“Leadership is about figuring out what you believe, and then having the courage to act on it.” - Professor Robert Kaplan, Harvard University, September 17, 2011 This, in one sentence, is why I applied for the Show Me Fellowship from John Legend last summer. I believe in something, and I have the courage to act on it.   I believe that global poverty is one of the most pressing social injustices of our time, if not the most pressing injustice.  And I believe that right now — not tomorrow, or next week, or next year — I can make a tangible contribution to the fight against global poverty.  And above all, I believe that every student, at every college and university around the globe, can join me. That’s why, with the help of John Legend’s Show Me Fellowship, I brought more than 1,000 students, from across the United States and around the world, to the 2011 Millennium Campus Conference (MCC 2011).  For three days, at Harvard University, my fellow students and I participated in keynote lectures, panel discussions, workshops, and a career fair, along with dozens of global leaders in the fight against global poverty. My fellow conference-goers got to hear from people like Jason Russell, the filmmaker and co-Founder of Invisible Children, a global movement to bring an end one of the world’s longest-running conflicts: the Lord’s Resistance Army’s war in Uganda.  Students also got to hear from K’naan, the musician and activist working to end the ongoing hunger and insecurity in Somalia.  They got to work with senior professionals in workshops to improve crucial skills like advocacy, fundraising, and creating overseas partnerships. And at the end of the weekend, the students were presented with actionable, immediate ways to get involved in ending global poverty, at a career and internship fair. But perhaps most importantly, MCC 2011 attendees were inspired.  They learned, as I did at an earlier MCC, that “leadership is about figuring out what you believe, and then having the courage to act on it,” as Professor Robert Kaplan told them. I sincerely hope that MCC attendees will do just that — act on their convictions.  And I hope to see them at future events, at partner non-profits like Partners in Health, or perhaps on the ground, overseas, where they are beginning to make a difference in the world’s poorest communities. Along with the Millennium Campus Network, I have already begun planning for http://www.mcc2012.org; I hope to see you there. Nicole Theobald    
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“Leadership is about figuring out what you believe, and then having the courage to act on it.” - Professor Robert Kaplan, Harvard University, September 17, 2011

This, in one sentence, is why I applied for the Show Me Fellowship from John Legend last summer. I believe in something, and I have the courage to act on it.  

I believe that global poverty is one of the most pressing social injustices of our time, if not the most pressing injustice.  And I believe that right now — not tomorrow, or next week, or next year — I can make a tangible contribution to the fight against global poverty.  And above all, I believe that every student, at every college and university around the globe, can join me.

That’s why, with the help of John Legend’s Show Me Fellowship, I brought more than 1,000 students, from across the United States and around the world, to the 2011 Millennium Campus Conference (MCC 2011).  For three days, at Harvard University, my fellow students and I participated in keynote lectures, panel discussions, workshops, and a career fair, along with dozens of global leaders in the fight against global poverty.

My fellow conference-goers got to hear from people like Jason Russell, the filmmaker and co-Founder of Invisible Children, a global movement to bring an end one of the world’s longest-running conflicts: the Lord’s Resistance Army’s war in Uganda.  Students also got to hear from K’naan, the musician and activist working to end the ongoing hunger and insecurity in Somalia.  They got to work with senior professionals in workshops to improve crucial skills like advocacy, fundraising, and creating overseas partnerships. And at the end of the weekend, the students were presented with actionable, immediate ways to get involved in ending global poverty, at a career and internship fair.

But perhaps most importantly, MCC 2011 attendees were inspired.  They learned, as I did at an earlier MCC, that “leadership is about figuring out what you believe, and then having the courage to act on it,” as Professor Robert Kaplan told them.

I sincerely hope that MCC attendees will do just that — act on their convictions.  And I hope to see them at future events, at partner non-profits like Partners in Health, or perhaps on the ground, overseas, where they are beginning to make a difference in the world’s poorest communities.

Along with the Millennium Campus Network, I have already begun planning for http://www.mcc2012.org; I hope to see you there.

