Fortitude of the Conqueror
Emma Hart, an Oberlin College senior, has been selected as one of the 42 recipients of the prestigious Thomas J. Watson Fellowship this year. Hart will use her $40,000 stipend and a year's worth of college loan payments to embark on a global journey, focusing on programs that create dialogues among boys in middle and high schools to address and prevent sexual violence.
Hart's project, titled "Violence Intervention: Inviting Boys to the Conversation," will take her to South Africa, Spain, Australia, and New Zealand. While specific school dialogue programs in these countries were not readily found, Hart will explore initiatives like the UNESCO-supported 'Connect with Respect' teaching tool, which fosters classroom dialogue to prevent and respond to gender-based violence among learners aged 11-15.
In South Africa, technology-supported platforms like the iFearLESS App provide immediate safety and educational resources but do not explicitly frame their work as dialogue programs among boys. Organizations like the Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI) promote research and policy advocacy on violence prevention and may support such school dialogue programs indirectly.
Hart formed Oberlin's Survivors of Sexual Harm and Allies (SOSHA), a student-led organization that advocates for and empowers those who have experienced sexual violence. SOSHA has over 100 student members and has forged coalitions with athletic teams and other organizations aimed at preventive measures. The organization also revived Oberlin's participation in Take Back the Night, an annual initiative on college campuses.
Aside from her advocacy work, Hart is a talented performer. She has pole-vaulted for the Oberlin track team and performed on silks and trapeze with the student-run OCircus. For her senior project in dance, Hart directed and performed in a documentary film called Healing Bodies, which quotes survivors of sexual abuse.
Hart's academic pursuits are as diverse as her extracurricular activities. She will graduate with majors in dance and psychology, with a minor in law and society and an integrative concentration in education. Hart worked with student writers as an associate in the Writing Center and served as a Peer Advising Leader to first-year students. She collaborated with the center's director, Laurie McMillin, a professor of writing and communications.
Hart was raised by two mothers in rural Decatur, Indiana. She hopes her Watson experience will help her determine the best way to sustain advocacy work and potentially pursue a law degree or a master's in public policy in the future.
In addition to her Watson Fellowship, SOSHA continues to support survivors of sexual violence through confidential listening sessions with the Nord Center, social events, and open forums. The organization's efforts underscore Hart's commitment to creating safe and supportive environments for all students.
- Emma Hart, having graduated with a diverse academic background in fields like dance, psychology, law, and education, will channel her experiences towards promoting personal growth and education, using her Watson Fellowship to investigate dialogues among boys in South Africa, Spain, Australia, and New Zealand with the aim of preventing sexual violence.
- Aside from her passion for education-and-self-development and personal-growth, Hart will also continue to engage in lifestyle activities, applying her talents in pole-vaulting, circus performance, and dance-film direction as a means of expressing herself and advocating for those who have experienced sexual violence.
