Brandi Cutler, ’07, Volunteers in American Samoa
From New England to the South Pacific: in July, Brandi Cutler, ’07, made that dramatic cultural leap, going to American Samoa to volunteer for a year with WorldTeach, a non-profit organization based at the Center for International Development at Harvard University. WorldTeach is operating its American Samoa program for the first time this year at the request of the U.S. Department of Education.
With her fellow volunteers Cutler is spending a month becoming familiar with Samoan culture and the Samoan language in preparation for teaching English and other subjects at a high school on the country’s main island. “I am coming to appreciate and love a more organic creation and way of life,” she says.
“She was accepted into this competitive program because of her commitment to education and to public service,” says a WorldTeach representative. Cutler graduated from FSC summa cum laude in sociology with a minor in anthropology. She was named the 2007 FSC Phenomenal Woman and was a leader in campus organizations such as Amnesty International and Women’s Empowerment. In the year following graduation she worked at the Victim Rights Law Center in Boston, an organization providing free legal assistance to sexual assault victims.
Cutler has already traveled widely, spending time in China and Vietnam. “[FSC] taught me the importance of sensitivity and reflection when living and teaching in a new place,” she says. “My experiences at FSC also fostered confidence and a desire for such an adventure. Fa’afetai [thank you] to those at Framingham State!”