Elon Periclean Scholars

Katie Hadobas Arms

Class of 2014

By: Megan Griffin

The Class of 2014 consists of passionate students from all different areas of study. Katie Hadobas Arms is one of these passionate members. Their Class’ area of focus is Appalachia, they decided to focus specifically on regions in West Virginia, Kentucky, and Virginia. They were the first Periclean Class to have a location in the United States as their focus and they were successful in forging deep and meaningful partnerships with people and organizations in the region. As they studied the region as a Class, they agreed that they would focus on issues related to mining.

They partnered with an individual who helps ex-miners and with a Community Center in the area. The purpose of the Community Center was to break down the barriers between community members with opposing views concerning mountaintop removal (a type of coal mining). The founder of the Community Center recognized that there was a need for community cohesiveness because of the divisiveness around the topic of mountaintop removal.  The Center held dinners and other community events to foster an accepting environment for the entire community. The Class’ other partner, Ron Carson, utilizes his knowledge about the law to ensure that ex-miners, with black lung disease, receive necessary health benefits.

The Class of 2014 also partnered with several artists and authors in order to continue raising awareness about issues in Appalachia.  Ann Pancake, one of their partners, is the author of the book Strange as this Weather has Been, which is a story featuring a West Virginian town affected by mountaintop removal. Although it is a fictional story, Pancake talks about real issues in order to draw the reader’s attention to a social problem in the Appalachia region.

Katie said that they were able to partner with several people and organizations because they traveled to their area of focus several times. She also mentioned that it was really meaningful to be able to read about an individual or organization while doing their research at Elon and then to be able to meet them in person. This  was definitely one of the benefits of partnering with a location in the United States.

When I asked about what kind of impact she believed their class had in Appalachia, she said that they made a difference because they approached the task as learners, rather than fixers. This was something that their mentor ingrained in them from the very beginning of their experience as a Class. Katie also referred to the impact the Periclean program had on her and the rest of the people in her Class. Periclean has changed the way she views serving and loving other people. Her ideas about serving and loving others changed after reading Toxic Charity. That change, while in Periclean, has impacted the whole way she approaches her job, what she values, and her recognition of harmful charity/philanthropy.  

Since her Periclean experience was so influential, Katie and her husband have joined a church that values many of the same things as the Periclean Scholars program. As a member of the church, Katie strives to always think critically about how she can help to build a better community. She also does this everyday at Elon through her work with InterVarsity. Her job is to build a community on a college campus. Being able to ask questions and learn about what would benefit the community the most has been a really challenging and rewarding aspect of her position. For example, Katie had the opportunity to ask people if there was any interest of building a Christian community in the Greek system. She had to ask the questions because this was a community that she was somewhat unfamiliar with. Asking questions reminds her of what she learned in Periclean in Central Appalachia, because she was unfamiliar with the community, she and her Class had to examine what the community wanted.

Katie is constantly thinking about what she learned as a Periclean Scholar. Her experience impacts how she makes new friends and family and how she decides to serve her community. One of her favorite things to do is host a pancake breakfast at her house to get to know her neighbors and other members of her community!

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Jessica Zollinger

Class of 2012

By: Megan Griffin, 2016

The other week, I had the privilege of talking to Jessica Zollinger,  from the Periclean class of 2012. Since graduating, she has pursued a graduate degree at the UNC School of Social Work.

Jessica attributes Periclean for a lot of her postgraduate decisions and successes.

When she first started at Elon, she had no idea what she wanted to do or what direction she wanted to follow in her life. Jessica ended up majoring in Human Services and Public Health, which is a decision she directly attributes to Periclean. After graduation, her majors and Periclean led her to UNC Chapel Hill, where she completed a Masters degree in Social Work in 2014. Jessica now works at the Orange County Department of Social Services, where she is an Adoption Social Worker for children in the foster care system.

