Campus News

What I Did for Winter Term

February 27, 2015

Lisa Gulasy

Winter term affords students an opportunity to explore their academic interests outside of the classroom while helping them recognize the value of self-education. Students spent January 2015 undertaking independent and group study projects on- and off-campus, in Oberlin and around the world.

Photo Gallery

Winter Term 2015

A woman plays violin — Anna Berntson “I was working at Kendal at Oberlin under the supervision of the music therapist, and mainly what I would do is go around and visit with residents. We would pick out residents first that we knew would enjoy some music, and then play for them and try to figure out what they liked listening to—go through a variety of styles. Occasionally I would help out with larger groups. I helped with a bell choir a couple of times, which is basically just a handbells group, directing different people so they can be active in music making.“The objective from a volunteer perspective is to bring a little something different into Kendal for the residents to participate in. From my standpoint, I was hoping to learn about music therapy because I might be interested in a career, so I learned a lot over the month.”
Photo credit: Zach Christy

A person poses in front of a banner that reads "Welcome to Oberlin High School" — Amethyst Carey Carey spent winter term as a tutor in the Ninde Scholars Program. She was matched with Ninde scholars—students who will be first-generation college students—helping them with their classwork and any college preparation they required. She also worked with other students who requested tutoring over the month, giving them extra help where they needed it.
Photo credit: Zach Christy

A schoolbus with the phrase "End the embargo against Cuba" painted on the side — Adam Chazin-Gray “I, along with a group of seven other Oberlin students, traveled to Havana, where we spent 13 days exploring the art, architecture, music, dance, political and social issues, and history of Cuba. Getting a chance to interact, exchange thoughts, share beliefs, and challenge cultural and political misconceptions with and learn about the lives of Cubans was an amazing opportunity that I will truly never forget. I can't put into words or describe how much it meant to me.”
Photo credit: Courtesy of Oberlin College

A band performs in dim lighting — Conservatory Initiative Grant Supporting Imagination and Excellence (CIGSIE) Third-year jazz studies students Noah Gershwin, guitar; Joe Suihkonen, trumpet; Eric Krouse, piano; and Emerson Hunton, drummer—winners of a Conservatory Initiative Grant Supporting Imagination and Excellence (CIGSIE) (http://new.oberlin.edu/office/creativity/funding-opportunities/cigsie/)—spent the month of January in Amsterdam studying improvisation and learning from Amsterdammer musicians as well as touring bands that passed through during the month. The quartet benefited from the generosity of the Conservatorium van Amsterdam where they were given rehearsal space, and they stayed in a Studio for Electro-Instrumental Music (STEIM) (http://steim.org/) guest house. A chronicle of their time in Amsterdam is shown in pictures on Tumblr (http://dutchimprov.tumblr.com/).
Photo credit: Courtesy of Oberlin College

Two people crouch behind a table filled with paper bags — Jasper Clarkberg “I worked at City First Homes, an affordable housing non-profit in Washington, D.C. that gives subsidized mortgages to low-income people, and then locks in the future selling price of that home at an affordable amount.“I designed the organization’s 2014 annual report using images and data from the year. I also made the website mobile-friendly. I learned about working in a professional office environment and being independent, both in the office and in the city. My boss was David Tisel, a recent alum, and my co-intern was Christophe Beaumier, an Oberlin senior.“This photo is of Christophe (left) and me behind gift bags containing winter coats. The coats were donated to the children in one of the D.C. housing co-ops that City First Homes oversees. I wrapped the coats and put name tags on the bags. It was so fun visiting the co-op and distributing the coats.”
Photo credit: Courtesy of Oberlin College

