Jordan Bazinsky is a senior pursuing
a degree in Public Policy Studies and currently serves
as Duke1s Student Government President. He co-founded
Durham Direction in 1998, a program that creates field
trips for underprivileged elementary school children
in Durham County. In 1995, he founded Community Assistance
for Cancer Patients, a national program working to aid
children undergoing chemotherapy. Additionally, he spent
the latter half of 1999 studying in South Africa and
traveling through southern Africa. As Chair of Duke's
East Campus Council, he administered a $100,000 budget,
developing programs for 1500 students. Jordan's previous
work includes communications at the Democratic NationalCommittee
and the National AIDS Fund.
Melissa Bird Vogel is a third year student
seeking a major in psychology and minor in English,
in addition to receiving the Film and Video certificate,
for which she plans to study at USC in the spring of
2001. Melissa has great passion for the theatre and
has acted in three major productions at Duke thus far.
Recently, Melissa was a lighting assistant for Birdy,
the Broadway preview at Duke. Melissa will be traveling
to London in the summer of 2000 to study theatre. While
film, photography, and writing are her other great interests,
she believes that through her participation in SOW,
she will be provided with interesting perspectives and
subjects which will fuel exciting future work.
Alex Fattal is a comparative Area Studies
and Spanish double major, specializing in the region
of Latin America with both majors. He has coupled his
academic focus on Latin America with experiential learning,
by studying abroad in Santiago, Chile and doing his
internships resettlingCuban refugees and mentoring Puerto
Rican youths. Alex's interest in experiential learning
grew out of his Participation in Hart Leadership's Summer
Opportunities in Leadership (SOL). For the past two
summers he has been a pilot participant in SOL's Albuquerque,
New Mexico and Cape Town, South Africa placements. On
campus Alex has initiated and coordinated a tutoring
program at the Genesis Home, a halfway house for single
mothers in Durham, and has volunteered with Literacy
Through Photography (LTP).
Jasmin French is a senior pursuing
a major in Public Policy Studies, a minor in French
Studies and a certificate of proficiency in Markets
and Management Studies. Jasmin's interests in international
business provided her with the opportunity to work for
a Fortune 500 Company in Bangkok, Thailand in the summer
of 1999. Additionally, she was recently elected to her
second term as Vice President for Student Affairs for
the Duke Student Government. An organization with fifty
members and an annual budget of $600,000, the Duke Student
Government is the largest student organization on campus.
Upon graduation, Jasmin plans to pursue a career in
Management Consulting or Investment Banking with plans
to enter a JD/MBA program.
Alexis Highsmith is a Trinity Senior,
who has always had an interest in engaging in work that
would take her abroad. She is pursuing a degree in History
with a minor in political science. Alexis is a sport
enthusiast and plays for the Duke Women's soccer team.
She is a captain for this year's team. Also at Duke,
Alexis serves as Co- Chair of the Undergraduate Judicial
Board, which is responsible for adjudicating cases where
Duke's Honor and Judicial Codes have been violated.
Alexis is also a member of Duke Student Government (DSG),
serving as the organization's Chief Justice. In this
position, Alexis is responsible for upholding the Constitution
and By-laws of DSG. Finally, Alexis serves as her team's
representative for the Student Athlete Mentor Program,
which acts as a liaison between the athletic department
and Duke's student-athletes. Upon graduation, Alexis
plans to attend law school, and pursue a career in international
law.
Michael Krems is an Economics major
and English minor. Previously, Mike has participated
in Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado. This organization
constructs hiking and biking trails in newly designated
and existing state parks. In the fall of 1999, Mike
had the opportunity to spend one semester studying at
the University of Cape Town, in South Africa. Mike felt
that this experience opened his eyes to the global disproportion
of wealth and the fact that every country is not as
materially fortunate as America. He also learned of
the "global face" that permeates our world
and freely crosses over known boundaries.
Patrick Lanier graduated after his
junior year as a Pre-Med student with a BA in Religion
and a Certificate in Neuroscience. In addition to having
been born and raised in France, he has had a substantial
experience living and working abroad, as well as bringing
together people from different cultures. He has worked
in an Emergency Room in a Paris hospital, in an orphanage
in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, in a youth center in Huatabampo,
Mexico, and most recently in various villages in Honduras
for a local NGO seeking to ameliorate and organize the
lives of the rural masses there. Upon graduation, he
spent the summer finishing his Neuroscience research
project and currently is working for The Advisory Board
Company, a Health Care consulting firm, in Washington,
DC. He plans to apply to Medical School in the summer
of 2001.
Nitin Motwani is a Trinity Senior majoring
in Political Science and Comparative Areas Studies.
He plans on graduating in December of 2000 but will
remain at Duke doing research for most of next semester.
When not at Duke he will be working for his family in
the hotel business doing advertisement and will be attending
one of the world's largest travel/hospitality shows
in Berlin. He will also travel to Japan, Thailand, and
India. During his free time he has visited Egypt, Nepal,
Tibet, and Russia. In the summer of '99 he conducted
grant-based research in London, backpacked throughout
Europe, and studied at Oxford. The following semester
he spent in Madrid, totaling seven consecutive months
that he lived in Western Europe. This past summer he
traveled with Students of the World to Russia for two
weeks and spent the remainder of the time working for
Goldman Sachs where he has recently accepted an offer
for full time employment next year. While at Duke, Nitin
has been philanthropy co-chair for his fraternity, Kappa
Sigma, and was the co-founder for Students to Unite
Duke (STUD), an organization aimed at increasing social
integration on campus. STUD's most recent event had
an estimated 2,000 people in attendance, over 25% of
the campus. Nitin has also remained extremely active
in "Kids in Distress" an organization for
abused and abandoned children in Ft. Lauderdale, for
the past six years.
Karla Portocarrero is a second year
student in Trinity College with a strong interest in
public policy and international relations. She was born
in Nicaragua and immigrated to the United States in
1987. In Miami, she worked extensively with the Parent-Teen
AIDS Prevention Program, which promotes AIDS through
seminars and functions at hospitals and high schools
in Miami-Dade County. As a council member in Mi Gente,
a Latino organization on campus, Karla co-coordinated
activities that promoted student cultural interaction
on campus. During her remaining years at Duke, she plans
on working with the Hispanic population in Durham, as
well as creating programs that will improve Duke-Minority
employee relations.
Courtney Spence is a third year student
in Trinity College, majoring in History and minoring
in Political Science. Courtney recently spent the summer
of 1999 working as an intern for the TBWA Chiat-Day
Advertising Agency in London, England. Her passion for
the care for cancer patients has lead her to volunteer
with the Duke Cancer Patient Support Group for the past
year. In addition to this, she has recently begun volunteering
with the Durham area Head Start Program. She has also
been a summer camp counselor with Camp Grey Dove, a
camp sponsored by the Austin Area Candlelighters. On
the Duke campus, she also serves on the Hart Leadership
Student Advisory Committee. Upon graduation, Courtney
looks to spend a great deal of time abroad, perhaps
working with children or with the U.N.
[SOW
team 2004: Havana, CUBA]
[SOW
team 2003: Guanajuato, MEXICO]
[SOW
team 2002: PERU & INDIA]
[SOW
team 2001: Havana, CUBA]
[SOW
team 2000: Kaluga, RUSSIA]
