classnews - Bowdoin College

owdoinsider
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Denver Middle-Schoolers Inspired by Bowdoin
“Good morning, Bowdoin College!” Susan Morris ’07
addresses a class of West Denver Prep fifth-graders in
a classroom decorated with Bowdoin banners, photos,
and paraphernalia. Housing Denver’s #1 and #2 Public
Middle Schools, West Denver Prep is a local network of
free, open enrollment, public charter schools that focus
on providing all students with a college-preparatory
education. As part of the culture and emphasis on
preparing students for higher education, each of the
classrooms is named for the alma mater of WDP teachers,
four of whom are Bowdoin alumnae—Susan, Libby Nells
’05, Meaghan Maguire ’08, and Burgess LePage ’07—
all of whom teach writing or math in fully decorated
“Bowdoin” rooms.
“I have students who write “Go U Bears!” on the top
of their bookmarks and homework assignments,” Susan
says. “Our computer background projected on the white
board rotates through images from Brunswick, and my
students regularly follow the wins and losses of Bowdoin
athletic squads.”
Clockwise from right: Meaghan Maguire ’08, Burgess LePage ’07, Libby Nells ’05, and Susan Morris ’07, teach at West Denver Prep in Bowdoin-decorated classrooms.
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SMALL LOANS, BIG DIFFERENCE
“Because supporting microfinance promotes
the Common Good” is the motto
of the “Bowdoin Alumni” lending team
at Kiva.org, a non-profit that bills itself
as the world’s first personal micro-lending
website with a mission to alleviate
poverty. Since they started, the Bowdoin
Alumni group and its founding seven
members have provided 41 loans totaling
just over $1,000.
“Supporting microfinance efforts
throughout the world fit in with our
perception of serving the common
good,” says member Jenny Slepian Begg
’01, “and since [2009], we have sponsored
small business owners, farmers, commu-
12 BOWDOIN SUMMER 2011
nity banks, and women’s collectives.”
The Bowdoin microfinancers hope
to increase their number of alumni team
members, and have set a goal of
making 100 loans by the end of 2011:
www.kiva.org/team/bowdoin_alumni.
“BECAUSE
SUPPORTING
MICROFINANCE
PROMOTES
THE COMMON
GOOD.”