mosaic, spring 2009

The University of Alabama Spring 2009

UA Honors College students allow a glimpse of their study abroad experience in

Cuba through the photos taken throughout the semester.

in Cuba

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Adventures

page 28

Archaeology in Action ................................... 52How SR465 Happened .................................. 55Math: The Root of All Evil.............................. 56Health Care .................................................. 57Summer at the Capstone .............................. 58Changing Tides ............................................ 59Poetry by Sarah Yates .................................. 60Photography by Drew Hoover ....................... 62Photography by Marshall Houston ................ 64Art by Emily Roberson .................................. 66Art by Kellie Hensley .................................... 67

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Features

Perspectives & Student Submissions

Dr. Halli .........................................................................6Meet Your Directors ........................................................8Alternative Gameday ......................................................12A Greener Way for UA ....................................................16Speaking Engagements ..................................................18Papermaking and Memoirs ............................................20Honors Mentoring ..........................................................22From Africa to Alabama ..................................................24Alumni Abroad ...............................................................26Adventures in Cuba ........................................................28The Black Belt Experience ...............................................32Fighting Strokes .............................................................34Professors Abroad ..........................................................37Where in the World ........................................................40The Science of Art ...........................................................44Time for Takeoff.............................................................46A Vision for the Future ....................................................48To Germany and Beyond ................................................50

Mosaic Spring 2009

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It is a publication that is produced at The University of Alabama Honors College. The magazine is completely Honors College student-generated through the efforts of the staff, contributing writers and contributing photographers. The publication material may not always reflect the views of The University of Alabama. Content is controlled and edited by the staff editors.

The purpose is to serve as a publication to inspire, inform and entertain past, present and future students at The University of Alabama. It showcases the spirit of the Honors College through diverse accomplishments of honors students both in and outside the classroom.

The publication is comprised of features and profiles on students and activities within the various programs of the Honors College, including International Honors, University Honors, Computer-Based Honors and University Fellows. By covering a broad range of students, professors and alumni, the magazine will fulfill its mission of showing the diversity within the Honors College.

Chief EditorCreative DirectorManaging EditorManaging Editor

Marketing ManagerProduction Manager

Graphic DesignerGraphic Designer

Staff PhotographerStaff Photographer

Editorial AdviserGraphic Design Adviser

Photography Adviser

The University of Alabama Honors CollegeBox 870169

Tuscaloosa, AL 35486-0169E-Mail: [email protected]

Sarah MasseyAmanda Kirkland Gina CookAnna PendletonRandall CopelandStephen SaucierNatalie BeckKellie HensleySumerlin BrandonLauren CollierChris BryantLaura LineberryChip Cooper

From the EditorAs we sat around a table

in the Nott Hall student lounge, we had a daunting task ahead of us: naming the new Honors College maga-zine.

Each staff member had brought along suggestions for the title, and after much discussion, we took a vote, selecting Mosaic as the name of the publication.

The word “mosaic” evokes a sense of diversity, creativity and unification, with each piece of the mosaic being distinctly different. This theme ultimately led to our mission statement—“Mosaic serves as a publication to in-spire, inform and entertain past, present and future students at The University of Alabama. It showcases the spirit of the Honors College through diverse accomplishments of honors students both in and outside the classroom.”

Throughout this inaugural issue, the diversity among Honors College students is quite evident in the wide range of interests, ac-complishments and activities of each person featured.

Whether it be Okechukwu Mgbemena, a student from Nigeria who is a tutor with the Center for Teaching and Learning, as well as an undergraduate researcher in biochemistry and organic chemistry (page 24), or UA graduate Ava Leone who spent the years follow-ing graduation living abroad in both Cairo and Jerusalem (page 26), each Honors College student, past or present, has a unique story.

The issue will also introduce you to students involved in the Uni-versity Fellow’s Black Belt Experience (page 32), honors mentoring (page 22) and an internship with Boeing (page 46).

Although each student has had a unique experience in the Hon-ors College, they all leave UA having made an impact.

Contributors

The University of Alabama

Shannon Langan is a senior majoring in journalism. She is president of Reformed University Fellowship and a member of Delta Delta Delta. Langan is in the University Honors Program.

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Kellie Munts is a freshman majoring in journalism. She is a reporter for The Crimson White. Munts is also a member of the Society of Professional Journalists. She is in the University Honors Program.

