Our Grads

Our Grads 

See what some of our grads have to say about the program and what they are doing now:

Phil Wilmot (2012)

Phil and his wife Susan started Solidarity Uganda, a nonprofit out of Uganda whose mission is to empower communities with alternative transformational educational experiences useful for cultivating holistic peace and justice throughout Uganda. They are a "capacity-building" organization that helps Community-Based Organization, Civil Society Organizations, activists, and grassroots groups affect change in their communities through nonviolent tactics and strategies. Their niche is training people to achieve peace and justice, whatever that means in their context: protecting their land from being grabbed by multinational corporations, documenting human rights abuses and corruption, or campaigning for an end to economic exploitation.

Effective nonviolent action requires creativity. The peace and conflict studies' interdisciplinary focus allows students to cultivate holistic thinking so that they can bring the peaceful kingdom of God to our communities. The course of study helps us understand the gospel in terms of a life of peace, and the professors consistently challenge us to radically follow Jesus in all of his teachings and actions.

Phil Wilmot, Class of 2012

 

Luiza Leite (2013)

Luiza worked as an Administrative Assistant for Church World Service, an organization that works with partners to eradicate hunger and poverty and to promote peace and justice around the world. She completed her Masters Degree in Conflict Resolution and Reconciliation with Trinity College of Dublin, and was located in Belfast during this program, examining the reconciliation work that has been done since The Troubles. Upon returning home, she worked to submit a dissertation called Cultivating Justice: From Seed To Table, focusing on the food justice movement and its impact on Chicago.

Prior to returning to Messiah College as an employee in July of 2017, I received my Masters in Conflict Resolution and Reconciliation from Trinity College of Dublin. My graduate thesis, Cultivating Justice: From Seed to Table focused on the food justice moment in Chicago and the ways in which the food we eat is tied to conflict. Most recently, I worked for a Northern Illinois Food Bank as a Child Nutrition Programs Coordinator. At the food bank, I worked to help monitor and regulate after-school and summer meals for children in low-income areas throughout thirteen counties in Illinois. 

 

   Currently, I am the Assistant Director of International Student Programs at Messiah College. I provide International, MK and TCK students with support during their time as students. My role allows my to build relationships with the student population as well as help students maintain their F-1 visa status. I also am privileged to advise the Rafaki House and co-advise ISA/MuKappa. Since returning to Messiah, I have been able to participate in wider campus initiatives and currently I am working on opportunities to implement my Peace and Conflict Studies background by facilitating storytelling opportunities with the student population.