World Minded Fall 2018

A P U B L I C AT I O N O F T H E R E V E S C E N T E R F O R I N T E R N AT I O N A L S T U D I E S AT WILLIAM & MARY

VOL. 11, NO. 1, FALL 2018

Brazil Opens Its Arms to William & Mary ALSO: PRESIDENT ROWE WELCOMES MANDELA WASHINGTON FELLOWS IN THEIR OWN WORDS: REVES STAFF ON INTERNATIONAL SERVICE

A PUBLICATION OF THE REVES CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDIES AT WILLIAM & MARY VOL. 11, NO. 1, FALL 2018

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Alumna Profile: A Q&A with Fatema Al-Mohri, MBA ’16

FEATURES

Virginia Gazette columnist reunites with a niece he rescued from Cold War prison 65 years ago Robert and Leah Rubenstein Receive 2018 Hugh Jenkins Award from NAFSA President Rowe Welcomes Mandela Washington Fellows to William & Mary Coastal wetlands will survive rising seas, but only if we let them Gomez gets early start on career of service to others

FACULTY & STUDENT RESEARCH Fabricio Prado Introduces W&M to his Native Brazil

New Faculty-Driven Programs in Summer 2018: Bhutan and Guatemala Students visit Cuba to study how globalization has impacted education Is China’s investment in East Asia, Pacific getting results?

Recently Published Books by W&M Faculty In Their Own Words: A Conversation with Returning International Volunteers Campus Partners: Louise Ndiaye

Scholarship Profile: Emilie Smetak, MPP ’19 News Briefs

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Established in 1989, the Reves Center for International Studies is today one of the premier centers of its kind in U.S. higher education. Its mission is to support and promote the internationalization of learning, teaching, research and community involvement at William & Mary through programs for education abroad, international students and scholars, and global engagement across the university.

William & Mary is the number one public university for undergraduate study abroad participation, with over 50 percent of the university’s undergraduates studying outside the U.S. before graduation. This year, more than 1,000 international students, scholars and their families from nearly 70 countries have come to William & Mary. And the Reves Center encourages and assists numerous international strategic initiatives across the university, including the William & Mary Confucius Institute, which offers Chinese language and cultural activities to the campus and community, and the Institute for the Theory & Practice of International Relations, co-sponsored by the Faculty of Arts & Sciences, which supports faculty and student collaborations to find solutions to pressing global problems.

Reves International Advisory Board - Fall 2018 Kira C. Allmann ’10

James D. Hunter ’85

Dana B. Bennett

R. Marc Johnson ’04

John E. Bessler ’85

Richard C. Kraemer, Jr. ’94

Michael R. Blakey ’98

David C. Larson ’75

Guillermo S. Christensen

Donald F. Larson ’76

John S. Dennis ’78

Leslie McCormack Gathy ’88

Scott R. Ebner ’96

Katherine W. Meighan ’92

Rodney Faraon

Stephanie A. Morse ’92

Barbara Pate Glacel ’70, Chair

Luis H. Navas ’82

Gregory J. Golden

Bruce W. Pflaum ’75

United Kingdom Bethesda, MD

Williamsburg, VA Singapore

Arlington, VA Switzerland Boston, MA

Arlington, VA Oak Hill, VA

Falls Church, VA

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Hong Kong

Charlottesville, VA Washington, DC Fort Myers, FL McLean, VA

United Kingdom Rome, Italy

Tallahassee, FL Miami, FL

Lake Oswego, OR

Sharon K. Philpott ’85, Vice Chair White Salmon, WA

Young Ju Rhee ’98 Boston, MA

Janet A. Sanderson ’77 Arlington, VA

Corey D. Shull ’06 Baltimore, MD

Patricia Trinler Spalding ’83 San Jose, Costa Rica

Tonyehn S. Verkitus ’92 Blakely, PA

Nathan Younge Falls Church, VA

FROM THE DIRECTOR

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n these times of heightened conto make the world a better place. Our cern about the potential downwork to open doors of opportunity sides of globalization, those of us for W&M students to immerse themin the field of international eduselves in diverse social settings, from cation must now make a more forceful Rio de Janeiro to Sumatra and beyond, and persuasive case for the importance equips them with cultural empathy of promoting global interconnections and personal adaptability — qualities of and perspectives. Indeed, much of the enormous importance for their future phraseology that used to quickly percareer success. Our tireless efforts to suade opinion leaders of the value of bring brilliant students, scholars, and global teaching, learning, research, and staff members from around the world community engagement now sounds to W&M contributes to making our a bit hackneyed and shopworn. As anuniversity an inclusive and welcomti-globalist parties and movements are ing community, where genuine teamStephen E. Hanson propelled to power in countries on every work can generate creative solutions continent, it is no longer enough simply to pressing global problems. Our cutVice Provost for International Affairs to repeat as a mantra that “our world is ting-edge research on subjects rangDirector, Reves Center for interconnected as never before,” or that ing from global climate change to the International Studies “we must prepare students to compete effects of Chinese foreign aid—much of in an ever-more competitive global marketplace.” Surely we which directly incorporates W&M undergraduate and gradcan all now recognize that there was no “end of ideologiuate students — illuminates crucial issues affecting societcal history” after the collapse of the Soviet bloc, as Francis ies around the world.

Fukuyama once argued; instead, competing conceptions of At the Reves Center itself — as the article in this issue history as a source of grievance and conflict have returned profiling four of our own wonderful staff members makes with a vengeance. The world is no longer, if it ever was, “flat” abundantly clear — we have gathered together a staff team (even if Thomas Freidman was clearly correct to predict that united by an abiding passion to promote international unthe planet would become increasingly “hot” and “crowdderstanding as a true force for global good. We are proud to ed”). Why, then, should a leading university like William & advance this mission at William & Mary, a university that Mary continue to prioritize internationalization as a central has produced outstanding global leaders for well over three part of our strategic plan? centuries. And we are particularly excited to support these The articles in this issue of World Minded suggest a efforts under the dynamic leadership of William & Mary’s compelling answer to this question: regardless of how the new President Katherine Rowe, who has embraced the infuture global order develops, the work we do to promote ternational dimensions of our university with impressive international education at William & Mary clearly helps energy and genuine enthusiasm.

World Minded Staff

On the Cover

Editor: Kate Hoving, Public Relations Manager, Reves Center for International Studies

Divinity Summers ’20 at the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro. Photo by Jayqua Williams ’20

Contributing Writers: Tamara Dietrich, Daily Press; Jim Ducibella, University News & Media; Paulina Farley-Kuzmina ’20; David Malmquist, VIMS; Stephen Sechrist, ISSP; Prof. David Trichler; Prof. Kevin Vose; Jennifer Williams, University News & Media Graphic Designer: Rachel Follis, University Web & Design

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Alumna Abroad A Q&A WITH FATEMA AL-MOHRI, MBA ’16 Public Relations Manager, Aluminum Bahrain Company (Alba)

Where were you born?

Manama — The Kingdom of Bahrain.

Where do you live and work now?

At Aluminium Bahrain Company (Alba) located in The Kingdom of Bahrain.

Why did you choose to attend William & Mary?

I was sponsored by my company to do my MBA at W&M. (Note: Al-Mohri was the first female employee at Alba to receive the company sponsorship for MBA study in the U.S.) Some of the main attractions were the great reputation of the university and the professors, the Executive Partners Program, and the beautiful city of Williamsburg and the surroundings.

Did you have a favorite course and/or professor while you were at W&M? The field consultancy was one my favorite courses because as a team we got to work with real companies and on actual problems. It helped us apply many theoretical learnings in the real world

Al-Mohri with Alba’s CEO Tim Murray when she was promoted to PR Manager. Courtesy Fatema Al-Mohri

Do you think international experience as a student is helpful in one’s future life and career?

Definitely. I was a class representative of the International Student Association and How do you think your experience at in the National Association of Women W&M has affected your life and deciMBAs, and in the second year I was the sions you’ve made?

VP of the International Women’s Club.

This experience has added a lot to me; it This helped me to practice leadership powas one of the most rewarding experienc- sitions before going back to my job. es in my life.

Working in groups of different people, What career path(s) have you pursued? from different backgrounds, getting to After my MBA, I went back to Alba to know new cultures, living independently work as the Head of Compensation and — all of this added to my experience and Benefits, and currently I am the Public personal skills.

Relations Manager at Alba.

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Do you have any advice for current students?

“Nothing is more valuable than education” — Tim Murray, Alba’s CEO. Focus on your studies and always continue to learn.

Is there any valuable advice you’ve received or wished you’d received?

Keep challenging yourself and always keep a growth mindset vs. a fixed mindset.

Editor’s note: Without Frank Shatz, there would be no Reves Center for International Studies at William & Mary. A close friend of the late Emery Reves, Shatz was instrumental in persuading Reves’ widow, Wendy, to choose W&M for an endowment in her husband’s honor. Shatz has been a member of the Reves Center Advisory Board since its inception in 1995. In 1998 he received the Prentis Award, which recognizes individuals in the Williamsburg community for their strong civic involvement and support of William & Mary. During World War II, Shatz was forced into a Nazi slave labor camp. He escaped and joined the anti-Nazi underground in Hungary. After the war, Shatz embarked on a journalism career, spending time as a Prague-based foreign correspondent. He met his wife there and in 1954, they fled Communist Czechoslovakia. They traveled around Europe and the Middle East before arriving in the United States in 1958. Shatz continues to be active as a journalist, writing columns twice a week for the Virginia Gazette and the Lake Placid News. Shatz was made an Honorary Alumnus of William & Mary in 2015 and continues to be a source of inspiration for the staff and mission of the Reves Center.

Virginia Gazette columnist Frank Shatz stands with Erika Fabian after being reunited Wednesday June 27, 2018.

Shatz rescued Fabian from a communist Czech prison 65 years ago. Photo by Jonathon Gruenke / Daily Press

Virginia Gazette columnist reunites with a niece he rescued from Cold War prison 65 years ago

By Tamara Dietrich

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rika Fabian spent much of her childhood in hiding, in prison or on the run.

Born into a world war, she was 4 years old when her father was deported to a slave labor camp. Fabian — a Jew in Nazi-allied Hungary — would never see him again.

At 12, the war over, she was living under the iron fist of Soviet communism.

Until one winter’s day in 1953 when her mother told her and her 15-year-old sister, Judith, that it was time to escape.

“The idea was to cross between Bratislava (in Czechoslovakia) and Austria,” Fabian recalled in a recent interview. “There was a border that wasn’t mined. And, theoretically, it was easier.

But it turned out that it had wires across the border, so when you cut the wires, it

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rang a bell in the border house.

“So, within 10 minutes of us crossing into no man’s field — and this was in the middle of December, with snow up to our knees — the (Czech) border guards showed up with German shepherds and flares and guns.

“There were, like, 20 of us. They shot some of the people. We were lucky — we were lying down on the ground because my mother said, ‘Don’t move, you will get shot.’ So we were just simply picked up and taken to prison.”

Her mother and sister were taken to the Central Prison in Bratislava. Fabian was taken to a children’s prison, where she met other girls and boys who had been captured in earlier escape attempts with their families.

Soon, a 2-year-old boy joined them

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Erika Fabian (left) and her sister, Judith. Courtesy of Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust and Erika Fabian

— he was among the 20 or so who had tried to cross the border with Fabian’s family.

He’d taken a bullet to the shoulder and was recovering from surgery to remove it. His parents had been shot to death.

After many months, Fabian’s mother, desperate, made a last-ditch plea in a postcard to a relative.

With no street address for him, she simply sent it to “Ferenc Shatz, Journalist, Prague.”

“We need your help,” it read. “Will you help us?”

The postcard made its way to the office of the National Organization of Journalists.

There, someone called Shatz, who recognized his cousin’s name.

“So I took the night train right away and appeared in the morning at the gates of the prison,” said Shatz, today a longtime columnist with the Virginia Gazette, now known by “Frank.”

“I asked to talk to Erika’s mother. It was permitted.”

