Danielle
Potter didn't think her research project in Los Angeles would have much in
common with her semester abroad in South Africa, where she conducted surveys in
townships that lacked the infrastructure to supply basic needs. But the two
places had more in common than she had imagined.
"I
saw the same Third World conditions in L.A. as in South Africa," said
Potter, a graduating senior at the Sanford School of Public Policy. "They
didn't have clean water either. Sometimes the water came out red from the taps."
A
senior from San Juan Capistrano, Calif., Potter spent the summer of 2010 with
Urban Semillas for the community-based research component of the Service Opportunities
in Leadership program (SOL), offered by Hart Leadership. In addition to her public
policy major, Potter earned a minor in environmental studies and a Certificate
in Arts of the Moving Image.
Urban
Semillas seemed a perfect match for her, because it "captures transdisciplinary
approaches to the core: mixing inner city youth issues with environmental ones
for the state of California. And all three of those aspects are issues I am
incredibly passionate about," she said.
Potter
followed two boys and two girls taking part in Agua University, an
environmental education and leadership program. Her goal was to evaluate the
program's impact on the students' attitudes toward their community and future.
"I
was developing a locus-of-control survey, one that identifies whether a subject
believes he/she or outside forces controls his/her destiny," Potter said.
A short time in L.A. convinced her it was the wrong approach. One interview was
cancelled because a student had to take a neighbor boy to the hospital after a
drive-by shooting, and another when a student thought tensions in her
neighborhood made it too dangerous for Potter to visit. Realizing she needed a
more immediate way to show the impact of the program on the students, she
turned to her other passion: film-making.
"The
beauty of documentary film is that it empowers people to tell their own stories,"
said Potter.
A
high point of the summer was when Urban Semillas' water advocacy bore fruit.
Lois Jackson, an administrator at the Environmental Protection Agency, designated
the Los Angeles River as a "traditional navigable water." This status
provides federal protection for the river, which in many stretches is a concrete
gutter for industrial waste, and requires it must be clean and available for
recreation for urban communities. The work of the Agua University students
helped guide the EPA's final decision on the Los Angeles River.
The
summer program took the students on several field trips to expand their
understanding of water in the environment. Potter joined them on a two-week
camping trip to explore the sources of L.A.'s water in the Ancient Bristlecone
Pine Forest, Yosemite National Park and Mono Lake. "The thing they enjoyed
the most on the trip were the conversations," she said. Most didn't have the
opportunity for long talks with people outside the neighborhood.
In
filming the documentary, Potter drew on the lessons gleaned from her SOL class,
"Border Crossing: Leadership, Value Conflicts and Public Life," taught
by Hart Leadership Director Alma Blount.
"That
class taught me how to listen," Potter said. For instance, as one student,
Cesar Villareal, spoke about his dreams for the future Potter came to
understand how a concept of the future was a new idea for these students, as
the demands of their daily life were so pressing.
She
came back to Duke in the fall with hours of video and interview notes, which
she edited into the 13-minute film, "Here Comes the Neighborhood."
Outside
of the program, Potter has become a mentor to the four students: Villareal, Angie
Ruiz, Jenni Heraldaz and Irvin Centeno, She helped them figure out state
financial aid paperwork. They text each other regularly, discussing plans for
the future, such as Irvin's ambition to be a forest ranger and Cesar's to be a
civil engineer.
Potter
appreciates the importance of a well-timed piece of advice. She was pre-med her
freshman year at Duke, but it wasn't a good fit. Her adviser, Elise Goldwasser, internship coordinator at the
Sanford School, suggested she take PPS 55, taught by Elizabeth Vidgor. "Studying
public policy taught me how to make decisions during uncertainty, which is
important in any job or sector. Social consciousness is implicit in
decision-making."
After
graduation, Potter plans to return to the Los Angeles area, but in a completely
different role. She hopes to work in a talent agency in LA, with a focus on the
business and production side of the industry. She aims to gain the connections
that will help her work toward her goal of producing and directing
documentaries.