Fletcher Ph.D. Candidate Itamara V. Lochard Recipient of the Tufts University 2007 Presidential Award for Citizenship and Public Service
The Fletcher School has always taken pride in its diverse and accomplished student body, whose members try to make meaningful contributions both to their academic fields and also to their community. An exemplar of these characteristics is Itamara V. Lochard, one of this year’s recipients of the prestigious Tufts’ Presidential Award for Citizenship and Public Service.
Ita, as she is known to students, faculty and staff at Fletcher, was announced as one of the recipients of the award this year in recognition of her outstanding community service and leadership achievement. The award ceremonies will take place on April 20th.
While most students know Ita as an International Security Studies Program (ISSP) Ph.D. research associate who co-teaches the Fletcher P243 Seminar on Internal Conflicts and Wars with Professor Richard Shultz and as the author of significant publications, academia and research are just two of her numerous pursuits. Even during her undergraduate years at Georgetown University, graduate studies at Stanford University and also while engaged in her career, Ita was very active in a range of meaningful student and community activities including working with the homeless, volunteering with abused and neglected children as well as canvassing on clean water initiatives.
According to Ita, what drives her to commit to such diverse activities is a "strong desire to give back to the community. That’s my passion and is the common thread in everything I do. The main reason I left the workplace and decided to pursue getting the three magical letters behind my name [Ph.D.] is so that I can be in a position where I can hopefully affect positive change in the world. I can’t imagine having all the opportunities that I have had and not trying to make a difference and give something back whenever and wherever I can," she said.
Ita remains engaged in the core issues covered in the seminar she co-teaches, writing a book based on its syllabus which she revised and updated in 2003. Entitled Understanding Internal Conflicts in the 21st Century (UK: Routledge), the book is due to be released this year. Despite this increasingly prominent work, Ita’s dissertation research focuses on informal governance structures in weak states, which comprises traditional society, religious actors as well as non-state armed groups and the informal economy.
"A lot of people are surprised when they find out I’m in Security Studies. They don’t expect that someone who studies warfare would be interested in community service. Nothing could be farther from the truth. I strive to understand conflicts in the hope of mitigating them, and that drives everything in my life," she said.
At Fletcher, Ita has demonstrated this in various activities. In 2001, during her first semester at Fletcher, she founded and became editor-in-chief of Fletcher Perspectives, a student-run organization whose goal is to share diversity and promote tolerance through its regular photojournalism exhibits and literary journals featuring the work of Fletcher students, faculty and staff. An ardent art lover and photography hobbyist herself, Ita came up with the idea of forming the organization following the 9/11 attacks, when the various discussions on politics, culture, religion and societies that ensued at Fletcher called for a "proper space" to reflect this diversity of ideas and experiences.
"The exhibits allow Fletcher members to offer their ‘perspective’ on a particular subject of interest—to bring to light a tragedy or to just humanize a place or a people. A lack of understanding of others often leads to or exacerbates conflicts. Hopefully, by offering a space to showcase these issues, it can lead to greater tolerance," she said. "The photographs do not have to be perfect postcards," according to Ita. "What is important is the story that they tell and the appreciation they provide to the numerous places we read and study at Fletcher." She donates all proceeds of the organization to the UN Office of Children and Armed Conflict in order to assist their efforts to rehabilitate of child soldiers.
In 2002, Ita also led the Promoting Tolerance Initiative, which formulated a plan to promote tolerance for the different views, religions, nationalities and politics. The need for this became increasingly visible following the 9/11 attacks. In order to unite the Fletcher community, the group drafted the appropriate text on the issue to be placed in the Fletcher student handbook and promoted during orientation activities. The ideals of the group have remained relevant at Fletcher to this day.
In addition to these activities, Ita is Fletcher’s contributing editor to The Journal for Public and International Affairs, published jointly by the Woodrow Wilson School of Professional and International Affairs at Princeton University and the Association of Professional Schools in International Affairs (APSIA). Its yearly competition publishes the top ten policy-specific articles on international and domestic affairs from all APSIA members worldwide. Under her leadership, Fletcher has had at least one article published every year. In addition to her strong inclination to research and writing, Ita also wants to help as many students as possible have the opportunity to get their work published, knowing its importance particularly among those who plan to pursue post-graduate studies or academic work.
Ita has also been very engaged in a range of administration committees at Fletcher, including being a member of the Ph.D. Committee, two ISSP Faculty Search Committees, a Committee on Renovation and Construction and was a co-chair of the Ph.D. Colloquium. Along with several of her peers, she has also participated in creating an inaugural Fletcher Doctoral Conference, which provides a venue for Ph.D. students to discuss and advance their research and highlights the multi-disciplinary nature that is the strength of the Ph.D. program at Fletcher. As she is looking at teaching and research as her lifelong vocation, Ita said that she is keen to understand the workings of an academic institution.
"I am interested in the process that goes through the administration of a graduate school. Also, I appreciate it that student input is given value at Fletcher. I like to be part of that process by bringing the concerns of the student body to decision-makers so that we can make Fletcher even better than what it is," she said.
Apart from her various extra-curricular activities, Ita is a certified mediator. Her natural leadership skills were also developed during her six-year stint between 1998 and 2004 at a consultancy firm based in California, where she engaged in leadership workshops and coaching to multinational corporations and individual clients in Silicon Valley to resolve conflict in the workplace.
Asked for advice on how Fletcher students can take more relevant roles in the academic community and in student organizations, Ita stressed the importance of finding an endeavor that one feels strongly passionate about. "There are so many interesting activities that you want to sign up for, but which you don’t necessarily have the time to do. It can easily get overwhelming. I only do things I’m passionate about and I let that guide me. If you stick with things for which you have passion, then you will be motivated and engaging in it won’t be a chore. No matter how much time it may take, it will be rewarding and you’ll excel at it because it will be meaningful to you. It’s not about adding bulleted items to your CV, but following your heart; the rest will fall in place," she closed.