Kelsey Stein is a sophomore majoring in journalism and Spanish. She is a senior staff reporter for The Crimson White and a UA peer mentor. Stein is in the University Honors Program and International Honors Program.

Margaret McNeill is a junior majoring in journalism. She is a student justice on the Honors College Academic Honor Council and a mentor at Matthews Elementary School. McNeill is in the University Honors Program.

Meredith Julian is a sophomore majoring in public relations. She is a member of Alpha Gamma Delta and University Stewards. Julian is in the University Honors Program and International Honors Program.

Emily Johnson is a sophomore double majoring in journalism and political science, with a minor in Italian. She is a member of Kappa Tau Alpha and Lambda Sigma. Johnson is in the University Honors Program.

Katie Borland is a sophomore majoring in English and journalism. She is a member of Phi Sigma Pi National Honor Fraternity and a volunteer for FocusFirst. Borland is in the University Honors Program.

Danielle Drago is a freshman majoring in international studies. She is a senior staff reporter for The Crimson White and a mentor at Matthews Elementary School. Drago is in the University Honors Program.

Alden Jones is a sophomore majoring in visual journalism. She is involved in Baptist Campus Ministry and is a contributing photographer for The Crimson White. She is in the University and International Honors Programs.

Angel Everett is a sophomore majoring in international studies and Spanish. She is in the International Student Association. She served as the IHP liaison for Mosaic. Everett is in the University and International Honors Programs.

Drew Hoover is a freshman majoring in history. He is a Center for Ethics and Social Responsibility scholar and a staff photographer for The Crimson White. Hoover is also a member of Blount. He is in the University Honors Program.

Feature

Mosaic Spring 2009

Dr. HalliDean Halli Leaves Nott Hall with Successful LegacyStory by Gina CookPhotography by Sumerlin Brandon

A fter serving The University of Alabama’s Honors College, Dr. Robert Halli has retired as dean.

Anyone who has met Halli knows that his enthusiasm and dedication to students drove his work as dean of the Honors College. Halli says it is his “can-do” attitude which inspired his successes with the College.

Halli first came to UA in 1972 as an assistant professor in the English department.

“I got to teach in my specialty right from the very beginning—17th-century poetry and prose,” Halli says.

In 2002 he became director of the University Honors Program, and was also appointed as coordinator of the Computer-Based Honors Program and the International Honors Program. In September of the following year, President Witt, with the approval of the Board of Trustees, established the Honors College as the administrative structure for the honors programs. Halli was named dean of the Honors College in November 2003, while still holding the title of director of the University Honors Program.

Dr. Judy Bonner, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, selected Halli to be the founding dean of the Honors College.

“What I admire most about Dean Halli is his passion for working with students,” Bonner says. “His intellect, scholarly accomplishments and hands-on approach were critical to his success in recruiting the best and brightest students to our university and making a personal commitment to helping them succeed.”

As chief recruiter for the college, Halli spends much time traveling to various high schools and talking to prospective students about coming to UA. Bonner says that he has inspired some of the most academically talented students in the nation to come to UA. Through his personal attention to prospective students and their families, Halli was a “driving force” behind the college’s growth.

Dr. Robert Halli stands in front of Nott Hall, home of The University of Alabama’s Honors College.

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”“What I admire most about Dean Halli is his passion for

working with students.Dr. Judy Bonner

“”

Take the initiative. Create things. That really sets us apart. What I like best is watching the

students succeed at things that they didn’t even think they could do.

Dr. Robert Halli


7

Halli says he enjoys meeting with students who have chosen to come to UA when they could have chosen to study at any other school in the country, schools such as Harvard, Stanford or Washing-ton University.

His main motto is to set high expectations for oneself, and that is what Halli encourages all honors students to do.

“Take the initiative. Create things. That really sets us apart,” he says. “What I like best is watching the students succeed at things that they didn’t even think they could do.”

Because the Honors College has only 3,400 students, Halli was fortunate to have a more one-to-one relationship with many stu-dents. He personally wrote a letter to every student entering the Honors College and was always busy helping students apply for important scholarships.

Halli’s dedication to excellence as dean led to a significant in-crease in honors students.

According to Halli, the entering class in 2002 was 323 students. In fall 2008, 1,065 entered, bringing total enrollment to some 3,400. Additionally, the number of honors seminars offered has increased from around eight to 65.

“We have succeeded far beyond the expectations that we had,” Halli says.

Not only did Halli take on the role of dean and director, he also taught for the Oxford summer program six times and will be doing so again this summer. In addition to his summer work, Halli has been very involved in Sigma Tau Delta, an international English honor society, and was president of the organization.

