How is it already August 2013 and I’m soon to be starting my Junior year in college?? I am sitting here starting to think about classes this fall, buying textbooks, and moving back to campus and I have no idea where the time has gone. It seems like not too long ago I was finishing up a summer’s worth of Chemistry research at Linfield, and not too much longer before that I was just heading off to college. Instead both of those are one and two years ago, respectively. I’d like to take a step back and reflect on my sophomore year and where I am to date after two years of my Linfield education. This past year was one I will never forget. I made some awesome new friends while enhancing old friendships. I have developed more relationships with professors than I can even name off the top of my head, all of which have undoubtedly had a major positive impact on my education. I have had numerous opportunities to explore my passions, both in and out of my majors. I have had opportunities for research as well as presenting at both regional and national conferences. All of these opportunities have allowed me to build a substantial resume for an undergraduate, one that led to one of the greatest opportunities of all: a summer research internship at Northwestern University. I am here through a program called Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) in the Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) here at Northwestern. There is not doubt in my mind that the opportunities I have taken advantage of at Linfield have put me where I am this summer. So as I look back on my last two years Linfield I am very thankful. At the same time I look forward, and I honestly can barely contain the excitement. I can only imagine the great things these next two years have in store as I continue my education at the school I have come to call home.
Austin: Research Presentation at the Science and Social Science Symposium
One of the main reasons I selected Linfield was because of Undergraduate Research opportunities. I am fortunate enough to be involved in the Biology department researching microRNA functionality, with Dr. Catherine Reinke, a Genetecist and Molecular Cell Biologist. All semester everyone in the lab has been working with different mutations and lines of Drosophila (fruit flies) and we are about to do our big experiment portion of the project. On Friday, Linfield hosted the 41st Annual Science and Social Science Symposium in the library where most students involved with student-faculty undergraduate collaborative research presented their work through poster presentations. The two other people I have been working most closely with all semester and I, as well as my faculty advisor, worked day and night for the last couple of weeks to create our poster and perfect our presentation. It was a lot of work, but extremely rewarding and exciting. A couple of us in the lab are fortunate enough to have to opportunity to stay over the summer and continue the project as full time research assistants. Because we are a college, and not a university, all of the funding and focus is turned to the undergrads, which is a really cool feeling. Research is fascinating and applies not only in the sciences, but also in other social science departments as well. If you’re interested in doing research (even starting as a freshman), check out Linfield!
Until next time,
-Austin
Kyra: Summer and even more of Shakespeare
It’s hard to believe that this is the last week of classes! The semester has gone by so quickly. In about two weeks, several of my close friends will be graduating, I’ll become a senior (A SENIOR), and summer will begin.
Instead of going home for the summer this year, I’ll be living on campus again, doing research with the English Department! I’m really excited, it complements my field of study perfectly. Through the Linfield Center for the Northwest (or the LCN) my professor, Daniel Pollack-Pelzner, was able to secure a research grant for another English major and I to research Shakespeare and Gender Studies. We’ll focus on Shakespeare’s comedy, ”The Taming of the Shrew” and compare it with a later sequel (written by another playwright in the 1700′s) called “The Tamer Tamed”. We’ll look at the performative and technical aspects of the plays, as well as apply Gender Criticism–comparing contemporary gender theory to that of Shakespeare’s time to see if our discomfort with the events in “Taming of the Shrew” comes from a modern viewpoint or if it’s actually embedded in the text.
I really can’t imagine a better way to spend my summer than living with my friends, reading Shakespeare, seeing plays and so much more. I’ll have time to go on trips with my friends throughout Oregon, I’ll go to see my extended family in Hawaii, and the LCN is paying for a trip to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in August with Linfield Alumni! I’m so grateful to have this opportunity to explore my academic interests, while getting paid, and while having enough freedom to explore my last summer before I graduate from college.
Life is happening so quickly and it’s absolutely amazing.
Kyra: Spring Awakening, HH the Dalai Lama, music and so much more!
I feel like I say this almost every time I blog but–this week has been a whirlwind. Schoolwork, events and meetings really pick up around the end of the year. I really enjoy the sense of business, however. Today’s been the first chilly day in about two weeks, so I think that’ll help everyone hit the books and get to studying for finals. I’m working on several papers right now, so I’m drowning in visual culture, gender and cultural studies, and performance ideas. It’s a bit to deal with, but I think it’ll all turn out well! It usually does.
However, I did manage to get myself some breathing time to get out and enjoy the things I love. Thursday, I was able to see the Linfield Theatre Department’s production of “Spring Awakening”. Several of my friends were in it–and starring–so it was absolutely amazing to see them perform. I love musicals and it’s been quite a while since I’ve had to opportunity to see one. On top of that, “Spring Awakening” is one of my favorites in terms of the music, and this was the first time I’ve been able to see it live, so it made the experience even more special. I’m not ashamed to say that I cried pretty much throughout the whole show. It was incredibly emotional and raw–everyone did a beautiful job with the acting and music. Their harmonies were absolutely amazing–I really think that Linfield should try to put on more musicals. There are so many talented people here, it was wonderful to see some of their great diversity.
