Project Pericles | Today at Elon | ��޹��Ʒ

Periclean Scholars raise over $1,000 for Al-Aqsa clinic and provide support to Sri Lankan craft producers

mgendle — Tue, 12 May 2026 13:35:45 +0000

Over the course of the spring semester, the members of the Periclean Scholars Class of 2027 have worked to support both local and international partners through fundraising, community engagement, and sustainable development initiatives.

In Alamance County, the class raised funds for the Al-Aqsa Clinic’s emergency fund, hosted by the Burlington Masjid. Throughout the semester, the scholars organized several restaurant profit-sharing events and other fundraising efforts, generating more than $1,000 in donations. These funds will help the clinic purchase food and personal care items for its Halal food pantry.

The scholars have also continued their partnership with Sarvodaya — Sri Lanka’s largest and oldest non-governmental organization — to promote sustainable and equitable development in rural communities. Working alongside Sarvodaya staff, the students are helping expand consumer markets for locally produced trade goods. Later this summer, a group of scholars will travel to Sri Lanka to continue this work in the country’s south and east, focusing on creating new market opportunities for producers in areas frequently visited by foreign tourists.

The Periclean Scholars Program is a three-year, cohort-based learning experience centered on building mutually beneficial partnerships both locally and globally. As the centerpiece of Project Pericles, the program is dedicated to advancing civic engagement and social responsibility across the university community while also fostering close, supportive relationships among cohort members and faculty mentors.

Undergraduate students may apply to the program during their first year at Elon. Selected students complete a sequence of academic courses during their sophomore, junior, and senior years, totaling 18 semester hours. The experience culminates in the development of a social justice-focused partnership designed and implemented by the student cohort under the guidance of a faculty mentor.

Past and current partnerships have included supporting equitable and sustainable community tourism initiatives in Sri Lanka, producing a documentary focused on lived experiences in Cuba, collaborating with leaders on the Pine Ridge Reservation to strengthen communication and advertising efforts, and partnering with a local organization in Ghana to promote youth leadership and development.

To learn more about the Al-Aqsa clinic and Sarvodaya, visit: ��Ի��

Gendle selected as co-director of the Community-Based Global Learning Collaborative

mgendle — Mon, 04 May 2026 14:17:21 +0000

Mat Gendle, professor of psychology and director of Project Pericles

Mathew Gendle, director of Project Pericles and professor of psychology, has been selected to serve as a co-director of the Community-Based Global Learning Collaborative, an international network of educational institutions and community organizations. The Collaborative advances best practices in community-based global learning and research for more just, inclusive, and sustainable communities.

In this work, Gendle will join The Collaborative’s three other co-directors: Sarah Stanlick, associate dean of the Global School and associate professor of integrative and global studies, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Sam Brandauer, associate provost and executive director of the Center for Global Study and Engagement, Dickinson College; and Carolina Bolaños Palmieri, director of programs at Child Family Health International.

Community-based global learning is a term developed by academics and researchers who are also practitioners. It therefore is defined by a set of seven practical components: community-driven learning and/or service; development of cultural humility; global citizenship; continuous and diverse forms of critically reflective practice; ongoing attention to power, privilege, and positionality throughout programming and course work; deliberate and demonstrable learning; and safe, transparent, and well-managed programs.

Learn more about the work of The Collaborative:

Gendle and Tapler lead conversation at NCCE PACE conference to promote equity in community-based learning

mgendle — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 14:04:30 +0000

Mathew Gendle, director of Project Pericles and professor of psychology, and Amanda Tapler, associate director of Project Pericles and associate teaching professor of public health, co-led a community conversation at the 2026 North Carolina Campus Engagement PACE conference, hosted by ��޹��Ʒ on Feb. 11.

Titled “Disrupting power structures to promote equity in community-based learning,” this conversation championed ways in which relational power dynamics between academic institutions and community partners can be equitably reformed. This session was guided by two overarching questions: 1) How might we engender robust self-examination around the question of whether academic programs are operating in equitable or paternalistic ways? and 2) What can academic practitioners do to break down barriers to true equity in community partnerships and meaningfully enhance equity in program design, execution, and evaluation?

