱ�� to teach their native languages.</p> <p>“This is such a wonderful community,” says Tritt, who arrived with his wife, two children, and two dogs in December 2012, of 91ֱ�� College and the Shansi program.</p> <p>Tritt succeeds Carl Jacobson, who led Shansi for 31 years before retiring in 2012. Tritt says he feels honored to represent Shansi, which he calls a “remarkable institution,” and that he worked hard to gain the position.</p> <p>Learning of the executive director search “got me really excited,” says Tritt, “because it brought me back to how I got started on this field.”</p> <p>In 1988, after graduating from Yale University with a degree in East Asian studies and Chinese history, he began what was supposed to be two years teaching English in Changsha, China, with the Yale China Association.</p> <p>Though Tritt describes it as fruitful and enriching, his experience took a sudden turn in the summer of 1989, when political demonstrations swept the nation, and the Chinese government violently struck down student protestors on Tiananmen Square on June 4. In response, the program withdrew Tritt from the country.</p> <p>“It was quite shocking,” recalls Tritt, who returned to Changsha six months later to finish his fellowship. He remembers that his students’ morale had weakened because of the preceding events. “That was a very defining aspect of my experience there.”</p> <p>After finishing his program in China and earning a graduate degree in international development, Tritt joined the Asia Foundation, which provides Asian countries support for economic, political, and social development. During his 19 years with the foundation Tritt worked in San Francisco, the Philippines, and Cambodia.</p> <p>As Tritt has grown more acquainted with Shansi’s current fellows and the programs in which they participate, he continues to ask questions: Are they contributing to the community? Do they feel their time is valuable?</p> <p>Among Tritt’s plans for Shansi is to expand the experience of Shansi fellows beyond teaching English. In his time with the program, he has shifted its focus to include non-profit, community-based work.</p> <p>“We’re looking at ways to build new relationships with nongovernmental organizations and advocacy organizations in Asia that work around service learning,” says Tritt. “There’s a greater interest on the campus among the students and our partners to do so.”</p> <p>Amelea Kim ’12, who is teaching English at Sanxi Agricultural University, says that when Tritt visited China he “immediately dove into meeting with the administration and establishing relations there, meeting with us and listening to all our concerns, and getting to know us well.”</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2013-11-11T12:00:00Z">Mon, 11/11/2013 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Elizabeth Kuhr</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2393">Internationalism</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2397">Shansi</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">91ֱ�� Shansi Director Gavin Tritt at the organization’s open house last spring.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Dale Preston '83</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Life on the Border</h1> <p>Anonymous — Mon, 07 Nov 2016 18:04:59 +0000</p> <span>Life on the Border</span> <span><span>Anonymous (not verified)</span></span> <span><time datetime="2016-11-07T13:04:59-05:00" title="Monday, November 7, 2016 - 13:04">Mon, 11/07/2016 - 13:04</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>In the late 1990s, Professor of History Steve Volk took a trip to Texas. As a newly appointed member of the <a href="http://legacy.earlham.edu/~borders/">Border Studies Program</a>’s (BSP) faculty advisory council Volk had been invited by the program to meet the staff and students and see the place for himself. During some free time before his meeting, Volk decided to go to Mexico. He paid a quarter, walked for a few minutes above the Rio Grande River, and there he was, standing in the middle of a bridge as hundreds of people poured by him in both directions — to El Paso on one end, Ciudad Juaréz, Mexico, on the other.</p> <p>As Volk stood on the bridge that day, something occurred to him: these two cities — and countries — were deeply connected in ways that a wall could never separate.</p> <p>“The idea of closing off the border, of sealing off the United States, was impossible,” Volk remembers now. “And all you had to do was stand on the bridge to see that’s not going to happen. The two areas are too integrated. The difference between El Paso and Ciudad Juaréz is that there are fewer ruts in the road in El Paso. That’s about the only difference you could tell. It’s the same people on both sides.”</p> <p>In those fledgling years of the BSP, students lived and worked in both the Texas border town and in Ciudad Juaréz; they were among the thousands of people who made the legal crossing from the United States to Mexico and back nearly every day. This seemingly innocuous act of border crossing is at the epicenter of the BSP, a <a href="http://glca.org">Great Lakes College Association</a> (GLCA) program based in the southern borderlands of Tucson, Arizona, and run by Earlham College.