SEAHAWKS TAKE FLIGHT AFTER SPORTS HIATUS - Adapting to the Pandemic

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SEAHAWKS TAKE FLIGHT AFTER SPORTS HIATUS - Adapting to the Pandemic
SPRING 2021

SEAHAWKS TAKE
 FLIGHT AFTER
SPORTS HIATUS
  Adapting to the Pandemic
                  [ PA G E 1 0 ]

   St. Mary’s College | T HE MULB ER RY TR EE | spring 2021 | 1
SEAHAWKS TAKE FLIGHT AFTER SPORTS HIATUS - Adapting to the Pandemic
ST. MARY’S COLLEGE
                                    of Maryland

                        SPR I NG 20 2 1, VOL. XL II, NO . 2

                      www.smcm.edu/mulberrytree

                                          Editor
                                       Lee Capristo
                                          Design
                                      Jensen Design
                                   Editorial Board
                       Karen Anderson, Michael Bruckler,
                     Lee Capristo, Molly McKee-Seabrook ’10,
                       Gus Mohlhenrich, Karen Raley ’94,
                       Olivia Sothoron ’21, Lauren Taylor ’14
                                       Publisher
                        Office of Institutional Advancement
                          St. Mary’s College of Maryland
                                47645 College Drive
                         St. Mary’s City, Maryland 20686

                      The Mulberry Tree is published by St. Mary’s
                     College of Maryland, Maryland’s public hon-
                    ors college for the liberal arts and sciences. It is
                    produced for alumni, faculty, staff, trustees, the
                     local community, and friends of the College.
                         The magazine is named for the famous
                    mulberry tree under which the Calvert colonists
                    signed a treaty of friendship with the Yaocomico
                    people and on the trunk of which public notices
                      were posted in the mid-1600s. The tree endured
                     long into the 19th century and was once a popular
                       meeting spot for St. Mary’s College students.
                       The illustration of the mulberry tree on the
                    cover was drawn in 1972 by Earl Hofmann, artist-
                     in-residence when St. Mary’s College President
                        Renwick Jackson launched the magazine.
                                      Copyright 2021
                     The opinions expressed in The Mulberry Tree
                       are those of the individual authors and not
                      necessarily those of the College. The editor
                    reserves the right to select and edit all material.
                      Manuscripts and letters to the editor are en-
                     couraged and may be addressed to Editor, The
                    Mulberry Tree, St. Mary’s College of Maryland,
                    47645 College Drive, St. Mary’s City, MD 20686.
                       Photographs and illustrations may not be
                    reproduced without the express written consent
                          of St. Mary’s College of Maryland.

                                   TX_AE6FFA640B85
GRETCHEN PHILLIPS

                      St. Mary’s College of Maryland has offset 6,905
                    pounds of paper used to produce this issue by planting
                                    83 trees in the U.S.
SEAHAWKS TAKE FLIGHT AFTER SPORTS HIATUS - Adapting to the Pandemic
CONTENTS
                                                                            SPRING 2021

ST. MARY’S COLLEGE OF MARYLAND
July 2020 — June 2021                                                                                           F E AT U R E S

ALUMNI COUNCIL                      BOARD OF TRUSTEES                                                           PA G E 1 0

Executive Board
Alice Arcieri Bonner ’03,
                                    Chair
                                    Arthur “Lex” Birney Jr.
                                                                                                                Seahawks Take Flight
 President
Kate Fritz ’04, Exec.Vice
                                    Vice Chair                                                                  after Sports Hiatus
 President                          Susan Dyer
Bobby Rudd ’13,
                                                                                                                After a nine-month COVID-19
                                    Treasurer
 Vice Pres. of Operations           John Chambers                                                               shutdown, varsity sports manage
Angie Stocksdale Harvey ’83,         Wobensmith ’93
 Secretary                                                                                                      a mini season blitz.
Thomas Brewer ’05,                  Secretary
 Parliamentarian                    Lawrence
Geoff Cuneo ’10, Treasurer                                                                                      PA G E 1 6
                                     “Larry” E. Leak ’76
                                                                              [ PA G E 1 0 ]
                                                                                                                Built to LEAD
Michele Everett Shipley ’92,
 Vice Pres. of Chapter Activities   Trustees
                                    Nicolas Abrams ’99
Elected Voting Members
                                    Carlos Alcazar                                                              Externships on the Professional Pathway
John Ahearn ’76                     Anirban Basu
Jack Blum ’07                       John Bell ’95
Paul Broccolina ’00                 Alice Arcieri Bonner ’03                                                    PA G E 2 0
Kelsey Bush ’94                      Alumni Association
Sean Floyd ’06
Hans Lemke ’93
                                    Fatima Bouzid ’22                                                           Science and Other
                                     Student Trustee
Molly McKee-Seabrook ’10
Kate Monahan ’12
                                    Peter Bruns
                                    Donny Bryan ’73
                                                                                                                Ventures
Lauren Payne ’09                    Paula Collins
Amir Reda ’11                                                                                                   An interview with Charles Adler,
                                    Mike Dougherty (HSMC)
Kevin Roth ’93
Paul Schultheis ’98
                                    Peg Duchesne ’77                                                            professor of physics and science
                                    Judith Fillius ’79
Sara Kidd Shanklin ’11              Elizabeth Graves ’95                                                        fiction author.
Edward Sirianno ’82                 Gail Harmon, Esq.
Student Member                      The Honorable Sven
                                     Holmes                                   [ PA G E 1 6 ]                    DEPAR T MEN T S
Vacant
                                    The Honorable
Chapter Presidents                   Steny H. Hoyer                                                             2     President’s Letter
Annapolis:                          Capt. Glen Ives,
Erin O’Connell ’91                   usn Retired                                                                3     College News
Baltimore:                          Doug Mayer ’04
Marie Snyder ’10                    William Seale                                                               24 Alumni Connection
Black Alumni:                       Danielle Troyan ’92
                                    Harry Weitzel                                                               28 From the Archives
Janssen Evelyn ’01
Boston:                             Raymond Wernecke
Eunice Akins-Afful ’96                                                                                          C O V E R : #5 Chanel Lucas ’22 and the varsity
California Bay Area:                PRESIDENT                                                                   volleyball team got a chance to play five games
Megan Brown Vilson ’07                                                                                          (masked) during its mini season during the pandemic.
                                    Tuajuanda C. Jordan, PhD
Chicago Region:                                                                                                 C O V E R P H O T O : Bill Wood.
Katie Tinder ’13
Denver Regional:
Vacant
New York Regional:
John Haltiwanger ’10                                                         [ PA G E 2 0 ]
Philadelphia Regional:
Ian Murphy ’08
Southern Maryland:
Megan Brown Vilson ’07
Southern Maryland:
Cathy Hernandez Ray ’77
TFMS Alumni:
Vacant
Washington, D.C. Metro:                                        O P P O S I T E & I N S I D E BAC K C OV E R :
Rosa Trembour
                                                                    Photos from the College’s collection,
  Goodman ’11
Western Maryland:                                                       taken by Gretchen Phillips
Vacant

                                                                                                                    St. Mary’s College | THE MULB ER RY TR EE | spring 2021 | 1
SEAHAWKS TAKE FLIGHT AFTER SPORTS HIATUS - Adapting to the Pandemic
A     LET T E R              F ROM             T HE           PR E SI DE N T

F
              or more than a year, we have all tried to persevere and persist amidst
                                                                                              Editor’s Note

                                                                                              T
              a global pandemic. The challenges have been real, as families, businesses
                                                                                                    he flowering dogwood is an
              and schools try to stay afloat in a shut-down world. When we are able to lift
                                                                                                    Eastern North American tree
current restrictions to campus and classroom capacities and enjoy in-person, unmasked               whose bark was once used as a
activities, it won’t mean that we return to normal. We’re in a new place now that helps       burgundy dye and a remedy for malaria.