A photo of a red book by Edmonia Lewis in the foreground, while a student works at their laptop in the background — Nora Cooper Nora spent her winter term in Oberlin researching the life and work of Edmonia Lewis, who, after suffering harassment while studying at Oberlin, left for Rome without completing her degree and began her career as a sculptor. Cooper used her research to write persona poetry from Lewis’ perspective, bringing her to life and using her imagination to fill in the gaps left by historical record.“Coming from Rochester, New York, when I first visited Oberlin, I was interested in the similarities both cities shared. They both have a lot of involvement in the Underground Railroad and women’s suffrage movements. Coming to Oberlin, that’s one major appeal for me. So I wanted to delve more into that history. And it actually was Tania Boster, director of student leadership programs at the Bonner Center for Service and Learning who first suggested Edmonia Lewis.“I really like the aesthetic of her work, too. A lot of it seems to be centered around activism. Her figures in particular showed more emotion than most figures of the time, and they also weren’t Greek or Roman as were commonly portrayed. She relied a lot on her Chippewah heritage and lived on Lake Ontario for three years. I feel like I can relate to the region and I do feel comfortable stepping into her persona in that instance because, at times, it is difficult thinking about whether you should be speaking for someone who has such a different experience than yourself, but in that sense I feel very comfortable writing about her.”
Photo credit: Zach Christy

Front cover of a book titled "Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse" by Kevin Henkes — Stephanie Gunter “I am a first year, my project sponsor is Maureen Simen from the Bonner Center, and my project is called Children's Literature. Joanne Rahn and others at the Unitarian Universalist Church near campus offered several research projects. For this one, the church wanted a bibliography of 40 children's books with short reviews of each book.“I spent winter term reading everything from Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse to Black Beauty. It was a lot of fun and turned out to be just enough work for the time span. I went to Barnes and Noble, the public library in my hometown, and even went through old books in my own basement—although I barely scratched the surface of all the old books there.“I enjoyed the project and felt accomplished after finishing it, hoping to help the group I was working with expand their library and perhaps give some new insight on already established classics.”
Photo credit: Courtesy of Oberlin College

A person plays steel drums — Monica Hunter-Hart Oberlin’s steel pan band, Oberlin Steel (OSteel), traveled to Trinidad to play in the annual steelband competition, Panorama. Steelbands travel from across the world to participate in the competition in the homeland of the steel pan, which takes place in accordance with Carnival celebrations.In this photo submitted by Monica Hunter-Hart, Maya Zeemont plays the double second steel pan. To see more photos and read more about OSteel’s Trinidadian adventure, visit the oberlinsteeltrinidad blog (https://oberlinsteeltrinidad.wordpress.com/).
Photo credit: Anita Bonam

A person sits at a desk adding a design to a skateboard — Ramzy Lakos “For my winter term project, I focused on designing longboards using pyrography, which is also known as wood burning. For two of the boards, I combined the wood burning with paints in order to add vibrancy and detail. I was heavily inspired by traditional mandalas, and I tried to combine that with some of my personal ideas and concepts. Each board took roughly a week to complete, and I'm proud of all of them. I plan on auctioning the boards when I return to Oberlin and donating the profits to a charity.”
Photo credit: Courtesy of Oberlin College

An array of papers pinned to a wall titled "Job Board" — Erica Levin “Over the course of my 2015 winter term, I was lucky enough to intern at FAIR Girls, an anti-trafficking organization based in Washington, D.C. FAIR Girls helps to prevent the exploitation of girls worldwide through empowerment and education. I was able to help with the empowerment aspect of their organization by working in their drop-in center. Here, the girls supported by the organization are able to work with their cases managers, get legal help, talk to a psychologist, work to find employment and continue their education, and get donated clothes and toiletries.“When working with girls and LGBTQ youth ages 14-26, I helped them with resumes and cover letters, as well as creating a job board with more than 50+ jobs for the girls to apply to. Working with the case managers, I helped create a complete resource guide listing where housing options, food banks, hospitals, and more could be found. Finally, FAIR Girls has an emergency shelter called Vida House where the organization is able to house up to five girls until they make more permanent arrangements. The girls are only able to stay in the house from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., so I made a packet called Free Around DC, a guide of free daytime activities that were indoors so they and, in some cases, their children could stay warm. My list ranged from museums to libraries to coffee shops.“My time working at FAIR Girls was one of my most rewarding experiences. I was able to make connections with many of girls and gain their trust. I was able to see each girl make steps toward gaining their independence every day. Little things like getting an ID or an interview for a job were daily occurrences that made joyful an office that deals with a dark topic. From this experience, I learned the importance of helping these girls gain meaningful and positive connections that reinforce the idea that they matter.”
Photo credit: Courtesy of Oberlin College

