Expertise & Excellence » student

Video: Sophomore featured in Project Happiness documentary

tspeel — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 00:49:13 +0000

For sophomore John-Nuriel Vissell, the key to happiness lies in doing what you love. During Vissell’s senior year at Mount Madonna School in Watsonville, California, his Values Education class was offered a challenging opportunity to evaluate the concept of happiness with two other schools from India and Nigeria. Selected by Project Happiness, a non-profit group inspired by the Dalai Lama’s book “The Ethics for the New Millennium,” these three groups were filmed for an entire school year while interacting with each other through the internet and eventually meeting in India on a trip to visit the Dalai Lama.

For Vissell, this experience was life changing. After his group asked the Dalai Lama how to obtain lasting happiness, Vissell noted, “He sat silent for a while, then responded, ‘Well, I don’t know.’ It was the perfect answer. This was the pinnacle of our work on this project. We ascended the mountain and as soon as we met with him on the summit, he sort of brought us back down to where we started.”

Santa Cruz Sentenial (Santa Cruz, Calif.) Spreading ‘Happiness’ worldwide - one young person at a time

Slideshow: Pamplin Society welcomes seven new members

Emily — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 19:35:44 +0000

The Pamplin Society of Fellows formally inducted seven new members in a ceremony on October 20th. This year’s inductees (Rebecca Fitch, Riley Johnson, Dieterich Lawson, Emily Nguyen, Lili Pill-Kahan, Leah Scott-Zechlin, and Alex Simon) joined the ranks of 21 students, more than 70 alumni, and four endowed professors. Membership is extended to seven students each year as they begin their second year at the College.

Click to view photographs

Members of the Society demonstrate the characteristics outlined by Dr. Robert B. Pamplin, the Society’s founder: an exceptional blend of intellectual talent, dedication to the welfare of one’s community, the habit of physical fitness, and personal integrity. The Society includes members with a diversity of achievements, talents, majors and geographic representation.

The student Fellows determine, plan, and implement a number of programs that the Society sponsors to enhance the co-curricular educational environment of the College. Upon graduation from Lewis & Clark, fellows maintain their membership for life.

Law Student Nick Kahl wins District 49 House race

tspeel — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 23:58:39 +0000

Law student Nick Kahl attributes his win in the District 49 House race to voter outreach. Kahl, who took in 56% of the votes against his opponent John Nelsen, was not very surprised with his victory: “We ran an aggressive grassroots campaign. I’ve knocked on, I’d say, 14,000 doors. The amount of voter outreach – that was the difference-maker.” Although Kahl was pleased with his win, he stresses that he wants to make a difference in his community first and foremost by revitalizing the sense of pride in Rockwood that he was so used to as a child growing up.

The Gresham Outlook (Gresham, Ore.) Kahl ready to fight for East County in Salem

Alum Andrew Saunderson scores dream job

tspeel — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 19:36:39 +0000

For alum Andrew Saunderson B.A. ‘08, life after graduation has been anything but ordinary. After being recruited to Lewis & Clark to play baseball in 2004, Saunderson discovered where his passions lay: in film-making. As a communications major, Saunderson took a documentary form class his senior year and was immediately hooked. When director Brian Lindstrom gave a presentation to his class, Saunderson asked him about any possible job opportunities or internships. The rest is history.

Andrew served as the production assistant for Alien Boy, a feature length documentary about Portland resident James Chasse, who died in September 2006 while in police custody. Alien Boy will premiere at film festivals in the Spring of 2009.

Law alum Kim McCoy featured on Animal Planet series

tspeel — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 23:00:31 +0000

Kim McCoy , a 2007 alumna of the law school, is the Executive Director of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and one of the subjects in the upcoming television series “Whale Wars” on Animal Planet.

Deeply committed to the defense and conservation of animals worldwide, McCoy served as editor-in-chief of the internationally acclaimed Animal Law Review while she was a law student. She also interned with the International Environmental Law Project and worked on animal rights issues.

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society uses innovative direct-action tactics to investigate, document, research, and enforce laws, treaties, resolutions, and regulations established to protect ocean wildlife and their habitats worldwide.

“Whale Wars,” a controversial mini-series that worked with Sea Shepherd, showcases the group’s interference with a Japanese whaling expedition in order to protect the greatest treasure of the seas: the great whales.

“Whale Wars” begins November 7 at 9 p.m. on Animal Planet. Learn more about Kim online.

NCVLI wins two grants from the U.S. Department of Justice

tspeel — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 20:26:08 +0000

In October, the National Crime Victim Law Institute, an organization that advances crime victims’ rights, was awarded two two-year grants from the U.S. Department of Justice. First, NCVLI received a multi-million dollar grant from the Office for Victims of Crime. Most of the funding will pass through to NCVLI’s nationwide network of 8 pro bono legal clinics serving crime victims and to establish up to 4 new clinics. In addition, these funds will continue NCVLI’s amicus curiae work, legal technical assistance to attorneys and advocates, training and education, newsletter, and the annual Law & Litigation Conference.

Second, NCVLI was awarded a 2 year grant of $150,000 by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) to focus on the rights of victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and/or dating violence. This grant will allow NCVLI to provide training and legal technical assistance to OVW grantees across the nation. NCVLI will partner with the American Bar Association Commission on Domestic Violence and the Victims Rights Law Center on many of the trainings.

