Alumni in Action

In its inaugural 2007-08 graduating class, the Global Poverty and Practice Minor graduated 7 students. In 2010, the GPP Minor graduated over 100 students. As the largest Minor on campus, alumni graduating from this program will continue across all parts of the world as engaged global citizens. Here, we will feature their continued work in development and poverty alleviation.

Alumni Profile

Jacob Seigel Boettner
Major: Peace and Conflict Studies
Minor: Global Poverty and Practice
UC Berkeley, 2009

GPP Minor Alum Jacob Seigel-Boettner distributing specially-designed cargo bicycles to rural coffee farmers in Rwanda

Jacob Seigel Boettner came home from the hospital in a bike trailer. It was love at first ride. He grew up in the saddle, leading youth bike trips with his family everywhere from British Columbia to Italy to Rwanda. In 2002, Jacob, his family and several friends from Santa Barbara Middle School embarked on a four month trek across the United States in the footsteps of Lewis and Clark. They called themselves the Corps of ReDiscovery. Jacob's passion for two wheels is equaled by his passion for storytelling and social justice.

While at Cal, majoring in Peace and Conflict Studies and minoring in Global Poverty and Practice, Jacob went to genocide-torn Rwanda and distributed custom built cargo bikes to coffee growers through a micro-loan system. He then made a movie about one of the growers, called "Pascal's Bike," which debuted at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. After receiving feedback from inspired audiences, Jacob partnered with his brother Isaac, a Film Studies major at Cal, to produce and direct “With My Own Two Wheels”, a feature- length documentary that links together the stories of individuals who have been empowered by the bicycle. With the help of six bicycle development projects, “With My Own Two Wheels” tells the stories of individuals from Belgium, Rwanda, Zambia, Ghana, India, Guatemala and the United States. Despite the geographical distance between them and the differing challenges that they face, all seven people profiled in the film have overcome hardship with the help of their bicycles. The film will launch a global fundraising campaign to get bicycles to health workers, farmers and students around the globe so that they can change their worlds ... with their own two wheels.

The film is receiving international acclaim at independent film festivals in North America, South America and Europe. Jacob has also partnered with World Bicycle Relief to develop a “Classroom Companion” that gives high school and middle school teachers the tools they need to weave the characters in the film and their bicycles into many academic areas, from social studies to industrial arts.

Alumni Profile

Benjamin Hans:
Major: Industrial Engineering & Operations Research
Minor: Global Poverty and Practice
UC Berkeley, 2010

A graduate in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research, Ben initially took a job as a technical support engineer at an organization that provides software to large pharmaceutical companies; however, he felt something was missing. He would ask himself, “How can I simultaneously make a difference and utilize my technical passions?” Ben challenged himself to find a way to connect engineering and poverty action and is now stationed in East Africa where he works as a software developer for One Acre Fund. His organization strives to improve the lives of 100,000 impoverished farming families in Kenya and Rwanda by financing the purchase of fertilizer, seeds, and other production goods at a low cost. With a 99% repayment rate and an average doubling of farmer’s profits, One Acre Fund hopes to expand their successful business plan to over a million farmers by 2020. Ben will soon begin work as manager of technical operation in Rwanda. Ben credits the Global Poverty and Practice minor with enriching his career opportunities in engineering. “I’m proud to achieve my initial goal,” says Ben about the opportunity to apply his experience in engineering to humanitarian efforts. “People, both peers and professors, inspired me to challenge myself to leap beyond my fears and expectations in order to transcend the ordinary.”

Stay In Touch

GPP Alumni, keep us updated on your post-graduation activities! Email us at gppminor@berkeley.edu.