Karl Anderson, current student

Editor’s note: Karl is current student at Evergreen. He recently spent three months studying in Trinidad.

When enrolled in Caribbean Cultural Crossings in 2010 for my first quarter at Evergreen, I never imagined two and half years later I would find myself in the bustling Caribbean metropolis of Port-of-Spain, Trinidad.  In Caribbean Cultural Crossings, we explored the region’s literature, history, film, biodiversity, music, and art. Additionally, we learned and applied political economy and post-colonial theory to further understand the Caribbean.

In the end, the program did shape the future of my academic career; not only did it expose me to new subjects, but the program and the community within it gave me the confidence to actually pursue my interests in such subjects.  It was toward the end of Caribbean Cultural Crossings that, for my final project, I dissected the nutritional benefits, cultural influences, and historical factors that shaped the dish Jamaican Jerk Chicken.

Coming from a traditional boarding school background where I couldn’t have explored the subjects I was truly interested in, I found myself constantly asking: “Can I get credit for this?”  At Evergreen, the answer was, of course, yes.

Trinidad – As I shuffle through crowded markets, converse with street vendors, and try my hand at making a variety Trinidadian dishes, I can clearly see the seeds of my interests in that program.  My studies here in Trinidad, through the 2012-2013 year-long program America Abroad, I have focused on the history and culture surrounding food and its related nutritional value.
this is of particular importance  in the light of a massive increase in international fast-food franchises establishing themselves in the region juxtaposed with a political movement in Trinidad seeking self-sufficiency in domestic food production.  Globally, we see massive changes in the way food is produced and consumed. Trinidad is no less influenced by this trend than any other nation.  So what does this mean for a nation that is only slightly larger than Rhode Island, and how can this serve as a model for the future of the rest of the world?  Though I am only halfway through my project as I write, I am seeing a mix of interesting, frightening, and hopeful signs along the way.
Easy as it would be to reflect on my experiences as a result of my own doing, I wouldn’t  be here without the support of the greater Evergreen community.  Last year, I received the 2012-2013 Jessica Kelso Memorial Scholarship, an award supporting international study.  This is a constant reminder of why it is easy to get so incredibly excited by Evergreen. We do not just talk about the importance of involving imagination, creativity, and innovation in and outside of the classroom; the students, faculty, staff, alumni, and members of the greater Evergreen community are given opportunities to live it every day.  No other institution in the United States (dare I say the world?) does things quite like we do.  When I share the concept of Evergreen here in Trinidad, the most common responses are either a) “That’s so cool!” or b) “Wow that makes a lot of sense.”  Because of the encouragement and support Evergreen has provided me academically, emotionally, and financially I feel that I stand among a community of people who are shaping the world for the better.  We are more than just a school in my mind: we are the embodiment of an idea, a vision of what we are all capable of achieving when we move together.

All the best,
Karl

Lyda Kuth ’78

By Lyda Kuth ‘78

I had writers block that started in high school. I wasn’t a good test-taker either. When I was considering colleges, I was drawn to the idea of a school that was less traditional, without papers to be written and final exams to be taken. So, I enrolled at Evergreen in 1972. Once there I discovered that I really loved the idea of a seminar, and the rich exchange when ideas can evolve openly and without judgment.

But the writer’s block prevailed and how I dealt with it, along with my desire to express myself as a creative person, became part of the story of my first movie, a personal documentary, “Love and Other Anxieties.” I’ll be on campus for a public screening of it on February 26th.

By the end of sophomore year at TESC, I was floundering, in more than one way. To tell you how badly, I had an individual study in Etching and Drawing. I would go to an empty classroom, with rows of those half desks you can write on—in this case a bad orange. And I had assigned myself drawing a cauliflower, which I was then going to transfer to an etching. I spent almost an entire semester at this. It was really all I did, “Still Life of Cauliflower”, and so it was a bit awkward both for my faculty adviser and me at evaluation time. It was time to leave.

I was gone for three years and in that time I worked at, ironically enough, a university bookstore where I ordered textbooks for all the classes I knew I wasn’t capable of taking. But eventually I did return because I knew I wanted my undergraduate degree, and I was thinking of a possible career in publishing or maybe graduate school in library science. Something, anything, to do with books.

I returned determined to take the writer’s block head on, and I looked forward to once again being in a seminar setting. In my determination to return to school, I kind of forgot I’d be about six years older than anyone else, so this proved to be somewhat alienating. My good fortune was to have Leo Dougherty as my faculty person. Because of, or perhaps in spite of an inappropriate crush on him, I worked hard in his class. He took it upon himself to write a Lab that took you through the Strunk and White book, Elements of Style, and gave exercises to practice the rules of grammar. This was manna to me. I diligently went through the workbook and mastered those things I only vaguely knew about, such as when it’s appropriate to use a semi-colon, and where the hell does the period go when dealing with quotation marks in different contexts. Doing this didn’t solve the writer’s block but what little I did get out on paper was grammatically correct.

