Support the next generation of Smithies from Developing World and Post Conflict Countries!

Who are these women? 

and where are these amazing women today? 

They are women from Bangladesh, Kenya, Tanzania, Afghanistan, and even further afield. 

They are Smith College graduates who are FTP scholars. 

They are young women who received assistance from the Smith College Class of 1978 Fulfill the Potential Project during their undergraduate careers. 

And now they are: Engineers. Physicians. Lawyers. Economists. 

Leaders. Change-makers.

We helped. We helped by showing that we cared about them. 

They did the rest themselves. 

Donate to the Class of 1978 Fulfill the Potential Project by putting "Class of 1978 and Coulter Fund Fulfill the Potential Project" with your contribution: 

https://www.smith.edu/about-smith/giving

 

A belated post of some of the wonderful Fulfill the Potential women we met at Reunion!
Contribute to Fulfill the Potential Today to support the careers of these future Smith Leaders.

Women of the World (Next Generation)!

Here are some wonderful pictures of the next generation of "women of the world". Lou, Fatima, Tatendra and Carmen attended our class reunion. Believe in them! they will change the world !

And give forward, by contributing to the class of 1978 FullFill the Potential scholarship fund. See link in the sidebar. These are (some) of the women you will support!

Annie De Groot - Class of 1978

Reunion Update - May 25th 2013

Rain didn't dampen our spirits! We had a wonderful time - record breaking attendance and - a special treat - three of the students we support through the Fullfill the Potential Scholarship Fund attended our class dinner. I am posting photos here and on our facebook page (see sidebar).

Giving Forward

Hard to believe but it has been five years since we established "Fullfill the Potential". Who knew that the great recession would hit just as we started (remember it was June 2008)? I am the eternal optimist but fundraising for this project has been a HUGE struggle. But - no pain, no gain. And the one thing that I am sure we want to leave as a legacy for the next generation is the idea that - Once you set your mind to it, you can do it. And do it we did.

The numbers are not final yet, but we are closing in on $200,000 for our very special fund, and with just a few more contributions before our class reunion next week, we can make it! (Here is the website - select Class of 1978 FTP/Wallace Coulter Foundation Scholarship): http://www.smith.edu/giving/

Before you jump to click, here's what you should know. Your support for this project makes it possible to support Pooja from Tanzania, Sara from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Farzana from Bangladesh, Metasebia from Ethiopia. Their stories are in these pages and they are the hopes and dreams of the next generation. They are "Women of the World" ready to take on leadership positions and make change.

Read their stories and see their pictures on this site.

And know - know that you are giving forward in a way that is a unique as the school that you call your alma mater.

And now: Click. http://www.smith.edu/giving/

Tatenda Dawn Mahlanza, Class of 2015, from Zimbabwe

Here is Tatenda in her own words! Just one more example of the amazing young women our Class of 1978 Scholarship Fund is able to support!

I am a sophomore from Zimbabwe and I am a Neuroscience Major and a Culture, Health and Science Minor. I applied to Smith because my mentor happened to be a Smith alum. I still look up to her and admire the strong-willed, successful woman she is. I am convinced that Smith College contributed a great deal to who she has become. Looking back at the two years I have been here at Smith, I am amazed at my personal development thus far. Here I have the opportunity to learn with great insight, the courage to question aspects of my world and the power to effect change in some way. Not many Zimbabwean women are given such a luxury.  I wish to use this education I am receiving to open up doors to a career in medicine and to be a public health advocate for women’s health in my country.

I come from a society with a debilitating health care system. The economically disadvantaged people are denied their right to adequate medical care because the system has been weakened and corrupted by a stifling political climate.  In 2006, after my family had failed to pay the full co-payment amount, I watched helplessly as my aunt passed away in a public hospital waiting room, right in front of the doctors and nurses. I was angry, shaken and confused. I could not understand how professionals who took an oath to serve, would do absolutely nothing for a critically ill patient. I could not  understand the lack of accountability and responsibility for human life. It is from this dark episode of my life that I felt a strong calling to medicine and public health. 

