Category Archives: Greener Stories

First Traveling Seminar of 2014 a Full House

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Alumni Seminar

Alumni, friends and facilitators packed the seminar circle for the Portland Traveling Seminar (photo: Bob Haft)

Evergreen Alumni Programs launched the 2014 Traveling Seminar series in Portland, OR on January 23 with a full-house discussion titled “Capturing Life Once and Forever: Why People Photograph.”

Faculty member Bob Haft teamed up with photographer Chris Rauschenberg ’73 to explore the art, history, technology and the philosophy of photography. The group talked about why photographs are powerful, why millions of people are compelled to take photographs, and the role of photography in a culture, a society, a community, a family.

The next Traveling Seminar takes place in Seattle, Friday, March 14 at the Washington Athletic Club. Information and registration on Evergreen’s Alumni Programs web page.

Greener and Dad Team Up to Boost Hiring of Disabled Job Seekers

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Andy Jacobson (right) with father Lawerence. (Photo: Steve Bloom, Olympian Staff Photographer)

Not so long ago, a young person just out of college could usually get a start in the working world if willing to take anything, work hard, show up on time and be friendly. That first job can lay the foundation for building professional credibility and valuable networks. Bad economic times with high unemployment can make that first job illusive, especially if the applicant has disabilities.

Andy Jacobson ’12 has an Evergreen Bachelor degree with a focus on statistics and environmental science. He’s been energetically applying for jobs, is willing to take anything, is smart, trustworthy, dependable and has a great smile. So far, he has not had a single interview.

In true Greener style, Andy and his father, Lawrence, have upped the ante, hoping to give qualified job seekers with disabilities better access to state jobs. The result to-date is a bill, sponsored in both houses of the Washington State Legislature, called the “state employment disability parity act.”  Read the full article in The Olympian.

Brittany Gray Thriving in Class and on the Basketball Court

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At age 15, Brittany Gray was on top of the high school basketball world in Washington State. The Bainbridge High School sophomore had been recruited to prestigious Gonzaga University as part of the women’s basketball program and was, according to her coach, “one of the best rebounders the state has ever seen.” Then Brittany walked away from it all.

Five years later, she is back in the game and back in the classroom – at Evergreen.

Read the story in The Olympian.

 

 

27 Students + 2 Faculty + 9 Alumni = Magic New York Field Trip

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Faculty member Drew Buchman ’77 describes a recent field trip to New York City: twenty-seven students on a mission of inquiry to learn how alumni are creating their livings by living their creativity. As so often happens when alumni and students meet, they recognize in each other a shared “Greener” spirit. It makes wonderful magic.

Story and photos: Drew Buchman ’77, Member of the Faculty
Program: The Business of Art: Making a Living as an Artist
Faculty Members: Drew Buchman, Zoë Van Schyndel, Doreen Swetkis

We went to New York City this December to network with alumni making a living in the big city. Faculty member  Zoë Van Schyndel and the students themselves did a lot of the planning. Abby Kelso, ’01, MPA ’11, who works in Evergreen’s College Advancement office, helped identify and set up meetings with a series of amazing young alumni pursuing professional careers in both the “profity” and “nonprofity” worlds, to use fellow faculty member Doreen Swetkis’s useful new adjectives. (Doreen usually teaches in the MPA program, so this year has been a rare opportunity for undergraduates to benefit from her expert knowledge on non-profits, which are the most important organizations in the art world.) Zoë (from near Boston) and I (from  New York) provided insider perspectives: navigating subways and buses, buck-a-slice pizza and general street-wise-ness.

Students consider meetings with alumni to be the highlights of the entire program and we’ve met with quite a few on campus, including independent artist and author Nikki McClure ’91 and Jami Heinricher ’91, owner of the Sherwood Press.  But we did a whirlwind of meetings with alumni in our brief week in the Big Apple, including visits with photographer/camera inventor Liz Sales ’01, performer and publishing executive Erik Fabian ’00 of Moleskine, and theater director Hilary Adams ’95, soon heading out to Omaha, Nebraska to become artistic director of OCP (Omaha Community Playhouse, one of the largest regional theaters in the country, founded in 1924).

We met jewelry designers Erin Considine ’05 and Tarra Rosenbaum ’97, and got behind-the-scenes tours of the jewelry district in Manhattan and artist’s studios in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, one of New York’s hottest neighborhoods. In downtown Brooklyn, we got to visit the brand-new digs of Makerbot, and one of this burgeoning 3-D printer company’s principal creators, the amazing Bre Pettis ”95, also featured on the cover of the new issue of the Evergreen alumni magazine.

