I was sitting in my Italian lesson in the large downstairs classroom of the Centro (my dorm in Rome) when the news broke—two cases of COVID-19 had just sprung up on the island of Sicily, the destination of my Rome study abroad program’s upcoming field trip. Before this news even reached my ears, I naively […]
Hi, future Whitties! I got the chance to have an amazing conversation with junior Sarah Murphy, a Classics major, while she was abroad in Italy. Sarah took a gap year before she came to Whitman and spent time in the American Field Service Program in Finland. During this Q and A, she shares some highlights […]
My study abroad experience was certainly atypical, considering the COVID-19 pandemic was unfolding during the early weeks of my program, which was supposed to last three and a half months in total. The situation with the virus has been changing rapidly, and my life in Costa Rica feels unrecognizable compared to my life in quarantine […]
The process of preparing to go abroad starts during sophomore year when students at Whitman typically start exploring their options for study abroad programs. Almost all Whitman students go abroad during their junior year. Whitman approves a wide variety of programs to send students abroad to. In order to study off-campus, you must have your […]
Recently, I attended a talk entitled “Concrete Mama: Revisited.” The impetus for this talk was the publication of a second edition of the book Concrete Mama: Prison Profiles from Walla Walla. This book was first published in 1981 and was remarkable in that it depicted a very intimate of prison life within the Washington State […]
One of my favorite things about being a choir kid is getting to be around other choir kids—that’s why I loved the past 5 days my Chamber Choir spent on tour in Boston. Under the direction of Professor Miles Canaday and Professor Paul Luongo, the Whitman Orchestra and Chamber Singers flew to the East Coast […]
Over the summer I had the amazing opportunity to travel to the Yunnan Province in southwest China through a Whitman program called Crossroads. The Crossroads Program seeks to lead short but high impact excursions led by Whitman professors. My program was led by Professor Chas McKhann and Professor Zhao Wencui. The Yunnan of China is […]
Adventure. Invigoration. Uncertainty. All words that describe what it feels like to immerse yourself in the great outdoors. It’s human nature to explore the unknown, taking risks as we try to understand what the world is telling us. Sure, nine days with modern camping gear on established trails isn’t exactly comparable to the hardships our […]
After the whirlwind of new experiences that is studying abroad for a few months, a semester, or even a year, many students find returning home to their college in the States to be difficult. After spending my summer in Copenhagen, Denmark where I was constantly meeting new people, pushing my comfort zone, and gaining confidence […]
Need a study break? Looking for a view other than the bookshelves in Penrose library? Grab some friends and head up to Palouse Falls, one of the most beautiful remnants of a glacial flood in the world–or, at least, in the state of Washington. Palouse Falls State Park is only a 45 minute drive north […]