</p> <p>Since the idea for the BSP was first conceived of by the GLCA in the mid-90s, dozens of students have participated, though not all in the same location — although the program was designed to take place between El Paso and Ciudad Juaréz, the BSP’s directors made the decision to move the program to Tucson in 2008.</p> <p>Located 60 miles from the border, Arizona’s second-largest populated city provides the BSP with an ideal location to teach students about the realities of life on opposite sides of the border. These realities prove difficult to process and comprehend, but which are always eye-opening and even life-changing for the students that participate in BSP every fall and spring semester.</p> <p>Instead of jetting off to exotic locales in Europe or Africa, students from GLCA schools like 91ֱ�� have chosen to spend their semesters away within their own country. Tucson proves to be a world apart from 91ֱ��, while at the same time not so far removed. Students have the opportunity to brush up on their Spanish, discover new people and places, and learn more than they could have imagined — not only about life on the border, but also about themselves, and to take that knowledge back to 91ֱ��.</p> <p>***</p> <p>Before junior Mariel Cohn, a Latin American studies major, left to spend her fall 2012 semester in Tucson, she couldn’t have comprehended the caliber of learning she was entering into — a kind of learning that isn’t regulated to a classroom.</p> <p>“A lot of the more mundane details of my life, or the things I don’t usually take the time to pay attention to in 91ֱ��, were things that I was always thinking about in Tucson,” says Cohn. “Everything felt highly relevant to me all the time. Border Studies asks you to be conscientious and be aware of a lot of things that are going on around you. When you leave the classroom, the learning experience isn’t over.”</p> <p>Although the students enroll in two classroom-based courses during their 15-week semester — the fall courses focus on globalization’s impact on food systems and the environment, while the spring curriculum centers on border enforcement, human rights, and immigration policy — the additional three take place outside the classroom. Students take part in weekly field trips and visits to various locations in and around Tucson, including trips to Mexico and Guatemala, and attend lectures by visiting speakers. Outside of class, students work with a local organization to complete an internship dealing with a topic they are passionate about — there are opportunities to work on issues such as environmentalism, art, local food, and social justice.</p> <p>Students who thrive in such a learning environment are the ones who “can exist without great structure, who are flexible, who make a lot of their lives themselves,” says Volk. “Many of them are very active politically and environmentally, which are issues that are sharpest on the border. And they have to be willing to take risks. Because the program is risky — not in terms of their safety, which we protect — but in terms of the things they deal with.”</p> <p>The immediate impact of the realities of life on the border — for immigrants and American and Mexican citizens — is a rude awakening for many students coming from relatively isolated Midwestern colleges. Katie Sharar, a 2003 alum of the BSP and its current assistant director, sees a kind of paralysis hit students about halfway through the program, at a point when “they get so weighted down by questions of their own privilege that it makes it hard for them to act. But it becomes a humbling process — becoming really awake to their privilege, if nothing else because they have access to a liberal arts education, and to how that isn’t necessarily a paralyzing thing.”</p> <p>“I went through a lot of disillusionment at Border Studies,” says Cohn, citing a particular instance when the students sat in on a mass sentencing that was a part of <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/20/operation-streamline-protest-tucson-arizona-texas_n_2724637.html">Operation Streamline</a>, a program begun in 2005 that prosecutes immigrants who cross the border illegally with a criminal offense rather than a civil one.</p> <p>“That was a moment for me where I just thought that the world is broken, that there is no justice,” says Cohn. “But even at moments like that, I never lost energy to learn. Because being there and thinking as much as I was felt really fulfilling. It felt really different from any other educational experience I’d had before, or really just any other experience in the world that I’d had.”</p> <p>“You just have to have that energy to keep fighting,” says senior politics major Will Wickham, another fall 2012 Border Studies alum. “Obviously we went through these ups and downs, but you have to stay on top of it, you have to keep your head above it. There are times to sit in that discomfort and sadness, but you can’t stay there.”</p> <p>Such lessons reminded Wickham of “the radical promise of higher education” — being with a community of people, from professors to other students to community organizers, who are committed in a lifelong way to learning even as they face some seemingly insurmountable injustices.