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| Return to CIE On Campus Activities & Biographies |
Fall
2002 - Spring 2003
New CIE Center Members
Frank McNerney f.mcnerney@verizon.net
Hi.
My background differs from most of the degree candidates in education
since my experiences have been in the world of finance, banking and
technology. Why the change? Well, I had two recent experiences that
changed my outlook: both involved visits to countries that were attempting
to change a small part of an education system using methods that were
different than the standard classroom approach. I was intrigued and
wanted to know more about alternative education forms, especially those
that involved technology. I think I can add something to the ongoing
conversation about this type of education given my "outside"
experiences. So, the teacher came along when the pupil was ready; I
met George Urch one day and the rest is history.
I'm very excited to be part of CIE; I only wonder why it took me so long to find out it was here in my own backyard. I have lived in Amherst for the last nine years during which I have been involved with a number of activities. Before coming to CIE I was part owner in a small software business. It was an interesting and challenging entrepreneurial experience that I would like to replicate in a developing country someday. I am also the current Chairperson for the Amherst Planning Board; a position that most people would say involves some interesting political challenges, given the nature of the town's residents. I like it though, the diversity of interests help make this town a vibrant community. I have two children in the Amherst school system: my daughter, Tara (age 15) and my son Eric (12), where I have also worked as a substitute teacher.
As for hobbies, I like to cycle
in the summer and cross-country ski in the winter. And I have always
enjoyed traveling, from my student days as a Russian major at the University
of Leningrad (that dates me) to a trip last summer to northern India.
In the previous year during my wife's sabbatical our family visited
Australia for six months, where Tara and Eric went to school. I really
enjoy the cultural experiences from visiting countries but now I would
like to work in some of these places to deepen my understanding.
A total of twelve new members were welcomed in September 2002 - ten Masters candidates and two Doctoral candidates. CIE's continuing participation in the Muskie Fellows program brings us six new students from Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia and Georgia. Other new members come from Bangladesh, Ghana, Peru, Uganda and the US.
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Greetings!! My name is Tamari
Nduaguibe and I have come to the Center for International Education
to earn my masters degree. I plan to work and live internationally,
in developing countries, and am eager to prepare myself professionally
through diverse learning experiences I expect to partake in
here. I am particularly thankful for the rich diversity present
in my fellow students, and the wealth of knowledge they also
bring into the classroom.
My
background is as an educator. I obtained my bachelors degree
in early childhood education from Keene State College back in
1988. I then worked as a preschool teacher for 4 years in New
Hampshire. In 1993 I joined the Peace Corps and served as a
volunteer in Namibia, training lower primary teachers in a college
of education. It was there that I met my husband, Henry, a Nigerian
volunteer also stationed in Ongwediva. Following our marriage
and volunteer commitments, we were both hired for five more
years of work, I through the Peace Corps as a program assistant
to support the initiatives of the Basic Education Support Project,
and he as a lecturer with the Ministry of Agriculture and the
University of Namibia. As we continued to work in Namibia we
were blessed with two excellent children - Alex Ucheze (now
aged 5), and Chikacha Daniel (now aged 3).
As a family, we desire to grow in the knowledge of God and pray
that one day we will serve Him as full-time missionaries in
many parts of the world. We also enjoy traveling, camping, hiking,
yard-sailing, and just spending time together as a family. On
a personal note, I thoroughly enjoy good coffee, and spending
time at the beach, as well as growing as a mom! top
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Olga Okhlopkova ookhlopk@educ.umass.edu
Hi, there! I'm from Russia, Siberia, the Sakha Republic (Yakutia). It is in the north-east of the Russian Federation. I have a big family -- my Mom, three elder brothers and one younger brother, two nephews and a niece. I have very good friends whom I can rely on for support.
Back
home, I worked for five years as an English teacher in the
English Department of the Faculty of foreign languages at
Yakutsk State University. I love teaching students. It is
noble and demanding work and it keeps you young. After graduating
from the University in 1989, I worked at a secondary school
for a short time, and then worked for a youth social organization
as a project coordinator. Subsequently, I worked as a translator
for foreign construction companies with projects in the
North. It was a good experience that gave me a perspective
on multicultural business environments.