Halli has received numerous awards, including UA’s Morris Lehman Mayer Award, a premier award for integrity, service, leader-ship and contributions to student life, in 2000. In 2005 he received the Eugene Current-Garcia Award as Alabama’s Distinguished Literary Scholar. He was also the first recipient Outstanding Commitment to Students Award given by the Leadership Board of the UA College of Arts and Sciences in 1997. Additionally, he received the Burlington-Northern Foundation Faculty Achievement Award for Excellence in Teaching (1988) and the Outstanding Commitment to Teaching Award, given by the UA National Alumni Association in 1978.

Halli earned his bachelor’s degree from Boston College, magna cum laude, and his master’s and doctoral degrees from The Univer-sity of Virginia.

“His successes are well documented, but one of the intangibles I always appreciated [is] his sense of humor,” Bonner says. “He [is] fun to work with and his enthusiasm [is] contagious.”

Halli will continue working for the Honors College in student re-cruitment and will advise current UA students applying for national and international scholarships.

“What I hope is that [the Honors College] will be a vehicle or a means for its students to get the best possible education,” Halli says. “What I really hope the legacy will be is that this is a place where students succeed beyond what they had expected.” n

Feature

Mosaic Spring 2009

Meet Your DirectorsThe Faces Behind the ProgramsStory by Sarah MasseyPhotography by Lauren Collier

W ith a total enrollment of 3,400, the Honors College has become an important part of The University of Alabama

since its founding in 2003. Comprised of four programs, ranging in age from two years to 40 years, the Honors College continues to attract students eager to participate in the numerous opportunities.

Since 2003, the Honors College has grown tremendously, much in part to the leadership of the directors of the programs making up the Honors College: Dr. Jacqueline Morgan, Dr. Fran Oneal and Dr. Shane Sharpe. Coming from different backgrounds, these three leaders have helped shape the identity of their respective programs, as well as the Honors College.

Morgan, director of the University Honors Program and the University Fellows Experience, as well as associate dean of the Honors College, has been at her current position of director for a little over a year. Getting to her current job has been filled with many surprises. She graduated from a five-year program with a master’s in learning abilities and emotional disturbances from Florida State University.

Following her eight year stint as an English teacher, she received her doctorate in psychology, marriage and family therapy from UA, with the intention of being a private practitioner. However, “life would take on a different role,” she says, as she was given the opportunity to be the founding director of the McNair Scholars Program, a research program for first generation college students.

Following those years, Morgan worked for Undergraduate Admission and Scholarship for four years, until accepting a position at the Honors College in 2008.

“While I was [at admissions], I started seeing the importance of the Honors College, and how bright students had so many expectations for their college experience,” she says. “And, I saw how critical the Honors College is to not only the recruitment of top scholars, but

Dr. Fran Oneal is the director of the International Honors Program

Dr. Fran Oneal ”“My favorite part of the job is

connecting students with what we hope will be the ideal

international experience for them.

8

Dr. Fran Oneal ”

Dr. Jacqueline Morgan talks with an honors student.


9

[also] the nurturing of those top scholars.”“It’s a perfect fit. It is. I absolutely love it,” she stresses. “It’s one

of those things that you know that this is what you’re supposed to be doing.”

Morgan’s primary role is to oversee all the University Honors’ seminars, which currently have more than 1,200 students enrolled each semester, as well as work with the faculty teaching the seminars. Additionally, she focuses on continuing to create a sense of community for the students.

“We get to work with great students, great faculty, but we’re continuing to create,” she says. “We’re not maintaining. [We’re] always trying new things.”

One area of focus for Morgan is the University Honors seminars, which she hopes continue to grow and evolve. With each seminar, she would like common principles, such as leadership and integrity, to be incorporated.

“I want every student to walk out of our seminars with confidence in how to discuss issues with people with whom you completely disagree,” she says. “You know, just basic life skills. And our 15-person seminars are the perfect place.”

In addition to her job as director of University Honors, she is the

director of the University Fellows Experience, which emphasizes civic engagement.

“The purpose is to invest in these outstanding students who really want to be a catalyst for change, so that they can really be the community leaders that they have the potential to [be].”

The program, which is coordinated by Wellon Bridgers, began in the 2007-2008 school year and is modeled after The University of Georgia program, Foundation Fellows.

