February 25, 2012

An Interview with Charmaine Mangram

Charmaine Mangram is a doctoral student in the School of Education. Originally from the neighborhood of Watts, in Los Angeles, she did her undergraduate work at Williams College, where she majored in Mathematics Education. Upon graduating, she was selected to be a Teach For America corps member and taught high-school math in Mercedes, Texas. A year later, she returned to Southeast L.A. to work at Locke High School as both an instructor of Algebra and AP Calculus as well as a Guiding Teacher. After three years with the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), she began working at Ànimo Inglewood Charter High – a school operated by the Green Dot network of public charters. While continuing to teach math in Inglewood, she also served as a Mentor Teacher and completed a master’s degree in Education at Mount St. Mary’s College. Later, while studying to clear her Teaching Credential, she returned to LAUSD in a more advisory role. Under the direction of the Urban Education Partnership, she worked as a Math Literacy Coach, first at Samuel Gompers Middle School, in Southeast L.A., and then at the King Drew Medical Magnet High School. In addition to doing this work for the city, she founded the Parents’ Academic Support Network – a nonprofit seeking to empower parents and students by providing them an inside look at the Los Angeles school system. Here at Stanford, her research focuses on the often-overlooked areas of Curriculum Studies and Teacher Education. She talks to us about teaching, learning, and innovating in our nation’s public schools. 

CARDINAL DIRECTIONS
Episode 105: “Charmaine Mangram”
February 25, 2012
8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.

February 11, 2012

An Interview with Omar Shakir

Omar Shakir is a second-year student at the law school. Originally from San Jose, he did his undergraduate work here at Stanford, where he majored in International Relations. Upon graduating in 2007, he spent time in Syria as a Fulbright Scholar. His academic work there focused on economic and political reform. He also led humanitarian projects in Jordan, Syria, and the Occupied Territories. Later, with the support of the Khaled Juffali Scholarship, he attended Georgetown University and completed a master’s in Arab Studies. Since returning to Stanford, he has resumed his role as one of the most energetic leaders on campus. He is president of the International Law Society, co-president of the Iraqi Refugee Assistance Program, co-chair of Stanford’s chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, and the founding vice president of the Stanford Association for Law in the Middle East. He is also co-president of Students for Palestinian Equal Rights - a group he founded at Stanford back in 2006. He talks to us about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the campus-wide effort to have Stanford University divest from companies supporting the occupation.

CARDINAL DIRECTIONS
Episode 104: “Omar Shakir”
February 11, 2012
8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.

February 4, 2012

An Interview with Miles Unterreiner

Miles Unterreiner is a senior majoring in History. Originally from the town of Gig Harbor in Washington state, he is widely recognized on campus as an athlete and a writer. A distance runner on both the Track team and the Cross Country team, his column, “I Do Choose to Run,” appears every Monday in the Stanford Daily. The column deals primarily with American politics, foreign affairs, and moral philosophy. He has been an editor for both the Stanford Journal of International Relations as well as the undergraduate History journal, “Herodotus.” For the past two years, he has also served as president of Stanford’s chapter of the ACLU.

CARDINAL DIRECTIONS
Episode 103: “Miles Unterreiner”
February 4, 2012 
8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.

January 28, 2012

An Interview with Joshua Schott

Josh Schott is a sophomore majoring in International Relations. Originally from the town of Whitefish, Montana, he has been an activist for social justice and humanitarian causes since his early teens. Here at Stanford, he is president of Stanford Says No to War, an officer of Students for Palestinian Equal Rights, and a key organizer of the on-going Occupy Stanford movement. This summer, he will be making his second trip to the West Bank to help and show solidarity with the Palestinian struggle. Before he leaves campus, however, one of his primary goals is to introduce a Peace Studies major at Stanford. He talks to us about his various projects and his ideas.

CARDINAL DIRECTIONS
Episode 102: “Joshua Schott”
January 28, 2012
8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.

January 21, 2012

An Interview with Amrita Lonkar

Amrita Lonkar is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Originally from the city of Aligarh in northern India, she did her undergraduate work at IIT Kanpur and holds a master’s degree from Stanford. Amrita’s research focuses on using computers to simulate the flow of air across a plasma actuator. She is especially interested in the use of plasma actuators to control the flow around wind turbines. It is a technology that may soon change the face of renewable energy and revolutionize modern aviation.

CARDINAL DIRECTIONS
Episode 101: “Amrita Lonkar”
January 21, 2012
8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.