A biochemistry and molecular biology major, Holeman has earned numerous academic honors in his time at Lewis & Clark, including membership in the prestigious Pamplin Society of Fellows as well as being named a Rogers Scholar. Most recently, Holeman received a fellowship from the Compton Foundation’s Mentor Fellowship Program, which promotes the creativity, commitment, and service of ten graduating seniors across the country with the funding to implement a self-directed project.

Holeman hopes his project will aid communities with little infrastructure, where the transmission of basic yet life-saving information still depends on health workers walking up to 100 miles. By integrating a free program that turns a laptop and a mobile phone into a central communications hub and an electronic medical record system, the FrontlineSMS:Medic team will help to link workers in the field with health centers and hospitals.

“Isaac’s project is extremely innovative and will help launch him on what we all know will be an extraordinary career in public health,” said Professor of Economics Eban Goodstein.

As commencement nears, Holeman talks about how he has prepared for this work and shares his hopes for the project and the future.

Can you explain a bit about FrontlineSMS:Medic and what you’ll be doing for the organization?

A few months ago, I began working on a project using cell phones to empower community health workers in poor rural areas, mostly in East Africa. My initial vision was to give cell phones to health workers so that they could send text messages to doctors, and also write a program that would enable them to access electronic medical records with their phones. Since I started out, the project has grown a lot; I’ve teamed up with other students here at Lewis & Clark, as well as the undergraduate and medical schools at Stanford, and we decided to launch under the name FrontlineSMS:Medic. We’ve lined up some really great clinical partners, so we’ll be setting up this technology with at least 15 global health organizations across several continents in the next year. I’ll spend most of the year based out of Malawi, working with several health centers there, as well as directing implementation across the globe via e-mail and Skype.

How have your classes or extracurricular experiences at Lewis & Clark prepared you for this work?

I’m a biochemistry and molecular biology major. If I had not been a part of this rigorous, very challenging major, I just don’t think I would have the confidence to do what I’m doing right now. I have had some incredible experiences working with technology with friends here on campus, as well as with the vibrant open-source tech community in Portland. I used to think my fascination with technology was just a hobby. It was only recently that I discovered the field of global health informatics and realized that I could design a career that would bring together technology, information, and global health. Finally, studying abroad in Havana, The Netherlands, and Guatemala were all important experiences that prepared me to begin planning FrontlineSMS:Medic.

What other international experiences have you participated in, and what impact have those experiences had on you?

Choosing to study in The Netherlands between high school and college was probably the best decision I’ve ever made. When I finished high school, I was relatively egocentric and narrow minded, and, frankly, that lifestyle was not making me very happy. While abroad in Holland, I ended up selecting Lewis & Clark for it’s global and political ethos, and I’ve been thinking more and more about global citizenship since then. After my sophomore year, I spent about two months in Guatemala, learning Spanish and participating in a human rights delegation that taught me a lot about the practice of human rights (which is worlds away from the philosophy or scholarship of human rights). Just a few weeks after returning to The States, I left again for Havana, Cuba, with about 25 other LC students and a professor of sociology. I spent most of the semester conducting an ethnography at a walk-in clinic in downtown Havana. It was my first extensive qualitative research project, and a fascinating peek at a health system that is very different from our own.

You’ve been an advocate for health care reform in this country by working with the Archimedes Movement. You were also a vocal supporter of the Obama campaign. What changes do you hope to see in the sector in the next few years?

My freshman year at Lewis & Clark I started working with the Archimedes Movement and learning from visionary leaders like Liz Baxter and former Governor John Kitzhaber. For about four years, we’ve been trying to inject one big idea into the health care debate: the way we finance health care is distinct from the way we deliver it. Changing the financing mechanism alone will not get us out of this mess. Changing the structure of our delivery system will not be easy—one in 11 jobs in our economy is related to health care, and it’s not surprising that hard-working people want to keep their jobs. If we want to make our country viable again, patients and providers will need to commit to being citizens first and stake-holders second. This idea is not mainstream yet, but it’s increasingly common in policy circles, and I fervently hope that President Obama will make it a pillar of our health reform agenda.

Given the growing need for human services and funding challenges, how do you hope to make a difference?

