Periclean Scholars
Our Journey
Periclean Scholars At Elon University Periclean Scholars are part of Project Pericles, a national project dedicated to increasing civic engagement and social responsibility. We began in the fall of 2002 when the inaugural Class was recruited, and since the Class of 2006, there have been eight cohorts inducted. We are dedicated to promoting awareness of global issues and to creating meaningful partnerships that can provide solutions to problems surrounding these issues in culturally sensitive and sustainable ways. This selective academic program consists of scholars committing to taking 4-5 courses focused on their issue in their focus region. All Periclean Scholars classes operate as seminars, with a heavy emphasis on student ownership and leadership. The classes required are: GST 225 PERICLEAN SCHOLARS In this foundational course students develop a mission statement for the class and research in depth the issues and topics related to that mission. Emphasis is placed on becoming deeply familiar with the multiplicity of factors that surround the group’s chosen issue and developing individual and group goals (short and long term). PER 351/352 JUNIOR PERICLEAN SCHOLARS In the junior year, the Periclean Scholars will continue broadening and deepening their knowledge of the content area(s) in the group’s chosen geographic location and/or issue(s). The mentor (Professor) will guide and encourage the cohort to begin using the knowledge, conceptual and theoretical frameworks, and skill sets that they are learning in their majors as they engage in activities outlined in their chosen mission statement. PER 451/452 SENIOR PERICLEAN SCHOLARS These courses serve as a capstone to the program. The students fully put to use all that they have learned in both their earlier Periclean classes and their majors in service to the projects and goals that they set out to address from the beginning of their experience.
Students apply to become Periclean Scholars in the second semester of their first year. Each Class of 33 students chooses an issue in a target area to address during the sophomore year. The next two years are engaged in activities that integrate academic reading, research, and writing with service and outcome-oriented experiential learning activities. Many Periclean Scholars will travel to their area of outreach. A Periclean Scholar’s role is demanding, but makes a demonstrative difference in the lives of its partners worldwide and in the lives of individual scholars. Scholars have a wide spectrum of majors from over a dozen different disciplines, and we continually learn from each other and from those we meet.
http://www.elon.edu/e-web/academics/special_programs/project_pericles/
The Periclean Pledge We pledge to… Listen to our partnering communities, acknowledging they often have the best solutions to local problems. Learn about our partner communities’ history and traditions, to better engage in culturally-aware dialogue. Assist our partners in community-run development projects that will enable their long-term success. Responsibly study, document, and publicize our partner communities’ needs and desires. Be committed to building lifelong, sustainable partnerships, recognizing they take hard work and dedication. Embrace our lifelong journey of global citizenship through intellectual and personal growth.
http://www.elon.edu/e-web/academics/special_programs/project_pericles/
Periclean Pledge
Program Overview Creating and sustaining meaningful global partnerships since 2003
Where we have been
Topics of focus
Class of 2006, Namibia Class of 2007, Honduras Class of 2008, Mexico Class of 2009, Zambia Class of 2010, Ghana Class of 2011, Sri Lanka Class of 2012, India Class of 2013, Mexico Class of 2014, Appalachia Class of 2015, Haiti Class of 2016, Honduras
HIV/AIDS awareness Pediatric nutrition Poverty and education Rural development Socioeconomic development Environment and education Empowering adolescent girls Poverty and health issues Rural education issues Poverty and health issues To be decided
Media products that Classes have produced include
Seven very successful documentaries, five of which have made a big impact far beyond the walls of our campus. Two narrative films relating to Class’s issues of focus. Numerous short videos available on YouTube. Two music CDs.
Major activities include
Hosting campus 14 Pericleans-in-Residence, most from, or working in, the country of focus of one or more classes. Forging lasting partnerships with non-governmental organizations (not for profit entities), numerous villages and individuals, the US Embassies in Namibia, Sri Lanka, and India, and numerous schools and organizations in our local community. Successfully raising over $.4 million dollars that has been ploughed back into our countries of focus. Organizing and co-hosting three major international conferences in Namibia, Sri Lanka, and India Establishing the Periclean Scholar Alumni Association in 2006 to facilitate a sustainable commitment to our partners. The PSAA was endowed in 2008, thus insuring that partnerships of all Classes can and will be sustained into the future.
