This has been a week filled with questions, answers, confusion, and steps forward. Coming to the end of the semester is a great point of reflection for our class as we look at how far we’ve come and how much work and potential we still have in our future. On Monday, the class took some time to look back on the semester. We did this through constructing personal and class resumes. Additionally, we created personal and class mission statements and goals. By writing this individually and then coming together and pooling our ideas, we plan to brainstorm and make a cohesive and descriptive sum total of our progression. From guest speakers, planning, organizing, bonding, researching, discussing, imagining, and creating, we dove right in this semester. We also spent sometime this week reflecting on potential organizations that match important causes in Namibia. As a class, child-headed households and sustainable agriculture are issues that were mentioned multiple times. As we discuss more potential organizations and causes, we are coming closer to a clearer vision of what our project will become.

We are finding that understanding one another is a large part of working together as an effective and successful team. As part of our homework for the next week, our class is assigned to get lunch, coffee or just hang out with someone we get to know better. Hopefully with a better understanding of where people are coming from we will be able to identify strengths and move forward gracefully. I think it’s safe to say that we all look forward to a time when we can easily identify our own skills as well as one another’s. We understand that this level of understanding comes with time; afterall, Picasso did not paint the Mona Lisa in one day!

On Wednesday we had the special privilege of engaging and discussing with Steve Mencarini. A visitor from Elon’s LEAD center, we discussed what it means to be a leader and the different types of leading. By stating hypotheticals and discussing how we felt about them, our class learned a lot. Most importantly, we learned how different everyone’s definition of leadership is. That points us to questions like: How does this affect our class? What is my definition of leadership? What kind of leader do I want to be? Mr. Mencarini did an excellent job of pushing our minds in the right direction as we start to grapple with leadership and what it means to us in the context of the Periclean classroom. At the end of the session he looked at Carol and said: “I think I broke them into a million pieces”. Carol responded and said “No, I think they are thinking and their wheels are still turning”. This interaction is almost representative of our stage in our Periclean experience. Our wheels are turning and turning and we’re so ready for the next semester to get the wagon moving!

Cayley Gosnell & Samantha Lubliner

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This week was a very productive week. On Monday, we started out with two class presentations. The first presentation was about Education in Namibia. The group presenting covered topics such as the general structure of the education system, attendance and graduation rates or different demographics, and discussed major leaders and legislation in the education area. The presentation did a good job in identifying some weaknesses in Namibia’s education system and some possible improvements as well. The second presentation was about Namibia’s infrastructure and economy. Topics discussed included electricity and water, transportation, hospitals, emergency services, major industries, media, and standards of living. One of the major points of the presentation covered the large income inequality in Namibia. Both groups did a good job providing meaningful information!

On Wednesday, our class had two guest speakers, Aisha Mitchell and Samantha White, alumni from the Periclean Classes of 2012 and 2006, respectively. Aisha currently works in Elon University’s Student Professional Development Center, and discussed her class’s process and her experiences after leaving Elon. Samantha White is currently working for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in Seattle and discussed her experiences in Malawi with the Global Health Corps and other experiences since Elon. She also shared her experience building Elon’s Periclean Program. The presentations were inspiring to our class, but also somewhat intimidating. We’ve got big shoes to fill! We also heard our first proposal for a potential partnership with HATponics, a sustainable agriculture company based out of Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Following class on Wednesday, we participated in the Celebrating Periclean event, in which each class discussed their progress and gave a general update to the pan-Periclean community. Samantha White was the guest speaker and delivered a great inspirational speech about her experiences in the Periclean Scholars. Our class has also been participating in Restavec Awareness Week, hosted by the Class of 2015. Events have included a screening of Not My Life, a documentary covering the types of human trafficking, “A Day in the Life of a Restavec” interactive exhibit in the Numen Lumen Pavilion’s Sacred Space, and a benefit concert for the Restavec Freedom Foundation featuring several student music groups.

Gavin Hayes and David May

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This week, our class began presenting on the various topics that we have been researching for the past month. The first group to present focused on the culture of Namibia. We heard a wide variety of interesting facts, as well as the history of the different tribes in Namibia. I think that it is so interesting that there is a ¼ chance that each one of us is a descendent of a Namibian tribe! Thanks for all of those interesting facts, culture team! It’s really important that our class understands and respects the culture of Namibia, and I definitely feel well informed after that presentation!

On wednesday, the government and politics group presented! It was very clear that each person in this group has a passion for this topic. The Namibian government is very different from the United States, and this group also did a great job of informing the class on the most important facts that we should have a good understanding of. This group focused on international relations, the poverty and wealth gap, environmental and social policies, as well as the history and how the variety of political parties came to be. This presentation, without a doubt, helped our class better understand the history of the country! We can’t wait to hear more from the other groups!

