Experiential Learners of the Year Named
At Keuka College, experiential learning is a core focus and the 140-hour annual Field Period internship is one of the primary arenas where hands-on learning comes into play.
Each year, one freshman and one upperclassman earns Experiential Learner of the Year honors for demonstrating initiative, development of a broad and varied portfolio of work, and personal reflection on the skills learned during the Field Period experience.
Marquart, seated, and Torres.
The six nominees for 2012 were nominated by academic advisers, created a portfolio of work in essays, photographs and other media, and were honored at a luncheon April 27. During the May 5 Honors Convocation ceremony, the winners were named: freshman Lelia Torres of Stockton and sophomore Sarah Marquart of Auburn.
Torres’s first-time Field Period experience was quite a coup, as she was the first freshman from any college or university to land a Field Period internship with the Chautauqua County Office of Probation (CCOP). (more…)
The Cream of the Experiential Learning Crop
Keuka's Class of 2012 Experiential Learner of the Year nominees are flanked by Eva Noberg-Sarver, interim Field Period counselor, and President Jorge L. Diaz-Herrera. The nominees, from left: Junelle King, Sarah Marquart, Kelsey Marquart, Lelia Torres, and Kelsey Tebo. Missing from photo: : Jenna Chapman.
Editor’s Note: The 2012 Experiential Learner of the Year award nominees were recognized at an April 27 luncheon. The freshman and upperclass winners will be announced at Honors Convocation, Saturday, May 5. Here is a capsule look at the nominees:
Jenna Chapman
Jenna Chapman of Gorham was nominated by Professor of Communication Anita Chirco for a combination of personal and professional experiences that enabled the junior organizational communication major to “move herself beyond her comfort zone.”
Professionally, Chapman has conducted internships with the Finger Lakes Thoroughbred Adoption Program and Lollypop Farm, where she promoted the welfare of animals. Her personal service to the community also includes a role as founder and president of Keuka’s Equestrian Club.
This January, Chapman conducted a two-part Field Period, assisting the manager of a Canandaigua restaurant, Peppers Deli and Pastas, with several marketing initiatives. She also conducted an internship at Buffalo Spree Publishing.
At Peppers, Chapman helped design coupons for a menu-mailer to drum up local business, created flyers for the new owner, and built a Facebook page for the restaurant, and launched a “like our page” promotion. At Buffalo Spree Publishing, she worked on revisions and fact-checking for the annual Performing Arts Guide handbook and wrote feature articles for the company’s Forever Young publication for those ages 50 and up, and for the mainstay publication, Buffalo Spree magazine. (more…)
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…)
Experiential Learner of the Month Sean Mullen Exceeds Expectations
Sean Mullen
Sean Mullen, a resident of Rochester and senior at School Without Walls (SWW), received Keuka College’s Experiential Learner of the Month Award for December.
Keuka, the national leader in experiential, hands-on learning, established the program to honor high school students whose commitment to experiential, hands-on learning has made a difference in their communities.
Mullen will receive a partial academic fellowship to Keuka and qualify for the Experiential Learner of the Year Award, which carries a full academic fellowship to the College.
On Fashion, Foreign Travel and Fine Arts
Editor’s Note: This is the first in a series of features on recipients of the Judith Oliver Brown Memorial Award.
Mia Barnello is eager to follow in her mother’s footsteps. In January, that path will take the junior organizational communication major to the Florence University of the Arts in Italy.
During her spring semester of study, Barnello, a Syracuse resident, will also travel throughout the country to explore the culture in cities such as Sicily, Rome and Venice. She received a $2,200 Judith Oliver Brown Memorial Award to help with expenses. The scholarship assists students pursuing culturally oriented Field Periods and is named for the late Brown, a member of the Class of 1963 who spent her junior year as a Norton Scholar in Switzerland.
“I’m definitely interested in finding the little, not-so-touristy attractions, hidden treasures, the food, the boutiques, and so on,” Barnello said of the tucked-away spots she hopes to discover.
According to Barnello, her mother spent almost a full year in Italy as a college student herself “and almost didn’t come back.