Academic and career impact on students Students have presented and published on a regular basis their research. The vast majority of students describe their Periclean Scholars experience as the most significant of their undergraduate career and report that their life and career trajectories were changed as a direct result of their participation.
Namibia
Class of 2006
The first Class of Periclean Scholars As the Inaugural Class of Periclean Scholars, we were always mindful that our actions and decisions would set precedents for future classes. As a result, we had two main goals, both equally important: the sustainability of our Namibian partnerships and the program as a whole.
Media with a message Our class received two major external grants making possible travel to Namibia for the filming of four documentaries related to our mission of educating about the HIV/AIDS crisis in southern Africa. Two of our documentaries were official film festival selections, and all four were bought and distributed by Thomason Higher Education in their Introduction to Sociology and Introduction to Anthropology texts. The Peace Corps also used the series for training cohorts of volunteers serving in Namibia, and they have been used by numerous university and high school classes. Two music CDs were also produced as the result of this travel, and the sales of both the CDs and the DVDs of the documentaries were used to directly benefit our partners in Namibia.
Bringing the world to Elon We hosted four Pericleans-in-Residence from Namibia. Three founded their own non-governmental organizations related to the fight against HIV and AIDS. These Pericleans-in-Residence served not only as a resource for our class, but also for the surrounding community. Such speaking engagements including speaking to high school classrooms and in a radio interview broadcast nationally by NPR. Our fourth Periclean-in-Residence was a student from the University of Namibia who had attended our Future Leaders Summit.
Partnering with the local community We produced a narrative film that was based on a short story written by one of the Scholars. This film, centering on the stigma surrounding HIV and AIDS in the United States, was screened in downtown Burlington to a crowd of 500 and raised 5,000 dollars to support our local non-profit, Alamance Cares, which deals with HIV issues in our county.
Educating ourselves and others about HIV and AIDS We organized and hosted the “Future Leader’s Summit on HIV/AIDS” which was held during January 2006 in Windhoek, Namibia. This two-day event was a collaborative effort by the students, faculty and staff of the University of Namibia, the Polytechnic of Namibia, and the Periclean Scholars Class of 2006. The event, opened by the Prime Minister of Namibia, was covered by CNN-International and was featured in a fiveminute segment on Inside Africa.
The Mantra of Sustainability Our Class founded the Periclean Scholars Alumni Association just before graduation. This organization was generously endowed by the Redwoods Group Foundation, who made the challenge that the funds be matched each year by the alumni. Their generous gift ensures that all Periclean partners will be sustained into the future. org.elon.edu/pericleanscholars2006
Class of 2006
Honduras
Class of 2007
Students in our class raised $6,500 to fund the construction of a kitchen for the pediatric ward in the Mario Catarino Rivas Hospital in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, the largest public hospital in northern Honduras, serving more than 21,000 patients a month. The Honduran Office of Health and Nutrition estimates that 75 percent of children under age 5 are malnourished, exacerbating the immediate conditions for which children come to the hospital. Thus, attending to the nutrition requirements forms a critical element in treatment, and having a dedicated food preparation area enables these needs to be addressed directly. It also facilitates the provision of more meals per day, reducing the period between meals.
Our class donated $1,250 to purchase school uniforms and bicycles so boys from Flor Azul, a rural community and farm for 80 abandoned and abused boys, could go to high school. Another $600 went to buy shoes for those who did not have them. We also painted a house, donated a half-ton of clothes, and held events to entertain children at Flor Azul and Nuevo Paraiso.
Our Class traveled to Honduras in January 2007, and in addition to the service work that we did with the help of a generous grant from the Park Foundation, we produced a documentary about poverty and malnutrition in Honduras that was used by Elon faculty. In October 2005, Karen Godt, co-founder and director of Help for Honduran Children, visited Elon as a Periclean-in-Residence. In addition to a public presentation to the university community, she visited with students in Global Studies courses to draw further attention to the plight of children in Honduras.
Our Class established a partnership with Hope for Honduran Children that has been maintained since 2007 with multiple trips to Honduras being taken by members of the Class of 2007 in their postgraduate careers.
