Error message

The page you requested does not exist. For your convenience, a search was performed using the query hyderabad alisha sonawalla giving back society.

Clare McLaughlin: Encouraging growth at the Academy

Before we enter the 2019 – 2020 academic term, we would like to spotlight a few staff from AKA Mombasa who are going on to pursue new adventures in the upcoming academic year. Here, we take a look at Academy fellow Clare McLaughlin and her two years at the Academy.

Clare McLaughlin.jpg

Clare McLaughlin is from Warren, Vermont and was an Academy fellow at the Aga Khan Academy Mombasa. Clare was focused in the Service Learning programme
and involved in other programmes around the Academy.

During her time at the Academy, Clare said she is grateful for the various people she was able to work with.

Clare McLaughlin.jpg

“My time at AKA Mombasa has been an incredible opportunity to learn and grow,” Clare said. “Foremost I’ll miss the students who were immeasurably thoughtful, hilarious and motivating. Students were the center of everything I did and valued in my time at the Academy so I’ll miss them the most. I’ll also miss the friendships I’ve made with staff across the Academy - from the Administration block to the dorms - the Academy staff always kept me laughing and learning.”

Clare said she was able to recognise the value of pluralism at the Academy, which she believes will help her in her future.

“I feel fortunate that on each team I worked with, I heard different perspectives and had to challenge myself to see problems and solutions from every angle,” Clare said. “I value this immensely and will carry with me this standard of listening and collaboration.”

Throughout her fellowship, Clare said she enjoyed the opportunities she was given to work on various projects and programmes, while also improving the Service Learning programme for the years to come.

Clare McLaughlin with her student.JPG

“The best part of the fellowship is its flexibility to try new things, work with an array of groups and interests in the Academy, and propose creative solutions to challenges,” Clare said. “I especially enjoyed serving as a mentor, working on the girls’ football programme, working on the Exchange Programme with the Academy in Hyderabad, and working to make Service Learning more community-centered, effective and sustainable.”

For her next adventure, Clare said she plans to go back to school for her Master’s degree.

“I am attending Stanford University to pursue a Master’s degree looking at education for sustainable development,” Clare said.

George Kamau Gachoya, an Environmental Systems and Societies teacher at the Academy who Clare worked with as a teacher’s assistant, said he admired Clare’s work ethic and the various new ideas she introduced to his class.

“Clare is a diligent and an outspoken person with whom I have had an opportunity to work with in the last two years as my protégé in the ESS class,” George said. “She is meticulous in planning; the resources she prepared for the lessons she helped deliver were always enriching and promoted deeper understanding of concepts. She introduced Freakonomics radio to the class and organised for class discussions initiated by students on hot environment topics of the week that they could pick from the media. She is friendly, but also very firm when dealing with students. Her keen eye could quickly pick students who were not using their lesson time productively.”

Nabil Patel: photographer par excellence and published author

Hyd 20180119 Nabil Patel 6.jpg

Nabil Patel is currently studying in grade 11 at the Aga Khan Academy Hyderabad, where he has been a student for the last five years. "The Academy has provided me many opportunities to grow as a balanced individual and reach my true potential, both academically and athletically. In the last three years, I have been the Vice-Captain of the U-14 and U-15 football teams, and Captain of the U-16 team. Being part of a team and also having been given positions of authority has taught me about leadership and the qualities one should inculcate to be an inspiring leader."

Hyd 20180119 Nabil Patel.jpg

Another passion of Nabil's that he has been encouraged and supported in pursuing is photography. He took part in the beginners and advanced Fredric Roberts Photography Workshops at the Academy in October 2015 and March 2017 respectively. Fred unleashed his talent and predilection for photography, and after the advanced workshop, he joined his team as a teaching assistant for a beginner’s workshop for Academy and government school students. With the experience and skill gained, Nabil now also runs a photography club as an after-school enrichment activity for three hours a week, to teach students how to tell stories through still images.

Hyd 20180119 Nabil Patel 3.jpg

As part of his IB MYP (Middle Years Programme) Personal Project, he wrote a photography book to share his knowledge with those who were not as lucky as he was to have been trained by a world-renowned photographer such as Fred. In order to create a quality product, he held multiple interviews with professional photographers and spent hours collecting and clicking pictures for the book. "Many questioned the need for this book and said there were books on photography available on Amazon and other easily accessible platforms. I told them that my book is different because it starts with the basics of photography and steadily

Hyd 20180119 Nabil Patel 4.jpg

progresses to more advanced practical applications. I also wanted to write a book that was affordable for another ‘kid’ like me who could try his/her hand at photography and give it a shot." The book contains unique aspects such as ‘Section 7: A Professional’s View’ where a number of professional photographers unveil their secrets to achieve perfection and provide some quick tips. Keeping all this in mind, he decided to name the book ‘Click! Your Guide to Photography,’ which is now available for sale on Amazon at this link.

Hyd 20180119 Nabil Patel 5.jpg

"My skill in photography has taken me a long way. I am currently working under the AKDN’s National Task Force for the Jubilee Celebrations as a photojournalist, capturing events and presenting them through my photographs. My work has been published through The Ismaili India on multiple mediums and featured in the Times of India student edition. I also assist the Aga Khan Academy’s communications department with in-house media projects and publications. Most recently, I was awarded an Outstanding Delegate Award at the India International Model United Nations held in August 2017 at the United Nations headquarters in New York City. Although I have been a longstanding participant at the Academy Model United Nations

Hyd 20180119 Nabil Patel 2.jpg

(MUN) and at other school MUNs, and have a 100%-win record in the International Press, this was my first time competing at an international forum. I came back more confident about my skills and more determined to make them better, even if it takes a lot of hard work!"