On Friday, Linfield hosted Wildstock! It’s one of our big end of the year events, so it’s always a blast to attend. Thankfully, it was a gorgeous day, so everyone was out and about–listening to music, playing some of the games, and listening to music. Wildstock, in essence, is everything that an average college student loves–free food and free music. I got dinner from Thai Country and El Primo, so I was pretty thrilled. I had quite a bit of homework, so I popped in and out of the event, but everyone listening to the music looked like they were having a great time. I didn’t want to stay out too late, however, because I had an incredible day planned for Saturday.
Through Linfield, I was able to get tickets to the His Holiness the Dalai Lama speak at an Environmental Summit at the Memorial Coliseum! We all got on a charter bus bright and early Saturday morning and traveled up to Portland. The experience was almost surreal! The Dalai Lama was so wise and surprisingly really hilarious. He had an amazing laugh! We had a morning and afternoon session, with a long break in between for lunch. We used this time to get out into the city. Since it was a beautiful Saturday, we took the opportunity to go to the Saturday market. I haven’t been there in a very long time, so it was nice to get back into the city. We ate South African food from one of the booths and sat on the waterfront. It was a nice way to stretch from sitting inside all morning and to think about what we were learning at the Summit. I’m so grateful that I was able to have this experience–something that will probably come around only once in my lifetime. After the Dalai Lama finished speaking, the Red Hot Chili Peppers came on and played a concert. It was a pretty strange juxtaposition between the extremely calm Dalai Lama and the rock band, but it was really fun all the same. They opened up the bottom of the Coliseum to go up and dance during the set too. A bunch of the Linfield group went down and danced, but I was feeling a little tired from the day so I stayed at the top to watch our things and take pictures. It was still fun to see everyone though! There were so many people! I’ve always liked RHCP, so it was great to see them live.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers!
His Holiness the Dalai Lama speaking about compassionate living and it’s impact on our environment.
That evening, once we got back from the Dalai Lama, several of us decided to go see the new film version of “The Great Gatsby”! We met up a friend’s house first–where I met the most adorable puppy. I just have to include this because it was so cute. After getting distracted by the puppy–Balin, like the dwarf from “The Hobbit”–for a while, we all headed over to the movie where we met some other students from Linfield. They’d dressed up and gone to a fancy dinner/drinks downtown to get in the Gatsby mood. They all looked quite dapper! The movie itself was actually really good! I’d recommend seeing it–but of course, you should read the book first, if you haven’t and plan on going to the movie. A lot of the dialogue was actually taken directly from the book, so that was a lovely treat for lit nerds like myself. The costuming, colors, and set were amazing–Baz Luhrman always does an amazing job of capturing the feel of a book or era, and Prada did the costuming, so what’s not to love?
Balin, the smallest and cutest puppy I’ve ever seen!
Sunday, of course, was Mother’s Day! My family came down so we could have a Mother’s Day dinner. It’s been a while since I’ve seen my family, so it was really nice to have them around for a couple of hours. I’m really close to my Mom and little sister, so I missed them a lot! We went out to GVB–Golden Valley Brewery. If you’ve never been there, I definitely recommend it. They source most of the meat products locally and brew their own beer! It’s also just a local staple; one of those restaurants you have to go to at least once while you’re here.
My Mother, little sister and I at GBV.
I can only imagine how much crazier this week will be! I have several papers to work on, lectures and thesis presentations to attend, and so much more! I’m definitely looking forward to these last few weeks in the semester. This summer also looks really promising, but that’s a story for next time.
Austin: Action-Packed Weekend!
I was looking forward to this weekend for a long time, and I can’t believe it’s already done! Friday the entire campus celebrated Wildstock, a Linfield tradition. Every year, near the end of the semester, the school puts on an outdoor concert packed with local food vendors and games. This year, the bands The Ready Set and Outasight performed, and the field was full of free food from Thai Country, Ribslayer, El Primo, and there was inflatable laser tag, as well as an inflatable slide. The concert was great, and it was lots of fun to celebrate the ending of a solid semester with friends.
The next morning came early when two busses of Linfield students traveled to the Coliseum convention center in downtown Portland to hear His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama speak. What an incredible experience it was to be in a theater with 11,000 people gathered around to hear him, as well as three prominent political figures speak at an Environmental Summit. The Dalai Lama is hilarious; he was cracking jokes left and right, and had no problem communicating his ideas and wisdom through his translator. It was an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I’m grateful that Linfield subsidized the tickets so I was able to enjoy the program for only $10! A few of my friends and I hung out at the Portland Saturday Market and enjoyed tasty Thai food (my favorite) and explored the market. After his speech, the Red Hot Chili Peppers put on a great show. Once we returned back to campus, I attended the Theater’s production of Spring Awakening. The musical was absolutely moving, and filled with incredible talent. It was fun to see some of my friends acting and showing their true passion and love for Theater.
Sunday rolled around and was filled with plenty of homework and stress about the upcoming finals week. I have quite a few papers, finals, and presentations this week, but as the semester is drawing to an end, I’m still quick to enjoy the last few days of freshman year with friends. I can’t believe it’s almost over!
Until next time,
-Austin