Jessica said that Periclean was probably the number one most impactful organization that she was involved with at Elon. It was all encompassing because it was an academic and extracurricular organization. One of the Class’ partners, the Comprehensive Rural Health Project (CRHP) embodied an amazing model of community social work, that was often referenced in Jessica’s graduate program. Specifically, CRHP’s model of doing “with” someone and not “for” them is also a main tenet of the social work profession.

In the CRHP program, “women are chosen from their villages to learn about medical interventions, counseling skills, etc. to take back to their villages and teach their peers.” This model empowers others to serve their communities, instead of telling people what to do and how to do it. Jessica mentioned that the UNC School of Social Work has also partnered with CRHP!

This article discusses the partnership in more detail.

When asked about her travels to India, Jessica said she travelled there in the summer of 2010.

“I mainly worked with the adolescent girls program in order to get a feel for who CRHP was as an organization.”

She stayed at the CRHP campus for three weeks, which gave her an opportunity to get to know the adolescent girls in the program. The program itself invited adolescent girls to the CRHP campus to teach them about empowerment, self-esteem, and various other lessons. Jessica observed that at the beginning of the program,

“The girls  shy at first, but by the end they really came out of their shells.”

During her time in India, Jessica also worked with medical teams, learned about water safety and was able to go to the farm at CRHP. The farm was for individuals who have leprosy, HIV/AIDS, etc. and was an unconventional rehabilitation center. The individuals would work on the farm and serve the vegetables on the CRHP campus. After being in India for three weeks, Jessica realized how vast the country is.

“India is so huge, you can be in a super urban area and then very soon after be in a rural area.” This recognition helped to explain the needs of the country to the rest of her class.

Jessica believes that there is so much value in traveling to the country of focus as a Periclean.

“I think it’s really critical in making decisions. Going to India so early on in the process was a huge jumpstart.” She believes that their Class would have had a really hard time thinking about their impact if they hadn’t met their partners in person.

Being involved in Periclean also impacted Jessica’s personal life.

“I grew up in a small midwestern town that was wonderful, but was pretty sheltered. Having this experience and learning about other cultures, religion, government was something that exposed to me the fact that there was a whole world out there. The lens through which I view the world has changed because of Periclean. I now pay more attention to what is going on in the world. The opportunity to focus on global issues for three years has definitely been a huge influence in my life.”

The way she views philanthropy has also changed.

Before her involvement in Periclean she felt that if she could give money or her time once or twice, then that would be enough.  She now recognizes that real philanthropy is investing in people’s lives over a period of time. “Making a commitment to give your time and finances after vetting the organizations and using this as a platform to educate others is real philanthropy.” Jessica believe that her Class has committed to this by creating the CRHP Fellowship. Her Class really wanted to focus on how their efforts could be sustainable and they seek to do this by having an expectation that each member of the class donate to the Fellowship each month.

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Sarah Oldham

Class of 2012

By: Megan Griffin

I interviewed Sarah Oldham, from the Class of 2012. Here is a glimpse into how her life after graduation has been impacted by the Periclean Scholars program.

Within three months of graduating from Elon, Sarah moved to New York City. This was a big move, originally being from Raleigh.

“I got a job working in Admissions at Metropolitan College of New York in lower Manhattan. I worked in this position for a little over two years, working with domestic students and then taking on all of international admissions. My original interest in Admissions was sparked from being a tour guide at Elon.”

Through admissions, Sarah worked with non-traditional student, many who were older and working while attending school, had families to take care of, etc. that made their College experience somewhat unconventional. This was interesting for Sarah because it was an opportunity for her to get involved with a  very different setting than her experiences at Elon. From this, she was able to confirm that she enjoyed working in Higher Education.

Sarah was accepted into a Higher Education Master’s program at Columbia University for the Fall of 2014, but she deferred her acceptance one year to  live abroad before continuing on a traditional career trajectory.

“I taught English for six months in Thailand. This decision was very dependent on my experiences in Periclean.  Maybe I wouldn’t have been as comfortable living abroad for a long period of time in a very different setting if it wasn’t for the Periclean Scholars program. I also found out about the opportunity through a Periclean classmate, Katie Kenny! Without talking to her at length before committing, I am sure I would not have gone.”

