PEL Alumni featured in College Program Series events

Recently, PEL alumni brought their wit, wisdom, and expertise to bear in public panel presentations on two very different topics: "Reimagining Injustice" (February 15, 2017) and "Think Outside the Major" (March 1, 2017). Both panels were part of the College Program Series, a collection of lectures, readings, concerts, and films--most free and open to the public--scheduled for the campus community each semester.

Dovév Weaver '16, Trace Taylor '16, and William Felice listen
to questions from the audience. Photo by Donna Littell.

The first panel featured Trace Taylor '16, Dovév Weaver '16, and Eckerd's Dr. William Felice, Professor of International Relations, who gathered to discuss the various ways their work presents for thinking through the problem of injustice on both a local and a global scale. The topic for the evening built directly on the theme of this year's College Programming Series--"Imagining Justice"--which calls for presentations which encourage critical reflection on enduring questions of human justice as well as the role that education plays in equipping students to understand, articulate, and build justice within their communities.

Taylor, who is the founder and CEO of an educational nonprofit, Community Leveraged

Taylor '16, with CLL author Ciarán Forde and his parents, who
attended the panel. Ciarán later signed copies of his recently
published science fiction book, Spooshquake (2016). Photo
by Donna Littell.

Learning (CLL), shared her conviction that discovering the power of writing is the first step in developing the critical consciousness needed to discern and respond to systematic injustice. Her background in publishing helped her bring together the elements of her nonprofit, which teams up young writers with editors, educators, and graphic artists who teach critical analysis of language and produce published works which can then be used in classrooms.

Weaver '16 poses with his book, Chasing
Your Dreams: Bound for Success (2016). 
Photo by Donna Littell.

Weaver, President of Coach D Talks, built on this theme, citing his own experience in writing Chasing Your Dreams: Bound for Success (2016), a memoir about overcoming abandonment by his biological father and learning to visualize and achieve his educational, personal, and career goals. His company conveys these important lessons through trainings with K-12 and college audiences on the topics of goal setting, branding, leadership, time management, and achieving one's dreams.

Felice, who has been recognized multiple times for his excellence in teaching and scholarship (including being named the 2006 Florida Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching), brought the lens of political science to bear, showing how many global issues, including the problem of climate justice, call for a new, interdependent understanding of national responsibilities to the global community. He drew insights from his most recent book, The Ethics of Interdependence: Global Human Rights and Duties (2016).


Speaking to an audience of roughly 25 students, alumni, and community members, the group discussed not only the issues they were most passionate about, which ranged from support for public education to racial bias in the American prison system, but also their own theories of agency and how meaningful change occurs. After the panel, audience members enjoyed snacks and conversation with panelists, as well as a book signing featuring work from all three speakers.

Left: Ciarán Forde shows off his science fiction story, Spooshquake, while
signing books. Upper right: Panelists share a moment of insight. Lower right:
Felice and Weaver '16 join the conversation after the panel. 
Photos by Donna Littell.

On March 1, 2017, PEL alumna Eileen O'Hara '99 joined residential alumnae Elaine Raybourn '85

Left to right: Panelists Bob Jozkowski, Eileen O'Hara '99,
Rachel Rhodes '09, and Kurt Forster.  Photo by Donna Littell.

and Rachel Rhodes '09, alongside Kurt Forster, Certified Business Consultant for the Florida Small Business Development Center in Pinellas County, and Bob Jozkowski, Assistant Professor of Finance at Eckerd, to share advice and experience relating to choosing a major and building a career. Following the panel theme of "think outside the major," panelists counseled their audience of 40 students (nearly all freshmen preparing to declare their majors) to understand their academic major as just one stop on a continuing learning journey, pointing out that the connections between major and career are not always intuitive or direct.

Raybourn '85 reconnects with Art Skinner, Professor
of Visual Arts. Photo by Donna Littell.

Raybourn '85, who is a Principal Member of the Technical Staff at Sandia National Laboratories, talked about how her major in Visual Arts lead to an interest in visual communication and human-computer interaction, prompting her to pursue graduate work in social science and a career in researching intelligent transmedia learning systems and the anthropology of learner's interactions with future technology.

