Last month, alumna Cathy De La Cruz ’03 appeared on the Actor Hack Podcast. She shared her first impressions of moving to Olympia to attend Evergreen and the challenges (and benefits) of pursuing independent study. She was gracious enough to write an introduction, and you can listen to the full interview here.

Before arriving in my dorm room as an 18-year-old freshman in 1999, I had never even been to the state of Washington. I had grown up in in San Antonio, Texas and had only been on an airplane once, my junior year of high school, to visit some family in Missouri. I wasn’t culturally shocked by The Evergreen State College and Olympia (though my parents were) because it was exactly what I had been looking for. To say Evergreen and Olympia were polar opposites from my Catholic school upbringing and large but relatively conservative hometown at the time—would be an understatement.

Now as a New Yorker working in publishing and the arts, I was recently interviewed on a local podcast called “Actor Hack” where I mentioned my formative years as an Evergreen college student. Even now, 14 years after graduation, I am truly grateful for the experience. Some of my closest friends also live in New York and graduated from Evergreen. I’m still in touch with my favorite faculty, many of whom are still as supportive of my work now as they were when I was their student. Evergreen is a unique school and in this podcast interview, I tried to give those who don’t know anything about the institution a little background on it.

A fellow Greener told me they appreciated what I said about how the best part of going to Evergreen was that you were actually treated like you were an adult, which also happened to be the worst part since in many ways, I was still a kid. But I wholeheartedly believe that is the magic of Evergreen: the freedom you have there. Maybe I learned more about freedom at Evergreen than I did about anything else, but it took me until now to realize that.

Greeners (past, present and prospective) are always welcome to reach out to me—especially those who want to talk film, writing, feminism, New York and so on. You can find me on Twitter via @SadDiego

Hear Cathy’s complete interview on the Actor Hack Podcast here.

Byron Howard ’90 (center) accepts the Golden Globe for Best Animated Feature Film with producer Clark Spencer (left) and co-director Rich Moore (right)

Zootopia is a buddy-cop animated feature starring a bunny detective (voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin) and her fox partner (voiced by Jason Bateman) as they uncover corruption in the metropolitan city of Zootopia. The film addresses prejudice and racism through division among the animal characters, a message that seemed more relevant over the 5 year span of film production. Backstage at the award ceremony co-director and Evergreen graduate Byron Howard commented, 

“The world around us started to explode. Bias and fear mongering were coming into the news daily. Something we hadn’t planned, but made us all the more dedicated to get the message out in the right way.”

Bryon’s 22-year career with Disney includes directing credits for Bolt (2008) and Tangled (2010). You can watch the full acceptance speech on the NBC website.

A light dusting of snow transformed campus into a dreamy snow globe twice in December. Our talented campus photographer Shauna Bittle captured the frosty scene, including the newly remodeled Purce Lecture Hall.

Take a look and share your snowy campus memories in the comments below!

The National Endowment for the Arts featured Evergreen’s Longhouse Education and Cultural Center partnership with the Squaxin Museum in a new book titled, “How to Do Creative Placemaking: An Action-Oriented Guide to Arts in Community Development.”

The NEA praises the community collaboration, which lead to a series of workshops and art residencies in 2012 to produce hand-made gifts for the annual Tribal Canoe Journey.

“We were amazed to see how many Squaxin Island Tribal members filled the arena with dancers, drummers, and singers during the protocol ceremonies. The tribe expressed their cultural identity in so many beautiful ways—in the regalia they made, the art that was gifted to thousands of participants, and the many community members of all ages that filled the ceremonial protocol stage. People are still talking about how well they represented themselves as hosts of the 2012 Tribal Canoe Journey.”

Tina M. Kuckkahn-Miller

Director of the Longhouse Education & Cultural Center

Read more at The Olympian, or see the case study on page 96.

The Longhouse after a light snow on December 15, 2016.

Nikki McClure ’91 is featured on the cover of South Sound Magazine this month. Read more about how this alumna artist uses paper and an X-Acto Knife to create art that captures the beauty of ordinary life.

Made Locally With Love

You may recognize Nikki’s art from the 2016 Return to Evergreen promotions, in addition to her many calendars and children’s books.

Be sure to save the date November 3-5 for a weekend full of activities as we Return to Evergreen once again in 2017!

Editor’s note: We asked Adam Sher ’02, and his father, Gerson Sher, to share the story of Adam’s first quarter at Evergreen. Add your experience in the comments and help new students and parents learn about transitioning to Evergreen’s educational approach. 

Gerson: As a former Greener parent, I think there are a lot of parents out there of incoming Greeners who might want to hear about not only the high points of their children’s experiences, but also the lows, and especially some of the lows that are more typical of Evergreen. Adam, you have said that in your first quarter, especially, you had some tough challenges in adjusting. But before we go into that, let’s go back and set the stage with your reaction to your high school experience.

Adam: OK. I went to McLean High School in Fairfax County, Virginia, in one of the supposedly finest public school systems in the country. It was terrible. I hated high school. I hated the whole approach to education – the rigidity, the mass-production style, the teaching to the test, the useless information, the senseless rules and discipline. I was turned off to education and to all the super-achievers and over-achievers who were college-bound. I was not at all sure that I wanted to go to college at all.

Gerson: Yes. As I recall, you had something like a 2.4 GPA and we got periodic recorded calls from the school system informing us that you had once again not showed up for class.

