Alexandra Robbins ('07)

Imagine not being able to afford to feed or care for your own children because you make less than $2 a day picking up trash. Now imagine an organization with individuals willing to educate, feed and nurture your child. Imagine the people at this wonderful center keeping you connected and involved in your child's amazing progress. This is Aziza's Place, a learning center for impoverished children in Cambodia. At the heart of this life-changing endeavor is Alexandra Robbins who directs the center with Daniel Haney ('07). After graduation, Alexandra, a political science major, chose to serve in this community-based center over a Peace Corps assignment. "We get to put ideas into action. We get to give each child the nurturing and opportunities they deserve," she says. The 21 children at Aziza's Place stay in touch with their families while they live at Aziza's Place to study math, computer skills, English, Khmer, soccer, karate and life skills. Beyond keeping families connected, providing education and meals at the dinner table, Alexandra and her staff are training native Cambodians to take over the operation of Aziza's Place in the near future. Change is happening. Aziza's Place's first high-school graduate is ready for college — maybe even a university 9,000 miles away that nurtures the Be the Change philosophy that Alexandra practices every day.

"We give each child the nurturing and opportunities they deserve. We get to put ideas into action."