Studying at the University of Cambridge is truly a blessing. The reading load is quite heavy; the socializing is quite vibrant; but more importantly, I finally have time to work on two major initiatives.
Bridges Through Education Corporation, Non-Profit 501-C3
While we received significant criticism for the shallowness of our intent in launching Bridges Through Education Corporation, Brandon Beckler, Dien Nguyen, John Deterding, and I pushed through to organize this 501-C3 non-profit organization. We are trying to do what we expect others to do within their sphere of influence: identify a problem/shortcoming and work to remedy it regardless of the scale. National affluence comes with responsibility. Our mission is quite idealistic:
To build bridges between the United States and the developing world through the moral and material support of the educational process and to promote cross-cultural and historical awareness in order to support educational opportunity and eliminate cultural and historical divides.
This mission is the consequence of our shared experiences in Vietnam. For students there, English enhances social mobility and increases students’ ability to integrate into the world system. This integration is a vital component in increasing not only competitiveness, but also cross-cultural awareness. By providing elementary English texts, we are able to provide the foundation for English literacy which breaks the poverty trap that undermines social mobility. It is not some grand panacea, but rather it is a start. Education allows for a range of options, whether a student pursues something in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math or the Humanities.
Vietnam was an ideal place to start. The U.S. is currently the number one foreign direct investor in the country, a stark contrast from the past. Interestingly, our relations with Vietnam only began to normalize in 1995 under the Clinton administration. From 1975 to 1995, our only real interaction with the Vietnamese was on the military to military level; we retained a trade embargo, limiting growth and undermining the transfer of not only technology, but also culture and understanding. We hold shared culpability with our Vietnamese counterparts for stunting the healing process. During this period of disconnect, our only interaction centered on the recovery of POW/MIA remains throughout the country. As we continue the process of rebuilding relations with our Vietnamese friends, we should recall the sacrifice of those 58,220 Americans who perished and the 1,687 who remain missing as well as hundreds of thousands more who suffered injury whether mental or physical during the conflict. These casualties are shared by the people of Vietnam. Estimated deaths throughout Vietnam range from 1 million to 1.25 million. Given these sacrifices, it seems appropriate that it is us, the current generation of military leaders who reach out and win the peace by building friendship and understanding through shared civil-society organizations.
In May, our initial shipment of 8 boxes (approximately 600 books) arrived in Quang Tri Province in Central Vietnam. Last month, these books were distributed throughout the province. Our initial project “Bridges to Dong Ha” was successful in its infancy! With this success, we are moving forward, generating revenue, and expanding to another developing country: South Africa. Brandon Beckler, a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar, is currently there working on building relations with the local Rotary and setting the foundation for large shipments to underprivileged schools and libraries near Capetown. I plan to visit him and the project in December. In addition, we are planning a return to Vietnam in the Spring of 2012 to increase the ante. Instead of putting hundreds of books on the ground, we hope to put thousands in cooperation with the tireless workers of Global Community Service Foundation and Books for International Goodwill, a Rotary foundation out of Annapolis, Maryland. By working with these organizations, we are able to ship a high volume of books around the world at reasonable cost. As we continue our progress and institutionalize the donation process, I ask for your support.
The Next Step Initiative
In the 2010-2011 school year, Joseph Badger Local Schools, my alma mater, was designated Excellent with Distinction on the state report card which evaluates schools based on standardized tests and graduation rates. While I felt academically prepared to compete at the U.S. Naval Academy, I was overwhelmed by the differences in institutional knowledge that was enjoyed by my new peer group. When I was home over the summer, I was asked by a young man “Where can I find information and apply for scholarships? My mom and dad said that I should start applying for some.” At that moment, I realized that students truly are disadvantaged in comparison to their suburban, upper-middle class contemporaries. A knowledge gap exists between three groups: rural students, urban students, and suburban students. As a rising senior, the young man should have been working on taking the ACT/SAT again and tweaking his resume, essays, and application in order to get into his ideal school and winning scholarships at the University level. These actions were what his contemporaries in the suburbs were doing. They know and understand the game which is college admissions and funding. The young man did not understand the game, nor did I when I started playing.
Partnering with the school administration and guidance program, Andrew Morris, a graduate of Badger and Ohio University, and I are spearheading an initiative which we call The Next Step Initiative. It works to pair academic excellence with improved institutional knowledge of the post-high school process and the mechanisms which will maximize the range of opportunities available to students. We hope for a whole of community approach. By leveraging the academic foundation provided by teachers and staff, we as alumni hope to provide equal access to information by sharing our shortcomings, experiences, successful methodology and timelines, and most importantly, what we would do differently. As the program progresses, I will continue to update you on our progress, but it is too early to tip our hat.
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