Sarah is now attending Columbia University, and will be graduating in May. She plans on finding a job in higher education, either in a study abroad office or academic affairs.

Just like the majority of Elon students, Sarah was involved in many things as an undergrad. She found that being involved with Periclean was the most unique experience.

“Periclean is not merely a service organization, it is not just an academic or honors program, and you are never done being a part of it-you are a  part of it for life. That is such a unique combo.  It taught me the way to approach collaboration and partnerships, which is very important when considering the civic mission of higher education and the duty a University has to it’s community.”

In addition to understanding partnerships, Sarah also learned to work with people, rather than for them. This is a concept that is taught in many of her classes at Columbia University and was a core value of the Periclean Scholars program.

Sarah also appreciates that her Periclean class was so eclectic! Other groups she was involved with at Elon were comprised of people who were more similar.  She liked that her class was comprised of different types of people outside of her conventional social groups, which made it a very special experience.

“It was a great community. We all formed a special bond and I found lifelong friends in Periclean.”

Similar to many participants of the program, Sarah found great value in travel. Though she emphasizes the importance of staying humble regarding her travel experiences.

“I know that I have travelled a lot compared to many people I interact with. I think it is easy for people to be arrogant about their travel. Because of Periclean, I am more aware of how much I still have to learn about other countries and cultures! Periclean instils in you that you are not an expert and you will never be, which has informed the way I interact with people. I know that I need to consider all of the perspectives.”

When asked about whether or not being involved in Periclean has impacted her political awareness and involvement, Sarah discussed the important parallel of global and local partnerships and how it relates to politics.

“I now realize and understand the importance of being aware of local and national politics. Maybe people don’t usually think of local politics as much as national politics. This was something we always did in Periclean, we focused on Burlington and India-creating parallels between both of them.”

Sarah travelled to India twice during her undergraduate experience, taught in Thailand, and is very invested in encouraging people to travel. Her blog talks about her time in India with her Periclean Class!

Sarah believes that it is beneficial to travel to the country of focus as a Periclean.

“After more of our group travelled to India, it was easier to talk about projects, partnerships, etc. It put more people on the same page.”

Her experiences in Periclean and abroad through other organizations have been a driving force in her passion to work in international education at a University after graduation from Columbia University. She hopes to help low income students find opportunities to go abroad. In breaking down barriers that keep people from traveling, such as financial constraints and family and peer attitudes, she hopes that others will be just as inspired by travel as she has been.

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Kristin Schulz

Class of 2010

By: Megan Griffin

Kristin Schulz currently lives in San Francisco and works at SolarCity as the Marketing Strategy Manager. She is responsible for gathering consumer and market insights to inform marketing campaigns, business plans, and efforts to acquire more customers while reducing costs. She works with various teams internally on strategy development and manages primary research vendors. .  

Before working for SolarCity, Kristin was working and living in Washington D.C. for another clean energy company. After a couple of years on the job she pursued her MBA part-time at The George Washington University-School of Business. She was involved in Net Impact, served as an international student ambassador, was a teaching assistant for undergraduate business courses and conducted independent research on clean energy start-ups in emerging markets.

For one of her courses, Kristin was able to study abroad in Ghana and took extra time to visit Kpoeta and spend time with Dr. Amedahe. Being able to travel to her Class’ country of focus after graduation was incredibly meaningful.

After returning from Ghana Kristin collaborated with Briana O’Neil and Olivia Ackerman, two other 2010 Periclean Scholars living in DC,  to organize a fundraising event for the Kpoeta Health Clinic. The event raised funds for the clinic and was the first official gig for her neighbors’ band who have gone on to become a successful local band!

Kristin said that this event was one way for her to honor the pledge of being a lifelong community partner. It was also an opportunity to reconnect with other alumni from the program.