In the 2000 I started my post-graduate
study in education. My thesis was "Paradigm of interdisciplinary
approach to foreign language teaching in the context of
multicultural education." Here at UMass, I would like
to continue and extend my field of research in international
and comparative education. I believe that my skills and
new knowledge gained here will help my home university to
become more involved with the world educational process.
In my free time I love dancing, swimming, aqua aerobics
classes, traveling, learning new things and foreign languages.
Jennifer W. Cannon jwcannon@educ.umass.edu
A
local resident of the Pioneer Valley for the past twelve years,
Jennifer has been a practitioner in the fields of primary school
multicultural education, domestic violence/violence against
women, and social justice in higher education. As former Director
of the Amherst College Community Outreach Program, Jennifer
created models for social justice organizing, strengthened and
developed partnerships with community-based organizations in
the Latino neighborhoods of South Holyoke, worked with Five-college
faculty to develop community-based learning classes, and established
a Cuba program to educate college students about the damaging
effects of the US blockade. As a community organizer Jennifer
has been involved with campaigns against the Gulf War and the
occupation of Palestine, has led anti-racism and white privilege
workshops, has organized with the Western Mass Global Action
Coalition and has supported Latin American solidarity work through
her involvement with Witness for Peace. Jennifer is deeply concerned
about the impending war against Iraq and urges her colleagues
to get involved with international peace and justice efforts.
She has worked internationally in Orissa, India; Zanzibar, Tanzania; Xela, Guatemala; Havana, Cuba. Her areas of professional interest include-popular education, social movement building, liberation education, Latin America, US cities, transnational linkages, grassroots community development, youth-centered political education.
Nino Chubinidze nchubini@educ.umass.edu
Greetings!
I am from Tbilisi, Georgia, one of the former Soviet countries
in the Caucasus. I'm a first year master's student at CIE.
This is my first visit in USA. I was selected as one of
the 29 Muskie fellows from Georgia for 2002-2004 study program.
My participation in Muskie fellowship program, in the field of Education Policy, was motivated by my desire to apply my knowledge, skills and experience in one of the most important fields of education, and thus, make more effective input into the process of democratic development of my country.
My nine years of study at the faculty of Psychology in Tbilisi State University between 1983 and 1992 was very important in terms of my personal and professional development. After graduating, I worked in formal education for twelve years in Tbilisi State University. From 1994 to the present I've been teaching courses of practical psychology, experimental and general psychology at the Psychology Department of Tbilisi State University.
I've also been working in the field
of non-formal education for five years in a Georgian non-governmental
organization "International Center for Civic Culture".
During the last five years I have participated in more than
20 educational projects in the non-governmental sector with
representatives of almost all strata of Georgian society.
This gave me the opportunity to analyze the process of implementation
of democratic principles and values in the society. I think
this experience was most productive for me as a person.
I have also been collaborating with many national and international
NGOs in Georgia n the field of Gender end Women's Rights.
Luis Martin Valdiviezo Arista lvaldiviezo@educ.umass.edu
I was born in Lima, Capital of Peru, during the summer of 1965. My family belongs to the provincial middle class. Because of my father's job, we spent most of our school vacations in rural areas on Peruvian Coast, the Andes and sometimes the Peruvian Jungle. Making friends in different places, I discovered both multi-culturalism and the geographical and biological diversity of my country. As a teenager, I was shocked by the novels of Garcia Marquez and Hermann Hesse, and the poetry of Martin Adan and Jorge Luis Borges.
I
studied philosophy at Universidad Catolica del Peru
where I presented my thesis: "The World, treatise of
light, a provisional physics based on a mathematical God"
on 1995. As a university student, like millions of others,
I was a witness to the Peruvian Civil war between 1980 and
1993.
During the last seven years, I have
worked as a philosophy professor at Universidad Catolica
del Peru and John XXIII Theological Institute. Also,
I have taught philosophy at ImmaculateHigh School in the
last two years. I am committed to promoting tolerance as
a social and political virtue, and I dream of a peaceful
and worthy world where my sons Luis, Rodrigo, and Adrain
can grow up.