Best practice models in community-based learning, such as Fair Trade Learning, emphasize that academic practitioners must equitably co-create programs with community partners. While many practitioners agree with these aspirational standards, bringing them to life poses challenges. Communities that have been historically subject to colonialism and exploitation may not feel empowered to lead. Community partners may not consider it possible to co-create because of deeply rooted assumptions that academic institutions lead and community partners follow.

Academic programs often approach partners to seek their approval for complete/nearly complete memorandums of understanding, project plans, and course syllabi. This can happen intentionally or be the product of assumptions about the default way of doing things. Such approaches do not display equitable co-design through collaboration. Embedded and presumed imbalances in power dynamics that exist between academic institutions and community partners need to be acknowledged and comprehensively explored. Partnership outcomes must focus on mutual benefit instead of primarily privileging student benefits and outcomes. And the senior leadership and counsel’s offices of academic institutions must understand that it is healthy to cede significant components of control over partnerships while, at the same time, doing everything required to keep students and community partners safe.

Jasmine Walker ’25 gives back to the community that shaped her through Year of Service Fellows Program

Avery Craine Powell — Thu, 08 Jan 2026 19:35:44 +0000

As an ��޹��Ʒ Year of Service Fellow, Jasmine Walker ’25 was excited to have the opportunity to give back to the community that helped her grow, currently partnering with , an organization focused on education from “cradle to career.”

“When I found out it was through ABSS (Alamance Burlington School System), which I’m a product of, I wanted to help the school system since they helped me become who I am,” said Walker, who earned a degree in human service studies with a minor in poverty and social justice.

�ճ��Year of Service Fellows Program is an opportunity through the university’s Student Professional Development Center that allows recent graduates to work at local organizations to improve health, education and economic development in the Alamance County community.

Going macro

A native of Elon, Walker was a scholar in the Elon Academy in high school, and a scholar in the Odyssey Program. Now, she’s a Year of Service Fellow, an opportunity that allows recent graduates to work at local organizations to improve health, education and economic development in the Alamance County community.

“I wanted to do macro-work,” she said of her choice to do the fellows program. “I was doing a lot of micro work in my undergrad, and I wanted to try something different. I really appreciate the experience because I’ve never done anything like this before, and it’s building my knowledge.”

Walker started with Alamance Achieves in June 2025 and says she was immediately thrown in,” working on “Ready Freddy,” a three-week program preparing students for kindergarten.

“I have a lot of experience working with kids, and that’s something I’m passionate about,” said Walker.

She also assists with the Teachers Leadership Academy, a program for ABSS teachers focusing on leadership skills and opportunities, and “The Basics Alamance,” a community-wide initiative that uses evidence-based principles and a text-message platform to support caregivers in promoting healthy brain development from birth to age 5.

“There’s a misconception that people don’t need to work with kids until they’re in kindergarten, and that’s when they’ll start learning. But it’s very prevalent for children to start learning from the ages of 0 to 5, before they go to kindergarten,” said Walker.

Jasmine Walker ’25 at Alamance Achieves as a Year of Service Fellow.

A desire to help

Her desire to help others was a key factor in her decision to major in human services studies.

“I wanted to help people, and I’ve always been passionate about supporting others,” said Walker. “I grew up volunteering and doing different things with my church. When I was a freshman, I met a senior in the program, and I took the intro course and really liked it. I liked how personable the department was.”

Walker credits several faculty members with being her biggest cheerleaders, including Sandra Reid, Vanessa Drew Branch and Jessica Navarro. The Odyssey Program, along with Elon’s Periclean Scholars Program also advanced her education and global understanding.

“The Odyssey Program really changed my life,” said Walker. “I was able to study abroad in Florence, Italy, my junior year and I was there for three and a half months. That was cool, I never thought I was going to be able to leave the country because of finances.”

Healthier, smarter, stronger

Through the Periclean Scholars Program, a three-year, cohort-based learning experience that focuses on forming mutually-beneficial partnerships locally and abroad, Walker was also able to travel to Costa Rica for the Winter Term. It was an opportunity to practice the Spanish-speaking skills she learned through the ABSS Spanish-immersion program from kindergarten through 11^th grade.