Through contacts with the Czech Ministry of the Interior, he was able to get custody of Fabian and her sister and arrange for them to stay with an older woman in Prague, where they attended school.

The best he could do for their mother was to arrange more food rations while she languished in prison.

Shatz also secured a report explaining

that the girls and their mother were Holocaust survivors whose goal wasn’t to try to escape to the evil West, but to reunite with a relative then living in Israel.

So, after a few months, the Hungarian government extradited the family back to Budapest. During that process, the sisters were both briefly sent back to Bratislava prison to stay with their mother.

But by then, as luck would have it, said Fabian, the ruthless Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin had died, and the communist government was easing up on punishments.

And so, rather than spend the next 10 years in prison, her mother was released after having spent a year behind bars.

“My sister was (already) in prison for eight months, so she served her sentence,” Fabian said. “And I was too young, so I was released.”

It wasn’t until the Hungarian uprising of 1956 that the family was finally able to leave — not to Israel, which was then at war, but to the United States.

And over the years — 65 of them since Shatz stood at the gates of Bratislava prison — Fabian, her sister and mother lost touch with him.

Then, a couple of months ago, Shatz received a curious email out of the blue.

“If you are the Frank Shatz who had a niece — me — and helped me in Prague when I was 13,” it read, “then please answer me.”

So last week, Fabian, now 78, flew into Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport from her home in California. Shatz, now 92, was waiting for her with open arms.

Virginia Gazette columnist Frank Shatz sits with Erika Fabian after being reunited Wednesday June 27, 2018. Shatz rescued Fabian from a communist Czech prison 65 years ago. (Jonathon Gruenke / Daily Press) “I said to Erika I still see her as a 13-year-old girl,” said Shatz.

“We need your help,” it read.

“Will you help us?”

Frank Shatz. Shatz used this photo in his false ID during the war.

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ADJUSTING TO FREEDOM

The intervening decades have been good to them both.

Each pursued a writing career, with Fabian producing 23 books, numerous magazine and newspaper articles and travel guides. She’s about to start two plays.

She’s an accomplished photographer — her late husband was a photographer with National Geographic. A world traveler, she has lived in far-flung places such as Peru, Indonesia and Mexico and speaks nine or 10 languages.

She has two sons: one a world-renowned eye surgeon living in London and the other a prominent, award-winning filmmaker.

But war and oppression still exacted a heavy price on Fabian’s family.

Both her sister and mother never completely escaped the ghosts of the past.

When her sister was 25, she killed herself. “(She) was far more affected by all the events in our lives,” said Fabian. “Plus, she was my father’s favorite. And when my father didn’t come back from the war, she was devastated. She never got over that.”

Three years after her sister’s suicide, her mother also took her own life.

“I don’t think she ever got over the guilt feeling that she couldn’t help my sister adjust,” said Fabian.

The reality is, not every immigrant experience is a happy one. Culture shock and disconnect can be high hurdles.

“Being a refugee in America, or an immigrant, a new immigrant, was one of the hardest things I ever experienced,” Fabian said. “When I came to America, I saw a wealth, an immense wealth of the country. And an ease of life.”

Americans, she said, “never had to flee from a building that was collapsing over their heads. And so they never had this kind of a danger to cope with. And they were never oppressed to the point where, if you knew that if you said the wrong thing, you or your parents could go to jail.

“I felt that I had lived under a dome, and all of the sudden the dome was taken off over my head and there was all this freedom and sky and I almost didn’t know what to do with it. So it took me a while to adjust to freedom.”

(L-R) Erika, Priry, and Judith Fabian. Courtesy of Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust and Erika Fabian

PARALLELS

She and Shatz have something else in common: For decades, they pushed away their pasts, refusing to be crippled by it.

In recent years, though, both have taken to giving public talks on surviving the war and political and religious oppression. Fabian is a speaker for the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust.

She’s also penning a fictionalized account of her life that she calls “Liars’ Paradise,” a take on Soviet communism’s false promise of a “socialists’ paradise.”

It was her daughter-in-law, a German Christian, who first set her on the path to revisit her past.

“She wanted her own children to learn — I have three grandchildren,” said Fabian. “And we started talking about what happened to me when I was 4 years old.

And then what happened when I was 12 years old.

“I never look back. … I’m dealing with today and planning tomorrow. Now I’m looking back and it’s getting easier. And the easier it gets, the more aghast I am at what I went through and came out on the other side fairly normal. Sane.”

Both Fabian and Shatz see parallels between their own refugee journeys and what’s happening today at the southern U.S. border as immigrant children and

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families from Mexico and Central America are being locked up or refused entry or asylum.

In 1956, if she and her family hadn’t been sponsored by an uncle then living in Delaware, she said, she’s not sure where they would have ended up.

“America has not been known for allowing people to come in,” said Fabian.

“They didn’t allow Jews in World War II. During the Hungarian revolution, America had a quota on Hungarian immigrants.

“I’d like (Americans) to understand that, when somebody is fleeing from their country, it’s not because they want to get rich in America. It’s because they don’t feel safe in their own country.”

Shatz remains an optimist.

“I’m a believer in the pendulum theory,” he said. “That the pendulum will swing back to the middle. Individually, we can be stupid. But there is a collective wisdom.”

Originally published July 29, 2018 in the Daily Press. Reprinted with permission.

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Robert and Leah Rubenstein Receive 2018 Hugh Jenkins Award from NAFSA

By Staff

or resumes, and conduct mock jobs interviews. They even arranged a summer internship for one of their students in the Beijing office of the firm from which Rob retired.

Students matched with Rob and Leah not only benefit from establishing a connection with a local American family, but they get the added benefit of an in-depth connection. Rob and Leah have truly embraced their international students as part of their family, connecting them with their extended family, taking them to concerts, athletic events and muMembers of the Rubenstein family joined Rob, President Emeritus Taylor Reveley and ISSP staff for seums, and hosting them stuthe presentation of the Hugh Jenkins Award. dents in their home for holidays. One of their students was preparing to spend last summer studying in Florence, Italy. Since recruiting, training, and recognizhe Hugh M. Jenkins Award for Rob and Leah had a niece who lives there, ing community volunteers; and, Excellence in Community Pro• Active participation with interna- they arranged for them to meet so that gramming is bestowed annutheir international student would have a tionals in the local community. ally by NAFSA: Association of local contact in Italy for the summer.

International Educators, the world’s Rob and Leah have also helped publilargest nonprofit association dedicated to Robert and Leah Rubenstein became ininternational education and exchange. It volved with the Reves Center for Interna- cize Reves Center programs and recruit friends and family for the Global Friends recognizes individuals who have demon- tional Studies shortly after their retireprogram. They attend Reves Center ment to Williamsburg. They joined the strated a commitment to promoting events, even when their international stuGlobal Friends program, which matches global understanding and internationdents are unable to attend. They are alinternational students with members of al exchange in the local community. The ways welcoming to new participants, and the community to foster cross-cultural award identifies individuals whose leadtake the time to meet and have engaging ership encompasses outstanding skills in friendships. Since their first connection, recruiting, training, and recognizing com- they have gone above and beyond the re- conversations with international students, scholars and their families. quirements of the program. munity volunteers.

Unfortunately, Leah passed away on Global Friends are matched for an acMay 22, but she was very much present in ademic year, and the expectation is that The nominee must have: • A commitment to promoting glob- community members will meet with their the hearts and reminiscences of everyone at the award presentation in the Reves student once per month. However, Rob al understanding and providing Room: members of the Rubenstein famand Leah are among the few members for international exchange in the ily; as well as members of their grateful who have chosen to remain paired with local community; all their students throughout the duration “W&M family” – President Emeritus Tay• A spirit of volunteerism and a lor Reveley, Reves staff and many devoted long-term commitment to interna- of their studies and beyond. They have friends throughout the university. helped their students practice conversational education and exchange; tional English, review their school papers • Excellence in leadership for

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President Rowe Welcomes Mandela Washington Fellows to William & Mary FOR THE FIFTH YEAR, WILLIAM & MARY AND ITS PARTNERS IN THE PRESIDENTIAL PRECINCT WERE

SELECTED AS HOSTS FOR THE MANDEL A WASHINGTON FELLOWSHIP FOR YOUNG AFRICAN LEADERS.

YALI fellows gathered with Presidential Precent partners and staff for the closing ceremony and reception at the Wren Building. Photos by Stephen Salpukas

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The U.S. State Department’s Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) program brought 500 Mandela Washington Fellows to higher education institutions across the United States over the summer. The Presidential Precinct was the only partner selected in Virginia. For six weeks, the Precinct partners hosted 24 of Africa’s brightest, emerging civic leaders from 15 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa for leadership training, public policy seminars, mentorship and collaboration with local faculty and community members. The fellows included human rights lawyers, advocates and NGO community development workers, researchers, and teachers. The group also included an eye doctor, an accountant, and a computer scientist.

The closing ceremony was held Wednesday, July 25, 2018 in the Wren Chapel. President Rowe delivered the keynote address followed by Nerima Ware, who represented the Fellows. Excerpts from their remarks are included here.

The Presidential Precinct is a Virginia-based nonprofit consortium made up of six prestigious institutions — the University of Virginia, William & Mary, William Short’s Morven, Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, James Monroe’s Highland and James Madison’s Montpelier. It empowers and inspires emerging global leaders by providing leadership tools, training and a virtual network for continuing education and collaboration.

Excerpts of remarks by President Katherine A. Rowe at the YALI closing ceremony in the Wren Chapel I want to begin tonight by sharing just a little bit of my own story. I began to share it earlier this week with the YALI fellows when we first met a few days ago, and I’m going to connect that to some reflections on leadership that were prompted by our conversation together in the last few days. As I shared on Monday, much of my early childhood was spent in West Africa.

My family lived in Lagos, Nigeria, until I was nearly five. My father was working with local leaders to develop standardized educational testing systems for Nigerian schools and higher ed and to bring in the first computers used in the Nigerian school system. My mother, who is a labor economist, was doing the research for her PhD. She studied the universe of Nigerian entrepreneurs, manufacturing industry entrepreneurs in particular, who used electrical power in their companies.

My mother interviewed all the industrialists in the greater Lagos region. A significant minority were women at the time — she recalls as many as 5 to 10 percent because much commerce in West Africa was traditionally led by women, as many of you know. She says that there was a time when both she and I could say a polite hello in Yoruba, Igbo and one of the Rivers State languages. Unfortunately I

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“. . . we know that in community development, as in entrepreneurship, a local vantage point can be more effective in generating lasting solutions to community problems.”

did not carry that skill into maturity.

What I did carry from that early experience was an understanding from both of my parents that the best solutions for systemic challenges are locally grown.

In the social sciences — that’s my mom’s field — research is generally classified in two ways, what are called emic and etic viewpoints. The etic view results from an external observer. The emic view, which was the approach my mother took with the entrepreneurs, emerges from an embedded perspective within a group. And

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though both of those perspectives are valuable in research — indeed we often need them together interacting — we know that in community development as in entrepreneurship a local vantage point can be more effective in generating lasting solutions to community problems.

As YALI fellows you along with countless other young African leaders will offer the best to solutions to the issues your communities and countries confront now. You know that to scale up the change you desire is going to require real

And the second is how will you empower them and create the opportunities for your team to learn from each other so together you can scale up the work you do?

I’d like to close these reflections in what is now going to be a familiar place for you with words that you’ve grown to know well in your time together from Judge John Charles Thomas’s poem, “Light the Soul.” I know this was among the first things that you heard during the YALI program as it was for William & Mary’s Class of 2021. I believe you have each to receive your own copy which was such a generous gift from the author. I understand many of you have taken these moving words as your text for your work together, so I’m going to invite you to hear them anew now in the light of my theme Lesson number three: be aware of your of collective effort for those who are new weaknesses and play to improve them. to this poem. What I’m going to read is an No leader is strong in all areas, of excerpt that begins with the line, “It has course.

