Scholar in the News
Ahmad Ali Lewis isn't a typical Stanford undergrad - nor is he a typical rapper
Scholars Around the World
Two JKCF Scholars organize a 15-day study tour to Bolivia to explore the country’s political economy, peoples and rural development
Alison Marie Chopel
“Traveling around the world working with Tibetan refugees, Romanian orphans, and Dominican street kids combined with my own disadvantaged background, lit a fire of motivation in me.”
- Program: 2008 Graduate Scholarship Recipient
- Resides: Albany, CA
- Hometown: Boulder, CO
- Age: 34
- Community College: Front Range Community College
- Four-year College or University: University of Colorado at Boulder
- Graduate School: University of California, Berkeley
- Academic/Career Pursuits: Education / Academia, Health Care, International Economic Development, International NGO/Relations, Languages, Nonprofits, Politics and Diplomacy, Psychology / Therapy, Public Policy, Public Services, Social Science / Anthropology, Writing / Journalism
- Other Interests: Astronomy, Film / Photography, Foreign Languages / International Study, Honor Society, International Economic Development, International Relations / NGOs, Languages, Nonprofits, Outdoor / Mountaineering / Camping, Public Policy, Religion, Social Science / Anthropology, Visual Arts, Volunteer Work, Writing / Journalism, Travel
Biography
PROFILE: Alison Chopel was pushed out of her home in her teens. “My first year in high school, I was living on the streets, and I was the only one of my homeless companions to continue pursuing my education.” After working to support herself and earn her high school degree, Alison took on the world as her classroom. She taught English in a Tibetan refugee settlement in India, and worked with a music therapist at an orphanage in Romania, also assuming caretaking and feeding duties.
Alison curtailed her education for a while after becoming a single mother, but soon found her way back to school and social activism. Having first been inspired at the refugee camp by the need for health education, she is pursuing her interest in international and domestic social work.
INSPIRATION: Alison feared she might never attend college after her son was born. But instead of hindering her academic and career goals, her son became an inspiration to pursue her education even more seriously.
ASPIRATION: Alison hopes to work with US and grassroots international organizations in social health and welfare. She is considering a doctoral program in Public Health .
MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Alison has been active in the Coalition Against Sweatshop Apparel, and volunteers at the Pioneer Bilingual Elementary School. She has worked with Niños del Camino, providing services to street children in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
ACCOLADES: As research assistant for a professor of political economy, Alison co-wrote a paper that was published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Public Budgeting and Finance. She is the recipient of a Rotary Club Scholarship and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa.
INTERESTING FACT: At 16, Alison began writing a novel based on her life in the streets. In 2006, Home in Public Places won her the Rocky Mountain Writers Association Award for first novel.
Other Scholars Like Alison
Aleksandr Fedyszyn
College Scholar
New York University
Corinna Bockstruck
Graduate Scholar
University of California, Berkeley
Melissa Osborne
Graduate Scholar
University of Chicago
Volha Vitorsky
Graduate Scholar
Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine