From Hawaii to Grinnell to influencing the world… as a teacher
"I was a co-leader of Grinnell's student-led environmental group, Free the Planet. My role was to organize, empower, and reach out to environmentalists on campus. Our group spread awareness through the student body and worked with student government and administrators to reduce our campus' eco-footprint. I have had numerous opportunities to experience the heart of grassroots organizing and leadership because Grinnell offered me resources, training, and an enthusiastic student body ready to act for change."
- Emily Kugisaki ’09
After two years with FTP, Emily got involved with Social Entrepreneurs at Grinnell (SEG). Becoming a formal 501(c)3 organization, SEG relies Emily as a board member.
SEG is an organization which seeks to foster mutually empowering relationships between the developing and developed worlds through promoting social entrepreneurship and distributing micro-loans to individuals who lack access to credit. During Emily's time in SEG, the group has established direct partnerships with microfinance organizations in Nicaragua, Malawi, and Tanzania, and is currently in the process of forming partnerships with organizations in Cambodia and right here in Iowa.
Emily utilized her time well at Grinnell. She had two internships, one in Chicago in summer of 2007 teaching young people through the Arab American Action Network (AAAN) and one in Durban South Africa in summer of 2008 working with a social service organization. A woman with her own opinions, she studied philosophy and pursued a secondary world history education certification. After student teaching in Gilman, Iowa in fall of 2009, Emily will have to choose from many options.
Emily taught 6th and 7th grade Social Studies in Gilman, IA, where she implemented activities that required inferential thinking and evidence-based arguments in an effort to help students think more critically about issues of history and geography. She presented to campus encouraging particularly those interested in completing the education licensure program in social studies to attend her talk in December of 2009 entitled Asking Why?: Supporting Reflective Thought for Sixth Graders at East Marshall Middle School .
Visit SEG's website at: http://www.segrinnell.org