A Time Magazine video profile of Bre Pettis and Makerbot. Continue reading →

Joselynn Engstrom ’99: Life Really is a Circus

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Joselynn Tokashiki Engstrom ’99

Note: You can read the full article in  City Arts.

Six days a week, Joselynn Tokashiki Engstrom can be found training at the School of Acrobatics & New Circus Arts in Georgetown—often hanging from a trapeze.

“I’ve never done anything that takes so much strength and concentration,” she says.

About 14 months ago, Engstrom and her artistic partner Terry Crane founded the Acrobatic Conundrum, a circus troupe that creates accessible, narrative shows that mix acrobatics, dance and theatre. From the beginning, she says, “We wanted to tell a story, we didn’t want it to be plug-and-play vaudeville.”

 Read the full article.

Salimatou Pratt ’13: Putting Theory into Practice at the EPA

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SalimatouPrattRead with Greener pride this blog post by Salimatou Pratt ’13, now an intern at the Environmental Protection Agency in Washington D.C. The post is published in Greenversations: The EPA’s blog about our world.

If you’re like me, talking about environmental issues is normal, especially around the dinner table with family and friends. Coming from Conakry, Guinea, and learning about how I may have been exposed to toxicity from local industries while growing up, has intensified my desire to be part of the bigger environmental discussion. Interning in EPA’s Office of Public Engagement has given me a unique perspective on how the agency connects with communities, both nationally and internationally.  Continue reading →

Luke Bradford ’02 – Making His Mark on the Washington Wine Scene

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Luke Bradford, ’02, owner of Cor Cellars winery in south-central Washington.

Luke Bradford, ’02, owner of Cor Cellars winery in south-central Washington.

Nestled in south-central Washington near the Oregon border, Cor Cellars winery, owned by Luke Bradford ’02, has been named Winery of the Year by the seattlepi.com’s  “Blue Collar Wine Guy.”

The writer traces Luke’s story from his early years growing up on a dairy farm in Pennsylvania, to his high school years in Park City, Utah, then to Evergreen. Mid-way through his college career, Luke traveled to Italy where he fell in love with wine and viticulture. His final years at Evergreen focused on chemistry and business, preparing him for his career as a maker of outstanding wines. Read the full article at seattlepi.com.

Filmmaker Bryan Smith ’97 Kicks Off 2014 “National Geographic Live” Speaker Series

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Filmmaker Bryan Smith ’97 visits Olympia as National Geographic speaker

Award-winning filmmaker Bryan Smith ’97 is living an Evergreen-powered dream, capturing the world on film for National Geographic. In January, he returns to Olympia as part of the 2014 National Geographic Live speaker series to talk about his globe-trotting career. Guaranteed, there will be lots of Greeners in the audience to welcome Bryan back, celebrate his success and maybe even sing an impromptu chorus of The Geoduck Fight Song.

When: Jan. 10 from 7:30-9:30 p.m. Where: The Washington Center for Preforming Arts, 512 Washington St. SE, Olympia.

Read the full story in the Olympian.

Alumna Elise Zelechowski – Deconstructing Chicago for the Greater Good

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Chicago’s “Garbage Guru” credits Evergreen with preparing her for social justice work.

Elise Zelechowski studied French philosophy at Evergreen. Now she’s known as a  “garbage guru.” Qu’est-ce que c’est? No, this is not a galliphobic slur; it’s the career path Elise has followed since leaving Evergreen.

In a recent interview, Elise describes how she found her calling as Executive Director of ReBuilding Exchange, a Chicago-based organization promoting the reclamation of used building materials that would otherwise wind up in landfills.

“I went to Evergreen,” she explained. “Going to school there you can’t leave without being pretty well-rounded as an environmentalist, a feminist, a social justice advocate. And then I lived in France and I was really taken by how the city of Paris functions in terms of food infrastructure, transit infrastructure, small business and recycling.”

Read the full story at occupy.com to learn how Elise has expanded her work in sustainable deconstruction and waste management to address issues of poverty, the criminal justice system, housing, and employment. You can also view Elise’s inspirational TED talk.

How did The Evergreen Mind hear about Elise? She “facebooked” us! You can share your news too. Check out all Evergreen’s social media connections including our new LinkedIn page.