Smith College is giving me the valuable tools I need to become a successful healthcare professional.  From the rigorous curriculum, to the thought-provoking discussions in and out of class, to the empowering leadership programs,  I know I am being prepared extremely well.  And I am excited!

Over the summer I will be participating in the Smith Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship. My research is on axon-glial interactions in the zebrafish forebrain. I will also be a teaching assistant and mentor in the Smith Summer Science and Engineering Program for High School girls. I will also volunteer at the Clinton Health Access Initiative in Harare, Zimbabwe for the last month of the summer.   

Tatendra also attended our class dinner at Reunion. See pictures from that event here. http://smith78.blogspot.com/2013/05/reunion-update-may-25th-2013.html 
 

Giang Nguyen, from Viet Nam - A graduating Smithie!

Huong Giang   2013    Vietnam (See Rally Day Picture!)

Huong heard about Smith College from Smith College Alums who were Vietnamese. She noticed that Smith alumnae were outstanding among all of the other young women that she knew at home. She was really attracted by the idea that a college like Smith could be so empowering for women.

Back in Viet Nam, gender inequality is still very common, and so, for Huong, coming to Smith meant feeling much more empowered. She is very grateful that she has opportunities at Smith to grow and learn. She will graduate this May, as a Math major.

Huong is passionate about going back to her own country to empower other young women the way that Smith women have empowered her. She feels that one way that she can give back is to educate women. She is particularly interested in microfinance. She plans to work on getting the right credentials to do that before she goes back to Viet Nam.

She arrived at Smith from a special high school for gifted students in Viet Nam, where her mother was a math teacher. Very early on, she benefited from training in chemistry and computers. Smith gave her the confidence to still learn even after she leaves school. She is sure that Smith gave her the skills to tackle anything in the future.

In the picture (of Rally Day!) below, Huong is on the left. Come celebrate her graduation with her in May!

Sara Loric - another amazing FTP-er supported by the Class of '78 Scholarship Fund!

Sara Loric       Class of 2016    From Bosnia and Herzegovina


Sara attended UWCiM (United World College in Mostar) before coming to Smith. The Davis foundation provided her with a scholarship, and she chose Smith because the student body that was clearly very international. She was also fascinated by the Pickering engineering program.

While she is really interested in Robotics, and wants to go to grad school – she is not entirely sure that she sees herself practicing engineering after graduate school, mainly because --while she does want to practice engineering after grad school-- she would also love to be leader of a company in engineering field (probably back home) and show everyone that women are capable of doing that job.

Metasebia Aberra '15 and Farzana Kibria'15 on Fullfilling the potential

Current sophomore students Farzana and Metsebia talked to Annie De Groot, class of '78, at a recent lunch for "FTP scholars" about why they came to Smith College and what their education at Smith means to them. Annie has transcribed her notes here, and has the permission of Farzana and Metsebia (and the other young women featured on this blog) to share their stories.

Farzana Kribia '15 is specializing in Neuroscience. She's originally from Bangladesh, but she lived in Japan for part of her high school education. She actually came to Smith College because her 8th grade social studies teacher in Japan was from Smith College !

Since Farzana has had the opportunity to live in a few different countries, she is acutely aware of constraints affecting women in her home country. Young women get married at a very young age and they have children as soon as they get married. Because they are busy with children, they don’t get any advanced education.

She really liked the idea that the College was going to make a leader out of her. She sees herself as a doctor in the future, and she's really interested in helping the uninsured. One reason that she's motivated to go into medicine is that her grandmother died because the hospital did not have enough doctors--or that was what they told them. Farzana suspects that the real reason was that the doctors were asking for a bribe to take care of her grandmother, but her grandfather couldn't pay it. She feels that this type of problem is quite common in under-served areas so that is why she is determined to become a doctor.

She'll be shadowing class of 78'er Annie De Groot at Annie's free clinic for the uninsured (Clinica Esperanza/Hope Clinic) in Providence Rhode Island, this summer, using her Praxis internship funds from Smith College. We'll be sure to post an update!