“We studied Costa Rica as a whole and looked at what the specific community that we were going to travel to needed,” she said. “It was interesting, and I think it helped me because now I’m thinking, after the fellowship, either continuing to work in Alamance County, or pursuing a master’s degree in social work.”

Even though she’s from Alamance County and was educated in ABSS, Walker says she’s continuing to learn about her hometown.

“It’s cool to be able to meet different leaders and partners in the community, and hear what they do,” Walker said. “I don’t think I realized how many organizations and partnerships there are to make Alamance County continue to thrive. I can see the efforts being made to support Impact Alamance’s mission of making Alamance County healthier, smarter and stronger. Growing up and seeing the difference between what it was when I was a kid and what it is now in my 20s, it gives me hope.”

This story is part of a series of features on the 2025-26 Year of Service Fellows, highlighting the work they are doing in the Alamance County community.

Amanda Tapler named new director of Project Pericles

Avery Craine Powell — Thu, 06 Nov 2025 14:24:01 +0000

Amanda Tapler has been selected as the new director of Project Pericles at ��޹��Ʒ

Associate Teaching Professor of Public Health Studies Amanda Tapler has been selected to serve as the next director of Project Pericles at ��޹��Ʒ.

Project Pericles is an initiative sponsored by the Eugene Lang Foundation that challenged ten colleges and universities to provide a learning experience that will “instill in students an abiding and active sense of social responsibility and civic concern.” Elon accepted the challenge, which fit with the university’s stated mission to prepare students to be global citizens and informed leaders and to foster an ethic of work and service. Currently, there are 30 colleges and universities nationwide that have embraced the challenge by becoming a Periclean Institution.

Project Pericles at Elon comprises two components: the Periclean Scholars program and the Periclean Award for Civic Engagement and Social Responsibility.

Tapler has served as assistant director of Project Pericles since 2019, providing leadership and mentoring students in the Perclean Scholars Program. She has led Periclean cohorts as they partner with the Comprehensive Rural Health Project in India and locally with the Women’s Resource Center of Alamance County.

“With more than a decade of experience advancing civic engagement and global learning at Elon, she brings a deep commitment to the university’s mission of preparing students for lives of ethical leadership, citizenship, and service,” said Naeemah Clark, associate provost for academic inclusive excellence, in an announcement to the university. “I’m sure you will agree that Amanda’s track record for creativity, and passion for student learning make her the ideal leader for Project Pericles.”

In this new role, Tapler will guide the strategic and programmatic direction of Project Pericles and oversee the Periclean Scholars program, which empowers students to engage in sustainable, community-based partnerships to address complex global and local challenges. Tapler will also serve as Elon’s liaison to the national Project Pericles organization, strengthening the university’s partnerships with peer institutions and community collaborators.

She succeeds Mat Gendle, professor of psychology, who has led Project Pericles since 2017 and will complete his second term as director in 2027. Tapler will begin her new role in the next academic year, and a search for an assistant director will begin in Spring 2026.

Students reflect on service, community and connection during Fall Break

Kelsey Armstrong — Wed, 29 Oct 2025 16:14:35 +0000

Not every classroom has four walls. For students who participated in the Fall Alternative Break trip to Charlotte, North Carolina, lessons came in the form of building furniture, restocking classroom supplies and serving families experiencing housing insecurity.

Rosie Fyffe ’27 organizes school supplies while volunteering with Classroom Central.

Centered on the theme of Urban Housing and Homelessness, the experience challenged students to think differently about what community looks like and examine what it means to serve beyond volunteering. While it may not have been a typical way to spend Fall Break, the return on giving back was unmatched.

As the trip unfolded, Vaughn Cultrara ’27, Mikyra Elston ’29, Rose Fyffe ’27, Fritz Graham ’26 and Jenna Toms ’26 reflected on their motivations for attending, the moments that stood out to them and the lessons they’re carrying forward about service, connection and community.

What motivated you to take part in the Alternative Breaks trip on Urban Housing and Homelessness?