Our weaknesses are opportunities THREE LESSONS been given to some to handle the light.” So to grow ourselves in collaboration with Lesson one: Play well with others, belisten as I read to the way the poem shifts others. That’s something that we talked cause the best individual player doesn’t from exceptional individuals to the first about together early in the week. Portia always win. person plural the collective pronoun we: It’s easy to see that lesson illustrated in Modise talks about growing up playing this summer’s World Cup. We saw Ronal- with boys. It was a very rough path she “It has been given to some to handle the light chose but she also talks about the way in do and Messi, viewed by many as among which playing with those who are bigger To mold it, to craft it, to bend it to right the world’s best football players …. NeiIt has fallen to some to sculpt what we see and stronger made her better. This year ther alone could ensure that their teams Number 12 assumed her first profession- To sharpen, to brighten, to make it run free would advance beyond the round of 16. al coaching job. I don’t know if you know Teams with rosters that are much less “To those who would hold light in their hands this but she’s coaching a men’s team in well known around the world advanced the SAB, and her ultimate goal is to coach There is much to remember, to understand instead. Croatia is a wonderful example.

In the Right Light, Love can shine in the Premier League.

And their upsets depended on multiIn an interview this spring she still de- In the Right Light, We can leave Wrong behind ple players stepping up in different ways By the Light there is good we can know scribes herself interestingly as a learner: based on their different skills. In leadIn the Light Justice can grow: Light the Soul!”

“I’m learning each and every day,” she ership as in football you cannot succeed says, “and my team are giving me somebeyond the ability of your partners, your So, YALI fellows, you have embraced thing in return.” Given the extraordinary collaborative partners. these words as your charge. May you inobstacle she faced as a woman player in crease your influence in the years ahead South Africa and that she faces now as a Lesson two: Play to your strengths — not via the partnerships and collaborations woman coach, we should trust her emjust your own personal strengths but for justice that you will grow. I think that phasis on collaboration as a key to sucteam strengths. is a key part of what it means to lead in Successful teams establish their identi- cess against entrenched opposition.

Collaborative partnerships and learn- the light. Thank you. ty based on their strengths, which define ing are one of the most effective ways to a collective style. Some teams win based on explosive offense. Some dominate de- expand our impact as a leader.

There are two questions I asked myself fensively, patiently waiting for the right moment for a counter-attack. Great teams as a leader and an athlete that I hope will you will take with you into the work that define and identify publicly what their you have ahead of you. strengths are and work through those The first is how will you as a leader build strengths, and their leaders will emphaa team that enables those with complemensize their team’s collective achievement. tary strengths to partner with you?

The story that exemplifies this for me and sustained effort. I don’t need to tell you that; you know that already. All of you bring extraordinary creativity and innovation to this task based on a deep understanding of the communities that you serve. But what was striking about talking with you this week was your focus on learning from those communities and from each other. And in the network that you are building now of change leaders, you were describing an emic mode of entrepreneurship that is based fundamentally in collaboration and team-based problem-solving. So I want to explore with you that idea of team-based problem-solving and leadership in three critical aspects of your growth as human beings. I’d like to do that by way of an athletic analogy to soccer — or more properly in the world outside of the U.S., to football.

from football starts with Portia Modise’s extraordinary goal against Sweden in the 2012 Olympics — one of the most beautiful football strikes you will ever see. Has anyone watched it? Yes? 37,000 views on YouTube. It’s available by the way. It’s a strike from midfield. She pivots and onefoots it. Some of you will remember that Portia Modise became the first African player of all — men and women — to score 100 international goals in a career total of 124 caps. And yet she always insisted that football is a team sport like an orchestra.

This is a quote from Portia: “People like to talk about titles and what you’ve won but at the end of the day you play for and with your team and not just for yourself.”

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Excerpt of remarks by YALI Fellow Nerima Were (Kenya) at the closing ceremony in the Wren Chapel

need to appreciate that we are here representing not just us, not just our organizations, but millions of young Africans who could do this with us — who could do this even better than us — but we were chosen to come here. And what we do with that privilege really does matter when we go back home. What do we plan to give back? …

So it’s not just that we’re here for us.

We’re here for our continent. We’re here As we’ve gone through the six weeks’ journey it feels like a lesson of many life- for all those millions of young Africans who can do this but don’t have the optimes in a very short time. And not just portunity, don’t have the time, don’t have a lesson from the Presidential Precinct the space. and from the facilitators and faculty, but I would like to finish by referencing a lesson from everyone that I’ve met — Black Panther. Black Panther was amazfrom my fellow fellows, from sitting in ing for a number of reasons but mostly the evening and chatting with my roommate, from having group discussions. And because it allowed us to imagine an Africa without colonization. We do not have that it’s been transformative to come out six weeks later and know so much more than opportunity because we were colonized, but it’s possible to see that we can be so I did before.

The founding of civil society in a democratic society is something that a lot of us struggle with. But the Presidential Precinct taught us that civil society not only needs to exist but is the foundation for democracies. And our role is to advocate for the inclusion of everyone and to make democracy transform our country and make it different.

William & Mary was memorable for us for a number of reasons but mostly because of the history around this institution and its traditions. Some are very fun, but mostly it was the fact that you can have an institution for 300 years that is still ongoing, that still wants to revive and revitalize itself, that still wants to reach out to more people. We don’t see that very often because a lot of our institutions at home haven’t quite lived that long….

Judge Thomas, your poem really set off this fellowship and gave us an understanding of what light means beyond what we carry….

And to my fellow fellows, I would like to say speaking from Judge Thomas’ words, we are in the business of spreading light. We have a privilege that many, many of our brothers and sisters do not have, not because they’re not smart, not because they’re not equally as brilliant, but because opportunities are too few.

And when we get [opportunities] we

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far away from colonization that it will not matter anymore that we were colonized.

That takes the process of unlearning what we knew, and learning new lessons for what we can be. And Black Panther mythologically showed us what we can be. So we have to strive for that.

I’m going to end with a quote from one of my favorite political leaders, Thomas Sankara: “We have to work at decolonizing our mentality and achieving happiness within the limits of sacrifice we should be willing to make. We have to recondition our people to accept themselves as they are, to not be ashamed of their real situation. To be satisfied with it, even to glorify in it even.”

The process of decolonizing our continent starts with us. We have to decolonize our minds, and we have to see Africa as Wakanda.

Thank you.

“. . . our role is to advocate for the inclusion of everyone and to make democracy transform our country and make it different.”

Coastal wetlands will survive rising seas, but only if we let them GLOBAL STUDY CONFIRMS IMPORTANCE OF “ACCOMMODATION SPACE” WHEN HURRICANE FLORENCE SLOGGED ASHORE IN

NORTH CAROLINA, COASTAL

WETL ANDS OFFERED ONE OF THE BEST LINES OF DEFENSE AGAINST THE HURRICANE’S WAVES AND SURGE.

by David Malmquist

A

new study predicts such wetlands will survive rising seas to buffer the world’s coastlines against future storms and provide their many other ecological and economic benefits, but only if humans preserve the room needed for the wetlands to migrate inland—what scientists call “accommodation space.”

The study, published in Nature the day before Florence made landfall, addressed a major uncertainty in how saltmarshes and mangroves will respond to sea-level rise. It was authored by an international research team with members in the U.K., U.S., Belgium, Germany, and Australia.

Associate Professor Matt Kirwan of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science was the sole U.S.-based contributor.

The study’s lead author, Dr. Mark Schuerch of the U.K.-based University of Lincoln, says “Rather than being an inevitable consequence of global rising sea levels, our findings indicate that large-scale coastal wetland loss might be avoidable if sufficient additional space can be created by increasing the number of innovative ‘nature-based adaptation’ solutions to coastal management.”

Adds Kirwan, “Whether coastal wetlands get bigger or smaller in the future depends on how much dry land is lost to sea-level rise, and how fast wetlands move into that submerged land.”

As sea level rises and tidal flooding increases, coastal wetlands accumulate sediments that help marshes build upward. Photo by M. Kirwan/VIMS

A NOVEL MODELING APPROACH

feedbacks that allow marsh soils to build faster as marshes become more flooded.”

The study was motivated by a history of conflicting predictions concerning the fate That dynamic, says Kirwan, “will allow marshes to adapt not only to present rates of coastal wetlands in a warming world. of sea-level rise but the accelerated rates Says Schuerch, “Recent global assesspredicted for coming decades.” ments have suggested that sea-level rise In their Nature study, the researchhas already overwhelmed the ability of ers integrated the previously indepenmany marshes and mangroves to build dent approaches, using a novel modelling up vertically, leading to widespread loss of coastal wetlands, while field measure- method that combined global simulations ments and localized models of salt-marsh of sea-level rise, population growth, and other factors with localized measurements accretion show that most large-scale asand simulations of saltmarsh accretion. sessments have overestimated wetland Their results counter previous estivulnerability.”

Kirwan’s previous work helps explain mates of global coastal-wetland loss—up to these discrepancies, and played a key role 90% in some studies—instead predicting that wetland area could actually increase in motivating the current study. He says as sea level rises. Indeed, the research“Global predictions of marsh loss appear alarming, but they stem from simple ers estimate gains of up to 60% in coastal wetland acreage, but with two important models that don’t simulate the dynamic

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Dikes like these in the Netherlands act as barriers to the inland migration of coastal wetlands.

Courtesy Rijkswaterstaat/Joop Van Houdt

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caveats—the capacity for marshes to migrate inland sans seawalls or dikes, and no decrease in sediment supply.

According to the authors, “Our simulations suggest that global wetland resilience is primarily driven by the availability of accommodation space, which is strongly influenced by the building of anthropogenic infrastructure in the coastal zone.”

and marshes will have nowhere to go.”

Under such a scenario, the Nature study shows a 30% loss of coastal wetlands as seas rise to the highest projected 2100 levels. The study’s most optimistic, 60% prediction of wetland gain occurs under a much greater, 300-person-km2 threshold scenario, essentially allowing coastal wetlands to migrate inland unimpeded until they are lapping at urban shores. A simulation at the 20-person threshold predicts a global wetland gain of 37%.

A KEY THRESHOLD In an interesting twist, the 20-person The researchers used human population density to gauge the likelihood that a coastal threshold happens to be the current global average population density above which area is protected by the kind of infrastruccoastal communities are protected by some ture that would block wetland migration, kind of infrastructure. Thus, for coastal and found a key threshold at 20 people per wetlands to expand in the face of projected square kilometer. Building coastal-protecincreases in both sea-level rise and human tion measures in areas with lower population densities will lead to global marsh loss, population, accommodation space must be not only preserved but expanded. while reserving coastal-protection meaA growing movement would expand sures for areas with higher densities will accommodation space through the use lead to marsh gain. The 20-person threshof what scientists call “natural and naold applies under all tested scenarios of ture-based features” for coastal resilsea-level rise and population growth out to the year 2100. ience. Schuerch says replacing dikes and other traditional coastal flood defenses Explains Kirwan, “If dikes are built with these “NNBFs” would “enable coastto protect areas with lower population densities, say 5 people per square kilome- al wetlands to migrate inland through.. nature reserve buffers in upland areas ter, then much of the coast will be diked

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U.S. coastal wetlands generally lack dikes or levees, allowing marshes to migrate landward into coastal forests. “Ghost forests,” now common in Chesapeake Bay and along the Gulf Coast, are evidence of the landward migration of saltmarshes. Photo by M. Kirwan/VIMS

of forests to marshes here in the U.S. already,” says Kirwan, “and millions of acres of low elevation, rural land will convert to wetlands in the future in places like Chesapeake Bay and the Gulf Coast.”

Kirwan notes the Nature study also predicts that regional differences in the IMPLICATIONS FOR THE U.S. fate of saltmarshes will be influenced by Kirwan stresses that the Nature study reveals several important differences between differences in sediment availability, helpcoastal wetlands and their projected fates in ing to explain what at first might seem a paradox. different parts of the world.

