Making Miracles

Carolyn Canouse ’90 fights to make the lives of young Peruvians better — changing her own life in the process.

BY ERIC BUTTERMAN

It began simply, with Carolyn Canouse ’90 being interested in what her eldest daughter, Casey, was up to on her travels. Casey had gone to Peru a couple of times when she was 15 and came back wanting to go yet again.

Fine by Canouse — but, this time, she was going, too. Taking several short-term mission trips, Canouse found an inspiring Peruvian spirit and, eventually, a chance to help.

On one of her trips, she visited San Juan de Lurigancho, the most impoverished of 43 districts throughout Peru’s capital city of Lima. Approximately 40% of San Juan de Lurigancho’s 1 million residents live without lights, drainage and running water.

Later, Canouse received a letter about that very area. “An American missionary wrote me about a girl named Basilia, who was aging out of the orphanage and was so smart and wonderful — and needed $3,600 to send her through an institute to get a three-year degree,” Canouse recalled. “They asked about donating it.” Considering the effect such visits had on her, it didn’t take a great deal of soul-searching for Canouse to agree. Then, it was two more girls who were aging out of the orphanage. By this time, her husband, Jack, was the one out in front to help. The Canouses had gotten to know the girls while staying at a shelter for abused women and children, where the girls were housed.

It was becoming clear to Canouse this wasn’t going to be merely writing a few checks as a way to assist. She was beginning to see where her heart was. Her realization: Without the needed support, the young people of San Juan de Lurigancho had no hope to further their education after high school.

Today, Canouse is president of the nonprofit Make a Miracle, founded in March 2015 with the mission of sending students from San Juan de Lurigancho to college (70 students sponsored to date), building houses for those in poverty (60 houses and more on the way), and providing community centers (five of various sizes). As a result, aspirations are closer to being realized. One scholarship recipient, a girl age 17, wants to create her own nonprofit organization “like this one.”

A 20-year-old said he was bullied in school; now he’s learning to be a “better person for the community and society.”

Without money, a 19-year-old was planning to forgo college and go to work to help his family. He smiled broadly as he talked about his current coursework, which was his “first opportunity to study.”

A 21-year-old is studying international business and “following her dreams.” A Peruvian couple sat in their new house and gave thanks after “crying and praying,” and the same for a single mother who was holding her two young daughters. In essence, Make a Miracle has helped to transform an entire region through education, housing and community outreach.

In 2015, Carolyn Canouse ’90 (shown with husband Jack) established Make a Miracle, with the mission of changing lives in San Juan de Lurigancho, Peru.

The first Make a Miracle house was completed in 2015 for a single mother living in a women’s shelter with her two sons. “She was just so happy,” Canouse recalled. “They just wanted a chance.”

With an electrician and a builder, along with volunteers — many of whom are students benefiting from the scholarships — each prefabricated house is created for an average cost of approximately $1,200.

In addition, children’s clubs are sponsored, fully funded by Jack Canouse and a business partner.

“We have 70 kids at one [club] location. Another location with 45 and another with 10 or 12. It’s all about encouragement — doing crafts, dancing and other activities,” Canouse noted.

Mentorship is part of the program, too, all designed to foster empowerment. Make a Miracle is working. “I see myself hiring some of the scholarship students as they graduate. … They’re very thankful for the opportunity we gave them,” Canouse added.

Looking back, she is thankful for her own opportunity. She credits her Stetson education in finance, from 1986 to 1990, as one of the pathways to the success of Make a Miracle.

“I found classes very helpful, and I remember really clicking with my capitalbudgeting teacher,” she commented. “I remember it as a school where there weren’t any limits to what you could achieve. I have that attitude now, as well.”

Not coincidentally, that first student she helped, Basilia, is now a physical therapist. “That’s what it’s all about,” Canouse concluded. “You want them to see their potential. The philosophy I take to this organization is ‘Go big or go home; don’t do anything halfway.’ In the process, I’ve also changed for the better. … You can’t help but be changed.”

IT’S ABOUT FAMILY Canouse hasn’t always been so heroically altruistic. Formerly, she co-owned a women’s fitness and weightloss center, and she was a training specialist for Stars and Strikes Family Entertainment Center, co-owned by her husband. Such is the force of her own transformation.

Further, she is making this difference from far off in the distance — seemingly a world away in Alpharetta, Georgia. That’s where Make a Miracle is headquartered. Casey, now 29, is still involved in Peru and is on the Make a Miracle board of directors while also serving as a mentor. Another of the daughters, Rachel, 24, serves as Make a Miracle’s director of global relations and program development from Peru, where she has lived for two years. In total, the couple have three daughters and a son, and all have taken multiple trips to Peru.

Rachel speaks Spanish fluently and ensures that the nonprofit’s projects are headed in the right direction. In turn, she is among the first to see the fruits of labor — locals overcoming hardships.

“Every single one of them has an incredible story,” she said. “You meet them, and they couldn’t be nicer, and couldn’t have more motivation to achieve their goal. It’s inspiring.”

Canouse’s life has changed, too, “for the better.”

The Rhodes Less Traveled Slavina Ancheva ’20 and her pursuit of a Global Rhodes Scholarship are a study in passion to “fight the world’s fight” and perseverance to maybe even “do it again.”