Vaughn Cultrara ’27: I’ve done a lot of volunteering in the past here at Elon. I’m part of the Periclean Scholar Program. It’s a three-year program dedicated to building sustainable partnerships locally and abroad. Back in Burlington, we are collaborating with the Al-Aqsa clinic by supporting their mission to provide healthcare and nutrition services to underserved community members. We also plan to connect local trade goods producers in Sri Lanka with markets for their products with help from our abroad partners and communities. So I like volunteering and doing this kind of work.

Mikyra Elston ’29 sorts and and organizes school supplies.

Mikyra Elston ’29: This is my first time going on an Alternative Break. In high school, I did a lot of service trips and worked at food banks, but I wanted to go on an actual trip like this. When I saw the opportunity, I thought, ‘Wow, I love that,’ so I signed up. I noticed it focused on homelessness and food insecurity, which I’ve heard are big issues in Charlotte, and I wanted to do my part to give back. I’m not even from here, so seeing that those challenges exist in this community too made me want give back.

Rosie Fyffe ’27:I’ve been on two Alternative Breaks before — one in Wilmington, North Carolina, and another in Charleston, South Carolina, both focused on environmental issues and sustainability. After those experiences, I knew I wanted to lead a trip myself. I’ve always been passionate about working with people, both locally and in other communities, and I thought being a coordinator would be a great way to keep learning.

I applied in my first year because I was struggling to find a sense of community. Elon Volunteers! and the Alternative Breaks program really helped me build that. One of my best friends here went on the Charleston trip with me, and we still talk almost every day.

Fritz Graham ’26: Honestly, I wanted to have an immediate impact in the community around me, because I’ve never done this sort of thing before. When we were building furniture with , I felt an immediate impact. It really expanded my perspective on what I can do and how I can help the community at large.

I think it’s a civic duty for everyone living in a community to be aware of the issues and find ways to alleviate any negative symptoms that may arise within the city or community.

Jenna Toms ‘26: When I transferred to Elon, one of my main goals was to try and get involved across campus, and service is a really big part of that for me. As a student coordinator, we talked about it. And housing and homelessness as a public health major, it’s obviously something that we talk a lot about in class. I also lived in Charlotte for a while. This is where I transferred from, UNC-Charlotte. So definitely, I have seen it firsthand, and I think it kind of made sense for a Fall Break trip.

What moment from the service experience will stay with you?

Vaughn Cultrara ’27 writes on a label while volunteering at Classroom Central.

Cultrara: I’ve really enjoyed this, (, and being able to organize and set up. I really like the goal of this organization, which is to make education equitable. There’s a lot of stuff out there for teachers in the area to come and get things for their students. I think that will stick with me, just knowing that there’s a program that looks out for teachers.

Elston: I would say volunteering with Beds for Kids. I was able to go into someone’s home and see the impact on the kids. Seeing their faces change when we walked in, and they literally felt joy just from having a bed. That was really special.

Fyffe: What stands out most isn’t one single moment but the connections you form with other students and with the community. We volunteered with Beds for Kids, and even though it was brief, getting to go into someone’s home, meeting their family, and seeing the impact that organization has on their lives was so meaningful. Those connections, whether they last a moment or a lifetime, are what stay with you.

Graham: Volunteering with Beds for Kids stuck with me. We were helping a homeless man by building beds for his kids. It wasn’t the process itself that had the biggest impact on me, but the realization that his kids would finally have beds to sleep in after sleeping on an air mattress for six months. I honestly felt a little emotional. You get to see the emotions on his face, like, once you build everything, he realizes his kids have a safe home and a safe bed to sleep on. I just thought that was pretty impactful.

Toms: Our group delivered and set up furniture for a family, and the worker from Beds for Kids told us the man we were helping had been homeless and was reuniting with his children in a new apartment. Hearing that already felt powerful.

When we got there, we talked with him while building bunk beds for his kids, joking that we hoped they’d like them. He smiled and said, “It’s much better than the air mattress I’ve been sleeping on.” That moment really stuck with me. During our reflection that night, others shared similar experiences of seeing the joy on a child’s face when they have a bed for the first time. Getting to witness that impact firsthand was incredibly special.