us move forward with the lessons we’ve learned during COVID-19.                               Each spring, I seek out the flowering
                                                                                              dogwood, peeking from the edges of the
We’ve accomplished a lot. Last fall, we launched our LEAD initiative with its enhanced        woods, along the border between forest and
                                                                                              clearing. Its flowers open up gently, like a
CORE curriculum for all new students in the Class of 2024, our largest class in five years.   welcoming hand, reaching out as if to say
As these students progress through their coursework for their academic major, they will       “join me.” This is its moment, but it does
                                                                                              not scream springtime like the returning
simultaneously develop professional skills with credit-bearing courses and hands-on           osprey. It beckons me, quietly, to notice that
opportunities that help them build pipelines to post-college jobs.                            spring has arrived.
                                                                                              An achingly beautiful pair — one pink, one
A revised array of academic programs rolls out this fall, having been unanimously
                                                                                              white — conjoin in an erotic twist behind
approved by the Board of Trustees in February and including new majors in marine              the building that houses the Office of Public
                                                                                              Safety on campus.
science and neuroscience (pending MHEC approval) and a varsity track and field
                                                                                              By the time this issue reaches you, the
program. These changes are part of the outcome of a program prioritization review that
                                                                                              flowering dogwood will be dressed in leaves,
took place over the past 18 months with task force work involving input from faculty and      its moment on the stage gone until a new
trustees (see summary on p. 7).                                                               season restarts the cycle. So it is with stu-
                                                                                              dents at St. Mary’s College; they are here,
With our gains in enrollment, our LEAD initiative, and new and upcoming programs              and before we realize, they are graduated
                                                                                              and gone, and a new batch of students
that include business administration, applied data science and the performing arts,           restarts the cycle. Yet each student finds
St. Mary’s College will emerge from this global pandemic more vibrant and relevant            their moment on the stage while they’re
                                                                                              here. Some find it in the classroom; others
than before.                                                                                  on the athletic field. Some are helped to
                                                                                              their moment by the welcoming hand of
When we can safely celebrate in person, it will bring me joy to congratulate the Classes
                                                                                              a working professional who invites them
of 2020 and 2021 on a tough job, well done and to thank all the faculty and staff who         to join their work as an extern.
made it possible.                                                                             This issue celebrates those moments.

                                                                                              Lee Capristo, editor

                                                                                              correction: In the article “Called to Action”
                                                                                              (fall 2019 issue) the inaugural recipient of the
                                                                                              Jordan Teaching Exemplar Award was incorrectly
                                                                                              named. The inaugural recipient was Veronica
Tuajuanda C. Jordan, PhD                                                                      Arellano Douglas, who was honored with the
President, St. Mary’s College of Maryland                                                     award in 2017.

2 | St. Mary’s College | T H E MU LBERRY TREE | spring 2021
SEAHAWKS TAKE FLIGHT AFTER SPORTS HIATUS - Adapting to the Pandemic
COLLEGE
 NEWS
 CAMPUS & COMMUNITY NEWS                                 SGA Keeps Focus
                                                         on Students
                                                         When St. Mary’s College of Mary-
                                                         land pivoted to address health
                                                         guidelines early in the COVID-19
                                                         pandemic, it altered many aspects
                                                         of campus life, but the College’s
                                                         Student Government Association
                                                         (SGA) stepped up to help in a big
                                                         way for students both on and off
                                                         campus.
                                                         “A lot of emphasis has been placed
                                                         on students’ needs during this
                                                         time of COVID-19 and we believe
                                                         that the money in the funds
                                                         should benefit the student more
                                                         [directly] as it is theirs to begin
                                                         with,” said Josh Ajanaku ’22,
                                                         president of SGA.
                                                         Ajanaku has been building on
                                                         prior administrations’ work and
                                                         supporting new projects. Ajanaku
                                                         said he is most proud of two
                                                         unanimous votes from SGA to
                                                         donate to the College’s Recovery
                                                         Fund. The Recovery Fund assists
                                                         SMCM students with financial
                                                         hardships they may face due to the
                                                         pandemic.
                                                         “It really showed our true poten-
                                                         tial as an SGA to support students.
                                                         Not only did we do it once, but we

Rising Before
                                                         did it twice,” Ajanaku said. SGA
                                                         donated $50,000 to the fund dur-

Our Eyes
                                                         ing the spring 2020 semester and
                                                         an additional $25,000 in the fall.

Work continues on the new academic                       The SGA also voted to allocate
buildings and auditorium, scheduled to                   $10,000 toward campus flu vacci-
open for the fall 2022 semester. The main                nations and $60,000 to replace the
building will house the Department of                    floating dock at the waterfront.
Music and a 700-seat auditorium. The
west building will house the Department
of Educational Studies, a study commons
and a café.

                                            St. Mary’s College | THE MULB ER RY TR EE | spring 2021 | 3
SEAHAWKS TAKE FLIGHT AFTER SPORTS HIATUS - Adapting to the Pandemic
CO LLEG E                  NEW S

                                                                                             New Major Offered in Marine Science
                                                        CASE/Collegiate                      The marine science major came about through a year-long process that
                                                        Awards                               reviewed proposals for new majors as part of the College’s task force work.
                                                                                             The new major will embrace the College’s waterfront environment with the
                                                        The Institutional Advancement’s
                                                                                             use of the St. Mary’s River and Chesapeake Bay to create a one-of-a-kind
                                                        integrated marketing team earned
                                                                                             program that will be unique, rigorous, and innovative. Because of the location
                                                        a CASE District II Silver Award
                                                                                             of St. Mary’s College on the St. Mary’s River and because of the College’s close
                                                        for its COVID Response: The St.
                                                                                             association with the St. Mary’s River Watershed Association, many opportunities
                                                        Mary’s Way entry in that annual
                                                                                             exist for marine science that are not available at the other Maryland higher
                                                        awards competition. The entry
                                                                                             education institutions. Marine science will consist of a rigorous curriculum
                                                        highlighted the key components
                                                                                             of foundational physics, chemistry, and biology courses along with advanced
                                                        of the College’s COVID com-
                                                                                             courses that utilize the campus’ resources.
                                                        munications response between
                                                        March-August 2020 related to the     The major will create new in-state opportunities for Maryland students. The
                                                        safe reopening of the College. The   state of Maryland belongs to the Academic Commons Marketplace (ACM),
                                                        integrated marketing team also       which is a consortium of several southeastern states. It allows a student from one
                                                        earned a Gold award in the 2020      state to attend another state’s public universities and pay in-state tuition if the
                                                        Collegiate Advertising Awards for    student’s major is not offered in their home state. According to the Maryland
                                                        the design of a giveaway apparel     Higher Education Commission records, nearly 1,000 Maryland students used
                                                        item for newly admitted students.    the ACM and left the state to enroll in undergraduate programs in marine
                                                        The design was done by Keely         science and marine biology between 2008-2018.
                                                        Houk ’17. This makes 13 national     Pending approval by the Maryland Higher Education Commission, the marine
                                                        awards that the team has earned in   science major will be offered in fall 2021, along with the new neuroscience major
                                                        the past two years.                  approved by the Board in October 2020. In development are three additional
                                                                                             majors: applied data science, business administration and performing arts.

4 | St. Mary’s College | T H E MU LBERRY TREE | spring 2021
SEAHAWKS TAKE FLIGHT AFTER SPORTS HIATUS - Adapting to the Pandemic
Alumna Directs
                                     TFMS Production
                                     SMCM’s Department of Theater,
                                     Film & Media Studies virtually
                                     presented “Baltimore,” Kirsten
                                     Greenidge’s drama about racism
                                     on college campuses, February 25-
                                     28. Greenidge’s drama reveals the
                                     effects of a racially charged incident
                                     on a college campus that divides
                                     resident adviser Shelby’s first-year
                                     students, and Shelby finds herself
                                     in the middle of a conversation she
                                     does not want to have. The produc-
                                     tion was directed by A. Lorraine
                                     Robinson ’92.                            Ethics Bowl Team Goes 2-2 at Nationals
Comedian Janelle                                                              The St. Mary’s College Ethics Bowl team was one of the top 36 teams in the
James Gives                          CSD Hosts Range                          nation to compete in February’s National Championships.

