Periclean Scholars
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Our Journey
What’s Inside Now that we are well into our second decade of learning, service and partnering, we have taken the time to organize some highlights from our past and present Periclean Scholars Classes. Inside, you will find an overview of the program, summaries of the accomplishments of each of our eleven Classes, a look at some of the partnerships that have been nurtured, personal comments about the impact of the program from alumni, and some quantitative and qualitative results from an alumni survey done in January 2012. Why Periclean Scholars? In 2012, A Crucible Moment: College Learning and Democracy’s Future, prepared by the National Task Force on Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement, was presented to President Obama and to the public. This document was a call to action for all educators and public leaders to endorse and embrace a vision of higher education in the 21st century that makes civic learning and socially responsible civic engagement an integral part of each undergraduate’s educational experience. Virtually every recommendation in A Crucible Moment is addressed by various dimensions within the Periclean Scholars model. Please contact Director Tom Arcaro (arcaro@elon.edu) if you have any questions or would like further information. For a look at what is happening week by week in our program, you are invited to visit blogs.elon.edu/PericleanScholars.
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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 11 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 take 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 4sh 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 2sh/each 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 2sh/each 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.
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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 the students 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 partners worldwide and in the lives of individual scholars. Scholars typically research a wide spectrum of majors from dozens of different disciplines, and we continually learn from each other and from those we meet. !
elon.edu/projectpericles
The Periclean Pledge !
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We pledge to‌! Listen to our partnering communities, acknowledging that 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 that they take hard work and dedication. Embrace our lifelong journey of global citizenship through intellectual and personal growth.
elon.edu/projectpericles
Periclean Pledge
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Program Overview
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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 Class of 2017, Namibia
HIV/AIDS awareness Pediatric mal-nutrition Poverty and education Rural development Socioeconomic development Environment and education Empowering adolescent girls Poverty and health issues Poverty and environment Restavek and modern slavery To be decided To be decided
Media products that Classes have produced include •
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Eight very successful documentaries, with significant measurable impact. Five of which have made a big impact far beyond the walls of our campus. Two narrative films relating to each Class’s issues of focus. Scores of short videos available on YouTube. Two music CDs.
Major activities include •
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Hosting 15 Pericleans-in-Residence on campus, 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 $.7 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 their research on a regular basis. 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
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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 included 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
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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.
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org.elon.edu/pericleanscholars2006
Class of 2006
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Honduras
Class of 2007
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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 that 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.!
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org.elon.edu/pericleanscholars2007
Class of 2007
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Mexico
Class of 2008
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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 which distributed them based on the needs that the community members had expressed.
Traveled as a Class to Oventic, Chiapas, the
Hosted Periclean-inResidence Peter Brown, founder and director of Schools for Chiapas.
center of the Zapatista movement, in Winter 2008 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, Gustavo Chavaz Pavon.
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 screened at the International Step by Step Association (ISSA) Conference in Budapest, Hungary. It was also distributed nationally by the Schools of Chiapas to high schools and universities across the United States.
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
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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 2008 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 the 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. 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. As a direct result of the work by our Class, the Zamibian Development Support Foundation was established in 2013. This microfinance initiative will continue supporting the people in Kawama into the future. org.elon.edu/pericleanscholars2009
Class of 2009
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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
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Class of 2011
Organized the Leaders in Environmental Advocacy Forum
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Rainforest Rescue International, this event was formally opened by the US Ambassador to Sri Lanka. We continued discussing 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. Our documentary, “The Elephant in the Room,� funded with a $15,000 grant from the Park Foundation, focuses on environmental issues in Sri Lanka. ! !
Expanded International Partnerships with the U.S. Embassy American Center and the Weeramantry Centre 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 first Periclean Scholars Loaves and Fishes 5k, and by sponsoring Periclean Scholars-inResidence Ajantha Perera and Chamindha Mahanayake in the Spring of 2011. These two visitors spoke both to campus wide audiences and to local high schools. ! org.elon.edu/pericleanscholars2011
Class of 2011
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India
Class of 2012
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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, Khaled Hosseini and Edward Luce.
