Four Swarthmore Seniors Named Philly Fellows

by Stacey Kutish
5/20/2009

Class of 2009 members Jesse Gottschalk, Yuan Liu, Sarah Peterson, and Hansi Lo Wang are four of the newest Philly Fellows who will begin work this summer. The program, which this year drew more than 250 applicants for 19 spots, places recent college graduates with local nonprofits.

Jesse, an Honors political science major and educational studies minor from Charlottesville, Va., will serve as a communications coordinator for Research for Action. "I'm eager to learn more about educational policy and to see how non-profits can provide research and resources that can be extremely valuable to the community," he says. "I'll really get to tackle head-on the question of how research and information about the Philadelphia education system can be disseminated and the different purposes it can serve." At Swarthmore, Jesse was the coordinator of Swarthmore Students for Barack Obama, a co-cordinator of Swarthmore STAND, and he was involved in War News Radio, as well as the comedy group Boy Meets Tractor.

Yuan, a studio art and English literature double major from Lawrence, Kan., will work with the Philadelphia Young Playwrights as a marketing and communications coordinator. "The Philly Fellows program will provide me with an opportunity to explore nonprofit work as a career path and to stay involved in the arts community of Philadelphia while encouraging youth to express themselves creatively," she says. Yuan led Swarthmore's orientation committee and served as an intern at the List Art Gallery on campus.

Sarah, an Honors English literature major and educational studies minor from Pasadena, Calif., will work as a public education advocate for the Education Law Center. "I'm a Los Angeles native, but I fell head over heels in love with Philadelphia during my internship there last summer," she shared. "The nonprofit sector in Philadelphia is really more of a community than a 'sector.' There are a lot of strategic partnerships and collaborations large and small between organizations. Philly Fellows is the perfect opportunity for me to put down roots in an area of work that suits me well." On campus, Sarah has been involved in Learning for Life and the editorial board of Small Craft Warnings. She was also a reporter for The Phoenix and served as a Career Peer Advisor.

Hansi, a McCabe Scholar, is a political science major with minors in history and Asian studies from Glen Mills, Pa. As reported in the Jewish Exponent, Hansi will work as a refugee housing coordinator for the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society and Council Migration Service of Philadelphia. "As a Philly native, I am excited by this unique opportunity to serve Philadelphia and to join the nonprofit community in building a more hopeful future for the city and its neighborhoods," he says. While a student, Hansi served as the senior producer of War News Radio, and founded the Chinatown Youth Radio Philadelphia with the support of a Lang Opportunity Scholarship.