April 16, 2009
News View Article
Three Pitt Honors College Students Receive 2009 Humanity in Action Fellowships; One an Engineering Major
Three University of Pittsburgh Honors College students have been
selected to receive 2009 Humanity in Action (HIA) summer fellowships.
Sesi Aliu, a sophomore majoring in international affairs and area
studies in Pitt's University Center for International Studies and
French in Pitt's School of Arts and Sciences, and Daniel Gore, a junior
majoring in political science and history in Arts and Sciences, will
participate in the European Programs in Copenhagen, Denmark, and Paris,
France, respectively; Benjamin Mericli, a senior majoring in
engineering physics, philosophy, and linguistics in Arts and Sciences,
will take part in the American Program in New York City.
The
University's winning students were among 57 selected from a pool of
more than 600 applicants. This is the fourth consecutive year that Pitt
has competed successfully in the HIA Fellowship program.
The HIA
European Programs-based in Denmark, France, Germany, The Netherlands,
and Poland-focus on European issues of historic and contemporary
importance, among them challenges from immigration, the integration of
minorities, and the formation of international human rights doctrines.
The HIA American Program, based in New York City, explores how
Americans understand, practice, and manage diversity, including the
role of the public and private sectors in addressing social problems.
“The
HIA Fellowships are the foremost collegiate program for desirably
integrating the production of thinkers and leaders,” said Alec Stewart,
Honors College dean. “It is a remarkable initiative that engages
student leaders in the study and work of human rights, a program that
emphasizes responsibility and democratic values in the context of
trans-Atlantic and intra-European dialog. Aliu, Gore, and Mericli are
proven exemplars of what the HIA represents.”
“I'm delighted
that three University of Pittsburgh students will be participating in
2009 HIA Summer Fellowships; it really attests to the quality of both
the education and the students at Pitt,” said Rachael Dizard (A&S
'06), Pitt 2007 HIA winner. “The HIA fellowship was a challenging and
enriching experience for me that has positively impacted my life in
more ways than I ever expected, and I don't doubt that it will be the
same for these students.”
Dizard is a project employee at
ACTION-Housing in Pittsburgh, working on the greening of existing
affordable housing units. She recently received the Root-Tilden-Kern
Scholarship, a public interest scholarship for those who plan on
dedicating their careers to working in public interest law, from New
York University's School of Law.
Aliu is a resident of Austin,
Texas, whose family emigrated from Nigeria to the United States. In
addition to pursuing his majors, Aliu has a minor in chemistry and is
working on a certificate in African Studies. His long-term career
interests include public-health policy. Last summer, he spent one month
in Malawi as part of a student-led initiative to learn about and
collaborate with community-based health and social service
organizations, noting that the experience showed him the potential of
grassroots movements to effect change and achieve social goals.
Aliu
served as a research assistant in Pitt's First Experiences in Research
Program and is a member of Pitt's Emerging Leaders Program and Student
Leaders in International Medicine, serving as the latter group's
secretary and, most recently, as copresident.
In 2007, Aliu
was named a Helen S. Faison Scholar and, in 2008, he was inducted into
the Golden Key International Honor Society. His other interests include
journalism, basketball, world music, nature documentaries, and
photography.
A Johnstown, Pa., native, Gore has worked in the
political arena, having served as an intern for Congressman John Murtha
in Summer 2007 and, in Fall 2006, for “PA Victory '06,” the coordinated
campaign of Governor Edward G. Rendell and Senator Robert P. Casey Jr.
He was a campaign volunteer for Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and
founded Students for Barack Obama at Pitt in 2007. He also was a
delegate to the National College Democrats convention and served as
student advisor on college grassroots outreach on the Obama for America
College Democrats Steering Committee.
In addition to his majors,
Gore is an economics minor who is working on a certificate in Russian
and East European Studies. He serves as an academic tutor in economics
and is a resident assistant in Honors Freshmen Housing. Under a
Brackenridge Summer Research Fellowship, Gore studied Russian
democracy, particularly election irregularities and media bias in that
nation's 2008 presidential election.
A Pitt University Scholar,
Gore serves as Student Government Board representative to the
University Educational Policies Committee, won a John P. Bracken
Undergraduate Political Science Award at Pitt, and was selected to the
National Conference on Undergraduate Research.
From the
Beechview area of Pittsburgh, Pa., Mericli is interested in the
sciences and humanities, and has aspirations for service in the U.S.
diplomatic corps. Mericli has had an internship at the U.S. Embassy in
Ankara, Turkey, and last summer, as a National Security Education
Program (NSEP) Boren Scholar, he continued his study of the Turkish
language and began learning Persian in Istanbul.
Mericli
serves as a volunteer caseworker at the Welcome Center for Immigrants
and Internationals in Pittsburgh, assisting clients and certifying
translations in Turkish and Spanish. He served as community
interactions coordinator of the Pitt chapter of Engineers Without
Borders and managed logistics for a site assessment trip to Pitt's
sustainable fish farm project in Mali last May; as campus campaign
manager for Teach for America, he encouraged other students to work for
educational equity in the nation's poorest schools.
A Pitt
Chancellor's Scholar, Mericli enjoys blues piano and guitar; studies
and teaches ney, the reed flute of Ottoman court music; and plays the
flute for the local band Kirik Hava.
Participation in the HIA's
core programs provides the foundation for further involvement with HIA.
Upon completion of summer fellowships, participants may proceed to
international internships to continue their training in human rights
issues. Past fellows have used their experiences with HIA to further
careers in such fields as education, civil service, journalism, law,
and art.
HIA was founded in 1997 to guide student leaders in the
study of human rights. Fellows are selected on the basis of high
academic achievement, evidence of leadership ability, and demonstrated
commitment to human rights issues.