We  also go the opportunity to hear from Professor Heidi Frontoni who teaches in the  African American Studies department and was the mentor for the Periclean Scholars  Ghana class of 2010. She gave us amazing insight of how we should approach our project and set our future goals. She advised us not to focus on the rockstar topics that we cannot get our hands around such as HIV/AIDS orphans, because we will not be able to make a difference in that sort of area. She said that it would be beneficial to focus on something simple and manageable and set clear goals and strive towards meeting benchmarks to reach them. She highly recommended that we make a 3 year plan individually and as a class, to help us stay on track, and to help us see where we would like to end up. Because Professor Frontoni’s class was so successful, we should take her advice to heart and start to set manageable goals.

-Katie and Melanie

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This week due to Fall Break, we only met for class on Wednesday. However, a lot was accomplished during this time as people took advantage of the free time to learn about Namibia and post to our Moodle discussion board. The discussion board and news forum are incorporated in our curriculum and serve as assignments that keep us constantly paying attention to and thinking about Namibia. It is becoming clear that Periclean Scholars requires a lot of learning outside of class.

In class on Wednesday we addressed Periclean Cards, and we are happy to announce that we have them for sale. Talk to any member of the class of 2017 to purchase one for five dollars. The Periclean Card is a wallet-sized card that offers discounts at a number of local establishments. The class of 2017 is excited to start it’s first fundraiser and many sales have already been made! We also discussed the Homecoming tailgate this Saturday. A lot of the class is planning on attending, and it will be a great opportunity for us to connect with upperclass Periclean Scholars and alumni. We briefly discussed the progress of our elevator speech, especially logistics. Afterwards, we split into our separate research groups.

Next week we look forward to hearing from our classmates as they present their findings in their separate research groups from a variety of topics regarding Namibia. From government, culture, environment and economy the students have been hard at work learning about their topic and preparing to teach the rest of the class. These projects are key to achieving our goals of learning about Namibia, narrowing our focus, and preparing us to make conscious decisions in the future.

Susan Reynolds and Kendra Sterneck

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This week, Sarah Reynolds and I thought it would be important to highlight everything we have accomplished this week because we both felt this was one of our more productive weeks since we began this year!

On Monday, we broke up into small groups and discussed our own progress and when we all thought the project should be due. After each group discussed their own topics and how we wanted to eventually present it to the class, the class got back together and we agreed on when we will start presenting our information. Our group work took most of the class time, which was very helpful because we feel that every group has made significant organizational strides which will really make these projects useful references for later on in the year!

On Wednesday, we heard from Jamie Smedsmo who was in the Peace Corps in Namibia.  She shared pictures, experiences, and thoughts from her time there as a teacher.  Seeing recent pictures and hearing about first-hand issues she observed allowed us to think more about all the many different issues we can focus on in Namibia. She also shared with us cultural and societal aspects that none of us had heard yet or might not have been able to find otherwise! For example, she emphasized the importance of not using your left hand to when greeting or interacting with others because that hand it considered “unclean.”  Also, she briefly discussed taboo topics and typical situations we might find ourselves in when we first arrive.  We thought this was VERY productive because we were able to ask any questions that we had, which actually helped direct our small group research.   She also taught us how to greet and respond to a greeting in one of the major tribe languages. Sarah and I agreed that being able to hear these facts and stories from someone is so much more  enjoyable and beneficial than reading facts on the computer or textbook. Her visit, along with previous conversations with Dr. Arcaro and Anita has made the Class of 2017 realize that connecting with those who live in Namibia and those who have been is very important to perspective and approach for the next couple of years.

Also on Wednesday we discussed out Class Video/Elevator Video.  We have been watching other Periclean videos and we also watched a video not pertaining to Periclean so that we look at all the different ways to send a visual message.  We decided on a plan for the video, but we still have to craft the message.  Cam and Oly are leading this charge because of their technological experience, but the entire class is collaborating on the overall vision.  We are very excited on having a powerful message that not only explains the attitude of our class as we begin to learn about Namibia, but also a message that captures the goals and spirit of the Periclean Scholars Program.

Lastly, the Class of 2017 has been discussing Samantha White’s visit at the end of October for Celebrating Periclean.  Samantha White was a Class of 2006 Periclean Scholar who also went to Namibia. Many Pericleans have articulated the importance of speaking with her during her visit to get a perspective from a previous Periclean, a perspective we have not listened to yet! Next week, we will order t-shirts from Namibia, continue to work on our group projects, and work on our Class Video that will be shown at Celebrating Periclean at the end of October! Overall the Class of 2017 is busy and eager to learn more about our country, Namibia!