The outreach to Honduras by our Class has lead to the establishment of a longterm relationship between NGOs in Honduras and Elon University’s Kernodle Center for Service Learning. We have helped facilitate many Elon University service trips as well as partnered with the Kernodle Center to sponsor Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week. org.elon.edu/pericleanscholars2007
Class of 2007
Mexico
Class of 2008
Dedicated to reducing the impact of poverty in Chiapas, Mexico through education, in partnership with Schools for Chiapas
Developed a deep and long term relationship with Schools for Chiapas, an organization that works closely with the Zapatista movement (EZLN) in southern Mexico.
Raised $15,000 for the renovation of a school in San Andres, Chiapas. These funds were presented to the governing Zapatista juntas based on the needs that the community members had expressed.
Traveled as a Class to Oventic, Chiapas, the center of the Zapatista movement, in December 2006 and took part in the anniversary of the beginning of the Zapatista movement. During that trip we painted a school with community members in Suytic, the home village of Comandanta Ramona. Our Class also worked with the community to paint a mural with a leading Mexican Muralist.
Hosted Periclean-inResidence Peter Brown, founder and director of Schools for Chiapas.
Produced a documentary about the Zapatista movement and the struggle of the indigenous people in Chiapas entitled “Painting Without Permission” that was subtitled in English and Spanish. The documentary was also screen at the International Step by Step Association (ISSA) Conference in Budapest, Hungary.
Organized and staged a very successful awareness campaign “Lifting the Fog” that featured video and photographs of our travel to Chiapas and particularly to Oventic.
org.elon.edu/pericleanscholars2008
Class of 2008
Zambia
Class of 2009
Furthering development in rural Zambia through partnership with Habitat for Humanity Our Class, the 2009 Periclean Scholars, hosted Pericleanin-Residence Lynn Twitchell. Twitchell has led Habitat for HumanityInternational trips to Zambia for nearly a decade and began her own nonprofit in the village of Kaoma. With grant money, a team from our Class traveled to Kaoma, Zambia in 2009 and filmed a short documentary about Habitat’s work in Zambia.
Our Class researched the ideas and ideals of Pericles and, in the end, contributed to the program what has been its guiding sentiment. This is from Pericles himself: “What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.”
We partnered with local artist Nicole Moore and raised nearly $15,000 for our work in Zambia through sale of reprints of her original paintings.
Our class established the Take Action campaign to raise awareness about Zambia and funds for our Class outreach.
We traveled to Kawama, Zambia in January 2009 and built two homes in Zambia. Our team was featured on Zambian television for their work. The partnership with the people of Kawama deepened in May 2011 when our Class Mentor and another Elon team traveled back to Kawama to build homes for two families with orphans and vulnerable children. This inaugural “Periclean Project” provided a template for future return visits to Periclean partnerships in countries of focus. org.elon.edu/pericleanscholars2009
Class of 2009
Ghana
Class of 2010
Our Class raised over $100,000 to support sustainable partnerships with Ghana’s Volta region that… Provide health services to 10,000 rural poor who previously did not have year round access to health care. Our partnership led to the construction of the Kpoeta Community Clinic, medical staff housing, and drug store and staffing of the clinic with several Government of Ghana-paid staff. The facility is helping Ghana meet its Millennium Development Goals of reducing child mortality, maternal deaths, malaria, and HIV/AIDS. In 2011, the clinic was upgraded by Ghana’s Ministry of Health to a Community Health Services Planning Center that can accept Ghana health insurance cards and will be supplied with medicines by Ghana Health Services.
Support education in the villages of Sokode and Abor, on our own campus, and beyond. In Abor, our class added over 500 Afro-centric books to the library of an elementary school. In Sokode the funds we raised are being used to build a kindergarten. We have also given supplies to Sokode schools and youth programs. Members of our class have hosted and given talks on sustainable development in Africa, and published articles in scholar magazines and academic journals. Our partnership with the U.S. Navy has enabled thousands of books to be transported to Ghana free of charge.
Improve rural livelihoods via Heifer International and a solar cooker initiative. Dozens of families received bees, small edible mammals called grasscutters, and HIV/AIDS awareness training due to our support.
Promote cross-cultural exchange and lifelong learning. More than a dozen members of the Class of 2010 have studied in Ghana and nearly 75 percent of members who graduated are pursuing life paths related to their Periclean experiences.