Currently, University Fellows has 54 students total, but Morgan would eventually like to grow the program to about 40 students per class once more funding is available.

Running both programs allows Morgan to have much interaction with students, which is her favorite part of the job.

“It really is fun, because you all come in with all kinds of hopes for your life. It’s such a transitional time, such a critical transformational time for you all, because you come in at eighteen, and you’re preparing for your adventure post-college,” she says. “So thinking about how we can help you develop who you are as a person over that four-year period and then being a part of that process is really a privilege.”

Oneal, director of the International Honors Program, has had

Feature

”“It really is fun, because you

[students] all come in with all kinds of hopes for your life. It’s such a transitional time, such a critical

transformational time for all of you.Dr. Jacqueline Morgan

”“I [match] students’ academic and professional interests, with respect to research projects, to faculty members

all over campus.Dr. Shane Sharpe

Mosaic Spring 2009

10

a number of overseas experiences, traveling to countries such as Belgium, Jordan, Pakistan, Russia, Denmark, Belize and France.

Graduating from Duke University in three years, with degrees in economics and political science, did not leave Oneal much time for international travels. However, she traveled extensively post-graduation, ultimately living in Montreal for two years.

She went back to school, receiving her doctorate in political science, with an emphasis on international relations, from Vanderbilt University. In 2002, she became director of IHP.

“I’ve done a number of speaking engagements overseas, conferences overseas, and had teaching positions overseas,” Oneal says.

Oneal stresses the importance of international experiences and enjoys helping students find a program that fits their own interests.

“My favorite part of the job is connecting students with what we hope will be the ideal international experience for them,” she says, “and I’ve really come over the years to talk more about international experiences, rather than study abroad.”

According to Oneal, international experiences consist of students doing internships, research projects and service projects overseas, as well as those participating in extensive language programs. Increasing such experiences is a main goal for Oneal, and she has started to work on this by hosting a series of advising sessions for those in IHP.

“The reason I want them to complete [the requirements] is not necessarily to have better statistics on the IHP,” she says, “but I know that they’ll have a better undergraduate experience if they really do emphasize this international component in their education and don’t do it halfheartedly.”

Under Oneal’s leadership, IHP currently has 900 students enrolled on the record. This number has grown tremendously since the program started with 75 students. Now, the program accepts 300 or more per year.

In addition to this growth, IHP has established a strong network with the surrounding Tuscaloosa community through an advisory board. The board consists of professionals such as doctors, lawyers and business owners, who are originally from other countries, but now live in Tuscaloosa. Growth has also been seen within on-campus student-run organizations with an international focus, such as Apwonjo, the Alabama International Relations Club and Study Abroad Connections.

Sharpe, interim dean of the Honors College and director of the Computer-Based Honors Program, has been with the program for four years, taking over from Dr. Robert Halli and Dr. Cathy Randall.

Sharpe is a graduate of the University of Kansas with a degree in pharmacy, which led him to work as a clinical pharmacist at a teaching and research hospital in Dallas, Texas for a number of years. Following this, Sharpe received his doctorate in management information systems.

As leader of a unique and competitive program, Sharpe describes his role in CBHP as a “facilitator,” matching “students’ academic and professional interests, with respect to research projects, to faculty members all over campus.”

Currently, the program has about 40 students per year enrolled, with some flexibility, Sharpe adds. The program has a total of 160 students on campus. The small enrollment, however, continues to allow the partnerships between faculty and students on their research projects. Because of these hands-on opportunities, “[the students] get a unique experience early on,” Sharpe says.

Dr. Shane Sharpe

Dr. Shane Sharpe is the director of the Computer-Based Honors Program


”

“Computer-Based Honors is distinctive and has a very strict

curriculum for the students’ freshman year, but otherwise, the lines that divide UHP, IHP, Computer-Based Honors and the University Fellows Experience are

very porous. We manage jointly. We plan jointly. We set goals among all of the

directors of the programs.Dr. Fran Oneal

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Despite all the opportunities available, CBHP can oftentimes be misperceived by the public, due to the title’s emphasis on computers.

Information systems “are an enabling technology to facilitate [the students’] research,” Sharpe says.

In the future, Sharpe says one of his goals for the program is to “extend the student involvement in research both on campus and physically beyond The University of Alabama” by working with other universities, companies and alumni across the country and around the globe.

This goal of collaboration is common throughout all the programs in the Honors College. Morgan says that it is very important for honors students to have “unique honors experiences” both in the Honors College, as well as in the departments, particularly in upper-level division courses.

