Sara Jewett Nieuwoudt (Trinity ’00)
Engaging as a global citizen
Engaging as a global citizen
As an undergraduate, Sara Jewett Nieuwoudt (Trinity '00) was active
in several student-led organizations focusing on labor and human
rights issues, including Duke Students Against
Sweatshops. She helped to organize a sit-in that achieved
full public disclosure of all factories producing Duke apparel.
Following this success, she helped establish the national
organization United Students
Against Sweatshops. She also co-facilitated a course called
“Duke, Sweatshops and the Global Economy,” which included a spring
break in New York City to learn more about domestic labor
issues.
In the following interview, Sara discusses the evolution of her civic engagement at Duke and her current activities.
Sara: Duke provided structure and resources to translate my curiosity about the world into action. The Focus program on Globalization and International Comparative Studies gave me an intellectual foundation to become a critically engaged global citizen. The Hart Leadership program in collaboration with Documentary Studies allowed me to translate theory into practice. The student-led Break for a Change program gave me creative freedom to explore complex issues with my peers in a unique and rare way.
LTMD: How did you find mentors and collaborators to help you apply your college experience to real-world challenges?
Sara: Two professors during my Focus experience took a special interest in my development as a student and leader. I also scanned the Chronicle and fliers every day for lectures or events where I could meet people with vision to reach beyond the Ivory Tower.
LTMD: What tips do you have for getting support for a civic engagement interest or project?
Sara: Reach out! Send an email or make a phone call to a professor or campus organization with interests similar to your own. If your first point of contact can’t help you, ask for references to others who might help you take your first steps towards civic engagement.
LTMD: How did you pursue your interests after graduating?
Sara: During my final year at Duke I received a Hart Fellowship to work with Save the Children in Addis Ababa, where I learned firsthand about the HIV epidemic in Ethiopia and became deeply involved with Orphans and Vulnerable Children research and programming. I stayed an additional year to help an Ethiopian friend set up a community-based AIDS organization.
After two years in Ethiopia I returned to Duke to coordinate Hart’s Service Opportunities in Leadership program for a year, after which I married my South African husband. I spent last year in Vietnam, designing HIV/AIDS programs and coordinating programs for female factory workers.
I’m now in my second semester at Emory’s Rollins School of Public Health, studying for a Master’s degree in Behavioral Science. After earning this degree, I hope to return overseas to support community-based responses to the HIV epidemic.
LTMD: What do you wish someone had told you about getting involved at Duke?
Sara: I wish someone had told me how the patterns of involvement I was setting as a student would carry over into my professional and private life after graduation. It’s important to balance your commitments and to set boundaries, but you do not have to wait until the “real world” to start getting involved.
In the following interview, Sara discusses the evolution of her civic engagement at Duke and her current activities.
LTMD: What was your first step on
your path toward taking your education into the world?
Sara: Duke provided structure and resources to translate my curiosity about the world into action. The Focus program on Globalization and International Comparative Studies gave me an intellectual foundation to become a critically engaged global citizen. The Hart Leadership program in collaboration with Documentary Studies allowed me to translate theory into practice. The student-led Break for a Change program gave me creative freedom to explore complex issues with my peers in a unique and rare way.
LTMD: How did you find mentors and collaborators to help you apply your college experience to real-world challenges?
Sara: Two professors during my Focus experience took a special interest in my development as a student and leader. I also scanned the Chronicle and fliers every day for lectures or events where I could meet people with vision to reach beyond the Ivory Tower.
LTMD: What tips do you have for getting support for a civic engagement interest or project?
Sara: Reach out! Send an email or make a phone call to a professor or campus organization with interests similar to your own. If your first point of contact can’t help you, ask for references to others who might help you take your first steps towards civic engagement.
LTMD: How did you pursue your interests after graduating?
Sara: During my final year at Duke I received a Hart Fellowship to work with Save the Children in Addis Ababa, where I learned firsthand about the HIV epidemic in Ethiopia and became deeply involved with Orphans and Vulnerable Children research and programming. I stayed an additional year to help an Ethiopian friend set up a community-based AIDS organization.
After two years in Ethiopia I returned to Duke to coordinate Hart’s Service Opportunities in Leadership program for a year, after which I married my South African husband. I spent last year in Vietnam, designing HIV/AIDS programs and coordinating programs for female factory workers.
I’m now in my second semester at Emory’s Rollins School of Public Health, studying for a Master’s degree in Behavioral Science. After earning this degree, I hope to return overseas to support community-based responses to the HIV epidemic.
LTMD: What do you wish someone had told you about getting involved at Duke?
Sara: I wish someone had told me how the patterns of involvement I was setting as a student would carry over into my professional and private life after graduation. It’s important to balance your commitments and to set boundaries, but you do not have to wait until the “real world” to start getting involved.