The deadline for the 2009 Compton Mentor Fellowship is February 6, 2009. Download the Compton Mentor Fellowship Overview and the Compton Mentor Application. Started in 2002, the program's purpose is to promote the creativity, commitment, and service of five graduating seniors each year, who are nominated by six selected colleges and universities in the United States, and chosen by an independent committee. The Mentor Fellowship Program is based on the belief that life-changing experiences can occur when formal learning is transformed by action. Each Mentor Fellow designs a project of social merit that focuses on the environment, peace and conflict resolution, reproductive health, and/or equal opportunity.
IDCE Research Professor Richard Ford introduced two IDSC Clark undergraduates, Chelsea Ellingsen and Samantha Bainbridge, to local research organizations in Odumase (Eastern Region) where they spent six weeks interviewing youth about their perceptions of the causes of AIDS expansion and what they think might be done to curb the spread of the virus.
Chelsea and Samantha spent nine weeks in the Manya Krobo region. According to Samantha, “We were based near the upper Manya capitol of Asesawe in Korlewa Dawa. We conducted interviews with all age groups, but will be using information given by 15 to 30 year olds to analyze the youth perspective on the AIDS crisis. Much of what we heard had to do with the pressures of poverty and hopelessness that may encourage some youth to engage in behavior that leads to getting the virus. We are hoping to write a paper, with guidance from Dick Ford, for publication.”
Rachel Gerber (IDSC/BA ’11) has a long history of volunteerism. Among her many pursuits, she has assisted with voting rights for the homeless, food drives in her home community of Cherry Hill, New Jersey, and Mississippi’s Habitat for Humanity. Her insistence on making the world a better place has earned her title as a “Making a Difference Scholar” for her four years at Clark.
Erica Richmond (IDSC/BA ’08) participated in an internship at Friendly Haven in Windhoek, Namibia. She was there for four months, assisting the women at the shelter with issues related to their having sustained domestic violence and rape. In light of her dedication to women’s empowerment, she received the Cynthia Enloe Award in 2005, in part for helping to form the women studies major here at Clark.
IDSC undergraduate students Miranda Gerzon (IDSC/BA ‘11) and Jeff Desmarais (IDSC/BA ‘09) met Zo Tobi (IDSC/BA ‘07) in N.H. as part of the Carbon Coalition and the League of Conservation Voters, two New Hampshire global warming prevention organizations. Both organizations aim to educate voters about each presidential candidate’s environmental policy positions. While in N.H., the students worked to engage candidates in addressing important issues surrounding global warming, and their hope is for candidates to engage in discussing ways they can potentially shape environmental policy in the coming years.
Elizabeth Fox (IDSC/BA ’08) was awarded the Theodore Von Laue Undergraduate Prize in International Development.
Kasia Kedzia (IDSC/BA '05) recently returned from Sudan, where she managed a project to introduce new technologies to improve local economy and reduce vulnerability of internally displaced women and girls in conflict-affected areas with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) in partnership with UNICEF, IOM and other UN agencies. The work, much of which was carried out in Internally Displaced People (IDP) Camps in South Darfur, entailed the development of overall strategy as well as the monitoring and evaluation framework. She managed a multi-cultural team to conduct participatory market and social assessments of acceptability, ensured ongoing data collection by partners through training and technical support, as well as conducted the final evaluation of this phase of the project.
Giovannina “Janie” Crocco, IDSC/BA/MA (Italy) is a 2007 recipient of a Compton Mentor Fellowship.
| IDSC Student Wins Compton Mentor Fellowship |
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Janie Crocco is a 2007 recipient of a Compton Mentor Fellowship. For her winning project, she aims to address and reduce the sex-trafficking of Nigerian women to Italy through collaborative projects with NGOs based in Nigeria. Her Mentor is Alison Data Phido, Program Director of African Radio Drama Association, Nigeria. |
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