CBL Program Student Staff 2008-09

Stefanie Argus is a senior at Mount Holyoke originally hailing from New Jersey. She is majoring in Psychology and Education and is also pursuing teacher licensure at the early education level. Particularly meaningful past service work for her includes volunteer positions with Girl Scouts of the USA, the Special Olympics, and with several youth afterschool programs. She is passionate about working with youth, and a career leading outdoor adventure trips for "at-risk" children is particularly appealing to her. Stefanie currently serves as CBL Administrative Liaison, working on organizational projects for the program and supporting CBL mentors and fellows. One of her specific goals is to help recruit a strong base of underclasswomen dedicated to social change and community engagement to participate in Community-Based Learning Program courses and fellowship opportunities.

Caroline Bauer is a senior and an Anthropology major. In addition to being an enthusiastic Anthropology department liaison and a CBL fellow at Nuestras Raices, Caroline also hosts a radio show on WMHC 91.5 FM on Thursdays from 10pm - 12am. Joining Nuestras Raices in their fight against environmental injustices in Holyoke provides Caroline with the opportunity to shed inactiveness and apathy that unfortunately plagues many well-intentioned college students. Caroline states that she can now “Actually do something about the problems that we discuss and theorize at length about.”

Elizabeth (Liz) Budd was born and raised in rural Massachusetts where she gained an appreciation for both art and the environment. A senior pursuing a double major in Dance and Environmental Justice, she worked throughout 2008 at Nuestras Raices in Holyoke and lives in the city. At Nuestras Raices, Liz works as a community organizer developing leadership, and educational resources as well as conducting research on the environmental health issues in the city. She hopes to utilize art and performance art as a tool of empowerment in communities facing environmental justice issues.

Johanna Harris is a theatre major enjoying her final year at MHC. As CBL Mentor for Professor Holly Hanson’s History of Global Inequality class, she serves as a liaison between MHC and the Springfield Renaissance High School. Students of Professor Hanson’s class are collaborating with Renaissance students through classroom visits, weekly correspondence and participation in a Saturday morning tutoring program. In developing lasting friendships with members of the Renaissance school, Professor Hanson’s class hopes to motivate and support these gifted students in their pursuit of higher education.

Clara Kim ’09 is a Psychology and Education major at Mount Holyoke College. Her involvement in the Community-Based Learning Program throughout her career at Mount Holyoke led her to her current role as Commonwealth Corps Program Assistant. Her role is to support the placements of 12 Mount Holyoke, UMass Amherst and Holyoke Community College students in tutoring/mentoring and college awareness support roles in Holyoke. Clara has previously worked as a Community Fellow for Capacidad, an afterschool program in Amherst, MA.

Ye Li '11, is a Spanish and Economics/Mathematics major and joined CBL in Fall '08. She is a CBL fellow and is placed at Enlace de Familias. She was drawn to the program to make use of her Spanish skills to contribute to the Spanish-speaking community at Holyoke. In the future she plans to help Enlace reach out to the larger group of Hispanic parents so as to support their needs and address their concerns.

Elisa Loeser ’11 is a French and Politics major. She is working with the CBL Program and Northampton’s Commonwealth Center for Change (C3) researching non-profit organizations in the Pioneer Valley. Her research will help C3 become better aware of the needs of non-profits while preparing for the Spring 2009 CBL Program Course, “Engaging the Pioneer Valley.” Elisa hopes to travel across the country next summer documenting poverty in the U.S. and the impact of organizations working for low-income families.

Nika Meyer, ‘11 is working to facilitate an environmental community service group at the Connections Program at Holyoke High School . Through high quality service learning projects, she is working with students to create environmental awareness within the school and community. They are developing a visual display regarding the environmental impacts of cell phones to put in the school lobby. Nika co-founded Change the World Kids (http://www.changetheworldkids.org) to support middle and high school students involvement in environmental and humanitarian efforts, local and global.

Relebohile Phoofolo '11 is an International Relations and Spanish Major. Currently working with the international organization, Land is Life, Lebo serves as a translator as well as a primary contact for members of Land is Life and the directors in Northampton. She was drawn to the program because of their work with different indigenous groups around the world and their advocacy for human rights. In the future, Lebo hopes to work on human rights issues in Southern Africa and Latin America.

Dawnell Powell '10 is a Psychology and Education major pursuing teaching licensure at the elementary level. She is interested in making education accessible to everyone at every age, and has worked at Girls Inc. and at Read Write Now in Springfield, MA. She hopes to research ways to help students with different learning styles. Dawnell is working with the Let's Get Ready! program at Holyoke High School. "Let's Get Ready" is a national campus-community model for collaboration to help high school juniors prepare for SAT exams and to help seniors conduct a thorough college search, prepare applications and visit prospective campuses. Dawnell is working collaboratively with the CBL and CAUSE programs, as well as with staff and students from Hampshire and Amherst Colleges, the Engaging Latino Communities in Education project (ENLACE) and Holyoke High School.

Currently a junior, Ariel Sykes is majoring in Philosophy of Education with a minor in English. She has been working closely with Professor Tom Wartenberg and his Philosophy for Children Program for the past year. Recipient of the 2008 Sally Montgomery Award for her work in teaching philosophy to children, Ariel states, “The positive impact of my time spent with these children, at both schools, was felt on both ends. My classroom became theirs just as theirs became mine.”

Jun Zhang ’09 is a Mathematics and Economics major and member of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society. Jun recently joined the CBL Program as a Community Fellow with the National Priorities Project in Northampton. Jun is interested in entrepreneurialism and in 2008 received a patent Certificate from the Chinese government for her invention of a special Scantron Pencil. The pencil was designed to be used for the Chinese National College Entrance Exam.