Invited Twain                        of Speakers                              Coached by Associate Professor of Philosophy Michael Taber, the team of
                                                                              Robert Artiga-Valencia ’21, Asia Dofat ’21, Mollie Rudow ’22, Darah
Lecture                              St. Mary’s College of Maryland’s         Schillinger ’22, Nathan Villiger ’24, and Hannah Yale ’23, went 2-2
                                     Center for the Study of Democ-           against schools like DePauw University and the U.S. Naval Academy. The 17
“An Evening with Janelle James”
                                     racy and The Patuxent Partner-           cases this year included issues like what tech companies should do in the face
took place on April 10 via Zoom.
                                     ship, presented two guest lecturers      of spreading conspiracy theories, changes in Title IX policies, the (over)use of
James was the 15th performer for
                                     virtually in February. The first was     comfort animals, sex in the times of (supposed) social distancing, and whether
the Annual Twain Lecture Series
                                     by Kerry Fosher, director of research    public school teachers should be forced to return to in-person instruction.
on American Humor and Culture.
                                     for the United States Marine Corps
James is a Los Angeles-based
                                     University, on February 3. The
comedian who can be seen on
                                     second was by Major General
“The Comedy Lineup” on Netflix,
“Late Night with Seth Meyers,”
                                     Charles Bolden (ret.), former NASA       SMCM Partners                             WGSX Colloquium
and “Crashing” (HBO). She is
                                     administrator and former astronaut,      with TheDream.US                          on Activism
                                     on February 10.
currently a staff writer on “Black                                            St. Mary’s College of Maryland            The annual Women, Gender and
Monday” on Showtime.                 The Center, in partnership with          has partnered with TheDream.US,           Sexuality Studies Colloquium
                                     the College’s Division of Inclusive      a national program that provides          ran virtually on March 17-18. The
St. Mary’s College’s Mark Twain
                                     Diversity, Equity, Access and            college scholarships of an amount         colloquium’s theme was “Activism
Lecture Series on American
                                     Accountability and the College of        which typically covers the difference     Now: Building Feminist Futures”
Humor and Culture was launched
                                     Southern Maryland, also spon-            in the lost Pell grants and federal       and focused on the unfolding
in 2007. Since then the series has
                                     sored the series “Bridging Our           loans that Dreamers are not eligible      strategies and goals of a new
grown to one of the largest events
                                     Gaps: Community Conversations            to receive. The Dream.US offers           generation of feminist activists and
in Southern Maryland. Past per-
                                     to Rebuild Our Democracy” from           two scholarships: The National            scholars working in the movement
formers include Jordan Klepper,
                                     late February through mid-April.         Scholarship is for high school or         today. Speakers included Maria
Roy Wood Jr., Tig Notaro, The
                                     Topics included U.S. immigration         community college graduates; the          Goyanes, artistic director of the
Onion’s Scott Dikkers, and W.
                                     policy; attitudes on race; electoral     Opportunity Scholarship is for stu-       Woolly Mammoth Theater; Soraya
Kamau Bell.
                                     integrity; attitudes on policing.        dents who live in a state where they      Chemayl, executive director of The
                                     The Center also hosted award-win-        are not eligible for in-state tuition.    Presentation Project; Noorghan
                                     ning journalist Kavitha Cardoza on       For graduates of Maryland schools,        Akbar of Free Women Writers;
                                     March 24, who discussed her work         this financial aid would be in addi-      faculty panelists Argelia González-
                                     on undocumented children in U.S.         tion to any state financial aid they      Hurtado and Jessye McDowell.
                                     public schools.                          may be eligible for by completing
                                                                              the Maryland State Financial Aid
                                                                              Application.

                                                                                                                  St. Mary’s College | THE MULB ER RY TR EE | spring 2021 | 5
SEAHAWKS TAKE FLIGHT AFTER SPORTS HIATUS - Adapting to the Pandemic
C OLLE G E                 NEW S

      Dual Degree                                       associate professor of physics and        degrees, achieving a minimum cu-      SMCM Transfer
      Offered in                                        department chair. “The advantage
                                                        for an applied physics major is
                                                                                                  mulative 3.25 GPA in all coursework
                                                                                                  and in STEM coursework, and an
                                                                                                                                        Edge Program
      Engineering                                       that we are accepting some of the         endorsement from students’ pre-       St. Mary’s College of Maryland and
      St. Mary’s College of Maryland                    upper-level engineering courses as        engineering adviser.                  the College of Southern Maryland
      has partnered with Washington                     replacements for student capstone                                               have partnered to create the SMCM
                                                                                                  Those admitted to the engineer-
      University in St. Louis, Missouri,                experience at St. Mary’s College.                                               Transfer Edge Program (STEP),
                                                                                                  ing dual degree program have
      to offer an engineering dual degree               This will make it easier for students                                           which allows CSM students to
                                                                                                  two tracks from which to choose:
      program. The program, consid-                     to complete their requirements in a                                             pursue their associate degree and
                                                                                                  3-2 Option: Earning a St. Mary’s
      ered one of the country’s premier                 timely manner.”                                                                 simultaneously work towards their
                                                                                                  College bachelor’s degree and a
      engineering programs, is now in its                                                                                               bachelor’s degree at SMCM by tak-
                                                        St. Mary’s College students should        Washington University bachelor’s
      48th year at Washington University.                                                                                               ing one course per semester up to a
                                                        apply to Washington University            degree or the 3-3 Option: Earning
                                                                                                                                        total of four courses at a 50 percent
      “While the St. Mary’s College                     in their junior year. There is no         a St. Mary’s College bachelor’s de-
                                                                                                                                        discount. CSM students participat-
      students that are most likely to be               application fee and no additional         gree plus a Washington University
                                                                                                                                        ing in the program will also have
      interested have a focus in physics,               testing is needed. According to           bachelor’s degree and Washington
                                                                                                                                        access to SMCM advising, the Hilda
      chemistry, math, and material sci-                Washington University, clear eligi-       University master’s degree.
                                                                                                                                        C. Landers Library, recreation facili-
      ences, the dual degree program is                 bility criteria result in a dual degree
                                                                                                                                        ties, and can attend campus student
      open to all students independent of               admission rate of nearly 90 percent.
                                                                                                                                        events.
      major,” said Erin De Pree, SMCM                   That criteria includes students tak-
                                                        ing specific courses that contribute
                                                        to both liberal arts and engineering

                                                                                                  CONTRIB
                                                                                                  CONTRIBUTING   TO A
                                                                                                          UTING TO
                                                                                                  SPIRIT OF CARING
                                                                                                   The Recovery Fund was created to help with the
                                                                                                   unexpected hardships and challenges facing our
                                                                                                   students due to the pandemic. The Recovery Fund has
                                                                                                   provided and is still delivering a lifeline to students.
                                                                                                   Over $129,000 has been awarded through 141 grants
                                                                                                   to students for basic needs, books and technology,
                                                                                                   and tuition and fees. The requests keep coming.
                                                                                                   Please lend your support for this essential fund today.

