A harmonious assault on poverty
Daniel Acheampong '11
Majors: Economics and PoliticsNew York City
Having moved to the United States from Ghana when he was 7 years old, Daniel Acheampong was well aware of the destitute circumstances that exist not only in parts of Africa, but across the world.
When he came to Brandeis, he found other students who were aware of them, too, and together they’re working to alleviate this international problem. Acheampong and his friends created Live Campus, an intercollegiate initiative to raise funds for established groups that combat extreme poverty.
While the idea was born at Brandeis, more than 20 other colleges and universities nationwide hosted benefit concerts as part of Live Campus’s launch in April 2009.
“I feel like this project is a great way to reach out to people who are classified as nonexistent,” Acheampong says.
Thanks to Live Campus, he’s not the only college student reaching out a helping hand.
Community connections
Nadir Daudi '10
Major: EconomicsMinors: Mathematics and Business
Karachi, Pakistan
When Nadir Daudi arrived on campus as a Wien Scholar, he wanted to get involved with as many groups and activities as possible. He mentors first-year students as a Roosevelt Fellow and has worked as a teaching assistant in economics. He has served as an officer for the business club and is an active player on the soccer club team.“We didn’t have a diverse community of students back home, so I wanted to get to know a lot of different people, including academics,” says Daudi, who is also a supervisor for the Phonathon, which reaches out to alumni.
“Professors are eager to offer advice about research and careers and help with internships since they are so well-connected.” Daudi has already interned with Citigroup and a hedge fund in London. This summer he is an intern at an economic consulting firm in Boston that provides quantitative analysis for law firms involved in litigation.
Daudi has also shared his community with Brandeis through the Global Affairs Table, an ongoing foreign affairs dialogue. “My country is making headlines for all the wrong reasons, and I feel like people may not know enough,” says Daudi. “Hopefully, the campus community leaves these discussions with a more informed view.”
Opening the doors to education
Allyson Goldsmith ’10
Major: SociologyMinor: International and Global Studies
Lexington, Va.
When Allyson Goldsmith interned at a women’s health organization in Senegal the summer after her freshman year, she discovered a problem: many girls in the African country weren’t going to school because their parents couldn’t afford the birth certificate required to send them there.
So Goldsmith created ELEVEate, a nongovernmental organization (NGO), to help fund their education. Today, the NGO has helped hundreds of girls go to school.
Goldsmith says Brandeis’ focus on social justice inspired her into action.
“When I came to Brandeis I got involved in Positive Foundations, a club on campus that works to end extreme poverty,” she says. “Being a part of the group has confirmed that this is what I want to do.”
After graduation, Goldsmith plans to work for ELEVEate full time, so that more girls in Senegal can achieve their educational goals.
The power of economics as change agent
Matthew Schmidt '11
Majors: Politics, and Economics
Kelso, Wash.
Matt Schmidt is not the first guy to get hooked at SEA.
But that’s getting ahead of the story.
The Kelso, Wash., native found Brandeis by luck. “I was just looking online for places to apply. I liked the social justice tradition, and I wanted to try a new area of the country,” he says.
He had started a recycling program at his high school, and his interest in environmental issues was high. On campus, he tried various clubs — Brandeis has 250 of them — and, as he puts it, “got hooked by SEA,” Students for Environmental Action. He eventually became president and has been involved in numerous campaigns, including efforts to have Brandeis commit to a nationwide collegiate effort to combat climate change (it did), and to eliminate disposable plastic water bottles on campus (still trying).
His biggest surprise so far? Economics. “It seems that’s really the best way to work toward change,” he says.
Small loans create big gains
Faiyaz Talukdar '09
Major: EconomicsDhaka, Bangladesh
In Faiyaz Talukdar’s native Bangladesh, almost 40 percent of the population lives on less than $1 a day and an estimated 7 million children work to help their families survive. Last year, Talukdar won a Schiff Fellowship, a yearlong research project with a faculty mentor, to research the impact of microfinance on households in Bangladesh.Using household survey data collected by institutions like the World Bank, Talukdar has found that families who invested small-loan monies — initially $10 to $20 — in resources like cows, chickens, and seeds for crops have seen a 15 percent to 20 percent increase in income. His research may help to improve the effectiveness of microfinance.
Talukdar also led the Oxfam Collegiate Click Drive, a national initiative that has raised more than $100,000 through a click-to-donate Web site to support microcredit-based antipoverty efforts around the world.
“Once you can get the world to work together, you will realize that, whether it is one cent at a time or a million dollars, everybody can make a difference,” says Talukdar.