Humans of Whitman College

"Something on my bucket list that I would love to do is a solo hike. I don't feel confident enough in my outdoor abilities to do it yet, but I think it would be a really rewarding experience to go solo hike somewhere, whether that be close and in Washington or anywhere else if I have the opportunity.

Hiking alone, you can set your own pace. It's a very autonomous activity of 'I'm going to carry everything I need on my back and I'm going to walk and I'm going to set up my stuff and it's going to be an independent experience.' I've done solo day hikes but I would love to backpack solo for a while. I don't love the fear that comes with being a woman on a hike alone but also I feel like I should be allowed to hike in the wilderness by myself."

Beth Kutina is a Senior Environmental Studies - Biology major from Eden Prairie, Minnesota.

“I grew up on a summer camp. My dad is a summer camp director so it was really fun growing up. All the counselors were like older siblings and they would practically babysit me while I ran around the camp. We didn't have family dinners around the table, instead, we would eat meals in the dining hall. It would be me and hundreds of random kids each week eating cafeteria food.

My childhood was very strange in that regard but I still carry that with me. I think it kind of influenced what I want to go into ultimately which would be something involving international relations and meeting new people… A constant flux of different personalities from all over, I crave that now, everything else seems so boring in comparison.”

​Emily Hoffmeister is a sophomore Philosophy major from Granby, Colorado.

"My main hobby is making art. My mom actually was an art major and went to Whitman too. She was an art teacher when I was little and has always made art with me. Over quarantine, I got super into it. I did a lot of paintings to fill my days. I would just paint all day, which was really awesome because I've never been able to get so into something before.

Something that always makes me feel at peace is when I'm drawing and listening to music at the same time, for some reason that combination eases me so much. It’s the best form of self-care for me.

I like drawing landscapes and portraits. I'll make these characters, mostly girls, with different vibes. When I'm drawing in my sketchbook sometimes I'll just draw lines. I allow myself to let it be bad. I don’t even care what I'm drawing, sometimes it's just nice to move my hand across the paper."

Finola Bailey is a sophomore from Boise, Idaho who is interested in majoring in Environmental Studies, Biology and Art

"Musically I'm in a silly emo moment. It's funny because there's a song I've really been into and I was on TikTok and saw the artist talking about the song and how he almost didn't put it on the album because it was so emo, and I was like, 'What are you talking about? It's so beautiful.'

This summer, I was on aux a lot so it really changed my music stats, meaning, for a while, Doja Cat was my top artist who I love but it's not always particularly what I'm listening to with my headphones in at any given time.

It's a blessing and a curse because I believe I have the ability to assess the mood of a space and figure out what suits it best, but at the same time as I'm picking up on everyone's energy I'm also synonymously setting the tone, and that can be good and it can also be bad. Sometimes you don't need to get everyone in a hyped-up aggressive mood with Rico Nasty."

Grace Jackson is a senior English major and Politics minor from Evanston, Illinois. The song she is referencing is Mood Ring Baby by Field Medic.

"My entire life I’ve been doing art. My dad used to be a photographer and he was super artsy. Ever since I was little, I’ve been into drawing and painting. I really enjoy it and it’s a way I like to express myself, so I thought, why not go into it as a formal thing to study?

I’m such a perfectionist. I will redraw a line 50 times. Nearly all of my stuff comes from dreams. I had a crazy vivid dream recently that I am going to draw at some point. Other stuff I may draw comes from music or anything else I’m liking at the moment. I take a lot of inspiration from references on Pinterest, my favorite place to be. I take the references and do my own thing with them.”

​Hannah Paul is a junior art and Hispanic studies double major from Portland, Oregon. 

"I've always loved singing but I was also always too scared to speak up in front of people. Once I came to Whitman, I learned how to be myself.

Yesterday, I had my first in-person singing lesson in over a year. When I was doing lessons online, I couldn't feel the energy that comes with singing. However in person, when the energy is there it feels like an out-of-body experience, like I'm more social and outgoing than I really am. It's amazing."