                                                                                                        GIVE NOW:

                                                                                                       GO.SMCM.EDU/
                                                                                                      RECOVERY-FUND/

6 | St. Mary’s College | T H E MU LBERRY TREE | spring 2021
SEAHAWKS TAKE FLIGHT AFTER SPORTS HIATUS - Adapting to the Pandemic
THE ST. MARY’S WAY

 PRESIDENT’S NEWS                                                              During its February 6 Board meeting, the St. Mary’s College of Mary-
                                                                               land trustees approved a freeze in tuition and fees for the 2021-2022
                                                                               academic year, the second consecutive year for such action. The Board
                                                                               also authorized an increase of 2 percent for room and board (dining)
                                                                               rates for 2021-2022. At the same meeting, the Board unanimously voted
                                                                               to adopt the following academic program changes, effective for all
                                                                               new students entering in fall 2021 (current students noted will not be
                                                                               affected and will be able to graduate in their chosen programs):
                                                                               A new major in Performing Arts       The minors-only programs in
                                                                               will be created comprising Music,    Democracy Studies, Mathematics-
                                                                               Theater Studies and Dance and        Applied, Physics-Astrophysics,
                                                                               be more inclusive of non-Western     and TFMS-Dance will no longer be
                                                                               forms of expression. The new         available to new students starting
                                                                               major will complement the new        fall 2021.
                                                                               auditorium building to be com-
The Office of the President pre-       Chicago Bulls. Rather than letting                                           Students can minor, but not major,
                                                                               plete in 2022.
sented ESPN analyst and bestsell-      the near-fatal accident destroy                                              in ILC-Chinese, ILC-French, Music
ing author Jay Williams on March       his future, Williams parlayed his       Majors and minors in Art His-        and TFMS-Theater Studies.
11 via Zoom. Williams, who was the     experience on the court into a suc-     tory, International Languages
                                                                                                                    The current Core 101/301 course
#2 pick in the 2002 NBA Draft, is      cessful career in broadcasting and      & Cultures (ILC)-German, Latin
                                                                                                                    will be reimagined as writing
now an analyst on “College Game-       business. Drawing from his time in      American Studies, Physics-Fun-
                                                                                                                    intensive, humanities-focused
                                                                               damental; Religious Studies; and
Day ‘’ and a regular commentator       recovery and building his brand,                                             courses to ensure that the humani-
                                                                               Theater, Film and Media Studies
on ESPN and ESPN2’s weeknight          Williams has established himself                                             ties continue to be prominently
                                                                               (TFMS)-Film & Media will no lon-
studio coverage. Following a mo-       as a premier keynote motivational                                            represented.
                                                                               ger be available to new students
torcycle accident in 2003, Williams    speaker for various executive busi-
                                                                               starting fall 2021.
was forced to retire from basket-      ness conferences and charitable
ball after just one season with the    organizations nationwide.               The program prioritization review evolved over the past 18 months with
                                                                               task force work involving input from faculty, trustees, Provost Michael
                                                                               Wick and President Jordan. Among the criteria, academic programs
                                                                               were measured for effectiveness, efficiency and equity. “I am confident
President Jordan presented her         Emily Brownlee (biology)                that the outcomes from the program review, combined with gains in
Trailblazer Award, the Jordan          Andrew Cognard-Black (sociology)        enrollment, student engagement, the LEAD initiative, among other
Exemplar in Teaching Award,            Torry Dennis (neuroscience)             areas, will ensure that our students will be in an even stronger position
the St. Mary’s Award and 17 new        Jeff Eden (history)                     to compete in the ever-changing and competitive world in which we
junior faculty professorships at the   Gili Freedman (psychology)              live,” said President Jordan. See details of fall 2021 programs: www.smcm.
Awards Convocation virtual cere-       Jerry Gabriel (English)                 edu/academics/fall-2021-curriculum
mony on April 16. Laurie Scherer,      Liza Gijanto (anthropology)
director of the Wellness Center,       Argelia González-Hurtado              President Jordan participated in a       The virtual conference was featured
received the Trailblazer Award for        (ILC-Spanish)                      panel discussion at the American         in Diverse Issues in Higher Educa-
her health management leader-          Cassie Gurbisz                        Association of Blacks in Higher          tion.
ship during COVID-19; Professor           (environmental studies)            Education’s (AABHE) virtual
of Political Science Sahar Shafqat     SooBin Jang (educational studies)     conference on March 15. Presidents       The Office of the President
received the Teaching Award; Brad      Ellen Kohl (environmental studies)    from Ithaca College, Central State       with the VOICES Reading Series
Newkirk ’04, director of the physi-    Kelly Neiles (chemistry)              University, University of Southern       presented “An Evening to Honor
cal plant, received the St. Mary’s     George MacLeod (ILC-French)           Indiana, and Columbia College            the Legacy of Lucille Clifton” on
Award. The following received the      Michelle Milne (physics)              Chicago joined President Jordan          March 1 via Zoom. Poets Li-Young
new junior faculty professorships:     Amy Steiger (theater)                 to provide insight into the current      Lee and Leah Naomi Green were
                                       Troy Townsend ’07 (chemistry)         landscape of higher education,           recognized for their work dur-
                                       Antonio Ugues (political science)     including financial and academic         ing the event, which welcomed
                                       www.smcm.edu/academics/               disruptions to institutions across       a record-breaking number of
                                       awards-convocation                    the country brought on over the          participants.
                                                                             last year because of the pandemic.

                                                                                                               St. Mary’s College | THE MULB ER RY TR EE | spring 2021 | 7
SEAHAWKS TAKE FLIGHT AFTER SPORTS HIATUS - Adapting to the Pandemic
C OLLE G E                 NEW S

                                                                                                 Karen Crawford, professor of             absences. In addition, Howansky
        FAC U LT Y, S TA F F & S T U DE N T N E W S
                                                                                                 biology, has been appointed to the       was interviewed on the AskPsych-
                                                                                                 external advisory committee for          Sessions podcast about being an
      The online journal Age of Revolu-                 Assistant Professor Geoffrey Bow-
                                                                                                 the Vermont Biomedical Research          early career academic during the
      tions has published Professor of                  ers, Professor Randolph Larsen,
                                                                                                 Network (VBRN). The VBRN is              pandemic. Posing the question,
      History Christine Adams’ paper                    and Associate Professor Kelly
                                                                                                 funded by a grant from the Nation-       “How can I employ radical empa-
      based on her live talk with Newber-               Neiles recently published their
                                                                                                 al Institutes of Health to promote       thy to teach during a pandemic,”
      ry Library Director of Fellowships                implementation of a new scholarly
                                                                                                 biomedical research in the state         they discussed using safety cues to
      and Academic Programs Keelin                      laboratory model for upper-level
                                                                                                 of Vermont. The external advisory        increase belongingness and how
      Burke on Jan. 15. The subject of the              chemistry courses in the Jour-
                                                                                                 committee for VBRN assists with          radical empathy can make classes
      talk was the three “flash points” in              nal of Chemical Education. The
                                                                                                 the evaluation of proposed awards        go more smoothly.
      the French Revolution: the Septem-                model teaches students about the
                                                                                                 at participating institutions, faculty
      ber Massacres of 1792, the Reign of               fundamental skills of a particular                                                Sue Johnson, professor of art, has
                                                                                                 and student development within
      Terror, and the fall of Maximilien                field in a first-semester laboratory                                              been awarded a 2021-22 residency
                                                                                                 the network, and overall evalua-
      Robespierre. Adams is on sabbati-                 course, then puts the students in                                                 for one month at Delaware’s Win-
                                                                                                 tion of VBRN itself. Crawford sits
      cal working as a Newberry Library                 the research lab working on faculty                                               terthur Museum, Garden and
                                                                                                 alongside SMCM Board Trustee
      residential fellow in Chicago, Il-                scholarly work in the second semes-                                               Library. She will do research for
                                                                                                 Peter Bruns on this advisory com-
      linois, through June 2021.                        ter as an example of a course-based                                               her project, “Woman, As Adver-
                                                                                                 mittee.
      To read her paper, visit: https://ti-             undergraduate research experience                                                 tised,” which focuses on 19th and
      nyurl.com/277n5b49                                (CURE). In their model, students                                                  early 20th century material culture
                                                        work in teams on a small, semester-                                               sources for the creation of new
      Leo Boucher ’23 placed first in
                                                        long research project that feeds                                                  works for her ongoing project,
      the International Laser Class As-
                                                        directly into the supervising faculty                                             “Hall of Portraits from The History
      sociation (ILCA) at the 2021 West
                                                        member’s scholarly goals. Students                                                of Machines.”
      Marine US Open Sailing Series
                                                        engaged in these scholarly labs re-                                               Katherina von Kellenbach,
      - Clearwater. The West Marine
                                                        port they are highly engaged in all                                               professor of religious studies, is
      US Open Sailing Series is a new,
                                                        steps of the scientific method and                                                one of 100 international scholars
      U.S.-based racing and training
                                                        that they integrate, implement, and                                               to contribute to the Encyclopedia
      series of Olympic-class regattas.
                                                        improve the research skills gained                                                of Jewish Christian Relations. The
      The regatta was the third and final
                                                        throughout the four-year research                                                 encyclopedia is a project for which,
      stop of the three-event Florida tour.
                                                        skill curriculum in chemistry and                                                 in 200 scholarly entries, more than
      Other SMCM athletes in the series
                                                        biochemistry. Participation in the                                                2,000 years of Jewish-Christian
      included Farrah Hall ’03, who took
                                                        scholarly based laboratory model                                                  interaction will be summarized, as-
      third in board sailing and Markus
                                                        led to a statistically significant                                                sessing achievements and address-
      Edegran ’16, who was leading in
                                                        (10%) improvement in lab note-                                                    ing fundamental issues. Professor
      kite sailing after 11 of 18 races before
                                                        book, final presentation, overall lab,                                            von Kellenbach’s entry can be found
      an injury ended his race. The West
                                                        and overall course grades for the        Assistant Professor of Psychology
      Marine US Open Sailing Series                                                                                                       online: http://www.ejcr-project.com.
                                                        scholarly lab cohort compared to         Kristina Howansky and collabo-
      picks up again this summer in                                                                                                       Sarah Malena, assistant professor
                                                        a traditional lab cohort in second-      rators recently published their
      California.                                                                                                                         of history, has been published in
                                                        semester physical chemistry.             research in the journal Teaching
                                                        To view the article, visit: https://     of Psychology. The research found        the volume Scribes and Scribal-
                                                        tinyurl.com/y5pss5fj.                    that identity safety cues — signals      ism (T&T Clark, 2020). Malena’s
                                                                                                 to let students know diverse identi-     contribution, “Influential Inscrip-
                                                                                                 ties are valued in the higher-ed         tions: Resituating Scribal Activity
                                                                                                 classroom — were associated with         During the Iron I-IIA Transition,”
                                                                                                 more positive impressions of a stu-      examines the significance of inscrip-
                                                                                                 dent’s professor, a higher sense of      tions in a time of extremely limited
                                                                                                 belonging in the class, and fewer        literacy and great social and politi-
                                                                                                                                          cal turmoil in the ancient Levant.