Adam: That’s right.

Gerson: But you performed spectacularly on the SATs, even though you made a show of not even trying. Did that surprise you?

Adam: No. I love learning. I love reading. I have always done it on my own terms. And high school prevented me from doing that.

Gerson: So, what changed your mind?

Adam: Well, I read the 1998 edition of Forty Colleges that Change Lives, and Evergreen was the only one that looked remotely interesting.

Gerson: I remember that distinctly. Why?

Adam: Because it looked like Evergreen was the absence of everything I couldn’t stand about high school: Rules, grades, subjects broken down into meaningless shards of knowledge, discipline. It looked great.

2000 – Adam with family dog  Opus

Gerson: We thought so, too, especially for a student like you. And we were relieved that you even decided to go to college. So, what did you find when you got to Evergreen?

Adam: I found out that my initial impression and expectations were completely out of line with what was going on at Evergreen.

Gerson: In what way?

Adam: Well, first of all, the notion that just because of the lack of conventional structure, you could just sail through the place on your own terms was dead wrong. What looked like an absence of requirements or rules turned out to be almost the opposite. You really had to plan your courses carefully, register for them on time so they don’t close out, and think about how you’re going to regulate your own study and life. It wasn’t the free and easy environment that I had envisioned. It was tough and demanding, but the demands were internal, not external. I was fine with rejecting external demands, but not at all ready for making internal ones of myself. This was quite a shock, and I wasn’t ready for it.

Gerson: So what happened?

Adam: I went into a funk. I didn’t do much work. I goofed off. My first quarter course was a disaster. I finished the course but I would add that the faculty’s experience with kids like me was a big help. That would not have happened just anywhere.

Gerson: So what did you do to change your course?

Adam: I realized that I needed to substitute my own self-discipline for the external discipline that I hated so much in high school. I realized that I needed to be responsible to myself. The next quarter and the next year, I had a much different experience and was motivated to mold Evergreen’s learning environment to my own evolving interests. I also met a lot of other students who had similar experiences to mine.

Gerson: Yes, you seemed like you had grown a lot over a short period of time.

Adam: Well, that might be pushing it…

Gerson: And you were able to devote a whole year of your study to your favorite novel, Moby-Dick, under a fabulous professor.

Adam: That was the highlight of my education. It’s a very deep book, and my professor, David Powell, was an extraordinary teacher.

Gerson: Yes, I remember him well. So Adam, aside from your initial struggles with your preconception of Evergreen and the reality, and in addition to Moby-Dick, what do you think was the most important lesson you drew from your Evergreen education?

Adam: It’s really impossible to separate all those strands. They all run together. What Evergreen excels at teaching, at instilling in students, is critical thinking. Critical thinking starts with thinking critically about yourself, and learning critical thinking often demands corrective action when things don’t work out. That’s one of the great lessons of Moby-Dick, too. And the way Evergreen teaches critical thinking is crucial: the interdisciplinary orientation to learning pushes us beyond formal categories of subjects like math, science, and history – uncovering the the endless source of wonder and self-reflection inherent in any phenomenon. Another important thing about Evergreen was also the presence of things i was interested in… intellectualism, creativity, opportunities for self-direction, and a [not so] subtle countercultural aesthetic. It was a great education.

Gerson: So, if you’re a parent of a new Greener – a green Greener, if you will – who is having trouble adapting to Evergreen, who may be thinking of transferring to another school, or something else, what would your advice be to that parent?

Adam: Let your child figure it out for herself. Odds are that if your child is the sort of student who would choose Evergreen for the reasons I did, she will work it out, though it will not be easy. If you’re just looking for an easy B.A., don’t bother. It’s not easy. If you’re not willing to look hard at yourself before you look hard at others, it’s also probably not the right place for you.

Gerson: That all sounds pretty harsh, Adam. Don’t you have some words to reassure all those anxious parents out there?

Adam: Sure. Let me put it this way. Trust your Greener. Trust her instinct to come here in the first place. She will sort it out, one way or another, and be the better for it.

2014 Georgetown, DC – From left; Adam, Gerson, Margery Sher, and Adam’s wife Megan Sher.

Bill Gates recently sat down with Washington State Teacher of the Year Nate Gibbs-Bowling, MiT ’06 to discuss the New Majority in American public schools and how to support exceptional teachers. Nate will join outstanding MiT alumni for the “Teachers are Agents of Change” panel at Return to Evergreen 2016.

Read the full story here.

Do you love to plan? Can you scheme cross-country road trips just by staring at a map? Join us at Return to Evergreen 2016 for a dynamic workshop with Patti Dobrowolski ’80. Patti’s celebrated session encourages you to break out the markers and visualize your future. You’ll leave with a roadmap to accomplish your goals without getting lost along the way!

Learn more about visual goal setting and register for Return to Evergreen today.

Take a look at the updated sessions page with even more exciting offerings!

I could tell you about Bezango, WA, which will be screening at Return to Evergreen on October 15, but I think this comic by Chelsea Baker explains the film perfectly:

Check out the trailer!

After the screening, hear from the filmmakers Ron Austin ’91 and Louise Amandes with alumni artists Megan Kelso ’91 and Dana Simpson ’99 for an engaging panel as they explore connections between the comics, cartoons, and Evergreen.

Have you registered for Return to Evergreen yet? Do it today and stay tuned as we add more sessions and speakers!