New Horizons
GAMBIER, Ohio (July 19, 2010) For Kenyon students, summer doesn't mean taking it down a notch. Instead, it's a welcome opportunity to learn, explore, and give back—off the Hill. Whether they spend the summer in a skyscraper, working for one of the largest advertising agencies in the world; in a lab, doing research on alternative energy; or in the rainforest of Guatemala, rescuing wildlife, Kenyon students devote themselves to their local and global communities. Here's a taste of some of their exciting experiences:
Lily Barrett, a junior English major, is interning at Boston's Teen Voices Magazine, which focuses on the empowerment of teenage girls. She also blogs for the Crozier Center's new blog, and for SixItemsOrLess, a month-long global experiment in anti-consumerism.
Katie Bonadies, a senior psychology major, is doing research with systems psychologist Dr. David Kantor of the Kantor Family Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Jonathan Brown, a senior majoring in music, is interning with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Merit School of Music.
Sarah Bush, a junior majoring in American studies and minoring in environmental science, has an internship through Kenyon/OEFFA (Ohio Ecological Food and Farming Association). She has been working on a local organic farm, as well as managing an herb garden she created for her Sustainable Agriculture class, which provides fresh herbs to the dining hall.
Spencer Carlson, a sophomore philosophy major, is working for a new Los Angeles real estate development company, Pelican Holdings, LLC.
Rebecca Chowdhury, a sophomore women's and gender studies major, is interning at Sakhi, a domestic violence organization in New York City that focuses on eliminating domestic violence within the South Asian community.
Kate Connell, a sophomore majoring in biology, is in Guatemala working at ARCAS, an animal wildlife rescue and rehabilitation center.
Athene Cook, a sophomore, is volunteering as an English teacher in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia for "Heart to Heart," an NGO that provides children from underprivileged families the opportunity to learn English free of cost.
Colleen Damerell, a sophomore English major, is volunteering at the George Eastman House, an international museum of photography and film in Rochester, New York. She is also running her own photography business.
Gennifer Dorgan, a sophomore, explored the realm of music therapy, shadowing a professional music therapist.
Megan Duffy, a senior anthropology and religious studies major, is interning at the Irish Immigration Center in Boston, which seeks to provide legal aid, as well as social, mental, and community resources, to the city's underserved immigrant populations.
Trevor Ezell, a junior classics major, is participating in the Pappas Patristic Institute's Fourth Annual Summer Patristic Studies Program in Brookline, Massachusetts. He will also be volunteering with the National Trust in London and assisting in the conservation of Roman settlements in the English countryside before attending Oxford University in the fall.
Pedro Geri, a senior majoring in economics, is working in Brazil and training for the next year's soccer season.
Andrew Gipson, a sophomore biology major, is learning the details of plumbing, electricity, and carpentry by assisting with rental property maintenance.
Christina Gordon, a junior majoring in modern languages and political science, is studying Arabic in Rabat, Morocco, living with a host family and exploring the country.
Jonathan Green, a sophomore, is working as College Fellow for Congressman Tom Perriello's re-election campaign in Virginia's 5th district.
Nina Hamilton, a junior biology major, is working for USAID in New Delhi, India. She will also be volunteering with a reforestation/sustainable living project in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.
Francis Higgins, a sophomore, is volunteering in Costa Rica with a program devoted to sea turtle conservation efforts.
Marcus Hough, a senior sociology major, is working for a domestic violence agency, Victim Outreach Intervention Center (VOICe), in Butler, Pennsylvania, facilitating batterers intervention groups.
Ellie Jabbour, a senior majoring in studio art, is interning with the art installation and exhibitions team at the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York City.
Alicia Johnston, a senior French Area Studies major, is working in Virginia as the ExxonMobil summer intern for AHC, Inc., a nonprofit that provides affordable housing for low-income families.
Jamal Jordan, a junior drama major, is working as the Production Stage Manager for Movement Theatre Company's North American premiere of Bintou. Written by Koffi Kwahule, a playwright from France via the Ivory Coast, the play confronts the issues of immigration, cultural exchange, and female genital mutilation.
Rebecca Katz, a senior majoring in women's and gender studies, is interning at Innocents at Risk, an anti-trafficking campaign in Washington, D.C. She is also training to be a Doula, a birth assistant who provides emotional and education support to women.
Will Kessenich, a senior economics major, is working at DDB Chicago, one of the largest advertising agencies in the world, serving as an account manager for McDonald's Corporation.
Logan Kinsey, a junior English major, is interning at the Today Show at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City, producing segments, shadowing anchors, working on concerts (including Lady Gaga!), and learning more about on-air broadcasting.
Junyoung "Joey" Lee, a senior majoring in economics and math, finished his two years of service in the Korean army and is interning at an investment firm in Beijing, China.
Camille "Mila" Leon, a junior psychology major, is working as a camp counselor on a biodynamic farm in Hawthorne Valley, New York.
Daniel Levy, a junior majoring in history, is interning in communications at JPMorgan Chase.
Ainsley Lockhart, a sophomore, has a Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship (SULI) with the U.S. Department of Energy and is spending the summer researching cellulosic biofuel at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
Rachel Martin, a modern languages major and biology minor, is participating in a Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. Her research on blood clotting is being sponsored by the American Heart Association.
