Where Are They Now?
Ea Ksander ('95)
What are you up to these days?
I am the Community Development Specialist for the City of Rochester, NH, working within the Department of Planning and Development. My primary focus is on the activities that we are able to fund through our community’s Community Development Block Grant from Housing and Urban Development. I conduct research and analysis of current conditions and identify housing and other community development issues that affect our economically disadvantaged populations and particular groups (homeless, domestic violence victims, elderly, etc). From there I propose programs or activities to address those community gaps or needs. Alternately, I work with agencies or other departments to help develop projects to address the same. I prepare all strategic planning documents for community development, oversee the execution of many projects independently, assure compliance with federal, state and local regulations, prepare reports on the impact and recommend policy changes to improve specific conditions or eliminate barriers. I’ve also worked doing short-term projects within the department that included being staff advisor to the Zoning Board of Adjustment and supervising the development of our Natural Resources chapter of the city’s Master Plan.
In one or two words, how would you describe your experience at UNH?
Enlightening and empowering.
How do you apply your knowledge of Women's Studies to your life today?
Women’s Studies taught me how to see the world from the perspective of those without power. In deliberately turning away from the conventional, the traditional and hearing the social norms challenged, I gained insight in how to likewise see the world from many vantage points and appreciate individual experience. This enriches my ability to assist disenfranchised populations as much as it helps me understand how to work with my City Council or state Representatives and bring them into the story I am sharing with them in a way they can appreciate. Fundamentally, Women’s Studies taught me to prioritize understanding context above all else. A problem, a person, a regulation, even whether to add sidewalks to a street; all debate and decision-making needs context first. I wouldn’t be as adaptable or, frankly, effective if challenging my own perceptions and understanding context hadn’t been demanded of me at as a Women’s Studies student at UNH.
Where do you picture yourself in 10 years?
Ah! I vacillate between imagining I’m working deep in social policy creation at the state level or living in an intentional community where we work to live as self-sustainably as possible. I just haven’t figured out how to make these two things happen simultaneously!
How did you originally decide to get involved with WS at UNH?
I believe that Women’s Studies was attractive to me because it provided a lens on the world but didn’t limit the number of areas of study—it looked at psychology, history, art, sociology, economics—it felt limitless. No other course of study offered as much variety and exposure to as many disciplines. I learned that being a women’s studies student wasn’t about becoming a good little feminist and getting angry at all the injustice there was out there, but about becoming an enlightened, critically thinking, and aware citizen of the world. And then taking action.
Bie Aweh ('11)
What are you up to these days?
I am working as Program Coordinator for the Brian J. Honan Fellowship, a civic engagement/leadership development program for high school juniors and seniors in the city of Boston. I am also a full time graduate student at Umass Boston where I'm enrolled in the Women in Politics and Public Policy Graduate Certificate program.
In one or two words, how would you describe your experience at UNH?
Love/Hate
How do you apply your knowledge of Women's Studies to your life today?
In my work as Program Coordinator for the Honan Fellowship I put a strong emphasis of social justice into whatever project we may be working on with my fellows. Issues like race, gender, religion, sexual orientation and social economic class are interconnected and they affect our lives in more ways than we know. So I try to bring awareness to these issues with the youth I work with. Women Studies along with places like OMSA opened my eyes to this sad truth and I make sure I spread the knowledge with my peers as well as my co workers; as cliché as it may sound, knowledge is power and the only way to combat these oppressions is to equip ourselves with knowledge.
Where do you picture yourself in 10 years?
In 10 years I see myself as a college professor at a wonderful institution! In my four years at UNH I was blessed to have some of the best faculty this country has to offer and they were all affiliated with the Women Studies department! Having these professors in my life, helped make my time a UNH that more memorable, they were more than teachers for me, they are mentors and still continue to be people I look to for advice even though I'm no longer at UNH. These wonderful professors have inspired me to teach and help others like myself find their voice. I'm still debating between a JD (in public interest) or a PhD but either way I know I want teach!
How did you originally decide to get involved with WS at UNH?
Sean McGhee in the OMSA (Office of Multicultural Student Affairs) introduced me to my first Women Studies Class spring semester of my freshmen year and I never looked back. He recommended that I take a course with Irene Monroe, and although Professor Monroe could not teach the course that semester, Jane Stapleton took over and I loved it. Thanks to Sean I had found my passion!! Ever since, I always recommend to my peers they take at least one course in WS.