Alumni Spotlight
Tim Shenk '04
Cultivating Change
Tim Shenk '04 in his model garden in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
Tim Shenk ’04 believes that getting his hands dirty is an important part of working for social justice.
Shenk has earned a 2006-07 Fulbright Grant to study and lead urban agriculture projects in low-income communities in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. With a model garden planted in old tires and dresser drawers on the concrete patio behind the community house where he is living, Shenk hopes to introduce community members to the advantages of growing one’s own produce in the city. He says that much of the project will involve school-age children.
“Often the kids are the most excited about trying new things and the most committed to attending meetings,” says Shenk. “It’s fascinating to teach city kids about the environment, because their whole world is covered in cement. At first they’re shy, but after a while they get really excited about playing with worms and planting things.”
“I was concerned about social justice issues when I was at Earlham, but my most significant political acts were growing my hair long and participating in Dance Alloy,” says the Goshen, Ind. native. “When I left Earlham, I realized how many tools I had been given. When I got to the Dominican Republic, I realized how much I still have to learn. I feel like I’m seeing the world with new eyes.”
As is the case with all Fulbright recipients, Shenk’s project will combine practical work experience with academic study. In addition to his community work, he will study at the Center for Gender Studies at Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo (Intec). He expects to pursue graduate work related to economic development after his Fulbright year and is considering both community work and teaching as future career paths.
Established in 1946, the Fulbright Program aims to increase mutual understanding between the peoples of the United States and other countries, through the exchange of persons, knowledge and skills. Senator J. William Fulbright spearheaded the act of Congress that created the Fulbright Program to demonstrate U.S. commitment to democratic values worldwide.
Over the past six decades, the Fulbright Program has provided more than 250,000 students, scholars and professionals worldwide with the opportunity to observe each others’ political, economic and cultural institutions and exchange ideas. The program strives for the broadest representation possible. Each year, about 4,500 students from more than 425 public and private institutions apply for 1,000 fellowships in all fields of study.
Last year Earlham was 20th in the nation among bachelor’s degree-granting institutions in production of Fulbright scholars.
Shenk, who graduated Phi Beta Kappa and earned a Charles Fellowship as the Spanish major with the highest G.P.A., is fluent in Spanish. He participated in an off-campus program in the Dominican Republic during his sophomore year of college. Shenk’s senior thesis on sexism in popular Spanish language was published in a Dominican journal.
“We are extremely impressed with Tim’s preparation for his project,” notes Sara Penhale, Fulbright Program Advisor. “Tim represents the best of American youth who are earnest in their desire to help other people and yet practical in working toward their goals by taking small, practical steps.”
At the moment, the small, practical steps Shenk is taking involve helping people see the connections between current events and their personal lives. “With the free-trade agreement DR-CAFTA becoming a reality, the Dominican market will soon be flooded with agricultural products from the United States,” Shenk says. “Because Dominican farmers can’t compete with the mechanization and high subsidies of the U.S., there’s a good chance they’ll go under. If local food production gets wiped out, U.S. importers will be able to set prices.”
“Access to food becomes a pretty big deal with this possiblity on the horizon,” says Shenk. “Empowering people to take a more active role in food production can lead to new kinds of relationships with nature and neighbors. The people I am working with are trying to attack injustice at the root. This project is a part of that strategy.”
Shenk hopes that if people work together on gardens, they’ll work together to resolve other issues as well. He acknowledges, however, that the challenges he faces can be as basic as dirt.
“One of the biggest challenges with gardening in the city is that there isn’t enough dirt,” he says. “So that means a lot of composting. It means getting your hands dirty every day and then being patient. I think that’s a pretty good metaphor for social justice work in general.”
— Jonathan Graham
Earlhamite Editor
(Posted September 7, 2006)
Earlham students and graduates interested in applying for Fulbright Grant should contact Sara Penhale. The local application deadline is September 25, 2006.
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Page updated: September 7, 2006