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Serving in Senegal
As the hot sun begins to descend in Kedougou, Senegal, women leave their huts for a late afternoon stroll to the village well. The sound of swaying buckets and rushing water is heard as each woman waits her turn for the pump. In a sea of chatty girls, UMW alumna Maura Slocum listens carefully to their enunciations as she works to perfect the native language of Pulaar.
Slocum is living in this rural West African country as a Peace Corps volunteer. Arriving in mid-December, she’s still adjusting to the dramatic cultural shift from the familiar Fredericksburg campus where she graduated last May with a degree in environmental science.
She’s following a rich tradition of Mary Washington alumni who have been chosen to serve with the volunteer global outreach established by President John F. Kennedy in 1961. In fact, UMW has been included among the top 20 of the Peace Corps’ list of top-producing small schools since 2005. In all, more than 230 UMW alumni have served the 27-month commitment around the world since the Peace Corps’ inception.
At home in her host family’s compound, Slocum spends much of her time with her young siblings, Sadie, Maimudu and Abdoulaiye, who love introducing her to new places. Ranging in ages from 3 to 9, they aren’t the youngest of the bunch. Not long after she arrived, her young host mother gave birth to twins.
“My family and neighbors were very welcoming,” Slocum said. “They even got me to dance in the drum circle at the [babies’] naming ceremonies.”
When she’s not practicing Pulaar or spending time with her host siblings, Slocum tends to her personal compost and tree nursery.
“I arrived to the village at the end of the harvest season, so there is not a lot of agriculture work right now,” Slocum said. “The main focus right now is garden preparation, since the farming season will not begin until the rains come in March or April.”
As an agroforestry volunteer, she aims to help bolster food security and sustainability by integrating trees into agriculture.
Just under a year ago, Slocum beamed with excitement over her acceptance into the Peace Corps as she stood with a UMW environmental sciences team in the polluted water of Contrary Creek in Louisa County. A senior at the time, Slocum researched soil contamination and worked to improve it, a skill that will serve her well in helping the villagers of Kedougou..
Preparation was key for Slocum in December of 2016, when she arrived in the village with a population of 250.
Melanie Szulczewski, Slocum’s advisor and former agroforestry volunteer for the Peace Corps, encouraged her to apply to the Peace Corps and offered her support.
“I talked with Maura extensively about the application process,” said Szulczewski, associate professor of earth and environmental sciences. “She could clearly outline her goals and was well prepared with abundant volunteer experience.”
Slocum has been preparing for her Peace Corps service since high school. On a mission’s trip to Guatemala she discovered her passion to serve, and when it came time to choose a university, she had her eyes on the prize.
“The University of Mary Washington was fundamental in my journey to the Peace Corps,” Slocum said. “I actually chose UMW over James Madison University because I read that UMW had such a high number of alumni who go on to serve.”
With a team of friends, family and professors to support and advise her, Slocum seamlessly transitioned from a UMW student to a Peace Corps volunteer.
“I believe Maura will truly embody the goals of the Peace Corps,” said Szulczewski. “She will be helping others while growing as a global citizen.”
Serving in Senegal
As the hot sun begins to descend in Kedougou, Senegal, women leave their huts for a late afternoon stroll to the village well. The sound of swaying buckets and rushing water is heard as each woman waits her turn for the pump. In a sea of chatty girls, UMW alumna Maura Slocum listens carefully to their enunciations as she works to perfect the native language of Pulaar.
Slocum is living in this rural West African country as a Peace Corps volunteer. Arriving in mid-December, she’s still adjusting to the dramatic cultural shift from the familiar Fredericksburg campus where she graduated last May with a degree in environmental science.
She’s following a rich tradition of Mary Washington alumni who have been chosen to serve with the volunteer global outreach established by President John F. Kennedy in 1961. In fact, UMW has been included among the top 20 of the Peace Corps’ list of top-producing small schools since 2005. In all, more than 230 UMW alumni have served the 27-month commitment around the world since the Peace Corps’ inception.
At home in her host family’s compound, Slocum spends much of her time with her young siblings, Sadie, Maimudu and Abdoulaiye, who love introducing her to new places. Ranging in ages from 3 to 9, they aren’t the youngest of the bunch. Not long after she arrived, her young host mother gave birth to twins.
“My family and neighbors were very welcoming,” Slocum said. “They even got me to dance in the drum circle at the [babies’] naming ceremonies.”
When she’s not practicing Pulaar or spending time with her host siblings, Slocum tends to her personal compost and tree nursery.
“I arrived to the village at the end of the harvest season, so there is not a lot of agriculture work right now,” Slocum said. “The main focus right now is garden preparation, since the farming season will not begin until the rains come in March or April.”
As an agroforestry volunteer, she aims to help bolster food security and sustainability by integrating trees into agriculture.
Just under a year ago, Slocum beamed with excitement over her acceptance into the Peace Corps as she stood with a UMW environmental sciences team in the polluted water of Contrary Creek in Louisa County. A senior at the time, Slocum researched soil contamination and worked to improve it, a skill that will serve her well in helping the villagers of Kedougou..
Preparation was key for Slocum in December of 2016, when she arrived in the village with a population of 250.
Melanie Szulczewski, Slocum’s advisor and former agroforestry volunteer for the Peace Corps, encouraged her to apply to the Peace Corps and offered her support.
“I talked with Maura extensively about the application process,” said Szulczewski, associate professor of earth and environmental sciences. “She could clearly outline her goals and was well prepared with abundant volunteer experience.”