Jenna Toms ’26 holds a handmade card while volunteering with Classroom Central.

What does service really look like beyond volunteering?

Cultrara: I think it’s important to be knowledgeable in the right way. You’re not there to do everything for people. You’re more like a sidekick, supporting them and making sure they have what they need to move forward. It’s about being knowledgeable and intentional in how you serve.

Elston: Beyond volunteering, it’s about feeling the impact yourself and seeing the impact you make on others. Something Beds for Kids said that really stuck with me was that “they don’t care that we’re really here. They care about us, getting to know the families.” A big part of their mission is to really get to know the client. So I’ve been getting to know people, not just treating it like, “I’m doing my part and giving back,” but actually getting to know them.

Fyffe: I’m a Periclean Scholar, and what I love about the program is its focus on informed community engagement. We don’t go into communities assuming what people need. We build mutually beneficial relationships. That’s something I always keep in mind when I serve through Elon Volunteers! and as an Alternative Break coordinator.

Even (volunteering) at Beds for Kids, their mission really stood out to me. They said, “The least you can do is deliver the furniture, but the most you can do is engage with the community and have conversations.” As a Periclean scholar and person in general, that is something I really value.

Fritz Graham ’26 raking leaves while volunteering with Charlotte Family Housing.

Graham: The biggest thing you can do is to be there for someone and make sure that they know they’re heard. I feel that the biggest problems that arise in society are from people who feel that they aren’t heard. Giving them a voice or something to speak to is the biggest thing you can do.

Toms: I think it’s about being open and really willing to engage. When I was interviewing for this position (student coordinator), I talked about leadership and service, not just being about saying, “You all go do it,” but being willing to get your hands dirty, not just physically, but by truly understanding the communities you’re working with.

This trip has been a great example of that. We were actually in the community, in people’s homes, seeing what they’re experiencing and gaining that understanding firsthand.

Gendle serves as featured panelist for launch of the Asia Pacific Hub of the Community-Based Global Learning Collaborative

mgendle — Tue, 26 Aug 2025 13:27:28 +0000

On Tuesday August 26, Mathew Gendle, director of Project Pericles and professor of psychology) participated as a featured panelist in an online launch event for the Asia Pacific Hub of the .

Hosted by Charles Sturt University in Wagga Wagga, NSW, Australia, the Asia Pacific Hub will serve as a growing network of practitioners committed to ethical, inclusive, and impact-driven education. It will connect educators, students, and community partners through shared learning, regional storytelling, and transformative practice.

The event featured multiple panelists who shared their expertise on community-based approaches to global learning and ethical partnership development. Other members of the event’s panel were:

Mike Bishop, managing director, The Community-Based Global Learning Collaborative
Amy Somchanhmavong, associate director, Global Community-Engaged Learning Programs, Cornell University
Janelle Wheat, pro vice-chancellor (Learning & Teaching), Charles Sturt University

Some session-supporting quotes and themes (provided by the event organizers) include:

On repositioning the Asia Pacific:

“We’re not bringing global learning to the Asia Pacific, we’re bringing Asia Pacific wisdom to global learning.”

On decolonial methodology:

“True decolonization means more than inclusion; it means fundamentally restructuring who leads, how we learn, and what counts as knowledge.”

On regional innovation:

“The Asia Pacific Hub isn’t adapting Western models, we’re generating distinctively regional approaches to ethical global engagement.”

On community leadership:

“Community-based global learning isn’t about working with communities, it’s about communities working with us on their terms, for their priorities.”

On epistemological pluralism:

“We’re moving from learning about other cultures to learning from other ways of knowing the world.”

On institutional transformation:

“Genuine partnership requires institutions to be willing to be fundamentally changed by the relationship, not just to create change elsewhere.”

On reciprocity redefined:

“Reciprocity isn’t about equal exchange, it’s about mutual transformation through sustained relationship.”

On postcolonial positioning:

“We reject the binary of helper and helped, instead embracing the complexity of mutual learning across difference.”

