Field Period Sets Drumm on Capitol Hill Path
Drumm and Sen. Charles Schumer
By Amanda Harrison ’12
Freshman Thomas Drumm wants to follow in the footsteps of U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y).
He’s already taken an important first step, thanks to Field Period.
The political science and history/organizational communication major from Oswego conducted his first Field Period at Schumer’s Central New York regional office in Syracuse during January. The senior senator from New York’s office was a logical choice for Drumm because he “shares Schumer’s Democratic platform” and they “relate on a lot of things.” (more…)
Finger Lakes Field Period
For junior Devin Filipiak, spending his January Field Period at the Finger Lakes Museum was a chance to build on past Field Period experiences, classroom work, Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) team participation, and his work-study position to expand his marketing portfolio.
It was also an opportunity for the marketing and management major to continue his volunteer work with the museum.
“SIFE’s focus this year is to be more hands-on in the community, and since the museum is so close to the College, this was a good place to volunteer,” said Filipiak, a resident of Orchard Park. “Last summer, I helped with the museum’s signature series, Back from the Brink: The Story of Hemlock and Canadice Lakes, that took place around the Finger Lakes, including at Keuka College. This year’s signature series event is called Dreams into Nectar.” (more…)
Thinking Globally, Working Locally
Hien Pham may be a Vietnamese student studying for a degree at an American college, but she’s taking advantage of every opportunity afforded her to pave the way to a future job. At Keuka College one of those opportunities is Field Period, the 140-hour internship in real-world workplaces that each Keuka undergraduate conducts each year.
Pham hails from Hue City, Vietnam, and studied at Vietnam National University (ISVNU) in Hanoi, a partner school to Keuka, before transferring to the home campus in Keuka Park last year. With a business management major and a communications minor, the senior put multiple skills to use in January for Action for Boston Community Development Inc. (ABCD), a non-profit agency that provides a range of services to low-income families, including minorities and internationals.
During her four weeks at the Dorchester City neighborhood branch, Pham used her graphic design skills to create a four-page branch newsletter, which showcases numerous programs and offerings for the many Asian and African-American families served by ABCD. She also drew and painted a large banner of Rosa Parks’ bus to hang on a center wall for children to add names of famous Black Americans during Black History Month in February.
Pham's front-page design.
A Taste of France
Just like the many wines sampled, senior marketing major Jennifer O’Donnell got a taste of France itself on an independent tour of the country during January.
O’Donnell conducted her final Field Period—the 140-hour real-world investment Keuka students make in career, world and life exploration – overseas and visited spots such as the World War II battlefield cemeteries at Normandy, the Louvre art museum, Versailles, the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame Cathedral, and the Mediterranean Sea in Cannes.
Hosted by her great-uncle, who holds triple citizenship in America, France and Ireland and his wife, a French native, O’Donnell said her goal was simply to experience the country, especially its food and wine, during her time there. At the suggestion of her faculty adviser, she also observed how the French market and sell their wines.
A World War II cemetery at Normandy.
While O’Donnell’s relatives did not take her on tours of French wineries, each day they would visit a different café for lunch and try a different wine with the meal, she said. The 21-year-old was introduced to a sparkling red wine, Lambrusco, as well as a specialty wine, Kir, to which flavored syrups can be added, such as blackberry or cassis.
The country also has a strong tradition in the culinary arts.
And while the French eat lots of fish, pasta and chicken, O’Donnell said she noticed that “they’re very health-conscious and there are almost no fried foods at all. I had some fries, but they had no salt on them—they tasted very plain. It is just very different [cuisine].” (more…)
Grape-ful for the Opportunity
She may be just 19, but sophomore Mackenzie Green already has her eye on a career in the wine industry.
The Rushville resident spent January conducting a Field Period internship with the New York Wine & Grape Foundation, a non-profit agency that advocates for New York grape growers, wine-makers, and wineries of all sizes. The foundation offices are housed in the New York Wine & Culinary Center in Canandaigua, and its “Uncork New York!” motto is becoming familiar to wine-lovers statewide.
“I know a lot about wine production and grape-growing because of my degree in viticulture and wine technology from Finger Lakes Community College (FLCC), so it’s interesting to see the other side of it, how to actually market the wine and reach out to customers,” said Green, who transferred to Keuka to pursue a bachelor’s degree in marketing.
To that end, Green worked primarily with foundation staffers on a new campaign, “New York Drinks New York,” promoting Finger Lakes wines to New York City restaurant owners and sommeliers, the credentialed wine experts at restaurants or winery tasting rooms who manage the wine inventory and recommend food and wine pairings. (more…)
First Field Period a “Natural” for Lucia Castellani
Like many Keuka College students, freshman Lucia Castellani chose to complete her first Field Period close to home.