Nicole Theobald


 

 

MUSE End of the Summer Reflection

Teaching MUSE this summer has been an amazingly rewarding experience for me. From working with other talented college students to teaching promising students from my hometown of Detroit, I honestly could not have spent my summer in a more fulfilling role. This was my second year working with my non-profit, and in these two years, I believe that I have grown significant not solely as an educator, but also as a leader.

Although this is the second year that I have had my own classroom, I believe that I have learned even more about teaching this year than I had in previous years. As one of the English teachers, I was able to realize the areas in which most students are behind, and help them begin to get on track to be successful in their high school years. I primarily focused on enhancing their writing skills, and I did this by introducing the students to the “five-paragraph” writing format, and used ACT writing prompts to allow the students to apply what they had learned to real life scenarios. By both teaching English and sitting in on the math classes, I realized that so many of my students did not know basic information that they should have learned in elementary school. I found that catching the students up to where I thought they should be was the hardest part about teaching, and this realization taught me the invaluable purpose of flexibility when it comes to teaching. Although I had planned so many activities, lessons, and short story units for my students, I immediately realized that I had to tailor my lesson plans to my students’ specific skill level. I also found it difficult to find a happy medium as it relates to the content of my lessons. The students were on such drastically different levels, and as a teacher, I was almost always forced to decide whether or not I should teach to the high performers or spend more time helping those who were behind. I could see how in regular school, students in either group could be at a disservice at any given time. Luckily, the other English teacher helped to tremendously diminish this issue in the MUSE classrooms. Lastly, I found that a lot of students believe that their thoughts aren’t being paid attention to enough in the traditional classroom. In MUSE, we tried to provide students with ample opportunities to express their creativity, and they really appreciated the chance to showcase their talents and personality. Through current event presentations, daily journal topics, and various public speaking prompts, we (the teachers) learned significantly more about the students than we would have during the regular math and English class periods.

I also learned a lot about teamwork as a result of teaching with MUSE this summer. In my classroom, I taught English along with one other English teacher (there were also two math teachers). On most days, we divided up our lessons so that one person was in charge of creative writing and the other was in charge of the more formal writing lessons. While one person was teaching, the other person was able to survey the room to help motivate students who were behind or distracted. I relied on my co-teacher everyday, and was sure that I was always a dependable partner as well. Although we had very different teaching styles, we combined our strengths to be as effective educators as possible. Working in a teaching team helped me to strive to be as prepared as possible, because I knew that not only my students, but my co-worker as well was depending on me.

Teaching MUSE this summer was an amazing experience. I learned patience, humbleness, and adaptability from my students, and responsibility and leadership from my co-workers. In the future, my plan for MUSE is to continue being the Director, but to acquire more undergraduate students to fulfill the teaching roles. I would like the program to gain more notoriety within the city, amongst parents, schools, and college students. I think this program is amazing in that it promotes the idea of “youth helping youth” within the city of Detroit. Although Detroit does have a low high school graduation rate, my hope is that the college students will serve as an inspiration to the younger students to not only graduate from high school, but to pursue (at least) a Bachelor’s degree as well. I am happy with the progress MUSE has made so far, and I am excited to see what the future holds.  


AB- Great TFA Videos!!

Andrew Dyer is a fellow intern I worked with this past summer at Teach For America. For his capstone project, he shot 3 different films for TFA to use as a recruiting tool. These videos help break down FAQs about the program and allow potential corps members to get a visual look into TFA. CHECK IT OUT!