Liliana Martinez, a sophomore, is working at Concordia Language Villages, a program that provides language immersion summer camps to children. She serves as a counselor, international day coordinator, and head of the art program at Lago Del Bosco, the Italian language "village."
Christian Martinez-Canchola, a sophomore majoring in English and sociology, is taking summer classes at the University of Texas and interning as a legislative aide at the offices of Texas State Senator Carlos Uresti and U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison.
Ariana McSweeney, a sophomore, is working and living on a farm north of Oxford, England, through World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms.
Brittney Miles, a sophomore, is interning with Free Street Theater group in Chicago. Focusing on free writing, contact improvisation, and music, this summer the group is producing a second edition of their play "To Kill a Teenager."
Mary Myers, a junior, is volunteering with a coalition of organizations for oil spill response in Dauphin Island, Alabama, collecting data to document pre- and post-oil contact damage.
Peter Necastro, a senior political science major, is studying political science at the Hertog Institute in Washington, DC on a full-scholarship, six-week honors program for undergraduates.
Christine Ostrowski, a senior majoring in economics and mathematics, is doing an internship in Uganda researching traditional moneylenders.
Evan Pease and Cary Watts, both junior physics majors and Summer Science Scholars, accompanied Assistant Professor of Physics Tom Giblin to a conference on general relativity and gravitation in Mexico City.
Samantha Rojas, a junior, is working as an undergraduate researcher in a biochemistry lab under the direction of two generations of Kenyon alums: Dr. David Lenz '61 and Dr. Tom Magiliery '96.
Jill Pattison, a junior chemistry major, is spending the summer doing research in the Pharmacology and Toxicology department at Michigan State University.
William Plaschke, a sophomore, is volunteering at Club 21, a group that focuses on education and awareness of Down Syndrome and children with Down Syndrome.
Ananda Plunkett, a senior music major, is working with the Greylock Theater Project, a side-project of the Williamstown Theater Festival. (Will Dagger '10, Maria Krovatin '10, and Eliza Hubreth '08 are also working at the Festival.) Greylock works with at-risk children from under-privileged homes, allowing them to write plays, see them staged, and interact with professional actors and directors. Nandi acts as musical director for the One-on-Ones program, where she composes music, teaches songs, and plays the piano.
Jeremy Polster, a senior majoring in economics, is interning in the tennis department at International Management Group (IMG).
Daniel Riggins, a junior biochemistry major, is interning at Cook Pharmic, a contract manufacturing operation in Bloomington, Indiana, that makes biopharmaceuticals derived from Chinese hamster ovarian cells.
Suzanne Rohrback, a senior majoring in biochemistry, is interning at the Mayo Clinic, working in a lab that studies the neurobiology of alcoholism.
Daniel Rooker, a junior physics major, is spending his summer at Johns Hopkins University in the Materials Research Science and Engineering Center, doing a Research Experience for Undergraduates program.
Lauren Ross, a sophomore, and Hannah Withers, a senior English major, are both interning at McSweeney's, a San Francisco publishing house.
Marco Saavedra, a senior sociology major, is interning with the New Sanctuary Coalition in New York, a network of 24 faith communities that rally around members facing deportations. He has participated in a 72-hour fast for humane immigration reform and has travelled to the U.S. Social Forum. He is also working with the New York Civic Participation Project, a coalition of labor groups that promotes civic engagement within the immigrant community.
Sarah Schulz, a senior English major, is a teaching intern for Breakthrough Collaborative in Miami, Florida, a national nonprofit that strives to prepare high-achieving middle school students, most of whom are of color and from low-income families, to enter and succeed in college-preparatory high school programs.
Shoshana Shapiro-Baruch, a senior majoring in political science, is interning at the Office of Consumer Protection at the U.S. Department of Treasury, working on the financial reform legislation.
Emily Smith, a junior majoring in anthropology, is studying abroad in Kenya through the School for Field Studies, focusing on Public Health.
Benjamin Trachtenberg, a senior majoring in history, climbed a 4,160-meter mountain-"Breithorn"- in the Swiss Alps.
Tatenda Uta, a junior economics major, along with Keith Dangarembwa, a junior international studies major, Chinagozi Ugwu '10, and Isabel Plourde '10, is doing a Davis Project for Peace in Bulawoya, Zimbabwe at Emnthunzini Wethemba Street Children Home, conducting a camera project and teaching basic computer skills to the students at the home.
Alyssa Van Denberg, a junior psychology major, is working in Chicago as a research assistant at Loyola University for a clinical psychologist, as well as at Northwestern University for a health psychologist.
James "Jack" Whitacre, a junior majoring in English, is working full time as a launch driver at Handy Boat Marina in Maine. He also volunteers at LearningWorks, where he teaches adult immigrants English.
Sally Wilson, a junior biology major, is working as a research intern for the exhibitions department at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago.
Zachary Zaremba, a junior majoring in anthropology, is working as a canvasser for Citizens Campaign for the Environment, a nonprofit environmental advocacy organization based in New York and Connecticut.