Meet Our Students

Beyond Borders 2011/2012

Personal transformation through global experience

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About Beyond Borders

You may have a pretty good idea of what classroom learning is all about. But what about service learning? Learning can involve your conscience, sense of compassion, responsibility and understanding. It’s also about seeing and doing. Commit to your education and growth as a whole person by going beyond the borders of the University, and even Canada. St. Jerome’s provides you with opportunities to discover service learning through a practicum course; a community service project; or the Beyond Borders program, where you’ll learn and grow in untold ways by living and working with people in a developing country. Beyond Borders is a three-credit academically centered international service-learning experience designed to help students develop leadership skills for a changing global society, become aware of and concerned about social justice, and gain valuable experience volunteering with development organizations at home and abroad. The program consists of two terms of on-campus course work and a 90-day placement abroad.

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Cassandra Bangay Peace and Conflict Studies

Hi, I’m Cass. I’m 20 years old, and in the third year of my degree in Peace and

Conflict Studies and Psychology. I’m doing Beyond Borders because I want to work doing Grassroots international development in the future and feel that getting first hand experience in my field is exactly what I need. I also love to learn, travel, and meet new people. Some noteworthy past experiences have been performing in the

pre-Olympic festival in Beijing, doing a service and learning trip across Latin America, and studying abroad on a ship that circumnavigated the globe with 650 other experience hungry university students. I’m most looking forward to receiving

my work placement and experiencing the realities of day-to-day life in a developing country.

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Calida deJong Urban Planning

I’m from Rexdale, one of the most multicultural and poorest neighborhoods in

Toronto, Ontario. I am half Dutch and half Vietnamese; growing up being bi-racial I’ve experienced both culture clash and integration first hand. In my travels I’ve been amazing how much you can learn about different cultures when you join a

community.

Currently I’m in third year Urban and Regional Planning, in the faculty of Environment with a specialization in Urban Design and a diploma in GIS.

This year in addition to prepping for the Beyond Borders Program, I am looking

forward to being a TA for the first time and volunteering as a student leader on the SCC at St. Jerome’s. I’ve also volunteered at UrbanPromise as a mentor children in government housing as well as a one to one for a little boy with Autism, Bloorview

Kids Rehab with kids with developmental disabilities and Ernestine’s Women’s Shelter.

I have always been interested in social justice issues and when I heard about

Beyond Borders it seemed like the right fit. I am so grateful for this opportunity and am looking forward to the prep courses and getting to know other students as much

as field work in the Spring!

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Natalie Dick Sexuality, Marriage and Family Studies

My name is Natalie Dick and I am in my third year at St. Jerome's University

studying Sexuality, Marriages and Family Studies. I love listening to music, playing guitar, running, and having good conversation over delicious food. What

magnetized me to the Beyond Borders Program was obviously the amazing opportunity to travel to a new and exciting place, visit with people of a different culture, and gain interesting perspectives I'll never have in the safe Southwestern

Ontario bubble. I also hope to get to know myself better and bring skills of empathy, compassion and bravery back to my homeland.

"One's destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things." - Henry Miller

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Michelle Donaldson Peace and Conflict Studies

My name is Michelle Donaldson and I live on a duck and goose farm just outside of London, Ontario. I am in my third year here at the University of Waterloo, majoring

in Peace and Conflict Studies as well as Social Development Studies. I hope to pursue a career in the social work field, either counseling or mediating conflict. I am a nature buff and love canoe trips and camping in the heart of Northern Ontario. I am fascinated by varying perspectives on life, revealed through different cultures, religions and individuals. I feel, as a citizen of this world, I have a responsibility to

understand and embrace these perspectives. Having said this, I am passionate about global and local social justice issues, which is the main reason I was initially

drawn to Beyond Borders program. I am extremely excited to immerse myself in the culture of the country I find myself in for the summer months of 2012!

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Cris Fox Peace and Conflict Studies

Something that I am passionate about is photography, so much so that I can spend days just taking pictures. Another thing about me is that I am an only child so I can’t

imagine what it is like to a brother or sister. I am currently majoring in Peace and Conflict Studies, and doing a minor in Psychology. The reason I chose to do Beyond Boarders is that as a Canadian I am too sheltered from how the rest of the worlds

lives, and I feel the need to get out of that bubble. The thing that I am looking forward to most is the chance to be immersed in another culture, being exposed to

new idea and a new way of life.

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Zoe Miller Women’s Studies

I’m a 3a University of Waterloo student doing a 4 year honours degree in Women’s

Studies. Social and environmental justice are things that I am interested in and dedicate most of my activist work towards. I love horses, art, and being with my

friends and family. I’m a feminist (boo!), and I like talking to anyone about feminism so that more people are able to understand and benefit from gender-minded politics. I am a vegetarian (since grade 4) and I largely look at this as the first step towards

becoming an activist in my life. I have experience in the reproductive justice and sexual health communities locally, and have worked at and volunteered for Planned

Parenthood and the Women’s Centre at UW. I also am involved in community outreach and education through WPIRG’s action group, the Craftivist Skill Share.