“Our modeling suggests that many Eu“In China and many European counropean saltmarshes will survive sea-levtries,” he says, “many marshes are borel rise despite a lack of accommodadered by dikes, while in the U.S., they’re tion space for inland migration, because generally bordered by forests.” Thus Eurasian marshes already suffer from a lack of there’s enough sediment to allow the accommodation space, while Kirwan’s re- marshes to grow vertically,” says Kirwan. search team has seen ample local evidence “In the U.S., many rivers supply insuffiof landward saltmarsh migration including cient sediment for marshes to grow vertically, so those marshes will have to mithe appearance of “ghost forests.” grate inland to survive sea-level rise.”

“We’ve seen widespread conversion surrounding coastal wetlands. If these are strategically scaled up they could help coastal wetlands adapt to rising sea levels and protect rapidly increasing global coastal populations.”

Gomez gets early start on career of service to others

By Jim Ducibella

part in athletic opportunities. The initiative has the support of parents Clara Noriega and Alcides Gomez, it’s been the aicoll Gomez will tell you: He driving force in Gomez’s life. can’t wait to help people not During his final year of college, he was as fortunate as he has been. chosen to be the president’s aide, working It’s why he is graduating a closely with W&M President Taylor Revyear early from William & Mary. eley, as well as a representative to all in“I wanted to make a change in the ternational students in the International world as fast as I could,” he said.

Standing tall Maicoll Gomez (second from left) is Students Advisory Board while being part The latest embodiment of that deby City Councilman Benny Zhang ‘16, Mayor of a research team headed by Chancellor sire occurred June 27 when Gomez, who flanked Paul Freiling ‘83 and City Manager Andrew Trivette graduated this past summer instead of his after his appointment to the Social Services Board of Professor of Biology Lizabeth Allison. GoWilliamsburg. Courtesy Maicoll Gomez mez chose a path to follow medicine and scheduled date in 2019, was appointed to the Social Services Board of Williams- older brother, Jonathan, a member of the politics, studying biology and psychology, with becoming a doctor or geneticist in burg. He is the first student in that capac- 2016 Colombia Olympics swim team.

“After Jonathan made the Olympic the back of his mind. ity and believed to be the first Latino.

Team, he came up to (their sister) ValenAmong those endorsing him for the So“With this position I will be the voice tina and I to tell us that we are very bless- cial Services Board post were Mayor Paul to those who are working 60 hours a ed because of the things we have,” Gomez Freiling ’83, the Williamsburg City Council week and cannot come to a city council and Reveley. meeting, to those mothers who are work- said, “a loving and healthy family, good values instilled in us by our parents and The position, Gomez said, will allow ing multiple jobs to make ends meet and most importantly, God.” him to establish, review and revise local all those who cannot speak for themIn that vein, 18 months ago the chilpolicy decisions, have discretionary powselves,” he said. dren created the Gomez Noriega Family er over local funding from both public Gomez’s deep desire to help can be Foundation, designed to help kids who and private sectors and help provide a vatraced back to family; in fact, seeking a riety of welfare services. position on the board was inspired by his don’t have the support or means to take

M

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Fabricio Prado Introduces W&M to his Native Brazil

by Paulina Farley-Kuzmina ‘20

T

ucked away in the corner of Blair Hall’s third floor, the office of history professor Fabricio Prado has walls lined with books about the history, politics, and governments of South America. Born and educated in Brazil, Prado has a passion for the culture and history of Rio de Janeiro that is palpable from the moment you meet him. Over the past two and a half years Prado has channeled his enthusiasm for Brazil to help create the first William & Mary faculty-led summer program in South America offered on a yearly basis. A handful of students in addition to Prado traveled to Rio de Janeiro for four weeks in June and July.

The program required two three-credit courses, one on the history and culture

of Rio de Janeiro taught by Prado, and the other being the first Portuguese language course to be offered through William & Mary in over a decade.

DESIGNING THE EXPERIENCE

The goal in mind when developing this program was to offer a study abroad experience in South America that offered an overview of the local culture and language as well as explored the history that connects Rio de Janeiro to the rest of the Americas, Asia, Africa, and Europe. Both the courses taught and the numerous excursions over the course of the program offered a unique interdisciplinary look at Rio de Janeiro.

“I chose Rio de Janeiro because it brings together several fields and perspectives. There is so much overlap that would attract students from different fields and with different interests, as well as in terms of faculty that can lead it,” Prado said. “I wanted to create something that is sustainable, something that is not just attached to me as a professor.”

Besides the historical aspect of the program, the culture of South America is relevant to Hispanic studies and Latin American studies, according to Sylvia Mitterndorfer, Director of Global Education at the Reves Center. “The Rio program addresses an unmet need, is made possible by William & Mary faculty expertise and research, aligns with university curricular priorities, and signals the importance of students having

All group with all CIEE Staff. Courtesy Fabricio Prado

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opportunities to study in South America,” Mitterndorfer said.

As one of the largest ports that received and traded slaves during the 18th century, Rio de Janeiro is also a fascinating destination for students in Africana studies. Environmental sciences or biology students could be interested in the ecosystems of the Amazon, and the rapid industrialization and subsequent pollution there.

“Rio is a good place to build relationships for the university and at the same time is an ideal location from which to branch out to other areas and grasp some of the cultural and ecological diversity of the country,” Associate Professor of Anthropology William Fisher

said. Fisher was one of the many faculty involved in organizing the trip. “The program has already begun this process and each ensuing year will enable faculty course leaders to build on the experiences of previous years.”

a classroom when the historical site is so close?”

The afternoon trips included visits to the National Archives, Sugarloaf Mountain, the Botanical Gardens, and various museums. The group also took a day trip to Petrópolis, which is the summer home for the Brazilian royal IMMERSIVE LEARNING family, and a weekend trip to Paraty, After the students finished their Portuguese classes in the morning, they would a colonial port preserved much like break for lunch and proceed to visit vari- Williamsburg, and known as the place ous museums, schools, or historical sites where much of Brazil’s diamonds and gold were smuggled out. for Prada’s history and culture course.

Students ventured out into the city He provided an interactive experience by lecturing on site at whatever location more during their down time as they become more comfortable interacting they were at that day. in Portuguese, with concerts and danc“My point was to make the history ing being popular activities. A notable come alive,” Prado said. “Why teach in

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part of the study abroad experience was watching Brazil’s first match of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. “We watched the game with 5,000 other fellow Brazilians. That was a moment where we all felt the contagious joy and emotions of soccer in Brazil. It was a very deep experience for the students because we don’t have that here,” Prado said.

MAKING THE VISION A REALITY

Although groundbreaking on multiple levels, this program did not evolve easily.

Since the initial conception of the program in 2016 Prado has worked with the Reves Center, other faculty members, and local partners in Brazil to build a study abroad experience that encapsulates the complexity of Rio de Janeiro.

One year before the program was ready, Prado and Molly DeStafney, Associate Director of Global Education Programs at the Reves Center, conducted site visits to the hostel where the students would be staying, the classroom spaces where students would take their language classes, and the surrounding neighborhoods to make sure that everything was safe and accessible. For the program, William & Mary partnered with the Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE). CIEE not only facilitated site visits, but also managed the Portuguese classes. Prado and DeStafney met with the local representatives during that initial visit.

“I wanted to deconstruct stereotypes about Brazil. Usually when people think about Latin America or other ‘exotic’ parts of the world they think of danger, revolution, or beaches. They don’t think about a giant metropolis with thriving business sectors or super industrialized cities,” Prado said.

Prado explained that there were various reasons why South America was not a region to which William & Mary offered summertime faculty-led trips until this past year. The top priorities with the university were safety concerns and economic instability in parts of the continent. However, by working with the Reves Center and local partners in the city, Prado was able to build a program that improved security and stability for the students.

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Group going to watch the Brazil vs. Switzerland World Cup match at Marina da Gloria.

Courtesy Fabricio Prado

“Although faculty were committed to choosing a site in Brazil, Rio was not an easy choice. There are other places that more closely reflect faculty research interests and experience, and Brazil is such a diverse and large country that Brazilians often refer to it in the plural,” Fisher said. “In the end, Rio suits because it has a lot of experience in receiving outsiders, and it has world class educational and artistic institutions.”

In a more abstract sense, As the Latin American studies department developed and faculty with more diverse interests were hired, the interest in study abroad opportunities has increased.

“For years now the Latin American Studies Program has focused on expanding our offerings on Brazil.,” notes John Riofrio, Director of Latin American Studies and Associate Professor of Hispanic Studies. “We have felt, for a long time, that you can’t adequately understand the intricacies of Latin America without considering the role that Brazil has played and continues to play on the world stage. It is our hope that, along with recent experiments in offering Brazilian Portuguese here at William & Mary, we will continue to make

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strides in fully integrating Brazilian Studies into our already robust Latin American Studies Program.

DEVELOPING THE PROGRAM’S FUTURE

William & Mary’s summer in Rio de Janeiro was an eye-opening experience not only for the students, but Prado admits for himself as well. He explains that having to guide and teach the students through the city gave him a whole new perspective on Rio de Janeiro.

“For the first time I understood Rio in all of its complexity,” Prado said. “I was thinking about the city as a classroom and as a site of memory and history.”

In the future, Prado anticipates that the program will grow in number for both student participants and faculty members leading the trip. He also hopes that the program will attract a varied group of students.

“I hope to see this study abroad program keeps growing and help consolidate the global outlook we have now at William & Mary.”

New FacultyDriven Programs in Summer 2018: Bhutan and Guatemala Bhutan

Program Director: Kevin Vose, Associate Professor, Chair of Religious Studies

The program combined a study of history, religious studies, and environmental policy as students traveled throughout the country, gaining perspective regarding the relevance of religion, history, and architecture.

Bhutan has remained largely independent and has self-consciously preserved its religious and cultural identity. The actual impetus to create a program there came from a student, Henry Lewis, who spent a month studying at the College of Language and Culture Studies (CLCS), of the Royal University of Bhutan. He suggested we develop a summer study abroad program just at the time Sylvia Mitterndorfer was putting out a call for proposals to faculty for new programs. I sketched out a program built around studying Bhutan’s form of Buddhism and their development model, known as Gross National Happiness, that would be based at CLCS and travel to some of the most important Buddhist temples and sites.

Among the terrific things about the trip was forming relationships with our host faculty, who study and teach Buddhism at a university, but who have had very different life trajectories. Tshering Dhendup, a Buddhism professor and academic dean, has been a monk most of his life, studied at one of the top monastic academies in India, and then got a PhD to top it all off. Our main host at CLCS, Sonam Nyenda, grew up at a Buddhist temple built in the twelfth century, the son of a lama who is the 42nd in a lineage of Buddhist masters that can be traced to the origins of Buddhism in Bhutan.

I went on a study abroad trip to the Himalayas as an undergraduate and had a very much transformative experience — it is why I do what I do now. I wasn’t trying to make future Buddhism scholars of our students, but hoped they would make connections with the extraordinary culture, religion, and people that would change if even slightly their ways of looking at the world and their places in it.

— Prof. Kevin Vose

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Guatemala

Program Director: Professor David Trichler, Director of Operations for the Global Research Institute

The program was a field study in Guatemala to help students systematically explore how development theory has shaped development practice through embedding with a local rural community and with local partners CHOICE Humanitarian in the Sikabe region of Guatemala.

We made a first-of-a-kind journey to the Central American nation of Guatemala.

The impetus for this course was to offer students a hybrid opportunity to explore the ideas that shape development policy, discover where policies have worked and where gaps remain, and to actively assist in a development project. Before departing for Guatemala, students learned about the principles that have driven development over last 50 years. To become a development practitioner, it’s not sufficient to study. You must put ideas in action and observe the impact on lives and communities.

This course was made possible through an innovative partnership between the Reves Center for International Studies and ITPIR. The product was a blend of Reves’ push to create new models of applied study abroad opportunities for a range of students, and ITPIR’s goal to serve as a hub for outstanding global research experiences. While many students participate in study abroad through Reves programs, and others become summer fellows with ITPIR, the list of countries they visit is skewed toward developed nations. This course offered a unique combination of theory and practice in a developing nation. In addition to supporting the course design, Reves provided generous scholarship support, helping to broaden the reach of the class. The students partnered with throughout their trip and were supported by the Reves Center for International Studies.

