“It’s a cheesy line,” Iman Azman admits, “but it’s really true. Coming to Carleton has been a life-long dream.”

In a way, she has her dad to thank. When Iman was 12, he took her to a Canadian university fair in her hometown of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

“The Carleton booth was the first one I saw, and the woman there was really nice,” she recalls. “I knew I wanted to take journalism – CNN was always on at breakfast, and I loved to write and talk – and I knew Carleton had the best program.” When it came time for university, this was the only one she applied to.

“It was a bit of a gamble,” she concedes, “but if I hadn’t made it, I would’ve stayed home.”

Today, as Iman winds up her second year in Journalism and Political Science, she has become a Carleton ambassador herself, working for the Student Experience Office. Whether it’s helping serve tea at President Runte’s house, ushering at convocation, or participating in summer orientation, Iman enjoys giving folks a warm impression of Carleton students.

But her biggest responsibility has been to spearhead this year’s Alternative Spring Break (ASB), a program that links classroom learning with community service. She enjoyed participating in ASB during her freshman year, helping at a local school that serves mainly immigrant kids, and wanted to return to the program in a bigger role.

So last summer she found herself planning three ASB projects, including ones in Mexico and Guatemala, and revamping the Ottawa project to focus on poverty and homelessness.

The Ottawa team volunteered at a number of local organizations, from a drop-in centre to a soup kitchen, got a taste of poverty by living on a $7-a-day budget, and heard guest speakers who’d themselves lived on the street.

“There was real team-building,” Iman says. “At the end of the week, it was really hard to say goodbye to these 13 people. Luckily, I still see them around campus.”

She says the experience taught her not to be worried about reaching out to street people – even if it’s just to smile and say hello. She also learned organizations always need help. “Not enough students know about Carleton’s resources to connect them with local groups,” she says, pointing to the Student Experience Office Days of Service program as an example.

Planning for the three ASB projects – pulling together a fundraising plan, background reading, orientation sessions, and other logistics – meant she learned great skills: being quick on her feet, customer service, organization (“when you have to get up at 6:30 on Saturday morning to get to campus for 7:30, you’re pretty organized”).

Despite all that, Iman has carved out time for other interests. She serves on the executive of Carleton’s chapter of Journalists for Human Rights, maintains a blog, and is an avid photographer who sells some of her work for charity. She has also developed a passion for hockey (“back home the guys are really into soccer, but nothing compares to the fanaticism for hockey here”).

“I’m involved in so many things I feel a bit of pressure,” she admits. But that hasn’t cut into her academic achievements quite yet: last year, Iman was named a K. Phyllis Wilson Scholar.

Adrian’s course explores three human rights systems – the Americas, Africa and Europe.  Students examine one human rights violation in each of those areas, and trace it from the ground all the way the United Nations.  Far from relying on readings and textbooks, Adrian presents her students with real life case studies that include a woman in Argentina whose three children have disappeared, and child soldiers in Africa.

“It can be kind of boring learning about institutions,” says Adrian. “But if you engage the students in the first week with a real person, a real family, a real set of circumstances, who take cases to the regional domestic courts, and from there to the regional human rights system, and from there, they take it to the UN, then the understanding and engagement is different.”

Adrian has also included an anthropological perspective to the course through the inclusion of resistance hip hop.

“It brings in that voice of resistance,” says Adrian, “and it fits in very well with the human rights themes, because it brings in someone who’s commenting on what’s happening.”

Adrian encourages her students to listen to resistance hip hop and apply it to the themes they are exploring the course. The “extra-credit challenge,” involves finding a piece of hip hop resistance music, and submitting it to Adrian for discussion in class.

“I have between two and six different submissions, typically.  They have to give me the link and the lyrics and they have to write a paragraph on why they think that this particular song is important for us to listen to, and they have to make the case for it,” she says. “And at the beginning of class they come up to the front and they explain why they’ve chosen this song and how it links to that week’s themes or readings, or our general discussion.”