O'Hara '99 recalled how her major in Creative Writing opened new opportunities for her to serve as a writing tutor and instructor, awakening a passion for teaching. While Creative Writing doesn't directly inform her work as co-owner and President of Brimstone Originals Specialty Foods (only one of the entrepreneurial enterprises she has founded and grown), she explained, the critical thinking and communication skills she learned as a liberal arts student are essential for her job.

Rhodes '09, who is a corporate trainer at the I.T. distributor Tech Data, recalled the daunting

Professor of Finance Bob Jozkowski answers
an audience question while Rachel Rhodes '09
looks on. Photo by Donna Littell.

challenge of going on the job market in a time when hiring freezes and lay-offs were rampant. She urged the audience to persist and remain attentive to new opportunities, citing the experience she had gained while taking a retail job at the mall--something she had not envisioned for herself while in college. This introduction to sales proved an asset when opportunities at Tech Data became available, and allowed her to gain insight into customer service, pricing, and other important topics in which she now trains new employees.

Audience members also shared stories about important learning moments. Tyler Urquhart, who is contemplating majors in visual arts and communication, remembered the day his grandmother gave him a camera, and how his perception of the world began to change with the view from behind the lens. He questioned, however, whether photography should be his career or "just a hobby." The panel urged him to sit with this uncertainty for a while, take a few classes in photography, and learn as much as he could about the daily life of a photographer.

A student discusses her choice of Literature major
with her colleagues. Photo by Donna Littell.

Forster and Jozkowski, who were invited by O'Hara '99 and Rhodes '09 to join the panel as mentors, also emphasized the importance of liberal arts education. Forster, who has taught as an adjunct instructor and even worked as an animal trainer early in his career, recalled an important insight he had gained in studying for his master's in communications--that stories are central to how humans understand the world. He now uses this principle to guide his work with small business owners, helping them to find the unique "story" that will promote and sell their products. Jozkowski entreated the audience to take advantage of the multiple opportunities for mentoring that Eckerd makes available, including committed and distinguished faculty members, internships and shadowing opportunities, and even volunteering and service learning. Experience, he reminded them, has now become a critical factor in most hiring decisions.

After the panel, speakers remained to enjoy snacks, connect with audience members, and trade information for further contact.

Think Outside the Major Panel. Left to right: Eileen O'Hara '99, Kurt Forster,
Elaine Raybourn '85, Bob Jozkowski, and Rachel Rhodes '99. Photo by
Donna Littell.

Think Outside the Major is a regularly recurring event. If you have experience you would like to share as part of a panel discussion, or know someone who might, please contact Amanda Hagood at hagoodca@eckerd.edu.

PEL Executive Director Amanda Hagood also is co-editor of The PEL Connector.

Eckerd alumni share career experience at Think Outside the Major

CPS Event: Think Outside the Major

Wednesday, March 1 @ 7pm in Fox Hall

In the wake of the economic downturn, liberal arts colleges across the United States have been called upon to defend the interdisciplinary, holistic educational model that drives their curriculum, classroom, and co-curricular activities. A recent study on the economic value of college majors (Carnevale et. al, 2015) paints the situation in stark terms, suggesting that students majoring in career-oriented fields such as engineering or business are likely to earn $10,000-$20,000 more than

peers majoring in arts, humanities, and the liberal arts at both entry-level and mid-career stages, and stating that “majors with weak connections to the labor market—humanities, liberal arts, social sciences, and arts majors—comprise only 20 percent of college-educated workers.”

The study, which focuses almost exclusively on the economic outcomes of college majors, supports the conventional wisdom that liberal arts majors do not offer a ready path to meaningful and rewarding careers.

Think Outside the Major, a panel discussion in which Eckerd alumni will share their journeys from major to career, offers a constructive response to this prevailing wisdom, showing how our graduates have leveraged liberal arts skills and capabilities into a diverse and fulfilling careers.