Metasebia Aberra (right) is from Ethiopia. She heard about Smith College from her older sister as she was applying for colleges. Her sister, who went to University of Michigan, decided to be a doctor at a young age after a death in the family caused by HIV/AIDS . Metasebia followed her sister's  footsteps and came to the US for education headed to the direction of medicine. Smith gave Metasebia a wide range of options and even more opportunities to explore her interests. During the Summer following her first year she did SURF (Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship) when she worked with Professor David Bickar on Myoglobin. She really loves the topic she is working on and now, she’s actually more interested in doing research than going to Medical school.

Smith has given Metasebia a place make intercultural connections and take on several leadership positions as an E-board member in SACSA (Smith African Caribbean Students Association), a member of Reslife as well as a founding member for ESA (Ethiopian Students Association for the five colleges). She might want to get into biotech. Metsebia has a really interesting idea for her future career. She sees herself investigating the effects of traditional medicine from her home country - working to understand the mechanism of action of traditional medicine so that it can be used properly to improve human health. She intends on giving back to her country by generating income for the country through her research and through the translation of her finding on traditional medicine, making drugs more accessible to the remote areas of the country. Now that's a wonderful aspiration !

Senior Ngozi Onuzo (Nigeria) Class of 2012

I came to Smith College from Lagos, Nigeria, following my two older sisters to Smith. Although I attended the best public high school for girls in the country, there were many challenges that impeded my education. One of the most critical was periodic strikes by teachers, due to delayed or withheld salary payments by the government. As a result, I had to take classes at a private institution during the strikes, and return when teachers agreed to come back temporarily, often at the end of the term. However, the opportunity to take classes elsewhere was not available to most students, which had a negative academic and social impact on students, some of whom indulged in social misconduct or dropped out of school consequently.

Although this issue has been somewhat addressed, exorbitant secondary school fees have become the biggest challenge at hand because the government does not fund or subsidize education beyond the primary level. This has made it even more difficult for girls to attend secondary school, or even think about attending higher education institutions. As Nigeria still suffers from political, economic, and environmental stresses, women are put aside in most aspects in society, especially education, and the results of this are obvious in the corrupt governance and instability of the country.

What has kept me encouraged at Smith is the knowledge of how privileged and blessed I am to have access to a world-class education, and I have persevered for the sake of my family and country that look up to educated women such as myself. I am hoping to work within the Geosciences or Environmental Science field after graduation, and then move on to graduate school, after which I will return to Nigeria to practice environmental consulting, and get involved in environmental policy after several years.

Without the funding I received to continue my education at Smith College, I know I would not have the opportunities I have today, and cannot express my gratitude enough for the impact Smith has had on my life. I know that the Fulfill the Potential fund will bring to Smith, women who are ready to use their education to make changes in their societies, and extend help to many other women. My Smith education has helped me establish and achieve goals I once thought were unattainable, and this is just one example of what the fund will do for many others.

Again, thank you for reaching out to me on behalf of the project. Please let me know if you need any more information or help.

Sincerely,

Ngozika Onuzo

Smith College ‘12

Some of the AMAZING class of '78 women who have contributed are listed here . . .

Diana, Stephanie, Valerie, Patricia, Paula, Anne, Celestia, Diane, Kathy, Marguerite, Celia, Donna, Jamie, Julie, Kerry, Leslie, Sarah, Barbara, Therese, Deborah, Elizabeth, Joan, Laurie, Lynda , Nancy, Susan, Susan, Barbara, Kathryn, Robin, Dorothy, Maggie, Mary Louise, Wendy, Chandler, Emily, Madeline, Marcia,Robin, Caroline, Debra, Mary, Lynn, Carolyn Sandra, Beth, Pamela, Priscilla, Terri, Jean, Mary Linda, Nina, Ruth, Karen, Elizabeth, Caroline, Tanya, Joy, Carolyn, Barbara, Jennifer, Annie, Kathryn, Jenny, Claire, Liz and Susan . . .

