‘I like to think global is local, not the opposite’
‘I like to think global is local, not the opposite’
Nathaniel Whittemore works to further overseas volunteer activities for students
By Lucas Knowles
Editor
Nathaniel Whittemore does not agree with a “think global, act local” mentality.
“Globalization has created a different situation for people in the world,” Whittemore said. “I like to think that global is local, not the opposite.”
Whittemore, a 2002 graduate of Scarborough High School, has come to that conclusion after volunteering overseas and helping to start projects and organizations like the International Youth Volunteerism Summit and the Just Naïve Enough Global Capacity Initiative.
After graduating from Scarborough High School, Whittemore enrolled at Northwestern University, which is located in Chicago. While at Northwestern, he became interested in subjects that stretched beyond his own backyard. He became president of his dormitory and began getting involved in a number of organizations. He started the Passenger, a magazine and non-profit organization designed to give a voice to students around the world.
Whittemore believes that the “biggest definitive experience” that would help him find what he wanted to accomplish in the future came when he studied in Cario, Egypt in 2004. It was there, while working with Sudanese refugees, that he knew he wanted to explore the subject of international volunteerism more.
In the summer of 2005, Whittemore traveled through the Balkan region, Middle East and East Africa on a grant to study volunteering by students overseas. During that trip, he and his companions studied many different organizations and met a great deal of people. The major lesson he learned from that trip was that there was a large amount of students who wanted to make a difference, but felt like they did not have the tools to do so.
“The big thing I got out of that trip was that there were lots and lots of young people with the energy and desire needed to make a difference, but there was also a huge amount of frustration,” Whittemore said. “Many students felt like they did not have the person skills, knowledge or resources to make a difference.”
It was in 2005 that Whittemore helped to found the Just Naïve Enough Global Capacity Initiative, an organization designed to support projects that would make American undergraduates “globally conscious.” After his extensive trip abroad in 2005, Whittemore had an idea for an event that would be a part of Just Naïve Enough and would allow students from around the world to come together and learn about volunteerism.
The International Youth Volunteerism Summit was born. Last year’s event, which was held at Northwestern, brought together approximately 75 delegates representing a number of universities and approximately 30 countries. Delegates were selected based on applications and project proposals. Whittemore said the event was designed to not introduce students to volunteering overseas, but to give them the tools necessary to do that.
“It was the only event that I have been to where the focus was not on how to care about the world, but ‘now you care about the world, let’s do something about it’,” Whittemore said.
Preparations are now underway for this year’s summit.
Whittemore’s main focus now is to create educational opportunities for those who would like to study and volunteer overseas. He graduated last year from Northwestern and is now running Just Naïve Enough through the university’s Center for International and Comparative Studies. He has helped to organize an initiative where 15 students are helping to aid residents in Uganda and is hoping the model of that experience can eventually be used throughout the country.
“We are attempting to put together a revised educational model that takes into account the desires of young people who want to go abroad and make a difference,” Whittemore said.
Whittemore said he believes volunteering abroad is “extremely valuable and important” and would suggest it to anybody who would want to take the challenge.
“It helps you to work outside your comfort zone,” Whittemore said. “We work outside our comfort zones all the time, but this (work) is not removed from the world.”
Nathaniel Whittemore works to further overseas volunteer activities for students
By Lucas Knowles
Editor
Nathaniel Whittemore does not agree with a “think global, act local” mentality.
“Globalization has created a different situation for people in the world,” Whittemore said. “I like to think that global is local, not the opposite.”
Whittemore, a 2002 graduate of Scarborough High School, has come to that conclusion after volunteering overseas and helping to start projects and organizations like the International Youth Volunteerism Summit and the Just Naïve Enough Global Capacity Initiative.
After graduating from Scarborough High School, Whittemore enrolled at Northwestern University, which is located in Chicago. While at Northwestern, he became interested in subjects that stretched beyond his own backyard. He became president of his dormitory and began getting involved in a number of organizations. He started the Passenger, a magazine and non-profit organization designed to give a voice to students around the world.
Whittemore believes that the “biggest definitive experience” that would help him find what he wanted to accomplish in the future came when he studied in Cario, Egypt in 2004. It was there, while working with Sudanese refugees, that he knew he wanted to explore the subject of international volunteerism more.
In the summer of 2005, Whittemore traveled through the Balkan region, Middle East and East Africa on a grant to study volunteering by students overseas. During that trip, he and his companions studied many different organizations and met a great deal of people. The major lesson he learned from that trip was that there was a large amount of students who wanted to make a difference, but felt like they did not have the tools to do so.
“The big thing I got out of that trip was that there were lots and lots of young people with the energy and desire needed to make a difference, but there was also a huge amount of frustration,” Whittemore said. “Many students felt like they did not have the person skills, knowledge or resources to make a difference.”
It was in 2005 that Whittemore helped to found the Just Naïve Enough Global Capacity Initiative, an organization designed to support projects that would make American undergraduates “globally conscious.” After his extensive trip abroad in 2005, Whittemore had an idea for an event that would be a part of Just Naïve Enough and would allow students from around the world to come together and learn about volunteerism.
The International Youth Volunteerism Summit was born. Last year’s event, which was held at Northwestern, brought together approximately 75 delegates representing a number of universities and approximately 30 countries. Delegates were selected based on applications and project proposals. Whittemore said the event was designed to not introduce students to volunteering overseas, but to give them the tools necessary to do that.
“It was the only event that I have been to where the focus was not on how to care about the world, but ‘now you care about the world, let’s do something about it’,” Whittemore said.
Preparations are now underway for this year’s summit.
Whittemore’s main focus now is to create educational opportunities for those who would like to study and volunteer overseas. He graduated last year from Northwestern and is now running Just Naïve Enough through the university’s Center for International and Comparative Studies. He has helped to organize an initiative where 15 students are helping to aid residents in Uganda and is hoping the model of that experience can eventually be used throughout the country.
“We are attempting to put together a revised educational model that takes into account the desires of young people who want to go abroad and make a difference,” Whittemore said.
Whittemore said he believes volunteering abroad is “extremely valuable and important” and would suggest it to anybody who would want to take the challenge.
“It helps you to work outside your comfort zone,” Whittemore said. “We work outside our comfort zones all the time, but this (work) is not removed from the world.”
Comments