Summer of Service
Lazy days of summer? Not for Stephanie Pinto '06, who volunteered in a rural Mexican village during summer 2004 as the recipient of a Davis International Fellowship.
A chemistry major and Hispanic Studies minor from Pawtucket, R.I., Pinto merged her academic background with an avid interest in public health during her summer sojourn in San Diego Buena Vista in the Mexican state of Michoacán. Pinto was one of three volunteers visiting the community through Amigos de las Américas, an international youth service organization.
In six short weeks, Pinto and her fellow volunteers taught camp-style children's classes in health and the environment and also pitched in to complete several community projects in collaboration with local residents. Together they installed flushing toilets in the school latrines, painted an outdoor mural with the children, led exercise classes for women (to the rap beats of Snoop Doggy Dogg and Fifty Cent) and helped to start a community garden, using it as a teaching aid for classes on nutrition.
The volunteers stayed with local host families and were warmly accepted into village life. A new mother even named her baby "Stephanie," after Pinto.
Despite their busy schedules, Pinto and her teammates also carved out time for a "mid-term" break, spending a weekend exploring the mountains and the city of La Piedad, noted for its Colonial-style squares and fountains.
Speaking Spanish all day, every day gave Pinto an unmatched opportunity to hone her language skills. "It's impossible to become fluent in a classroom," she said. "You have to be immersed in the culture." In fact, the entire experience surpassed her expectations. "The intercultural exchange was incredible—the people, the culture, the food—everything."
Pinto's summer experience in Mexico was funded by the Davis International Fellowship program, established at Wheaton in 1994 by the Shelby Cullom Davis Foundation. Seven other Wheaton students, all rising juniors and seniors, traveled as far as Tanzania, South Africa, Camaroon and Bejing to conduct research and service projects as 2004 Davis Fellows.