Want to add your name to the list? Please join your classmates in contributing to fulfilling the potential of women to change the world! Join the 70 classmates who have donated (by first name only) who have contributed to The Smith College Class of 1978 “Fulfill the Potential” Endowed Scholarship: Here's the link: https://www.smith.edu/future/giving/


Don't see your name, or don't see a classmate's name and want to ask her to contribute with you? Contact me, and I will send you her email. Here's the link to email me: dr.annie.degroot@gmail.com.

Please remember to pull down the "Reason" and mark "Class of 1978 Fulfill the Potential".
And Thank You!

Fatima's story (Fatima Bassir, Smith 2015)

Dear Dr. De Groot,

I deeply appreciate the effort your graduation class is making with the *Fulfill the Potential* project. It is a privilege to be able to contribute to this project and I am more than happy to share my story if it will potentially help others begin their journey. My Smith education is most valuable to me and I would love to see other women from developing and/or post conflict countries receive this incomparable academic experience.

During Sierra Leone's civil war, my family and I resided in Nigeria. We only returned to the country in 2004 after the fighting had sufficiently died down, even though many still feared there would be another sudden outbreak of war. Luckily for us there was none. Thus I continued my secondary education in Freetown until 6th form, after which I applied for the United World College scholarship. On acceptance I left my family to complete my high school/college education in Norway.

Studying at the United World Colleges made Universities in the US much more accessible to me. We often had representatives from various US universities come to the college and give presentations about their schools.Like most people, I first heard about Smith from a friend who was applying here. Even though I was unable to visit the college before applying, I read a lot of positive things about Smith from college reviews written by students.This coupled with the fact that Smith is one of the only Liberal Arts colleges that offer a Bachelor of Science in Engineering made it the ideal college choice for me.

Fortunately, I was accepted to Smith college and offered a generous Financial Aid package. This made my college enrollment decision fairly simple and greatly eased my mother*s financial burden of having to concurrently pay university fees for three children. Most importantly it meant I could bypass my country's tertiary education system that has been continuously deteriorating since the civil war.

At Smith I have been welcomed into a society of ambitious and caring young women who have inspired and encouraged me through my first semester. Its amazing how despite everyone*s busy schedule people still takeout time to stop and chat with other students and learn more about what is happening in the lives of others. I am convinced that I made the right decision by coming here; at Smith I am not only receiving an exceptional education, but also making life long friendships.

Thank you for inviting me to be part of this project. Please let me know if there is anything else about me you would like me to share.

Fatima attended our class reunion - see pictures from that event here.

Regards,
Fatima Bassir
Smith College 2015

Dreaming Big in Northampton

Do you remember dreaming big in Northampton? When the world was a door and you were well-prepared to walk through it? If you can remember that, then read on…

Our 35^th reunion will be here before we know it!

And when we gather again back in Northampton for lots of fun, catching up and sharing of the dreams we’re dreaming now, we’ll also want be proud of the collective contributions we’ve made and what we’ve given back to Smith College.

We were dreaming big when we last met in 2008. At our 30^th Reunion, we voted to create a class project -- establishing a scholarship fund to support young women from developing and post-conflict countries who would like to attend Smith, but otherwise would not have the opportunity due to financial – or even cultural – roadblocks.

Our proposal to the Board of Trustees was quickly approved, and we got approval to move forward with the Smith College Class of ’78 “Fulfill the Potential” Scholarship Fund. You may have heard about it already – or you may be hearing about it for the first time thanks to our new, more complete e-mail list. Either way, please click here to read more about it, and please share the link with other classmates and potential supporters.

We can be proud of our class and our mission because we have succeeded in raising $50,000 to date!

Our challenge? A long way still to go. To establish the fund, we must continue to gather another $100,000 in contributions prior to our 35^th Reunion, or before June 30, 2013. If we don't make our goal by 2013, establishing a class fund will be much more difficult, requiring we raise an additional $100,000 in contributions for a total of $250,000..

Right now, there are already 50 young women on campus participating in our Scholarship Program. And they are dreaming big -- even though they come from cultures where women are not allowed to dream big. As a class, we contributed – and continue to contribute – to making their dreams come true, and changing the world forever.

Please read the spotlight article from Aigerem – a current program participant. Think about how a Smith education contributed to the size of your dreams, how much your contribution means to each of these young women –- to all Smith women everywhere -- and to the future of our global society.

