Temple students are creative, curious and service-oriented, and how they spend their “free time” shows their dedication to improving themselves, their community and the world. Here are just a few of their stories.

Students volunteer in local community garden

A Temple student and two recent graduates discovered an international experience in their own backyard.

Elementary education major Desiree McKenzie and Temple alumni Javius Cain and Antron Watson spent several weeks working in Villa Africana Cólobo, a replica of an African village located in the Norris Square section of North Philadelphia.

Under the direction of Iris Brown, coordinator for Grupo Motivos, McKenzie, Cain and Watson helped build a learning center where neighborhood children will be offered classes on their African ancestry and Latino heritage.

Grupo Motivos, based in Norris Square, began when 15 women decided to take it into their own hands to improve the conditions in their neighborhood.
 

Graduate student teaches dances from West Africa

In July and August the polyrhythmic sounds of African drums echoed through Pearson Hall as graduate student Tamara Thomas led a class in West African dance.

During her six-week course, students learned much more than movement.

In addition to teaching the intricacies of dance performed by the people of Guinea, Thomas taught her students the history and meaning behind dances used for both ritual and celebration.

"The most rewarding aspect of teaching West African dance in a collegiate setting is that I am upholding a tradition," said Thomas, also an adjunct faculty member in the Dance Department. "The students that I work with become keepers of these customs and contribute to maintaining the legacy and prominence of African art forms."

In addition to teaching dances from Guinea, Thomas also taught Umfundalai,

a Pan-African dance technique developed by Dance Department Chair Kariamu Welsh.

— Jazmyn Burton

NASA internship an out-of-this-world experience for podiatry student

Second-year podiatry student Camille Ryans spent her summer working with scientists in the Neuroscience Laboratory at NASA’s Johnson Space Center through a National Space Biomedical Research Institute internship.


As an intern, Ryans worked with NASA scientists and doctors on a bed-rest study with the goal of determining the effects of microgravity on foot and ankle muscle reflexes.


“I did research online to find interesting summer internships, and this one really stuck out,” Ryans said. “The program exposed me to situations and provided me with skills that I know will be useful later on in my career as a clinical scientist.”
 

During her internship, Ryans wrote a full manuscript, “Stroboscopic Vision as a Treatment for Retinal Slip Induced Motion Sickness,” which she has submitted for presentation at the First International Symposium on Visually Induced Motion Sickness, Fatigue, and Photosensitive Epileptic Seizures this December.

— Renee Cree

Medical students provide healthcare in rural Africa

Students involved in the International Health Organization traveled to Tanzania this summer to provide medical supplies to a clinic in rural Karatu and discussed with local citizens the healthcare needs of the community. This initial trip is part of a larger initiative to establish a permanent site for Temple’s medical students to visit during the summer after their first year, and again as an elective rotation in their fourth year.

Rachel Altork, second-year medical student and trip co-coordinator, said the trip was very successful, and through their efforts, the medical students were able to establish a working relationship with the dean at the University of Dar Es Salaam, in nation’s capital.

“The dean was very pleased with our efforts, and expressed interest in collaborating with Temple on future endeavors,” Rachel said.

The university also works with the medical schools at Dartmouth College and Harvard University.

— Renee Cree