I’m carving out a path in global health informatics, and I’d like to spend my career cultivating entrepreneurial educational systems that address real problems rather than just training people to get high paying jobs. For the next year, my work with FrontlineSMS:Medic will be supported by a Compton Mentor Fellowship, and subsequently I’ll attend medical school. I will definitely continue to engage in the political process, but I’m probably too unconventional in my political philosophies to run for elected office under either of the dominant political parties in the U.S. I can imagine working with the World Health Organization, but who knows? For now, I’m content working hard and listening intently for the coy knock of opportunity.

For the past year, he has worked as a student teacher at Arleta Elementary School, fusing his love of art and his desire to inspire and empower students.

With commencement just around the corner, Christy shares his thoughts about art and education and his hopes for the future.

How did you decide to pursue a master’s degree in education at Lewis & Clark?

I moved to Portland nearly 5 years ago after finishing my undergraduate degree in art at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh and then traversing the country for a year, seeking a new place to nest. After landing in Portland with a few folks from Pennsylvania, I looked to make money as an artist and found a job teaching art with an after-school art program. Working with kids was foreign to me, and I focused on the art that was being produced more than I focused on the actual children. As you can imagine, this became problematic.  One day it just clicked:  What we needed was community, respect, and communication. The kids needed to feel safe and supported.  It would be necessary to open myself to them and allow them to open up to me. This was teaching.

How do you think having a background in art will affect your teaching style?

Children have wonderful, glittery thoughts zooming around their brains. The space reserved for impossibility in the heads of most adults is uncluttered and airy in the brain of a child. It sparks and sparkles and waits. As an artist, I feel that I can capitalize on these wide-open spaces. I don’t want to fill them with useless trivia. I want to show them the wonder in reality without erasing the fantasy. I want them to learn how to use their brains. I want the students to know themselves as learners, activists, and artists. Because everyone’s brain works a bit differently, it is important to pave multiple roads to understanding. Visual art is just one of these roads. We learn through movement, sound, text, experience, and more.
Click to view Christy’s art

How do you feel about the art scene in Portland?

I feel most connected to art when I am creating in my studio, arched over a new drawing. Portland is full of artists, holed up in their studios, their rooms, their kitchens, creating for themselves or the people they care about. I don’t mind the commercial gallery scene, but I don’t go chasing it.

What messages do you try to convey through your work?

My work conveys multiple messages.  I draw pictures about connections:  connections between people, connections between humans and other animals, connections between the past and the future. I daydream about what’s next. There was never nothing…there will always be something.

What inspires you?

I find inspiration in supportive parents, the secret lives of animals, and light. I am drawn to hands and the things they create. Two colors, side by side and just so, can make my heart beat a little bit faster. I find great inspiration in the possibilities bundled within each of us…especially children. I am truly inspired by people helping people. Imagine that feeling that happens in your chest right be fore you smile…

Where else have you studied and traveled?

I have studied and worked in Rome, Italy. Living in a place where I knew only some of the language was intense, challenging, and at times, rewarding. I try to remember those feelings when I work with my students who are learning English. I also traveled to Monduli Juu in Tanzania, Africa a few years ago and gained a great deal of perspective on life on this planet: we are all the same, we are all different. This was a breakthrough.

My travels through the U.S. also taught me so much about myself and my relationship to the world around me. I felt a part of so many communities as I traveled, whether in a crowded room full of strangers, sleeping in a parking lot, or drawing alone beside a herd of buffalo, staring into giant, knowing eyes.

What are your thoughts on graduation and searching for a job in this economy?

This year has flown by and I’m saturated with new knowledge and experience. I can’t say exactly what the future holds, but I tend to take it all as it comes. I have not found a job yet, but I’m optimistic to the core. The light in the job market is dim, but it’s on nonetheless. With this degree and this experience I am not limited only to teaching. Whether I have my own classroom, write a book, or live in a cave, I am enriched and enlightened by the people, the information, and the experiences provided by my time at Lewis & Clark and Arleta Elementary School.

“Our moot court teams performed magnificently against tough competitors, and we are equally proud of our closing argument competitors,” said Pamela Frasch, executive director of the Center for Animal Law Studies. “Judges went out of their way to commended our students for being so well-prepared and articulate.”

Bryan Telegin and Carey Whitehead advanced to the final round of the Appellate Moot Court Competition and won the prize for Best Respondent Brief.

Annmarie Robustelli advanced to become one of only four finalists in the Closing Argument Competition.