Adrian has also arranged for Roméo Dallaire to visit the class to discuss his book, They Fight Like Soldiers, They Die Like Children: The Global Quest to Eradicate the Use of Child Soldiers.

“He’s going to speak about child soldiers in Africa, which is exactly what we’re studying,” says Adrian. In preparation for his visit, she screened the documentary film, Blood Diamond. She hopes that Dallaire, having worked with regional human rights systems in Africa, will be able to show her students some practical realities, as he sees them.

Introduction to Law is a required course for the ArtsOne cluster, Human Rights and Democracy. The cluster focuses on politics, law and human rights, and the relationship between them.

If Martha Chertkow finds time to sleep, it’s not clear when.

The fourth-year student in Carleton’s Bachelor of Public Affairs and Policy Management (B.PAPM.) program has tackled everything from Parliament Hill to Darfur with equal gusto. And she’s made sure to spare enough time for sports, music and contributions to student life in Kroeger College, where her degree program is housed. Her academics haven’t suffered either: she was named a finalist this year in one of the world’s most prestigious academic awards, the Rhodes Scholarship.

As Elaine Rouleau, the Kroeger College administrator, puts it: “Martha seems to be able to pack 30 hours into every day. I have no doubt she will end up exactly where she wants to be.”

But Martha shrugs off such amazement this way: “You just have to be motivated about what you do.”

Her activity level is nothing new. In high school, she volunteered with NGOs in Botswana, Guatemala and Costa Rica; helped establish the McGill chapter of Students Taking Action Now: Darfur; and raised funds for such charities as CARE and the Kalahari Peoples Fund.

It all fuelled her passion for social justice. But, she says, “As I kept reading articles and reports, I realized that if I wanted to make a difference in public policy, I’d have to get involved in politics. That’s why I came to Carleton.”

And she did get involved. She volunteered for Glen Pearson, the Liberal critic for international development in Parliament. That led to a part-time job as his research assistant. She served as a special assistant to a second MP, and landed one summer in the constituency office of a third.

She says, “It was energizing to study politics at Carleton and then get the tangible and practical perspective on the ground, and put the two together.”

On campus she’s Vice-President of Policy and Academic for the Kroeger College student society, where last year she wrangled professors, Green Party leader Elizabeth May, and four Kroeger students to compete in a trivia night, dubbed “Are You Smarter than a Kroeger Kid?” Top spot was shared by May and Patrick Salonius, then a first-year Kroeger student. Martha is organizing another session – a fun take on the college’s traditional policy discussions with Parliamentarians – for Feb. 1.

As if that’s not enough, she’s performed in “The Vagina Monologues” for the past four years, plays French horn in the Carleton Chamber Music Ensemble, is on intramural teams in soccer and basketball, and helps ease immigrants into Ottawa life as a youth host at the Catholic Immigration Centre.

She parlayed all that into an internship last summer with the International Labor Organization in Geneva. Despite folks who told her she didn’t stand a chance, she landed the position after sending resumes to 70 U.N. offices. “Being surrounded by all those interns with fascinating life stories from around the world was an incredible experience,” she says.

Martha hopes to work in post-conflict reconstruction and transitional justice when she graduates, but meanwhile says her wide-ranging passions will pay off: “I believe you need to have more than one specific understanding of the world,” she says. “Only then are you able to find a solution that truly appreciates the complexity of any issue at hand.”

Jonah Brotman, BA’07, knows the value of student internships.  His career was inspired by one.

In 2006, the communication studies major went to Ghana, where he stayed with a local family and worked at an all-gospel radio station, writing news updates.

The trip was organized through an African non-governmental organization.

Jonah Brotman (left), in Sandema, Ghana, during the construction of a new orphanage for boys called the Horizon Children's Centre.

But Jonah returned feeling the NGO didn’t offer him exactly what he wanted.  “It was hard for them to understand the realities of what a 20-year-old Canadian kid wants to do,” he explains.  “It was a fun trip, though, so I wondered why not bring the experience to other students.”