Making my first movie had similar elements of struggle. I went in to the project thinking I’d learn how to shoot, edit, and otherwise make a film entirely by myself. It took trying (with a little help from experienced friends) to see what aspects of making a film I wanted to master and what I could leave to my collaborators. But understanding the rules, or “grammar”, of cinema, and its tools, gave me the push I needed to get my first film made.

It’s funny, but one of my favorite shots in the film takes place at Evergreen, when I’m traveling down a misty road with tall evergreens that form a tunnel. It could only be in the Pacific Northwest. We were on our way to interview professor Stephanie Coontz to ask her and her students about how marriage has evolved through history. In the shot I say one of the more provocative things in the film, which I won’t give away here.  And the Evergreen students I interviewed were incredibly candid about their sex lives and what they expect from long-term relationships.

So, why do I return to TESC now? When you’ve reached your 50s, college life seems a ways back there. Yet many strands have connected me back to Evergreen, one of the most significant is spending the last several decades of my life married to a graduate from there, whom I didn’t meet until I came East. We share a memory of this place, and also have many jokes about our ridiculous lives back then that we each can relate to. But there is a deeper, more personal pull.

Even with writer’s block I think I understood that TESC was always going to be a place to explore, articulate, and communicate with other people those concepts that aren’t black and white, apparently obvious, or easily solved. That’s what happened in seminar, where I felt so at home. My time at TESC laid the groundwork for my willingness to explore the ambiguities of love, romance, and long-term attachment and, just as important, to say some things that most people keep hidden. That’s exactly what you’ll find in my film and I look forward to the conversation it will open up on campus.

Readers: Lyda will be on campus for a free screening of her film, ‘Love and Other Anxieties’ on 2/26/13

Nancy Anderson, current Evergreen faculty member

Editor’s Note: Nancy Anderson received a Sponsored Research Grant this year to further her investigation in public health policy in Sub-Sahara Africa. Currently she is co-teaching, Public Health and Economic Development in Sub-Saharan Africa with Tom Womeldorff.

I spent seven weeks in Senegal during Summer 2012 working with PROMETRA International, based in Dakar.  The overall mission of PROMETRA is to facilitate and promote the inclusion of traditional healers in the formal health systems throughout the continent of Africa.  They received a substantial grant from Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to carry out a survey of Immunization and Maternal-Child Health Knowledge, Attitudes and Perceptions among traditional healers and community leaders.  They invited me to Dakar to review the study findings, undertake discussions with staff as well as traditional healers, and suggest considerations for further research.

While the field survey was complete by the time I arrived, extensive reports were still in draft status, translated from French in English by staff who were not entirely comfortable with English prose writing.  I reviewed all available reports in both French and English, interviewed staff as well as senior management/directors, conducted a literature review, and completed extensive revision of the report (including review of data/results) into the English language in consultation with Dr. Erick Gbodossou, the president of PROMETRA International.

In addition, I visited a large traditional healing center in Fatick, interviewed traditional healers who had participated in the study, and visited a “western” community hospital to compare the practices germane to maternal child health in both settings.  I participated in the dissemination campaign/march in the city of Dakar, a meeting where the results of the study were disseminated community-wide in an urban setting where community need for maternal-child health services is acute.

An image from a skit about traditional healers at the public dissemination meeting that discussed the study findings from the Gates Foundation funded study. Photo taken by: Nancy Anderson

A number of studies examining community uptake of vaccines have been performed in the developing world, and most have focused on issues of resources, infrastructure, and competency.  In my analysis of the study results, I found that the PROMETRA study offered a unique perspective that has not been considered in previous research. Specifically, the significant differences between the endogenous definition of immunization and the “western” biomedical definition are an obstacle to community acceptance of vaccine programs and must be recognized before the target community will be entirely comfortable with the use of vaccines as a component of primary care.  In addition, my consideration of study results indicates that the endogenous definition of immunization is in many ways more closely allied with the comprehensive World Health Organization definition of primary care than the biomedical definition.  Finally, it is also apparent that the population at highest risk of death from vaccine-preventable disease is also in need of all of the other prerequisites for health and wellbeing.  These include respect for endogenous culture and traditions as well as household food security.  I have written a draft paper that highlights the findings that I consider most unique to this study, and it is attached electronically.