“Our coaches, Kathy Hessler and Pamela Frasch, spent an enormous amount of time helping us develop our arguments and understand the finer points of the problem,” Telegin said. “As well, many Lewis & Clark faculty and staff volunteered to coach our rounds and pushed us very hard. I am willing to bet that no other team had as much community-wide involvement leading up to the competition.”

In preparing for the competition, students must have a thorough understanding of the law and the ability to articulate the long-term ramifications of applying a particular ruling.
They also learn different techniques of persuasion than those used when arguing to a jury. While a jury may be persuaded by passion and may ignore the law altogether, an appellate tribunal is primarily motivated by factors such as policy considerations and strong legal precedent.

“The competition gave me an incredible opportunity to enhance my advocacy skills,” Robustelli said. “Not only did I gain a deeper understanding of the law and the judicial process, but the feedback I received from the judges was invaluable.”

In 2008, Lewis & Clark took the championship in the National Center for Animal Law’s National Animal Advocacy Moot Court Competition. Erin Smith and Lauren Goldberg won the competition, with Smith receiving the Best Oralist award. PEAC clinical professor Allison LaPlante served as lead coach for the animal law moot court teams.

In this video, Kathy Hessler, director and clinical professor of the Animal Law Clinic, discusses the ways Lewis & Clark students prepared for this year’s National Animal Law Competition.

With support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Proctor launched a multi-institutional, multi-year collaborative research initiative, designed to further scholarly rigor and coherence in the field of environmental studies.

“Environmental studies will advance as an interdisciplinary field to the extent that it provides resources and promotes opportunities for high-quality research and exchange among its undergraduate students, who are the future generation of environmental scholars and leaders,” said Proctor.

Proctor kicked off the interdisciplinary project in spring 2008, by inviting two dozen undergraduate environmental studies majors from across the country to visit Lewis & Clark. The spring workshop provided an opportunity for participants to learn about each other’s research topics and to finalize a common rubric for interdisciplinary, situated research to afford comparison.

“Situated research is a way a student can take a broad and seemingly intractable issue and locate it somewhere—situate it—to give it context and make sense of it in time and space,” said Proctor. “It offers a means to build, store, and share research resources; it offers a connection with real-world, practical problems, providing students the opportunity to contribute to solutions for these problems; and it provides a good basis for students to compare their work between locations, leading to collaborative opportunities, and refinement and generalization of the theories they are building.”

Each student will complete a capstone project to submit to their institution’s environmental program, and present their results at a final conference at Lewis & Clark in 2010.

In this video, Proctor and several student research associates talk about the interdisciplinary approach to their projects.

“I can think of no single event in recent years that more eloquently acknowledges the quality of a Lewis & Clark education than does this invitation to join so distinguished a group of institutions,” said President Tom Hochstettler. “This invitation offers our students a tremendous opportunity to engage our global community in a meaningful way.”

Launched in 1974, The Luce Scholars Program is aimed at a group of highly qualified young Americans in a variety of professional fields. It is unique among American-Asian exchanges in that it is intended for young leaders who have had no prior experience of Asia and who might not otherwise have an opportunity in the normal course of their careers to come to know Asia or their Asian counterparts. The program provides stipends and internships for eighteen young Americans to live and work in Asia each year.

In spite of its name, the Luce Scholars Program is experiential rather than academic in nature. Some scholars have been attached to Asian universities in teaching or research capacities, but none of the participants is formally enrolled as a student in a college or university and no academic credit is extended.

“I think had I gone to a larger school, like Berkeley, I may not have studied chemistry,” the San Francisco native said. “In that setting, the professors don’t have time to talk to their students, and maybe one in 100 students gets to do research at the undergraduate level. At Lewis & Clark, the undergraduates are the lab; there’s no one else but the professor, and, frequently, the students are in charge of their day-to-day assignments, tasks, and experiments.”

The liberal arts environment also encouraged Delaney to pursue coursework in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. She initially toyed with the idea of a major in psychology, a discipline she considers akin to chemistry.

“They both have puzzle-like qualities to them, but I think chemistry has a bit more, and that’s what I really like about the subject,” Delaney said. “I like to solve puzzles and figure out how things work. Psychology figures out how humans work; chemistry figures out how molecules work. They’re actually quite similar.”

Beyond her diverse academic pursuits, Delaney also tutored organic chemistry students, played violin in the orchestra, and joined the Student Academic Affairs Board (SAAB), the student-led grant-making organization.

