Watson Hartsoe, Sewanee: University of the South, Men's Soccer

WATSON HARTSOE OF SEWANEE: UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH, a junior midfielder on the men's soccer team who hails from Maryville, Tenn., has been selected the SCAC Character & Community Male Student-Athlete-of-the-Week for the week ending October 16, 2011.

Hartsoe, an Anthropology and Philosophy double major, had a community engagement class that involved tutoring at Coalmont Elementary School the fall of his sophomore year. He took the basic class requirement of homework help and built it into afterschool enrichment activities. After the class was over, Hartsoe was offered a job by the school to continue with the enrichment activities. These activities emphasize creative problem solving, group work, and hands on learning.

From cow brain dissections to short stories about zombie invasions, Hartsoe's work focuses on providing elementary and middle school kids with enriching educational opportunities that encourage curiosity and engaged learning in one of the poorest counties in Tennessee.

His work in the community also includes work with Sewanee's Philosophy Outreach Program that focuses on facilitating critical thinking skills in elementary, middle, and high schools through philosophy. Hartsoe was one the first members of this club and has facilitated many philosophical conversations in different elementary, middle, and high school classrooms throughout the area surrounding Sewanee.

In the spring of 2011, Hartsoe went to Geoffrey Canada's Harlem Children Zone's to learn more about how urban educational solutions might be applied in a rural setting. His experience at the Harlem Children Zone has helped in his work with a group of community members who are working to develop a number of rural communities in the area.

This past summer, Hartsoe attended the Sullivan Social Entrepreneurship Program in Sewanee. This program examined how good business practices might be leveraged to solve social problems. After visiting a number of different social entrepreneurs throughout Appalachia, Hartsoe worked with an organization called Blue Monarch, which helps women recover from addiction, poverty, and physical and emotional abuse through work ethics courses and employment, to develop a business plan that would expand their operations.

Following the Social Entrepreneurship Program, Hartsoe headed to the Dominican Republic for an internship at a microfinance institution, Esperanza International.  During this internship, he interviewed women borrowers on how their small microloans had helped their businesses and affected their lives. After performing interviews, Hartsoe posted updates about these associates on Esperanza's website to help secure more funding for the women and their businesses.

This fall, Hartsoe has been selected as one of the first Bonner Scholars at Sewanee. As a Bonner Scholar, he is responsible for developing an outreach program in the community while mentoring and developing other students to act as leaders in community service. 

Along with being a Bonner Scholar, Hartsoe has also received a Canale Internship to help fund his efforts to coordinate and train volunteers in facilitating afterschool enrichment programming.