IHP has increased its collaboration with the College of Engineering. According to Oneal, students in engineering have not traditionally

gone overseas, but the dean wants almost every engineering student to have an overseas experience.

All three directors work closely to provide the Honors College experience. Morgan hopes students will feel a part of the Honors College, rather than only a specific program.

“We want everyone to have this comprehensive experience,” she says. “And you may have a specialized experience through the University Fellows or Computer-Based [Honors], but most of our students will have the same experiences available to them.”

Oneal says “the lines between the programs are a little bit artificial.”

“Computer-Based Honors is distinctive and has a very strict curriculum for the students’ freshman year, but otherwise, the lines that divide UHP, IHP, Computer-Based Honors and the University Fellows Experience are very porous,” she says. “We manage jointly. We plan jointly. We set goals among all of the directors of the programs.”

Focusing those goals has the attention of all three directors.“We’ve grown really quickly,” Morgan says, “and now we’re

at this ideal time of saying, ‘OK, what is it that we really want to be known for? What’s going to make our college unique and what needs to be in place so that our students are well-served throughout their four-year experience?’” n

Feature

Mosaic Spring 2009

Alternative GamedayA Different Kind of Football ExperienceStory by Shannon LanganPhotography by Sumerlin Brandon

When did you start working for the marketing department?January of my sophomore year. This is my fourth semester. I’ve worked my way up from student worker to student worker that gets paid! Soon, I’ll be in charge of Big Al’s Kids Club.What are your hours at a typical home game?We have to show up [at] the stadium three hours before kick-off and leave at the fourth quarter when the promotional stuff is finished. We’ll have a meeting and go over the whole script of the game—when the band plays, that stuff. Before the game, we hold autograph sessions with different UA teams on the Quad. Then we wrap it up, grab radios and head to the field.What are some challenges of the job?Really just getting the schedule of everything down. Friday before the first game of the season, we had a full walk-through. Now, we don’t have to do that, and we’re not on the radios the entire time.What are some of your gameday duties?Handling the autographs on the Quad, meeting the flag recipients, escorting Mal Moore, picking a fan to kick the ball after the first quarter, delivering headsets to the band and cheerleaders. And for the third quarter, we’ll help organize the Crocs Fan of the Game, the person the camera picks out. Here’s a tip: paint your face. Presentation counts.Where in the stadium do you stand?South End Zone! The quarterbacks and kickers are usually warming up, and one of my coworkers almost walked right into the ball’s path, and it missed his head by a foot. So we normally stay in the end zone to stay out of everybody’s way. I get to sit in the student section

Alex Ruggles - SeniorStudent worker for UA Athletic Department

Alex Ruggles watches the game from the field.

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Alternative Gameday Sarah Selleck - SophomoreMember of the Million Dollar Band Color Guard (MDBCG)”“I want to go into athletic marketing ...

sports has always been something I wanted to get into.

Alex Ruggles

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after the 3rd quarter, which is good because I finally get to cheer. On the field, we can’t get too ‘Rah! Rah! Rah!’ in case we get on TV.How hard is it to stand down there and NOT cheer?It was really hard the first game because it was so out of the ordinary. The Iron Bowl? Torture. But I’ve gotten good at keeping my emotions in check and refraining from [singing] the fight song. The hardest play was during the Kentucky game when Rolando picked up a fumble and scored. The camera zoomed in ... My coworker, Justin, [and I] were on either side of Rolando’s head on national TV. All my friends could say afterwards was, ‘I was really impressed with your stoicism.’So that’s the hardest part of your job?That, and missing some key moments, like the opening drive at the Mississippi State game because of a slow elevator. I was trying to gauge crowd reactions on what was happening and listen to the announcer’s voice reverberate off the Coliseum. It didn’t really work.What was the most exciting play for you this season that you really wanted to cheer for?When Glen Coffee had an 80-yard run right toward us. I kept saying, “Come on! Bring it to me! Bring it to me!” and motioning to him. What’s a perk of working at the games?Besides standing on the field ... well, that’s a pretty big perk. It’s something not many people get to experience. It’s a lot louder on the field than it is in the stands. When they run out of tunnel, it’s a rush.Who was your favorite player to watch this season?Terrence Cody ... I think everyone enjoys watching Cody knock a guy six yards backwards.Is it a sacrifice giving up the tailgating experience at home games?Nope. I want to go into athletic marketing, so I’m getting a lot out of it. Sports has always been something I’ve wanted to get into. Averaging four points a game in high school basketball wasn’t going to get me to the NBA. n