The panel will feature three alumni, accompanied by mentors who have helped them navigate the journey from major to career. Panelists will include:

Dr. Elaine Raybourn '85 (Visual Arts). As a Member of the Technical Staff at Sandia National Laboratories, Dr. Raybourn leads research investigating the learning experience design of immersive transmedia ecosystems to support informal learning, ubiquitous computing, and the anthropology of next generation learners’ interactions with future learning technology such as personal assistants for learning (PAL). She shares a bit of her work in this TED Talk. Dr. Raybourn brings with her Dr. Harry Ellis, Professor of Physics at Eckerd. 

Elaine O'Hara '99 (Creative Writing). President and Co-founder of Brimstone Original Specialty Foods, a women-owned company, PEL graduate Ms. O'Hara oversees the brand development, marketing, and sales of a line of shelf-stable, all-natural pepper jellies available at Publix and other stores throughout the Southeast. Ms. O'Hara's company was profiled in a Small Business Development Center video. Kurt Forster, Florida Small Business Development Center Consultant at the Pinellas County Economic Development Office, will accompany her.

Rachel Rhodes '09 (International Business). After serving for three years as a Sales Support Representative at Tech Data, Ms. Rhodes took on the position of Sales Trainer, responsible for training new employees in computer systems and sales. She also served as Eckerd's Director of Traditional Events from September 2008-May 2009. Ms. Rhodes will be accompanied by Bob Jozkowski, Assistant Professor of Finance at Eckerd.

Together, panelists will explore such questions as: What impact did your major have on your career? What were the most meaningful learning experiences in your education, and how did they influence your life after graduation? What advantages do liberal arts graduates have on the job market, and how can new graduates make the most of these advantages?  The focus of the conversation will be on how alumni have forged meaningful, if sometimes unconventional, career paths that embody the interdisciplinary critical thinking and self-reflective capacity that liberal arts training is meant to nurture.

The evening will also include time for audience reflection and questions and answers with panelists. Refreshments will be served prior to the start of the panel.

The panel is part of the College Program Series, and is co-sponsored by the Program for Experienced Learners, the Office of Career Services, and the Office of Advancement. 

Seventeen December graduates; Alumni updates and other PEL news

courtesy of SweetClipArt.com

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Warmest congratulations to these PEL students who completed their programs of studies and graduated in December, 2016 :

Yvonne C. Comeau, Humanities

Ricky Counts, Human Development

Priska Green (HH), Business Management

Charissa A. Jackson, Human Development

Jason W. Malpass (HH), Creative Writing 

Peter Marer (HH), Business Management

Bonnie L. Mason, Creative Writing

Daniel McGlone, Business Management

Andrew J. O'Connell (H), Humanities

Daryl L. Osburn (H), Human Development

AKM R. Rahman, Business Management

Natalie Ricketts, Human Development

Stephen Sabella (HH), Business Management

Sandra Singleton (D), Human Development

Teresa A. Stewart (HH), Human Development

Cecilia Walker, Business Management

Lisa Washington, Human Development

HH - High Honors; H - Honors; D - Distinction

 

Alumni News

Monica Geers Dahl '98 (Human Development/Gender Studies), subsequently earned a Master of Arts in Human Development from Salve Regina University in Rhode Island and an Ed.D. in Counseling Psychology from Argosy University in Sarasota. Her published works are in the fields of behavioral sciences and hypnotherapy and medical books/neuroscience. Her most recent publication is a chapter titled "PTSD Symptom Reduction with Neurofeedback," which is included in a 2015 book Restoring the Brain: Neurofeedback as an Integrative Approach to Health (CRC Press).

Remembering PEL alumni. . .
 

Richard A. Erb, Sr. '87 (Business Administration), who died November 9, 2016. Dick, who was in the mining industry, was part of a group of PEL students that included his wife and his son and that took courses in a satellite center in Gillette, Wyoming. He later served as both a Wyoming state representative and as a Wyoming state senator.

William Burchenal, Jr. '89 (History), who died December 28, 2016. Bill was inducted into Phi Alpha Theta, the History honor society, while part of PEL, and subsequently earned a Master of Arts from the University of South Florida. He served on various community boards, including at Eckerd College. In 1991, he purchased a citrus grove and, in 2009, was featured in an article in the St. Petersburg Times.

