Introducing our Fall 2010 Interns!

TYO is pleased to introduce the latest, stellar members of our Nablus team. Welcome, Fall Interns: Julie, Adrienne, Ashwini and Samee! Their classes begin today. After an informative and energizing 10-day orientation program they are excited and ready to go! Please continue to view this blog in the coming weeks for updates on their progress and reflections on their experiences in Nablus.

For now, here is a bit about our new team members straight from them!

Julie

I am Julie and I will be teaching girls’ dance and women’s aerobics classes and offering homework help to youth.  A native of the Washington, DC area, I graduated in 2008 from Georgetown University with a BSFS in Middle Eastern Studies.  After graduating, I mentored Middle Eastern and North African undergraduate students through the Middle East Partnership Initiative, served as a Congressional intern, led civic education programs for high school students, and worked as a research assistant for a former US ambassador at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.  Most recently, I spent a year working at the international conflict resolution NGO Search for Common Ground before heading to the San Francisco Bay Area this summer to brush up on my Arabic at the Middlebury at Mills Arabic School.

Adrienne

My name is Adrienne and I'll be teaching basic photography as part of the Triple Exposure project and English to mothers of TYO's Core Program participants. I graduated from Princeton a bit over a year ago, where I studied public policy (with a focus on international development) and Middle Eastern and South Asian cultures. I've spent this past year working for the UN World Food Program in Benin (West Africa).

Ashwini

My name is Ashwini, I will be teaching an Art and Empowerment course and English at a local preschool.  I finished my Master of Public Health about a year ago, and I have worked in human rights, youth development and health education for several years.  I most recently worked in rural India at a community health organization where I did qualitative research and program design in a number of villages, and after coming back to the States worked in Newark where I taught a course to adolescent girls as part of a summer leadership program.

Samee

My name is Samee and I will be teaching drama and a business English to male community members. I am a Palestinian-American who's family comes from a village very close to Nablus. I am a recent graduate of Haverford College with a BA in Religion and a focus on Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies. Most recently I worked at Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture, a non-profit in Philadelphia.

Please join us in welcoming these exceptional young professionals to our team!

-Chelsey

Chelsey is the Program Coordinator at TYO Nablus where she directs the International Internship Program.