“The MLK scholar program has completely changed my worldview,” says Courtney Clemente. “It has affected the way I perceive those around me. I now identify various issues of oppression and discrimination all around me in my day-to-day life.”

During her time in the program, Courtney has traveled to Alabama and Georgia as part of the civil rights tour, and more recently to Seoul, South Korea. While in Seoul, she and her fellow scholars assisted with the demolition and construction of a new migrant workers dormitory, and visited the Korean National Commission for the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) where the leader of UNESCO spoke passionately about human rights issues in Korea.

“Being immersed in a culture so different from our own gave us a completely different view of the world and helped us further develop a global conscience,” says Courtney, who has also volunteered locally at Beverly J. Martin Elementary School in downtown Ithaca and at the residential senior community, Longview.

To complement what she’s learning from her travels and seminars, Courtney has added sociology, women’s studies, and politics as minors to her journalism major. “I now know that my life work is going to be dedicated to giving oppressed groups a voice, and eradicating social injustice in its various forms,” she says. “If those of us who have been given so many privileges give our time and resources to the voiceless in our society, change is possible.”