Campus News

2014 Winter Term Chronicles Part 1

February 5, 2014
Communications Staff

Included in this first edition of Oberlin OnCampus' coverage of winter term 2014 are submissions from South Africa, the Czech Republic, and California.

The Office of Communications wants to know how you spent winter term. We’d love to see your photos, and, if you are blogging, read about your experience. We’ll incorporate your submission into the winter-term website and include it in an Oberlin OnCampus photo gallery. Your submission may also appear in other Oberlin publications and social media.

Want to share your winter-term experience with the Oberlin community? Fill out this quick and simple form. We accept submissions on an ongoing basis, but to ensure your submission is included in the media noted above, send it by Monday, February 10. You can even submit information and photos about past winter terms.

[This form is no longer available.]

Photo Gallery

2014 Winter Term Part 1

A group of medical professionals in full scrubs perform an operation
Second-year student Kendra Lian spent winter term shadowing the staff of the otorhinolaryngology (ears, nose, and throat) department at the Fujian Medical University's First Affiliated Hospital in Fuzhou, China. Setting out observe the typical work day for a doctor in China, Kendra spent five to six hours a day watching patient-doctor interactions and surgical operations, such as the thyroglossal duct cyst surgery depicted in this photo (Kendra is third from left, observing the operation). She says she wanted “to learn more about the Chinese health system, confirm my own pre-med aspirations, improve my Chinese skills, and better connect with my heritage through being here and doing this project.” Read more about Kendra’s experience on her blog, Far East Shift (http://fareastshift.weebly.com/).
 Photo credit: Courtesy of Kendra Lian
A crystalline structure suspended in a liquid in a clear container
Third-year student Ren Wiscons spent winter term in the lab of chemistry professor Jesse Rowsell. “Our lab has been designing and synthesizing molecules that pack together in crystal structures that form micro and nanoporous materials,” says Ren. “We hope to change properties, chemical and dimensional, of the pores running through our materials by adding chemical functional groups to our prototypical molecular unit. By changing pore properties we can increase and shift pore specialization to allow capture and filtration of different gases and liquids. Porous molecular crystals will hopefully perpetuate research in nanoporous materials that can store hydrogen gas for fuel cells, filter carbon dioxide from exhaust, etc. We shot this photo of one of our crystals in late January (the background may be recognizable as the Science Center magnolias and Finney Chapel on a snowy afternoon).” Read more about the project—and see more pictures—on the team’s blog (http://weareher.wordpress.com). Photo credit: Courtesy of Ren Wiscons
Five people pose for a photo around a poster
Four students spent winter term at the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) office in Washington, D.C., doing internships for the EDF’s International Climate Program under the supervision of Oberlin trustee Karen Florini ’79, who is managing director of international climate at the EDF. Third-year student Isabella Esler worked on a project for low-carbon rural development in India; senior Laura Li and second-year student Machmud Makhmudov worked on Spanish and Russian translations respectively; and senior Erica Qiao worked for EDF’s Smart Energy program. Pictured left to right: Laura Li, Karen Florini, Erica Qiao, Isabella Esler, and Machmud Makhmudov.
 Photo credit: Courtesy of Isabella Esler
A person leans back on a hill near water, backlit by the sun
Second-year student Dominic Fiallo took time out from his winter-term project studying alternative education methods in the Bay Area/Silicon Valley to take a picture of himself enjoying the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. The goals of Dominic’s project were to experience working in education to see if it is something he’d like to do in the future and to learn how to better educate people with disabilities. He met with educators, shadowed teachers at a variety of schools, and designed lesson plans, classroom activities and field trips—to local geological sites, for example—inclusive to students with disabilities, many of which were for San Jose’ home study department. Dominic also set our to learn the lifestyle habits that best suit him for independent living, and he was able to explore many outdoor activities, including surfing, backpacking in Yosemite, and biking all over the Bay Area. Read more about Dominic’s project on his blog (http://domfiallo.blogspot.com).
 Photo credit: Courtesy of Dominic Fiallo
Screenshot of a website titled "Taking on the Giant"
First-year student Jenna Bellassai spent winter term in Cleveland working on the blog Taking on the Giant (http://www.takingonthegiant.com/) with Oberlin alumnus Charlie Butts ’67, an Oberlin alum and former Ohio senator. Jenna had two main responsibilities: writing entries for the blog, which focuses on the achievements of young people around the globe, and marketing the blog through social media. Her goals were to increase Taking on the Giant's fan base, to continue adding posts to the blog, and to get inspired by young change makers and entrepreneurs along the way.”
 Photo credit: Courtesy of Oberlin College
People around a table work with assorted craft supplies
First-year student Elizabeth Gobbo took part in the on-campus group project Papermaking and Book Arts Across Cultures (http://www.oberlin.edu/winter-term/projects/group-projects). Participants learned Eastern and Western techniques of papermaking and paper decoration (e.g., pulp painting, marbling, inclusion, dyes) as well as various bookbinding styles. Sponsored by Shansi and Oberlin’s special collections librarian Ed Vermue, who took this picture of class members marbling their papers in Mudd’s letterpress studio, sponsored the project, and the class was taught by Oberlin alumna Aimee Lee (http://aimeelee.net/) ’99.
 Photo credit: Ed Vermue
A group of medical professionals in full scrubs perform an operation
A crystalline structure suspended in a liquid in a clear container
Five people pose for a photo around a poster
A person leans back on a hill near water, backlit by the sun
Screenshot of a website titled "Taking on the Giant"
People around a table work with assorted craft supplies

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