During her time in DC, Kristin also volunteered at LearnServe, a program that helps high school students develop and lead a social impact project (coincidentally the same progra
m that led Yasmine Arrington to develop her ScholarCHIPS program when she was in high school!). Kristin enjoyed her involvement as a mentor and felt the program embodied many of the same principles as Periclean Scholars. As a volunteer, she would help to solidify various student’s social entrepreneurship ideas.

While at Elon, Kristin was involved in many activities in addition to being a Periclean Scholar. She was an orientation leader, worked at Campus Rec, participated in an Alternative Spring Break trip to Bay St. Louis, and was a member of Elon Volunteers. Kristin was also a Presidential and Dean scholar and was a member of Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society.  Kristin said that when she thinks back to her experiences at Elon, Periclean Scholars and Campus Rec were the most formative experiences. Her involvement in these programs helped to shape her values and defined the person she wanted to become. Kristin was a devoted member of the 2010 Periclean Scholar and was the inaugural recipient of the Periclean of the Year award.

Kristin is deeply saddened by the loss of Dr. Heidi Frontani., she said that Dr. Frontani’s emphasis on the academic aspect of Periclean Scholars strengthened her Class’ experience and has helped shape her as a person. Kristin said she would like to find ways for the class to connect with one another despite their geographic separation. She says one of her favorite things about the organization was being part of this inspiring, driven group of individuals. Kristin hopes that her Class will work together to ensure the longevity of their community projects and uphold their lifelong commitment to their Ghanaian partners.

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Aisha Mitchell

Class of 2012

By: Chace Blackburn, 2018

The other week, I was given the privilege to interview Aisha Mitchell, from the Periclean class of 2012. Since graduating, she has pursued many adventures, the latest of which is returning to Elon.

“After I graduated, I moved back to DC, where I was born and raised.. I was an international studies major at Elon, and ended up working at a Chinese Immersion public charter school. I did that for two years; while I was doing that I was serving on the Board of Trustees at Elon. This was great because it allowed me to stay connected to Elon,” Aisha said.

But until last year, Aisha had no idea just how connected to Elon she would soon be.

“In the early fall of 2014, I came back to Elon. I currently live in Durham, but commute to work in the Student Professional Development Center in Corporate and Employer Relations. Basically, I am on the external side of professional development. I am traveling and researching to  build relationships with employers, in order to market jobs and internships to students, and  foster employer engagement with the university, ultimately trying to make students aware of opportunities.”

Aisha found out about the job in what she considers, a fateful manner.

“I received a call from someone who worked at Elon, she saw the position, called me, and said I would be a good fit. I never considered coming back to Elon after graduating. It was interesting though because it was my last term on the board and I had just been asked to help read names for the Black Excellence Awards. I was sitting next to Jim Piatt- chatting, talking about where I was in life, before I had even known about the job, and he said, “wouldn’t it be interesting if you worked at Elon? It was so ironic that he said that and then the following fall I started working here. I definitely feel like this is where I’m supposed to be.”

Aisha attributes Periclean for a lot of her post-graduate success.

“I feel like we had a big impact on our country (India). Interestingly, we were late bloomers, we figured out things later than class that came before us. Once we decided to partner with the Comprehensive Rural Health Project, it really worked. We were responsive to the needs of the organization. I would say there were two  things that were most impactful  for our legacy: we planned and implemented a corporate social responsibility conference, which brought together NGO’s and corporations. We were intentional about wanting to address corruption as well as identify ways for valuable NGO’s to best partner with those in India’s corporate sector. Corporate social responsibility is growing in India, and we wanted to positively impact and advance that trend. We were able to bring together groups that wouldn’t have connected without the conference, which exposed strengths and weakness of both sides, and was helpful to see how the groups should best work together. We put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into that conference. We had over a hundred participants, whom we made great relationships with and were able to defer to later.”

Aisha would cite the fellowship her class started as the second most impactful thing for their periclean legacy.