NCVLI promotes balance and fairness in the justice system through crime-victim-centered legal advocacy, education, and resource sharing. NCVLI also provides legal technical assistance to attorneys and advocates of victims and educates lawyers, judges, law students, victims’ advocates, the law enforcement community, and the public about victims’ rights.

Professor of French Nicole Aas-Rouxparis and student present at international conference

tspeel — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 23:22:36 +0000

Nicole Aas-Rouxparis, professor of French:

In July, Aas-Rouxparis and Krista Sarin CAS ‘08 co-presented a paper titled “Identity, Commitment or Nomadism in Assia Djebar’s La Disparition de la langue française” at the International Congress of Francophone Studies held in Limoges, France.

Their paper topic was based on the theme from Aas-Rouxparis’ French 450 spring 2008 seminar, “Identity and Commitment in French/Francophone Literature,” and analyzed Algerian author Assia Djebar’s 2004 novel, “La Disparition de la langue francaise.”

Sarin will spend the next year in Lille, France as a Language Assistant before moving on to graduate school.

Lewis & Clark hosts American Physical Society conference

tspeel — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 19:57:43 +0000

In May, Lewis & Clark hosted the 10th Annual Meeting of the Northwest Section of the American Physical Society (APS). Thomas Olsen, associate professor of physics, served as local organizing chair and host of this conference. Olsen gave a presentation titled “Characterization and Control of Chaos” and was elected secretary-treasurer of the APS Northwest Section by members.

President Thomas Hochstettler opened the conference with remarks on science research and teaching in the context of the liberal arts. Dean of the College Julio de Paula opened the final day of the conference with a review of the history of science research at Lewis & Clark. Professor of Physics Herschel Snodgrass presented his paper titled “Large-Scale Convection and the Solar Activity Cycle.”

Graduating senior Christina Ketchum shared her paper on “Correlating Vertical Velocities of Ionized Interstellar Medium To Star Formation Rates In Nearby Face-On Spiral Galaxies,” which was a collaborative effort with Associate Professor of Physics Stephen Tufte. Tufte chaired the sessions on astrophysics and biophysics with Professor of Physics Bethe Scalettar. Scalettar presented a paper at the session titled “Elucidating Molecular Events Underlying Learning with Fluorescence Microscopy,” the product of joint research undertaken with graduating senior Mariya Chavarha and Janis Lochner, Dr. Robert B. Pamplin, Jr. Professor of Science. Graduating senior Adam Kowalski and junior Shelley Zhao each presented a poster at the APS conference.

Environmental studies major journeys beyond college

tspeel — Sat, 10 May 2008 16:36:42 +0000

Environmental Studies major Meagan Nuss is the focus of a feature on the graduating senior’s journey toward “something bigger.” Read more here.

The Oregonian (Portland, Ore.) Education as peripatetic trip: From physics to a cave to art

American Chemical Society publishes article by Professor Jim Duncan and two undergraduates

Anne — Tue, 06 May 2008 22:39:02 +0000

Jim Duncan, professor of chemistry:

An article by Duncan and seniors David Calkins and Mariya Chavarha has been published by the American Chemical Society. The article, titled “Secondary Orbital Effect in the Electrocyclic Ring Closure of 7-Azahepta-1,2,4,6-tetraene - a CASSCF Molecular Orbital Study,” can be read online, at the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

Four students win Projects for Peace grant

Anne — Tue, 06 May 2008 22:30:06 +0000

Lewis & Clark students Claire Battaglia ‘10, Jimmie Cotton ‘08, Casey Nelson ‘08, and Betto van Waarden ‘10 won the 2008 Projects for Peace competition with a proposal titled “Cultivating Peace: Empowering the Orphaned Children of Criamar in Ceilandia, Brazil.” Projects for Peace is an initiative sponsored to honor the 100th birthday of Mrs. Kathryn Wasserman Davis. Recipients receive $10,000 grants. Read more here.

Four students receive awards at Toyama Cup

Anne — Tue, 06 May 2008 22:27:05 +0000

Four undergraduates received awards at the Toyama Cup speech contest, a state-wide Japanese language competition sponsored by the Japan-America Society of Oregon.

In the Division One competition, which includes competitors with one year or less of formal language study, Aaron Kim ‘09 received first place, while Kiersi Burkhart ‘09 took home third. Sarah Gordon ‘10 received an Award of Encouragement. In Division Two, where students with two or more years of formal study compete, sophomore Lisa Tsubouchi received third place.

Junior to gain political insight as congressional intern

Anne — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 21:17:33 +0000

Jonathan Shectman, a junior international affairs major, will work in the office of House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer through a congressional internship program of the American Association of People with Disabilities. Shectman hopes that his internship will help him “gain an understanding of how domestic legislation works and and about Congress’s role in making foreign policy decisions.” Read an interview with Shectman here.

Law students honored for pro bono work

Anne — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 20:47:27 +0000

The law school made its tenth annual presentation of the Pro Bono Honors Awards and the seventh annual presentation of the Community Service Honors Awards. Twenty-five percent of the law school’s student body received an award this year, and law school students reported 8,990 hours of pro bono work for the 2007-08 academic year—the equivalent of one person working full-time for four and a half years. Read more here.

Senior named Student Employee of the Year

Anne — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 20:35:29 +0000

Sara Ruwitch, a senior psychology major and office assistant for the teacher education program, has been named the Student Employee of the Year at Lewis & Clark. Ruwitch has worked for the teacher education program for two years.