Crafting and sharing crafting ideas is also something I am passionate about. I haven’t been able to travel that far from Kitchener, Ontario, where I have spent

most of my life. I think Beyond Borders is a way for me to expand on my community activism and allow me to really understand and synthesize a statement that I try to

live by: “Think globally, act locally”. I’ve done the ‘local’ part- I can’t wait to understand and explore how my ideas fit on a global level.

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Stefania Pallotta Religious Studies

Hi! I am a fourth-year Religious Studies major, from a small town north of Toronto. I

heard about Beyond Borders in my first year at Waterloo and instantly knew I wanted to participate. And here I am! It is my hope that in one year I will be a more conscientious, compassionate citizen, and that I will have formed good relationships

with, and learned life-changing lessons from, all the people that I am soon to encounter. I await being pushed to my full capacity and having my worldview challenged and adjusted. I look forward to what I hope is a humbling and eye-

opening experience!

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Adrienne Pierre International Development

I do like a challenge. Anyone who knows me could tell you that I’ll pack up and run straight out of my comfort zone, to anywhere new, any chance I get. There is truly so much to do and see out there, and I think that any opportunity to get out and

experience some of it firsthand is an opportunity worth jumping on. Travel should be far more than just a vacation though. I feel some kind of responsibility to learn and to contribute and to make some changes for the better. I’m a lucky girl to be able to

see the world as I please, and as cheesy as it sounds I’d like to pay it forward by helping where I can and making any kind of difference. I’m excited to be a part of

Beyond Borders, and to see what the next year has in store for us.

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Katelyn Portelli Psychology

Hello!

I’m Kate. I am a 5th year undergraduate student in the Honor’s Psychology program with a minor in sexuality, marriage and family studies. I am currently

working on my thesis, an investigative study on Turner syndrome. Turner Syndrome is a genetic disorder, which affects the number sense ability in children. I am hoping to go forward with my masters with a goal to obtain my PhD in clinical psychology, as well as continuing my research on Turner Syndrome. I became interested in the

Beyond Borders Program during my third year while taking a religious studies course instructed by Dr. Rehmen. She took the time to educate our class on the program

and the opportunities that it provided. I have always had a great interest in working abroad and immersing myself in another culture. Beyond borders seemed to offer

just that! I am thrilled and honoured to be part of this program that will provide me with the opportunity to contribute to the international community!

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Pamela Reaño Social Development Studies

My name is Pam Reaño and I am excited to spend a few months abroad, serving

and learning about another culture. As an aspiring social worker, I hope the program will help me grow, challenge my customs, and prepare me for longer

travels in the future. I have traveled several times to Perú and Chile to visit extended family, and I have volunteered for Bring Me Hope, a summer camp for orphans, in China. Of these and other unlisted travels, my Beyond Borders venture will be the

longest. I look forward to the challenges, comforts, surprises, and new friends.

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Kaitl in Richardson

Environment and Resource Studies/Geography and Environmental Management

My name is Kaitlin and I am a 4A double major student in Environment and

Resource Studies (ERS) and Geography and Environmental Management (GEM). I am currently working on my 412 thesis project wherein I will be working with the Muskoka Watershed Council on developing benchmarks for human influence that

will be part of the 2014 Muskoka Watershed Report Card. My background in ERS/GEM is more focused on the ecological perspective of environment issues

rather than the social side, and I hope to base my career in Ecological Restoration or Environmental Assessment in the future.

I’m originally from St. Thomas, Ontario which is a rather small city outside of

London. I am more comfortable outdoors than I will ever be in an office setting – which is the primary reason for being in the Faculty of Environment – and I’ve

wanted to volunteer work abroad since I was in first year. I’ve travelled to the U.S. and parts of Europe but I have never done any work relating to my field, which sparked my interest in Beyond Borders. I hope that through this program I can

volunteer to work with organizations in different parts of the world in an attempt to learn not only about differences in culture, societal norms, and language; but about differences in attitude towards the environmental impacts of their actions, resource

use and the development of that particular country.

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Andrea Savu Psychology

I am a second year honours psychology major with a minor in sexuality, marriage and family. I love traveling, meeting new people, learning and experiencing new

things, and above all else, helping others. One day I hope to help mentally rehabilitate child soldiers. What initially drew me to Beyond Borders was the idea of taking my education and aspirations and applying them to important issues around the world. I loved the idea of practical application of my talents and interests in a

global setting. To me, Beyond Borders is an opportunity to do the things I love most; travel, meet new people, learn, experience, and above all else, help others.

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