“She studied art in a small town called Urbino. She’s talked about it for my entire life,” Barnello said. “I’m definitely hoping to bring back experiences and memories we can kind of bond over, things we both [experienced] while in Italy.”
The trip will be Barnello’s first trip overseas, indeed, her first time traveling outside the U.S. She is eager to see the work of different artists and architects that she studied in an online art history class taught by Assistant Professor of Art Melissa Newcomb last summer. After visiting museums and churches, seeing sculptures and other famous works, Barnello said she plans to e-mail Newcomb about the experience.
“I want to bring back pictures and things that are exciting to share and encourage more people to [study abroad],” she said.
While Barnello’s mother studied fine arts, Barnello is hoping to focus more on design and the fashion industry, which is a special interest of hers. Last year, Barnello and fellow Keuka communication major Ashley Larimore teamed up on a special class project to create a draft of a fashion magazine for Assistant Professor of Organizational Communication and English Bob Berkman’s media writing class. At Keuka, she is completing classes for a minor in art.
Barnello said she plans to spend at least one day of her overseas trip visiting the headquarters of the Italian edition of Vogue magazine. Ideally, she’d like to get in touch with photographers or writers to get a flavor for the working environment, and see what a “day in the life” is like there.
“In the future, I really want to be involved in fashion. Being in Italy and learning the background, I think will help me decide if I want to focus on fashion through design and publications [or another way],” Barnello said. “Since my hope was to do graphic design and that’s not really offered [in Florence], I’m kind of designing my own [course of study.]’
While in Florence, Barnello will take classes in jewelry design and Italian fashion, as well as a beginner’s course in the Italian language.
“As of right now, I don’t know anything of the language, which is terrifying, but hopefully, that [course] will help. My mom actually didn’t take any language courses when she was there – she just picked it up. I’m a little scared, but … We’ll see what happens. “
Meet New Faculty: Alice Harnischfeger
Editor’s Note: This is the eighth in a series of profiles on new, full-time faculty members.
One of the things that convinced Alice Harnischfeger to apply for a teaching position at Keuka was the same thing that convinced many students to apply for admission: the College’s commitment to experiential learning.
“Though we can learn much from textbooks, nothing in the ‘real world’ is textbook,” said the instructor of education, who has been teaching for more than 20 years. “The world offers myriad experiences and Field Period offers the chance to try a career before graduation so the students can get as much out of the world as they can.”
“The College’s philosophy matches my own, and I like the education department, the friendly atmosphere, and the beautiful campus. I also find the College innovative. I am excited to be here.”
Harnischfeger is completing her dissertation for a Ph.D. in education (with a concentration in teaching and curriculum) at the University of Rochester’s (UR) Warner School of Education.
“I was teaching at Penfield High School while I was a part-time student at Warner,” said Harnischfeger. “But I wanted to have the entire Ph.D. experience, including the opportunity to work on research and collaborate with fellow students more, and the ability to attend informational meetings and lectures more frequently. So, I left Penfield to be a full-time student at the University of Rochester.”
Harnischfeger was “one of those kids who always wanted to be a teacher. The aspect about teaching that is most appealing to me is just simply—and not at all simply—the people. I have always been a ‘people person’ and am fascinated by trying to understand them, both as learners and as individuals.”
After high school, Harnischfeger was told not to go into teaching because she would not find a job, so she pursued a bachelor’s degree in psychology. But the siren song of teaching was too strong to resist, so she volunteered at Rochester School for the Deaf (RSD) before receiving her teaching certification in English, science, and special education.
“I was eventually hired as a teacher at RSD and taught just about everything,” she said. “I taught there for two years and at National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID) as an adjunct professor.”
Harnischfeger also taught “everything” at Penfield High School for 16 years, “including special education, English, science, social studies, math, and sometimes health, too. I guess I’m a real jack of all trades,” she said. “The one continuous area I taught was English.”
Harnischfeger, who has also taught at SUNY Brockport and U of R, teaches Societal Prospective in Special Education and Educational Psychology at Keuka.
As a teacher, Harnischfeger has “always taken student teachers because I learn just as much from them as they learn from me. I love their passion and enthusiasm, and I love how they question things and their creativity. I love working with students new to teaching and I find it exciting for them.”
