KU News Release

Meredith Wood Walrafen, right, and her friend Nancy Abaza in Jordan.

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• Oxfam at KU

LAWRENCE — A University of Kansas sophomore from Leawood has been selected as one of 50 students nationwide to participate in a leadership program offered by Oxfam America, an international relief and development organization based in Boston.

Meredith Wood Walrafen, a business administration major, was selected for the Oxfam America CHANGE Initiative. Students selected for the program commit to engage with Oxfam America for an academic year on their campuses in work related to Oxfam’s mission of alleviating poverty.

Walrafen begins her year of commitment with a week’s training session, July 18 to 24, in Boston. During training, she and her peers will expand their knowledge of global issues and explore tangible work that they can do upon their return home. Key issues covered in the training include climate change, hunger, poverty and emergency response.

“Fair trade and social change are my passion,” said Walrafen, who plans to focus on international business in her major. “When I got to KU, I began to learn more about fair trade and social change,” she said, adding that high school experiences set the tone for her passion. She is a Shawnee Mission East High School graduate.

Walrafen credits two teachers for inspiring her to think about people and cultures beyond the United States: Paul DeBarthe, world history teacher, and John Nickels, geography teacher. She joined Shawnee Mission East classmates in coordinating a book drive for Guatemalan youngsters. Also in high school, Walrafen forged a friendship with an exchange student from Jordan, Nancy Abaza. Their friendship inspired Walrafen and her parents, Robert and Nancy Walrafen of Leawood, to visit Jordan in 2008.

At KU, Walrafen joined the newly formed student chapter of Oxfam. This spring, she and her friend, Ariel Tazkargy, a junior from Wellington, were elected co-presidents of KU’s Oxfam chapter. The co-presidents became friends while taking Arabic courses at KU.

Walrafen’s long-range goals include owning her own fair trade business. She is especially interested in working with businesses in the Middle East and Africa.

Walrafen is the recipient of an Elizabeth M. Watkins-Emily Berger scholarship, one of KU’s most prestigious four-year scholarships for Kansas high school graduates with outstanding records of academic achievement, community service and leadership. She is a resident of Sellards Scholarship Hall at KU.

This summer, Walrafen is employed in a Leawood hardware store where she began working part time in high school.