As important as anything I’ve written so far is what I learned (and not for the first time) about a small corner of Africa.  Our newspaper headlines that consistently point the inky spectral finger at tragedy cannot possibly capture the sheer beauty and chaos of everyday life, the unmistakable, unforgettable, and overwhelming odor of ripe mangoes mixed with burning garbage, the resilience of humanity in the face of unimaginable challenges.  It is a place that deserves everything and still gets too little.  Thank you so much for the Sponsored Research grant, a chance to offer my modest skills and to get so much in return.

Editor’s Note: Cara Maldonado ’09 posts from NYC in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy:

Greetings from NY! Luckily I made it through the hurricane. “Sandy” hit about a day and a half after my dance company [Creative Outlet Dance Theatre of Brooklyn] got back from Mexico. It was a bit disorienting to go from eighty degree weather to such a big storm. Some of my friends are still without power. For a time, some were essentially couch surfing in order to get a hot shower, food and heat (which we just got back a week ago). Always the adventure here!

Happy Solstice!

Readers: Enjoy a bit of Cara’s work as she and fellow dancers honor the re-election of our President:  Cara is stage left/your right in the capri tights as the video begins. Later she is in black/grey tights.

Christina Meister, Evergreen senior & Intern at the White House

This year Christina Meister, a senior at Evergreen, is jumping in the White House for a four month Internship Program. More than 5,000 students applied and only 165 were chosen.  In the midst of her busy schedule, Christina answered our questions about this highly competitive internship.

Dante Garcia (DG): How did it feel to receive the internship? What was the first thing that you did after finding out?
Christina Meister (CM): It’s hard to describe the initial feelings I had when I was notified of my acceptance. Shock comes to mind but so does extreme excitement, happiness, relief, and honor. I think one of the first things I did was recheck the email, hug my roommates, jump around, and call my mother.

DG: How is it now that you are there? Who are you working with and what are they like?
CM: I feel so humbled and grateful to be here. I am a White House intern assigned to the Office of Digital Strategy, which is responsible for creating and developing content for official White House websites, mobile apps, email programs, and social media presences. I work with a very diverse group of people who are passionate about what they do.

DG: What are you looking forward to? What are you most excited about? What are you getting involved with?
CM: Each day is a new adventure. One of the things that I love about our office is that you never know what to expect and you are constantly learning new things. I know this may sound cliché, but I am just so excited to be here. This is an amazing time in history and I couldn’t have asked for a better experience.

Last year Alyssa McClure ’12 was the first Greener to be accepted for the White House Internship Program. You can find her story in the Evergreen Magazine, Fall 2012.

Readers: Did you have a memorable internship when you were a student?  Did it help you in your career?  Share your memories by commenting.

Admissions counselor Julian Genette ’08 takes  Evergreen’s lovable mascot, Speedy, with him on his travels. Over the past few years, he and Speedy have covered thousands of miles, talked to thousands of prospective students and had some international adventures as well.

Join Julian in spreading the Evergreen word, and some of its unique charm, by nabbing your own Speedy from the Greener Store (its under gifts) to take on your rambles.  Email us a photo with caption and we’ll post it here.  We can’t wait to see how far Speedy can go.

Field report author, Ken Tabbutt.

Editor’s Note: Member of the Faculty, Ken Tabbutt provides the following Field Report from his program’s Fall 2012 trip to Yellowstone.

The upper-division science program, Environmental Analysis, used the first few weeks of Fall quarter to travel through the west in order to study microbiology, hydrogeology, and analytical chemistry in an integrated and applied manner.  

The trip followed the path of the Missoula Floods up the Columbia River Gorge, through the scablands and up the Clarks Fork drainage.  A week in Yellowstone National Park provided an opportunity to grasp the interconnections between the unique geology, thermal systems and microbiology.  

Clyde Barlow and Ken Tabbutt lead their students through Yellowstone National Park–an environment epically rich in both science and artistic beauty. Photograph by Shauna Bittle

Visits to the Berkeley Pit of Butte, Montana and Silver Valley, Idaho focused on the mining history and the physical and biological processes that create acid mine drainage and metal contamination. A final stop at the unusual alkaline lakes of Grand Coulee provided an opportunity for students to sample lake water and identify chemoclines, thermoclines and do alkalinity titrations until the wee hours of the morning.  

One Minute Evergreen: Yellowstone

Yellowstone ranger Wes Hardin leads Environmental Analysis students through Mammoth Hot Springs. ** Faculty Ken Tabbutt, Andy Brabban and Clyde Barlow take a group of students through Yellowstone National Park with the program Environmental Analysis on Fri., Sept. 30, 2012. The group was studying the unique geological and microbiotic conditions in the park.