Community News

Afghanistan, Bulgaria, Ecuador, Korea, Romania, Zambia

By JoAnna Haugen on Monday, November 3rd, 2008

AFGHANISTAN

Thomas Gouttierre (65-67), one of America’s foremost authorities on Afghanistan, was honored by his alma mater, St. Francis de Sales High School, in Toledo, Ohio, with its hall of fame’s Golden Knight Award. The award is given biennially to graduates who have been successful in their careers or made a significant impact on the community at large. Gouttierre has worked for nearly 45 years educating people about the country; for ten years he worked in Afghanistan as a Peace Corps volunteer, Fulbright Fellow, executive director of the Fulbright Foundation and senior political affairs officer for the UN Special Mission to Afghanistan. Currently the dean of international studies and programs and director of the Center for Afghanistan studies at the University of Nebraska, Gouttierre received his degrees from Bowling Green State University in 1962 and Indiana University in 1969.

BULGARIA

Susan Chestnut (06-08) and Jason Penarelli (06-08) are producing a documentary about volunteerism with 2 Travel A Dirt Road Productions. It seeks to answer the question of why ordinary people choose to do extraordinary work for the benefit of others around the world. The two are traveling around the world to visit grassroots organizations working to combat some of the world’s most critical issues.

ECUADOR

Author Eve Brown-Waite (88-89) recently signed a contract with Broadway Books, a division of Random House, for her memoir, which will be published in spring 2009. Brown-Waite began writing her stories when her husband took a job with CARE in Uganda. She earned her master’s degree in public health from Hunter College.

KOREA

Dr. Paul Courtright (79-81) and his wife, Dr. Susan Lewallen, have won the International Blindness Prevention Award for 2008 from the American Academy of Ophthalmology for their efforts in the prevention of blindness and restoration of sight. The couple has spent most of their professional lives working outside the United States, including a significant amount of time in Malawi and Ethiopia. In 2001, they moved to Moshi, Tanzania, to establish the Kilimanjaro Centre for Community Ophthalmology, a 25,700 square-foot center that will be used for training, research and program development. The center will utilize local talent and bring together trainees from several countries in Africa.

ROMANIA

Eileen Magan of Annapolis, Md., and her father, Alan, are unveiling a line of gluten-free, dairy-free soups meant to improve the diets of autistic children. The two will be offering five soups—chicken rice, minestrone, beef vegetable, fish chowder with tomatoes and fish chowder with coconut milk—at Mr. Magan’s café. The soups are made from scratch and will be available for purchase by the cup or bowl at the restaurant, or in six-serving bags. Ms. Magan is currently working on a master’s degree in special education.

ZAMBIA

John McKay (99-01) has been living and working in Ethiopia for the last four years and recently returned to the United States to raise funds for children orphaned by AIDS. He originally moved to Awassa, Ethiopia, for an internship with the Awassa Children’s Project and Debub Nigat circus. With the support of Awassa Children’s Project, McKay has started the Awassa Youth Campus Ethiopia. AYC activities complement formal education in schools by providing constructive, creative and expressive outlets for youth. McKay earned his bachelor’s degree in marine affairs at the University of Rhode Island.

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