Reflections from the Fellows
Colin Miller ’07 (Urban Studies)
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| Colin (top, center) and the violin students he taught with the Percussive Violin Project during his 2005 Haas Summer Fellowship in Candeal, Bahia, Brazil. |
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| Colin teaches violin to Gabi in Brazil. |
2005 and 2006 Haas Summer Fellowship with the Percussive Violin Project/ Candeal, Brazil
Most educational of all, of course, was the time I actually spent teaching violin to thirty of Candeal’s children. Despite my initial uncertainties and stumbling, I gradually developed my own voice, style, and identity as a teacher.”
Experience: Colin first gained familiarity with the impoverished region of Candeal in northeastern Brazil while serving as a Rotary Club scholar in a cultural youth exchange. Through courses such as “Global Politics of Human Rights,” and “Social Justice in Latin America,” he has deepened his interest in cultural and class-based inequalities. In summer 2006, he returns to Candeal with a second Haas Summer Fellowship. Strengthened by his experience, he will continue to give violin lessons, but will also design a promotional website that he hopes will attract donors and instructors to the project.
Carolyn Celio ’08 (Sociology)
Urban Summer Fellowship with the John W. Gardner Center for Youth & Their Communities/ Stanford
"I would say the number one thing I have learned while working here has not been methodological but ideological. … A central idea to John Gardner (and the center) is his idea of the “network of the responsibles.” This concept inspires me and encapsulates a belief I have held for a long time. I have struggled for a long time trying to understand how to be a leader and in what context. For John Gardner, leadership is rooted within the community. He believed that leaders come from all parts of communities and are all types of people."
Experience: Carolyn’s interest in youth started in high school when she learned about the high dropout rates of low-income teenagers in the urban public schools near her Seattle home. Passionate to help make a difference, she started a tutoring program for inner-city junior high students in Seattle and worked as a teacher and mentor with the Safe Futures Youth Center in a low-income area of West Seattle last summer. Carolyn is especially interested in the factors that make teachers and mentors most effective when working with high-risk students and enjoyed the chance to put her academic preparation to practical use. At the John Gardner Center, she was able to start research for her senior honors thesis about the effects of community revitalization on youth in areas of Seattle.
The number one thing I’m continuously learning is the nature of working with other people. In the ‘real world,’ I have to work with others [to determine objectives and complete the task], making ‘people skills’ as important as time management.
One thing that surprises me in a not-so-good way is the degree to which people just don’t care about our cause. … I suppose these are the reasons I’ve decided to work here this summer. So far, it’s been more than worth it."
Experience: Conner worked with GLSEN last summer after learning about the group through research for a paper on homophobia in United States schools. A passionate activist for the LGBT community, he has been involved with the Queer/Straight Alliance and Safe and Open Spaces at Stanford (SOSAS) since freshman year. He also worked with the San Francisco Human Rights Commission, writing pamphlets for homeless transgender individuals and distributing them to shelters in San Francisco. After he finishes his undergraduate degree, Conner plans to attend law school, eventually returning to work at an LGBT-rights nonprofit, and views his experiences at GLSEN as a preview of his future career in LGBT activism.
Julia Brown ’08 (Art History)
"This summer turned out to be different from what I expected when I first applied for the grant. [Instead of working one-on-one with children,] the work I’m doing for the Cantor Arts Center takes me to an aspect of service work with education I’ve never explored before, the administrative side.
Learning to play among all the rules and regulations of the various constituencies involved has been one of the most valuable experiences of my life. The most useful thing I have learned so far is that to get something implemented you have to work within others' boundaries. I had to recognize that my initial goal for the project I designed was different from the goals of affected [outside community] organizations. Though I had interpreted my job as getting as many people to the museum as possible, I realized that these communities would benefit much more if the museum came to them."
