Where Has Curiosity and the Desire to Serve Taken You?
by John Knight '83
The amazing Round Square concluded with a panel of Deerfield alumni who have truly become "world
citizens" since their Deerfield days. Each presented an overview of their respective activities in
Afghanistan, Africa, South Africa and Peru and then invited questions from the audience, which
consisted of international Round Square delegates and Deerfield students. The audience's reaction to
their words was immediate and the presenters were "mobbed" all around campus after they spoke. Their
stories are different but they each evoke a certain curiosity about the world and the desire to work
for positive change that seems to be a trademark of Deerfield alumni. Clearly, Deerfield students
want to know, "Where has your curiosity taken you?"
Lisa Pinsley '93, who was featured in the winter 2004 issue of Deerfield, is
working in Afghanistan with a United Nations Organization charged with disarming former army
soldiers and independent fighters and retraining them to take productive roles in the new economy.
Her job allows her to travel the entire country, which is exciting but also courageous in many ways.
Peter Ellis '93 has spent time in the Peace Corps in Africa, but he is currently
working as a forest ecologist for the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests, which has
been "dedicated to protecting the state's most important landscapes while promoting the wise use of
its renewable natural resources" since 1901. With over a million NH acres under its protection and a
strong record of stewardship and conservation, the SPNHF is one of the country's most effective
statewide land conservation organizations.
Steven Porter '99, a summa cum laude anthropology graduate of Princeton,
returned to South Africa after graduation to work in Cape Town with mothers diagnosed with the AIDS
virus. He has helped set up counseling programs as well as micro industries so that these women can
receive medical treatments and feel part of a nurturing community.
Tiffany Franke '02, a sophomore at Yale, spent four months in Peru at the Nuevo
Amanecero Andino (New Dawn of the Andes) center, for domestically abused women and their families,
where she began as an educator for the children of domestic abuse and finished up by bringing
interactive health education to the seven schools in the town of Urubamba.
When asked how each chose their calling, these alumni agreed that following one's individual
interest is a good motivator. When times get rough, as they do in the field, it helps to be
somewhere that engages your intellect and imagination as well as your compassion.
If you have recently answered the call of your own curiosity and desire to serve, we'd love to
hear the story! E-mail us at lmorsman@deerfield.edu.
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