“We started a fellowship to help sustain our efforts in India, since we were graduating and were unable to be consistent in working with the CRHP community. “

Periclean, in addition to other endeavors truly shaped Aisha’s Elon experience.

“I would rate my periclean experience as being of high importance. The friendships I’ve made have been life changing. I would have never probably had those opportunities without periclean- to go live in a place like Jamkhed, India, in a rural village, and just experience the unexpected rewards and challenges of the ability to go so far away from what I had known.. And keep in mind I went to India after I had studied abroad in China. When I got to India, I was like wow, I didn’t think my abroad experience could be any more more different from experiences in the U.S. That being said,  that experience was unparalleled. I furthered my ability to work with those who are different and learned how to synthesize a lot of information and communicate that to different audiences in a way that’s compelling. I had a lot of great experiences at Elon, but Periclean and two others were equally the most amazing. Studying abroad in China, serving as the Student Program Coordinator for the Diversity Emerging Education Program and working with CRHP in India. Everything worked together: studying abroad, diversity education, periclean- all of them contributed to each other.”

She also states that Periclean is still a source of inspiration.

“A lot of what I do now is directly inspired by periclean. I am currently on the board for the periclean fellowship. I work with peers to read over applications,  assess and choose the fellow for the next year. I’ve also recommended current students for the program.. More generally, I was already an open-minded person, but am now constantly trying to see how I can learn more about that which is different around me. Whether that’s going to Mexico City in a couple of weeks, or something else, I’m always looking for ways to get outside my norm and engage in communities.” But in ways beyond the professional and academic realm, Aisha feels she has been changed.

“Periclean has affected me on every level. At work, I am collaborating with people of different backgrounds and ages, which is very similar to my experience in periclean- we all came with different skills and mindsets. That helped me learn to leverage people’s’ skills in group projects. In my job, I lead events and meetings, and I have to consider different perspectives. Every day I think about how my class  was able to be successful in working together to accomplish one common goal. I am continuing to improve my communication skills, articulating information to different and multiple audiences. On a personal level, Periclean reinstilled, and made my light brighter; regarding my empathy and desire to put myself in others shoes, and see where they are right, instead of wrong.”

Aisha says the program even changed her on a day-to-day level.

“Periclean taught me to try to meet people where they are, understand the human experience from a bigger picture, as you have no clue what it is like to be anyone else. I am trying to be more cognizant of the way that I talk to people, and be aware of my privilege in relation to those with whom I interact. That goes a long way, because no one is asking me to apologize for my privilege, but just be aware of it. My job is building relationships, and periclean has served me well in the way I am able to connect with people on a personal and professional level.”

Regarding the class of 2016’s alumni pledge, Aisha is in agreement.

“I think it’s a good idea- I think that compelling people to give and donate is always really tricky and a sensitive subject. It’s difficult for people to understand the value of money in a real context. Having served  on the Board of Trustees, I understand the power of monetary donations and it’s impact on an institution or program, in a way that I would have never understood it before. As a graduate, everyone is asking you for money, so it it is important  to connect the personal value and impact of giving, and in this case, specifically to Periclean. It’s not just the money, but the personal sacrifice. I had studied abroad and interned abroad before periclean, and it wasn’t easy. Giving people the opportunity to make an impact is great. Alumni have the power and ability to pave the way. I would also say that giving people varying gift levels is a great option, as well as specifically naming where that gift is going, so alums  can see its impact.”

When asked about her personal contribution to Periclean, Aisha replied: “I am just setting up my payment with periclean. It’s been quite a transition for me in the past year, deciding how and what I can give money to. I am trying to be intentional about where I can put my money. I believe that the periclean foundation can do wonders; from a big picture perspective it can do more than any one class can. You have current partnerships, you have family and friends, you have alums; the foundation is a wonderful way to bring everyone together.”

Aisha’s story might seem ideal, but she professes its something all Elon students can mimic. Her advice for current Pericleans? “Seek first to understand, than to be understood.”