A line of people standing behind rows of plants — Luce Initiative on Asian Studies and the Environment (LIASE) Funded by a Luce Initiative on Asian Studies and the Environment (LIASE) (http://languages.oberlin.edu/blogs/liase/) grant, a group of faculty and six first- and second-year students toured three main areas of China—Beijing, Taigu, and Chegu—to learn about Asian culture and sustainability issues in China and Japan. Here, David Kelley, director of East Asian studies and associate professor of history and East Asian studies, stands with students in a strawberry field.
Photo credit: Courtesy of Oberlin College

A young man sits with an older woman at a computer — William Lynch Over winter term, Lynch held an internship at Kendal at Oberlin. He helped residents play games on Lumosity, which allowed them to work on different aspects of memory and cognition. Lynch also shadowed a clinician at Kendal, going with him on rounds, checking on patients, and observing the general goings on. “What drew me to Kendal in particular was the idea that I could also look at the more clinical side of things, which I haven’t had many opportunities to do, so the fact that I was able to do that was rewarding and I really enjoyed it.“In addition, I get to be involved in education, particularly one-on-one, and it’s with an age group I haven’t worked with before. I mostly just worked with children, and working with older adults is not the same. So it was doing something I was familiar with but challenging myself within that to gain new experiences and figure out what I wanted to do in terms of figuring out potential career paths and where I want to end up.”
Photo credit: Zach Christy

Lockers in a hallway — Liam McLean “During winter term, I worked through the Bonner Center for Service and Learning as an intern with the Ninde Scholars Program. This educational outreach program strives to facilitate academic achievement and college access among students in grades 7 through 12 at Langston Middle School and Oberlin High School.“Many of the students who participate in the program come from lower-income families or are preparing to be the first in their families to attend college. The program provides each of these students with a regular tutor from Oberlin College throughout the year; however, given that most of these tutors are away during winter term, the Ninde office hires winter term tutors to fill the role for a month.“Alongside six other interns, I tutored participants in the Ninde Scholars program as well as other Oberlin High School students who requested academic assistance. I also attended a college access workshop—where I doled out wisdom to the students—and participated in a teacher appreciation service day at the high school—where I sorted ancient math textbooks for removal.“My interest in the Ninde program originated in an abiding conviction in the importance of higher education and a seething frustration at the myriad of barriers that encumber entire demographics—including low-income students, first-generation students, students with learning disabilities, ESL students, students of color, and women—as they strive for a quality college education. My work with Ninde encouraged me to explore more deeply how socially engaged and responsible individuals can approach the serious problem of inaccessible higher education and enabled me to be a small part of that effort.”
Photo credit: Zach Christy

A man in a sweater poses for a photo with two people in sports jerseys — James Miller spent his winter term as a volunteer assistant coach and statistician for the varsity and junior varsity City Honors High School basketball teams in Buffalo, New York, where he helped young players hone their skills and learned the intricacies of coaching basketball.
Photo credit: Courtesy of Oberlin College

A woman smiling in a coffee shop near a window — Delaney Meyers “I did a project sponsored by the First Unitarian Universalist church in Oberlin. The church wanted to know how, where, what, and why young adults think about spirituality. I took that project and expanded it into something that I had been interested in for a while, which is just where people find meaning in their lives, what drives people on a deeper level.”To complete this project, Meyers interviewed approximately 20 young adults with different beliefs and from different spiritual backgrounds and recorded any responses and patterns she found in a report for the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship.“I asked my subjects what gives their lives meaning, how they think about spirituality, and how they feel most connected to people. The premise of this project is also that the way we think about inner life and spirituality and deeper things is being affected by the fact that this is such a digital age, so then I asked people, ‘How does your online activity affect your interpersonal relationships?’ So it’s many things all tied together.”
Photo credit: Zach Christy

Two people hold up green drinks — Hilary Pan and Celia Keim “Our month of interning consisted of planning Green Drinks events in Aurora, Illinois. Green Drinks is a monthly, low-key gathering for individuals from all sorts of sustainable backgrounds and interests. Throughout this process, we conducted and analyzed a survey to gauge community interest (receiving a 30 percent response rate!) and met with a variety of community members, including the city's director of marketing and a restaurant event coordinator to set up a press release and solidify a venue.“During this time, we stayed at a sustainable building undergoing LEED Gold Certification (and helped with that process), hosted an art event for a local eco artist at our building, attended business networking events, helped with our supervisor's book recycling business, and created a series of blog posts on sustainability in Aurora, Illinois. Our blog posts received an average of 5,000 hits per post and can be found at https://greenbuddha-life.squarespace.com/blog/.”
Photo credit: Courtesy of Oberlin College