“It was really rewarding to see things like the senior art exhibition and know that SAAB was able to fund those projects,” she said. “I was happy to be a part of helping people achieve such ambitious goals.”

Presenting Delaney the 2008 Rena J. Ratte award, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Julio de Paula commended her contributions to the laboratory, classroom, and community.

“Franny has a passion for knowledge and has learned that taking risks is essential to intellectual development,” de Paula said. “She has achieved greatness as a student, scholar, teacher, and leader.”

Delaney graduated summa cum laude with departmental honors this month, and she plans to pursue graduate work in chemistry or a law degree.

The Rena J. Ratte Memorial Award, established in 1970 by the colleagues, students, and friends of the late Rena Ratte, commemorates the distinguished philosophy professor by annually honoring one undergraduate senior whose work is consistently of the greatest distinction.

Established in 1946, the Fulbright Program offers educational and cultural exchange opportunities to both U.S. citizens and citizens of other nations. Operating in more than 155 countries, it is the largest U.S. international exchange program for students, scholars, and professionals to undertake international graduate study, advanced research, university teaching, and teaching in elementary and secondary schools worldwide. Twenty Lewis & Clark students have received Fulbright awards in the past ten years.

Read about Lewis & Clark’s 2008 Fulbright recipients: Ian Hooper, Katie Loebner, Matthew Nelson, Brandon Nichter, Kate Phillips, and Katherine Spingarn.

Ian Hooper

Hometown:

Gig Harbor, Washington

Majors:

International Affairs and German Studies

Award:

Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship in Germany

Previous experience abroad:

Studied abroad junior year, in Munich, Germany

Preparing for his Fulbright work:

“As a double major in international affairs and German studies, I have obtained insight into the political and cultural relations between the United States and Germany and will be using my knowledge of German and American politics to reinforce my teaching of American culture and the English language to German students next year.

“As a German tutor for Lewis & Clark and a member of the International Affairs Symposium Steering Committee, I am used to working with peers and facilitating knowledge and ideas in group and peer-to-peer settings.”

Plans for the future:

“I plan to get involved with a multinational corporation, working between Germany and the United States. A new passion of mine, cultivated last year while working in the German Parliament in Berlin for a renewable energies politician, is international environmental policy and sustainable development. I would very much welcome the opportunity to get involved with a national or international environmental organization and work to influence environmental policy in the United States.”

Katie Loebner

Hometown:

Los Altos, California

Major:

Communication

Award:

Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship in Indonesia, where she will teach at the high school level

Previous experiences abroad:

Participated in the “North India: Arts and Culture” program with the School for International Training study abroad program, during fall of her junior year

Preparing for her Fulbright work:

“I have worked in ESL classrooms, art programs, outdoor education camps, and after-school women’s empowerment groups through Girls Inc., and while my new position is sure to have unique challenges, I hope that my youth work experiences have provided me with a tool belt of skills to draw upon. Working with immigrant communities during past jobs, as well as being immersed in a different culture while studying abroad, had me confronting cultural differences daily. Those cross-cultural interactions are inherent when taking part in international education, and I am eager to approach them with sensitivity and curiosity.”

Plans for the future:

“I feel honored to have this opportunity to continue my youth work, have my first formal classroom teaching experience, and take part in a reciprocal cultural exchange with the students and community I will be working and living with.”

Matthew Nelson

Hometown:

Norman, Oklahoma

Major:

Foreign Languages and Literature, with a concentration in Russian

Award:

Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship in Novosibirsk, Russia, where he’ll work at the Academy for Government Affairs, teaching English language classes, designing curriculum, and undertaking independent research on the role of public education in promoting and preserving minority languages in Russia

Previous experience abroad:

Studied in St. Petersburg, Russia during fall of his junior year

Preparing for his Fulbright work:

“I think that, more than anything, my foreign languages major at Lewis & Clark has prepared me for this work by familiarizing me with the language acquisition process and giving me many good examples of successful approaches to teaching a foreign language.”

Plans for the future:

“I would like to eventually go to graduate school, although it’s impossible to say for sure what I would like to study. Recently, my intellectual interests have been leading me toward the study of linguistics, especially the intersection of language and culture, society, and politics.

“I would also like to spend some time teaching in the public school system in order to use the tools and knowledge I have received through my education to benefit people outside of the college community.”