Svetlana Pivovar pivovar@educ.umass.edu
Greetings! I'm a first year master's student at CIE. I come from the European part of Russia. My hometown Sosnovy Bor is situated on the beautiful coast of the Baltic Sea, not far from St. Petersburg.
I've
been working in the field of education for seven years now.
First, as a teacher of the English language and American
studies at a local high school in my hometown, and then
after graduating from Leningrad Region State University,
I started teaching English and linguistics courses to university
students.
The decision to major in Education was to a large extent fostered by my first experience as an exchange student in an American high school. I earned two high school diplomas, a Russian one and an American one. But more than that, I got a unique chance to compare two different educational systems, to see their benefits and discrepancies. When working as a teacher in Russia, I always tried to implement those teaching methods and teaching ideas that I liked in my American high school. It wasn't an easy task to do!
We still need lots of changes in
our educational system as well as in people's attitudes
toward education. That was one of the main reasons why I
decided to pursue my education in the USA. I think that
people's attitudes can be changed through international
exchange. I am interested in learning more about educational
exchange management. My second sphere of interest is comparative
education. I would like to know more about educational systems
in different countries, so that I could help my country
in building the best educational system ever. I hope that
my studies as well as involvement in different projects
in CIE will help me to pursue this goal.
Catherine Mukimba mukimba@educ.umass.edu
I come from the volcanic fertile soils of Mbale District in eastern Uganda where I received my primary and part of my secondary education. I then moved to Kampala for my initial higher education, and later to University of Portland, Oregon for my Masters degree.
My
Makerere University bachelor's degree directly led to several
teaching positions in various urban and rural high schools in
Uganda. From these experiences I came to understand the challenges
of my country's inequitable school system that has inadequate
administrators and instructors. I developed a special interest
in studying administration, policy studies as well as preparing
to work in teacher trainer in tertiary institutions so as to
have a greater multiplier effect.
At various times my professional responsibilities included; Head of economics/business studies Department, student counseling and guidance, and acting as deputy Principal in charge of instruction and curriculum. What I enjoyed most in my experience was being able to guide/mentor students to discover who they were and where they were heading in terms of personal and career aspirations. My successful yet challenging administrative work made me aspire to further education in management and leadership skills.
I am currently pursuing a doctoral program at the Center for International education in the EPRA department. My keen interest is in preparing to work as a teacher trainer in tertiary education and in administration from the international development perspective. I feel UMass' School of Education has very relevant courses to meet my educational goals.
I come from Armenia where I was working as an advisor to the chairman of the Standing Committee on Education, Science, Culture and Youth Affairs of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia. There I was engaged in analyzing and evaluating of the educational policy in the stage of implementation and drafting new educational laws. As a citizen of the country with only 11 years of Independence and lacking the behavior and traditions of a market related system, I wanted to use legislation to help the educational system more effective and to achieve higher internationally accepted standards. The job was fascinating and helpful for my professional carrier.
The
idea of studying in the US first came to my mind when I attended
some lectures at the University of California at Davis. At that
time I was an exchange student of the "TBI-2000: Summer Environmental
Exchange Program" organized by Tahoe-Baikal Institute. This
program was focused on upper-division undergraduate and graduate
students, as well as young professionals with environmental interests
in ecology and limnology, environmental restoration and planning,
cultural preservation, public policy, and resource economics at
two of the world's most remarkable freshwater lakes --Lake Baikal
in Siberia, Russia and Lake Tahoe in California and Nevada.
For my studies at the University of Massachusetts I am interested
in educational policy, leadership and as well as planning issues.
I believe my studies in the Center for International Education will
give me an opportunity to see the Armenian educational system through
a new lens and will help me shape a fresh approach to curriculum
organization, involvement of international experience, and planning
and budgeting issues. As a member of CIE-family I encourage the
communication between people from all over the under the CIE-UMASS
umbrella.
Samuel Oduro-Sarpong is a member of the Akan ethnic group which forms the largest tribe in Ghana. Over the last 12 years he has developed a career in both national and international development programs. His main field of experience has been in the Education and Health sectors particularly working with rural communities. His specialties include community mobilization, project design, management, monitoring and evaluation, participatory training and qualitative research methodologies.