Enhance the Periclean Program through what we have learned. We have introduced a Periclean handbook, pledge, new lateral entry initiative, and a post-graduate common reading to improve student retention, learning, and sustainable partnerships. org.elon.edu/pericleanscholars2010
Class of 2010
Sri Lanka
Class of 2011
Organized the Leaders in Environmental Advocacy Forum (LEAF) in Colombo, Sri Lanka in January 2011 and continued to discuss environmental issues by sponsoring environmental clubs at Panangala Mahabodhi School and Seetha Eliya School in Sri Lanka and Graham Middle School in North Carolina. Through these partnerships, an ongoing international social network was initiated which engages school children from both the United States and Sri Lanka in conversations about the environment. The documentary, “The Elephant in the Room,� focuses on environmental issues in Sri Lanka.
Expanded International Partnerships with the U.S. Embassy American Center and the Weeramantry Center for Peace Education and Research in Colombo. In addition, partner school initiatives included building a library at Panangala Junior School, Sri Lanka, creating an Adopt-a-Student program at Panangala Junior School, and starting a pen-pal program between Seetha Eliya School and Seawell Elementary School in Chapel Hill, NC.
Continued Class Involvement with Pan-Periclean Initiatives by initiating the Periclean newsletter, planning the 1st annual Periclean Scholars Loaves and Fishes 5k, and by sponsoring Periclean Scholar-inResidence Ajantha Perera and Chamindha Mahanayake. org.elon.edu/pericleanscholars2011
Class of 2011
India
Class of 2012
Advocating public health, locally and abroad Through the our class’s partnership with the Adolescent Girls Program (AGP) at the Comprehensive Rural Health Project (CRHP) in Maharastra, India, and our work locally with the Burlington Housing Authority, we have sought to assist in the empowerment of others, particularly women. Thirteen members of our Class completed internships at CRHP. We raised $10,000 for AGP in order to revamp a program on the brink of disappearance.
Four scholars, Brittany Moore, Katie Kenney, Sarah Naiman, and Annie Huth, wrote extensive research papers on subjects pertaining to our Class of 2012’s studies. Jack Dodson created a documentary about the issues affecting our partners abroad. Six members of our Class attended the Clinton Global Initiative conference in Miami. Other members collaborated on a book by Edwin Toone. We hosted Pericleans-in-Residence twice, met Khaled Hosseini and Edward Luce.
Our Class explored Lake Mackintosh and toured Elon’s campus with young Burlington residents, affectionately known as Dream Girls, building cultural awareness and coordinating educational events for them right here at home. We encouraged dialogue with the Elon community with panel discussions on rural health care, and expended fundraising efforts to provide relief for those affected in Haiti by sponsoring a dance and raising 10,000 dollars to donate to the Red Cross. org.elon.edu/pericleanscholars2012
Class of 2012
Mexico
Class of 2013
We, the Class of 2013, have taken on a number of initiatives related to our focal area of Chiapas, Mexico, an area with a challenging political environment. As a part of Mexico with many indigenous Mayan, NAFTA has not only greatly impacted those still residing in Chiapas, but also those who have immigrated to the United States.
The most significant project our class has orchestrated has been a series of ongoing health education sessions for women in the Alamance County community with ties to Chiapas or greater Mexico. Beginning in July 2012, members of our class in collaboration with a public health graduate student, also a Periclean alumna, have conducted health sessions on a weekly basis on Elon’s campus. We arrange transportation, food, and childcare for the participants and offer participatory “classes” with topics ranging from food sanitation practices to exercise strategies, based on the women’s requests. Through this project,t all members of our Class have come to feel strongly integrated into the Alamance Community and tangentially to communities in Mexico through participants’ connections. Seeing these sessions come full circle each Monday morning is very rewarding—as we realize our impact on a community that endures ethnic-based discrimination, living in fear due to rampant societal issues in Alamance County. It is amazing how a small group of us can change the feelings of this group of women as they put trust in us and in each other.