Harnischfeger’s dissertation is titled Identifying Construction in Relation to School Practices on Students who are Alternatively Placed in a School that is Considered Successful by State Standards.
“I want to focus on kids who have fallen through the cracks,” she said. “These are the students with no ‘label’ and other less-obvious students not recognized by the school. My goal is to always consider diverse needs, including those which may or may not be obvious.
“In schools that are considered successful, there are always a certain percentage of students that are not successful,” continued Harnischfeger. “Those are the kids on whom I want to focus. I want to get my students to understand the definition of diversity includes the full student and their needs.”
According to Harnischfeger: “I try to tell my students to teach the whole person, not just teach the content. This ties back into my research interest of trying to understand how people construct identity. I want my students to assist others in seeing the richness in each person as a unique individual and learner. It also connects to my interest in discerning the boundaries of diversity and in recognizing the resources inherent in our ‘differences.’”
Top Student, Community Activist Honored
Danielle Hobb, a resident of Chittenango and senior at East Syracuse Minoa High School (ESM), received Keuka College’s Experiential Learner of the Month Award for October.
Keuka, the national leader in experiential, hands-on learning, established the program to honor high school students whose commitment to experiential, hands-on learning has made a difference in their communities.
Hobb will receive a partial academic fellowship to Keuka and qualify for the Experiential Learner of the Year Award, which carries a full academic fellowship to the College. (more…)
The Milly Connection
Michael Fisher '10; Tim White, residence director; and Brett Thoms '10 surround Milly during a volunteer service event at the pantry.
Keuka College’s connection with Milly Bloomquist, who will receive the Presidential Citizens Medal from President Barack Obama at the White House Oct. 20, dates back more than 50 years.
It’s a connection that has benefited the needy in Yates County and countless Keuka students, who have worked hand-in-hand with the Keuka Park resident on a variety of community service projects.
“Milly has been a positive role model for our students,” said Dean of the Center of Experiential Learning Anne Marie Guthrie. “She has shared her passion for community service with our students, and she lives the philosophy of Keuka College in terms of social responsibility.”
Keuka has earned a spot on the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll five straight years in part because of students’ involvement with Bloomquist-led, community-supported programs that feed, clothe, and provide gifts and basic school supplies for needy children and families in Yates County.
(more…)
No Stranger to Hands-on Experience
Molly Greene, a resident of Varysburg and senior at Letchworth Central School, received Keuka College’s Experiential Learner of the Month Award for September.
Keuka, the national leader in experiential, hands-on learning, established the program to honor high school students whose commitment to experiential, hands-on learning has made a difference in their communities.
Greene will receive a partial academic fellowship to Keuka and qualify for the Experiential Learner of the Year Award, which carries a full academic fellowship to the College.
Washington Monthly Gives College High Marks
President John F. Kennedy would have liked the way Washington Monthly ranks colleges.
“Conventional rankings like those published by U.S. News & World Report are designed to show what colleges can do for you,” say the magazine’s editors. “Since 2005, our rankings have posed a different question: What are colleges doing for the country?”
According to the Washington Monthly College Guide and Rankings, Keuka College is doing a lot.
In its 2012 rankings, Keuka is ranked No. 8 out of 309 baccalaureate colleges in the country. The College was No. 38 a year ago.
“I have been on campus barely two months and in such a short time what I knew about the College has been confirmed by my observations, and the contagious enthusiasm is everywhere,” said College President Jorge Díaz-Herrera. “I’m not surprised we are so close to being the No.1 baccalaureate college in the country. Well done Keuka! I look forward to continued successes and new beginnings.”
The Washington Monthly rankings are based on social mobility, research and service.
According to the editors, one-third of each college’s score is based on social mobility, that is, “how committed are they to enrolling low-income students and helping them earn degrees?” The second category looks at research production and success at sending undergraduates on to Ph.Ds. The third measure focuses on service. “It’s not enough to help students look out for themselves. The best colleges encourage students to give something back.”
In the service metric, Keuka is ranked No. 1 in the country in terms of “community service participation and hours served.”
Keuka has been named to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for the past four years.
For more on the Washington Monthly College Guide and Rankings, go to http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/college_guide/index.php.
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