“This quote goes a long way, because with your cohort, everyone just wants their opinion heard. The listening is where you learn the most; you learn the least by feeling understood. Also, think within the mindset of working with and not for. Periclean is a partnership, not a charity. You are not doing something for someone because you have something they don’t; you are doing something with them, because you have the privilege to do so. We call them our partners for a reason. Lastly, just take risks. Have so much fun, you are in this environment that allows you to fail and fall, and it’s so much harder to replicate the periclean experience in real life where everyone has different ideas and such big ideas. You have way less to lose in college than when you are out of it. Don’t dim the momentum you have,” Aisha says.

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The Periclean Scholars Class of 2015 addressed the issue of human trafficking in both North Carolina and Haiti. In Haiti, restavek is a culturally practiced system in which rural families who cannot financially support their children send them to live with families in urban areas, in the hopes that their children will be provided for and receive education. Often times, though, many of these restavek children are subject to sexual, physical, and emotional abuse. Human trafficking is also a local issue, and Polaris, a national anti-trafficking organization, has consistently named North Carolina as a top-ten state for human trafficking in the United States.

The Class of 2015 is partnered with Restavek Freedom Foundation (RFF), which works to end the system of restavek in Haiti. During their time at Elon, the class raised funds to support a transitional home in the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince. In the transitional home, girls coming out of severe situations of abuse are provided with food, shelter, therapy and education, and have a place of refuge and rehabilitation. The transition home gives the girls the opportunity to rebuild their lives in the company of others who have had similar experiences. The home provides support for the girls until they are in a stable situation.

The class also worked to educate the Elon community about restavek and human trafficking issues in the United States through various projects and events. During their senior year, they had an awareness and education week at Elon. Georgia Lee was named as the class’ Periclean of the Year, and worked on various aspects of the class’ efforts, such as communicating extensively with RFF, creating a bank account for the class’ funds for RFF, writing a waiver for the class’ endeavors to travel to Haiti, working to acquire stoles for the class’ graduation, and helping to plan various events and initiatives of the class.

The “Stand Up for Freedom: Human Trafficking & Restavek Education Week” was a huge part of the class’ efforts to educate the campus about human trafficking and raise funds for RFF. One of the highlights of the week was a benefit concert at West End. The event was a fun-filled night with performances by various university a cappella groups, the gospel choir, and several Limelight Music Group artists. The proceeds from the event went to the class’ fund for RFF. I personally thought that the event was really great! It was a fun and light-hearted atmosphere to enjoy the performances and people’s company, and it was also a great opportunity to learn about human trafficking in our own community, as well as in Haiti.

Throughout her time at Elon, Georgia expanded her knowledge about human trafficking through researching various aspects of the issue, such as investigating relevant national policies, criminology concepts, and public awareness of human trafficking. Georgia conducted and published research through Elon’s Summer Undergraduate Research Experience to determine the knowledge and skills of Elon students surrounding issues of human trafficking. Although the class was unable to travel together to Haiti, Georgia had the opportunity to travel to Haiti during her freshman year at Elon. Georgia now lives in San Francisco, California and is a part of a relational ministry organization called InnerCHANGE. Her team builds relationships with people who are homeless in Golden Gate Park. InnerCHANGE works to empower and support individuals who society has marginalized, seeking to build beneficial relationships and create sustainable systemic change.

Georgia continues to value the sustainability of community development and the importance of authentic relationships in her professional life. She notes that these values are central to the Periclean program, and states that the program facilitates a unique opportunity for students to be involved in positive global change through the intersection of academics and extracurriculars.  Georgia feels that the Periclean Scholars program greatly shaped her experience as an Elon student because of the special opportunities for sustainable partnership and student-led change that it presents. She appreciates the relationships and skills that she experienced in the program during her time at Elon, which have continued past graduation. Georgia is grateful that the Periclean program seeks to break down the “us and them” language of philanthropy by encouraging the relational aspects of partnership. She notes that it is easy to feel distanced when involved in philanthropy, but being able to break down the barriers of the giver/receiver dichotomy has shaped how she relates to and serves others in her daily life.