PEL authors celebrated; Writing instructors, tutors, and staff recognized

article and images by Anne W. Anderson

About 45 PEL people -- alumni, current and former writing instructors, former writing tutors, staff, and friends -- gathered in Cobb Gallery on Saturday evening, January 14, to recognize the impact the writing studies programs have had in the lives of alumni of all disciplines.

Twelve PEL alumni brought or sent published work to display, and other work from the PEL bookshelves also was displayed. Work ranged from scholarly work in the fields of neuroscience, business, and history to inspirational writing, memoir, fiction, and poetry.

SCROLL TO END TO SEE SLIDE SHOW

PEL Associate Dean of Faculty Margret Skaftadottir (P '20)

Writing instructors, tutors, staff recognized

PEL Executive Director Amanda Hagood welcomed the group, then introduced PEL Associate Dean of Faculty Margret Skaftadottir who recognized the work of PEL's writing instructors (all forms) through the years as contributing to students' successes as writers in all fields.

Skaftadottir then recognized PEL's writing tutors over the years, noting that some tutors also had become instructors in the program.

Some of PEL's writing tutors, instructors, friends

"In some ways, the tutors had the harder task," Skaftadottir said. "They were taking sometimes very raw writing and were faced with what to address first. Without the tutors, many of our students would have had a more difficult time succeeding in PEL."

Skaftadottir also recognized staff members who had served the writing program in different capacities: Patti Cooksey '97, currently PEL's director of general education courses, once oversaw the writing tutor program; Alaina Tackitt '08, currently PEL's director of writing services, who also teaches composition courses in PEL; and Craig Anderson '15, formerly PEL's academic writing coach, who now works as the learning and performance facilitator for Coca-Cola.

Angela Masterson Jones '12 (P '14)

Readings

Following a short time of mingling and enjoying the food, displays, and artwork, Hagood introduced Angela Masterson Jones '12 (Creative Writing), Eckerd College's associate director of communications and the College editor. 

Jones, a four-time alumna of the Writers in Paradise conference at Eckerd and a published poet and fiction writer, read two poems in progress, "Yard Sale" and "Dreaming Under Influence (DUI)."






Jones then introduced each of the other readers, who collectively represented a range of disciplines:

Ellen Nizzi '11

• Ellen Nizzi '11 (Creative Writing) read from her lively memoir in progress "Continuing Education."
• Matt DiPalma '17 (Humanities/History) read from his 2016 book German Military Papers of the Second World War. 
• Monica Geers Dahl '98 (Human Development/Gender Studies), Ph.D., read from her  chapter, "PTSD Symptom Reduction with Neurofeedback," which appeared in the 2015 book Restoring the Brain: Neurofeedback as an Integrative Approach to Health.
•  Anne W. Anderson  '07 (Creative Writing) read from her 2009 children's story "Just Kidding," which was published in Pockets magazine.
• Dovév Weaver, Sr. '16 (Humanities/American Studies) read from his 2016 book Chasing Your Dream: Bound for Success.
• Heidi Tilney Kramer '08 (Humanities/American Studies) read from her 2016 book Media Monsters.
• Anne Visser Ney '07 (Creative Writing) read from an essay-in-progress titled "Knives and Other Terrible Things That Float." 
• Cristina Querrer '07 (Creative Writing/Visual Arts) read from her book of poetry, The Art of Exporting, and from her novel-in-progress, The Butterfly Catcher. 

Other PEL authors who attended or who sent work to be displayed included Craig Anderson '15 (Human Development/Creative Writing), Cal Brown '16 (Visual Arts), Annie Newman Behr Ennis '88 (Marketing), Ed Mahon '86 (Management Information Systems), and Ricky Roberts III '13 (Human Development). 

Rememberings and reflections

Attendees wrote responses to Wording Wall prompts, which were posted near the buffet area, and these written responses are included in the slide presentation below. Other thoughts were shared toward the end of the evening when the floor was opened for comments and reflections about the writing program and about the PEL experience.

