April 23, 2010

2010 Metcalf Fellows will pursue public service projects abroad this summer

The Rhode Island Foundation announced today that five college students from Rhode Island have been named 2010 Metcalf Fellows. The Michael P. Metcalf Memorial Fund, an endowment established at The Rhode Island Foundation in 1989 to honor the late publisher of the Providence Journal, awards up to $7,500 to college students who are legal residents of Rhode Island seeking to pursue a self-designed enrichment project through travel. All of the 2010 fellows have incorporated international public service into their projects. More than 72 students have had experiences from Appalachia to Zaire since 1990.

Metcalf was chairman and publisher of the Providence Journal before he died in a 1987 bicycling accident. In helping establish the Metcalf Fund in his memory 21 years ago, Metcalf’s wife Charlotte explained, “I wanted to create an opportunity that was a departure from the usual scholarship. I thought of making ‘wonder’ful experiences – transforming experiences – happen for others.”

The 2010 Metcalf Fellows are:

Nejla Calvo, Narragansett; sophomore, Middlebury College
Ms. Calvo will travel to Bolivia for six weeks to perform volunteer work and conduct research on community justice. She will conduct field work in the Bolivian highlands, el Alto, to study their models of justice and legal structure that date back to pre-colonial times. She will also travel to Cochabamba to volunteer with The Democracy Center of Bolivia.

David Madonna, Jr., Cranston; junior, Champlain College
Mr. Madonna will travel to Tanzania to volunteer and teach students at the IMUMA Center for Orphans and Vulnerable Children, located in the impoverished village of Bagamoyo.

Megan M. Nepshinsky, West Kingstown; sophomore, University of Rhode Island
Ms. Nepshinshy will travel to New Zealand and Fiji with International Student Volunteers (ISV), a global volunteer program that combines volunteer and adventure travel. She will work on an environmental conservation project designed to conserve the habitats of native and endangered species.

Lucas D. Warford, Wakefield; junior, University of Delaware
Mr. Warford will spend 10 weeks working with Water is Life, a nonprofit organization in Kenya that works to provide sustainable access to potable water for communities in the nation.

William J. Anderson, Hope Valley; junior, University of Rhode Island
Mr. Anderson will travel to Foster Parrots Eco-lodge in Guyana, a conservation project that works with local residents in support of an alternative economic model to protect parrots in the wild as opposed to engaging in the parrot pet trade.

Applications for 2011 Metcalf Fellowships will be available again in November for college students wishing to pursue experiences next year.