To find out more about the Class of 2015’s work to end restavek – https://periclean2015.wordpress.com and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8xxZQE1QLk

To read about the Class of 2015’s Stand Up for Freedom: Human Trafficking & Restavek Education Week – http://www.elon.edu/e-net/Article/102574 and http://www.elonpendulum.com/article/2014/11/perfect-pitch-fight-human-trafficking

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This weekend I had the privilege of talking to Tara Corbett. Tara was a member of the Class of 2013, who partnered with Chiapas, Mexico. Their class also partnered with an organization in the local community to create sustainable change.

Tara felt that her Periclean class had the most impact in the local community. They were able to implement a community health project in Burlington, based on the Positive Deviance Model. The model centered around “positive deviants.” A positive deviant is a member of a community who has knowledge and experience regarding raising a healthy family. The goal of this project was to locate positive deviants and help facilitate the spread of knowledge.

Their class worked with the Latino population, specifically with mothers, to promote the exchange of healthy practices. Their class held sessions once a week over an 8-week period on a variety of health topics. The class helped to share practical knowledge and facts about the corresponding topic and then developed realistic courses of action with participants based on their experiences living in Burlington. The ultimate goal of the sessions was to promote an exchange of knowledge that would have a tangible and positive impact on the health of families in the greater Burlington community.

Their Positive Deviance Coordinator, Courtney Latta, class of 09’ helped to implement the model in our local community in the 2013 class’ partnership with Hogares Sanos. This partnership with Hogares Sanos was passed down to the class of 2016 and has developed into a partnership with LUPE!

Members of their class traveled to, Mexico during their senior year. They went to the isolated Chiapan village of Piedra Parada. The members of their class came back with a greater understanding of immigration from Mexico to North Carolina-and back. Tara appreciates this experience and found that the time spent in Chiapas was significant because it was educationally based travel and helped in understanding the indigenous culture and their struggles.

After graduating in 2013, Tara moved to Los Angeles and began volunteering with the homeless community. She connected  with the homeless population, predominantly low-income Hispanic neighborhoods,  and eventually helped individuals find permanent housing. She also extended a welcome in her own home to kids in her neighborhood, she provided them with a safe place to stay after school.

After volunteering in Los Angeles, Tara was diagnosed with cancer. Tara has a very positive and inspiring view of her experience with cancer, saying that it challenged her in so many ways, and also “beautifully redirected her life.” She was originally on track to attend school in Greensboro for a graduate degree in social work. She had to withdraw from the school and undergo treatment. After her treatment she moved to DC and interned with a human rights organization. She then reapplied to graduate schools and is now attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for a Masters in Social Work. UNC has been a great challenge and fit for her and she is very happy with where she is!

She has found that there are many parallels between her program and the Periclean program. Specifically, the importance of being aware of local issues and understanding how individuals, as global citizens, play a part in the issues around the world. Tara said that, “Periclean gave her a good framework for being in school for social work.” She finds that she can often directly apply what she learned in the classroom, working with partners, and traveling to Chiapas during her time in Periclean to her graduate coursework. Her experiences in Periclean have also impacted how she interacts with her peers and loved ones. Her knowledge about immigration has led her to engage in conversations about the harsh rhetoric of the topic, and help spread knowledge to those that may not fully understand the complexity of immigration.

Tara with mentor Brian Neinhaus and his wife Blanca.

It was great to learn about Tara’s experiences in Periclean and how they have helped shape the person she is today!

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The Class of 2012 accomplished many remarkable things in India in collaboration with their partners. Their Class worked with pre-existing projects and enhanced their partner’s efforts. This week I caught up with Jack Dodson, a member of the Class of 2012 and learned about his role in their class efforts and how Periclean has influenced his life after graduation.