1. Teach for America presents: What is Institute?: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvmYXOH3wuM


2. Teach for America presents: The Time is Now: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFJBEYmhJfk


3. Teach for America presents: Journey to the Corps  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INH0cGqcKzk&feature=related

-Antoinette Brou

He who opens a school door, closes a prison. ~Victor Hugo

Math in MUSE

Math in MUSE

Throughout the six-week summer enrichment program, both the coaches and the students were met with challenges, and triumphs. As the MUSE math instructor, it was my responsibility to decipher a common ground for the multiple students who came from various math backgrounds. In short, I found a creative way to mix both algebra and geometry, in a fun and challenging way. It was my goal to expose the MUSE students to typical math concepts students in the Detroit Public School (DPS) district struggle with as well as help them develop logical and critical thinking skills; furthermore, I often pushed them to “think outside the box.” In turn, I was usually the one facing the greatest challenge of forcing them to understand how higher level thinking would be beneficial in the long run. Were they always up for the challenge? Of course not! Did they pass the challenge? At the end of the day, yes!

 

It’s always great to know that I’m making a difference in the lives of young people, especially from the city of Detroit where positive role models from minority backgrounds are few and far between. Though I often went home stressed, I know the impact that I made on my student’s has been significant. The DPS district, which is predominantly African American, is faced with low graduation rates (24.9%), and the 75% of students who do not graduate usually face poverty, or worse, jail time. Surprisingly, MUSE 2011 was comprised of majority males, which was totally unexpected. However, it was beneficial for my personal and professional growth to work with young men, who often presented a challenge and some even admitted to venturing down the wrong path because they tested my patience and my ability to connect to their lifestyles. I found that it’s important to relate to students if you want them to gain respect for not only a teacher, but learning as well. Even if I can’t be Superman, and save the world, I know that I did my best to present myself as a positive, educated, African American male, role model to eight young men. I will walk away from MUSE with eight more brothers because they leapt into my heart.

From George Hardy (UPenn ’12), Math Instrcutor for MUSE

Meet my co-worker Jake! Jake is the Managing Director of the Millennium Campus Network and has been helping out with conference planning this summer. Jake became interested in international development as a student organizer for the ONE Campaign. When his girlfriend first joined the eBoard of the ONE at BU chapter, he challenged her to explain why foreign aid was something worth fighting for.  Her answer was very compelling, and as a result, Jake is now working for the Millennium Campus Network and pursuing a Master’s in development economics.    For Jake, the third MDG (promote gender equality and empower women) is most important for two simple reasons: 1) there are three and a half billion women, and 2) the gender gap is very, very large.
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Meet my co-worker Jake!

Jake is the Managing Director of the Millennium Campus Network and has been helping out with conference planning this summer.

Jake became interested in international development as a student organizer for the ONE Campaign. When his girlfriend first joined the eBoard of the ONE at BU chapter, he challenged her to explain why foreign aid was something worth fighting for.  Her answer was very compelling, and as a result, Jake is now working for the Millennium Campus Network and pursuing a Master’s in development economics.  

 For Jake, the third MDG (promote gender equality and empower women) is most important for two simple reasons: 1) there are three and a half billion women, and 2) the gender gap is very, very large.

MUSE Student Field Trips

This year, we were able to take the MUSE children on the following three field trips: the Horizons-Upward Bound College Fair at Cranbrook Kingswood Upper School, the University of Michigan, and the Holocaust Museum. Each trip was educational in its own way, and the children were able to garner a wealth of information about different topics.

 One of the nation’s largest Upward Bound programs (Horizons-Upward Bound outside of Detroit, MI), invited the MUSE students to attend its annual college fair, which hosts a plethora of colleges from Michigan and other Midwestern states, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and a small number of liberal arts colleges on the East Coast. Although my students range from grades 8-10, all of the teaching staff thought that it was never too early to start preparing them for college. At the college fair, students wereable to engage in meaningful conversation with several recruiters, and as a result, were able to gain insight as to which aspects of college life (e.g. small class sizes, a top ten sports team, a specific major or concentration of study, etc.) were most important to them. After the college fair, students were given a tour of the historic Cranbrook Kingswood campus. Many of the students were happy to venture outside of their urban dwellings in Detroit to explore both the architecture as well as the natural beauty of the ponds, lakes, gardens, and forestry that comprised the boarding school’s campus. Upon returning back to our school, one of our students proclaimed that the trip had been the “best day of [his] life”.