Brandon Nichter

Hometown:

Tucson, Arizona

Major:

Psychology, with an emphasis in developmental psychopathology

Award:

Fulbright Research Grant, which will take him to Santiago, Chile to study adolescent smoking and get involved in community- and school-based projects to curb smoking among Chilean youth

Previous experiences abroad:

Studied in Mérida, Venezuela the summer before junior year and in Granada, Spain fall of his junior year

Preparing for his Fulbright work:

“As a psychology major, I have taken courses involving aspects of child development, substance abuse, and risk factors that lead to addiction. My hope is that I will be able to apply concepts I have learned at Lewis & Clark about social cognition formation, individual differences, and psychological risk factors to contribute insights on why teens begin to smoke so early in Chile, and why the majority continue to smoke the entirety of their lives.”

Plans for the future:

“This research opportunity comes at an ideal time in my academic career. In the year following my project in Chile, I will be applying to graduate school for a PhD in Clinical Psychology. Because youth decisions to start smoking are highly related to psychosocial factors, conducting this research will have a profound impact on my ability to understand the underlying psychological mechanisms that affect the human decision making process, therefore enabling me to be a better researcher and clinical psychologist.”

Kate Phillips

Hometown:

Seattle, Washington

Major:

Sociology/Anthropology

Award:

Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship in an area outside of Bangkok, Thailand, teaching conversational English to middle school and high school students

Previous experience abroad:

Studied in Australia in the spring of her junior year

Preparing for her Fulbright work:

“I think that my Sociology/Anthropology major has strengthened and developed my abilities to work with people and issues all over the world. Also, participating in community service at Lewis & Clark, and in the greater Portland area, has given me the opportunity to put my social awareness and drive into action. This will be a great and valuable tool in my future work with students and communities in Thailand.”

Plans for the future:

“I am very excited to challenge myself and my teaching abilities through the Fulbright experience. One of the underlying goals of the Fulbright program is to create and maintain bridges and connections between cultures. When I return, I plan to continue these connections and experiences by teaching elementary or middle school.”

Katherine Spingarn

Hometown:

Alamo, California

Majors:

History and German Studies

Award:

Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship in Saxony, Germany, where she will teach English language and American culture classes for students aged 12-18

Previous experience abroad:

Studied abroad junior year, in Munich, Germany

Preparing for her Fulbright work:

“I think that all classes at Lewis & Clark encourage students to examine and broaden their understanding of the world. My experiences in Munich, and in classes such as gender studies, history, and German, have taught me the importance of discussion in this process. I will be going to Germany to help facilitate a dialogue about the United States with teenagers studying the English language and American culture.

“My own experiences learning about Germany at Lewis & Clark and in Munich will be an important asset when explaining, in a relevant way, what life can be like in the United States. Professor Dodds and Professor Altpeter-Jones, as well as my friends in Munich, made clear the importance of highlighting different experiences and backgrounds when I began learning about Germany; a thirty year-old from East Berlin and a Turkish teenager living in Munich provide vastly different examples but equally important perspectives on life in Germany. I will do my best to provide my students with diverse examples of American experiences.”

Plans for the future:

“I plan to attend graduate school and pursue a career in public history. I hope to eventually work with German-language historical materials in archives, museums, or libraries. Institutions such as museums and archives often offer curriculum and programs aimed at educators that utilize the documents and artifacts found in their collections. My Fulbright experience will improve my language skills, but will also give me experience working with teachers and the development of curriculum.”

For more information about the Fulbright Program at Lewis & Clark, contact Associate Professor of Anthropology and Fulbright Program Adviser Deborah Heath: heath@lclark.edu.

The program, which places eight students in Congressional internships, was created to provide an opportunity for students with disabilities to work on Capitol Hill and enrich their academic studies and professional experience. For Shectman, who is dyslexic, the highly competitive internship is just one more achievement in a series of academic and extra-curricular successes that include being named a Mary Stewart Rogers Scholar, making the Dean’s List, and volunteering in Portland public schools to help students with learning and behavioral difficulties.

Read about his internship and how he hopes to integrate the experience with his Lewis & Clark education to pursue policy changes in the future in the interview below:

Can you describe the internship program you were selected for and explain the type of work you’ll be doing?

I was selected to do a summer congressional internship as part of a program sponsored by the Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation and the American Association of People with Disabilities. I’ll be working in Washington DC, in the office of Congressman Steny Hoyer, the Democratic Majority Leader in the House of Representatives.