It was a good choice.
Freshman Lucia Castellani sits at the front desk at Beaver Lake Nature Center in Baldwinsville.
Castellani, an exploratory major from Liverpool, spent January as a naturalist intern at Beaver Lake Nature Center in Baldwinsville.
“I interviewed the naturalists who worked at the center, and one of the questions I asked was ‘how would you rate your job from one to 10?’” said Castellani. “The answers I got ranged from 9.9 to 13. That made me feel good about where I chose to work. I would love to complete another Field Period here if I could.”
Castellani “grew up going to the nature center, and one of my favorite things to attend each year was the Harvest Festival.”
The Harvest Festival is just one of Beaver Lake Nature Center’s 400 annual programs. The center also offers nine miles of trails and a rich mix of habitats, which create the possibility of seeing more than 200 species of birds and 800 varieties of plants.
During her Field Period, Castellani saw several of the flora and fauna the Center has to offer.
“I was able to go on nature walks, observe wildlife, and report back what I had seen, where I had seen it, and how long ago it was that I saw it,” Castellani explained. “That way, people coming to the center could go on the same trails and hopefully see the same things I did. The more common things I saw were eagles, geese, and woodpeckers.”
Castellani said the nature center is also home to “a lot” of owls, including Saw-whet owls, something she had never seen. Another owl species she had never seen, until this Field Period, were snowy owls. She and another nature center intern heard a report about a snowy owl sighting near the Syracuse-Hancock International Airport, about 20 miles from the nature center, and “I saw three of them. They were exciting to see.”
Castellani also learned how to identify birds based on their call.
“I can now identify blue jays, dark-eyed juncos, mourning doves, chickadees, cardinals, and white-breasted nuthatches,” she said. “I also saw a lot of crows on my walks, and learned that birds such as blue jays, cardinals, and mourning doves mate for life and travel in pairs. So if you see one, you are likely to see its mate.”
Castellani garnered a good overview of the center by performing a variety of duties, from working the front desk to leading snowshoe hikes.
“I also cleaned turtle cages, rearranged exhibits, refilled bird feeders, and organized bookshelves,” she explained. “I also fed the hawk, which only had one wing.”
The people with whom Castellani worked “had the same views about the environment that I do, and the nature center wants people to understand that the environment is fragile, and needs to be protected.”
Though Castellani is an exploratory major, she plans to pursue a career in which the environment is a focus.
“I would like to take an environmental class next semester because if things keep going the way they are, more environmental work will be needed,” she said. “I hope my career will allow me to make a difference and change the world.”
Down Under with the Animals
Not just any old zoo will do. Nope. Janelle Davidson headed halfway ‘round the world to get an up-close-and-personal look at the kangaroos, wallabies, and other exotic animals at Sydney Wildlife World in Australia this month.
The Cortland resident was set to endure 20 hours of travel time before arriving in Australia just after the New Year’s holiday for a short-term tour of the country and its exotic wildlife. A senior biology major, Davidson was eager to get started on this, her first trip outside the continental U.S. She also planned to visit the University of Melbourne’s veterinary school to compare and contrast what those Down Under learn about animal diseases and care-taking.
“My hope with this Field Period is to see what it’s like working with those exotic, almost-extinct animals, and decide [a focus on small or large animals] by the time I go off to vet school in the fall,” said Davidson, who is interested in a veterinary career. “Right now, I have the most experience with small animals, but I’m really interested in zoo animals, such as tigers, lions, koalas, kangaroos – not ones that everybody gets to work with.”
(more…)
Teaching Sign Language in Senegal
Nicole Caparulo makes the sign for "Africa," an arc of the hand from left to right.
Editor’s Note: This is the fifth in a series of features on recipients of the Judith Oliver Brown Memorial Award.
Keuka junior Nicole Caparulo of Corning is combining her interests in special education and sign language this month by conducting a Field Period internship at a residential school for deaf children in Senegal, West Africa.
Caparulo is a unified childhood/special education major with a concentration in American Sign Language (ASL), and discovered the West African school through Martha French, associate professor of education. A friend of French’s, Dr. Angela Bednarczyk, worked 20 years at Galludet University’s Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center, and now works as assistant to the educational director at the Renaissance School for the Deaf (L’Ecole Renaissance des Sourds) in Dakar, the capital city of Senegal.
According to Bednarczyk, the Renaissance School for the Deaf was founded in 2007 and follows the Senegalese national curriculum with instruction based on the use of the Francophone West African sign language. The school serves 35 students and has five classrooms, five teachers, and a deaf teacher in training. Each year, students attend whose ages range from 4 to 16.