Each student came seeking a different outcome, but the intensive mix of study and on-the-ground activity forged the group into a team. Students from an array of departments such as biology, chemistry, government, and data science, saw the course as a timely opportunity to participate in study abroad.

The short time commitment between semesters even drew student athletes and transfer students.

— Prof. David Trichler

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Cultural exchange: William & Mary’s group visiting Cuba participates in a discussion while touring the Kori Macau Community Art Project in Playa Giron. Photo by Rachel Sims

Students visit Cuba to study how globalization has impacted education WILLIAM & MARY STUDENTS PARTICIPATING IN A STUDYABROAD PROGRAM IN

CUBA THE WEEK AFTER

COMMENCEMENT GOT AN UP-CLOSE LOOK AT THE

EDUCATION SYSTEM IN THAT NATION, AS WELL AS ITS HISTORY AND CULTURE.

By Jennifer L. Williams

A

small group of students from various majors went on the excursion, which was an offshoot of the COLL 300 credit-eligible class Globalization and Education.

“Even if students were well traveled, this was a unique experience because Americans have been isolated from Cubans for a protracted period of time,” said Jacqueline Rodriguez, W&M assistant professor of education and co-organizer of the trip.

The group visited a primary school and secondary school, spoke with a representative of the ministry of education and talked with local residents during visits to Vinales and the Bay of Pigs. It also toured the Museum of Fine Arts, the

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Museum of the Revolution, the Jimenez Foundation, the UNSECO biosphere reserve at Las Terrazas and the Korimacao Community Project.

“We knew that few people have been able to visit Cuban K-12 schools and have an audience with a representative of the Cuban Ministry of Education,” Rodriguez said. “To be so warmly welcomed in the primary and secondary schools we visited was a tremendous opportunity for the students.”

W&M students met students in the schools, toured classes and did a Q&A with Cuban students and teachers who spoke English. Their research questions related to early childhood education, Cuba’s universal pre-K program and

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Trip participants met with representatives from a Cuban government agency in Havana. Photo by Rachel Sims

literacy programming, as well as access to higher education from rural areas.

“The candid dialogue that took place between our group and the Cuban teachers and students included the sharing of mutual experiences and challenges,” Rodriguez said. “For example, we are both experiencing significant challenges related to teacher retention and teacher professional development.

“Technology and access to the internet was another challenge the Cuban schools currently face, which U.S. schools, especially those with limited resources, including rural schools, also face. Throughout our visits, it was made clear that schools were a galvanizing mechanism to keep the interests of the revolution relevant.”

Cuban teachers shared with W&M students their experiences of what it was like to go back to school, or to be enticed by the tourism industry to leave teaching or to choose to stay in it.

“For me, the most valuable part of the trip was getting to interact with the everyday Cuban citizens that we met,” said Diana Weyandt ’18. “From our kind hosts, to members of the Committee for the Defense of the Revolution, to artists and shopkeepers we met wandering the streets of Havana, everyone was friendly and welcoming and genuinely wanted to make sure that we had a positive experience in Cuba.

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“Not only were people eager to share their Cuban culture, they also wanted to know about our lives and perspectives.

The individuals we met truly made this trip a great cultural exchange.”

Gabrielle Pachon ’18 said the most meaningful part of the trip for her was getting a better understanding of Cuban culture and ideologies.

“It was extremely eye opening going to El Museo de Revolución and the Playa Girón Museum,” Pachon said. “Even though the museums’ material was controversial, I think I got a better understanding of how and why the Cuban government and people believe certain ideologies and hold the government up in such high esteem.”

She and two other students had an eye-opening moment when they spoke with a local resident in his store about the pre-primary education program.

They were able to review the educational materials that are given to mothers throughout their pregnancies until the children can attend school.

“It was astounding to hear how the government actually monitors children’s education before they get to school,” Pachon said. “The father seemed very happy with the program and was very excited to show us the programs. I think moments like this, where we were able to talk with locals and get a less ‘polished’ view of the country, were really special.”

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W&M students walk through Old Havana, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Photo by Rachel Sims

Jacob Sims, senior manager of sustainable development programs at AidData and trip co-coordinator, said an unanticipated benefit of being in a culture so inherently distinct from American influence was the intensive opportunity for critical reflection.

“Spending a week in a culture and on a tour heavily influenced by the Cuban government’s perspective was an excellent opportunity for the students to practice thinking critically about the validity of the information provided to them,” Sims said.

“And not just the overt, explicit ‘propaganda’ coming from the Cuban government, but also the more subtle, implicit biases inherent to our culture — perspectives on individual liberty and politics and community we take as a given in the U.S. but only really show one side of the coin. It was inspiring to grow with the students as we all grappled with these issues and developed in our thinking about comparative models of education.”

Is China’s investment in East Asia, Pacific getting results?

By AidData staff

AIDDATA, A STUDENT-FACULT Y RESEARCH INITIATIVE AT WILLIAM & MARY, HAS RELEASED THE FINDINGS OF A NEW REPORT ON WHETHER THE MONEY CHINA IS SPENDING THROUGHOUT

THE EAST ASIA AND PACIFIC REGION TO SECURE NATIONAL

INTERESTS AND WIN FRIENDS IS HAVING THE DESIRED EFFECT.

T

he report drew on extensive quantitative and qualitative data eight months in the making.

Funded by the State Department in collaboration with the Asia Society Policy Institute and the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the report’s conclusion is “Yes, but it’s complicated.”

Titled Ties That Bind, the report paints a comprehensive picture of China’s multi-year, forward-leaning strategy from Burma/Myanmar to Samoa and from Japan to Australia, and covers 27 percent of the world’s population.

It quantifies five instruments of China’s public diplomacy program, from financial investments and official visits targeted towards a country’s elites, to mass-market appeals to citizens via Confucius Institutes, sister cities and information broadcasting. The report examines how foreign publics and leaders perceive these overtures and assesses whether they are helping Beijing achieve its objectives.

AidData finds that China is increasing and diversifying its public diplomacy efforts. The results are good, with caveats.

The region’s citizens see China as highly influential, and leaders value it as a supply of ready capital. However, not as many want to emulate its development model.

“A number of factors could threaten these gains: disputes in the South China Sea, the perception that China does not always follow through on its infrastructure promises and the specter of indebtedness as countries struggle to repay mounting debts to Beijing,” said AidData’s

Director of Policy Analysis Samantha Custer, lead author of the report.

WHAT DRIVES CHINESE DIPLOMACY OVERTURES?

AidData found that countries that represent high-value market opportunities receive more Chinese public diplomacy activities. But the driving factor is not necessarily overall wealth, but rather openness to Chinese goods, services and investments.

Within the region, China’s closest competitors receive the preponderance of its public diplomacy overtures. Japan, South Korea and Australia attract the highest volume and most diverse set of Chinese public diplomacy activities, in the shape of sister cities, Confucius Institutes and official visits.

“These countries matter to Beijing because of their ability to undermine or strengthen China’s geostrategic position in light of their economic, diplomatic or military assets,” Custer said. “Beijing employs a patient, long-term strategy to export a positive image of itself with business leaders, journalists, students and civil society while it waits for a time when political leaders are more amenable to its views.”

Headliners like the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank and the Belt and Road Initiative obscure Beijing’s experimentation with a wider set of public diplomacy tools, particularly cultural and exchange programs. Between 2000 and 2018, there was a 115 percent surge in new sister cities between Chinese cities and towns and

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Samantha Custer

counterparts in other countries. Meanwhile, Beijing has opened more than 500 Confucius Institutes, its signature cultural diplomacy program, in the Asia Pacific region since 2004 to attract interest in Chinese language and culture. This expansion can be traced to the 2013 accession of China’s President Xi Jinping, and with it more active engagement with other countries integral to the “good neighbor” strategy.

AidData finds that China’s infrastructure investments dwarf the rest of its financial diplomacy. In the East Asia and Pacific region, AidData estimates Beijing spent more than $48 billion between 2000-2016. This includes four categories of funding that are likely the most visible to citizens and leaders, and so are effective “persuaders” of perceptions of China: infrastructure investments ($45.8 billion), humanitarian aid ($273 million), budget support and direct funding to a government ($613 million) and debt relief ($90 million).

CHINA’S MAIN METHOD OF INFLUENCE

Meanwhile, there is one type of financial diplomacy that China uses disproportionately to sway elites in democracies: infrastructure financing for executive, legislative and judicial government buildings.

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FACULT Y & STUDENT RESEARCH Mongolia $2.3

North Korea $0.1 South Korea $0 FD

Laos $4.7

Myanmar (Burma) $1.9 Thailand $0.01

Vietnam $3.8

Brunei $0.2

Cambodia $9.1

Japan $0 FD

Philippines $1.1

Malaysia $13.4 Singapore $0 FD

Indonesia $9.0 Timor-Leste $0.1

FD Received Bottom Quartile

Top Quartile

Countries with No FD Australia, Japan, Micronesia South Korea

Australia $0 FD

Malaysia Cambodia Indonesia Laos Vietnam Mongolia Myanmar Philippines Fiji Samoa Nauru Papua New Guinea Vanuatu Tonga Brunei North Korea Timor-Leste Thailand New Zealand

Papua New Guinea $0.3 Vanuatu $0.3

Fiji $0.9

$13.4 $9.1 $9.0 $4.7 $3.7 $2.3 $1.9 $1.1 $0.9 $0.4 $0.3 $0.3 $0.3 $0.3 $0.2 $0.1 $0.1 $0.015 $0.001

China’s Financial Diplomacy

The world’s second largest economy, China has made headlines for its deep pockets and apparent willingness to use its “power of its purse” as a tool of public diplomacy to improve relations with foreign leaders and citizens. In the East Asia and Pacific region alone, Beijing’s financial diplomacy comes with a hefty price tag: over US$48 billion in committed between 20002016, according to our estimates.

Samoa $0.4 Tonga $0.3

New Zealand $0.001

Not Pictured Nauru: $0.3 Micronesia: $0 FD

This includes four categories of Chinese official finance that are likely most visible to citizens and leaders, such that they could effectively sway perceptions of China: infrastructure investments (US$45.8 billion), humanitarian aid (US$273 million), budget support (US$613 million), and debt relief (US$90 million).

Figure 5. Chinese Official Finance with Diplomatic Intent, 2000-2016. Adapted [reprinted] from Ties that Bind: Quantifying China’spublic diplomacy and its “good neighbor” effect (p. 15), by AidData, 2018.

China is opaque about program details, but its end game is clear: reward countries that consume more of its products, open market opportunities for Chinese firms, sway natural resource ‘gatekeepers,’ legitimize its maritime and territorial claims and secure support for its foreign policy positions in the United Nations and other international forums. Beijing also seeks to assuage fears that it poses a threat, instead creating an alternative narrative of China as a peaceful, interesting and reliable neighbor.

“Historically there has been a lack of quantifiable data to assess the volume, location and ultimate effects of these efforts, with the majority of previous studies relying on qualitative information that provides valuable context-specific insights, but fall short of giving scholars and practitioners a way to systematically analyze the issues,” said Custer. “We took a data-driven approach, challenging in itself given that Beijing does not provide detailed information about its public diplomacy programs.”

Perhaps not surprising given the nature of its regime, Beijing is arguably still most comfortable engaging with political elites rather than publics. In many countries, this has proven to be an effective strategy.

In the Philippines, for example, China’s public diplomacy overtures have secured key allies and gains among political elites. But Beijing faces an uphill battle winning over the average Filipino.

“Beijing’s intense focus on courting political and business elites, as well as its emphasis on financial diplomacy, could increase the risk of undue influence with leaders willing to exchange favors for economic gain,” said Custer. “Concerns of this nature have already been raised in Malaysia, Fiji and

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the Philippines where AidData undertook case studies, as well as in the media. Transparency and disclosure both by the Chinese government and officials in receiving countries as to amounts and terms of foreign grants or loans which support government activities, as well as any foreign funding received by political candidates, would be helpful.”

