Mary Claire Walsh is no stranger to life on a farm. She hails from rural Vermont, the daughter of a dairy cattle expert. She continued to experience rural life at Kenyon during the Spring 2005 semester through the College's independent study farm program. Every Saturday, Walsh could be found down on the farm helping a ewe give birth, feeding a calf, building a chicken coop-or reading about issues affecting family farms.

And in the fall, she'll widen her perspective dramatically when she embarks on a study-abroad program in Tanzania and Kenya. There she'll research the Maasai, semi-nomadic farmers who move their villages three times a year in search of grazing land for their livestock. A good deal of time will be devoted to the classroom, where Walsh will learn about the Maasai culture while taking lessons in Swahili. But she will also have the chance to actually live among the Maasai, most likely in a mud hut.

"I wanted to be challenged, both academically and personally," says Walsh. "And what I'll be studying in Africa fits in perfectly with the major I've designed for myself." She's referring to her synoptic, or self-designed, major in human ecology. Drawing primarily on the fields of biology and anthropology, her studies will focus on the dynamics of human response to environment. Since the Maasai have been forced to adapt to land that has withered due to forty years of drought conditions, Walsh will witness first-hand how adept humans can be when faced with agricultural challenges.

In addition to preparing for her trip abroad, which requires "shots for everything from rabies to malaria," Walsh works as an assistant in the biology lab. She also finds time to volunteer at Kenyon's Brown Family Environmental Center as a field trip guide for young children, giving her a much-needed break from her studies. "I get to tromp through mud and streams, catch tadpoles, or check the bluebird boxes for chicks with the kids. It is a fantastic resource for students to be able to apply their curriculum to the physical environment of Knox County," she says.