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Fellowships
Karen Campion '11 and Clare Herceg '11
Karen Campion, from Silver Spring, MD, is a Sociology major with
certificates in Near Eastern Studies and Arabic Language, who
won the Shapiro Prize for Academic Excellence. Clare Herceg,
from Sugar Loaf, NY, is a Woodrow Wilson School major with
certificates in Arabic Language and Culture and in Near Eastern
Studies. Each of them has fashioned a fine academic record, and
each has a strong background in terms of service and
international experience. Each speaks Arabic and has dealt with
Middle East issues, both over there and at U.S. institutions.
There are over 80,000 refugees in the Nablus governate of
Palestine, where Karen and Clare will be carrying out their
project. Many are in four refugee camps with serious problems of
overcrowded schools, high unemployment, poor water and sewage
networks, etc. Over 40 percent of the population is under the
age of 14, and the children are particularly vulnerable –
threatened by the trauma of living in the midst of the ongoing
conflict with inadequate educational opportunities:
Tomorrow’s Youth Organization (TYO), an American NGO that works
in disadvantaged areas of the Middle East, is one of the few
international groups to serve these impoverished refugee
communities. In Nablus, TYO offers high-quality early childhood
programs to enrich children’s social, intellectual and physical
development as creative and engaged citizens. Its core program
is aimed at children 4-8, but also attempts to engage their
parents and train college-age volunteers to assist in the work.
The responsibilities of Karen and Clare will include:
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Teaching classes
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Developing a class curriculum
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Creating an outreach strategy to local refugee camps and to
international media organizations
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Supporting TYO’s existing programs, including women-led
initiatives
Performing a comprehensive needs assessment of the local
communities and suggesting programs to better serve them
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If time permits, assisting TYO in implementing changes.
The Center Director of TYO told us that their challenging goal
is to
establish five centers modeled after the Nablus one by 2013 – a
goal that they feel is more likely to be achieved with the
assistance of Karen and Clare. The projects that Karen and Clare
will be doing would not be accomplished in the near future
without them, and “they will leave a significant impact on TYP
and the refugee community that will outlive their years with
us.” TYO is fully committed to overseeing their work “and
ensuring that they receive the support necessary to complete
it.”
Karen and Clare are not only intelligent and well-organized but
highly motivated and passionate in pursuing their project. As a
student, Karen has been devoted to “the study of human rights
and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict” and is writing her thesis
on Israeli and Palestinian women’s political organizations.
Clare says that “service has defined my life thus far and will
continue to guide it,” and she hopes ultimately “to support and
create national policies regarding the Middle East and the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict in particular.”
After Karen’s internship there this past summer, an official of
the Middle East Institute highly recommended her for playing “an
invaluable role,” and for having “distinguished herself as an
extremely bright and motivated intern,” who was clearly
committed to working in the Middle East and “is just the kind of
American who can have an impact on the lives of young
Palestinians.” Clare’s supervisor for her internship called her
“a truly outstanding person,” who is “one of our most
outstanding volunteers” and expressed the belief that Clare is
“ideally suited for this Fellowship.” And the seminar leader of
the course both Karen and Clare took on Modern Israel (from
Princeton’s Program in Judaic Studies) said that both are
“exceptional students – intelligent, hard working and incredibly
motivated” and that they have “a sense of maturity and
responsibility that is rare among undergraduates.”
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