What are your hours on a typical game day?It depends on game time, but we usually start practice with the band between 7 and 10 a.m. and don’t stop until we play the last fight song.How do you balance school life with your practice schedule?We have practice every day from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m., so it can be hard to create a class schedule that works with this, but it’s not impossible. I basically treat color guard like it is just another class that I have to make a whole lot of time for during the day.What is it like going out on the field and performing? Where are you sitting most of the time?Performing in Bryant-Denny is amazing! It’s one of the reasons I do marching band. Our gameday crowd is great, and they make it all worth it if they enjoy the show. During the home games, the color guard sits with the band in the southeast corner of the stadium.What do you like about being on the team?This season was my second year on the MDBCG. A lot of people may not know that Alabama has one of the best college color guards in the nation. That is the reason I chose to tryout. It can be very tough, but it’s great being part of a group of people who work really hard at what they do and love the Crimson Tide.Are there perks to performing at games?...[G]oing to all of the football games. We perform at all home games and most of the away games, and we get almost everything taken care of, including transportation, lodging and food. I also never have to worry about having a ticket.What’s your typical home game schedule?After the pre-game rehearsal, we usually have an hour to get ready, which for the color guard means curling your hair, doing makeup and putting on the uniform. An hour and a half before kickoff, the entire band performs the Elephant Stomp pep rally on the steps of Gorgas. We march into the stadium and start playing cheers for the fans already in their seats. About 30 minutes before kickoff, we perform pregame, and with four minutes left in the half, [we go down to the field to] perform our halftime show. Then we sit back in the stands and cheer for the rest of the game. It is a very, very long day just like it is for most other fans. n

Feature

Mosaic Spring 2009

Wilson Boardman - JuniorCapstone Men and Women

Wilson Boardman works at the President’s Mansion on gamedays.”“Standing on the field and

meeting all of the guests is cool and an honor to be a part of, but

by far the best perk is hanging out with the other awesome people on

Capstone Men and Women.Wilson Boardman

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What are your hours on a typical game day?I arrive at the President’s Mansion about three hours prior. We work there for two hours, and then head to the field. Some games we work in the President’s Box for a half.What are your duties?It depends on the week. Sometimes I’m stationed at the Mansion, where I’ll pass out name tags to all the guests of the president. Other times, I’m giving tours or simply guiding people to one of the bathrooms.So what’s a perk of working at the home games?Standing on the field and meeting all of the guests is cool and an honor to be a part of, but by far the best perk is hanging out with the other awesome people on Capstone Men and Women.Do you get to cheer at the games when representing The University?It’s not too difficult to blend in. There are some pretty passionate fans, even in the President’s Box, so jumping up and down doesn’t draw that much attention. Although ... it’s no student section.

Where do you stand at the games?Before the game, we are on the field where the players come out of the tunnel. Afterwards, depending on the week, I’ll either be in the President’s Box or in the student section.Who was your favorite player this season?Hmm ... Antoine Caldwell ... or Julio ... or Andre ... or Rashad.

What’s your favorite part of being up close to the action?I do like to watch those beasts warm-up on the field during pre-game.Is it a sacrifice to give up typical tailgating activities?There are pros and cons. In my time at UA, I’ve never been able to go to a traditional tailgate, so I do feel like I miss that ... but how many people have had the opportunity to take part in what I’ve been able to do? It’s an honor, and I’ve really enjoyed it. n


Sarah Wofford - SophomoreAssistant section leader of the cymbals on the Million Dollar Band drumline

”“It’s kind of like we just

get rewarded for doing something we love anyway ...

it’s a pretty sweet gig.Sarah Wofford

”“We get some good perks.

Some people pretty much treat us like celebrities, and you can get through any crowd just by yelling ‘Excuse me! Band member here,

I’m in a hurry!’Sarah Wofford

15

What are your hours on a typical gameday? What are your hours of practice during the fall semester?On gameday for, say, a 2:30 p.m. kickoff, we go from 8:30 that morning until the game ends at around 5 or 6 p.m. We practice every day from 3:30 p.m. until 5:30 p.m. and on Wednesdays, the drumline practices again from 6:30 p.m. until 9:30 p.m.