After
his bachelors in Sociology, he did two years of national service
working on UNICEF Assisted projects mainly in water and sanitation
in the Techiman district of Ghana. This initial experience generated
his interest in rural development and communication. Consequently
he pursued a graduate diploma program in Communication studies.
He then became project coordinator with the Primary Health Care
department of a Catholic hospital, where he designed and implemented
health education programs with communities and herbal medicine health
care providers.
Subsequently he joined a Community
Water and Sanitation Project funded by Canadian International Development
Agency in the northern part of the country. He started as Community
Development Specialist/Hygiene and Sanitation officer and ended
up as a Program Manager. From the CIDA project he joined CARE-International
as a Program Coordinator for Health and Education projects when
CARE started its programs in Ghana. As CARE expanded its programs
in the country he became sub-office coordinator/project manager
for a part of the country. Samuel is an advocate of 'community monitoring
indicators', i.e allowing communities to set up their own indicators
for monitoring projects.
Samuel has attended international workshops and conferences, some
as a resource person and others as a participant. Besides his main
qualifications from the University of Ghana, he also has certificates
in Health education from the University of Science & Technology,
Ghana and Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration.
At CIE Sam wants to strengthen
his skills in Planning (systems/programs/projects), evaluation and
research, and develop the skills necessary to work as a consultant.
He is married with three children.
Hi, I am from Kyrgyzstan. I am in the Muskie Graduate Fellowship Program. I am doing my Master's degree in International Education. This will be my second M.Ed. degree. The first was in Teacher Education from the Institute for Educational Development at the Aga Khan University in Pakistan from 1997-1999.
I started my professional career
as a secondary school teacher of ESL in a village. From 1992 I have
been working at Osh State University (OSU) as a lecturer, senior
lecturer, and recently as the Head of the International Relations
Department of OSU. 
My
last position was Chair of Oriental Studies and English Department
of OSU. Also I was actively involved in the activities of the Aga
Khan Education Service (AKES) as a teacher-educator. In 2001 I worked
as a TEFL Coordinator in pre-service training of Peace Corps/Kyrgyzstan.
Every person has dreams. My dream was to get a chance to study in a US university and it came true. It is a wonderful feeling to enter the next stage of life and go back to school. Nevertheless, before coming to US we were told about the cultural shock that foreigners experience upon entering a new culture. Although I've been in the US for the last 4 months, so far I haven't felt yet what cultural shock is. I am sure that it is due to the people, the people at the Center for International Education who have been friendly and helpful -- sharing their rich knowledge and expertise in International Education and advising on academic matters; ready to help in all social problems and many others.
My main purpose of study in
this program is to deepen and enhance my understanding of teacher-education.
I believe that increased theoretical knowledge and practical skills
will enable me to contribute to the improvement and further development
of the education system in my country.
I am (Mary) Monica Gomes My home is in Bangladesh, a country in South Asia. Although I have lived most of my life in the cities of Dhaka and Chittagong, my ancestral roots are in a small village in the southern district of Barisal, close to the Bay of Bengal. I am a Bengalee.
I was a student in Psychology
at the University of Dhaka when the War of Independence (from 
Pakistan)
took place in 1971, and it deeply affected the path I would take
in my career. Trying to join efforts to rebuild the war torn country,
I began working with war-uprooted women and children. Poverty and
misery were all around me. It led me into the whole sphere of development
work. I was initiated into programs of relief and rehabilitation,
non-formal education, health and nutrition, skills training, savings
and loans, group formation, income generating activities, and development
education. I worked mostly with NGOs (non-governmental organizations)
-- local, national and international -- helping to design and manage
development projects.
Working in women's development also inspired me to join the women's movement in Bangladesh, in order to create a bigger impact in the work I was doing. I became an activist and learned the strategies and skills of the movement -- mobilizing, organizing, and leadership; advocacy; street protests and marches; holding press conferences; providing legal aid and solidarity to women/girls who were victims of violence.
I treasure the joys of my family.
I enjoy gardening, cooking, watching movies, listening to music,
and singing. Learning is also a lifelong joy!
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