Elon Periclean Scholars

Pericleans Around the World

Recognize that logo and the Periclean Scholar?

Sarah Naiman, ’12, noticed the photo below as she was researching Fulbright opportunities and sent Dr. Arcaro this email:

Hi Dr. Arcaro, 

 You might already be aware but just in case… I am applying for a Fulbright and I went to the general Fulbright page and the picture in the header was the back of someone wearing a Periclean Shirt. Just shows how much influence the program has even beyond what we are aware of. 
Sarah Naiman
He was fairly sure that the person in the photo must be Natalie Lampert, ’11, and when emailed she responded:

It is me 🙂  That was taken in Kathmandu last December, during an afternoon hike that was part of our week-long Fulbright ETA Regional Enrichment Seminar. It was an amazing week — Nepal is incredible. Please tell Sarah to email me if she would like any advice in applying for a Fulbright!

Picture 2

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Update from Peter Brown; Schools for Chiapas, ’08 partner

Update from Peter Brown; Schools for Chiapas, ’08 partner

Since the beginning of the sixth sun of the Mayan calendar on Dec. 21, 2013, everything has gotten very exciting in the Zapatista communities of the Mexican southeast.

On that first day of the new Mayan cycle, over 40,000 Mayan men and women silently and non-violently marched into the five major cities of the highlands of Chiapas in a uniquely eloquent statement insisting that “we are still alive”!  Of course, Schools for Chiapas never doubted that the Zapatistas are still actively working to strengthen their communities and build a new and better world for everyone because we live and work with these inspirational rebels on a daily basis.

IMG_1516Over the last year, our Mayan friends have been busily creating a new educational institution which is now known as “La Escuelita: Freedom According to the Zapatistas” and has been teaching the movement’s history to a new generation of Mayans.

On August 11, 2013 that little school will spend a full week teaching thousands of outsiders the same course, and the donation made by Elon Periclean Scholars Alumni Association will help pay of transportation and food of these Mexican and international visitors.  During the next year we would also like to organize a special course for Elon University in Chiapas or at your North Carolina campus.

The remainder of Elon University’s 2013 PSAA donation will be used to purchase, plant, and care for the many fruit tree orchards which are beginning to surround Zapatista autonomous schools in Chiapas, Mexico and which provide a living course in ecological agriculture for Zapatista students.

Below find the actual items involved with the orchards.

Organic Mother fruit trees

  1. Apple
  2. Orange
  3. Grapefruit
  4. Lemon
  5. Tangerine
  6. Peach
  7. Persimmon
  8. Avocado
  9. Walnut
  10. Mulberry
  11. Cumquat
  12. Loquat
  13. Neem
  14. Fig
  15. Bamboo
  16. Plum
  17. Grapes
  18. Blue berries
  19. Blackberries
  20. Pear
  21. Mango
  22. Cherry
  23. Cactus
  24. Rambutan
  25. Pomegranate
  26. Leeches
  27. Pecan
  28. Almond
  29. Zapote

 

  1. Orchard materials
    1. Organic mulching materials
    2. Plastic planting bags
    3. Organic fertilizer
    4. Organic minerals
    5. Spraying
    6. Worm beds for fertilizers
    7. Bamboo stabilizing poles

 

  1. Orchard Fencing and protection
    1. Fence poles
    2. Chain link
    3. Fence gate
    4. Light bird netting

 

  1. Fruit Pollination Services
    1. New queen bee
    2. Swarm of bees
    3. Base for bee hive
    4. Honey super-structure for bee hive
    5. Honey frames for bee hive
    6. Bee keepers gloves
    7. Bee keepers face protection
    8. Bee keeper tool
    9. Honey extractor

 

  1. Fruit Orchard Tools
    1. Shovel
    2. Wheelbarrow
    3. Trowel
    4. Clippers
    5. Grafting knife
    6. Grafting wax and binding tape
    7. Pruning saw

 

 

 

 

Posted in Class of 2008: Mexico, Partners-All Classes | 1 Comment

Update on construction of the Preventive Medical Training Centre at CRHP in India

Update from India

One permanent legacy of the Class of 2012 will be the $100,000 from the Izmir EXPO 2020 Committee that is making the Preventive Medical Training Centre  at the Comprehensive Rural Health Project (CRHP) in Jamkhed, India become a reality.  One responsibility that we have is providing regular updates to Turkey.  The note below is our most recent report, authored by the Mentor of the Class of 2012 Dr. Martin Kamela, now living at CRHP while doing a sabbatical.
June 27, 2013
 
Construction of the Preventive Medical Training Centre  is ongoing.  Some delay has taken place due to recent heavy rains. Because a few more days of rain are projected, the anticipated completion date is extended. The timeline below reflects this reality to the best of our ability. Please see attached photos showing the progress of the project.
  • All walls have been poured and completed
  • Roof fitting is on-going
  • Roof slab will be poured by July 3rd
  • It takes 18 days to cure the roof slab, and during this time bathrooms and plumbing will be completed
  • It will take two weeks after the roof is completed to finish the building
  • Factoring in potential for more heavy rain, we project the completion of the building by August 10, 2013
Submitted respectfully by
Dr. Martin Kamela
Elon University
CIMG0106 CIMG0108 CIMG0113
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Liz Leman (’11) update

“I think that was something that a lot of us took away from Periclean – our own ability to be humbled by those we “served,” to learn far more than we gave.”