Ironically, the same countries that are target audiences for Beijing’s charm offensive may see their own public diplomacy efforts being displaced. Australia, Japan and the United States, among others, have long-standing interests in the region which require continued goodwill with foreign publics and access to East Asia and Pacific leaders. Yet, case study interviewees spoke of Western countries drawing back their public diplomacy efforts, effectively ceding ground to Beijing.

Indonesia, Cambodia, Malaysia and Thailand receive the second-highest volume of public diplomacy overtures. Indonesia and Malaysia are important to China due to their large populations and growing economies that make them attractive export markets. Cambodia and Thailand, meanwhile, may be particularly open to China, as they have had more estranged relationships with the West.

On the surface, China engages substantially less with Pacific island countries in terms of the absolute volume of its activities. But China’s public diplomacy engagement per capita in these countries easily outstrips that of Japan and South Korea.

“Beijing is particularly interested in winning friends in the Pacific to reduce the number of countries that provide diplomatic recognition to Taiwan,” Custer said. “In this respect, it is no surprise that China goes straight to the top in these countries with 90 percent of its public diplomacy engagement taking the form of official visits between high-level leaders.”

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NEW IN PRINT

Recently Published Books by W&M Faculty FACE-TO-FACE DIPLOMACY: SOCIAL NEUROSCIENCE AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

By Marcus Holmes, Associate Professor of Government Face-to-face diplomacy has long been the lynchpin of world politics, yet it is largely dismissed by scholars of International Relations as unimportant. Marcus Holmes argues that dismissing this type of diplomacy is in stark contrast to what leaders and policy makers deem as essential and that this view is rooted in a particular set of assumptions that see an individual’s intentions as fundamentally inaccessible. Building on recent evidence from social neuroscience and psychology, Holmes argues that this assumption is problematic.

Marcus Holmes studies some of the most important moments of diplomacy in the twentieth century, from ‘Munich’ to the end of the Cold War, and by showing how face-to-face interactions allowed leaders to either reassure each other of benign defensive intentions or pick up on offensive intentions, his book challenges the notion that intentions are fundamentally unknowable in international politics, a central idea in IR theory. Published

by Cambridge University Press, 2018 VISIBLE DISSENT: LATIN AMERICAN Visible Dissent WRITERS, SMALL U.S. PRESSES, AND PROGRESSIVE SOCIAL CHANGE

By Teresa V. Longo, Professor of Hispanic Studies, Dean for Interdisciplinary Studies and Director of the Charles Center T e r e s a V. L o n g o

L atin american Writers, smaLL U.s. Presses, and Progressive sociaL change

In Visible Dissent, Teresa Longo proposes that North America’s dissident literature has its roots in the Latin American literary tradition.

Locating the work of artists and writers alongside that of scholars and legal advocates, Visible Dissent unveils the staying-power of committed writing and honors the cross-currents and on-the-ground implications of humane political engagement. Published by University of Iowa Press, The New American Canon Series, 2018.

THE CINEMA OF CUBA: CONTEMPORARY FILM AND THE LEGACY OF REVOLUTION

By Ann Marie Stock, Vice Provost for Academic & Faculty Affairs The book provides a comprehensive overview of the history of current filmmaking practices in Cuba as well as “snapshots” of media artists working today.

Chapters celebrate the shared creativity as well as diversity of Cuban cinema, including both productions of the Cuban film institute (ICAIC) and those working on the industry margins. The films analyzed reveal a driving cinematic force through social criticism, the emphasis of debate and historical change, reassessments of gender relations, the use of new technologies and much more. Note: three W&M undergraduates — Kyle McQuillan, Nathaniel Clemens, Morgan Sehdev — translated one of the chapters. Published by I.B. Taurus, 2018.

SPINNING THE COMPASS

By M. Lee Alexander, Senior Lecturer and W. Taylor Reveley III, Interdisciplinary Faculty Fellow in the Department of English “In poems that span the globe, M. Lee Alexander captures the essence of place in skillfully rendered verse, ranging from concrete and narrative poems to sonnets, villanelles, and a sestina. At times, the clever typography stands as noteworthy as a monument; at other times, her keen observation and rich imagery transport the reader through sites as diverse as the Smithsonian’s National Zoo where ‘blue cranes stretch forth, tossing grasses / in their mating dance’ to a Kilkenny village festival, alive ‘with mandolin and lute and lyre.’ Exceptional in musicality, the poems in Spinning the Compass are compelling, passionate, wise, and memorable.” - Carolyn Kreiter-Foronda, Poet Laureate of Virginia, 2006-2008. Published by Aquillrelle Press (Belgium), 2018.

FALL 2018

A GENEALOGY OF TERROR IN EIGHTEENTHCENTURY FRANCE

By Ronald Schechter, Professor of History The story of the evolution of the term ‘terror’ in Western thought before and after the French Revolution.

Schechter argues that terror is not an import to Western civilization’s contemporary discourse often suggest — but rather a domestic product with a long and consequential tradition. Published by University of Chicago Press, 2018.

ALBERT LUTHULI

By Robert Trent Vinson, Associate Professor of History This book recovers the important but largely forgotten story of Albert Luthuli, Africa’s first Nobel Peace Prize winner and president of the African National Congress from 1952 to 1967. One of the most respected African leaders, Luthuli linked South African antiapartheid politics with other movements, becoming South Africa’s leading advocate of Mahatma Gandhi’s nonviolent civil disobedience techniques.

Published by Ohio University Press, 2018 MARKET ETHICS AND PRACTICES, C.1300–1850 Co-edited by Simon Middleton, Associate Professor of History (with James E. Shaw) This book analyzes the nature, development and operation of market ethics in the context of social practices, ranging from rituals of exchange and unofficial expectations to law, institutions and formal regulations from the late medieval through to the modern era. Published by Routledge, 2018 FIDUCIARY GOVERNMENT

By Evan J. Criddle, Professor of Law (with several co-editors) The idea that the state is a fiduciary to its citizens has a long pedigree. This book develops new accounts of how fiduciary principles apply to representation; to officials and judges; to problems of legitimacy and political obligation; to positive rights; to the state itself; and to the history of ideas. Published by Cambridge University Press, 2018.

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IN THEIR OWN WORDS

(L-R)

ADAM FERGUSON Global Education Information Associate Manager, Peace Corps 2005-2007 NASHA LEWIS Assistant Director for Global Education — Student Experience, Peace Corps 2003-2005 MOLLY DESTAFNEY Associate Director of Global Education Programs, Peace Corps 2005-2007 JOHN SCHWAB English Language Program Coordinator, WorldTeach 2014-2015

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A Conversation with Returning International Volunteers

Editor’s Note: For ten consecutive years William & Mary has made the Peace Corps’ Top Volunteer-Producing Colleges and Universities List. The Reves Center can also boast of three alumni of the Peace Corps* and one of WorldTeach.** Because each of the four is as self-effacing as they are thoughtful and insightful, they resisted sitting down for an interview until they could do it as a group. Each also used the exact same phrase– “There’s no interesting story there” — at various points in their recollections. Well, we respectfully disagreed with their assessment, and we hope you will find their discussion as engaging and refreshing as we did.

What was your path to international voluntarism and service?

Molly: When I finished college I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with myself and I ended up being in AmeriCorps VISTA because I had always wanted to do Peace Corps, but when you’re young two years seems like an impossibly long time. A VISTA assignment is just a year and I ended up on a college campus. I reupped for a second year and then I had two paths in front of me: Did I want to go to grad school or do I want to do Peace

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Corps? And I thought to myself, I’ve been wanting to do [Peace Corps] since I was in college, whereas grad school I didn’t, so I did grad school first because I thought that my interest would be a passing phase.

I did American Cultural studies and ended up doing a program in Russia the summer. That opened the door for me.

I’d wondered, “How am I going to handle living in a place for two years where I don’t speak the language?” That summer experience took care of that concern, so I

IN THEIR OWN WORDS Adam: And so I just put no preference.

And since so few people choose Eastern Europe and Central Asia as a preferred Nasha: My path was different. I thought region, that meant I was offered a spot in about it in college because I studied InTurkmenistan ternational Politics and French. When I But I was very lucky because that prowas a senior, one of my teachers had told gram has since ended. And even before an interesting story, so I explored it more that, not a whole lot of Americans or and then decided to do it. westerners were in Turkmenistan, certainly not in the rural areas, and certainly Molly: Was the professor, a Peace Corps not for such a prolonged period. So I was volunteer? really excited about that as well. It was an opportunity to do something, be someNasha: He was, he was older too, so I where, and meet a group of people that think he did it right when the Peace Nasha in Mali would have been otherwise impossible.

Corps started.

Ultimately I wanted to really test mythat, to me, made him a more interesting person. His experience stayed in the back self and see how interesting I could make Nasha: His story was that he had been myself through experiences that I hadn’t of my mind, but I had no clear intention debating whether to go or not to go and experienced before but that also lined up at that time. I felt I needed to graduate he wrote a six-page letter to his friend with who I wanted to be as a person and first. serving in the Peace Corps with all his I came back to Williamsburg and start- what I wanted to do with my life. questions. He got a letter back from his friend that was one page, one word … and ed working in the Rockefeller Library at Molly: So did you guys have any resisColonial Williamsburg digitizing their the word was ‘Go.’ tance from friends or family? Were your archives. That gave me a lot of time to So I started thinking I should go, too.

I was always fascinated by West Africa. I think as the documents scanned. I started parents on board? had taken African art history course and a thinking about how I had never been out lot of socio-economic courses about Afri- of the country. I wanted to challenge my- Adam: Everyone was on board for me. ca. One of the reasons I studied French is self and see how I could manage in a situation where there wouldn’t be a whole lot Nasha: I didn’t tell people. I’m serious. that a lot of western and central African Until I literally quit my job two weeks of ability get out of it. I wanted to jump countries are francophone countries. I before the plane was leaving. I wanted wrote down all of the francophone coun- into the deep end. to be 100 percent sure that I was going For me, that “jump” was the Peace tries in West Africa. to go through with it. My parents knew There are actually other ways that you Corps. I wanted to make that committhat I was going through the process bement for those two years — which, as can overseas, but I had volunteered a lot cause I was living with them right after growing so it was appealing to me to vol- we’ve discussed is probably the biggest graduation. barrier to applicants. It’s long time. And unteer. I was also thinking about getting My mom would say, “You know, your the second you land it gets even longer. into international relations or developdad doesn’t really want you to go.” And [laughter from everyone] I sent in my ment, and many Americans who are in then my dad would say, “You know, your application around March or so after I that field have done Peace Corps. graduated. I didn’t know where I wanted mom doesn’t really want you to go.” And Molly: What sector did you end up learn- to go. What would I even judge that on? I my grandma would say, “We’re going!” had no idea. ing as your job? applied for the Peace Corps and got in.

Nasha: I ended up doing water sanitation.

People I was working with had health-related experience, such as volunteering in hospitals or were engineers. I was CPRand first aid- certified.

Molly: Now you can apply to a specific country, right? But when we applied…

Adam: My path was somewhat similar to Nasha’s. I had a professor who taught the geography of Africa, and he had done Peace Corps, I believe in Sierra Leone. It seemed as if he had a really interesting time — a really substantive time — and

Molly: But our region — for Adam and me — that would be huge. I went to Ukraine, and Adam went to Turkmenistan, but we would have been listed in the same region because it would have included Europe Adam in Turkmenistan at the and Central Asia.

Adam: …you could give a preference in a region…

Kutlug-Timur Minaret.

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IN THEIR OWN WORDS John: I didn’t go right after college. I did a number of odd jobs after graduating, and I still didn’t know really what I wanted to do. I considered the Peace Corps, but the application process takes a long time, and I wanted to go soon. WorldTeach offered a program to the Marshall Islands that started in just a month, so I jumped on it.

I had heard of the Marshall Islands before I lived there, but I couldn’t tell you anything about it, or even exactly where there were, before I was assigned there.