Linda Johnson, Sarasota center director for many years, was recognized by PEL alumni Debra Piner and others who had been students at the center.

Several people spoke about how their PEL experience had changed their lives or pointed them in a new direction.

Cheryl Keyes '99 (Personnel Management Concentration in Organizational Studies), currently working in the Human Resources department of Pinellas County Schools, noted that the effects of the PEL writing program extend far beyond the arena of published work and into myriad everyday writing tasks.

"My colleagues at work have noticed and commented on the quality of my writing," Keyes said. "Even when I just send emails, I sometimes hear, 'You write so well!'"

PEL Director of Writing Services Alaina Tackitt agreed and told of an experience she had had.

“I was at an event at the Mahaffey recently with a couple of friends, who happened to be PEL graduates," Tackitt said. "One had brought her new partner, who, it turned out, also was a PEL grad. As I often do, I happened to be wearing my Eckerd College cap, and two people sitting in front of us noticed my hat, and said, ‘Oh, we're PEL grads!’

PEL Director of Writing Services Alaina Tackitt '08

“I said, ‘I’m a PEL grad, too, and so are my friends.’

“Several rows down, two more people heard us, turned around, and said, ‘We’re PEL grads, too!’

“Others around the auditorium began waving and saying, ‘PEL grad!’ ‘PEL grad!’

“Then, two people up front, who were with the League of Women voters, stood up and identified themselves as PEL grads, too."

“This program has changed the face of the Greater Tampa Bay Area," Tackitt said. "We're the reason people locally know Eckerd College, and Eckerd College PEL people have become involved in local affairs at every level.

“We used to joke that PEL was like a cult," Tackitt said," and I guess the moral of the story is that you can close the program, but you can’t kill the cult.”

At the close of the evening, attendees adjourned to Miller Auditorium to hear poet Richard Blanco, keynote speaker for the 2017 Writers in Paradise Conference.

Anne W. Anderson is PEL's director of blended and online learning 

and is co-editor of The PEL Connector.

Reimagining Injustice: A CPS Event

Panel Discussion: Reimagining Injustice

A College Program Series Event

Wednesday, February 15th @ 7pm, Fox Hall

Eckerd PEL alumni Trace Taylor '16 and Dovév Weaver '16 will join Eckerd professor Dr. William F. Felice for an interactive conversation that will explore the process of discerning and responding to injustice. Bringing a wide array of experiences to the discussion, panelists will explore the following questions:

• How do we learn to recognize injustice, and how can we nurture creative and productive responses to it?
• How does personal agency relate to social change?
• What is the role of education in addressing (or perpetuating) injustice?

Dr. William F. Felice, Professor of Political Science

 Dr. William F. Felice is Professor of Political Science at Eckerd, teaching courses in political economy, international law, international organization, and human rights. He will share insights from his most recent book, The Ethics of Interdependence: Global Human Rights and Duties (2016).  

 

 

Trace Taylor '16, CEO, Community Leveraged Learning

Trace Taylor '16 is Founder and CEO of Community Leveraged Learning (CLL). CLL is an educational nonprofit whose team of writers, editors, and educators teach critical analysis of language and whose core is a nonprofit publishing press that produces and publishes works from program participants, which can then be used in classrooms by teachers and students. 

Dovév Weaver, Sr. '16, President, Coach D Talks

Dovév Weaver, Sr. '16 is President of Coach D. Talks. Weaver provides K-12 and college audiences with trainings on the topics of goal setting, branding, leadership, time management, and achieving one's dreams. He is the author of Chasing Your Dreams: Bound for Success (2016). 

 

 Cookies and coffee will be served, and a book signing will follow the discussion.

Summer Living and Learning at Eckerd College

This summer, high school students will have an exciting opportunity to live and learn on Eckerd’s campus. Eckerd will be hosting four pre-college programs in fields such as marine science and creative writing this June 11-16, 2017.

