Spring 2009 - Seattle University

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People see other parts of the world with a new perspective and start to really understand the importance of letting go of ethnocentric values,” she says. “This gave me the courage to find true meaning in my life by reaching out to other cultures and their communities.” Doing service in another country was not a foreign construct for Weber, who participated in the university’s International Development Internship Program. In 2006 the program took her to Riobamba, Ecuador, where as an intern she tackled a microcredit project that aimed to involve local indigenous youth in community development and in turn improve their social and economic status. Spanish language classes to area children. After Weber graduated from SU she joined Whitley and the two conceived of a plan to grow the scope of their work and put down roots. “When we were together we realized the enormous potential for starting a school and saw the great demand for a more substantial education,” Whitley says. “The locals have a strong desire for a high-quality English education and that wasn’t being offered.” As nonresidents of the country and without teaching degrees, Weber and Whitley contemplated how to best fulfill the needs of the community. They considered starting an accredited institution but community benefits from the various programs it offers. “We have molded our mission to the needs of Pavones and though our focus is concentrated on the low-income population, we are able to provide services for the large range of socioeconomic backgrounds that make up this small community,” Weber says. “I feel incredibly fortunate to have the opportunity to work with an amazing community and share such a special connection with the locals.” With ECC, it’s not about insinuating their values and personal ideologies on the people of Pavones, Weber says. “Everything that we offer is at the request of the community. “Seattle University gave me the tools to become an empowered individual, capable of making real changes in the world and always believing in myself.” Haley Whitley, ’06 “I had the opportunity to work alongside a culture in Ecuador that though it embodies a vital part of Ecuador’s history, is highly disregarded and marginalized,” she says. “I experienced nothing but warmth and openness from the Chimborazo people as they invited me to talk, eat and dance with them as though I was part of their family.” Costa Rica was chosen for the educational center largely because of Whitley’s history with the region. In high school she took her first trip there and it deepened her understanding of the culture and people. When Whitley returned to Pavones six years later she planned to stay in Costa Rica for a few months but that turned into a year. While there she began tutoring locals and teaching homeschool and found the process arduous and fraught with challenges. Instead, they went the nonprofit route, which afforded them the freedom to serve more community members in more ways. Back home in Oregon, Whitley had a friend who recently formed a nonprofit, Humans for Humanity, which was created to assist low-income communities. Partnering with the nonprofit, which Whitley and Weber did in January 2008, enabled them to get the center off the ground in quick order and legitimize their work. “With a lot of hard work and motivation we created this community center,” Whitley says. While education is at the center of Escuela Camino Claro’s mission, its distinction is that the broad Pavones We are here to listen and support the community as long as they support us.” Witnessing the benefits of their efforts to promote literacy and language in a community more than 3,000 miles from home is gratifying. “The students, children and adults alike are learning, which is the single-most rewarding thing about being a teacher,” Whitley says. “I see the changes happen in front of me every day—several students are bilingual and literate in both Spanish and English now, even after only one year.” A new pilot program the women have started is aimed at high school students in the United States and combines global outreach and cultural integration with service learning. The project launched this past June with eight 8 | People
students from Eugene, Ore., high schools. For three weeks the group acclimated to the Pavones culture, met with community members, including families on the Guaymi (Ngabe) Indigenous Reservation and listened to their stories. The students were briefed on the history of the region through a segment called Life Stories, and teamed up with native students to explore and map Pavones and clean up an area beach. “For most of the students it was an experience that changed their lives forever,” Whitley says. “We were able to enrich the lives of eight students, create income for the Guaymi population in the indigenous reservation and overall improve the relationship between foreigners and local residents.” Whitley hopes to continue the program and broaden it to include a strong environmental component—plans are in the works to open a sustainable recycling center to serve surrounding areas of Pavones. Currently, ECC is funded by private donations—the duo hosts an annual fundraiser in Eugene, Ore.—that cover operational costs. But as they ramp up their services and create new opportunities they hope to line up grant funding. For now Whitley and Weber are celebrating the rewards of their labor. “Seeing the people in Pavones catch on and begin to accept and respect us has been rewarding,” Whitley says. “Raphel and I both knew it would take a lot of work and persistence to gain the trust of the students and parents, but now people take us seriously because we have demonstrated fortitude.” —Tina Potterf Through the Escuela Camino Claro center Haley Whitley (top) and Raphel Weber are providing invaluable educational instruction to children and adults in rural Pavones, Costa Rica. SU Magazine Spring 09 | 9
Page 1 and 2: SPRING 2009 Connecting Seattle Univ
Page 3 and 4: Volume 33 • Issue Number 1 • Sp
Page 5 and 6: Connecting Seattle University Alumn
Page 7 and 8: Nabakaawa is a sister from the Daug
Page 9: People profile Photos courtesy of r
Page 13 and 14: PHOTO BY KENNETH SHOOK Members of t
Page 15 and 16: PHOTO BY BRADEN VANDRAGT Quadstock
Page 17 and 18: good read PHOTOS BY CHRIS JOSEPH TA
Page 19 and 20: Scholarships Shore Up Students’ P
Page 21 and 22: Photography by Chris Joseph Taylor
Page 23 and 24: Book Smarts Anne Farrell is a self-
Page 25 and 26: Legal Mind , ’89 Rufus Yerxa’s
Page 27 and 28: Business Model President of the Uni
Page 29 and 30: Making new connections. Nurturing o
Page 31 and 32: t employers and mentors but also im
Page 33 and 34: my desire to do more for Seattle U,
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Page 37 and 38: Filipino Alumni Come Together In ho
Page 39 and 40: 85 Sharon (Latkovich) Valente recen
Page 41 and 42: Alumni Events Check out more upcomi
Page 43 and 44: profile Photo BY chris joseph taylo
Page 45 and 46: in memoriam Susan, Joan, Bob, John
Page 47 and 48: the good word SU’s Message and Mi

Spring 2009 - Seattle University

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