Giving Back Globally
International Alumni Help Communities Back Home
By Addison E. Paul
WITH OVER 1,400 international alumni representing more than 130 countries, the University of Southern Indiana has transformed the lives of people across the globe—and inspired its graduates to do the same. Three trailblazing international alumni are using their USI experiences to spark change and build community resilience in their home countries.
Service Learner to Servant Leader
Giving back has always been a core value for Meschac Gervais M'15. Growing up in the Caribbean nation of Haiti, his family didn't have much, but his parents worked hard to give their children opportunities. That dedication to helping others became a tenet in his schooling, and Gervais first came to USI through the U.S. Department of State's Global Undergraduate Exchange Program, a scholarship combining nondegree study, community service, leadership development and cultural enrichment.
Gervais then chose USI to pursue his master's in public administration, earning a graduate assistantship where he led the development of the University's International Student Outreach Program. Inspired by the power of service and building community, he reached out to local nonprofits and recruited other international students to volunteer. Together, they gave back to the Evansville community by building houses with Habitat for Humanity, working with children at Patchwork Central, organizing activities with the Glenwood Neighborhood Association and much more.
"USI was the perfect environment," said Gervais. "The program gave international students service-learning opportunities, but it was also a chance for the Evansville community to meet people from other cultures."
Gervais working with children on a USI trip to Africa.
The practical experience Gervais gained at USI motivated him to integrate service and applied education back home. He founded Haiti Enpak, a nonprofit focused on experiential learning and global leadership. Haiti Enpak engages youth with real-world projects to benefit their communities, teaching them to give back while applying problem-solving and leadership skills to find achievable solutions for local needs.
Though rising violence and sociopolitical unrest forced him to pause the program for student safety, he still has hope for the future of Haiti Enpak and his home country.
"I never give up on Haiti. Someday, when it's a safer environment, I feel that there's still an opportunity. You have to decide what to live your life by, keep that at the center and try to make the world a better place."
- Meschac Gervais M'15
Big Dreams, Bigger Impacts
For Dr. Kountiala Somé M'18, education is everything. In his village in Burkina Faso, Africa, Somé had to walk six kilometers if he wanted to attend school, and most children didn't advance past the early grades. He studied to overcome low exam pass rates, worked on plantations to earn his school fees and cultivated dreams of breaking educational barriers in his community.
Now a Doctor of Education in Teaching and Learning, Somé is living proof that big dreams lead to bigger impacts. He built a distinguished career in teaching, tutoring, translating and designing language learning curriculums, all throughout the pursuit of his four higher education degrees. But his dreams didn't stop there.
"My philosophy of teaching is experiencing," he said. "While getting my master's at USI, I started thinking about creating my own center to help students from my community build skills for internships and employment."
After earning his master's in second language acquisition, policy and culture at USI, Somé went on to teach at the Building Capacity Institute (BCI), a bilingual French and English school in Burkina Faso, specializing in economic sciences and business management.
Somé wears a cap and gown to honor his educational achievements.
Combining the immersive and experiential learning styles reinforced at BCI and USI, he founded the Dream Center for Young Leaders, an institute in Burkina Faso designed to prepare new graduates for integration into the job market. The Center helps students build leadership skills through a people-focused approach to learning, professional development and community engagement.
"We are an interconnected ecosystem. When you benefit from support, you also want to become that support. If you make a commitment to doing good, good will always come your way."
- Kountiala Somé M'18
From building facilities and mobilizing resources to teaching students and coaching professionals, Somé continues to share his dream of education and his drive for success with the future of his community.
The Value of Empowerment
Shan Sherwan Hussein '14 M'15, dedicates herself to humanitarian work because she's seen its value firsthand. Born into conflict in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, she received life-saving humanitarian aid to combat malnutrition and provide access to schooling.
Hussein poses in front of Reflection Lake on USI campus after graduation.
From an early age, Hussein understood the necessity of education to change her life, and in turn, help change the lives of others. Now, as a research fellow pursuing a Master of Public Administration at Harvard Kennedy School, she works toward those goals every day. A bachelor's degree in economics and a master's in business administration from USI helped nurture her professional mission to protect and empower women, an ideology that's still limited within her home community.
"My time at USI was profoundly transformative," said Hussein. "It gave me a safe space to find myself and my calling to serve people."
In addition to working with survivors of gender-based violence around the world, Hussein used the business acumen from her USI education to push boundaries back home. She founded Educate to Empower, a program providing lessons and workshops to help hundreds of Kurdish women build negotiation skills and improve their economic opportunities. From vocational experience to communication tactics, Educate to Empower teaches women how to make conscious and strategic decisions for upward mobility.
Before starting her initiative, Hussein's USI professors instilled the concept that everything is a tradeoff, and she lives by that guidance every day. Practically all of her time outside of academic and fellowship responsibilities revolves around Educate to Empower, because for Hussein, helping empower women in her community is more valuable than anything else.
"Everything I've done in my life, I've done terrified. You have to celebrate the tiniest wins. It's not easy to help people change their lives, but I've helped at least one person, and that makes a change."
- Shan Sherwan Hussein '14 M'15