Periclean Scholars Class of 2027 spends summer engaging with communities in Sri Lanka

mgendle — Fri, 15 Aug 2025 14:14:39 +0000

Members of the Periclean Scholars Class of 2027 spent part of their summer break in the eastern and central regions of Sri Lanka, initiating their work that will span the next two academic years.

Scholars at the Al Aqsa Grand Jumma Masjith in Kattankudy

The Scholars engaged with local communities in Moratuwa, Batticaloa, Ampara, and Badulla, and learned a great deal about Sri Lankan history, culture, and the everyday lives of both rural and urban citizens. Over the next two years, the Scholars will be partnering with Sarvodaya (Sri Lanka’s oldest and largest non-governmental organization) on one or more community-centered projects related to women’s empowerment, LGBTQIA2S+ advocacy and/or educational inequities.

Through participation in multiple shramadanas (shared gifts of collective labor), the Scholars worked side-by-side with community members on several short-term community enhancement projects, and in so doing, established and built interpersonal relationships with local communities that will be foundational in their future work.

During the fall semester, the Scholars will employ what they have learned through continued engagement with their partners in the development of shared community empowerment and self-sufficiency projects.

Scholars learn from community members how to prepare and cook jackfruit

A portrait of resilience: Jose Alex Reyes Arias ’25 concludes Elon education in historic fashion

Jaleh Hagigh — Tue, 20 May 2025 15:56:59 +0000

It’s not always easy being the first at something. In fact, sometimes it can be downright daunting.

Just ask Jose Alex Reyes Arias ’25. On Friday, the Elon senior from Burlington, North Carolina, will walk across the Commencement stage in Schar Center to receive his degree in strategic communications, becoming the first person in his family to graduate from college. Yet being a first-generation graduate is only part of his remarkable story.

Jose Alex will also make history as the first student to graduate from Elon after completing three signature programs in the university’s Center for Access and Success, which creates pathways to higher education with programs that support students from pre-kindergarten through high school and college.

After starting as a second grader in the “It Takes A Village” Project literacy program, Jose Alex moved on to complete The Elon Academy high school college access program before enrolling at Elon in 2021. He will also graduate as a scholarship recipient in the Odyssey Program, a nationally recognized access initiative that includes Elon’s largest endowed scholarships, which have enabled hundreds of students with high financial need to earn college degrees.

“I never expected my education to go full circle like this at Elon,” Jose Alex said. “I’ve worked so hard for it and to realize that I’m going to achieve my dream and graduate from college is amazing. It doesn’t seem real.”

Marcus Elliott, director of the Odyssey Program, praised the soon-to-be graduate for his perseverance and resilience throughout his Elon education.

“Jose Alex has been a trailblazer his entire life, and it didn’t end when he started at Elon four years ago,”Elliott said. “To watch him come into his own the last several years has been an absolute joy to witness. He is the first to accomplish this feat, but he won’t be the last.”

The implications of his accomplishments are far-reaching as well.

“There are other students who are coming behind him who will see him as a role model and try and emulate what he did in terms of progressing through these programs,” Elliott said. “That’s what it’s all about, making room for other young people who might not have thought there was room for them at a university like Elon.”

Nurturing a passion for learning

Jose Alex Reyes Arias ’25 relaxes in front of Lake Mary Nell.

Jose Alex was born and raised in Burlington, the oldest of four children to Jose Reyes and Victorina Arias. He benefited from outstanding mentors throughout his time in the Alamance-Burlington School System (ABSS), beginning at Newlin Elementary, followed by Broadview Middle School and finally Cummings High School, and credits them with nurturing his passion for learning.

“Having teachers who believe in you and push you to want more is an amazing thing,” he said. “I always had my eye on Elon as a school that I really wanted to go to, and I credit my teachers for helping to guide me there.”

Jose Alex’s path to Elon began nearly two decades ago when his mother spotted a flyer at May Memorial Library in downtown Burlington about an Elon program called the “It Takes A Village” Project. Launched in 2008, The Village assists struggling readers in pre-K through middle school, with involvement from Elon students, faculty, and staff volunteers, as well as families and ABSS staff. The program provides tutoring and specialized learning services, as well as a two-week summer day camp for students in Title I elementary schools in Alamance County. It is funded primarily through donor gifts, and there is no cost to families.

