Student and alumna raise cultural awareness at assembly

Klarissa was selected to participate in the Anti Defamation League's National Youth Leadership Mission to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. last November. As part of this prestigious program, Klarissa met with other student delegates from across the nation as well as many national leaders.

The delegates met with Holocaust survivors, World War II veterans, Darfur activists, diplomats and community leaders, learning about the extremes that can result from unchecked hatred. The centerpiece of the mission was time spent at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, where students learned about the persecution and atrocities of WWII, and delved into contemporary issues of extremism, bigotry and genocide. 

Anne Emerson '04 shared her experiences in Africa, where she lived and traveled in Cameroon while conducting research on science education and its impact on elementary school girls. After graduating from Gettysburg College, Anne was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study why fewer women are choosing to study the sciences in both the United States and Cameroon.

Studies show girls tend to show a loss of interest in math and science, as well as a loss of confidence in their abilities, as early as fourth and fifth grade in the United States. Cameroon experiences the same trends for women, so it seems likely that young girls of the same age there would experience similar feelings of disinterest and self-doubt in these subjects.

Anne's research focuses on the underlying foundation of this tendency by observing fifth-grade elementary school mathematics and science classes in Cameroon.

"Living and doing research in Cameroon really changed the way I think about education, culture, and myself," says Anne.

"The students at the schools where I did research taught me more than I could have ever taught them and I will never forget my new Cameroonian families and friends."

Anne credits her Mayfield education with giving her the drive and courage to take action: "I don't think I would have had the confidence or initiative to take this opportunity if it weren't for Mayfield," says Anne. "At an early age, Mayfield taught me that I could do anything and, more importantly, that I should."