Tamiah Liebersbach '11

When Tamiah Liebersbach ’11 was deciding where to go to college, she thought that as long as she was going to get on a plane to leave her native Alaska, why not attend Franklin? Franklin also happened to be a perfect fit in terms of her interest in economics and sustainable development. When she looked at the school, the student-run Baobab Initiative, created to help a village in Africa, immediately grabbed her interest.

“The Baobab Initiative was a big factor in my decision to attend Franklin,” says Tamiah. “I wanted to be able to pursue my interest in Africa and sustainable development.”

In high school, Tamiah had spent time in Ghana and was involved in women’s initiatives and empowerment, which had a lasting impact on the direction of her studies. As a double major in International Banking and Finance and International Economics, Tamiah is interested in empowerment of women through economic development, a particular concern in conflict regions and Africa.

“Sustainable development geared towards women's initiatives is extremely important to me due to my experiences working in an orphanage in Ghana,” says Tamiah. “During this time I saw how young orphan girls were treated as if they weren't human, and I firmly believe that the best way to help women and their families overcome oppression and poverty is to give them the tools they need to become financially independent.”

During her time at Franklin, she has been able to pursue her passions because of programs like the Baobab Initiative and the strong academics at the College. The small classes, international experiences and exciting opportunities that first attracted Tamiah to Franklin have only continued to enhance her experience. She was able to jump into higher-level classes because of Advanced Placement credit from high school and was immediately challenged by the academics and developed close relationships with her professors and upperclassmen. Those relationships with professors and the international viewpoints presented in class were vastly different and more rewarding than those reported by her friends studying similar topics at large state universities back home. Tamiah has also been able to return to Ghana during her time at Franklin and hopes also to visit the Baobab village in the coming year.

Tamiah has been involved with the Baobab Initiative since her freshman year as financial coordinator for the club. The club has been so successful during the past few years that the group is exploring options to expand the project beyond the Baobab village to permanent sustainable development projects, such as microfinance initiatives in sub-Saharan Africa, something that Tamiah is excited to have been a part of. 

“Tamiah has a deep and very mature interest in working in developing countries on issues surrounding microfinance,” says Economics Professor Wasiq Khan, for whom Tamiah is a research assistant. Her duties for Professor Khan include working on a paper on Chinese and Indian immigration to the Caribbean for this year’s Caribbean Conference as well as developing a class to be taught in the spring on the economics of slavery.

All Tamiah’s Academic Travels have also been memorable, even if not always related to her major. Her first Travel to Paestum, Pompeii and Rome was not what she wanted, or so she thought, but it turned out to be an amazing trip where she made close friends with the students and the professor, which taught her an important lesson: “Travels are a very interesting opportunity to study something outside of your own discipline without taking a full-credit class,” says Tamiah. Her Academic Travel to the former Yugoslavia let her see the aftermath of a civil war up close and personal from a local, non-U.S. perspective and sparked a love of Eastern Europe. Travels to Egypt and India were equally compelling for the locations as well as for witnessing development economics in a real-world setting.  

While at Franklin, Tamiah has not only pursued her interest in economics, but also served as an Orientation Leader and Peer Mentor for incoming freshmen and is currently a Resident Assistant in New Building B, which is a substance-free, study dorm for students who want to be in a quiet living environment. Becoming involved in residential life at the College was important to her because she was able to help others adjust to Franklin as well as she had.

“Franklin is like a family. I know a lot of people say that, but it’s true,” says Tamiah. “We’re all so far from home, so we take care of each other.”

An Honors Society member, she will graduate from the Honors Program in May, 2011. She hopes to attend graduate school to obtain her Master’s degree in development studies focusing on conflict and development such as in the program offered at The Graduate Institute of Geneva.

To support students like Tamiah, click here. 

For more on the Baobab Initiative, click here.

December 2010