Global Playground's New Teaching Fellows
Livingston and Adam Levin. Hana will replace Ryan Drysdale, who is finishing up his yearlong
teaching fellowship at Huay Puung Mai School in Thailand where Global Playground unveiled a library in early 2009 and made a contribution of technology during spring 2010. As for Adam, he will be the first Global Playground teaching Fellow at a technology center in El Progresso, Honduras that Global Playground constructed in partnership with Students Helping Honduras in 2010. Both will spend a year living abroad and advancing Global Playground’s mission.
Upon graduating in May from Loyola University Chicago with a B.A. in International Studies and minors in English, French, and Asian studies, Hana was inspired to apply for a Global Playground fellowship due to her interest in education and international development.
“Connecting children in developing countries to those in developed countries through education is an incredible way to foster tolerance, empathy, and the ability to see things from another, unfamiliar perspective. I believe that empowering our children through education is the key to creating a better world,” said Hana, who has worked as an educator in both the United States and China.
After graduating from The College of William & Mary in May with a major in International Relations and a minor in Hispanic Studies, Adam saw a Global Playground fellowship as an opportunity to combine all of his interests. Due to his experiences in Argentina, where he was involved with human rights issues related to Argentina's most recent dictatorship, and in Central America, where he worked for Habitat for Humanity, he sees education as a way to give people a voice. In particular, Adam believes that "access to education and the opportunity to connect with youth from all over the world will allow Honduran youth to develop their own voices, which will ultimately give them the skill-set to do whatever it is they want to do."
One important part of their role as Fellows will be to help students in Thailand and Honduras connect electronically with students at Global Playground’s other project sites around the world and with students in the United States. Both Hana and Adam understand the importance of this cross-cultural dialogue and hope that it will promote a sense of tolerance, understanding, and curiosity within and among this global community of youth.