October 16, 2008

2008-09 MAD Scholars making a difference at Clark University and beyond

Clark University welcomed six new Making A Difference (MAD) Scholars at the start of the Fall semester. The Making A Difference Scholarship is awarded to incoming First-Year students who demonstrate an extraordinary commitment to social change.

 

Caption: (front row: Clark University President John Bassett. Second row, Left to Right: Lydia Biloskirka-Conley, Tinyan Chan, Whitney Smith, Jennifer Pimentel, Eve Rabinowitz, Will Colan)

The 2008-2009 recipients are as follows:

Lydia Biloskirka-Conley is a recent graduate of Newton North High School. She founded the Microcredit Club at her high school and worked to raise money for entrepreneurs in Guatemala. She was both a mentor in Violence Prevention and a peer mediator. She co-founded the Current Events Club at her high school and worked as a counselor at the New Art Center Camp. Biloskirka-Conley is from Newton.

Tinyan Chan recently graduated from the Beaver Country Day School in Chestnut Hill. As part of Chan's community work, she conducted an affordable housing survey among residents of Boston's Chinatown and volunteered at Camp Sunshine, a camp for children with life-threatening illnesses. Chan is from Boston.

Will Colan is a recent graduate of Maranacook Community School. Colan was selected to be an ambassador to represent his school at Maine Youth Leadership (MYL). He later returned and served as a junior counselor. In 2006 he was appointed to a two-year term in the Maine Legislative Youth Council. He has attended both the Diversity Leadership Institute at Bates College and the Seeds of Peace International Camp. Colan is from Readfield, Maine.

Jennifer E. Pimentel is a recent graduate of Dennis Yarmouth Regional High School. Prior to her arrival at Clark, Pimentel was president of the Students Taking Action Now: Darfur (STAND) and a member of Amnesty International. She recently took part in Clark TREK Operation Restoration in New Orleans. Pimentel is from Dennisport.

 

Eve Rabinowitz graduated from Friends Seminary this spring. Rabinowitz was an active member of her school's Hurricane Relief Committee; she traveled to Mississippi to aid in relief efforts. Rabinowitz also traveled to South Africa with the Bridges to Understanding Program to create an educational documentary. She is presently working to show the documentary at several venues to raise money to benefit a young mother she interviewed who is HIV positive. Rabinowitz is from New York City.

Whitney Smith graduated from Brattleboro Union High School this spring. While in high school, Smith was a member of the student group Child Labor Education and Action (CLEA). During her membership, she helped to pass a sweat-free policy for her school and became chair of the committee that has drafted a bill proposing that the state of Vermont become sweat-free too. Smith is from Brattleboro, VT.

Past recipients of Clark's MAD scholarship have been involved with community service organizations, political action groups, human rights campaigns and for-profit and non-profit social entrepreneurship. Clark recognizes that change agents come from all backgrounds and offer a wide variety of valuable and compelling perspectives. The thread that links scholarship recipients together is their dedication to using their talents and energy to make a difference.

 

According to Micki E. Davis, director of Clark's Community Engagement and Volunteering Center (CEV), "This group of Making A Difference Scholars has a diverse background of community engagement activities. They are passionate and dedicated to social justice issues and I'm certain they will have an immediate and long-lasting impact at Clark."

The Making a Difference Scholarship is a $48,000 four-year scholarship ($12,000 per year).The scholarship includes a $2,500 taxable stipend and housing allowance to support an optional summer project that students may undertake in Worcester during the summer following their sophomore or junior year.