Pre-college programs are a rapidly growing phenomenon at colleges and universities across the country. Christina Lutz, Instructor of Writing at Eckerd, who coordinate’s Eckerd’s Pre-college programs, explains that they offer “a way for students to experience college life, both academic and residential.” While many schools now offer a pre-college program, one thing that makes Eckerd’s programs unique is a focus on particular subject areas. “We give students the opportunity to explore and delve into their passions,” Lutz explains, “rather than just taking whatever classes happen to be offered. If a student is interested in marine science, for instance, she’ll have the chance to get her hands wet—literally and figuratively.”

While each program has a different focus, all of Eckerd’s programs are led and taught by Eckerd faculty. They all include highly engaging, collaborative class sessions in which students participate in discussion, group activities, conversations with guest speakers, and in most cases, field trips to sites around the Tampa Bay area. All of the programs also include a host of evening activities, from bonfires on South Beach to karaoke parties in the Pub, led by current Eckerd students. “They really get a taste of Eckerd life,” Lutz notes.

This summer, Eckerd will offer pre-college programs in four different areas:

• Mastering Leadership. This program adapts curriculum from Eckerd’s renowned Leadership Development Institute, which has served executives both locally and worldwide for thirty-seven years, for a high school audience. Students will participate in assessments, feedback sessions, and working in groups, focusing on effective leadership and personal development.

• Marine Science. This program takes students into the field and into the lab to introduce them to methods used by marine scientists studying birds, sharks, dolphins, and other species. Students will have the opportunity to conduct biological surveys, deploy hydrophones, fly a camera drone, and construct a remotely operated vehicle.

• Young Writers in Paradise. In this two-week program, co-directed by Lutz and Assistant Professor of Creative Writing Jon Chopan, students work closely with Eckerd faculty to read and discuss student-generated work in groups and individually. Students will develop their writing talents in poetry, fiction, nonfiction, comics, screenwriting and more, and understand what it means to be part of a larger literary community. The program will culminate in a Young Writers Gala, where students will share their work with an audience.

• Imagining Sustainability. This program, sponsored by the Florida Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities, explores environmental issues through the lenses of history, philosophy, cultural studies, and the arts with a unique hands-on approach. Students will  have the opportunity to learn about environmental history through beachcombing, explore urban planning through creative writing, and study the cinema of water by making underwater films, among other activities. This program is co-directed by PEL Executive Director Amanda Hagood and Daniel Spoth, Assistant Professor of Literature at Eckerd.

2017 marks the fourth year that Eckerd will offer pre-college programs for high school students. The idea originated in a collaboration between Eckerd College and the Florida Humanities Council, which launched a pilot version of a residential program--Humanities 20/20: New Eyes for a New Century--in the Summer of 2014. The program, reflects Eckerd Professor of Literature Julie Empric, who served as director, was meant to combine a rich, in-depth study of the humanities with the collegial bonding that is so important to the residential college experience.


"It's not a camp in the sense of a junior high school," Empric says. "Instead, it's an attempt to give students a sampling of what happens in a college--particularly a first-year college--experience."

Building on the success of this initial program, Eckerd offered additional summer humanities seminars for high school students in 2015, 2016, and now 2017 (all with continued co-sponsorship from the Florida Humanities Council). Young Writers in Paradise was offered for the first time in 2016, and Mastering Leadership and Marine Science will pilot this year.

Whatever students’ interests may be, Lutz says, Eckerd's Pre-college programs give students a valuable firsthand understanding of the college experience, from studying with experts in a given field to the excitement of living in a community of learners. “These programs help students prepare for college, with more understanding of college life and more confidence in their abilities."

The focus on college preparation is also the reason why these pre-college programs are open to rising high school juniors and seniors only. But students who cannot participate this year will have many opportunities to do so in the future. Eckerd plans to continue offering these four programs in the years to come, as well as adding a new program in Visual Arts starting in the summer of 2018, allowing students to take advantage of the soon-to-be-completed, state of the art Visual Arts Center at Eckerd.

Interested in learning more about Eckerd’s Pre-college programs? Visit https://www.eckerd.edu/precollege/ or email Christina Lutz at precollege@eckerd.edu.