That’s how, during his last year at Carleton, Jonah found himself setting up Operation Groundswell, a non-profit organization that gives 18-to-30 year-olds the chance to travel, know the locals, and volunteer for community-building projects.

Those projects vary from building a school in Guatemala to working on sports programs in Rwanda.

This summer, the non-profit group is mounting 20 trips.

Between projects, the travelers will also do the usual backpacker-style sightseeing.  The ratio of travel to volunteering varies from trip to trip, offering welcome variety to Groundswell’s 200 participants.

That’s a far cry from 2007, when Jonah enlisted just 11 students – mostly “friends and friends of friends,” he admits.  Most were Carleton students.

Jonah says this university is still an active source of participants, but now clients hail from across the country, and the U.S. and England as well.

To underscore the humanitarian focus, each participant must raise $1,000 that’s fully used for microfinance loans, in-country projects and carbon offsetting.

For Jonah, the ultimate satisfaction is bringing young people abroad: “Very few have gone to the developing world.  It opens their eyes to the fact people are people everywhere.”

He and business partner David Berkal see their mission as breaking Western apathy.  “We’re seeing our alumni do great things now,” he proudly says.  “Young people are the future change-makers.  Real change in the world will come from them.”

Meanwhile, he says the holistic experience participants experience is “the coolest tutorial you could ever take.”

For more information: www.operationgroundswell.com.

Josh Greenberg, of the School of Journalism and Communication, and Sheryl Hamilton, of the Department of Law and the School of Journalism and Communication, received the award along with 10 other faculty members.

The Graduate Mentoring Award for faculty, recently established by the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs, in collaboration with the Office of the Vice-President (Research and International), recognizes faculty who demonstrate exceptional supervision and guidance to graduate students.

Faculty are nominated by colleagues or by graduate students, with the endorsement of the chair of the academic unit.

Josh Greenberg was praised for taking “a personal interest in our work while allowing us to explore our own ideas and approaches.  He is our strongest advocat, actively seeking and supporting funding and publishing opportunities for our research.”

One student said of Sheryl Hamilton, “[she] has been, since my first days in the department, a true inspiration and a brilliant mentor.”

Greenberg and Hamilton will be honoured, along with the other award recipients, at a reception on November 30.

Members of Carleton University Debate and Speech (CUDS) were prominently featured in the teams that “broke” to quarterfinalists and beyond. A team featuring CUDS alumni Adam Coombs, a former President, reached the quarterfinals stage, a hybrid team featuring current CUDS member Waleed Malik and CUDS alumni Emma Robillard Cole made an appearance in the semi-finals while the CUDS team featuring Romeo Maione and Simon Cameron debated their way to the finals.

A number of CUDS alumni made an appearance in the top twenty speakers. Adam Coombs was ranked as the third speaker, Emma Robillard Cole was fourth, Romeo Maione was ranked 6th, Waleed Malik 14th and Simon Cameron 20th. In addition to that, CUDS own Cameron Climie was also anointed top novice speaker at the tournament.

An unprecedented result for CUDS at one of the most competitive tournaments of the year.

–
Waleed Malik
President
Carleton University Debating Society
www.carletondebate.org

CBC Radio personality honoured by Huron – UWO Western News

Rick Cluff, host of CBC Radio’s popular morning show, “The Early Edition” will be honoured by Huron University College on Monday, June 14 as part of the Convocation celebrations.

Students from Huron’s Faculty of Arts and Social Science will receive their university diploma at the Convocation ceremony held at Alumni Hall from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on June 14.

Prior to the Convocation ceremony, Huron will hold its own Celebration of Graduands at 12:30 p.m. in the Kingsmill Room
where Cluff, a Huron alumnus, will be awarded the 2010 Huron University College Medal of Distinction and address the graduates.

The Huron University College Medal of Distinction was established to recognize individuals whose life achievements set an example of excellence and reflect Huron’s arts and social science mission. Such achievements include noteworthy contributions to scholarship, to public service, to Huron University College, or to the local community. Previous recipients include Neil Hetherington, Joan Barfoot, and Jane Roy.