Experience: Julia has a long-time interest in art and its power to move and affect people. At the Cantor Arts Center she worked on community outreach and education programs for the upcoming exhibition “Anxious Objects: Willie Cole’s Favorite Brands,” which will run from October 3, 2007 through January 6, 2008. She also has an interest in Latin American art after studying abroad in Santiago, Chile for two quarters.
Melina Platas ’07 (Human Biology)
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| (Left to right): Andrew Mwenda ("the journalist who has helped me enormously during my time here"), Melina Platas, and Paul Kagame ("the president of Rwanda, who I had the opportunity to meet as a result of my fellowship"). "The photo was taken in the Rwandan state house on a trip I took to Kigali with Andrew in mid-September." |
African Service Fellow with The Daily Monitor/Kampala, Uganda
"I have had the opportunity to drink tea with Ugandans working for small local NGOs, as well as the opportunity to dine and drink champagne with the biggest real estate tycoon in the country. I feel very lucky to have had the experiences and opportunities I have had so far, and I look forward to the unexpected adventures that undoubtedly still await me.
It's interesting how much writing stories can be like writing papers at Stanford – I never realized how much time and research went into articles.
I have been pleasantly surprised by how easy it is for me to get in touch with very informative and influential people. I have been able to meet with everyone from the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament to the former Minister of Health and current Minister of Energy. And this is only a tiny handful of those with whom I have spent hours discussing Ugandan and African politics and current affairs."Experience: Melina visited Uganda during the summer of 2005 as an intern with the AIDS Support Organization and was unable to forget the people she met, the many challenges to human and civil rights, and the continued war she observed. She vowed to return and discovered journalism as another venue for public service, though she had little previous journalism experience. Melina has studied abroad in both Cape Town, South Africa and Santiago, Chile; her work in Uganda this summer will help her decide whether she wants to focus her future service work on domestic issues or those abroad.
Bianca Ordaz ’08 (Spanish/Sociology)
Public Interest Law Fellowship with California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation/
Sacramento
"It is amazing to be around so many intelligent people who are doing what I have always wanted to do. … One of the highlights so far in my fellowship was attending an immigration clinic in Fresno for a couple of days.
After talking with some of the attorneys here at the office in Sacramento, we realized that there was no type of outreach or resources for people of Lodi (my hometown) when they had questions or concerns regarding their immigration status. This prompted me to suggest having a community presentation about the new topics in immigration and to make sure everyone is informed on the new procedures for becoming a permanent resident or citizen.
In these few weeks I feel like I have already done and learned so much, and I know that there are many more things I have already been trusted to do. … I have even been able to help some of my family members by telling them which forms they need to turn in or referring them to appropriate attorneys."Experience: Growing up in a town that thrives on agriculture and depends on the labor of field workers, Bianca witnessed firsthand the struggles and hardships they endure. In the summer of 2005, she worked for the Stockton branch of CRLA and learned about the laws that affect field workers and govern their relationship with employers. After Stanford, Bianca plans to attend law school and work with under-represented workers.
Rachel Niederman ’06 (Human Biology)
2005 Sand Hill Fellowship in Philanthropy with the Global Fund For Women/ San Francisco, CA
2006 Tom Ford Fellowship in Philanthropy“At the Global Fund for Women, I helped work on the monthly newsletters, an annual report, a revamped fundraising campaign, and the Thailand donor-travel trip. Through my work, my passion for social justice has become more tangible and my sense of purpose in the non-profit world has been strengthened. I’ve also reaffirmed my stance that contrary to popular belief, feminism is not a dirty word. Empowering women is the most effective way to decrease poverty, promote peace, and advance education worldwide.
Learning how to enjoy myself while sitting in one place for such a long time was surprisingly my biggest challenge…Initially, I was worried about doing too much data entry and background work. After the first few days, however, I became nervous that I’d have too much responsibility and not enough guidance. I was asked to write an article for the newsletter about the cross-section of gender and biodiversity in Panama. After corresponding with the leader of the Kuna group in Spanish, reading past newsletters to get a feel for the traditional Global Fund for Women style, translating quotes into English, and doing some background research on biodiversity as it relates to gender, I wrote a fitting article. I was happy to start off my internship with such an engaging project.”