Slocum has been preparing for her Peace Corps service since high school. On a mission’s trip to Guatemala she discovered her passion to serve, and when it came time to choose a university, she had her eyes on the prize.
“The University of Mary Washington was fundamental in my journey to the Peace Corps,” Slocum said. “I actually chose UMW over James Madison University because I read that UMW had such a high number of alumni who go on to serve.”
With a team of friends, family and professors to support and advise her, Slocum seamlessly transitioned from a UMW student to a Peace Corps volunteer.
“I believe Maura will truly embody the goals of the Peace Corps,” said Szulczewski. “She will be helping others while growing as a global citizen.”
Presidents Day Press Conference
UMW President Troy Paino and James Monroe, the fifth president of the United States, will share the stage on Monday, Feb. 20, for a one-of-a-kind Presidents Day press conference focused on the themes of leadership and civic responsibility.
The session, featuring historical re-enactor James “Jay” G. Harrison III as Monroe, will be held from 6-7:30 p.m. in Monroe Hall, Room 116, on the Fredericksburg campus. The event will be live-streamed and is accessible via this link, 15 minutes prior to the event. https://portal.stretchinternet.com/umwevents/portal.htm?eventId=343882&streamType=video.
James Monroe was inaugurated for his first term on March 4, 1817. President Paino will be inaugurated as UMW’s 10th president on April 21, 2017.
“In celebration of Presidents Day, the James Monroe Museum is presenting a unique opportunity to have a discussion with both presidents on the cusp of their presidencies, looking forward to the path of leadership before them,” said Scott Harris, director of the James Monroe Museum.
Harris noted striking similarities between the two leaders. Both stress the importance of having an educated and civic-minded citizenry in order to have a healthy democracy and a bright future for the nation.
Speaking at Washington College in Pennsylvania on Sept. 4, 1817, Monroe said, “In providing for the prosperity and happiness of a country, a careful attention to literary institutions, and the education of youth ought ever to occupy a high place. To the youth we must look with an eye of deep interest – they are the hope of our country.”
Monroe’s thoughts seem to have been reflected in Paino’s address when he was introduced to the UMW community on Feb. 19, 2016: “What we really are about here at Mary Washington and what really attracted me was that we produce young people who have a servant’s heart, who become passionate about something and want to improve the world, who want to be fully engaged in their communities, and want to advance our democracy in a positive way, and to me that’s why I do this work.”
The event is free and open to the public, though seating is limited. A reception will follow. For more information, contact the James Monroe Museum at 540-654-1043.
Behind the Scenes
Hairspray fills the dressing room beneath Klein Theatre stage. Not one but two types – flex- and firm-hold.“Hair is a character in this play,” Kevin McCluskey, associate professor of theatre and dance, said during dress rehearsals for Steel Magnolias. The UMW production runs through Feb. 26.
Set in a small-town Louisiana beauty parlor, the show claims a six-person cast … and nine wigs, all lovingly created by LeCuyer, who brought them – along with her Broadway experience – from New York. A makeup artist and hairstylist, she’s worked on one hit after another, from Aladdin to Les Misérables. But her return trip to Mary Washington, where she shared tips with students, brought her full-circle.
“The bug had already bit, but this is where it really sank in its fangs,” said LeCuyer, who found her calling during her own undergrad years.
A native of Newport News, Virginia, she followed family members, including great-grandmother Bessie Satchell Amory ’29, to Mary Washington, where LeCuyer majored in theater and classical studies. Two experiences – a master class on wig design for the 18th-ceuntry styles in She Stoops to Conquer and a stage makeup course taught by McCluskey – helped her find passion backstage.
“I saw that spark in her,” McCluskey said. “When I challenged her to push herself, she did.”
At UMW, LeCuyer designed hair and makeup for Our Town, Romeo and Juliet, and Seascape, and interned with the American Ballet Theatre. Now, with a master’s degree in wig and makeup design from North Carolina School of the Arts and a cosmetology license from Empire Beauty School in Queens, she’s pushing others.
“I’ve grown so much working with Madeline,” said biology major Claire Stanchfield, who’s on the Steel Magnolias hair crew with international affairs major Delmi Fonseca-Portillo.
The wigs LeCuyer delivered for this quick-change production sit on an overhead shelf, each worth hundreds of dollars. To make her masterpieces, she scours scripts for context clues, and researches colors and styles. Then she begins the hours-long process of ventilating, similar to latch-hook, to create natural-looking hairlines and custom foundations, one strand at a time.
In Steel Magnolias, for example, LeCuyer frosted a wig for the role of M’Lynn, to complement senior Gwen Levey’s dark hair. Extra pins keep the hairpiece in place during nightly washings and rollings onstage.
LeCuyer spins the same magic on Broadway, where she’s worked on The Book of Mormon, Cinderella, Disaster! and Phantom of the Opera. On her current show, Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, a musical adaptation of Tolstoy’s War and Peace, she handles all manner of hair pieces, accessories and braids, even a fake bun that hides a mic.
She finds time for her alma mater, too, returning to campus last summer to assist with UMW’s first-ever TV commercial, teaching a recent master class on prepping for wigs and helping Mary Washington students find their own spotlight.
“As a student,” LeCuyer said, “it’s important to know that if this is what you truly love to do, there’s a way to make a life for yourself doing it.”
For tickets to see Steel Magnolias, call the Klein Theatre Box Office at 540-654-1111 or buy them online.
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