The Class of 2012 managed to raise enough money to refurbish one of their partner’s programs that ran out of money. They helped to reinstate The Adolescent Girls Program (AGP). This program helped adolescent girls in 54 villages. The program addressed gender inequality in Indian society. Through the organization, Village Health Workers and women’s group members organized meetings for various groups of adolescent girls. The groups met weekly or biweekly and had meetings in which the girls participated in health education classes and were given the opportunity to socialize with other girls their own age. Along with the opportunity to learn and socialize, the girls were provided with a nutritious meal and nutrition guidelines. The organization also offered workshops focused on other health topics, self-defense, social issues and creative arts.

Their class also addressed the government healthcare program that is available for citizens in India. The class recognized that it was an underfunded program and left several people without effective health options. Healthcare alternatives, such as NGOs, public-community partnerships, and social businesses existed, but they were also limited. A documentary film was created to address and bring attention to the issue.

Jack Dodson headed the documentary that addressed the healthcare issue. The documentary ultimately caught the eye of the Turkish government. This resulted in the Turkish government contributing funds to The Comprehensive Rural Health Project (CRHP). The CRHP was able to create a training facility that expanded the organization’s reach to impact a larger population in India. The documentary,  “Health for All,” is  a 20-minute documentary that explores three different healthcare systems and brought  attention to issues within the healthcare system . This Elon article explains the impact of the documentary in more detail!

Jack has continued working on documentaries in New York. His experiences in Periclean introduced him to creating documentaries, he even considered Periclean his major at Elon because the impact of the program was so extensive and important to him. Periclean gave him the opportunity to explore many different areas and learn as he went. He thinks about the ideals of the Periclean program and has continued working with nonprofits. He helped to create a short film for a nonprofit in Portland, Maine and is excited to establish a basis in his career and further involve himself in things similar to what he was doing in Periclean.

More information about the Class of 2012 can be found here.

Jack Dodson 12’ and Director Tom Arcaro in Paris, France to help Izmir, Turkey get the bid to host the Expo 2020.

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To continue with our Periclean alumni series, I met up with Courtney Latta. She is a graduate of the class of 2009. After Courtney graduated she began her work in Leogane, Haiti. She was an intern for Kore Timoun and worked closely with others in the program to develop a comprehensive training program for nutrition workers. She spent two years in Haiti and was present in the country during the Earthquake of 2010. She helped in responding to the disaster by assisting with hiring of new staff and in scaling the Children’s Nutrition Program of Haiti. Also while in Haiti, Courtney researched and composed a training manual for a Positive Deviance/Hearth model program. She continuously educated other organizations in Haiti about the program and spread awareness about various public health topics.

Courtney now lives locally and continues to educate others about nutrition and other public health issues. She has also stayed very involved in the Periclean community by using her education and background to enhance the experiences of younger classes! While Courtney was getting her masters in Public Health at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, she worked on a thesis that involved Hogares Sanos, local partners of the class of 2013. For her master’s thesis, she developed an 8-week nutrition program for Hogares Sanos. Through this, Courtney formed relationships with the class of 2013, their mentor Brian Neinhaus and Brian’s wife Blanca. Courtney also traveled to Chiapas before the class of 2013 to scout, which she said was an amazing experience. She continues to act as a resource for other classes as well. Her experiences in Haiti, Mexico and Zambia provide her with knowledge that can be beneficial for various classes of Periclean!

Courtney continues her involvement with Periclean because she recognizes that Periclean is always a part of you and you are always a part of Periclean. She has really enjoyed meeting the students in the classes below her and learning about their class personality. She has recognized that each class has a unique perspective, and has enjoyed learning about each outlook.  When asked about what advice she would give to current classes, she advised everyone to get to know the members of your class early on. Building connections with outside partners is difficult if there isn’t cohesiveness among the class members. She also advocates getting to know local partners and forming personal relationships with them, rather than strictly doing academic research on the population. Forming these personal relationships between class members and partners are key!
I definitely recommend each class to reach out to Courtney and learn about her experiences during her time at Elon and after her graduation. I believe that every classes could benefit from the experience that she has and the education that has shaped how she approaches humanitarian aid.

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