Caparulo said she expects some elements of ASL will carry over to the sign language used in Senegal, but compared it more to a dialect.
“I am very interested in deaf education, special education, diversity and being open and accepting differences and ways to do things. That plays a major part in education, because you need to be able to do things and experience them,” said Caparulo.
“Special education teaching just stands out for me, along with sign language,” she added. “It’s such a beautiful language, how could I not be drawn to it? It’s always been a passion and now I have an opportunity to learn about it. I’m taking advantage of that. (more…)
Saving Turtles and Taking Photos
Courtney French
Editor’s Note: This is the fourth in a series of features on recipients of the Judith Oliver Brown Memorial Award.
Junior Courtney French wants to be a photographer for National Geographic someday, and her January Field Period—working with Global Volunteer Network’s (GVN) Turtle Project program in Costa Rica—could bring her one step closer to realizing that dream.
Photographs by French, a visual and verbal art major from Massena, were featured in the student art gallery in Hegeman Hall. The images were taken in and around Penn Yan.
“Traveling to Costa Rica and helping with the Turtle Project will help me improve my photography portfolio because it will be much more diverse than photos I have taken previously,” said French. “I will photograph the beauty of the reptiles and the country throughout the trip.”
Her duties with GVN will include providing support to biologists involved in the conservation of the Olive Ridley turtles’ nesting grounds for 14 days. Considered the most abundant sea turtle in the world, an estimated 800,000 Olive Ridley females nest annually.
“These elegant animals are becoming endangered due to natural predators and poachers,” said French. “I will work side-by-side with locals and biologists at the turtle hatcheries and nesting sites. and go on nightly beach patrols, tag turtles, relocate nests into hatcheries, count eggs and turtles, and help with beach reforestation efforts.”
Overseen by the Costa Rican government, the Turtle Project includes a sustainable egg harvesting program that feeds or provides income to the local communities, and is designed to prevent other forms of harvesting and poaching.
“I will also have the opportunity to live among the local villagers of San Jose, Costa Rica,” said French. “I think this will be hard, but definitely an experience I will never forget. It will broaden my horizons as an individual, and make me a better-rounded person.”
In addition, French will take Spanish lessons at Maximo Nivel, which is at the GVN international headquarters in San Jose.
French has “always had a strong passion” for traveling and learning about foreign cultures.
“I decided on Costa Rica because I always wanted to travel to Central and South America,” she explained. “Also, my favorite flower, the bird of paradise, is abundant in Costa Rica.”
French has been to the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec and “all over” the East Coast.
“My favorite place would have to be on top of the high peaks in the Adirondacks,” said French. “I completed a two-day hike in the Adirondacks that measured about 16 miles, and covered three mountains—Algonquin, Whales Tail, and Iroquois—and we were able to trench through Avalanche Pass.”
Her next adventure?
“Hopefully,” she said, “to Ecuador or Tanzania.”
Cultural Immersion: Senior to Travel through Europe
Editor’s Note: This is the third in a series of features on recipients of the Judith Oliver Brown Memorial Award.
Heather Graff
This month, senior Heather Graff will travel to several countries in Europe as part of her fifth Field Period.
Four are required for graduation.
“I decided to complete a fifth Field Period because this will be an entirely different opportunity than my other Field Periods,” said the unified childhood/special education major from Amsterdam. “I believe I should get as much out of my time at Keuka as I can, and my fifth Field Period, where I will travel around Europe, is the perfect culmination of my work at Keuka College.”
While at Keuka, she has “learned how valuable experiential hands-on learning is, and I am excited to take it to an international level.”
With that in mind, Graff will travel to such countries as England, Ireland, Scotland, Germany, Poland, and France.
“I believe this opportunity will help me gain a better understanding of these countries, their people, and cultures,” said Graff. “Through exploration of these countries, I will be able to see not only the difference in cultures, but the similarities in all people regardless of where they live. I hope to experience how people act and live in the various communities I visit by immersing myself into their day-to-day interactions and behavior.”
Graff intends to back-pack through Germany and France, travel by train, and stay at hostels to “get a better feel for the people in these countries.”
Graff also plans to compare the cultural differences between America and Europe by sampling local cuisines, visiting historical sites, and interacting with people.
“Many professions and jobs are becoming international,” said Graff. “I’d like to have some experience in some different countries in case an international job opportunity comes my way. I also think it is important to be culturally aware because classrooms are so diverse. If I can pull from experiences like this trip in my teaching, the topic may seem more exciting and relevant to the students.”
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