If each one of us donates $250 before our next reunion, we'll make our goal. Will you join us today?

I tell you what: For each of the first 100 donations of $200 or more, I’ll add on another $50. And if all 400 of you donate even $50 or more, I promise to do my best to continue adding to donations right up until we meet our goal in June, 2013! Drop me a note at the email address below, to let me know you contributed and what amount.

And, if you’re making your donation online, don’t forget to select Class of 1978 “Fulfill the Potential Scholarship” on the tab labeled, "GIFT PURPOSE”. If you’re sending a check, please write the Scholarship name on the memo line.

If we reach our goal, our class will have a legacy, to which we can contribute as much as we want every year – and that will continue to help young women for decades to come

But … there is no time to waste. Let's keep dreaming big for the young women who will continue to follow us through Northampton. If we make our goal, we'll be feeling great and standing proud in 2013.

Thank you for your quick response to this appeal, and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Sincerely,

Annie De Groot '78
Class of 1978 Fundraising Officer

E-mail: dr.annie.degroot@gmail.com

Donate to Fulfill the Potential N

A Donor to FTP speaks!

Dear Annie

I'm giving to the "Fulfill the Potential" fund because it allows me to honor Smith and its mission while simultaneously addressing global concerns. We are actively extending our mission -- educating "women of promise for lives of distinction" -- to areas of the world that need it most.

Best,

Priscilla

Priscilla Bremser
Professor, Department of Mathematics
Middlebury College
Middlebury, VT 05753

Thanks Giving Letter to Class of 1978

November 11, 2009

Dear member of the Smith Class of '78

A short message and update on our Class of '78 Fulfill the Potential project.

Liz George and I went to Smith in October for the Ford Hall opening. We met with current Fullfill the Potential-type "developing world and post-conflict nation" students - a wonderful array of young women from Zimbabwe, Togo, Mauritius, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, and Afganistan - each and everyone an example of the amazing potential for a Smith education to change the world. We met Roya, who is the first person in her entire family to attend college (from Afganistan), we met Florentine, who is a masters in education student, we met Bhavna, Ilda, Sigma, and Yeliha and we met Aigerim, whose story is pasted below.

After meeting the students and listening to each one of their stories about how they reached Smith, and hearing from them about their aspirations (engineer, physician, scientist . . . ) we walked over to the Ford Hall opening together - an event that could not have been a better choice - because we hard from a panel of Smith alumnae about their achievements in Math and Science and Engineering - truly inspirational stories.

Liz and I were amazed by the grit and determination, the inner beauty and the aspirations of these young women. I hope that you too will have an opportunity to meet them. This Thanksgiving, we're organizing opportunities for the current FTP students to be hosted by class of 1978 families. Let me know if you would like to invite one of these young women into your homes.

In the meantime, I am asking you again for your contribution to the Smith College Fulfill the Potential Project. Last time I wrote you, we raised $1000. That's WONDERFUL. But we have about $90,000 to go to meet our first year objective. Thank you VERY MUCH to the 10 classmates who contributed for the first time between September and October. Thank you especially to Susan and Barbara who each gave $2000! Would you join them with a one time contribution now, before Thanksgiving? Would you join the group that is donating a small amount every month ($78, or $31 or other creative numbers . . . )?

I am putting my contribution out there to match yours. If you contribute now, I will match your gift up to my ability to match in this round - up to $3100, ($100 for every year that we have been away from Smith). So that's potentially $6100 that we can raise this month!

Please consider a gift now. Read the stories on our blog, including one from Aigerim, one of the students who is currently attending Smith. I've put our picture below the story, right next to the information about contributing.

I hope you'll take a minute more out of your life to read this, and to follow the links, and to give thanks for the wonderful opportunities that Smith education gave you and is giving to these young women, right now.

Thank you

Annie De Groot '78

From one of your classmates (Priscilla Bremser, '78)

December 30th 2009:

I'm giving to the "Fulfill the Potential" fund because it allows me to honor Smith and its mission while simultaneously addressing global concerns. We are actively extending our mission -- educating "women of promise for lives of distinction" -- to areas of the world that need it most.

