 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Interview with new Stanford Haas Center Fellow, Rebecca Pratt
Can you give a brief introduction of yourself? Sure. I am from Los Angeles, CA, grew near USC in South Central for part of my life and later lived in the Villa Park community of Pasadena. I am an undergraduate student at Stanford University studying Medical Anthropology, but this year I actually took some time off to work at the Haas Center for Public Service located on the Stanford campus. How did you first learn about the Shinnyo-en Foundation? Throughout my time at Stanford, I have been working at and involved with the Haas Center, and they offered a fellowship for spirituality, service and social change. I was looking on the center’s website, thinking about applying, and the Shinnyo-en Foundation was one link as a potential placement. So I looked at the website, emailed Haru [Inouye] and Liane [Louie Badua] and they were coming to Stanford for another meeting so I was able to meet with them then. They told me about the Foundation and now here I am. What initially struck you about the Foundation, either looking at the website or talking with Haru and Liane? Well, a few things. Their openness in communicating was a personal draw to the organization, but I think my first thoughts while looking at the website was it was really innovative. I don’t have much experience with foundations or philanthropy, but my parents run a nonprofit so I’ve been on the other side of receiving funding. And it just seemed that the Shinnyo-en Foundation had a lot of interesting and creative ways of being a foundation, through internal programs. And I was very struck by the idea of Six Billion Paths to Peace. What are your goals, both personally and professionally, while working here this summer? It’s only nine weeks, but I hope to accomplish some practical goals and acquire some practical skills. I really want to learn about the grant making process, and more specifically how a faith based organization goes about making grants, and what are the ethical decisions they need to make, how much of the belief system goes into the grant making, and sort of how the whole grant making process works. I really want to explore how different people who work here interact with the fac t that it’s faith based. Is it a common thing to think about, or people just here to do their work? And I wanted to personally explore how my own ideas about spirituality can grow while I’m here, through exposure to Shinnyo-en Buddhism, which I hope to learn more about, that’s definitely a goal, but then also through thinking about philanthropy and foundations and what role they play in service broadly. And then also how my own ideas about how to do service, how that intersects and grows through that model. Do you see a link between Medical Anthropology and the work of the Shinnyo-en Foundation? I think my interest in Medical Anthropology is more than just an intellectual one. Anthropology can be done irresponsibly, but if done responsibly it really is an interesting field that explores peoples cultures and ways of interacting with their world and, specifically in my studies, the ways medical systems and healing systems line up with their spiritual beliefs. Most places I’ve studied have a much closer relationship between healing and spiritual beliefs than here in the West. So I think in that way it relates. But I think I want to eventually work to become a Nurse Practitioner or a Midwife, and work on building clinical and community health. So I think on that level, any time you work in community health, you are dealing with people’s values and belief because they intersect with people’s life decisions. I also anticipate working with philanthropies, either in them or requesting funding. What other general hobbies, interests do you have? Love to read, write. I have deep appreciation for street and urban art. I also love water polo. And in closing, what’s your personal Path to Peace? My path to peace is being a loving, interconnected, thinking member of my family and friends lives.
|
 |
