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Reshma Tharani, 21, is part of a new breed of community college student
Thomas P. Chupein
“I will dedicate my life to supporting a global movement that seeks to redefine the purpose of economic action and wealth accumulation.”
- Program: 2008 Graduate Scholarship Recipient
- Hometown: San Francisco, CA
- Community College: City College of San Francisco
- Four-year College or University: University of California, Berkeley
- Graduate School: Harvard University
- Academic/Career Pursuits: Environmentally Sustainable Development in Poor Countries, Buddhism, Global Travel
Bolivia Research Trip |
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Biography
PROFILE: After a transformative journey across five continents, Thomas Chupein gave up a successful career as a cosmetic industry executive and went back to school to prepare for a life of international service and activism. “My travels through the Global South expanded my vision of the world and transformed my perspective on what constitutes the important matters of life.”
Thomas was in the village of Yuksom, India, when he learned that the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation had awarded him its Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship, allowing him to transfer from City College of San Francisco to University of California, Berkeley. Thomas completed his bachelor’s degree in development studies in 2007 and has since worked as a policy fellow with the American Friends Service Committee in Washington, DC.
INSPIRATION: “Through my academics, I have gained interest in and a commitment to work with global food policy and issues of food sovereignty as well as child welfare.”
ASPIRATION: Thomas aspires to develop his technical skills in international development to bring a credible progressive voice to the field of economics. “As a development economist, I will be equipped to identify systemic deficiencies and design and evaluate policies and programs that can overcome poverty as the means to expand human choice.”
MAKING A DIFFERENCE: At Berkeley, Thomas designed and led a course and in-country study tour of Bolivia focused on development and the political economy. He also studied microfinance systems in Bangladesh at Grameen Bank, the pioneering microfinance institution founded by Nobel Laureate Mohammad Yunus.
ACCOLADES: A member of Phi Beta Kappa, Thomas received a departmental citation from the UC Berkeley Development Studies Department, as well as Regent’s and Chancellor’s Scholarships.
INTERESTING FACT: Thomas spent two years traveling to more than 30 countries, observing everything from war-torn Kosovo and Bosnia to the grinding poverty of Georgia and Kurdistan. “The inequities I saw solidified my commitment to human rights and social and economic justice.”
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