Grant opens doors for students

By Maryann Dakkak

This past summer 13 students each went to different places around the world to work in their own personal manifestation of social justice. Most could not have done it if it were not for the Jean Donovan Fellowship. The Jean Donovan Fellowship is run by the Arrupe center and is named after a woman who died in El Salvador while working with a group of Maryknolls.

The Arrupe Center puts at least $10,000 into the Donovan fund. The maximum funding is $1000 per person.

Last year about 20 students applied and 13 students received funding. The Donovan Fellowhip recipients from the previous year review all the applications and make recommendations as a group. The program has been going on for three years.

"I think that the university is really committed to students exploring social justice and so many of the opportunities to do that are ones that the university has set up," said Laurie Laird, program director. "The Jean Donovan Fellowship is one that allows the students to create and explore what their own passions and interests are and where they intersect with social justice issues that are calling them and I think that's one of the finer reasons to have a program that supports students to explore social justice in a way that's meaningful to them and to do that over the summer when they have more time to do that."

Student Fellows last year traveled to places as far away as Australia, Russia and Lesotho and as close to home as Sacramento. The following are their first-hand accounts.

Thomas Garvey, Greek and Latin, '03

I found out about the fellowship actually because I studied abroad and had the good fortune to move into Sobrato. There was a gigantic poster near the mailboxes about the Jean Donovan Fellowship. I'd known people who'd gone to India and done all these great things. I'd been to Tijuana for an immersion trip and knew I wanted to do something like that over the summer.

I thought it was a great opportunity. It gave me an excuse to go and investigate. I went through a lot of ideas. In the end, I went to South Australia to do some work in conservation.

One of the reasons I picked Australia was because I studied there in high school. It had been six years but it was all the same. Yes, the family I'd stayed with had grown up, but I was welcomed right back home. It felt like it wasn't international work, but it was my second home. It's not like going somewhere exotic where I'd never go back, this is definitely a place I'd return to. It was local in a really weird way.

This trip affirmed who I was, strengthened everything within me and my resolve to live a certain way and gave me the opportunity to step aside from academics and Santa Clara for a little while and do something meaningful and at the same time basic. Like planting trees everyday. It was good hard work, and made me really feel good about myself, and it really makes a difference. Perhaps it was different from what most think of social justice. This was environmental justice. But that's just as or if not more important to me, I thought it was great that this program had such a breadth of mind. It's open to so many things, to everyone's interpretation of social justice.

Ritchie Lumley, Spanish, '05

I learned from other Donovan scholars that there was this opportunity to go anywhere I wanted to go and do anything I wanted to do. I knew I wanted to go somewhere but I wasn't really sure of where yet. I was interested in India and got the scholarship for that, but things changed and I ended up going to Nicaragua.

One of the big reasons I did go to Nicaragua was because I'd been to Costa Rica before. While I was actually in Nicaragua and I took a bus into Costa Rica, it was 13 hours in a bus to the village where I stayed in Costa Rica.

Two years had passed since I'd see them and it was like nothing changed. When I went there and I heard my "mother" there yell "mia chiquito" it was beautiful. It was a really great experience. I would love to go back to Nicaragua to see the kids again.

In Nicaragua I had the following schedule: In the mornings from 8 a.m. to12 p.m. I worked in an organic farm with local men from the nearby village. It was great. I just picked fruits and vegetables with the men of the village. They played baseball every Sunday and toward the end I'd go and play with them. After that I went to school and taught English for 3 hours a day.

It's made me realize the opportunities I do have here in the United States - how blessed I am. To work hard for in the opportunities I've been given, especially academics.

One of the most important things I learned was "Nica Time." It changed my life. Schedules weren't set in stone. The people that you meet along the way are priority. If you run into someone, you get caught up and talk to them for 15 to 20 minutes, but that time is what's valuable. That's what's important. It makes me try to slow down here and realize that the people here are as much of an education as the books are.

As far as service and giving myself back to the community, I had this opportunity and need to give it back. It makes me feel good about myself, so I want to continue to give service to the community in whatever little ways. Just to reach people on that spiritual level.

Sarah Friend, anthropology, '05

I went to Malawi. I worked in an orphanage everyday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. I can't sum up what I've learned. I feel like coming back affected me more than going there. The culture shock was much harder coming back. I definitely gained a whole new perspective. I feel like I live a lot more simply, my emotions are more extreme. Now when I'm happy, I'm really happy, and when I'm upset, I'm really upset.

I feel like I know where I'm going. I really want to do the PeaceCorps or JVC. After coming back, I declared anthropology as my major. I just love talking to people, just being with people of other cultures. I went from Italian and Art History, to this. I would have gotten here anyway, I think, but this was definitely a catalyst.

The pace of life is so different. And you realize everything you don't need. Learning about their culture really opened my eyes to our culture here. The Jean Donovan Fellowship is an amazing opportunity. Why not do this? Ultimately it's to help other people, and to help yourself. I used to feel guilty any time I was unhappy. I'd think I shouldn't be upset, I have so much. I'm going to school, I have a wonderful family, I have friends, but you can't really help people until you've helped yourself, so it's important to take that time. If someone has this chance, how can someone say no?

Jon Heit, religious studies/political science, '05

I found out about the Fellowship while working on a paper. Aaron Uchikura walked in my room and asked if I wanted to go to Russia. I said sure and we applied for the Fellowship. I guess I would classify that as word-of-mouth.

I went to Moscow, Russia for about three weeks. I worked in three different orphanages and in one hospital. Aaron and I would play with the kids when we first arrived at two of the orphanages, do manual labor for most of the day, and play with them once more before going home.

On Thursdays, we went to an orphanage for children between 4 and 18 years old who had some sort of disability. We would take them outside and have lunch. We basically just gave them attention, affection and fell in love with them. I still call them "my kids." We only got to go to the hosiptal once, but it was for orphans younger than two. We got to spend the day helping the nurses feed and hold them.

I don't think I could possibly explain how it has changed my life in a single newspaper article. But, in the most basic way, I can say that it has changed not only my perspective but me in my entirety. Now I have a lot of very challenging questions about what to do with as an educated American male. I now have a far greater understanding of the power and privilege that comes with such a classification. I've seen innocent children who have been abandoned and cast aside. And I've held those same kids as they've laughed and smiled. That kind of opportunity doesn't come along too often and it was wonderful to be able to partake in it.

When I decided to go, I thought I was primarily interested in international politics and religion. I learned a lot more than academics. What started as a matter of education became a matter of lifestyle.

One of the most important parts of being a Donovan Fellow is bringing the experience back to our campus. Students have to write reports and in some way or another, through holding a dinner or any event, must share their experience with the greater community here.

"It recommits me to the work I do at the university. Out of all the things I do, this is my favorite thing," Laird said. "I think that I learn so much from all the students that come back. It's powerful to see how generous they are, with others, how they really see experience and see their lives with new perspectives. It's incredible. It makes me want to support more students having that experience be it here or another country."