Schedule on a typical gameday?We’ll warm-up at the practice field at about 9:30 a.m. and then the full band will practice until 12 p.m. for a night game. Then the drumline meets back at the Quad for a tap-off. We do the pep rally at Gorgas, march to the stadium and play a few stand-tunes before playing pre-game. We play all quarters, half-time and a kind of post-game performance. We probably leave the stadium at (A) about 9:30 p.m. for ESPN games or (B) 10:30 p.m. for CBS games.What is it like getting to go out on the field in front of a packed stadium? Cool? Nerve-wracking?Well, of course for my first game ever last year, it was pretty nerve-wracking. So much goes through your head: ‘Is my hat on tight enough?’ ‘Can I remember all my music and drill?’ ‘Are my shoes tied?’ Now, I just love performing. I always look forward to pre-game and halftime.What is your favorite piece to perform on a gameday?Basketcase and (on a good day) Rammer Jammer.How long have you been with the MDB?This is my second year with the MDB.Do you feel like having to perform on gamedays is a sacrifice

for enjoying normal student festivities or do you feel like it has enriched your home game day experience?Sometimes I tend to wish I was just chilling out with friends and cheering on the team. Mostly, I love being in band. Having people tell you you’re wonderful, autographing programs and taking pictures with little kids more than makes up for it. It’s kind of like we just get rewarded for doing something we love anyway ... it’s a pretty sweet gig.Do you like traveling to the away games as well?Oh, definitely. Some of the best band stories come from bus trips. Plus, it’s always interesting to see other stadiums and realize how lucky we are to have Bryant-Denny.What’s the perk of being on the MDB during gameday?We get some good perks. Some people pretty much treat us like celebrities, and you can get through any crowd just by yelling ‘Excuse me! Band member here, I’m in a hurry!’ Getting to be on the field and seeing some of the players up close is really cool too.Who’s your favorite player this year?Terrence Cody. The boy’s a beast! Plus he seems like he’s a really hard-worker and a guy that’s really dedicated to his team.Any interesting stories from the road?It was pretty cool to see a Backstreet Boy (Kevin) in the skybox above us at the Kentucky game this year. Half the band missed some cues for cheers because everybody was turned around trying to see him.n

Feature

Mosaic Spring 2009

A Greener WayFor UAStory by Meredith JulianPhotography by Sumerlin Brandon change is taking place at The University of Alabama. The

green movement is growing in popularity and strength, and numerous student organizations are working hard to improve sus-tainability on campus and to increase student interest and involve-ment in such issues.

Junior Kendra Key, coordinator of the University Recycling Initia-tive, has been involved in the recycling effort on campus since her freshman year when she first did a survey of UA’s recycling program. Following the survey, Key authored a comprehensive recycling ini-tiative, which had four phases: to institute residential recycling, to increase the amount of receptacles in academic and administrative buildings, to create a recycling program for all athletic venues and to make the tri-bins usable on campus.

The work done on these four phases has begun to make an impact on campus, as progress has been made on each part.

Emily Roberson, vice-president of The University of Alabama En-vironmental Council, has been working closely with the “Greener Way For UA” campaign and the SGA Department of Environmental Concerns to improve recycling efforts in dorms and to improve en-ergy conservation on campus.

The SGA DEC is a valuable resource for students interested in impacting environmental policy on campus.

The SGA’s efforts to improve sustainability on campus are neces-sary, Roberson says. She believes that “we have been brought up in a highly commercialized society, and we are now being made aware that we are sucking the world dry.”

There are many things students can do to help the environment, such as “taking on habits such as recycling and reducing the amount of energy” one uses, according to Roberson.

Over the past year, the SGA DEC has been working to establish a strong recycling program on campus. Key sees the department as

A

Emily Roberson shows her love for the environment.

16

being very successful in its efforts.“We’ve got a very strong leader right

now, [Justinn Trott] with our SGA Environmental Concerns Department, and I do believe there will continue to be strong leadership in that department,” Key says. “And as long as we have students that are pushing for more and more green initiatives on campus, we will continue to increase our participation in the green movement.” One way to attack this issue is through education.

This past summer, Roberson helped the SGA DEC compile infor-mation to make the UA Green Guide. The pamphlet aims to make


Kendra Key plays a critical role in the increase of recycling on campus.

17

“going green” simpler for members of the UA community by providing fun tips

and information.In addition to its recycling ef-

forts, the SGA DEC hosted “Green Week” from April 13 to April 18. The week led up to Earth Fest

on Sunday, April 19. Throughout the

week, students and mem-bers of the UA community

had the opportunity to learn about courses offered at the

University relating to sustain-ability, to learn about on-campus

organizations and to meet with business owners.