​Jack Carper is a junior Psychology major from Sammamish, Washington.

"I'm proud of the growth that I've had throughout quarantine in terms of identity. Even if I'm still working on figuring out who I am, I think I've come a long way from where I used to be and I think a part of that shows through the clothes that I wear. I used to only wear hoodies and shorts all the time and now I do that every once in a while for comfort. I feel good when I dress the way I feel that day. The type of presence I want to create changes each day for me and I think a lot of people have similar experiences. I have much more variety in my closet now than I did before. And being able to express myself on the outside really helps with translating how I feel on the inside."

Jackie Zapanta is a first year from Denver, Colorado and is interested in Gender Studies.

“Before the pandemic started, I probably would have gone to specific people for inspiration but since then I've been trying to find inspiration in everything. I kept getting stuck in ruts of having to be inspired in order to be creative or in order to do anything… As you get older, adults and society try to squish the child out of you, which can kill a lot of roots for curiosity. A lot of my adulting has been trying to not let that happen.

I keep a clown nose on me, in my backpack, all the time. It's just interesting to see how something so ridiculous and silly can change the energy in the room. If everyone is super grumpy and you pull out a clown nose, people will think it's absurd but also they'll be smiling.”

​Jay Tyson is a senior Theater and Film & Media Studies major from Battle Ground, Washington.

"One of my most exciting moments was when someone reached out to me and said, 'We want to compile a bunch of stories... We pretty much want to write a book and have a bunch of little people contribute... And each person writes a chapter.' I was asked to be one of them and thought, 'Oh, my gosh, this is such an honor.' I was given 3000 words to write whatever I wanted.

Two years ago, I was assaulted right by my house in Minnesota. Afterward, people called me brave and inspirational. For the book, I chose to write about how I want people to start to realize that, sure, this bad thing happened to me but I don't want to be pitied because that is what happens a lot of the time. People tell me they feel so bad for me and it feels very insincere... because they know nothing else about me.

The book came out around the second week I was at Whitman, which was a whirlwind. I wrote a lot of it while at a summer camp in Minnesota and I was in a very vulnerable space with 40 other people, but they were encouraging me the whole time. So when the book finally came out and I had to do press for it I was expecting the same pity-filled responses as before, but no, people genuinely told me, 'This is really good and I need to hear this.'"

Kate Moe is a first-year from Saint Paul, Minnesota, with an interest in pursuing Environmental Studies and Politics. The book she contributed to is "A Little Perspective: Real Stories of Little Ladies."

“I've been thinking about where I'll go after I graduate. And I think part of that transition from being a student is being told what to do, we get comfort in that. You want to know, what do I need to do to get a good grade? But once you get to this transition point you're not being told what to do, or at least not as much as you were previously. It's hard to not have rules or restrictions.

​I think trying to figure out where I want to go is often based on a lot of the things I've done in the last 3-5 years, so I'm looking at outdoor education. I like working with people and I want to continue doing that in some capacity whether that be at a high school level or a college level. My perspective on getting jobs or doing something after college and on your own is finding resonance. You can find a job that helps people, but you also need projects that are going to fill you up, ones you can resonate with.”

Lia Beatty is a senior from South Bend, Indiana, who is studying neuroscience.

"I've always known that I've wanted to help people, that I want that to be my profession. Though I don't want to run a charity, I want to help people by addressing their actual needs versus what I think they might need. I knew I wanted to do something in the public service realm, then I took a prison class at Whitman (Crime and Delinquency, and Prisons and Punishments) and found out I was very interested in it...

​Working with previously incarcerated people and helping them re-enter communities is something that I get so fired up about... I've worked for two different re-entry programs already, one here and one in Minnesota, which was great. I've always been intrigued by the psychology behind crime, I'm fascinated by it. I think I knew I was always interested in studying crime, but then I got to meet people who previously committed crimes and I was like, 'Woah, nothing about you is wrong or different... you're just a human who made a mistake.'"

