‘The world’s in good hands’
December 17th, 2018 | SIT Graduate Institute
New group of changemakers complete MA requirements
Friends, family, faculty, and staff gathered at 91精品 on December 14 to celebrate students鈥 completion of their master鈥檚 degree programs in a ceremony that capped an intense week of final capstone presentations.
鈥淭he world鈥檚 in good hands with this group of students,鈥 declared Dr. Bruce Dayton, chair of SIT鈥檚 peace and justice programs and lead facilitator of the capstone seminar and recognition ceremony. 鈥淲hen those dark clouds come rolling in, when you pick up the paper or hear the news, it鈥檚 easy to be filled with despair. The antidote to that is the capstone seminar.鈥
During the previous week, 12 students presented their final capstone projects in subjects ranging from sustainability in the cacao industry to challenges for transgender students studying abroad. In brief remarks at the final ceremony, SIT President Dr. Sophia Howlett announced that all completed programs had been approved, and she invited the students to participate in SIT鈥檚 annual commencement ceremony in May. 鈥淏ut today is about you, about your capstones and your experience,鈥 she added.
Dayton advised the students: 鈥淕o forth, create new things, let your voices be heard, share all you know, and be generous.鈥
One student who was not present was Katherine Hodgson, who died in August at her home in Portland, Maine, while completing the reflective practice phase of her MA in International Education. 鈥淜atie loved SIT. She wanted to learn, showed up for class, didn鈥檛 mind being asked questions, and shared the ideas of her research,鈥 said Dr. Sora Friedman, chair of SIT鈥檚 International Education program. Although her research was unfinished, it has still benefited the communities and organizations where she lived and worked, she noted.
Katie鈥檚 mother Susan went through her work and submitted an extensive final report to complete the program so that her daughter could receive a posthumous degree.
Four MA candidates focused their capstones on refugees and human rights. For his final Sustainable Development project, Ahmad Momeni of Afghanistan created a detailed monitoring and evaluation plan for the refugee services program of Islamic Relief USA in North Carolina.
Kenneth Mukonyezi, who is originally from Uganda and is seeking asylum in the United States, was one of five Global Scholars from migrant communities who received full scholarships from SIT Graduate Institute in 2016. In his Peacebuilding and Conflict Transformation capstone, which looks at how several Boston-based nonprofit organizations support refugees and asylum-seekers, Mukonyezi argues that 鈥渇ar too often communities treat refugees almost as charity cases instead of full members of their community entitled to their rights,鈥 said Dayton.
Two others also earned their MAs in Peacebuilding and Conflict Transformation. Marko Lundgreen Carrasco examined how human rights defenders in Columbia and Mexico are affected by state-sponsored violence and the role peace journalism can play in nonviolent campaigns. Dayton called his work 鈥減ath-breaking鈥 and said it 鈥渟tands at the forefront of activism and peacebuilding.鈥
Betty Dusenge originally came to SIT from Rwanda to participate in SIT鈥檚 CONTACT summer peacebuilding program, then returned a year later to join the MA program in Peace and Conflict Transformation. This week, Dusenge opened her capstone presentation 鈥 a study of genocide survivors and perpetrators 鈥 by asking everyone in the classroom for their definition of courage. Citing her tenacity in overcoming challenges to complete her MA, Dayton said, 鈥淭hat鈥檚 my definition of courage.鈥
Dayton also lauded the work of Taliesin Haugh of the SIT Sustainable Development program as 鈥渁 case study in optimism.鈥 Haugh created a five-year plan for sustainability at SIT that 鈥渨ill also save the planet鈥 through permaculture and responsible land use.
In her capstone, Mary Duggan of SIT鈥檚 Intercultural Service, Leadership, and Management program 鈥渁nswered the question of whether the kind of dynamics, shared learning and community required for experiential education can be translated into an online training format,鈥 Dayton said. 鈥淵our work showed how the values of shared pedagogy can be realized in an online training session. Whether you like digital technology and distance learning or not, it鈥檚 the world we鈥檙e moving into.鈥
Kerstin Roos pursued her MA in sustainable development in part because of a lifelong interest in cooking and baking. The former owner of a fine chocolate emporium in Canada, Roos wanted to better understand how she could support women in the global cacao industry to have a healthy and sustainable livelihood. For her capstone, Roos created a business plan for a a community caf茅 that would support cacao producers around the world.
Friedman praised five International Education MA candidates including Lucy Burriss, who as an English teacher in rural Thailand always invited her students to introduce themselves in their own language, 鈥済iving each person a chance to celebrate themselves and represent their identity in their own words,鈥 Friedman said. 鈥淟ucy鈥檚 work taught us by example how a trainer can bring both their head and their heart to their work; that there is no need to prioritize one over the other.鈥
Nicholas McIntyre worked with undergraduates studying abroad who identify as transgender, and learned that while they experienced significant challenges, they also felt strongly that study abroad had been a transformational experience. 鈥淗is work gives voice to a group of students who are often marginalized and often under-represented in study abroad,鈥 said Friedman, adding that she looks forward to seeing McIntyre鈥檚 continuing research.
Megan Melbourne detailed her work in international education at the University of North Georgia, a military college where many of the students have never traveled. To open doors to global education, Melbourne needed to find out where they were comfortable, so she created 鈥淥utlander Abroad,鈥 a program based on the popular television show Outlander.
Marija Nikolic, who completed SIT鈥檚 international education low-residency program, focused her capstone on U.S. government-funded Fulbright fellowship programs which she found did not offer enough support for students re-entering their own cultures after their fellowships ended. Nikolic created a program to support fellows鈥 re-entry through digital and face-to-face sessions that helped students explore and understand their experiences. Her work 鈥渆xemplifies the core of experiential learning,鈥 said Friedman. 鈥淩eal learning only takes place when a student is given the space to process what they are experiencing.鈥
Another international education student, Stefani Sellers, worked with the International Language Institute in western Massachusetts to develop an international language travel program, including a marketing component, a detailed curriculum, and a budget.