Four people in Lacrosse gear pose for a photo — Daniel Pardee “For my winter term project, I decided to first go on a 10-day trip to Israel. It was an amazing experience, and I was able to explore every corner of Israel. The main highlight of my trip, however, came after these 10 days when I decided to intern with the Israel Lacrosse program.“For two weeks, I went to different schools in Ashkelon, a city near Tel Aviv, teaching kids how to play lacrosse. Along with this program, we worked with at-risk kids in a program called City Without Violence, which attempts to teach kids leadership skills in order to keep them from causing trouble on the streets later in life. We also worked with disadvantaged children in a program called Sticks for Kids, which was developed for kids whose parents are working and would stay in an after-school program.This trip was life-changing. I had the time of my life!”
Photo credit: Courtesy of Oberlin College

One person performs violin while another operates recording equipment in a bright room — Kirk Pearson “I moved to Boston where I worked with several of my friends at the New England Conservatory. There, we spent the month writing and recording compositions that we've always wanted to write. Pictured is me and violinist Alec Lindsay, who is recording his part for Fever Dreams of a Young Auctioneer, a piece for string quartet and recorded cattle auctioneers.”
Photo credit: Courtesy of Oberlin College

Six people pose in front of a stylized building on a sunny day — Julie Taymor Grant A group of five conservatory students, supported by a Julie Taymor grant, accompanied Robert W. Wheeler Professor of Viola Peter Slowik, traveled throughout Sydney, Brisbane, and Cairns, Australia, for a two-week outreach project. Students performed chamber music in Vebruggen Hall of Sydney Conservatory, served as coaches for the Credo Australia Chamber Music Program, performed educational concerts at St. Peters Lutheran College in Brisbane, and interacted with students from Sydney and Queensland conservatories. They also were able to snorkel on the Great Barrier Reef. The group is pictured in front of Sydney’s iconic Opera House.
Photo credit: Courtesy of Oberlin College

A group of people cluster for a photo on a tennis court — Men’s and Women’s Tennis The men’s and women’s tennis teams traveled to Australia (https://www.oberlin.edu/news/tennis-down-under) for up-close access to the Australian Open. Throughout January, players experienced the best of everything in Melbourne and Sydney, including matches with Australian teams (their first time playing on red clay tennis courts), day passes to watch the Australian Open (held annually in Melbourne at the end of January), and a training session with tennis analyst Craig O’Shannessy. Off the courts, the teams enjoyed visits to sprawling street markets, sight-seeing at the Sydney Harbor Bridge and the Sydney Opera House, encounters with Australian wildlife, and beach lounging and surfing lessons on the Melbourne coast.
Photo credit: Courtesy of Oberlin College

A woman gestures in front of a whiteboard while children sit at desks and one raises their hand — Erin Ulrich “During my winter term I was student-teaching in a combined 5th and 6th grade classroom in Hayward, California. Five days a week, I taught at-risk children in the San Francisco Bay Area public schools and also tutored students every day after school, thus being able to form relationships with the students and learn more about them and apply this knowledge to the classroom. I taught (eventually, on my own) under the guidance of an Oberlin alumna, Alyson Bingham, whose mentorship and support made this project truly worthwhile.”
Photo credit: Courtesy of Oberlin College

A group of people laugh as they play standing drums — Leah Wood (not pictured) and four members of Oberlin College Taiko traveled to Honolulu, Hawaii, to study the traditional art form of Japanese taiko drumming under Kenny Endo, a leading artist in contemporary percussion and rhythm.“It is our responsibility as taiko players to stay engaged with the larger taiko community and to learn from masters and other groups in order to stay connected. This is especially important since we are one of few taiko groups in Ohio,” Leah says. “We have a great relationship with Kenny Endo and will be the third group from Oberlin College Taiko to spend winter term with him since our founding in 2008.”Pictured from left to right are Jason Ihm, Miles Ginoza, Kenny Endo, Will Halimou, and Jesse Wiener.
Photo credit: Courtesy of Oberlin College

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