At the 2012 MiT Hooding Ceremony happy grads Robin Tuckett ’12, Kobi Wilson ’12, Kasinda Starmer’12, Justin Poland ’12

Loren Petty from the Master in Teaching Program, just sent around campus a lengthy list of Evergreen Master in Teaching alumni who have won awards in the last couple years. A brief scan brings the word “wow” mind:

Rob Cahill, MiT 2008, won the 2013 PK-12 Distinguished Educator of the Year Award from The Evergreen State College. Rob has taught math and science at Lakes Elementary in Lacey. In partnership with Thurston County Solid Waste, Cahill initiated and currently coordinates the “Food to Flowers” waste reduction program at Lakes. Cahill’s participation with the North Thurston School District math cadres and his dedication to his students’ have also earned him this recognition.

Pamelia Valentine, MiT 1999, was honored as the ESD 113 Regional Teacher of the Year (2013) by the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI). Pamelia teaches Visual Arts at Oakland Bay Junior High School in Shelton. Her principal stated, “Her classroom is truly a positive, safe and rich learning environment that provides students with educational opportunities well beyond the basics of visual arts. Furthermore, Ms. Valentine put students first, believes that all students can achieve at high levels, and does not give up on anyone, even those who have given up on themselves.”

Continue reading →

Editor’s Note: Thanks to Evergreen faculty member Ruth Hayes for tipping us off to the work of Cathy Delacuz ’03, writer, filmmaker, teacher, and all around accomplished Greener.

Writer and filmmaker Cathy de la Cruz ’03

Cathy Delacruz ’03 says it best: Cathy Delacruz’ career might be considered “pretty cute”, and only in the most serious of ways. Growing up a Riot Grrrl in San Antonio, Texas was only the beginning of a raucous life-long journey in art, critical thought, and down and dirty fun. Take a look at her on Linked In.

Cathy made her mark at Evergreen where she focused her energy in the MediaWorks program and later did an independent work with faculty member Sally Cloninger.  Along the way, Cathy received several research and project grants to fund her filmmaking. After graduating from Evergreen, Cathy attended University of California, San Diego where she received an MFA in 2009.  She continues to stack up academic degrees and professional leaps of imagination and achievement.

A whimsical representation of something dead, most likely made dead by human action

Recently, Cathy published a beautifully written feature article in The Rumpus  on a woman practicing “vegetarian taxidermy.” Here’s an excerpt:

Vegetarian taxidermy is just what it sounds like: a no-animals-were-harmed replica of a trophy that usually represents some grave harm toward a nonhuman creature. Some might see Sharon’s work as art, some might see it as decoration, and some might see it as a big contradiction. I see it as all of these things, with a haunting idea lurking beneath its surface: these pieces present a pleasant and even cheerful representation of something dead. This paradoxical undercurrent is what drove me to seek out a meeting with the artist in the first place after spotting Sharon’s work at Pop-Cycle. I had been shopping for handmade local-artist postcards when I came eye-to-eye with the faux animal heads.

Read Cathy’s full article at The Rumpus.

Steve Dentali ’82, New VP for Botanical Science at Herbalife

Here’s another boost to Evergreen’s growing reputation as a great science college. Global nutrition company Herbalife announced this week that Steven Dentali ’82 will fill the newly created position of Vice President of Botanical Science.

According to a story in StreetInsider.com, Steven will be “responsible for all activities related to botanicals, including the identification, documentation and validation of the appropriate botanical ingredients, formulations and processes that meet standards and requirements for product quality, efficacy, safety and regulatory acceptability.”

Read more about Steven’s 22 year career in the US herbal and dietary supplement industry and how he has become an acknowledged expert in the field. Continue reading →

Shae Whitney’10 is an herbal alchemist, owner of DRAM Apothecary. Her website is so enchanting, we  simply quote:

“A native of Colorado, Shae Whitney grew up on the plains and prairies amongst the rolling sage and musty pines where she developed a curious admiration for species of the plant kingdom. She then took this love and paired it with her years of experience as a bartender to create the recipes that are the heart of DRAM Bitters.”

Here continues the appreciative swiping of content, this time from Shae’s Facebook page:
“Dram Apothecary was inspired by the idea that the inclusion of bitter herbs in our everyday diet is essential for vibrant health, mental clarity and agreeable digestion. We offer a line of bitters, teas and tonics that have been designed to taste as wonderful as they will make your body feel, because good health should be enjoyable on the palate.”

How elegantly, entrepreneurial. How Evergreen. Another great Greener story to share with students.  Evergreen Entrepreneurs! Sing out and be counted!

David Hunter MiT ’11

Editor’s note: Some of the content, below, is from HlnTV. Read the full story about this classroom super star.

A day on the job for Bellevue-based middle school teacher David Hunter starts just like any other teacher’s day: He gets to class, settles his students down and takes attendance before he gets down to business — talking about zombies and geography.

Hunter’s unique approach takes subjects that some kids struggle to pay attention to and turn them into something that they look forward to. His idea was to create a full geography curriculum (using National Geography Standards) taught in the context of a zombie apocalypse. Using textbooks, teaching plans and role playing as tools, he draws his students into a dynamic scenario that allows them to have fun while learning.

More media attention for David:
KPLU interview
https://www.facebook.com/adsum

MiT alumni, share some of your thoughts and techniques with The Evergreen Mind.

lindastone.net: a “must-follow” blog for life-long learners

Linda Stone ’77 personifies the Evergreen mind.  If you don’t already know her work, this is your chance. Atlantic Monthly’s James Fallows interviewed her for the June 2013 issue. Here is the intro:

A longtime tech executive, Linda Stone worked on emerging technologies at Apple and then Microsoft Research in the 1980s and ’90s. Fifteen years ago, she coined the term continuous partial attention to describe the modern predicament of being constantly attuned to everything without fully concentrating on anything. Since then, she has frequently written and lectured about the challenges of living in an always-on, hyper-connected world.

And here is how Linda frames her Attention Project on her blog:

Attention is the most powerful tool of the human spirit. We can enhance or augment our attention with practices like meditation and exercise, diffuse it with technologies like email and Blackberries, or alter it with pharmaceuticals. In the end, though, we are fully responsible for how we choose to use this extraordinary tool.

We encourage you to get acquainted with Linda’s work, subscribe to her blog and make Linda part of your learning network.

What do you think about tech, mind, evolution?