Our second trip was to the University of Michigan’s campus. While on campus, students were given a tour of the libraries, science center, student union, and more by a rising senior at the university. They were able to engage in dialogue with her about traditions on campus, admissions expectations, and the pros and cons of attending school in-state. None of the students had ever visited the college campus before, and unanimously agreed that the trip was as informative as it was fun. 

Last Thursday, we took our students to their last field trip, which was to the Holocaust Memorial Center in Farmington Hills, MI. The museum is well known throughout Michigan as the first freestanding museum dedicated to the memory of the Holocaust, and houses an array of exhibits to shed light on horrors that the Nazis and their allies brought upon Europe in the 1930s and 1940s. Again, because the majority of our students attend school in the Detroit Public School district, they have not yet had an opportunity to learn in depth about the Holocaust, and we thought that this would be an excellent opportunity for them to learn about the history of a group other than their own. At the museum, the students were able to listen to the narrative of a Holocaust survivor, and ask him questions about his life in concentration camps and how he reconnect with a few of his family members. The students were visibly touched by his very remarkable story of survival. The students were given a tour of the museum by a docent, and saw pictures, videos, and exhibits that gave them a deeper understanding of the Holocaust.

All of our field trips turned out to be rewarding experiences for both MUSE Coaches and students alike. Next year, we plan to increase the number of field trips we take so that we can expose the students to more than what is within their immediate living vicinity.  


Camp Challenge

Camp Challenge brought back so many memories of my own experience at summer camp during middle school: the awkward first day when everyone meets, the apprehensiveness in trying something new, and then not wanting to leave your new best friends by the end of the week.  What I don’t remember from my summer camp experience is all the educational material cleverly disguised as fun.  Despite the blistering 100 degree weather, I didn’t hear a single student utter a complaint.  This was truly a well-rounded experience for the students who decided to brave the outdoors for a week without cell phones and minimal air conditioning.

Through the NC Bankers Association, Communities In Schools of North Carolina was able to send almost 200 students from across the state for a one-week experience at the 4-H Sertoma Educational Center in Stokes County that would allow them to broaden their horizons, meet new people and establish tools and skills that may not receive in school, all for free!  Each day brought a new experience and, without a schedule in hand, students approached one session just as eagerly as the next.  From the typical arts & crafts, team building and swimming, to the not so ordinary public speaking, horseback riding and financial literacy, these students got it all during the week and couldn’t wait to come back next summer.

My personal favorite was the healthy living session.  Did you know that a bag of skittles was 830 calories?  With a suggested intake of 2,000 calories per day, that’s a meal.  And the next time these students are headed to the McDonald’s drive-thru, they’ll think twice about ordering the double pounder with cheese, medium fries, large coke and a sundae.  That’s about 1,850 calories.  When they made their own meal, students choose salad with grilled chicken and an ice cream cone or hamburger with water, so that they can still indulge but maintain a healthy diet.  Moderation is key.

For many of these students, this was the highlight of their summer.  And a week without their cell phone proved to be not so bad after all.

This Friday August 12th, the United Nations will celebrate its 11th annual International Youth Day. This year’s theme, “Change our World,” was chosen to reflect both the level of impact that young people strive to achieve as well as the notion of a global community. The UN hopes that over the course of the upcoming year this slogan will inform the scope, direction, and objectives of its youth initiatives and provide a “unifying banner from under which individuals can draw the inspiration to take action”. This theme nicely compliments the tone of the Millennium Campus Network’s upcoming conference, which aims to challenge students to think critically about the role they play in the youth movement to end extreme poverty. At the MCN we feel that in addition to the “inspiration to take action” students need to tackle the UN Millennium Development Goals, students also need to take time to think critically about the action they take. What skill do they need to do the job effectively? How can they make their project sustainable? Who at their university can they approach for guidance or support? While we hope, like International Youth Day, to inspire students at our conference, we also aim to help equip them with the tools needed to reach a high level of impact. Tomorrow will also mark the culmination of the UN’s International Year of Youth. The International Year of Youth aimed to encourage dialogue and understanding across generations and to promote the ideals of peace, respect for human rights and freedoms, and solidarity. To learn more click here. Nicole Theobald
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This Friday August 12th, the United Nations will celebrate its 11th annual International Youth Day. This year’s theme, “Change our World,” was chosen to reflect both the level of impact that young people strive to achieve as well as the notion of a global community. The UN hopes that over the course of the upcoming year this slogan will inform the scope, direction, and objectives of its youth initiatives and provide a “unifying banner from under which individuals can draw the inspiration to take action”.