 

Hi friends!

Liz Leman here, Class of 2011 (Sri Lanka). I’ve been away from Elon for two years now – hard to believe! However, of all my college experiences, the one that’s probably been the most consistently relevant to my post-Elon life has been Periclean.

Some background: since graduating, I’ve served two years with AmeriCorps. The first was with an Emergency Response Team in St Louis, Missouri where I learned skills I never thought I’d even come near – wildland firefighting, using a chainsaw, building fences, responding to natural disasters, and more. The second (and current) position is as a VISTA for the Legal Services National Technology Assistance Project in Helena, Montana. Basically, I do tech support for civil legal aid organizations, trying to increase their utilization of available technology so that they in turn can better reach and serve their clients. Different as they have been, both terms have given me some great, unforgettable experiences.

DSC_0016Part of the reason, I think, that I have gotten so much out of my terms with AmeriCorps is the foundation I built with Periclean. I don’t work with global partners, or fundraise, or do very much else typically Periclean, but a few of the overarching lessons that have stuck with me from my Periclean days have been invaluable.

First, Periclean was the first time that I’d really made a long-term investment in a specific service project. I’d done a lot of volunteer work before, but it was always fragmented and temporary: show up here and hammer some nails, play with some kids, pick up some trash. Then go home and never find out what happened with the park you cleaned up or the home you built.

Periclean, on the other hand, emphasized sustainability and a long-term partnership. This turns out to be a great entree into AmeriCorps’ intensive, year-long commitments. Both allow for you to really invest yourself in the project, to have a stake in its success. You get to know the ins and outs, the ups and downs of working to improve a particular thing in a meaningful way. You make lasting connections with like-minded people, and (in my experience, at least!) get to travel to some amazing new places. The service project becomes a part of your story.

Second, through Periclean I became comfortable with the idea that the best service is not entirely selfless. There’s this wacky idea out there that the recipient of service doesn’t have anything to give, that the one giving service is there because they already know what needs to happen in order to improve a given situation. I think that was something that a lot of us took away from Periclean – our own ability to be humbled by those we “served,” to learn far more than we gave.

This is something that has certainly held true for my AmeriCorps experiences. As I mentioned above, I learned a lot of incredible things in St Louis that I’ll have for the rest of my life, and the same goes for Helena, though of a different variety (coding, video editing, and knowledge on a variety of tech-related topics). In return, it can be hard to see that I as an individual contributed much to the project.

That’s the third thing that I think Periclean prepared me for: indirect service. Working with faraway partners for the benefit of kids we’d never met at schools we’d never seen was challenging. There was no direct, immediate payoff at the end of the day; it wasn’t as quickly tangible as picking up trash or building a house.

This experience has been helpful for me especially this past year. I spend a lot of my time researching and writing on tech topics, sending them off into the void of the Internet, and can often feel like I’m not really helping anyone. Having the experience of building slowly to a goal over time, of building capacity so that others can finish what I’ve started, has been invaluable in keeping the faith in my project. It requires a different set of motivations from a one-time and immediately tangible service project, and for developing that mindset I have Periclean to thank.

It’s true that Periclean has been especially relevant to my life because I’m an AmeriCorps volunteer, but I don’t really see it becoming less relevant as I move into grad school and a career. The lessons I learned are pretty broadly applicable to a lot of life and translate pretty easily (I think) into the professional world.

Thanks to everyone who made my Periclean experience at Elon so memorable and meaningful – best of luck to all of you recent grads and those who’ve been out for a few years as well. You’ll do great things!

Liz

Posted in Class of 2011: Sri Lanka, Director -Tom Arcaro | 1 Comment

Thoughts -and actions!- from a long-time Periclean partner

266Long-time Periclean partner Dr. Lucy Steinitz

Dr. Lucy Steinitz was one of the very first partners of the Class of 2006 as we made our outreach to Namibia.  She “starred” in our documentary series, helped host two of our Pericleans our very first summer together, was a Periclean-in-Residence, and perhaps most importantly help us to organize our “Future Leaders Summit on HIV/AIDS“.

We have remained in close contact over the years and even co-taught an online course entitled “THe Global Impact of HIV/AIDS” from 2006-2010.  Lucy and Bernd are now living and working in Ethiopia and continue in their journey toward a better world for all.