</p> <p>“We were learning to be really critical of ourselves and of the world — how to see the world and name it for what it is,” says Wickham. “That was the biggest eye-opener for me — it does matter how and what people are learning. We’re not just doing this because we can, or because we’re going to get better jobs, or because our parents expect it. There is a real purpose in it.”</p> <p>***</p> <p>Alice Ollstein ’10 took part in the BSP in the spring of her junior year. Even several years out from her experience, she remembers the personal attention and support that each student received from the staff.</p> <p>“That support was really important, because learning graduate-level research methodologies, negotiating host family dynamics, and seeing human suffering up close can be a lot to handle for a relatively sheltered 91ֱ�� student,” says Ollstein. “The staff helped us take all our shock and frustration and depression at seeing so many people caught up in a cruel immigration system and turn it into productive action.”</p> <p>Such productive action certainly begins while the students are still in Tucson, usually manifesting itself through their work in various internships. Ollstein worked with the <a href="http://www.tucsonsamaritans.org/index.html">Samaritans</a>, one of the seven organizations in Arizona that sends volunteers out into the desert to give water, food, and first aid to migrants crossing the border. Cohn worked with the <a href="https://www.communityfoodbank.org/Locations/Tucson" target="_blank">Tucson food bank</a>, helping to maintain the 60 plots of community garden available to the city’s residents. Wickham spent his time with the <a href="http://afgj.org">Alliance for Global Justice</a> (AFGJ), an organization completing Latin American solidarity work, to compile an <a href="https://afgj.org/border-militarization-resource-guide" target="_blank">online reference guide</a> about immigration and border militarization. Dozens of programs like these are available for students to pick from.</p> <p>The experiences and lessons learned from these internships filtered back into life after the BSP, both at 91ֱ�� and beyond. Ollstein now works as a radio reporter and Washington, D.C. editor for <a href="http://fsrn.org">Free Speech Radio News</a>, an independently produced daily program that focuses on issues of social justice, where she regularly reports on immigration issues. Wickham continues to work on chapters of the AFGJ manual as he finishes classes, releasing weekly chapters online. And Cohn is considering taking a semester to work with a land conservation program in Montana, an experience she believes might prove to be similar to her time spent in the community garden in Tucson.</p> <p>The BSP’s locations within the students’ own country seems to strike a chord — what students experience and learn there proves to be closer to home than they might have thought.</p> <p>“When students return to their campuses, it’s not so easy to put these experiences behind them, because all of these things play out in those places as well,” says Sharar. “Geographically, we’re situated on or close to the border. But the border is everywhere. What we see here takes place in other parts of the country where students’ colleges are located and where their families live as well. And that’s something we encourage — continually asking difficult questions of yourself after you leave the program. It’s not just relegated to this place.”</p> <p>So does the BSP make a difference in the realities of life on the border? Is it making life better for Mexican-American immigrants? Is there tangible change for the better resulting from the students’ work?</p> <p>“To the extent that BSP really produces people who go on in the rest of their lives to work on these issues,” says Volk. “Yes. I have no doubt.”</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2013-04-04T12:00:00Z">Thu, 04/04/2013 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Liv Combe</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2393">Internationalism</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">Although it is illegal to approach the American side of the border wall, much less decorate it, many Mexican artists see their side as a blank canvas.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Alice Ollstein '10</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Researching Dental Health in Namibia</h1> <p>anagy — Mon, 07 Nov 2016 18:04:59 +0000</p> <span>Researching Dental Health in Namibia</span> <span><span>anagy</span></span> <span><time datetime="2016-11-07T13:04:59-05:00" title="Monday, November 7, 2016 - 13:04">Mon, 11/07/2016 - 13:04</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p><i>At 91ֱ��, the period between fall and spring semester known as<a href="http://new.oberlin.edu/home/news-media/detail.dot?