In June 2010, under the leadership of our Mentor Martin Kamela and Director Tom Arcaro, 10 of us traveled to Jamkhed, India and spent two weeks with one of our main partners, the Comprehensive Rural Health Project (CHRP). This travel was made possible by $28,000 in scholarship grants. The CRHP partnership matured and deepened in the next two years in spectacular fashion. Due to the visibility of our documentary Health for All, a partnership between Izmir, Turkey, Elon University and CRHP was forged and made possible a new $100,000 “Izmir Training Centre” on the CRHP campus, a gift from the people of Izmir, Turkey.
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 expanded 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
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Mexico
Class of 2013
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We, the Class of 2013, took 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 orchestrated was a series of ongoing health education sessions, Hogares Saños, 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, conducted health sessions on a weekly basis on Elon’s campus. We arranged transportation, food, and childcare for the participants and offered participatory sessions with topics ranging from food sanitation practices to exercise strategies, based on the women’s requests. Through this project, all members of our Class came 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 was very rewarding, as we realized our impact on a community that endures ethnic-based discrimination, living in fear due to rampant societal issues in Alamance County. It was amazing how a small group changed the feelings of this group of women as they put trust in us and in each other. Following our programmatic theme on sustainability, Hogares Saños has been passed on to the Class of 2016 to continue this initiative.
We recorded and published 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 Class 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 2013, we traveled to his village to record his story, and the combination of accounts from brother and sister was undoubtedly the most powerful parts of the narrative we assembled as our culminating project. We then presented to several first-year Global Studies classes at Elon University to share our project and knowledge with other students, thus beginning what has become a Periclean tradition of senior Pericleans presenting to first-year students. org.elon.edu/pericleanscholars2013
Class of 2013
Appalachia Class of 2014
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The Periclean Class of 2014’s region of focus is Appalachia. More specifically, we have visited three towns: Whitesville, WV, Whitesburg, KY, and St. Charles, VA. Over the past three years, we have worked mainly with the Boone-Raleigh Community Center in Whitesville, WV. Lorelei Scarbro, the center’s director, has served as our main contact in this partnership. Our Class supports both the short-term and long-term goals of the community center. The ultimate goal is to build community in an area divided over mountaintop removal and prescription drug abuse.
Accomplishments • • • • • • • •
Completed a children’s library by building seven bookshelves and collecting books Painted a solar system mural to encourage children to utilize the library Provided funding for garden beds to be installed in community members’ yards Member Emily Forinash completed a summer internship at the community center Assisted in getting a $20,000 preliminary grant approved for a community garden project Member Gloria So is completing her senior thesis using photovoice with members in the community Spent a weekend making apple butter with community members Featured in Kingsport Times-News for volunteer work at a local organization, Hunger First
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Held a weeklong symposium, which featured speakers Bill Price of the Sierra Club, Lorelei Scarbro of the Boone-Raleigh Community Center and Lenny Kohm of AppVoices Organize fundraising event called “Monthly Munchies” among other fundraising efforts Member Gloria So will showcase her photovoice project in May 2014 Led a Global Pods presentation titled "Mountaintop Removal - Environmental and Cultural Impacts"
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Raise $50,000-60,000 to buy the Boone-Raleigh Community Center Install solar panels to the roof of the community center Organize a toy drive to collect toys for the center’s annual Christmas party Release a documentary about Appalachian culture and regional issues Sustain the partnership between Elon and the Central Appalachian communities periclean.wordpress.com
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Class of 2014
Haiti !
Restavek
Class of 2015
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As a Class, we have chosen to focus our efforts on the restavek situation in Haiti. Restavek, which literally means "stay with" in Haitian Creole, is a form of child slavery in Haiti. Families who can’t afford to care for their children often send them to live with distant relatives, family friends or sometimes complete strangers. These families or individuals offer to feed and house the children in exchange for their manual labor. Oftentimes, children find themselves living in horrifying conditions, working long days with little food. Many times children are treated as subservient and inferior, and are the brunt of many abuses. We will work to help save the restavek children of Haiti.
Human trafficking and Slavery Slavery affects almost every country around the world, and is also illegal in almost every country. Today, over 27 million people around the world spend their days as slaves. It’s hard to believe that slavery exists in the United States, but according to the CIA, over 100,000 people are enslaved in our country. Even closer to home, North Carolina is one of the top 10 states with the most calls to the National Human Trafficking Hotline. These startling facts have driven our Class to join the fight against human trafficking in Haiti and in our own country.