Mary Frances Foster and Sarah Reynolds

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This week in class we had the privilege of spending the week with Dr. Arcaro. Though we missed Carol greatly, Dr. Arcaro brought some fantastic insight and perspective into our class discussions for the week. He was the class mentor to the class of 2006 whose country of focus was also Namibia, therefore giving him a personal connection to our class.

We were still in the process of working out some of the aesthetics for our 2017 Periclean Class. We spent some time on Monday designing and choosing a T-shirt to represent our group. Following this, Dr. Arcaro opened the floor for us as a class to ask questions about Namibia in general. We got onto the topic of HIV/AIDS, which was the focus of the project for the 2006 Periclean Class in Namibia. In discussing this, we began to brainstorm potential themes for our project, a seemingly daunting task. Though we will not have an exact project proposal for quite some time, we as a class are beginning to learn about Namibia and understand how we can make a difference.

A highlight of our week was having the opportunity to see a new face, a native from Namibia, Anita Isaacs . Dr. Arcaro facilitated a Skype session with her during class where we had the opportunity to hear from her and ask a few questions. It’s exciting to know that we have such a fantastic partner already in Namibia and we think it’s safe to say we all look forward to getting to know Anita and learn from her. Below is a picture of us skyping with Anita but due to a broken blind it is a little hard to see…still a really cool and unique experience.

We concluded our time this week watching the documentary created by the ’06 Periclean Class called “ A Measure of Humanity: HIV/AIDS in Namibia“. This gave us an overview of the effects that HIV/AIDS has on Namibia. A few things we learned is that AIDS is not just a health issue but is an issue of education, poverty, stigma, gender, and justice.

We are excited to have Carol back as well as to start really learning about Namibia!

Kelsey Lane and Dani Baker

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This week in class we discussed the syllabus for the fall.  In order to create the syllabus, we first had to set expectations for ourselves and each other.  Although there were many things that we were not quick to agree on, we all agreed that participation (in and out of class) is the most important component of the Periclean program.  If the entire class is not actively driven, the group will suffer as a whole.

However, not every element of the syllabus was this easy to decide upon.  We were quickly presented with the challenge of compromising in order to incorporate everyone’s ideas while still creating a balanced curriculum. Working with a large group of such intelligent, yet opinionated individuals is inspiring but also quite trying.

After much discussion, the class finally came to a consensus for the syllabus that everyone contributed to. Once the mindset shifted from what would benefit us as individuals to what would be ultimately best for the group, the conversation became more productive. Overall, we hope to retain this mindset for all future decisions, making discussions more efficient.

We look forward to getting into the content of the course!

Claire Rayburn, Caila Yates & Courtney Weber

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This past Saturday the class of 2017 paid a visit to the Elon Challenge Course for four hours of communicating, listening, and bonding. We learned a lot about each other and about ourselves, especially when it comes to effective cooperation methods.

We were split into pairs for one of the first activities we did, Follow the Leader. The first time, one person in the pair was blindfolded, while the other person had to speak to them, telling them where to go and what to do without touching them, in order to keep up with the Leader, one of our Campus Rec guides. The second time, the other person in the pair was blindfolded and the other person, instead of speaking to them, could only use their hands to lead them, which was especially difficult when the Leader wanted them to skip! This activity demonstrated to us how communication methods are mostly dependent upon the person and can be easier or more difficult for different people.

After our group was split in two, both teams did a series of team building exercises. One of our favorites was The Wall, an activity in which the team had to figure out how to get every person up and over a giant 12′ wall without equipment. Both teams, although we did the activity separately, had the same strategy. First, each team had two people lifting another taller person so that they could reach the top edge of the wall and hoist themselves up and over to stand on the platform on the other side. After that, the person at the top of the wall would grab the wrists of the person being lifted and help pull them up and over. From then on, two people stood on the platform at the top and would help lift the person trying to get up the wall. The most challenging part was at the end, when the final person had to get up the wall without two people to lift him or her. Both teams had the tallest person left at the end, and that person jumped while someone at the top of the wall grabbed their wrists and pulled them up. This activity showed us that even daunting obstacles are surmountable when you take the time to plan accordingly.

All in all, the Challenge Course was a valuable experience for our class because it provided a lot of insight into communication, teamwork, and effort. We can’t wait to put what we learned to the test in class and we look forward to more bonding in the future!

Post-bonding group photo!

Annie gets over the wall with the help of her team!

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