Blog

Personal reflections from our Scholars and Alumni.

Callie Vandewiele

Callie Vandewiele

  • Alumni
  • United States
  • 2014 PhD Latin American Studies
  • Newnham College

Born in Utah, I was raised the oldest of six siblings first there and then just outside of Portland, Oregon. "Unschooled" until the age of 16 my foray into traditional education began with a handful of highschool classes, and then a dive into Spanish language, music and biology at the local community college, where I quickly developed a taste for academic work. As a non-traditional student I graduated first with an AAOT in General Studies from Clackamas Community College and then with honors from Pacific University in 2008, where I received a B.A. in Politics and Government. After graduation I lived and worked in the Alta Verapaz of Guatemala where I developed an interest in women's leadership education and the ongoing interactions between globalized western culture, local cultures and the evolution of ancient traditions.

Latest Blog

Talented Law Graduate Faces Uncertain Future

I still remember the first time I met Jose Manuel Godinez Samperio. He was one of a handful of first-year law students who dropped everything to assist me in representing dozens of former workers from the Postville Iowa Meatpacking Plant disaster. These workers were undocumented immigrants from rural places in Central and Latin America, many […]

We’re drowning … Right? Accountability Journalism in the Digital Age

Many felt the financial crisis of 2008 would bring a final death to mainstream news enterprises in developed media markets. They feared this would leave citizens in the hands of “pajama”-clad bloggers. “The Internet” was a threat to accountability journalism and its outcomes, which so many of us valued as integral to democracy. Except the […]

Coming soon

The Gates Cambridge blog is for Gates Cambridge scholars and alumni. It will be launching on 1st June on the Gates Cambridge website. It will include news and views about all the brilliant research scholars and alumni are working on as well as blogs on all the many other activities they are involved in. See […]