Name: Erin Bernstein

Title of Program: Reshaping Humanitarianism in Africa

E-mail Address: ebernste@utk.edu

Hometown: Originally Brick, NJ; now Knoxville, TN

Year: Senior

Anticipated Graduation Date: Spring 2009

Description of Program: Analyze the theory behind service-learning and develop the framework for an international service-learning program at the University of Tennessee

Departmental Emphases: Global Studies, African Studies, Sociology

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Rosalind Hackett (Religious Studies) and Dr. Robert Kronick (Educational Psychology and Counseling)

Plans after graduation (career, graduate/professional school, etc.): From October to December of 2009, I will be studying in France on a Rotary Cultural Ambassadorial Scholarship.  After that, I plan on applying for a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to teach English in Vietnam for a year before going to graduate school.  I will then pursue a career in humanitarianism while travel writing on the side.

Research Experiences or Internships: In July 2007, I traveled to northern Uganda with Dr. Hackett on behalf of the Jazz for Justice Project (http://www.knoxjazzforjustice.org) to research the effects of the 21 year-old war there and examine how music can be used to heal the people traumatized by the war. 

I spent my spring 2008 semester in Uganda, where I interned with the Parliament of Uganda for two weeks before moving to the northern region to research war-affected education under the Ministry of Education.

I spent July 2008 in Philadelphia, where I lived at the University of Pennsylvania, worked at an inner-city school, and observed Penn’s service-learning initiatives.

Part-time employment; Hobbies; Campus Clubs/Activities: Programs Abroad Office, the Jazz for Justice Project, Rotaract, Honors Council Events Committee, Phi Beta Kappa, Mortar Board National Honor Society, Phi Eta Sigma, National Society of Collegiate Scholars

Most of the time, though, you’ll find me outdoors—hiking, canoeing, etc.!

Additional Information: I’ve traveled to Hungary, Romania, Botswana, Canada, England, South Africa (twice), and Uganda (twice), and I’m training to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania this December.  I owe my passion for people and travel to the Rotary Club of Knoxville.

I also have an identical twin sister.  It’s fun because people wave to me all the time on campus, and I have no idea who they are!