8 | St. Mary’s College | T H E MU LBERRY TREE | spring 2021
Pamela Mertz, professor of bio-                   Serdar Ongan, visiting professor of        Adjunct Professor of Environmental
                                                               chemistry, was one of the organizers              economics at St. Mary’s College of         Studies Laura B. Schneider has
                                                               and moderators for a conference                   Maryland, has six new publications         published an article in the journal
                                                               hosted by ASBMB Student Chap-                     in 2021:                                   Science & Children with Kayce
                                                               ters, “Constructing Narratives for                                                           Wills, a staff member at Duke El-
                                                                                                                 “Monetary Policy Uncertainties
                                                               Teaching Science,” held virtually                                                            ementary in Leonardtown, Mary-
                                                                                                                 and Demand for Money for Japan:
                                                               on February 6. This was the first                                                            land. The article centers on using
                                                                                                                 Nonlinear ARDL Approach” in the
                                                               virtual ASBMB Catalyst Conversa-                                                             scientific phenomena to study the
                                                                                                                 Journal of the Asia Pacific Econo-
                                                               tion, showcasing talks on teaching                                                           fossils of the Calvert Cliffs region
                                                                                                                 my, 26(1), 1-12 (SSCI);
                                                               strategies/projects that are works                                                           of Maryland. It includes a data
                                                               in progress as a means to gener-                  “How Do Various Health Insurance           set of photographs of roughly 300
                                                               ate ideas and discussion. For this                Coverages Affect COVID-19 Related          Miocene fossils allowing classrooms
                                                               Catalyst Conversation, participants               Stay-at-Home Tendencies of People          around the country to be able to
                                                               were encouraged to talk about how                 Across U.S. States?” in the Journal        have access to analyze and interpret
                                                               their response to the pandemic                    of Health Management, 1-8 (ESCI);          data and complete an investiga-
                                                               will inform their teaching moving                  “Money Stock Determination Pro-           tion. The article teaches how to use
                     Assistant Professor of Digital Art &
                                                               forward, when more faculty are                    cess and Money Multiplier: Case            fossil data to make inference about
                     Animation Jessye McDowell was
                                                               back in the classroom face-to-face                of South Korea” in the Journal of          past environments. The article can
                     one of four artists invited to create a
                                                               with students.                                    Financial Economic Policy, Febru-          be found online: https://tinyurl.
                     new work for the Wassaic Project’s
                                                               Chair and Associate Professor of                  ary Volume. (ESCI);                        com/3pzkk9n3.
                     2021 Winter Benefit, which took a
                     novel form during the pandemic.           Chemistry & Biochemistry Kelly                     “The Increases and Decreases of           Donald Stabile, professor of
                     Consisting of four events, the art-       Neiles, along with colleagues at                  the Environmental Kuznets Curve            economics and professor of the
                     ists were paired with a collector of      St. Mary’s College of Maryland,                   (EKC) for 8 OECD Countries” in             College and a leading expert on
                     their work, who gave a virtual tour       have accepted an invitation from                  Environmental Science and Pol-             the history and economics of the
                     of their home and art collection.         the Howard Hughes Medical                         lution Research, published 2/4/21          living wage, was a guest speaker at
                     Each tour was a collaboration             Institute (HHMI) to participate in                (SSCI);                                    the Notre Dame Just Wage Forum
                     between the collector and the artist      an Inclusive Excellence Learning                                                             2021 on February 12. The forum
                                                                                                                 “Convergence Analysis of the Eco-
                     — with the collector exploring how        Community. The award includes                                                                offered a series of conversations
                                                                                                                 logical Footprint: Theory and Em-
                     the artist’s work fits within their       $30,000 to support participation                                                             between scholars and practitioners
                                                                                                                 pirical Evidence from the USMCA
                     collection, and the artist explor-        in the Learning Community,                                                                   in pursuit of a fairer and more
                                                                                                                 Countries” in Environmental
                     ing their creative process. Each          which focuses on the evaluation of                                                           inclusive economy. Stabile’s topic
                                                                                                                 Science and Pollution Research,
                     featured artist also produced a           inclusive teaching and is meant to                                                           was “The Seven Just Wage Criteria:
                                                                                                                 published 2/24/21 (SSCI);
                     limited-edition print exclusively for     build capacity for inclusion of all                                                          A Perspective from Historical Study
                     the event. McDowell, who attended         students, especially those who have               “Economic Growth and Environ-              of a Living Wage.”
                     the Wassaic Residency in 2016,            been historically excluded from sci-              mental Degradation: Evidence
                                                                                                                                                            Professor of Psychology Libby
                     contributed her new work, “Future         ence. Neiles stated that she and her              from the US Case Environmental
                                                                                                                                                            Nutt Williams has recently been
                     Sets (Unknown)”, 2021. In addition,       team “are excited for the opportuni-              Kuznets Curve Hypothesis with
                                                                                                                                                            recognized for her contributions
                     McDowell, who is currently serving        ty this will provide the College both             Application of Decomposition”
                                                                                                                                                            by being named a fellow of the
PHOTO BY BILL WOOD

                     a three-year term as president of the     in terms of educating ourselves on                in the Journal of Environmental
                                                                                                                                                            American Psychological Associa-
                     New Media Caucus, contributed             this important topic, and also in                 Economics and Policy, 10(1), 14-21
                                                                                                                                                            tion’s Division 2 (Society for the
                     programming to highlight new me-          positioning ourselves to gain future              (ESCI).
                                                                                                                                                            Teaching of Psychology). Williams
                                                                           PHOTOS COURTESY OF ELIZABETH GRAVES

                     dia art and scholarship to the 2021       support for this work.”
                                                                                                                                                            is also a fellow of several other APA
                     College Art Association conference,       Neiles’ team will participate in a                                                           Divisions (17: Counseling Psychol-
                     held virtually in February.               learning community cluster with                                                              ogy, 29: Psychotherapy, and 35:
                                                               approximately 14 other teams from                                                            Psychology of Women).
                                                               other institutions, focusing on
                                                               evaluation of inclusive teaching.
                                                               Two other clusters will concentrate
                                                               on content of the introductory
                                                               science experience, and effective
                                                               partnerships between 2- and 4-year
                                                               institutions.

