Ward Family Learning in Action Award 2011 The Ward Family Learning in Action Award was established in 2007 through a gift from the Ward family-Dorothy Mears Ward GP’05, ‘08, and ’14, Tom and Beth Ward P’05,‘08, and ‘14 A.T. Ward ’05, Christopher Ward ’08 and Chase Ward ’14.
This award annually recognizes one rising sophomore, junior or senior and their experiential learning project. The projects may include, but are not limited to, international study, undergraduate research, internships, service and leadership experiences. Sixteen applications were submitted for the Ward Family Learning in Action Award this year. All the applications were outstanding and the projects were truly amazing. It was obvious that there was a great amount of time, effort and energy put forth from each applicant and the committee and the Ward Family had a difficult time determining a recipient.
Below is a brief synopsis of the winning project plus the top four additional projects.
The Ward Family Learning in Action Award for 2011 was given to Mary Yost.
Mary Yost
Project: The New Greensboro Voice. A newspaper for and about homelessness by homeless people.
The mission of The New Greensboro Voice is to serve as a vehicle for elevating voices and public discussion on issues that are not frequently covered in mainstream media outlets. These issues include homelessness, poverty and the resources available to help those in need. The hope is that the awareness gained from the newspaper will encourage the community to have a discussion about issues and people that are normally ignored. Mary wrote, “establishing homeless individuals as the teachers of this social issue is the core of our vision. Doing so gives those facing homelessness a restored sense of dignity and a voice because homeless and formerly homeless people write almost all the articles in The New Greensboro Voice.”
Emily Ash
Project: Volunteering as a language teacher in los pueblos jóvenes. These are the young towns that have sprung up in the surrounding areas of Arequipa which is located in the heights of the Peruvian Andes. Emily will be a language teacher for the population in these changing towns. She will also be conducting an observational research study on Second Language Acquisition.
Lauren Clapp
Project: Internship with the New England Climate Summer program. This is a student-led volunteer network designed to address climate change in New England. The only means of transportation will be bicycles. Each team will travel to 10 towns, spending a week in each location, working with community partners to pass local legislation recognizing the dangers of climate change.
Annie Huth
Project: PhotoVoice. This project works with adolescent girls at the Burlington Housing Authority by providing them with cameras to express themselves through photography. Annie wrote,” PhotoVoice is a program that puts cameras in the hands of those not usually given the opportunity to tell their stories, and through reflection, discussion and display, it allows those stories to be shared.”
Michael Nowak
Project: Student Mentoring Student Networking Event. “The Elon Network is an event that provides career related guidance to under classman as they try to figure out what they want to do and what their passions are. Underclassmen will have an opportunity to network with juniors and seniors who have completed internships, jobs, and research projects from different industries, as well as graduate school students”, Michael stated in his proposal.