But, I’d studied cultural anthropology in college, and I was always interested in going to other places, especially places that seemed very unlike American culture, which the Marshall Islands were.

I was also really interested in seeing the coral reefs since they’re disappearing.

but you never know what’s going to happen. And with the long commitment, you do miss out on parts of life.

John: My family and friends were pretty excited. My brother served in the Peace Corps in Indonesia, and we had a big party when he left, but I had a very short time from application to departure. We didn’t have enough time to get people together, so I didn’t really have a big party or anything.

Adam: The pros and cons of shorter lead time for WorldTeach… [laughter] Molly: How long is the commitment for WorldTeach?

John: It’s a year, 11 months.

Molly: And did they do the same kind of Nasha: Some people didn’t know about training and orientation with a host famiMali, either, when I went. People would ask, “Malawi?” And I’d say, “No, Mali. You ly [as the Peace Corps]? know — Timbuktu? West Africa?”

John: It’s modeled on the Peace Corps but there’s less training time. I think our Molly: I had been to St. Petersburg and orientation was about two weeks total, so to Moscow in Russia for that summer significantly less than Peace Corps, and program, and I hoped that I would get Eastern Europe, but I was actually hoping not with a host family. for Moldova as more of an educational Molly: Well, if you’re there for 11 months, experience, because I didn’t know much then you probably have to truncate it. about it.

Normally Peace Corps is a 24 month Like Nasha, I didn’t tell people becommitment. cause it was one of those things where you don’t know if or where you’re going as you work through the application pro- Adam: With two and a half or three cess. You think, am I going to go through months of training. I think it’s been truncated down to 2 months if I recall with this or not? I didn’t doubt myself, correctly in some spots. But for us it was three months.

Molly: And most places you lived with a host family, too, for the entire time.

Adam: You’re at a central location for your training, for about three months, coming in once a week or thereabouts.

Molly in Kyiv at Christmas.

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Molly: Training is usually clustered close to where the Peace Corps headquarters is. In Ukraine, it’s in Kyiv, but Kyiv is too expensive to host volunteers. When I got there, the last volunteers who had been serving in Kyiv were gone. We were all

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stationed in surrounding areas in small little groups.

Adam: As they talk with you, as they get to know things about you — like how comfortable are you in a smaller town, what your skills are, what are your strengths, that sort of thing — then maybe a month or five weeks in they assign you, and then you do a site visit to your permanent site. Then you come back for the rest of your training. Then you go into field.

Molly: I taught at a university because I had a master’s degree. So that also meant that I wasn’t going to be placed in a small village, which was not the typical experience most people have. I was placed in Nikolaev — or now it’s known as Mikolaiv in Ukrainian — a city of 500,000 people.

I was teaching English to university students, but more English in context than grammar, teaching culture and a spoken English to interpreters and translators. I also taught a literature course.

Because they had limited supplies and resources, it was up to me to build the curriculum for the classes that I taught and I had a lot of autonomy. The Peace Corps and Americorps/Vista were the two best jobs I’ve ever had, because of that freedom to be creative. But it was also the students. They were great. I’m still in touch with a lot of them.

Adam: I was teaching English to students in first through ninth grade. I would have one first form, one third form grade class, a couple of eights and a nine. I would have maybe six classes a day with 15 to 20 students in each class.

I worked with students so they might ultimately be able to go to English-language universities or get scholarships to attend colleges here in the United States. Some are still studying and really exceeding all of their expectations in the United States, Europe, Russia, Turkey, and Turkmenistan. I see my time in the Peace Corps as an investment in those students, and it’s paid off. At the time I was immersed in some of my own frustrations with the overall situation. But, the students worked hard because they wanted to be their best and make the most of their

IN THEIR OWN WORDS one of whom is now lives. Time and time again since I was in the Peace Corps I’ve felt that’s why I was my wife, actually.

I had done some there, and that’s what makes me feel good test prep tutorabout that choice. ing and substitute Nasha: My situation was different, in that teaching before, I was working mainly with a combination but it was certainly overwhelming of local politicians from the village like at the start. I had a the dugutigi which in Bambara means chief of the village, and his advisors, some really good principal, though. He had of the people at the mayor’s office, also just everyday villagers. I also worked with worked in the capital, Majuro, in one NGOs that come into the community as well. I got to work with some of them for of the larger schools there. He moved funding, although with every project the John in the Marshall Islands. community has to contribute as well. My to Jaluit to be with role would start with a needs assessment his family, but he had studied in Hawaii, because the country’s two planes had broso he was familiar with American culto figure out what the majority of the loken down or we’d have bad weather. We ture. In some ways he was overqualified cal population would like. would run out of water and we wouldn’t for the position, and he did a fantastic job know when the next rains would come.

Every volunteer has to have someas a principal of this tiny, tiny, combined one who’s a point person or essentially a The challenges are really things beyond elementary and middle school. We had liaison. Mine was in my village and the your control — planes, boats, weather. maybe 75 students total, if that. He supcommunity I worked in. He would help What you had to learn was to be okay ported my teaching and also briefed me me with the dynamics of how meetings with that uncertainty. In American culon Marshallese culture. He actually was should be run. It takes time learning ture there’s a lot of control and planning, called by the president to go back to Maabout every type of situation and how to but in the Marshall Islands you need to communicate. He was awesome and I saw juro to be principal of a huge school there roll with the punches. halfway through my year, but he was great him when I went back Mali last year.

In my job I didn’t really go into the of- resource while he was there.

Molly: I think it’s cultural. As Americans fice. It wasn’t even a case of there being a we have that need to know, “this is what Molly: Teachers face so many challenges, typical work day. A lot of it was relationI’m going to be doing this year, this is my and one you find in a lot of the post-Soviet ship building since I was the first Peace schedule, this is what’s going to happen.”

Corps volunteer. Part of my job was edu- states is that teachers have multiple jobs But as John says, in other places you live cating them about their role as a commu- just in order to make a living. That’s why with uncertainty. And that unpredictin addition to the local counterparts, we nity and my role as a volunteer. So there ability could be a result of where you’re were supported by Regional Managers sta- geographically located or because of the was lots of tea. Lots of tea. tioned at Peace Corps headquarters. I loved political systems that you’re living under.

And lots of meeting different peomy teachers, and I loved my RMs, too. ple. I was able to get some projects done That was one of the things I got the through grants, such as one that resultmost from the experience. We’re differed in a repair of a well. And interestingly Adam: For me, the most important people ent because the culture that we’re in and were other members of my community, enough, the volunteers who came after that we are born into dictates that. Nothme were able to do a lot because the com- those with similar interests — ones who ing is necessarily right or wrong; it’s just munity already understood what a volun- liked to play chess or were interested in different. And you can understand the teer does. In other words, I was establish- the environment, for instance. I felt weldifferences if you look at the history of a come. And most important of all — it was culture, and that helped me get through ing a process and relationships so there the students 100%. The students I taught most things in Ukraine that I found or was a strong and positive foundation in loved me, and I loved them. They were place for the next volunteer. came against that were frustrating. I the reason that I was there. learned not to interpret that people aren’t John: We were all English language being friendly or aren’t being this or that. teachers in my WorldTeach program. The MAKING THE MOST OF It’s because, culturally speaking, this is residents speak Marshallese, but stuwhere they’re coming from.

THE OPPORTUNITY dents learn English in the school system. John: In the Marshall Islands you nevI taught sixth, seventh and eighth grade Nasha: Yeah, that is helpful. It’s helper know what was going to happen. We English. I had small classes, and there ful when people are late. For example, in could run out of food because the boats were two other volunteers on my island, Bambara time is basically just morning, that supply the island didn’t come or

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IN THEIR OWN WORDS afternoon or evening. That’s it. Without the emphasis on specific times, people not showing up on time is just a result of that different perception, the cultural aspect of it. So knowing that, when you’re at the bus stop for an hour, instead of being angry, you can just decide you’re going to ride your bike everywhere from then on.

Adam: You have to adjust your expectations on the fly, and be tolerant of uncertainty and ambiguity. Just being really adaptable is helpful going in. It’s going to be a sink or swim situation, and you’re probably going to swim, but you’re going to have to learn the skills to do that. You need to embrace that mindset and enjoy the surprises that occur day to day, by happenstance. You turn a corner, and there’s an ice cream stand that wasn’t there before. So you say, “Great! I’m going to have ice cream today.” Or you get invited to a wedding, that night and you go and have a new fun experience with new people.

Adam: The face to face interaction between Americans and the host nationals is, is to me the most important thing that’s going to come out of your time abroad for you, for the United States, for the host country nationals and that country itself. You bring the experiences and impressions of the host country back to the United States so you can be an ambassador for that country.

THE PATH TO THE REVES CENTER

Nasha: Being able to live without running water or electricity for over two years, operating primarily in a language other than English, gives you the confidence that you can go anywhere and almost do anything.

Adam: You also learn you can roll with things. Things may come your way in the United States, whether it’s socially, professionally, culturally, whatever, but there’s not that much that could really phase you when you’ve had to live in such a different world for a period of time, and you’ve survived.

Molly: I had studied abroad in college, so the Peace Corps experience added to it, but it was very much when I came back from the Peace Corps, that I knew wanted John: There was a serious need for Ento get into international education. glish language learning in the Marshall Adam: After I came back from Turkmen- Islands. The Marshall Islands are going istan, I did AmeriCorps in Alabama. And underwater because of climate change. then I worked for year and a half in India They currently have a Compact of Free Association with the United States and so managing Indicorps, a fellowship promany Marshallese are allowed to immigram much like the Peace Corps. India grate to the United States. So strong Enwas really, really fantastic. I just loved it glish language skills are crucial for them. from, from beginning to end. But during Did I actually made a difference in the the time I was there, I started thinking I John: One thing I would recommend for was so far away from home and realized I kids’ lives? I hope I did. But I know there people doing these kinds of experiencwas building a life, but I wondered if that was a clear need for English language es is to find a hobby. I did spearfishing. was the life I wanted to have. Is it stable? training there, and I was part of program that was successfully meeting that need.

It was great for me. It was a very small Is it something that can go forward? I island, a mile long and 500 feet wide with returned to Williamsburg. International Nasha: I do think a lot of people think a thousand people on it. So it wasn’t that education was woven throughout everyabout joining it to go over and help. But many people, but quite a few for an island thing that I’d been doing. Study abroad I think once you are over there and in that size. was one of the areas that I had become the process and once you return and reSpearfishing was a way to get out, to interested in over the course of those flect on your experience, you realize how see a whole new world, the coral reefs sorts of experiences. much the experience helped you versus and the animals there. And then also it was a very culturally appropriate thing John: Since work with international peo- your helping anyone. to do. I was getting food, literally bring- ple here at Reves, I think my experience Molly: It was something I’d always wanting food back for my host family. It was a gives me more empathy. I know the difed to do. I loved it. way I could contribute to my family. Be- ficulty of living in another country very ing a good spear fisherman was an asset different from your own, so I try to make in the community. it as easy as I can.

Nasha: I did a lot of reading, tons and tons of reading, which was great. I would also do some “local” things. I had a furuno. It’s sort of a little metal stove, and you can put charcoal on top or in it to cook. You can make tea. So I would make tea for people and do a lot of chatting to get to know people. I babysat my little baby brother, carried him on my back and blended into the community.

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* For more than five decades, Peace Corps Volunteers in 140 countries have worked alongside community leaders to solve critical challenges. Their mission is to promote world peace and friendship by fulfilling three goals: to help the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women; to help promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served; and to help promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans. ** WorldTeach is a private, non-profit organization based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that partners with governments and other organizations in countries to provide volunteer teachers to meet local needs and promote responsible global citizenship. Founded in late 1986 by a small group of Harvard graduates, more than 7,000 WorldTeach volunteers have provided 12 million hours of service to meet the need of the world’s learners. WorldTeach, in partnership with the Marshall Islands Public School System, has been providing volunteer teaching opportunities in the urban centers and remote outer islands of the Marshall Islands since 2002. UNICEF reports educational levels in the Marshall Islands are among the lowest of the 14 Pacific nations.