Arias knew the program was just what her eldest child needed to strengthen his reading skills, which she knew was a key factor in determining his future success. Volunteers from The Village met at the library every Wednesday night, which quickly became Jose Alex’s favorite day of the week. Arias made sure she and her son never missed a session. Eventually, the entire family joined in.

“I never thought of myself as a reader when I was younger, and then it just kind of clicked one day, and I realized I love reading,” Jose Alex said. “It takes my imagination to exciting places and allows me to explore the world.”

Jean Rattigan-Rohr, vice president and professor of education emerita and former director of the Center for Access and Success, founded The Village Project and vividly recalls meeting Jose Alex.

“He was the kindest, most curious child,” she recalled. “He just wanted to know everything and learn as much as he could.”

Before long, Jose Alex’s reading skills improved, followed by higher grades and test scores. As he approached high school, Rattigan-Rohr encouraged him to apply to the Elon Academy, a multi-phase college access and success program for academically promising ABSS students with significant financial need and/or no family history of college. The program combines three consecutive summer residential experiences on campus with year-round Saturday programs for students. Families are deeply involved, learning how to tackle the college application and financial aid process.

“The Elon Academy showed me I wanted to pursue higher education,” Jose Alex said. “I never expected it to be this life-altering experience where I was around other like-minded students. It also gave me that socialization experience that I really needed at the time. It forced me out of my bubble.”

Taking classes taught by Elon faculty was one of his favorite parts of The Elon Academy, including a course on the importance of budgeting.

“It was such an incredible class,” he said. “We had to go to Harris Teeter one day with $20 and figure out how to feed a family for a week, which was difficult. I still have the notebook of everything I learned in that class.”

Rattigan-Rohr said The Village Project, together with other programs in the Center for Access and Success, demonstrates how higher education institutions can work with their surrounding communities to help create pathways of opportunity for students.

“When students like Jose Alex see themselves as capable, and when universities open their doors to them, we see those students can accomplish more than they ever dreamed possible,” she said.

‘Leaning into the fight’

When it came time to apply to college, Jose Alex knew Elon was his first choice, but also knew his family could not afford it. He heard about the Odyssey Program, sent in his application and waited. One night, he received a call from Elliott letting him know he had received The Leon and Lorraine Watson Scholarship in the Odyssey Program, which made his dream of going to Elon a reality.

The scholarship was endowed by an estate gift from Leon “Doc” Watson, a 1925 Elon graduate, and his wife, Lorraine, who wanted to ensure high-need students from North Carolina could attend Elon. Jose Alex also received a Communications Fellows scholarship along with the Maity Interiano Annual Scholarship, established with a generous gift from the 2007 School of Communications graduate.

“My family and I were so excited because it meant I did not have to worry about my parents trying to pay for my college,” he said.

At first, things started off well. Yet by the end of his first year, Jose Alex was struggling. Adjusting to the demands of college life and some personal challenges began to take a toll.

“I had some very low points during my time at Elon,” he said. “When my first year ended, I was not sure if this was my way of life anymore. I felt like I was losing sense of who I was, and a lot of the people around me didn’t understand that. I was given so many great opportunities, but I didn’t feel like I knew who I was anymore. I guess I had imposter syndrome.”

Jose Alex Reyes Arias ’25 with faculty mentor Vanessa Bravo outside Turner Theatre in the School of Communications.

He leaned on his faculty and staff mentors for guidance, including his academic advisor, Vanessa Bravo, professor of strategic communications and assistant dean of the School of Communications.

“He’s an example of a person who goes through challenging circumstances and doesn’t give up,” Bravo said. “By graduating, he’s making his family proud and Elon proud.”

Elliott agreed. “He challenged himself and, to his credit, he clenched his fists and leaned into the fight,” he said. “Once that happened, it was all systems go. It had nothing to do with his academic abilities. It was a struggle with confidence and how to prioritize his efforts. He has a kind spirit that you can’t help but root for his success.”