                                                                                                                                                      St. Mary’s College | THE MULB ER RY TR EE | spring 2021 | 9
“ Having no competition last fall
                    was pretty tough, but what
                    was really tough was not being
                    allowed around my teammates
                    outside of practice workouts.”
                   Christian Oliverio ’22
DAN PINDELL ’10

   10 | St. Mary’s College | T HE MU LBERRY TREE | spring 2021
Seahawks Take
Flight after
Sports Hiatus
BY OLIVIA SOTHORON ’21 WITH DEVIN GARNER ’21 AND GRETCHEN PHILLIPS

over the course of the past year, people all over the world set aside
their traditions to adhere to mandates to prevent the spread of the Coronavi-
rus, adapting to life behind masks and six feet away from the ones they love.
One aspect of life which was especially impacted by the pandemic was sports.
The NCAA College Basketball Tournament — which was held even during
World War II — was canceled entirely, bringing countless collegiate careers
to a crashing conclusion. Major League Baseball canceled their Opening
Day games, unable to start its season until mid-July, with a number of big-
name players deciding to opt out of the season due to health concerns. Foot-
ball stadiums were quiet due to the absence of fans, and even the Super Bowl
only welcomed healthcare workers who were already fully vaccinated.

St. Mary’s College of Maryland athletes were         the fall that sometimes felt like they were all for
also greatly impacted by the pandemic. Spring        naught would prove crucial when it came time
athletes in the Class of 2020 were unable to         for these teams to compete.
compete in their final seasons as Seahawks. The      “Our student-athletes have been the critical
College announced before the start of the fall       piece of making this whole operation go; they
2020 semester that there would be no fall sports     have committed to decreasing contact with every-
season, bringing an end to the athletic careers of   one outside their living spaces in their free time,
SMCM students who would graduate in Decem-           even other teammates,” said Director of Athletics
ber. The absence of competition caused many          and Recreation Crystal Gibson. “Our students
athletes to question whether the early morning       have committed to remaining on campus and
practices were worth it, and if they were ever go-   not seeing family and friends in order to make
ing to be able to compete this academic year.        sure their ‘bubble’ stays secure, this is a HUGE
However, after a successful winter season of         sacrifice and extremely demanding. However,
both men’s and women’s basketball, St. Mary’s        it has worked, and we have been successful in
College announced that fall sports would             continuing outside competition.”
compete in spring 2021 on condensed seasons.         In addition to the importance of athlete adher-
This meant that the men’s and women’s soc-           ence to restrictions, Gibson reflected on the role
cer teams, rowing teams, sailing teams, field        of coaches in making sporting events possible.
hockey team and volleyball team would all be         Their abilities to communicate with the athletic
able to compete in the spring to make up for         department, athletes and families have proven
the absence of competition in the fall. Just as      critical throughout this challenging time. “Our
the men’s and women’s basketball players were        coaches have also been critical communica-
consistently tested for COVID-19 throughout the      tors with our student-athletes and parents,
season, so too would the fall and spring athletes    relaying important updates and information,
be held to these requirements. The continued         while holding the groups accountable for their
practices and conditioning sessions throughout       actions,” Gibson added. “More than anything,

                                                            St. Mary’s College | THE MULB ER RY TR EE | spring 2021 | 11
our coaches have remained committed to the                                             “We have found a way to communicate and
                          growth, stability and mental, physical and                                             understand each other that maybe we would not
                          academic health of our student-athletes. Helping                                       have been as efficient at doing had we not been
                          each student find the necessary resources and                                          forced to because of COVID,” she stated.
                          help on and off campus to make them success-
                          ful - the same as any year, even before or after the                                   SEAHAWK SOCCER
                          COVID-19 pandemic.”                                                                    As a dual-sport athlete, Mangold is used to the
                          All St. Mary’s College students, staff and faculty                                     rigorous testing schedule, and does not mind
                          have worked relentlessly to adhere to the restric-                                     having to be tested regularly if it means that
                          tions implemented in order to mitigate the                                             she gets to play both basketball and soccer. She
                          spread of COVID-19. Members of the St. Mary’s                                          stated, “I just want to compete and if around
                          College community have worn masks, social-                                             the clock testing is required, then I am ‘all in’ in
                          distanced, taken their food from the Great Room                                        order to play the sports I love.” She explained,
                          in to-go boxes to eat in the safety of their rooms                                     “There is such a limited amount of time for us
                          and sat six-feet apart from their classmates and                                       to compete as collegiate athletes. Our seasons
                          professors. The return of Seahawk athletics                                            have been drastically shortened and while I am
                          represents the return of a sense of normalcy.                                          so fortunate to be able to play both of the sports
                          Although fans were unable to cheer on the bas-                                         I love, I will mourn the opportunities that I have
                                                                                  BILL WOOD

                          ketball teams in the Michael P. O’Brien Athletics                                      missed to play.”
                          and Recreation Center Arena, they continued
                                                                                                                 Haley Bullis ’21 reflected, “As a senior, I felt
                          to livestream the games and cheer from the
                                                                                                                 responsible for setting a good example for the
                          safety of their homes. St. Mary’s College athletes
                          and coaches represent so much more than just              “ It meant so                rest of the team in terms of staying safe. This
                                                                                                                 often meant missing out on key events that are
                                                                                      much to me
                          an athletic team at the College, for when they
                                                                                                                 important to every student, especially the seniors
                          display the Seahawk across their chests, they are
                                                                                                                 at SMCM, but it was worth it to get our season
                          representing the entire St. Mary’s College com-
                          munity. Even if it means being swabbed in the               to play for one            in the spring.”
                          nose throughout the entire semester, members of
                          the SMCM community are committed to doing
                                                                                      more season...”            SEAHAWK FIELD HOCKEY
                          what they must in order to safely return to play,                                      Emily Pulkowski ’21 stated that the limited
                                                                                              Caitlin Mays ’21   amount of time that players could spend at
                          and bring an end to the pandemic.
                                                                                                                 practices with their coach made them more
                          SEAHAWK BASKETBALL                                                                     appreciative of her instruction and guidance.
                                                                                                                 Pulkowski noted that being tested for COVID-19
                          Caitlin Mays ’21 was very grateful for the op-
                                                                                                                 regularly ensures the safety of the players, and is
                          portunity to play basketball for one last season in
                                                                                                                 therefore not much of a burden. “It allows me to
                          as a Seahawk. She stated: “It meant so much to
                                                                                                                 be comfortable to play without masks alongside
                          me to play for one more season, especially since
                                                                                                                 my teammates as well as against opponents,
                          I don’t plan on playing after college. I am really
                                                                                                                 and is a step towards guaranteeing safety for all.
                          grateful to have had the opportunity to be on the
                                                                                                                 Testing allows us to play at our high intensity
                          court for a final time.” Mays will miss practices
                                                                                                                 level without masks while also ensuring we are
                          the most because they served as an opportunity
                                                                                                                 not part of the spread of COVID,” she explained.
                          for her to stay in shape and be with her team-
                                                                                                                 “Being able to put on our jerseys and play com-
                          mates.
                                                                                                                 petitive field hockey is something I will forever be
                          One of the things that Cameron Mangold ’22                                             grateful for especially during COVID.”
                          missed most during this basketball season was
                                                                                                                 Hannah Dietrich ’21 added that head coach
                          the fans in the arena, cheering on the Seahawks.
                                                                                                                 Jessica Lanham has been extremely supportive
                          “Hearing their cheers and voices really does up-
                                                                                                                 during these challenging times. She stated: “It
                          lift our teams during games,” she said. Although
                                                                                                                 means so much to me that Coach Lanham has
NICHOLAS MCINTOSH

                          the pandemic complicated the season, Mangold
                                                                                                                 had our backs through it all and pushed us to
                                                                                  BILL WOOD

                          explained communication among the women’s
                                                                                                                 grow, even during a pandemic!”
                          basketball team has improved greatly.

