Team of two

Stephanie Selvick: Project Leader

Stephanie is an English Ph.D. student / lecturer at the University of Miami focusing on Gender Studies & African Literature. Stephanie earned an undergraduate degree in African Studies and Literature from the University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh. In compliance with her African Studies degree, she spent one semester at the University of Cape Town through CIEE and was issued a “Certificate of Advanced International Achievement” for her constant dedication to cross-cultural learning. This certificate was awarded in part for Stephanie’s work teaching African Literature to high school students at Langa High in Langa township.

Other past experiences include serving as a GEM volunteer [1] in Ccachopata village, Peru while researching and promoting environmental sustainability. Also, while living in Boston, MA Stephanie helped mentor Junior age girls succeed personally and academically at Cambridge Ringe & Latin School. She did this in conjunction with Girls Prepare to Succeed, a volunteer / mentoring program started by Julia Reynolds at Simmons College. Lastly, Stephanie has familiarity with the art of grant writing, and has written grants and helped fundraise for several Rotary Youth Exchange projects in District 6220.

Sydney Owens: Pedagogical Leader

Sydney is an English Ph.D. student / lecturer at the University of Miami focusing on African and Caribbean literature. She currently teaches composition, with a focus on Caribbean visual art and culture. Sydney has taught at the high school and secondary school levels in both rural and inner-city environments (Zuni reservation in Gallup New Mexico and the Dallas Independent School District). She has worked extensively with children as a day camp counselor at Albuquerque Academy, a sports camp coach, and a childcare provider. Sydney strongly believes in the power of optimistic expectations, and feels that every student, regardless of age or life circumstance, can become an actively involved learner. Her pedagogic mantra is: be open, flexible, and daring.

Prior to her doctoral work, Sydney earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and English from Southern Methodist University. She worked as a Clinical Research Specialist at the SMU Family Research Center on two longitudinal studies: The Family Project and Safe Start Project Support. The former was sponsored by the National Institute of Mental Health and included over 650 families with school-aged children in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex. It was designed to better understand how a family’s interactions and conflict can affect children’s adjustments. The latter was a longitudinal intervention study funded by the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. The overarching objective of this research was to assist families characterized by domestic violence and to reduce the harmful affects of children’s exposure to such violence. During this study, Sydney was responsible for locating accessible, affordable, and sustainable community resources/services ranging from transportation, shelters, food drives, clothing drives, treatment centers, healthcare, and employment opportunities.