Worcester, Mass. - Nine Clark University undergraduates have been pursuing independent scholarly, community service, and creative projects and will continue to do so during the upcoming academic year with support from the Anton and Steinbrecher Fellowship Program.
Lauren Miller '08 of West Hartford, Conn., received an Anton Fellowship to fund her work expanding the All Kinds of Girls (AKOG) program to other college campuses. Founded by Clark students several years ago, the AKOG program pairs 9- to 12-year-old neighborhood girls with female undergraduate mentors. Hundreds of girls have participated in the program, which takes place every Saturday for 30 weeks during the academic year. Miller is preparing a handbook to assist other schools with the recruitment and training of mentors, obtaining funding, and designing activities.
The following eight students received Steinbrecher Fellowships:
Ishanti Gangopadhyay '08 is working in her home country, India, this summer with the India Development Foundation (IDF) to help overcome the stigma and discrimination faced by people with HIV/AIDS. She is assisting IDF with the distribution of Health Smart Cards, which enable infected individuals to secure treatment wherever they may be and provide health care personnel with essential, confidential information about their patients' medication. Gangopadhyay is also conducting research with patients and doctors to explore the obstacles that confront them, with the goal of developing new ways to fight the stigma as well as the disease.
Vesela Morova '09 of Gabrovo, Bulgaria, has been researching how the characteristics of the Native American flute reflect the traditions, mythology, and perspectives on life and nature of the people who make and play it. This summer, in addition to taking flute lessons from local native players, she attended concerts and tribal powwows throughout New England and participated in a week-long Native American Flute Workshop in Montana. A talented musician who plays the piano and Bulgarian flute, Morova will give a concert and talk this fall to share what she has learned about Native American music and culture with the Clark and Worcester communities.
Cade Overton '08 of Sedgwick, Maine, toured volcanoes, glaciers, historical landmarks, and national parks in Iceland this summer, learning about the climate and culture. He photographed the many sites he visited and recorded factual information and his reflections on them in a travel journal. Overton will create a portfolio, a slide show, and possibly a book to share his experience with others. An exhibition of a selection of his photographs will also be on display in the Schiltkamp Gallery at the Traina Center for the Arts at Clark this fall.
Jeffrey Saginor '08 of North Haven, Conn., is conducting research on the changing demographics and dynamics of homelessness, examining national trends and doing an in-depth case study of the homeless population in Worcester. Saginor will design and conduct a survey of homeless families currently living in shelters to explore their experiences in them and with housing subsidies for private or public housing, if they have had them, in the past.
Jon Steenbeke '08 of Webster, NH, is spending nine weeks in Lilongwe, Malawi, researching how HIV/AIDS has affected the lives of children there. He will work as an assistant teacher at the Bambino School, a private secondary boarding school, and as a volunteer at a local orphanage for children whose parents have died of HIV/AIDS.
Zohar Tobi '08 of Lyndeboro, NH, is working with the Sierra Student Coalition Climate Summer project. Tobi is traveling across New Hampshire, educating residents about global warming through town meetings, community-based discussions, and presentations.
Hang Zhang '08 of Chengdu, China, is examining Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in China to learn about the actual workings of businesses that have expressed a commitment to sustainable economic development and to working with their employees and the local community to improve the quality of life. He is interviewing workers at Microsoft and China Telecom as well as Chinese college students to compare their degree of awareness of CSR and their perceptions of it.
Paula Kiviranta Zimmerman '08 of Kuopio, Finland is examining the environmental impacts of high-tech gold mining underway in northern Finland, the historic home of reindeer-herding Laplanders. Some of her work is part of a project producing map data of gold deposits, using Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Kiviranta Zimmerman is also doing historical research on how the impacts of gold-mining have changed over time and assessing the effectiveness of legislation designed to mitigate negative effects. For more about this student, visit
The Anton Fellowship Program was established in 2001 by a gift from Clark alumni Barbara '56 and Thomas '56 Anton. The Steinbrecher Fellowship Program was created in 2006 by Phyllis and Stephen '55 Steinbrecher in memory of their son David C. Steinbrecher '81. Both fellowships are designed to spark students' excitement about the pursuit of intellectual ideas and public service and to stimulate discussions within the Clark community. The programs are directed by Professor Sharon Krefetz, a faculty member in the Government Department and former Dean of the College at Clark.
Professor Krefetz said "the diversity of the Fellows' projects is amazing, yet they have all been inspired by a similar passion for learning and reflect a genuine commitment to working to improve conditions in the world."
"And these students all truly appreciate how fortunate they are to be able to undertake their projects, thanks to the wonderful gifts the Anton and Steinbrecher families have given to Clark," she said.