Lucy sent this information about how they are partnering with local Ethiopian students.  This is a great model from which we can all learn a great deal.  Click here:  Assefa student program PP January 2013

On a side note, I recommended to her the MSF book In The Eyes of Others and here was her response (in part):

I will download your suggested book of essays.  But what gets my goat is the notion that there is a one-size/ one-style that fits all approach.  For the destitute, we need to promote (and support) income transfers to create a safety net of support.  Households that are destitute and labor constrained cannot make it on their own, and their kids deserve the same basic opportunities as others.  Households that are slightly better off can benefit from economic strengthening and, to some degree, from economic development (trade, industry, etc) in their country as a whole.  There are other subdivisions that can also be made, as well.  At the same time, however, when governments are dysfunctional, outsiders may have to be more directive than is ideal, because otherwise nothing will get done.  

Wise words, those.

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The lifelong impact of being a Periclean Scholar

Sam White, ’06,  and Natasha Christensen, ’07  talk about the lifelong impact of being a Periclean Scholar

And as an added bonus, here is Sam White addressing her fellow MPH graduates at George Washington University:

Posted in Class of 2006: Namibia, Class of 2007: Honduras, Director -Tom Arcaro | Comments Off on The lifelong impact of being a Periclean Scholar

Aisha R. Mitchell deliveres a welcome address during the 123rd Commencement Exercises on May 25, 2013.

Aisha R. Mitchell  Periclean Scholars Class of 2012, now an Elon University Youth Trustee, delivered a welcome address during the 123rd Commencement Exercises on May 25, 2013.

Listen to the whole speech; near the end she gives a shout out to Periclean Scholars.

Posted in Class of 2012: India, Director -Tom Arcaro | Comments Off on Aisha R. Mitchell deliveres a welcome address during the 123rd Commencement Exercises on May 25, 2013.

2012’s in India: An update from CRHP and Jamkhed

Hi everyone,
Warm greetings from Jamkhed! It rained for 2 days in a row so we hope that
the cycle of drought will end this year. Keep your fingers crossed please.
There are about 120 grassroots workers on campus for trainings, from the
neighboring state of Andhra Pradesh, so the place is buzzing, and in a
couple of weeks 15 international students arrive for a month long course.
The new training center (which came about as a result of the Health for
All film) will soon have walls, and I will be sending updates on my
science center project which hopefully gets off the ground in the next
couple of weeks.
Annie runs the place, well — almost so (!); she has done a wonderful job
as the CRHP fellow supporting various facets of the organization.
Currently she is planning a staff retreat for this weekend (see the
attached action photo). In one month time our next fellow Alyssa will join
CRHP and I am confident she will put her talents to good use and make us
proud. Ravi says that the Elon Fellow is of huge help to CRHP, and
expresses his gratitude for your legacy project as Periclean Scholars.
Best,
Martin Kamela (Mentor for the Class of 2012)
crhp1 crhp2
Posted in Class of 2012: India | Comments Off on 2012’s in India: An update from CRHP and Jamkhed

Random Periclean meeting at Duke Gardens

Meeting with an ’07 at Duke Gardens

Over Memorial Day weekend I traveled with my family to spend the day at Duke Gardens. While taking a short walk with my son Julian I ran into Stacy Lucius from the Class of 2007 (Honduras).  She says that she loves keeping up with the program through the newsletters and our blog and that she is very proud of all the accomplishments of the various Classes.

I reminded her that all of the more recent Classes are standing on her and her Classmate’s shoulders, and that the work they did as ’07’s both in terms of Honduras and in terms of helping create the Periclean Scholars remains deeply appreciated.

The Periclean Scholars Alumni Association continues to support the Hope for Honduran Children Foundation.  HHCF was founded by Elon parent Karen Godt.

IMG_3109

Posted in Class of 2007: Honduras, Director -Tom Arcaro | Comments Off on Random Periclean meeting at Duke Gardens

Meeting again in Namibia: Jenn Pierson and Anita

Meeting again in Namibia:  Jenn Pierson and Anita

Jenn Pierson, a member of the inaugural Class of Periclean Scholars, the Class of 2006, is now teaching in Namibia at Omatjete Primary School through the World Teach program. Omatjete is a large rural village located one hour north of the large town of Omaruru in the Erongo Region.  Most rural residents are subsistence farmers from the Herero tribe and speak Otjiherero.

JennAnitaNamibiaAt Omatjete she is teaching grades 5 and 7 primarily English but is also teaching some non-promotional subjects like Art and Basic Information Science (BIS, basically library/basic computing).
You can follow Jenn’s experience in Namibia on her blog “The Wide World Comforts Her.”
You can find Omatjete  here.
On a recent trip to the capital city of Windhoek Jenn was able to meet up with Anita Isaacs, a two-time Periclean-in-Residence who remains a
strong partner with the Class of ’06.  She is being supported by the Periclean Scholars Alumni Association as she does course work at the University of Namibia toward a degree in social work.
Anita was a key figure in the documentary series on HIV/AIDS that was produced by the ’06’s nd “starred in a documentary about her life directed by Erin Barnett.

 

 

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