NEWS RELEASE

Contact: Jan Fiderio at 603.283.2107

October 28, 2011 for Immediate Release

AUNE PsyD Students Give to Sowetan Children—and Receive

Psychological testing for HIV-positive children finishes its third year

(Keene, NH) -- It’s nearly eight thousand miles as the crow flies from Keene, New Hampshire, to Soweto, South Africa, but the emotional distance can feel even wider.

PsyD students from Antioch University New England (AUNE) who have worked in Soweto with Susan Hawes, professor of clinical psychology, feel that emotional distance viscerally. For the third summer, Hawes and several of her students spent three weeks in August providing psychological assessments of HIV-positive children for Cotlands, a home-based care program in Soweto, a suburb of South Africa’s most populous city, Johannesburg.

Vince Pignatiello, in his fifth year at AUNE, was one of those students. “What was striking to me was not that there was such abject poverty—symbolized by the makeshift townships of metal shacks—but that the gap between living in poverty and living comfortably was so cavernous,” he said.

That divide also shocked Margaret Podkova, a third-year student. Yet she was impressed by the strength of the Sowetans. “Wherever we went, we were welcomed with warmth and gratitude,” she said.

AUNE Advocates for Education Help
The Community Outreach Program of Cotlands, the nonprofit agency with which the AUNE group works, provides home-based care services for HIV-positive South African children who are living with their mothers or other relatives in the communities of Soweto. Hawes and her students visit the children in their homes to assess their learning abilities and personalities. They use a battery of culturally sensitive tests compiled by Hawes. Cotlands uses their assessment reports to advocate for appropriate educational support for the children.

“Hearing their stories and what they endured, I want to say they were heart-breaking, but they had such resilience,” said Beth Ketaineck, a fourth-year PsyD student who went to Soweto two years ago. “They were the happiest kids. I remember feeling so struck by that and that the littlest things were such a big deal to them. Really, they just wanted to be loved.”

Learn more about AUNE’s PsyD program here.

About Antioch University New England (AUNE)
Antioch University New England offers highly respected doctoral, master’s and certificate programs in education, environmental studies, management and psychology. Located in Keene, New Hampshire, this unique institution serves approximately one thousand students each year. Our graduates have gone on to be leaders of positive change, working toward a more just and sustainable society. Founded in 1964, Antioch University New England is the oldest of Antioch University’s graduate campuses. Learn more at: www.antiochne.edu

About Antioch University
Antioch University serves adult students around the world and across the country, online and at its five campuses in four states. Each campus offers degree programs that meet—and often anticipate—the pressing needs of its region and the wider world. The University is also home to the landmark PhD in Leadership and Change; Antioch Education Abroad, an exceptional opportunity of immersive service and study programs; and WYSO, a leading public radio affiliate and an essential source of global news and opinion.

Antioch University is a nonprofit private 501(c) (3) organization and member of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. For more information, www.antioch.edu.

Last Updated: 11/9/11