HANNAH DAVIS

Gallatin School of Individualized Study

Bachelor of Arts, May 2010

Concentration: Post-Conflict Development & Education

Bio and Resume (.pdf)

Hannah Davis is studying Human Development, Conflict Resolution and International Education with a focus on how different types of education can reconcile conflict and lead to growth in both developed and developing countries.

Hannah's interest in this work began during a month-long independent study she undertook in Ghana as a high school senior. As part of her study, she spent time in regional schools and found that classes were overcrowded, teachers often did not come to class because of low salaries, and rote-style learning was inhibiting creativity and critical thinking.

With some funding secured, Hannah returned to Pokuase, Ghana in the summer of 2007 to implement the Ghana Literacy Project (GLP). The GLP runs classes such as the Girls' Exploration and Empowerment Club (GEEC), a weekend class for girls in public schools that supplements their education with science classes, computer skills, field trips, guest speakers, career-based mentoring, a book club, and other curricular and extracurricular opportunities. The GLP began a theater program in the spring of 2009 and they are building a community center with their fiscal sponsor, Women's Trust.

Hannah has learned that the best projects come from the community, and the GLP is adjusting its purpose and structure according to its new goal of finding, supporting, and funding these programs. The first community-initiated program is from Abigail Mettle of Pokuase, who has been running a makeshift library from her home using donated suitcases and books. The GLP will help her buy shelves, new books, and will move the library to the community center when it is built.

Hannah is also interested in cross-cultural views and interactions, both internationally and domestically; in creativity and in the arts; in mental health and psychology; in meditation studies; and in human potential. In spring 2008, she studied in France in an effort to become fluent in French. She also studies Twi, a local Ghanaian language, and recently began learning Spanish. In the summer of 2009 she worked with La Casa de Pancita, an organization that works with domestic workers in Lima, Peru. At the end of the summer Hannah plans to return to Ghana.