Alumni Update: Jessica Brown (Mitchell), TOSTAN, 2003

Noted on August 7, 2008 by Natanya in

Tostan is a non-governmental organization working on basic education and human rights in Senegal. While in Senegal I helped them with translation of educational materials (from French to English) so that they could be implemented in other countries and translated into local languages. I also did grant writing and report writing. I lived in a few different villages where Tostan had worked, and wrote reports for donors based on these experiences. The experience in Senegal helped me to write my undergraduate thesis on the practice of female genital cutting.

What I am up to now: After graduating from University of Washington with my BA in International Studies in 2004, I spent 3 years in a variety of temporary jobs, internships, and volunteer placements. These ran the gamut from working on microenterprise development in Burkina Faso to coordinating a children's educational program on disability awareness to working the holiday season at one of our local department stores to being a nanny for a family with two girls (given the current crisis with gas prices, they are surely an untapped energy source!). I got married two years ago to a software engineer from Texas. In September, 2007 we both moved to the UK for me to start my Master's Degree in Development Studies at Oxford. I have just finished the first year of the program. Now, as of end of July 2008, I have just arrived in Senegal where I will spend the rest of the summer conducting fieldwork for my thesis on maternal health. I am happy to be reconnecting with Tostan, as I will be doing some volunteer work for them again and they will be helping me with my research!