This theme nicely compliments the tone of the Millennium Campus Network’s upcoming conference, which aims to challenge students to think critically about the role they play in the youth movement to end extreme poverty. At the MCN we feel that in addition to the “inspiration to take action” students need to tackle the UN Millennium Development Goals, students also need to take time to think critically about the action they take. What skill do they need to do the job effectively? How can they make their project sustainable? Who at their university can they approach for guidance or support? While we hope, like International Youth Day, to inspire students at our conference, we also aim to help equip them with the tools needed to reach a high level of impact.

Tomorrow will also mark the culmination of the UN’s International Year of Youth. The International Year of Youth aimed to encourage dialogue and understanding across generations and to promote the ideals of peace, respect for human rights and freedoms, and solidarity. To learn more click here.

Nicole Theobald

One of the Millennium Campus Network’s largest programs, apart from the annual conference, is their student action grants. Each spring the MCN invites its member organizations to apply for either domestic grants (for those who work on campus) and overseas grants (for those who work abroad). To date, the MCN has given away almost $50,000 in grants to student organizations. The following is a sample from the MCN’s latest blog post highlighting BUILD India, a student organization at Tufts University that recently put their MCN grant into action. “The village of Thottiapatti in Tamil Nadu, South India, was long a neglected village.  Even nonprofit organizations paid its citizens little attention.  The public bus didn’t even stop there until the community organized a strike to extend bus service to the village. But this small and impoverished Indian town has grabbed the attention of Tufts University’s BUILD: India team.  The BUILD (“Building Understanding through International Learning and Development”) team has devoted years of research and months of groundwork to providing aid to Thottiapatti.                               “The villagers explained to us that our presence there made them feel like someone out there cared for them,” said team member Charmaine Poh. “The fact that we were friendly, we talked to them, and helped implement a project showed them that we really do care,” she said. Since its first scouting trip in the summer of 2010, the organization has been working tirelessly on development projects for the village. The scouting trip surveyed development in the region, and formed a partnership with Payir, an Indian NGO. During a subsequent trip in January, the team spoke with villagers about their individual needs. The spring semester was spent using all their research to design tangible, sustainable solutions for the village’s myriad development challenges, while applying for grants to fund them…” To read more, click here. Nicole T
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One of the Millennium Campus Network’s largest programs, apart from the annual conference, is their student action grants. Each spring the MCN invites its member organizations to apply for either domestic grants (for those who work on campus) and overseas grants (for those who work abroad). To date, the MCN has given away almost $50,000 in grants to student organizations.

The following is a sample from the MCN’s latest blog post highlighting BUILD India, a student organization at Tufts University that recently put their MCN grant into action.

“The village of Thottiapatti in Tamil Nadu, South India, was long a neglected village.  Even nonprofit organizations paid its citizens little attention.  The public bus didn’t even stop there until the community organized a strike to extend bus service to the village.

But this small and impoverished Indian town has grabbed the attention of Tufts University’s BUILD: India team.  The BUILD (“Building Understanding through International Learning and Development”) team has devoted years of research and months of groundwork to providing aid to Thottiapatti.


                             


“The villagers explained to us that our presence there made them feel like someone out there cared for them,” said team member Charmaine Poh. “The fact that we were friendly, we talked to them, and helped implement a project showed them that we really do care,” she said.