Catherine Parsons, former assistant director of the Odyssey Program, is another mentor who has been rooting for Jose Alex since he started in The Elon Academy. She has watched him grow into a student who participated in some of Elon’s high-impact learning programs, including undergraduate research, Periclean Scholars civic engagement initiative and Elon in LA as part of the university’s Study USA and National Campus programs.

“I don’t think he was thinking he would do any of those things when he came to Elon, but he kept saying yes to opportunities he had to apply for,” said Parsons, director of undergraduate programs in the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business. “He’s more courageous and intentional than he thinks.”

Classmate Jasmine Walker ’25 first met Jose Alex in the Elon Academy and they’ve been close friends ever since, including serving as mentors in The Village and taking part in the Odyssey Program, where Walker received a scholarship funded by the estate of alumna Edna Truitt Noiles ’44 and husband Doug Noiles. They also traveled to Costa Rica last January as part of Periclean Scholars, a three-year, cohort-based learning experience that promotes global civic engagement, both locally and internationally.

“There are a lot of odds stacked against low-income and first-generation students because of the lack of resources, but I think it’s awesome that Jose Alex took the steps he did to improve his future,” Walker said. “It shows other students that if you work hard enough and are motivated enough, you can do this, too.”

Jose Alex Reyes Arias ’25 (center) and his peers enjoyed touring the Warner Brothers studio during their participation in the Elon in LA Study USA experience.

On Friday, Jose Alex will carry the hopes of his family with him as he realizes his dream of becoming a college graduate. There is perhaps no one more excited to witness this moment than his parents.

“I am happy that he’s going to graduate since it’s a huge accomplishment in our family,” Arias said. “I never expected for someone in my family to have the chance to go to college. It makes all the challenges worth it for him.”

“I feel proud that he will get to graduate from Elon, a place that has been involved with his academic life for a very long time,” Reyes said. “For him to make his dream a reality, be the first member of our family to finish a high level of education and make a career for himself, I couldn’t be more proud.”

Jose Alex said he’s grateful for his Elon experience, and the mentors and donors who made it possible, and would not change a thing.

“Life isn’t always about the highs. It really is just having to experience it all and learn from it,” he said. “All I’ve ever wanted in life was to go to school, especially at Elon, and to be successful as a student. I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to be at Elon.”

��޹��Ʒ the Center for Access and Success

The value of community and a concern for the common good underpin the mission of Elon’s Center for Access and Success, which seeks to help students from all backgrounds access and succeed in higher education.

The center serves individuals in the Elon and broader Alamance County community from pre-K to college and includes the following six initiatives: It Takes a Village Project, Elon Academy, Odyssey Program, First-Generation Student Support Services, iBelong and Beyond 12.

Gendle and Tapler present on study abroad participation rates at AAC&U Conference

mgendle — Mon, 07 Apr 2025 14:02:35 +0000

��޹��Ʒ Director of Project Pericles and Professor of Psychology Mathew Gendle and Associate Director of Project Pericles and Senior Lecturer in Public Health Studies Amanda Tapler offered a presentation at the inaugural AAC&U Conference on Learning and Student Success, held in San Juan, Puerto Rico on April 3.

The presentation, titled “Associations between rates of undergraduate participation in study abroad and institutional percentages of student receiving Pell Grants,” examined common assumptions about the relationships between these metrics.

The abstract for their presentation was as follows:

“Participation in study abroad positively impacts student development and is heavily emphasized within U.S. higher education. Yet, the overall proportion of undergraduates who study abroad is small as multiple barriers to participation remain. This study examined the relationship between institutional rates of study abroad participation and percentages of undergraduate Pell Grant recipients. Significant relationships between these two variables were not found in the overall dataset (p = 0.71), or for doctoral universities (p = 0.14), masters colleges/universities (p = 0.81), or baccalaureate colleges (p = 0.82). These findings contradict assumptions about study abroad participation rates within student populations of significant financial need. Potential barriers to study abroad are many and understanding the factors that inhibit study abroad is critical to ensure equitable access.”

The conference website can be accessed

Project Pericles | Today at Elon | �������޹�����Ʒ