Partners After an extensive vetting process we are excited to begin working with our new formal human trafficking and restavek partners! Over the next year and a half and beyond, we will be working with the Restavek Freedom Foundation in Haiti and Alamance for Freedom, a locally based human trafficking coalition.
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Class of 2015
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Honduras !
Class of 2016
Where it All Began… Our induction ceremony took place on April 11, 2013, with 33 members beginning this journey together. Over the summer we read The Broken Village by Daniel Reichman that allowed us to learn about the history of Honduras as well as see the conditions of the economy, the culture, and the effects that globalization has had on them. This also showed the current struggles of adapting to the failing agricultural economy due to the lack of external financial support, depleted resources, and mass emigration.
What We Have Learned… Honduras is a country rife with political corruption, human rights violations, and gang violence. Human and drug trafficking are also very prevalent problems, as 80% of the cocaine that is shipped from South America to the US passes through Honduras. Another current issue in the country includes outbreaks of dengue fever, a flu-like illness caused by a virus carried by mosquitos. Furthermore, the country’s infrastructure is still recovering from Hurricane Mitch, which devastated the country in 1998. Although these negative characteristics of the country are the main part of Honduras that the media highlights, we have come to learn that there is still hope and strength within the Honduran people, or “Cartuchos” as they call themselves.
The Future of Our Class… The further we delve into the culture of Honduras and the problems that are common there, we are gradually realizing the enormity of both the task that we have undertaken and the opportunity we have to make a difference. We plan to continue our research, vet partners, and establish sustainable connections in both Honduras and in the Elon Community. The country of Honduras may seem broken, but the people of Honduras are resilient, and we are excited about partnering with them to make the country safer and help the people of Honduras live up to their potential.
elon.edu/projectpericles
Class of 2016!
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Scholars Fostering Partnerships
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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
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! Highlighted Scholars
Alumni Feedback
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winter 2012, an email survey was sent to all Periclean Scholar Alumni. The
results were dramatic in providing both quantitative and qualitative data indicating deep and lasting impact of being a Periclean Scholar.
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To what extent has being a! Periclean Scholar impacted your choice of career paths?
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As evidenced by the data, 86% of alumni surveyed felt that being a Periclean Scholar had a major or moderate impact on their career path.
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“I am a more conscientious global citizen.”
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- Periclean Scholar Alumni, Class of 2009
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“Being a member of Periclean Scholars has encouraged me to keep service a large focus in my life.” - Periclean Scholar Alumni, Class of 2010
To what extent has being a Periclean Scholar influenced non! career life choices? !
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According to the data, 95% of alumni said that being a Periclean Scholar somewhat or a great deal influenced their non-career life choices.
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“Being a Periclean Scholar helped solidify my passions and what I want to accomplish in this world. It gave me a deeper understanding of how connected we are to places like Namibia. Being a Periclean Scholar showed me that with passion and knowledge, we can achieve a lot. Being a Periclean Scholar gave me lifelong friends.” - Periclean Scholar Alumni, Class of 2006!
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“It has influenced my life by making me strive to be a better person who spreads positive light and attitude wherever possible. It has helped me look past my own views, perspectives and biases and helped me to better listen to others.” - Periclean Scholar Alumni, Class of 2012
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How would you rank Periclean Scholars among the other affinity groups you were a member of as an undergraduate?
As illustrated by the data, the majority of alumni felt that Periclean Scholars was more influential to them than other groups of which they were a member.
“I loved the chance to engage with an international actor and [to] travel. I have carried that experience with me as I work on advocacy for Middle East democracy.” - Periclean Scholar Alumni, Class of 2008
“College is a very self-centered time in one’s life. You are there to better yourself and often everything takes a backseat to that. Periclean gave me the opportunity to do real good, while getting experience that helped me as a person and as a professional. I can honestly say that I do not think I would be happy with my college experience, or perhaps even my life had it not been for this program. It has brought me a great deal of meaning and purpose.” - Periclean Scholar Alumni, Class of 2012
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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 ! ! !
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[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