News: Winter Quarter 2009
Renowned Bolivian Scholar and Activist at CLAS
Students, professors, and other members of the greater Stanford community packed the Bolivar House seminar room on Friday, January 23, 2009 to hear Silvia Rivera Cusicanqui speak on the topic "From Tupak Katari to Evo Morales: Política Indígena in the Andes." Professor Rivera Cusicanqui, currently affiliated with the Universidad Mayor de San Andrés in La Paz, Bolivia, has taught throughout the Americas and is the previous director and longtime member of the Taller de Historia Oral Andina. A renowned sociologist, historian, and Aymara activist, she advises President Evo Morales' government on coca issues. Her best known work is Oppressed But Not Defeated: Peasant Struggles Among the Aymara and Quechua in Bolivia, 1900-1980.
9.2.2009
Monica Miller Walsh Symposium
The Monica Miller Walsh Symposium, held on Friday, January 23, 2009, featured presentations by the 2008 recipients of Monica Miller Walsh Undergraduate Summer Internship Grants. Their presentations provided a realistic perspective of the diverse internship opportunities available in Latin America. The grant recipients enlightened their audience not only about the type of work they did last summer, but also about the process of finding an organization to work with, setting up a living arrangement, and interacting with Latin American co-workers.
Anna Ruby Waxham Blackwell, a senior majoring in Spanish & Portuguese and Human Biology, worked with MATRACA, an organization in Xalapa, Mexico
that works with street children. She recounted her summer journey, sharing thoughts about the workshops she led, what it was like working with many male colleagues, and the inner workings and
shortcomings of the NGO. Through her anecdotes and photographs she demonstrated that she truly cared about the children and the work that the organization does for them.
Sophie Theis, a Stanford sophomore, worked with KMD Architects in Mexico City on marketing and environmental education projects. She described her experience trying to find a space for herself in the megalopolis, braving long commutes on packed subway trains, and discovering a burgeoning interest in environmental building practices.
Tess Rothstein, also a sophomore, described the challenges, surprises, and curiosities involved in working with a new equal rights organization in a small town in El Salvador. Brindha Saravanabavanandhan discussed the ins and outs of juggling projects with various nonprofit groups as well as the culinary treasures and wonderful people that she and Emily Dansereau, both juniors majoring in Human Biology, encountered in Cochabamba, Bolivia.
For information about and application instructions for the CLAS-administered Monica Miller Walsh and Pessoa-Trejos Grants, visit the Undergraduate Summer Internship Grants page.
2.2.2009
Career Day at the Center for Latin American Studies
The Center for Latin American Studies held a Career Development Workshop for students on Friday, January 16, 2009. Sam Rodriguez, Assistant Director and Career Counselor for International Counseling Services at the campus Career Development Center, provided students with useful resources and information about potential international careers and opportunities to work abroad.
The workshop was followed by a panel discussion with four alumni of Stanford Latin American Studies programs who have found themselves working in various fields:
Theresa Hwang (BA 1998 with Honors in LAS)
Current field: International development and global health
Thomas Kohnstamm (MA 2001)
Current field: Publishing (print and online) and film
Andrew Maiman (MA 1988)
Current field: Business development
David Radel (MA 1995; JD 1999)
Current field: Asylum/refugee affairs
The panelists elaborated on their achievements during and after their Stanford experience as well as the path they took that helped them get to their current career paths. After the panel, students engaged in one-on-one conversations with the alumni while enjoying refreshments provided by Bolivar House. It was a wonderful way to kick off the new year with valuable insight from Latin American Studies alumni.
28.1.2009