BY MICHAEL CANDELARIA

Slavina Ancheva ’20 had prepared for months. Actually, she had spent years achieving academic excellence, and combining it with real-world experience, to set up her big opportunity, a chance of a lifetime.

There was anxiety, too, about the unknown, along with the anticipation of what could be.

Finally, there was failure, or at least some measure of it. So, in the end, how did Ancheva react? Undaunted, the senior, mere weeks from graduating with dual majors in economics and political science (and a minor in French), is contemplating a return to challenge herself yet another time.

“I think I would do it again,” she said, “if I could show growth — if I had something more to add to my story.” Such is the way for an achiever who came within an eyelash, a whisker — that close — to becoming Stetson’s first recipient of a Global Rhodes Scholarship last fall.

“That night [after learning she hadn’t won the scholarship] was kind of tough, but I woke up the next morning thinking there’s a reason this didn’t happen,” she said.

“All of the problems that I talked about when I was at [the University of] Oxford, I want to see them, feel them, get to know more.”

Some context: Ancheva, a native of Bulgaria who moved to the United States at age 6 and lived the next 11 years in Arlington, Virginia, was among more than 600 international students from 50-plus countries to apply for the Global Rhodes Scholarship.

Last fall, she was one of 13 who traveled to England for the final phase of the competition and the selection of two Global Rhodes Scholars.

Opposite page: All Souls College at the University of Oxford in England epitomizes the spirit of Rhodes study. Left: Slavina Ancheva ’20 stands under Oxford’s famous Bridge of Sighs.

The general Rhodes Scholarship, first awarded in 1902, is the oldest and perhaps most prestigious international scholarship program, enabling outstanding young people worldwide to study at historic Oxford. The Global Rhodes Scholarship, established last year, is designed for students not belonging to Rhodes-member countries.

For Ancheva, that fully funded scholarship would have meant at least two years of postgraduate study and possibly a third year, in addition to a monthly stipend and other financial considerations.

Even before Stetson, Ancheva was positioned well for such distinction. Her father was a diplomat for the Embassy of Bulgaria. Currently, he is Consul General for Bulgaria in Chicago. Growing up, Ancheva sometimes was able to attend events in which her father participated. Ancheva arrived at Stetson as a J. Ollie Edmunds Scholar — the recipient of a prestigious merit-based scholarship that pays expenses for four years. For the record, Ancheva has acknowledged she would never have made it to Stetson without that financial support.

On campus, she made the most of her time, excelling as both a student and a leader. She presided over Alpha Kappa Psi, Stetson’s professional business organization on campus, and she headed numerous community-engagement initiatives, among other highlights. Also, she interned at the United Nations in New York, working for the Permanent Mission of Bulgaria — essentially representing her home country at political events such as the Political Forum on Agenda 2030. Further, Ancheva interned at the European Parliament in Brussels, working on a Bulgarian campaign that led up to the European Parliament elections, and she studied in France.

Last fall, she had talked about a plan to “give back” to Bulgaria, where she “still feels a distinct connection.” Ultimately, she would like to enter the European political scene, maybe with policymaking in Bulgaria, she explained, and “try to make a difference in people’s lives” by “focusing on ways we can make Bulgaria better and Europe better.” She is especially concerned about disability rights.

At Oxford in November, as part of the final round, none of that really mattered. A distinguished panel was there to decide fates.

And, as one might expect, the finalists also were extraordinary, each exemplifying the “fight the world’s fight” Rhodes motto. Eight of the finalists were female. Ancheva was the lone finalist who grew up in the United States, although a few others had studied there.

To start, there were casual conversations, including a dinner with the finalists and panel members. That was followed, on the next day, by intense interview sessions. The activities were held at Rhodes House, built in the style of a Cotswold mansion, straight out of a movie set from “Harry Potter.”

In keeping with the air of mystery, the contents of the interviews are guarded.

The outcome: The two scholarships were awarded to students from Afghanistan and South Korea — the first time a student from either country became part of the Rhodes picture.

Ancheva now has moved forward, but she won’t forget. Before departing for Oxford, she had received dozens upon dozens of congratulations and well-wishes from the Stetson community. And emails containing the same sentiments didn’t stop while she was away. Despite having not won, she dutifully attended to the task of letting people know what had happened. She began that process almost immediately.

“Every single one of them emailed back and said, ‘We are so proud of you,’” she said in February.

Ancheva also analyzed, and continues to do so: What might have been?

“I know what I could have emphasized more. I know what I could have talked about more, and if I would have added this one story, would it have made a difference? You can’t help but ask yourself those questions,” she explained.

“I don’t know if one question would have changed everything. I analyze it all the time; I think back to it.”

At the same time, Ancheva has plans, including a return to Brussels and the European Parliament upon graduation.

Readying for the Rhodes experience, in fact, helped to sharpen her career focus.

“Those three months [of preparation] pushed me to think about what I want to do, who I want to be — not for the sake of writing something down, but for genuinely thinking about ‘does this make sense for me,’” she commented.

Maybe another Rhodes try still is in the cards, and either way, she could make her way back to Oxford, she affirmed. The resolve remains intact. “I look at it like, ‘I didn’t get it this time, maybe in the future, maybe not,’” Ancheva said. “But all the ideas that I have about wanting to make the world a better place, I can still attempt to do all that.”