My responsibilities will most likely include legislative research, constituent services, and giving tours of the Capitol to visitors.

What do you hope to take away from the program at the end of the summer?

I hope that by the end of the summer I’ll have a better sense of how legislation moves through Congress and what goes on in a congressman’s office. I’m thrilled to be doing this internship during an election year. I’ve been volunteering for Barack Obama’s campaign, and it will be fascinating to watch the way the campaign develops from inside Congressman Hoyer’s office.

How do you think the internship will fit in with your academic work at Lewis & Clark?

I’ve been majoring in international affairs, with a minor in communication. I’m hoping the internship will help me understand better how our government works. I know a fair amount about international affairs, but I am really hoping to gain an understanding of how domestic legislation works and about Congress’s role in making foreign policy decisions. I hope the internship will help me integrate theoretical issues with how things actually happen in practice. One of the great things about going to a liberal arts college is being exposed to different disciplines and being able to make connections between those and the outside world.

What college-sponsored trips have you participated in, and how have those experiences affected you—either in your major or, more generally, in your outlook or perspective?

I traveled to Kenya for fall semester and participated in a spring break service trip to New Orleans, after Hurricane Katrina.

I grew up in a safe and comfortable home. I never had any worries about food or healthcare. But I also learned from my parents that many people weren’t so fortunate. It’s one thing to hear this and another thing to observe it first hand. My experiences in New Orleans and in Kenya, taught me about the real hardships that many people face. When I was in Africa, I was moved by how much the students I met appreciated being able to go to school to get an education.

What projects or programs are you involved in outside of the classroom?

The most important volunteer work I’ve done at Lewis & Clark has been with Dale Holloway, the coordinator of Student Support Services. I’m part of a group of Lewis & Clark students that meets with students in the Portland public schools who have learning or behavioral issues. We try to be role models for them and let them know that it is possible to succeed in college.

Also, I’m a very outdoorsy person. Two summers ago, I passed an extensive series of exams to become an assistant scuba diving instructor. Next summer, I hope to become certified with the Handicapped Scuba Association, so that I can bring my love of scuba diving to people with physical disabilities.

What are you hoping to do after graduation?

I plan to spend some time traveling, possibly back to Kenya and Tanzania, and I’m thinking about doing some volunteer work there. Afterwards, I plan to go to graduate school to study International Affairs.

After that, I could see myself doing a number of things. A position of some kind on Capitol Hill is certainly a possibility, as is working for an NGO. My time in Africa was really a life-changing experience for me, and I could see myself working on issues related to Africa.

“I really want to make a difference, and I feel that the political arena is the most effective place to do that,” Brysacz said.

Listen to a conversation with Brysacz and learn about how he hopes to impact the country’s political dialogue in the future.

“I am truly honored to be named a Shear-Mellon fellow and look forward to conducting research this summer in Philadelphia’s magnificent libraries,” said Sullivan. “I want to thank all of my professors that helped me apply for the award, notably Professor Stephen Beckham and Professor Susan Glosser.”

Sullivan, a native of Telluride, Colorado, has traveled widely in India, Pakistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh. His interest in exploration and travel will coalesce in Philadelphia, as he focuses on the life, labors, and personal papers of Andrew Ellicott, surveyor of the boundary between the United States and Florida in 1796-1800. Ellicott’s meticulous field notes, observations, and maps led to publication of the Journal of Andrew Ellicott (1803). Many believe that Ellicott’s achievements served as a model for what Thomas Jefferson envisioned when he wrote his assignment for Meriwether Lewis to explore Louisiana Territory. In 1803, Lewis studied surveying with Ellicott prior to departing for the American West.

Founded in 2005, the SHEAR/Mellon program selects ten students each year nominated from liberal arts colleges across the United States. Students are afforded the opportunity to use the superb resources of the Philadelphia area to launch their senior honors projects. During the last week of the seminar, the fellows’ academic advisers will join the students in Philadelphia; Pamplin Professor of History Stephen Dow Beckham will join Sullivan.

Sullivan’s research will include manuscripts and rare books held at the American Philosophical Society, Library Company, and the Pennsylvania Historical Society, Philadelphia. Beckham worked at these institutions when writing the essays for The Literature of the Lewis & Clark Expedition (2003).