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News from the Campus
fall 2013
T
clark alumni magazine
8
Amanda Mundt ’14 shaped a legacy of caring he Clark community was stunned and saddened by the death of Amanda Mundt ’14 in a July 10 motor vehicle collision in Haiti, where she’d dedicated herself to ensuring that educational opportunities were provided to the poorest children. Also killed in the crash were Meagan Bell, daughter of Clark Professor David Bell, and Diana Mundt, Amanda’s aunt. The minibus carrying the Clark contingent collided with a truck in the area of Fonds des Negres in the southern part of the country. Professor Bell and Kenneth Mundt, Amanda’s father, were injured in the crash and were treated at U.S. hospitals. Also injured were Haitian program director Timothe Indrik and translator Samy Emmanuel. The Mundts and Bells, including David Bell’s wife, Beverly, were traveling together in Haiti as part of mission work with Opportunities for Communities, a nonprofit educational organization co-founded by Kenneth. In the immediate aftermath, President David Angel spoke of the devastating impact of the tragic accident and said members of the Clark community would “support each other with love, reflection and kindness in these difficult times.” Amanda, 22, who majored in international development and social change, had devoted herself to the mission of securing a proper education for children who otherwise might never receive one. The Amherst, Mass., resident spent the summer of 2011 establishing and running a Lekol Dete (summer school) for thirdto sixth-graders in Les Cayes, Haiti. The project was funded by her winning proposal to the Davis Projects for Peace Foundation, which earned her a $10,000 grant, as well as by a $2,000 dollar grant from the Restavek Freedom Foundation. “Restaveks” are Haitian children who are given, and sometimes sold, to another family, essentially to work as indentured servants in exchange for shelter. They are often physically, verbally and sexually abused by their host families, shunned by society, and rarely given the opportunity to attend school. Amanda’s school brought together the Restaveks and the “free” children for the summer as a way to break down long-standing
prejudices among Haiti’s classes. Of her experience, she once noted, “The Lekol Dete accomplished more than I could have imagined, achieving our goal of having one cohesive group of students with no discrimination or judgment.” Laurie Ross ’91, M.A. ’95, associate professor of community and development and planning, worked with Amanda in her Going Local course. “One of the most important things to Amanda was that she get as much as she could out of her education so that she could use it in the field — in Haiti — to work to improve the lives and education of children,” Ross said. “I was so impressed by her dedication to this and I am struck that she literally gave her life to this cause. Amanda was supposed to be in my class this fall. I will miss what she could have contributed to the conversation, but I know she has made a deep and positive impact on the world. I’m happy to have known her.” Amanda was a Making a Difference Scholar as well as a member of the women’s field hockey team. Before coming to Clark, she