2010 MEDAL OF DISTINCTION AWARD RECIPIENT – Rick Cluff
Rick Cluff has been the host of “The Early Edition” since September of 1997. Prior to that, Cluff’s voice was well-known as an award-winning sports commentator and journalist. He has appeared as a host, reporter or commentator on a number of different CBC Radio and Television programs.

Leaving sports to return to news and current affairs was actually a return to his roots. Cluff began his career with CBC Radio in 1976 as a reporter/editor in the national radio newsroom. Two years later, he moved to the national sports department for what was supposed to be a “temporary” assignment. That temporary assignment lasted 20 years, during which time he traveled the world reporting on the accomplishments of Canadian athletes at home and abroad.

He has been a student of the political process which served him well during his years covering amateur sports, especially the Olympics Games. Cluff has reported on eight Olympic Games, the Commonwealth Games, the Masters, Canadian, British and U.S. Open golf championships, the Superbowl, Grey Cup and Stanley Cup championships, as well as many individual sports world championships from the South Pacific to the Arctic Circle. In 2000, Rick was made a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.

Cluff has a degree in Political Science from Huron University College and a degree in Journalism from Carleton University
in Ottawa.

Pembroke native and Fellowes High School graduate Cassandra Demers will be spending this winter away from the ice and snow, but she isn’t hitting the beach.

Instead, the third year Carleton University student will be heading to the west coast of Africa to help out with an effort to educate the youth in Ghana.
For the next four months after the Christmas holidays, Ms. Demers is volunteering with the Ghana National Education Campaign Coalition (GNECC).  Formed in 1999, it is a network of civil society organizations, professional groupings, educational/research institutions and other practitioners interested in promoting quality basic education for all.

With a current membership of about 200 organizations, its philosophy sees education is a fundamental human right and key to breaking the cycle of poverty. Through their work the group hopes to encourage the Ghanian government to do more for the education of their people.

What Ms. Demers will be doing is traveling to different school rooms and facilities within the country in order to help determine how effective their work is in improving access and quality of education for the country’s children.

“I’ll be going around collecting information and input to see how effective this is and how it is working,” she said, focusing on some of their new programs.

By the end of her tour, she is to write up a draft evaluation report and present it to the organization.

Based out of Accra, the nation’s capital, she is one of two volunteers working with the GNECC and will be staying with a host family during her time there.

The work is ideal for Ms. Demers, who is currently working on her Bachelor of Public Affairs and Policy Management.

Her specialty is development studies, and she has had a great interest in it and global issues.

I heard about the GNECC during my co-op program in Carleton University, when I did an internship with the World University Service of Canada,” she recalled. Part of that effort included working with Students Without Borders, with whom she was arranging placements in Ghana.

Feeling it was a worthy cause, she volunteered to help out, both for gaining a lot of hands-on experience in the field of development work, and as research for her thesis paper, which she needs to deliver in her fourth year of studies.

Needless to say, Ms. Demers is very excited about her upcoming assignment.

“I know it sounds corny, but I’m really passionate to help people, and I love learning about other cultures,” she said.

What really ignited this spark is a 10-day service learning project in Mexico she and the class took part in while in first year university. While doing this, she volunteered to work two days for Habitat for Humanity, helping to finish building and painting a primary school.

“That was the most amazing experience of my life,” Ms. Demers said, and it confirmed for her she is on the right career path to do overseas development work.

She said everyone in town, her family and friends have been so supportive of her decision. A fundraising dance was held Saturday evening at the Shady Nook Recreation Hall to help her with her expenses.

Her flight leaves Jan. 7, and Ms. Demers expects to be on her way back April 30, returning to Canadian soil May 1.

“I’m planning on taking a lot of pictures,” she said, and is looking forward to sharing them.

Ms. Demers is also anticipating getting as much out of these next four months as she is planning to put into them through her work, just through learning about the culture of the people of Ghana.

“As much as I’m doing there, I think I’ll be bringing as much back with me.”

Lisa Monette knew she wanted to do something for her class project that would have a lasting impact.