Best,

Priscilla

Priscilla Bremser
Professor, Department of Mathematics
Middlebury College
Middlebury, VT 05753

Carol Christ on Fulfilling the Potential

From CC's bio on the Smith College website:

In various forums, including the American Chemical Society, the Chautauqua Institute and the Council for the Advancement of Education, Christ has addressed such issues as women’s careers, civil discourse and the expectations and demands of accountability in the academy. Her op-ed articles have appeared in The Boston Globe, The Christian Science Monitor and The Chronicle of Higher Education. In 2004 Christ and Mount Holyoke College President Joanne Creighton co-hosted an international conference on issues and challenges in women’s education, which also examined women’s study of science.

The resulting organization, Women's Education Worldwide, comprises 50 colleges on five continents and is committed to developing collaborative strategies to increase access to high-quality education for girls and women. Under Christ's leadership, Smith has made significant commitments to international and intercultural studies and to global outreach and recruitment. Thirteen percent of the class entering in fall 2009 are citizens of countries other than the United States.

Wonderful article by Kristoff about Education for women in the developing world

Read this.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/23/magazine/23Women-t.html?pagewanted=all

An exerpt: Perhaps the lesson presented by both Abbas and Saima is the same: In many poor countries, the greatest unexploited resource isn’t oil fields or veins of gold; it is the women and girls who aren’t educated and never become a major presence in the formal economy. With education and with help starting businesses, impoverished women can earn money and support their countries as well as their families. They represent perhaps the best hope for fighting global poverty.

The global sisterhood

Testimony about the importance of our project from Shaharzad Akbar (’09) from Afghanistan.

This is amazing. Please read this post and see the speech on utube for yourself (link below).

She says, in part . . . With the help from you and other loyal alumnae, Smith College provided financial support to me and my dear friend and country-mate Roya Mohammadi 2010 as soon as we arrived.'

. . . and . . . As a young educated woman from Afghanistan, most of my interactions in public had been with men; I had many educated male friends and most of my role models were men. In Kabul, to be respected in the masculine domains of work and education, I had always felt pressure to behave in a certain way. I had to work harder than everybody and constantly feel that my concerns were not addressed; that in some ways, I had to forget about being a woman in order to be accepted and successful. At that first Rally Day, sitting in Sage Hall and listening to the experiences of the amazing medal winners, tears of joy found their way to my eyes. I learned that it was okay to be a woman, to feel and to act like a woman in public, and that this was a strength, not a weakness. Leading an active public life would be challenging, but ultimately more rewarding, and I could do it just as all these remarkable women had done before me. I felt overjoyed and empowered. . . .

and perhaps best of all . . . "Leaving Smith, I carry with me the gift of being part of an inter-dependent global sisterhood of Smith faculty and alumnae who will support me, stand by me, and cheer for me throughout my life. It is an honor, a pleasure, and a blessing to be a Smithie. For me, it is no less than a miracle to have had the opportunity to grow and flourish in this supportive community.

Thank you for your part in making all of this possible. Tasha kur."

The full text is here: http://www.smith.edu/commencement/2009/ivyday.php

Update from Florentine Bambara

Dear Annie,

I graduated last Sunday and I got the Diploma in American Studies. You remember I told you that I was in this one year program for international students. Graduation and Ivy Day were very interesting. I didn't know it was very big event like that with alumna marching on Ivy Day...It was so beautiful. I met my friend who studied at Smith 10 years ago and is currently working in my country. She was here for her 10th reunion....

Now, I am waiting for the Master program in Teaching to start at the end of June. Right now, I am in the Smith College graduate house. Fortunately, I got a grant for my summer housing and the summer program. But by September, I have to pay for the graduate house which costs $6350. The stipend I got for the Teaching fellowship is $5955. I need around $400 to complete for the house. At the end, I got a loan for the financial office for the Insurance. I will have to provide for my own food and books...I am sure that God will solve everything for me as he has been doing for many years.

Best regards,



Florentine bambara
Diploma Student, 2009