                    12 | St. Mary’s College | T HE MU LBERRY TREE | spring 2021
“ Being able to
    put on our jerseys
    and play competitive
    field hockey is
    something I will
    forever be grateful
    for especially
    during COVID.”
            Emily Pulkowski ’21
BILL WOOD

                                  St. Mary’s College | THE MULB ER RY TR EE | spring 2021 | 13
SEAHAWK
                                                                                                                                                CROSS COUNTRY
                                                                                                                                                Tyler Wilson ’22 credits assistant coach Cathy
                                                                                                                                                Friedel with creating workouts for the athletes to
                                                                                                                                                complete in the fall during the absence of meets.
                                                                                                                                                “It was not a perfect system, but I think Coach
                                                                                                                                                Cathy and the team did the best that we could
                                                                                                                                                considering the circumstances,” he explained.
                                                                                                                                                Wilson reflected back on his first two seasons at
                                                                                                                                                SMCM, explaining that he misses the exhilara-
                                                                                                                                                tion of meets the most. “Seeing the crowd by
                                                                                                                                                the start line just sent shockwaves of adrenaline
                                                                                                                                                through my body because I knew then and there
                                                                                                                                                that me and my team were going to show the
                                                                                                                                                world that St. Mary’s is a force to be reckoned
                                                                                                                                                with,” he stated.
                                                                                                                                                David Salazar ’24 added that new cross country
                                                                                                                                                and track and field coach Reava Potter has
                                                                                                                                                made an impact on the program since her
                                                                                                                                                arrival in November 2020. Coach Potter did this
                                 BILL WOOD

                                                                                                                                                by “encouraging and pushing us to be better
                                                                                                                                                every day, getting us ready to compete, and
                                                                                                                                                expanding our team,” Salazar explained.
                                                                                          SEAHAWK ROWING
                                                                                                                                                SEAHAWK TENNIS
                                                                                          Christian Oliverio ’22 reflected, “Having no

                                                                                                                                                                                                     BILL WOOD
                                                                                          competition last fall was pretty tough, but what      Brooke Oliver ’21 found tennis to be a way to
                                                                                          was really tough was not being allowed around         relieve stress during this challenging time. “With
                            “ I think the other                                           my teammates for outside of practice workouts.”       all of the chaos and isolation that a pandemic
                                                                                                                                                brings, spending the afternoons on the ten-
                              seniors and myself
                                                                                          Lilly Stein ’22 added that in addition to secur-
                                                                                          ing the single boats and scheduling a virtual         nis courts with my team has been the greatest

                              tried to make it                                            regatta in the fall, head coach Anna Lindgren-        stress-reliever this semester,” she stated. “Among
                                                                                          Streicher has worked hard to secure extra space       the many challenges that come with competing

                              feel more normal                                            in the Jamie L. Roberts Stadium for the team          during a pandemic, one of the biggest challenges
                                                                                                                                                for me is the distance I am expected to keep
                              for the younger
                                                                                          to set up their ergometer machines, allowing
                                                                                          them to practice together, outdoors and socially-     from not only my own team, but our competi-

                              guys on the team.”                                          distanced.                                            tors as well. There is no shaking hands with your
                                                                                                                                                opponents, and no high-fives to your teammates.
                                                                                          Graham Bos ’21 explained, “It’s important             Although it feels strange and impersonal, I know
                               Andy Collins ’21                                           to me to be able to finish out my time here at        it is for everyone’s well-being that we follow
                                                                                          SMCM with something that has been such an             protocol.”
                                                                                          integral part of my time here. Especially having
                                                                                          lost the 2020 spring season to COVID, I am            SEAHAWK BASEBALL
                                                                                          incredibly grateful for the opportunity to practice
                                                                                                                                                One of twelve seniors on the baseball team,
                                                                                          and compete given the circumstances in 2021.”
                                                                                          Bos will miss the people on the team most after       infielder Andy Collins ’21 explained that this
                                                                                          he graduates, as well as “the added motivation to     year’s graduating class worked hard to provide a
                                                                                          wake up and accomplish something early in the         welcoming experience for the team’s underclass-
                                                                                          morning.”                                             men. “I think the other seniors and myself tried
                                                                                                                                                to make it feel more normal for the younger guys
                                                                                                                                                on the team,” Collins stated. “They obviously
                BILL WOOD

                                                                                                                                                aren’t getting a normal first year of college, and
STEPHAN LENIK

                            14 | St. Mary’s College | T HE MU LBERRY TREE | spring 2021
“ I feel so lucky that doing
              something I love is my
              actual job, so now every
              practice – rain or shine –
              I am just so thankful to
              be out there with my team.”
               Erin McDonnell
               Women’s lacrosse coach
BILL WOOD

            we all remember how welcomed we felt and how          went through as athletes (injuries, losses, or busy   kept emphasizing was focusing on what we can
            great it was to be part of a team.” Collins also      schedules) I was always thankful for the relation-    control, looking for positives, and finding ways to
            added, “The biggest challenge has just been           ships we made and the fun we had as students,”        grow during this time.”
            adjusting after going almost a year without play-     said Sutliff, who looks forward to returning for      Virtual recruitment has allowed both Coach
            ing competitively as a team. Games themselves         alumni games.                                         Lanham and Coach McDonnell to enjoy more
            don’t feel much different than normal times, just                                                           time at home with their loved ones, and has
            a lot quieter without having family and fans at       SEAHAWK COACHES                                       made them realize how important it is to ap-
            the games.”
                                                                  Women’s lacrosse coach Erin McDonnell                 preciate every second they have with their team.
                                                                  recounted the devastation that followed the           “It was heartbreaking to have our season cut
            SEAHAWK GRADUATES                                     announcement of the cancellation of the 2020          short and the cliche saying that you don’t realize
            Ellyse Sutliff ’20 graduated a semester early in      season. “At first, we were dealing with the shock     what you had until it’s gone, is very true. I feel
            December 2020 with a major in environmental           of having our season literally ripped from our        so lucky that doing something I love is my actual
            studies and minor in political science. She is cur-   hands. There was definitely a time where we           job, so now every practice – rain or shine – I am
            rently working as a regulatory technician with        just let the team breathe and get their bearings      just so thankful to be out there with my team,”
            Wetland Studies and Solutions, a company she          while trying to adjust to the fact that they had to   Coach McDonnell reflected.
            interned for over the summers while a student at      stay at home for quarantine.” Coach McDonnell
            St. Mary’s College. As a member of the volley-        held frequent virtual meetings with her players
            ball team, Sutliff was unable to play her senior      at the start of the quarantine and throughout
            season due to the fact that all competitions          the summer. Similarly, field hockey head coach
            were moved to the spring, after she had already       Jessica Lanham explained that she encouraged
            graduated. Sutliff asserted that she misses her       her players to focus on everything that they had
            volleyball teammates. “Through everything we          to be grateful for, stating: “A big message we