Lucie Hoeschen is a junior Psychology and Sociology double major from Saint Paul, Minnesota.

“My hobby is basically turning into my career because I've invested so much into it that it's not really a hobby anymore. I sing. I'm a vocalist and musician. So many events in my life have happened thanks to singing and it's something I'm genuinely good at. Back home, I already have a band, not with my peers, but with some of the best jazzmen of Armenia.

Yerevan is a city of music. You can walk into any pub and there may be a piano genius playing and someone may start singing with them and it can turn into a performance, that's how I met my pianist. He adopted me.

For me, singing is not just how I find peace but it's a way for me to let my emotions out and to be able to feel them in a proper way. With singing, I still get nervous, but what's interesting is once I start to sing all my anxiousness goes away. I don't feel anything but the song. It's not even me and the audience that's present, it's me and my emotions.”

Marina Balasanyan is a first-year student from Yerevan, Armenia. She's interested in majoring in Music, Film & Media Studies or Politics.

“One of my favorite hobbies is being outside. Coming from Colorado, it's a really big thing and I wanted to go to a school where being outside was a defining feature.

With that, a really happy moment for me was when my mom and I took a road trip home from Walla Walla. We stopped in near Sun Valley, Idaho and we camped (more like glamping). We stayed a night at a family-run ranch that provided us dinner. We sat at dinner for four hours and talked the entire time. The sun started setting and it was such a perfect moment.”

​McKenna Nading is a sophomore Rhetoric, Writing, and Public discourse major from Denver, Colorado.

"If I could tell my past self anything, it would be that even if you're not seeing results, keep doing what you believe in. I think the reason I would tell myself that is because often, especially with stuff regarding organizing or justice based things, it can feel like you're not seeing results from the work you're putting in and that can be extremely unmotivating. Now here (at Whitman), I am seeing results. Things are actually happening, and so just continuing to tell myself that because I think oftentimes in the past it felt like, 'Oh, I should just give up,' or 'This isn't going to happen.' But you have to recognize that it's a continuous process and you will see results even though it's slow and steady. Just continuing to put the work in.

I finally now have a place where I can build those things as opposed to in the past, where I have moved around so much and never had the ability to really build and dedicate time to work with a community. I've never been able to build those relationships before since I've always been moving. It's a constant reminder to continue to do the work no matter where I am because in the future, even if I don't see immediate results, those actions are still contributing and making a change."

Olin MacIntosh is a sophomore from Brooklyn, New York. He is planning on pursuing an individually planned major dedicated to the topics of revolution and abolition.

“I feel like I'm searching for a lot of things. I’m working on a lot of things. I would say complete health and wellness in general. I'm starting to figure out how to take care of my skin, and figure out the ways I eat and how it affects the way my body feels, especially because learning to walk on a prosthetic is not easy. I’m trying to make changes in my life that allow me to do that to the best of my ability and to adapt quicker so that my health is not an obstacle in that way. That the only obstacle comes from the process of learning and figuring out how to walk with something attached to the bottom of my leg. It’s a weird sensation but it’s a process.

I’ve been thinking a lot about recipes that I want to try. I see a lot of cool videos on the internet of different recipes and I'm like, ‘Ooo I want to try that!’ And then I go try it and it turns out really good usually. Lately, I’ve been making a lot of quinoa, tofu and smoothies… Just trying to get strong again and to feel good.”

Rebecca (Becs) Johnston is a junior Biology major from Hood River, Oregon.

"I have been journaling a lot lately. I have several journals of relatively the same size and I've been writing up a storm. When I have too many thoughts in my brain it's awesome to release them onto paper."

The first journal I have is from 2018. Originally it was just recounting the cool things I did for the day, but ultimately it wasn't super helpful in terms of having feelings and addressing them. As the journals get more recent, they're more focused on having feelings, writing them down, and figuring them out. It's really fun. I enjoy writing and the thinking process of writing, but I also really enjoy the action of writing as well.

