Graduate Profile: Buddy Scarborough
Prior to an “eye-opening freshman year,” Buddy Scarborough ’09 had never thought about the lived experiences of women. Once he started reading about the concepts of gender and social construction, however, he says he couldn’t get enough.
“The more I learned and understood, the more I wanted to be active in breaking down these constructs,” he says. “I broke down my own perceptions and actions and saw how the things I do on daily basis perpetuate or disintegrate restrictive constructions of gender.”
As an athlete and a women’s and gender studies minor at Alma College, Scarborough, who majored in sociology, also broke down stereotypes.
“Each fall, I would leave football practice early to make my Wednesday evening feminism class,” he says. “It was empowering for me, and none of my teammates ever commented negatively on it.”
Scarborough and his wife, Emily Whitmer ’07, are currently in South Africa, where they’re completing a two-year commitment in the United States Peace Corps.
As a school and community resource specialist, he teaches English and helps run after-school mini-enterprise and scout programs. He also works on the development of a school library and media center.
“Given the scarred history of South Africa, I have a unique opportunity to help positively influence the country,” says Scarborough. “Race relations have come a long way since the end of apartheid, but the discrepancy between white and black is still vast. Being a white Peace Corps volunteer in South Africa allows for great opportunity to cultivate seeds of peace in polarized populations.”