Since its first scouting trip in the summer of 2010, the organization has been working tirelessly on development projects for the village. The scouting trip surveyed development in the region, and formed a partnership with Payir, an Indian NGO. During a subsequent trip in January, the team spoke with villagers about their individual needs. The spring semester was spent using all their research to design tangible, sustainable solutions for the village’s myriad development challenges, while applying for grants to fund them…”

To read more, click here.

Nicole T

AB- 48 Women Raped Every Hour in the DRC: When does it stop?

The first session of summer school came to an end this past Friday and I’ve been working on a 20 page research paper for my IDS senior seminar. The seminar explored the themes of humanitarian and peacekeeping efforts during times of conflict within developing countries. We were asked to pick a topic to write about that ran parallel to this idea of conflict and fragile states.

Through my second internship with the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project, we do a lot of work focused on HIV/AIDS and Gender Based Violence (GBV) in Africa. As I researched more on GBV, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) consistently appeared which sparked my interest. The more I researched the current conflict of the DRC, the more I became outraged by its lack of coverage by the news and media. Here is a general synopsis of my paper which I hope paints a better picture of this horrific crime against humanity.

Rape: The Oldest, Cheapest and Most Destructive Man Made Weapon

Why it is More Dangerous to be A Woman than A Soldier in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Natural resources. Check. Colonialism. Check. Dictatorship. Check. War. CHECK. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a poster child, to say the least, of a failed state. The DRC has a long history of corruption, violence, and instability. With over 6 million dead since 1996 and about 48 women raped an hour, it is no surprise that it continuously ranks among the top five failed states in the world.

War Rape affects both the community and victims. An example of this is seen where soldiers will attack a village and force them all to watch as they publicly rape the women. It is a way to set a precedent and mentally destabilize that community. Nita Evele of Congo Global Action describes the mental consequences stating, “Once you rape the entire village in front of the children in front of the husbands and neighbors, that community is broken, completely.”  The men feel a sense of guilt and vulnerability because they were unable to protect their wives and the women can no longer hold their heads up high. “They are [the victims] reduce to a nonhuman, in essence,” states Claver Pashi, Executive Director of the DR Congo Forum, “so that they cannot think, so they can feel helpless so they can feel hopeless so they can give up.”

A majority of sexual violence crimes never get reported or reach a courtroom; “there’s a culture of impunity there where rape goes unpunished. There are military officers very high in President Kabila’s cabinet who are known rapists.” The government rapes, soldiers rape, and civilians rape. The social norm of the rape of women in the DRC has been cultivating for years and the Congolese government is only enabling it by not taking concrete actions to end this. Stephen Lewis from AIDS-Free World states, “If sexual violence is not addressed during the course of a conflict, then sexual violence will haunt the post-conflict period, and make of the ostensible peace a mockery for half the population.”

In the late 1800s under the colonial rule of Belgian King Leopold II, the population of the DRC was slashed in half and it could very much happen again in the 21st century. This is a very real possibility for the DRC if its government, international community, and leading countries continue to ignore the severity of its situation. 6 million have already died from a war that officially ended years ago, 48 women are raped an hour while the rape of men is starting to become a trend as well. These impunities are reaching an all-time high with no end in sight. Effective peacebuilding is required, not just studies upon studies sating the facts we already know. The DRC is a broken state, a fragile state but a very important one to protect. The people are much more valuable than the natural resources plundered by the greedy. To what point does society actually to do something about it? At what point does the media deem this worthy news to present to the masses? 48 women is just 48 too many. And as Eve Ensler, founder of VDay, proclaimed in her Huffington article, I too am over this. When will the world be?

Educate yourself on this horrific situation occurring to this day.

“I Am Over…A world that could allow, has allowed, continues to allow 400 thousand women, 23,00 women, or one woman to be raped anywhere, anytime of any day in the Congo.” – Eve Ensler, Founder of VDay

Best,

Antoinette Brou