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GUNNAR HAGSTROM ’07, M.B.A. ’08 Major: Management International Fellow, PeacePlayers International, Cyprus “Anyone who ever got me a job was a Clark grad.” Gunnar Hagstrom chuckles when he says this, but not because it isn’t true. The former Clark basketball and baseball player is speaking by phone from the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, where he works with PeacePlayers International, an organization that uses athletics to foster conflict resolution in troubled spots around the world, including South Africa, Israel and the West Bank, and Northern Ireland. Hagstrom landed the position with help from contacts Lawrence Norman ’94, M.B.A. ’95, a member of the PeacePlayers board of directors, and John Ginnity ’01, a former assistant basketball coach at Clark. Prior to heading overseas, Hagstrom was an assistant coach with the MIT men’s basketball
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KELLEY SHORTSLEEVES ’09 Major: Chemistry Associate Scientist at Ensemble Therapeutics, Cambridge, Mass. It’s no coincidence that when she describes her profession, Kelley Shortsleeves’ phrases are peppered with the vocabulary of conflict. She speaks of “antagonists” and “targets,” and about locating the weakness in an enemy that
spring 2012
“If I gave up, or simply relegated art making to a hobby at this point, I think I would be deeply disappointed with myself for not following through on a true passion.”
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Mural, a 60-foot-long mural in Brooklyn. He toiled every day for a month on the piece, which he says “generated more acclaim than I could have ever imagined.” In 2008, he had a solo show at a gallery in Brooklyn. In 2010, he and more than 100 street artists from all over the world created the “Underbelly Project,” an exhibition mounted in a long-abandoned subway station. His work has also been exhibited in Los Angeles, Miami and London. Ginandes has done a handful of large-scale commission projects, including murals in Brooklyn and Manhattan, and a sculptural relief installation on the facade of the Carlton Arms Hotel in Manhattan. Although his works physically reside in and around New York, photos of his larger works, featured on websites and blogs, have generated regional and international interest in his art. He has created numerous studio pieces on commission for individual collectors. “It’s a challenge to stay inspired without getting discouraged,” he says. “It takes a lot of focus and self-motivation to continually create new work, especially when creativity is not always financially rewarding.” Whether Ginandes can earn a living as an artist is still to be determined, but he insists he must try.
team. His Clark connection there was former MIT assistant Oliver Eslinger ’97, now head coach at CalTech. Last year Hagstrom played in the North Cyprus Professional Basketball League. (“My buddies from Clark joke that of all the people who got to play professional basketball, somehow it was me.”) Riven by conflict between Greek and Turkish factions since 1974, Cyprus has proven to be the perfect locale for PeacePlayers’ efforts. Hagstrom and other organizers work with children and coaches on both sides of the “green line” — the United Nations-monitored buffer zone separating northern and southern Cyprus. The players practice in their own communities, and they are taught conflict-resolution through basketball. “They’re low-skilled players, but we make the game fun and enjoyable,” Hagstrom says. “This is more about getting kids involved than creating the next Michael Jordan.” Once a month, teams from the north and south are brought together for friendly competition. Sometimes they cross through the armed checkpoints; other times they play at a court in the neutral zone. “We try to get them as many interactions as possible over the course of a year,” Hagstrom says. PeacePlayers also runs summer camps and teaches a leadership development program for 16- to 18-year-olds. “The earlier we get these kids the better; we can really help shape the way they see the other community. Our motto is: Children who can play together can live together.”