Our next step in the program is to begin to record and eventually publish the personal stories of our participants to shed light on the experiences of Mexican-Americans in our area. This idea stems from a connection our mentor has with an Alamance County woman who grew up in Burlington with her brother. Her brother was deported to Mexico as a young man, previously never knowing a home outside of the United States. During Winter Term we will be traveling to his village to record his story, and the combination of accounts from brother and sister will undoubtedly be one of the most powerful parts of the narrative we will assemble as our culminating project. This Winter Term program will also serve as a powerful way for our class to experience the culture and people with whom we have collaborated from afar in years past.
org.elon.edu/pericleanscholars2013
Class of 2013
Appalachia
Class of 2014
Under the mentorship of Dr. Ken Hassell, the Class of 2014 works to create projects of social change in Central Appalachia and raise the level of civic engagement and social responsibility at Elon University. They ventured to Appalachia at the start of summer, marking the start of our journey in our focus area. One of the recurring themes on this trip was the combination of rich land and poor people. Due to the exploitation of outsiders and corporations, the people who own the land are the poorest.
On May 20, soon after classes were finished, the majority of our Class loaded up the Moseley vans and set off for Pennington Gap, Virginia. There, Sister Beth spoke with us about the history of the region and the relevant cultural issues that are still occurring today. From there, we went to St. Charles, Virginia, where we met Walter, Teresa, Ariel, Courtney, Bonnie, Rhonda, and Emily Webb – the family who runs the community center in St. Charles out of their own pockets.
After St. Charles, we drove to Whitesburg, Kentucky, home of Appalshop, a non-profit multi-disciplinary arts and education center in the heart of Appalachia. We spoke with Derek Mullins about what Appalshop does and what issues are affecting Whitesburg. One of the most haunting things he said affected his own family; he knew when his father was home from working in the coalmines because he could hear him breathing as he walked through the front yard.
Next, we went to Whitesville, West Virginia, an area hit incredibly hard by the aftermath of coal mining. While staying here, we met with Lorelei Scarborough and Larry Gibson – two of the most active and influential figures in the fight against mountaintop removal. Larry’s fight to keep his land does not come without consequences. Before we departed, Lorelei expressed that she would like to purchase the building her center is in, as drug dealers live upstairs. Creating opportunities for younger children was also deemed essential; including heath awareness, music programs and books All through September, our Class partnered with Barnes and Noble for a book drive.
While simply leaving an area that seems so troubled may sound simple for an outsider, people remain due to heritage, family health, and an attachment to the land. The people believe in the community and in themselves; when you are there, they make you feel right at home. We are bringing our skill sets together and delegate projects so that we can do all we can for the people of Appalachia.
org.elon.edu/pericleanscholars2014
Class of 2014
Haiti
Class of 2015
Our journey began last spring when we were inducted into the Periclean community. It was then that we were presented with the honor and responsibility of spending the next three years working together to create a brighter future for Haiti.
At the induction ceremony, we were given Paul Farmer’s book, Haiti: After the Earthquake. It was through reading this book over the course of the past summer that we began to fully understand the gravity and depth of the issues that are present in Haiti. In our classes so far, both the students and our mentor, Dr. Warner, have continued to educate ourselves on Haiti by researching relevant topics and presenting them to one another. It is through this process that we hope to eventually gain enough knowledge to narrow our focus and to develop our class’ project.
Throughout its history, Haiti has faced a number of issues including poor health care, a struggling education system, political instability, and economic uncertainty amplified by the recent natural disasters, most notably the devastating 2010 earthquake. Other issues have also been born from the earthquake – such troubling problems as lack of access to clean water, insufficient and unsustainable aid, cholera epidemic, a broken infrastructure and homelessness. We understand that we cannot possibly tackle all of these daunting issues, but we are optimistic that with our diverse array of talents and interests, we will be able to work with the Haitian people to make a significant impact.