Ideally I try to aim for one journal a year... It's not an every day thing, maybe once a week. If I haven't journaled in a while then I may fill out six pages… It depends on what may be going on in my life at the moment."

Rosa Woolsey is a junior Anthropology major and Religion minor with a Global Studies concentration from Mill Creek, Washington.

“During quarantine, I didn't realize all the progress I was making. I talked to one of my mentors and told him how I felt. At the end of the spring semester, he told me to pause for a moment, and instead of focusing on all the bad things, all the self-doubts, and all the worries, look at what you have done that you didn't even realize you accomplished.

​When he said that is when I thought to myself, "I'm so strong." I made it, despite how hard it was. I was given an opportunity and a chance to wake up every day and appreciate another second of breath. With that, I was able to acknowledge that I made it. I was able to persevere, to continue to conquer my day despite all the hardships, and I'm proud of that realization of my self-worth.”

Sam Montes is a sophomore from Los Angeles, California who is studying physics and pre-engineering.

"I feel like the role that I took on in ASWC this year was really trying to make it more of a personal organization. I've been having individual meetings with the senators to get to know them, and it feels good that we have constructed mutual relationships within the organization. We are supportive of each other and trust has been built. Sharing our passions and finding common ground through our interest in ASWC and advocacy helps us become more resourceful for the student body.

​I have been able to connect with many different people and I was able to make this job—that often times feels so intense and is very easy to get caught up in—serve to inspire me and push me forward when I need it the most."

​Sneh Chachra is a sophomore politics major from Los Angeles, California and is President of ASWC (Associated Students of Whitman College) for the 2020-21 academic year.

"My childhood was, no doubt, one filled with curiosity: Why were my classmates with disabilities treated so differently? What was this 'No Child Left Behind' thing my mother was so worried about? How much longer would I be pulled out of math class for English as a Second Language instruction?

I didn't realize until I was much older, how much of my educational experience had been shaped by the innumerable laws and acts stacked against disabled and English-Learning Latinx students. Upon that realization in early high school, it almost felt like I was hopeless and destined to fail. No one in my IEP meetings asked me which colleges I wanted to apply to, just, 'are you sure a high school diploma is the right choice for you?'

​Even then, I struggled to consistently make the connection between my difficulties accessing course materials, as well as the physical classrooms themselves, to the civil rights violations, unbeknown to myself, I had been repeatedly subject to. It was at that moment I first learned of the Office for Civil Rights, when a friend's parent told me to 'look into them' after debate practice one evening.

After being forced to transfer high schools three times on the basis of my disability, I knew something wasn't right. I knew a high school diploma was right for me, and so was higher education.

Soon after graduating high school, I began classes at Walla Walla Community College with the intention of transferring to Whitman College—where I am now, and looking forward to my internship with the United States Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights this summer.

​I've remained a curious soul, and plan on using that curiosity for good in all of my future endeavors."

Sueli Gwiazdowski is a sophomore Rhetoric, Writing, and Public Discourse major from San Diego, CA.

​“I started skiing when I was six, my family would go up to a small midwest hill called Chestnut Mountain. During one trip, I saw snowboarders in the terrain parks doing jumps and I was like, “That’s so sick!” So when I was ten or eleven I switched over to snowboarding and have been in love with it ever since.

In high school, I went to a snowboarding camp called High Cascade for two summers. My second summer, I got to spend a whole day snowboarding with pro snowboarders. That day I was able to learn tricks next to some of the best snowboarders in the industry. It will probably go down as one of my top 10 days.

I want to go into marketing or wealth management. I am the CIO of the Whitman Investment Company which has given me some excellent insight into the wealth management industry. When I was little my goal was always to end up in the snowboarding or skateboarding industry, working in some fashion or another. As long as I’m surrounded by people who like to snowboard and skateboard, I'll be stoked.”

Will Weisz is a sophomore Economics major and Art minor from Chicago, Illinois.