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• CAMPUS PARTNERS •

Getting to know the colleagues at the university who assist the staff of Reves in their mission.

Louise Ndiaye

Office of Sponsored Programs “I JUST MET THE MOST AMAZING PERSON. YOU HAVE TO INTERVIEW HER.”

by Kate Hoving

I

n four years of working with Cindy Gass, the Reves Center’s Director of Financial Operations, she had never said that about anyone. She had just met with Louise Ndiaye, the new Sponsored Program Administrator assigned to the Reves Center. Since Ndiaye assumed the position only in late July, Gass invited her to Reves to introduce her to the office and programs before the semester started.

With such a ringing – and rare – endorsement, a trip across town was definitely in order.

The Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) lives in a two-story building on Mt. Vernon Avenue. Although the office understated and nondescript on the outside, the work that goes on inside is key to the research mission of the university.

Ndiaye and her colleagues assist departments in the application for – and management of – external awards. As Gass explains, “Her job is to ensure that the university’s interests are looked out for by verifying that all grant guidelines are followed and making sure that we’re good stewards of the research funds we receive from other entities, whether it be state, federal or private.”

Ndiaye is responsible for several other departments as well as Reves, from Anthropology, Kinesiology and the Charles Center, to Public Policy and Theatre, Speech & Dance, to name just a few. For the Reves Center, Ndiaye currently manages the grant for the W&M Confucius Institute, which means she works with Gass to prepare financial reports and ensure compliance.

Her career path to William & Mary has been broad, both professionally and geographically. Ndiaye was born

in Saint-Louis in northwest Senegal. It had been the French colonial capital, and she appreciated growing up among its rich blend of different cultures, languages and traditions.

She went to France for university, for Louise Ndiaye (left) with her sisters and aunt. Courtesy Louise Ndiaye a year in Grenoble and then on to the Sorbonne, where she earned her master’s budgets for grant proposals,” he recalls.

“Faculty and staff would seek her help bedegree in finance. Paris was a wonderful cause they could always count on her warm place to be a student and young professmile, boundless energy, and infallible skill sional, and it took moving there for her in solving difficult budgetary questions and to appreciate fully her roots in Senegal.

“I grew up a lot in Paris and realized that issues. Louise’s international background, her proficiency in multiple languages, and what I thought I was looking for was her incessant desire to learn and explore something I had already at home.” new experiences ensured that she would Ndiaye began her career working in help you to see things in fresh, innovative, finance and banking in Paris. After marand impactful ways.” rying, she moved to the U.S. and worked Ndiaye enjoys the work. “What I like in the New York of the bank in Paris. Her about grants for research is that I can see husband’s career U.S. military brought them to Virginia in late 2005. She worked the start, and I can see the end.”

But she also sees the bigger picture. at the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation “I like variety, learning about the differand Thomas Nelson Community College in Hampton. In 2011 they were stationed ent fields, such as kinesiology, and the different ways of doing things,” Ndaiye in Japan. She loved their three years there, traveling all across Southeast Asia. explains. “My role may be a small percentage of the total grant, but I like seeing Ndiaye returned with her husband and the change that happens, the results of children to Virginia in 2014, and started the research, and knowing at least I was her career at W&M as a grants specialist part of it.” for Thomas Farmer, professor and assoA small percentage? I defer to Farmer ciated dean of research at the School of to explain Ndiaye’s true impact: “Simply Education. She worked there until joining put, Louise makes the tedious interesting OSP, and Farmer’s praise is enthusiastic. and the workday rewarding. She is a gen“Louise Ndiaye is truly a treasure at Wiluine and sincere colleague that you want liam & Mary. She often did the impossible by making it fun and enjoyable to build to have on your team.”

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S c hol a r sh i p P rof i l e

Your Gift Matters.

With the support of private donors, the Reves Center awards a number of scholarships to students undertaking international summer internships. More reflections and photos of 2018 summer scholarship recipients are posted on the Student Funding page on www.wm.edu/reves.

EMILIE SMETAK, MPP CLASS OF 2019

SUMMER INTERNSHIP: POLITICAL AFFAIRS AND ECONOMIC SECTION, U.S. EMBASSY IN LILONGWE (MALAWI)

As a student pursuing my Masters in Public Policy and

To learn about making donations to the Reves Center Summer International Scholarship Fund or to other Reves Center Scholarships, contact Judy Davis at jcdav3@wm.edu.

30

International Development, this internship afforded me firsthand experience in engaging in foreign policy and promoting U.S. interests abroad. I learned how to represent the United States in high-level bilateral meetings, rural site visits, and diplomatic events. I also gained exposure in ensuring that United States funded projects were held accountable to taxpayers in delivering the intended results.

This internship showed me that the education I received at William and Mary equipped me with the skills necessary to be a valuable team member within the U.S. Government.

Without financial assistance, I would have been unable to pursue this internship. Yet thanks to generous donors through the Reves Center, this internship has solidified my academic studies, strengthened my experience in foreign policy, and provided me with the skills necessary to promote a strong image of the United States globally.

WORLD MINDED

I N T H E N E WS

Keio University/ William & Mary CrossCultural Collaboration

Liz Losh, associate professor of English and American studies, leads a discussion of hashtags in social media.

while engaging with American culture firsthand through fieldwork activities such as trips to Colonial Williamsburg, Hampton University, and a four-day stay in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1990, the program has grown and evolved over the years to become an important part of the university’s commitment to enhancing the quality of higher education and to developing relationships with the international community.

N E WS BR I E F S

The Keio University / William & Mary Cross-Cultural Collaboration is a program centered on experiential learning which allows both Japanese and American students to study questions of cultural difference and national identity.

Each summer Japanese university students come to Williamsburg for three weeks to study and experience American society and culture with William & Mary graduate and undergraduate students.

Students attend lectures by William & Mary faculty on a variety of topics including race, religion, and pop culture

Delegation from West Sumatra Visits Law School A delegation from Andalas Faculty of Law and the Center for Constitutional Studies in Padang, West Sumatra, visited William & Mary Law School on September 4, 2018 to discuss collaborations and exchanges. Pictured in photo: Professor Tafdhil Husni, Rector; Professor Zainul Daulay, Dean; Professor Werry Darta Taifur, Chair of University Senate; Professor Firman Hasan, Chair of Faculty Senate; Professor Yuliandri, Director of LLM program; Dr. Hillaire Tegnan and Mr. Feri Amsari LLM 2014, Center for Constitutional Studies; and Professors Christie S. Warren and Jennifer Stevenson, William & Mary Law School. Professor Warren will participates in the Fifth National Conference of Constitutional Law in Padang November 2018. The theme of the conference is “Challenges to Preserving Sovereignty of the People during General Elections.”

Photo by David Morrill

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N E WS BR I E F S 32

Faculty exchange perspectives across Institutions and borders

By Stephen Sechrist

“It is better to travel 10,000 miles than read 10,000 books.”

As this ancient Chinese proverb goes, so goes the experience of a group of visiting faculty from W&M’s sister university, the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC).

Through a new faculty development program between W&M and UESTC that launched this August, a cohort of 9 faculty from UESTC faculty are engaging in a semester-long, immersive experience that introduces them to new approaches to university teaching and provides an opportunity for them to exchange perspectives on their field with W&M faculty.

Administered by the W&M’s Reves Center, in collaboration with the W&M School of Education, and UESTC’s Department of Human Resources, the Excellence in University Teaching Program (EUTP) originated with the help of two local residents, Chaoyu Liu and Nancy Yang. Chaoyu is an alumnus of both UESTC, where he received his bachelor’s degree, and W&M, where

he received his master’s. Knowing that UESTC sought to expand professional development opportunities for its faculty, and W&M’s strong reputation in teaching, Nancy and Chaoyu reached out to the Reves Center’s Office of International Students, Scholars, & Programs to propose a collaboration.

The EUTP curriculum was designed

by School of Education professors Jim Barber and Katherine Barko-Alva, who are co-directing the program. It includes a weekly seminar in university pedagogy, focusing on topics such as course design, inclusive teaching, student engagement and motivation, educational technology, and assessment. Concurrent with the weekly seminar, the UESTC faculty are paired with a W&M faculty colleague, typically from their discipline. During the course of the semester, the UESTC faculty observe their colleague’s course, experiencing firsthand how teaching of their discipline may be approached at a US university.

W&M Professor Jennifer Kahn and UESTC Professor Ting Helen Lyu are

WORLD MINDED

one of the faculty pairings. Reflecting on her observation of Jennifer’s course on Archaeology and Pop Cinema, Ting commented on the interactive nature of the classroom “While I was sitting together with my young American classmates, I was deeply affected by the lively dynamic in the classroom … The professor is more like a coach or referee. She keeps activating the class with various strategies such as raising a controversial question, grouping students for different task, having students give a presentation on certain topics.”

The benefits of the program go both ways. As Jim and Katherine noted “It is such a positive learning experience on both sides. As co-directors, it’s been very rewarding to spend time working with our Chinese colleagues on issues of pedagogy, especially our approaches to teaching across cultures and across languages. We are learning so much from our differences and also recognizing how much we have in common as teachers.”

The world awaits. . .

ST U DY A B R OA D PR O GR A MS offe re d by t he GLOBAL EDUCAT I ON OFFIC E (G E O ) Su mmer Fa c ulty-Led Pro gra ms :

W&M-S pon s ore d S e me s te r Prog ram s :

Australia: Adelaide

Argentina: La Plata

Bhutan: Taktse (2020)

France: Montpellier

Brazil: Rio de Janeiro

England: Oxford

China: Beijing

Czech Republic: Prague (Area Studies & Performing Arts) England: Cambridge

Spain: Seville

Un de rgradu at e Exch an ge Prog ram s :

France: Montpellier Germany: Potsdam

Australia: University of Adelaide

Ghana: Accra

Austria: Vienna University of Economics & Business

Greece: Athens/Nafplio

Canada: McGill University

Guatemala: Polochic Valley

China: Tsinghua University

India: Bengaluru/Goa

England: University of Exeter

Ireland: Dublin*

England: University of Nottingham

Ireland: Galway

France: L’institut d’Études Politiques de Lille

Italy: Florence

France: Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier III

Italy: Rome/Pompeii

Japan: Akita International University

Mauritius: Pamplemousses

Japan: Keio University

Russia: St. Petersburg

Netherlands: Leiden University

Rwanda: Kigali

Scotland: University of St Andrews

South Africa: Cape Town

Singapore: National University of Singapore

Spain: Cádiz

South Korea: Yonsei University

Spain: Santiago de Compostela

Wales: Cardiff University

W i n t e r Pro gra ms: Beijing (2019) Oman (2019)

* Program in collaboration with the Raymond A. Mason School of Business ** Program in collaboration with the School of Education

WWW.WM .EDU/ST UDYABROAD

FACEBOOK.COM/INTERNATIONALWM @INTERNATIONALWM

200 South Boundar y Street Williamsburg, VA, 23185 Telephone: 757-221-3590 Fax: 757-221-3597

REVES CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDIES @INTERNATIONALWM

Global Business English Program W W W.W M . E D U / R E V E S / G B E P

START YOUR PATH TO SUCCESS

The 5-week Intensive Global Business English Program at William & Mary offers a unique opportunity to prepare you for success in your US graduate business program.

PROGRAM DETAILS

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

HOUSING

• Business English: Advanced English for the business environment, including public speaking, professional presentation and business writing.

PROGRAM FEE

• Lectures by W&M Mason School of Business faculty

July 1 – August 2, 2019 Mason School of Business William & Mary Williamsburg, VA USA

• Conversation program with US students

CONTACT

• Firm and company site visits in Richmond, Virginia Beach, and Washington D.C.

• Focused workshops: US business etiquette, career management, and personal branding

gbep@wm.edu | 01 757 221 1279

On-campus housing available • $4500 includes: • Tuition • Materials • Firm Visits • Cultural Trips

REGISTER

Deadline: June 1, 2019 Register online: http://bit.ly/WMgbep

www.wm.edu/revescenter