%20id=3844547&parentCatKeyI=&catKeyI=&catSet=comm-pr,con-pr"> winter term</a> is an opportunity for growth, reflection, and new experiences. Throughout the month, formal classes are suspended, and students have the option of completing a project of their choicefor half or full credit. Regardless of the project, the central objective of winter term is to continue the process of personal and academic discovery outside the confines<br>of a classroom.</i></p> <p>Third-year student Richard McGuire came to 91ֱ�� with an enviable problem: an abundance of options. A violinist, he plays in the College of Arts and Sciences Orchestra. His pursuit of a premed track connected him with an alumni mentor in public health, which led to an interest in providing dental care for underserved communities. And as a <a href="http://www.possefoundation.org/">Posse scholar</a>, McGuire has discovered opportunities to volunteer and study abroad.<br><br>In January, McGuire spent winter term in northern Namibia, where he worked with primary school children and conducted fieldwork on the state of dental health in the region. His goal is to develop a nonprofit initiative that will present creative educational media on the importance of maintaining oral health in parts of the world where dental care and resources are lacking or nonexistent. <br><br>Oral health is one of the most neglected areas of global health. McGuire sites statistics from the Oral Health Atlas, which finds there is roughly one dentist per population of 50,000 in Namibia. In comparison, the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom have one dentist per population of 1,000. In some sub-Saharan African countries, the ratio is only one dentist per 900,000 people. Because of the lack of aid, knowledge, and access to care, a high percentage of people have undiagnosed oral or dental complications. The pain and sepsis from tooth decay, for example, affect a child’s ability to eat and sleep, leading to malnutrition and school absenteeism. When left untreated, severe dental problems can be fatal.<br><br>A Chicago native, McGuire is majoring in biology and is currently cochair of Abusa, 91ֱ��’s Black Student Union. He spent the summer of 2012 in Ondangwa, Namibia, through WorldTeach, a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization that places volunteers in teaching positions in developing countries. He taught computer literacy in grades eight through 10. “I fell in love with Namibia and southern Africa, and I knew I wanted to come back,” he says. “While living and volunteering there, I observed the lack of knowledge about dental hygiene in the greater community, specifically among youths. When I returned to 91ֱ��, I started thinking seriously about dental health. I did the research and realized there is a need for education, especially in poor, remote areas where people don’t have access to a dentist.”<br><br>Although most of the population is concentrated in northern Namibia, villages are distant from the cities. In most villages, the nearest dentist is hours away. For his winter-term project, McGuire conducted interviews with adults 18 years and older to assess their knowledge of oral hygiene and the frequency in which they visited a dentist. He wanted to see if there is a correlation between education and financial background and dental health. Many of the subjects he interviewed were schoolteachers with health insurance. He found that employment and health benefits do not increase a person’s ability to see a dentist; education is the most significant factor, followed by income.<br><br>“The surprising thing I realized was that even if they don’t go to the dentist, many of the people I interviewed have pretty good knowledge of dental care. They have good teeth and are physically healthy.” <br><br>A second component of his project involved teaching and outreach with preschool-age children in an orphanage. He taught lessons in brushing and cleaning and the importance of teeth for eating, smiling, singing, and talking. McGuire also gave out 500 small tubes of toothpaste and 100 toothbrushes, courtesy of 91ֱ�� dentists Jacko & Jacko, DDS, and Dale Petrill, DDS.<br><br>In developing his research, McGuire consulted with his friend and mentor Anthony Osei ’10, who is a candidate for a master’s degree in public health at Case Western Reserve University. Osei has been his mentor for two years, and both share aspirations to be doctors.<br><br> “I really want to take this to the next level and make it a nonprofit initiative,” McGuire says. I want to see if I can make comparisons here in the United States with my research, and hopefully go to other countries.”<br><br></p> <p> </p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2013-02-21T12:00:00Z">Thu, 02/21/2013 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Amanda Nagy</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2367">Science & Math</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2402">Winter Term</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2393">Internationalism</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-caption field--type-string-long field--label-hidden field__item">Richard McGuire, left, taught lessons in dental health to preschool-aged children in Namibia. Teacher Loine Kamenye, right, translated.</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> </main></body></html>