R I C H A R D. G. W A L K E R ' 9 9

The following feature story appeared in the campus publication MOSAIC in April, 1998.

Embracing social activism and the study of Russia

Richard G. Walker '99 says he strives to be "an academic who is socially active." Although only a junior, Walker seems to have realized his ambition already. When not engaged in the study of the history and culture of Russia or participating in co-curricular activities such as Trinity's year-long decolonization program, the history major has actively supported efforts that aid Hartford's youth. During the past three years, Walker founded a volunteer student organization that provides academic and social support to young people, participated in volunteer teaching projects, and worked to establish an employment assistance resource for local teens. "I love Hartford," Walker says. "I like to see what I can do to support the city."

The South Windsor, CT native, whose parents are West Indian, has always felt a strong connection to Hartford and its minority communities. As a first-year student, Walker began to actively strengthen that connection. Working with his older sister, Valerie '98, Walker founded a tutoring program at the Charter Oak housing project. "I used to do amateur boxing there and I figured that when I went to college I wanted to give back a little bit," Walker explains. Through the tutoring program, Trinity students assist local children with their homework once a week, and on weekends bring them to campus to visit the science and computer labs, see movies, and experience an atmosphere they might not otherwise see.

Following his first year at Trinity, Walker spent a summer living in the Charter Oak neighborhood teaching kids aged nine to 14 how to use computers and the Internet through Leadership Education and Athletics in Partnership (LEAP), a summer-long, Americorps urban project in which college-age counselors both live and work with low-income children.

At the beginning of 1997, Walker applied what he had learned from his previous outreach experiences and used it to assist a fledgling community service program called Our Piece of the Pie (OPP), a resource for Hartford's youth seeking employment within the city. By sharing information on the skills employers are seeking, OPP helps Hartford teenagers to better understand the workplace and increase their chances for employment.

Study abroad in Russia
Although Walker seems focused on community service, his academic pursuits have not taken a back seat. Through his ongoing interest in history, he has realized his true passion -- the study of the Third World and its decolonization. He has focused on the political changes occurring throughout the world not only academically, but personally. A three-week visit to Russia when he was in high school, sparked an interest in the country -- an interest that has flourished at Trinity. Despite a limited knowledge of Russian culture and language during his initial visit, Walker found himself captivated by the country. "I was determined to go back to Russia and speak to the people I had already met in their language," he said. After studying Russian at Trinity for two years, Walker returned to Russia in the summer of 1997 and spent seven months there during a trip sponsored by the American Council of Teachers of Russian. He first studied the Russian language and culture before attending Perm State University for a semester. Perm, a city of one million people located in eastern Russia, was a city he had visited as a high school student. "In Perm, unlike Moscow [where many natives speak some English], I really had to practice my Russian," he says.

Walker faced several challenges while in Russia, including his grasp of the language and his presence as the only black person in Perm. Walker's academic adviser, Assistant Professor of History Luis A. Figueroa, reflecting on his student's experience abroad, says, "Richard breaks conventional images or stereotypes: a black student of West Indian ancestry studying Russian and spending his semester abroad in Russia? Suffice it to say that Richard is the best example that stereotypes are made to be broken by individuals who seek to challenge the boundaries imposed upon them."

Decolonization
Walker's firsthand experience in Russia, witnessing the unraveling of a super-power, left him primed to participate in Trinity's decolonization program, an examination of the events that transformed the world from an arrangement of colonial powers to a new world order. He was thrilled to see the results of the program extend into everyday life on campus. "Initially, issues of decolonization were addressed in academic settings, but then the issues were discussed in the cafeteria and in dorms," he observes.

Walker has maintained a strong academic standing despite his considerable time commitments to extracurricular projects, gaining faculty honors and earning the admiration of his professors. Professor Figueroa says, "Rich is the kind of student one doesn't just like, but respects." That respect stems from "the serious way he approaches his studies, his inquisitive mind, and, on top of that, his commitment to community issues," says Figueroa.

Though just completing his junior year, Walker has carefully planned his life after Trinity. Following graduation he hopes to return to Russia to delve deeper into the country's language and culture and then apply to graduate school and earn a Ph.D. His final goal is to teach history and make a difference in the world as a socially active academic.

-Jenica Parker Rogers