An old Haitian proverb says, “To stumble is not to fall.” The Haitian people have proven their resiliency in the face of enormous and continued adversity, and they have inspired our class tremendously. Our class is cognizant of the fact that we will face enormous hurdles as we begin this journey, and we are prepared for the inevitable stumbles that will meet us. But we, like the Haitian people, will not allow the stumbles that we encounter to make us fall.
http://www.elon.edu/e-web/academics/special_programs/project_pericles/
Class of 2015
Honduras
Class of 2016
The application process occurs from October 12, 2012 to March 22, 2013 for first-year students. (1) The letter of application can be completed online below and should include the following: a. A brief statement describing why you are interested in becoming a Periclean Scholar. b. A brief statement identifying your strengths and how these might be useful to the Class and its projects. c. A written response to the following prompt. Please limit your overall response to 1000 words. Assess and reflect on a service experience you have had based on the ideas Antonio Donini presents on humanitarianism, perception and power in his chapter in In the Eyes of Others. The chapter can be found at http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/publications/book/perceptions/MSF-In-the-Eyes-ofOthers.pdf on pages 183-192. (2) A letter of recommendation should be emailed directly to Professor Post (apost@elon.edu) from a faculty person chosen by the applicant. (3) Following receipt of your materials you will be contacted for a personal interview with Prof. April Post, Mentor for the Class of 2016 Periclean Scholars.
http://www.elon.edu/e-web/academics/special_programs/project_pericles/
Class of 2016
Scholars Fostering Partnerships Jesse Lee and Natalie Lampert, 2011 Periclean Scholars, participated in the Training for Trusteeship, hosted by the Weeramantry International Center for Peace Education and Research (WICPER), in Sri Lanka. This program had participants from all of the South Asian Countries in addition to the Periclean Scholars. While in Sri Lanka, Jesse and Natalie will continue to foster the Periclean Scholars Partnerships with WICPER, the United States Embassy American Center in Colombo, Sri Lanka, the United Nations Volunteer Corp, and all Periclean Scholars partner programs in Sri Lanka. “The relationships created within the Periclean Scholars program almost always take on a personal, meaningful nature. And they’re habitually cross-cultural and related to bigger plans and dreams, like our class’s work with environmental education initiatives in Sri Lanka. At the end of the day, these partnerships are productive and genuine, allowing students and professionals to connect around the world and work towards common goals for the greater good. This is what Periclean Scholars is to me: opening up doors – literally – to one another, communicating about the issues that affect us all, taking steps toward tangible change as we cross cultural barriers. And it’s happening. Right this second, it’s happening, as partnerships continue and relationships deepen, in this community in Sri Lanka, in a village in rural Ghana, in a school in Mexico, in a home in Zambia. This is what sustainable and genuine Periclean partnerships mean, and they’re a pretty incredible force.” Natalie Lampert ‘11 “Periclean Scholars empowered me as citizen of a shared world to realize my responsibility of engaging with the communities I have access to, both locally and globally. My involvement with Periclean Scholars has fostered creativity in me that has poured out in the form of prototype solar vehicles, a feature length documentary, a start-up company, two international conferences and a currently-indevelopment campaign for truly sustainable development. And, as I begin to lose track of how many cups of tea I’ve shared with Sri Lankan friends, partners, and surrogatefamily members, I am reminded of how this journey began at a unique university with a civic engagement program unlike any other.” Jesse Lee ‘11 Highlighted Scholars
Impact on Students “Without the Periclean Scholars program, I wouldn't know to ask, "What does this job mean to the world?" Slowly, without me realizing it, the Periclean Scholars program fundamentally shifted my thought process when it came to planning about a career path. The program made me see that the work you do can impact the world, and that you need to find a place that allows you to make an impact. Julie Bourbeau, ‘06 Periclean Scholars allowed me to see the similarities we have with our neighbors across the world: the desire to be heard valued and loved. Laura Sinden, ‘08
[Periclean Scholars] has taught me about the real places, the real problems, and most importantly, the real people. Periclean Scholars has changed my life. Damon Duncan ‘06 The experiences that I have gained from being a part of Periclean Scholars continue to shape my views on life and the global mindset that I received continues to be a base for me to center myself and keep life in perspective. Emily Sargent ‘07 Periclean scholars has given me a flexible world view that enables me to see beyond my own privilege and empathically understand the world of poverty, poor health, and inequality. That world view is the reason I write this message from my desk at a community mental health center where I act as a therapist for marginalized people: people who are often living on the streets and have fallen through the cracks because they do not have insurance or Medicaid. Marissa Morris-Jones ‘06 http://www.elon.edu/e-web/academics/special_programs/project_pericles
Alumni