This website is visited by the family and friends of participants in Putney Student Travel's Community Service program in Bali village, India to check in on the progress of the group.
Monday, June 30, 2008
The group has arrived
We've received word from the leaders that the group has arrived in New Delhi.
Continental June 29: CO82 EWR/DEL 8:20 P - 8:15 P on June 30 July 28: CO83 DEL/EWR 10:50 P - 4:35 A on July 29
Trip Leaders
Ted Samuel and Priyanka Vakkalanka
PRIYANKA VAKKALANKA
University of Virginia, B.S., Biochemistry; B.A., Sociology. Born in India, Priyanka moved to the States when she was three and has traveled to both central and south India several times to visit family. During her time at the University of Virginia, Priyanka worked with local elementary schools students counseling them on health safety, served as a peer advisor in the International Studies Office, and spent her summers working for Air France at the Washington-Dulles International Airport. During her junior year, Priyanka participated in an exchange program at the University of Birmingham in England, where she taught English to international students and traveled around Europe. Priyanka currently works in Washington, D.C. where she assists with projects promoting research and advocacy for food aid, capacity building, and infrastructure in Africa. She is also a teacher and supervisor at a private learning center where she works with high school students in math, chemistry, and reading. This fall, she will attend Johns Hopkins University to pursue a Masters in Epidemiology. Priyanka is proficient in French, Hindi, and Telugu.
TED SAMUEL
Kenyon College, B.A., magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, Departmental High Honors in International Studies, Sigma Iota Rho Honor Society. After graduating from Kenyon College, Ted served as a Fulbright Scholar in South India. There, he researched the social movement of the Aravani community, focusing on the ability of community leaders and activists to utilize creative technology and event programming to promote their agenda to the public. During his tenure as a Fulbright fellow, Ted had the opportunity to present his research and also perform Karagattam at various Fulbright conferences and Fulbright alumni association events in India, Pakistan, and Nepal. After returning to the United States and spending a year as a Marketing Associate at the Corporate Executive Board in Washington, DC, Ted was named a 2007 Peace Fellow by The Advocacy Project. As a Peace Fellow, Ted spent six months working with the Jagaran Media Center, a Dalit rights advocate in Kathmandu, Nepal, where he helped revitalize their print media division and led creative projects profiling the arts of lower caste communities. Ted brings several years experience in South Asian Studies to the program as well as proficiency in Tamil and Hindi..