                                                                                                                              St. Mary’s College | THE MULB ER RY TR EE | spring 2021 | 15
Built to LEAD
      Externships on the Professional Pathway
      BY LEE CAPRISTO WITH OLIVIA SOTHORON ‘21 AND CRYSTAL OLIVER

      As part of the College’s rollout of its Learning through Experiential and Applied Discovery
      (LEAD) initiative, all SMCM students begin a series of courses, called the Professional
      Pathway, that starts in the first semester and continues into the major. This is the part of
      LEAD that blends together their academic experience with professional skill development,
      weaving credit-bearing courses and hands-on opportunities throughout the entire college
      experience. The courses help build awareness of career opportunities, expand professional
      networks and offer real-world work experience through a semester-long externship which
      often leads to summer and year-long internships and eventually full-time employment. The
      externship course is designed to remove barriers to internship participation for
      students, while simultaneously acting as a recruitment pipeline for employers. Unlike
      a traditional internship where students must apply and be selected, SMCM students
      are placed in an externship that aligns with their academic and professional goals.
      “Externships are a precursor to internships and serve as an opportunity to test out a
                                                                                                                       LEE CAPRISTO

      career while gaining hands-on experience with an employer who is committed to
      hiring SMCM talent,” explains Ciara Williams, associate director of career education.

      Crystal Oliver, lecturer in English, has been a          placed). I also have the students document their
      partner with the Career Development Center since         strengths and interests and submit a resume so
                                                                                                                         Kristina Norgard ’22 landed a paid internship with
      2018 in developing and piloting the three Profes-        that I can get the best picture possible.”
                                                                                                                         EcoTheo Review as social media editor following her
      sional Pathways courses. In the first two courses,       Oliver has observed that the experience for               CORE 201 externship with the magazine.
      students identify their strengths and interests,         students provides huge rewards. “The theoretical
      explore how their academic choices compare to            and hypothetical become actual, and they get to
      their professional goals, develop a resume, attend       see, first-hand, how their liberal arts education         the practice. For some, the assignment has led to
      a career fair and practice for job interviews. The       has prepared them for the real world,” she says.          full-time employment after graduation.
      third course — the externship course — is Oliver’s       So what do these experiences look like from the           Jennifer Tennyson, the business operations direc-
      favorite, she says, because “students put into           perspectives of the students and of their externship      tor at Personalized Therapy, says that the
      practice the skills they’ve learned while getting that   and internship hosts? These are a sampling of             opportunity to host students at the practice
      practical, hands-on, resume-ready experience to          perspectives taken during the past 12 months.             allows her to share with them the range of therapy
      complement their discipline and degree.”
                                                               Personalized Therapy LLC in California, Mary-             services and disciplines. “Our therapy services are
      The challenge to match students and extern-              land, has hosted SMCM student externs and                 extremely necessary for many individuals, but a
      ship host sites is real. “I absolutely consider each     interns for several years, mostly those studying psy-     lot of people do not have knowledge about them
      student’s experience, interests and strengths before     chology and looking for a field placement experi-         until they need them,” she says. “We also hope to
      placing them,” Oliver says. “I meet with students        ence. Often, the students are able to do more than        create an interest in possible careers for future
      to get an idea of what would be the best fit for         one placement with the clinic, which enables them         therapists.”
      them (and for the organizations where they are           to engage in different therapeutic disciplines within

16 | St. Mary’s College | T HE MU LBERRY TREE | spring 2021
For Hannah Dietrich ’21 (psychology major),              Since EcoTheo Review has always oper-
these experiences combined to give her a notice-         ated online, the pandemic did not hamper
able edge for applying to graduate school in             the ability for students to work. They
occupational therapy. “I began by taking CORE            joined in Google meetings and shared
103 and 104 as well as 201 in an effort to help the      work assignments through Google Drive.
Career Development Center with the initial trial         For Kristina Norgard ’22, nervousness
runs of the classes,” Dietrich explains. “Little did I   about the externship assignment was

                                                                                                       LEE CAPRISTO
know how much they would help me in my future            typical of any first-experience and not
career path. The 103 and 104 classes exposed me          more or less so because of being remote.
to new career options and got me thinking about          “My first assignment as an extern for
exactly what I wanted to do after undergrad.”            The EcoTheo Review was to collect and
“I got the opportunity to do a job shadow at Per-        organize contact information for heads
sonalized Therapy. I was able to observe various         of departments and deans at art schools
types of therapy, such as occupational therapy,          and institutions with MFA and divinity
ABA therapy, speech therapy and physical therapy.        programs,” says Norgard. “This was used
I fell in love with occupational therapy and was left    for EcoTheo to reach out to the students
wondering what I could do to be more involved            of these programs and see if they were
with it,” she continues. “I then participated in         interested in submitting their work for the
the initial Personalized Therapy externship class,       next issue.”
which was a perfect opportunity for me. At this          Myers finds it interesting that with student
externship, I learned more about OT, fell more in        volunteers, each takes a different approach in
love with the field and decided this was going to be     terms of the level of freedom vs. engagement
                                                                                                                              ISTO

what I wanted to do in the future. Without that ex-      they desire/require and their aptitudes for
                                                                                                                      LEE CAPR

ternship class/opportunity I wouldn’t have learned       creative vs. administrative assignments. “The
all that I have and been able to get an internship       host experience has helped me, I hope, to be an
with an OT clinic near my home.”                         agile and thoughtful supervisor.”
                                                                                                                                     Rachel Pettit ’21’s externship with the Sola fam-
In the summer of 2019, Dietrich was hired as the         Norgard landed a paid internship with EcoTheo                               ily’s Rolling Stone Farm, above, a new organic cattle
head counselor at a pediatric OT clinic’s camp for       Review as social media editor after her CORE 201                            farm, enabled her to learn and practice grant writing.
children. The internship earned her more than            externship. “I was able to find a way to translate
double the hours needed for her OT graduate              the position into a credit-bearing off-campus in-                           Rachel Pettit ’21 (English major) was looking for
school application. This summer, she begins her          ternship during the fall 2020 semester.” An English                         an externship aligned to social justice; when there
doctorate of OT program at Mary Baldwin Uni-             major, she plans on basing part of her St. Mary’s                           was not one to be had, she opted for the chance to
versity, where she plans to specialize in outpatient     Project (SMP) on the experience of working with                             learn and practice grant writing for a newly found-
pediatric OT.                                            EcoTheo Review. “My experience with working                                 ed organic cattle farm. Pettit’s work of researching
Jason Myers is editor-in-chief of the EcoTheo            for EcoTheo certainly helped in expanding my                                possible farming grants for the Solas filled a need
Review, a 501(c)3 that publishes a printed maga-         perspective being exposed to the variety of pieces                          they had with a new perspective. “Rachel looked at
zine and a website (ecotheo.org) that “enlivens          and creatives that were featured in the issues,” she                        things from a different perspective than we would
conversations and commitments around ecology,            says. “A good amount of the submitted content                               have and found some interesting opportunities,”
spirituality and art.” He has hosted CORE 201            within each issue dealt with similar ideas that I                           says Jon Sola. “ I don’t think we would have found
externs as well as SMCM interns working in all           am interested in incorporating into my SMP. It                              those grants and opportunities ourselves.” With
aspects of the magazine and website. “They have          was also incredibly beneficial to hold a perspec-                           the Solas’ help, Pettit contributed to the writing
assisted in layout, helped share calls for submis-       tive within EcoTheo of what creative writers are                            of a successful grant proposal for a fencing project.
sions, and essentially participated in every level of    producing and doing after undergrad/graduate                                The fencing of the 14-acre farm in Park Hall,
putting together a literary magazine and getting a       school.”                                                                    Maryland, was completed in early March 2021,
nonprofit off the ground.”                                                                                                           just days before a dozen Hereford cattle arrived.

                                                                                                                                            St. Mary’s College | THE MULB ER RY TR EE | spring 2021 | 17
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