Monette, a Rotary World Peace Fellow at Chulalongkorn University, joined forces with three other peace fellows who were thinking along similar lines. Together, they dreamed up A Million Acts of Peace, an effort they launched online 27 August to encourage one million people to carry out one act of peace each.

“The idea sort of grew out of the thought that people can do little things that may not mean that much,” Monette says.

“But if you have a million people doing little things, you can have a big impact.”

Monette’s collaborators include Gregorio Hernandez Jr., a major in the Philippine army; Raseema Alam, a peace-building trainer and   consultant from Canada; and Virender Singh Malik, a retired colonel from India. All have now completed thecthree-month program. In addition to the Web site, the peace fellows created a page on Facebook and are heavily promoting their effort through Twitter.

Their Web site defines an act of peace as “anything you do to further your understanding of another person, place or culture.” It can also include efforts that help the vulnerable, outcast, or needy. So far, Monette says the group has tallied about 150 acts of peace, counted as people e-mail them or contact them via Facebook.

“Communication really is the key to preventing conflict. And dialogue is the key to solving conflict,” she adds. “If we can get people talking and working together with others, we have achieved our goal.”

Monette was sponsored for the Rotary World Peace Fellowships program by the Rotary Club of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

She took a short leave from her job as a spokesperson for the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, specializing in issues related to Asia and terrorism and security worldwide.

She says her grandfather was a Rotarian, and her father, aunts, and uncles participated in the Rotary Youth Exchange program. As a high school student, she took part in a one-week program sponsored by the Rotary Club of Ottawa that brings students to the Canadian capital to teach them about citizenship and develop their leadership skills.

“I fell in love with Ottawa,” says Monette, who attended Carleton University to earn a degree in communications and political science.

She says she and her collaborators hope to hit their mark by the end of the year. But she admits she won’t be terribly disappointed if they fall a bit short of their target: “To get so many people thinking about peace to us is the most important thing.”

They are taking their message to Rotary clubs and districts to solicit as much help as possible.

“We really think this has a good connection to Rotary,” she says. “It fits with Rotary’s values. Rotary is all about peace.”

This year Carleton’s Centre for Voluntary Sector Research and Development (CVSRD), which provides exchange opportunities focused on social development and civil society, will be offering student exchanges to the European Union (EU) for the first time.

Exchanges are now offered in Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom, in addition to those previously offered to Mexico and the United States.

With funding from the International Academic Mobility Initiative, through Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, students travelling to the U.S. or Mexico on exchange will receive a $3,500 stipend, while those chosen for the new EU exchange will receive a $4,000 stipend to assist with exchange costs.

Exchanges are one semester long and tuition is paid to Carleton, so international student fees will not apply to those on exchange.

The centre’s student exchange programs are specifically geared towards those with an interest in civil society, also know as non-profit organizations, non-governmental organizations, or the voluntary sector.

“There is a very pointed purpose.  This is really focused on civil society,” said Sandra Jones, the centre’s student exchange coordinator.  “You don’t necessarily have to be studying civil society [to be chosen to go on exchange], but you can have a strong interest in it, perhpas through volunteer work.  [Civil society] can be your own passion.”

She said students who are simply interested in going on exchange should think about other options.

Jones said everyone from social work students with a passion for non-profit organizations to journalism students interested in writing about NGOSs can apply for this exchange.

Patrick Snider, a second-year political sicence master’s student at Carleton, was on exchange to the University of Texas from January to May 2009.

“It was surprisingly educational in ways I didn’t expect,” he said.

He said it was interesting to see the extensive sorority and fraternity culture, and the different teaching styles in the United States.

Aruna Rajulu, who did her exchange to Mexico City in 2008, said what stood out for her was the opportunity to do a case study while on exchange.  Her case study centered on an organization that provided programs and interventions for street youth in Mexico.

“It’s kind of crazy, the reality some people live,” she said.  “It was fascinating to be able to gain an understanding of the context in which [the organization] operates and the amazing dedication of the people with that sector.”