Experience: As a 2004 Chappell-Lougee Scholar, Rachel researched confidence-building in Latin American street girls while acting as the Teacher and Activities Coordinator for a Bolivian girl’s shelter. On campus, she served as President of Artspan, an organization that helps youth through art therapy; President of Volunteers in Latin America; and a 2004, 2005 participant in Alternative Spring, as well as 2006 Coordinator of the program. Rachel’s extracurricular and academic pursuits at Stanford convey the common theme of children’s rights, service for low-income youth, women’s health, and Latin American development. For 2006-07, she was awarded the postgraduate, 11-month Tom Ford Fellowship in philanthropy and will be working with a mentor in a philanthropic organization.
Uri Manzo ’07 (Human Biology)
2005 Spirituality & Service Fellowship with Urban Ministry, Ecumenical Hunger Program, and Peninsula Interfaith Action
2006 Education & Youth Development Fellowship with Stanford Upward Bound“As my main duty I worked in the Urban Ministry kitchen, helping a woman, Teka, to prepare tuna and PBJ sandwiches, to hand out goodies, and to serve packets of ramen soups. I took part in this routine pretty much every time I was there, but it’s what I’ve gotten out of it that makes my time at the Drop-in Center worthwhile.
When a person comes to the door everyday wanting something to eat and looks you in the eye to exclaim a sincere, ‘thank you,’ you start to change. When you work with a woman who is homeless herself, and who still insists on helping others, serving others, and working selflessly to ‘help those that are worse off than [her],’ something happens inside you. You begin to wonder what it is that makes you so lucky and that makes life so hard for these people. You are dumbfounded by the community that exists there, taken back by the displays of friendship and respect, and humbled by the dignity and honor that people still have. If there’s anything I want to take from my time at Urban Ministry, it’s the deep belief that a life lived without service to others is a life not lived well.”
Experience: As a Haas Center Spirituality and Service Fellow during the summer of 2005, Uri worked with local low-income communities, helping at a homeless shelter and directing a summer program for kids. Uri’s volunteer involvement includes work as a Spanish interpreter at the Pacific Free Clinic, as well as co-director of the Ecumenical Hunger Program for kids. An Upward Bound tutor since freshman year, Uri has now taken on the challenging role of serving as a 2006 Education and Youth Development Fellow for Upward Bound. He spent the spring quarter preparing for his summer position through a course focusing on educational inequity and best practice in youth mentoring and programming.
Manesha Mannapperuma ’08 (History and Political Science)
2005 Education and Youth Fellowship with Stanford Upward Bound
“After working with the students in the EPASA Program in both an academic and recreational setting, I am only now beginning to realize the staggering differences between the opportunities afforded to these kids and the opportunities I (and many others) had growing up. These missing opportunities range from the students not having sports teams to play on, to the fact that many struggle at skills they should have mastered by now as a result of educational inequality.
Putting faces to these problems – Noemi doesn’t have a junior high school soccer team to play on, or Lizzette has trouble forming compound sentences – has made the problems I had once only read about very real to me. Forming relationships with these students has instilled in me a desire to make their lives better in any way I can and also a desire to make the educational system more equitable for future generations.”
Experience: In high school, Menesha spent three summers serving as a math tutor for local children at Valley Oak Elementary Summer School in Davis, CA. In addition, she mentored at-risk children at Camp Wanna-Be-Here, also in her local area. During her freshman year, she continued to pursue her passion for helping children as a volunteer for Stanford’s Tutoring Program TEAM (Together Each Accomplishes More) at the East Palo Alto Charter School.
You may choose to read profiles or letters from students with Stanford in Government (SIG) Fellowships, Postgraduate Fellowships, such as the John Gardner Public Service Fellowship or the Tom Ford Fellowship in Philanthropy, or the Arts for Youth Fellowships.