The University of Alabama Envi-ronmental Council is another student or-

ganization that focuses on improving aware-ness of sustainability issues on campus.

“Understanding sustainability is important because it helps place our activities in a larger context,” says Nicole Ortega,

a member of the Environmental Council, “and [it] helps us under-stand the consequences of our daily actions.”

In the future, Ortega hopes to see the establishment of an organic community garden on campus, the use of sustainable food in dining halls and green roofs on campus buildings.

“I hope to see an Office of Sustainability on campus that would act as a backbone and resource center for all initiatives and pro-grams related to sustainability on campus.” Ortega says.

Even though UA has taken strides to increase its involvement in environmental issues, Roberson believes efforts have only begun.

“Because there is so much media attention being paid to ‘green’ topics these days, environmental issues will continue to shape at-titudes and policies on campus,” Roberson says.

Key says that the University has come a long way, citing the change in grade granted to UA by the sustainibility report card. Ac-cording to Key, when she first came on campus in fall 2006, UA had an overall grade of F. Now, the campus has a B in recycling, with a C+ as the overall grade.

“You can see from those report cards how far we’ve come,” Key says. “We have come a long way, especially for the state of Alabama,

which is the 48th most green state in the United States ... but we still have a long long way to go, and it’s just taken a lot of convincing ad-ministrators and students to get involved and to take the extra step.”

Ortega also believes UA still has a long way to go, although much progress has been made.

“I envision sustainability and environmental issues becoming commonplace concerns instead of an eccentricity.” Ortega says. “Change starts one individual at a time, but it doesn’t end there.” n

Feature

Mosaic Spring 2009

Speaking EngagementsVisiting Speakers Offer Insight into their Fields of ExpertiseStory by Kellie MuntsPhotography by Lauren Collier

V isiting professors have traveled thousands of miles, soulful singers have arrived on campus with their instruments in hand,

and eclectic artists have prepared to exhibit their work to students at The University of Alabama.

These individuals, all from vastly different disciplines, have been brought to the campus as part of the speaker series in hopes of mak-ing an impact on all students who attend.

The Honors College, in partnership with Housing and Residen-tial Communities, has brought several noted speakers and artists to UA through the series. These events are planned to offer enrichment opportunities to students who desire to advance their knowledge outside of the classroom.

The speaker series was initially intended to raise the profile of the Honors College, according to Dr. Amy Dayton-Wood, assistant professor in the English department and Honors College faculty-in-residence.

As the series has developed, the benefits that it provides to the student body have become increasingly obvious to both Dayton-Wood and Dr. Jacqueline Morgan, associate dean of the Honors Col-lege and director of the University Honors Program.

“We started off slowly, just getting our feet wet,” Morgan says. “We really want to offer a wide variety of opportunities for students, because we don’t see ourselves as just offering interesting classes. We want to do so much more than that.”

As the program continues to grow, Morgan expects to continue to pull from a variety of interests.

“We have faculty-in-residence in our living learning community, and they are meant to be mentors to the students,” Morgan says. “The faculty work with us in planning opportunities for students, whether [they’re] cultural or academic..”

Dr. Michael O’Hanlon uses his expertise in the security field to discuss Iraq and Afghanistan.

18

In the event planning, they have maintained a balance between academic lectures and unique artists in hopes of appealing to a wide variety of students.

“We didn’t really intend a balance in the events,” Dayton-Wood


“”

The O’Hanlon lecture provided a totally different

approach. Students were able to learn about the war in Iraq

beyond the sound bytes and the bias of the media.

Dr. Jacqueline Morgan

19

says. “It just happened by accident because of the different interests that all of the faculty-in-residence have.”

Those who select the guest speakers have drawn from their own experiences in deciding which individuals should be brought to UA.

Dayton-Wood says the group drew from their individual inter-ests, such as music or language and culture, when scheduling guest speakers.

In spring 2008 an eclectic group of artists arrived on campus to showcase their talent during a four-day series. Ranging from blues musicians to authors, these talented artists were able to connect to the students through their individual mediums.

“Students had the opportunity to be exposed to primitive artists and basically what [the musicians] all did was tell their story as they were performing,” Morgan says.

In stark contrast to the art showcased in early 2008, the election season brought a more serious tone to the speaker series. A student-led forum on the presidential election provided an opportunity for students to discuss issues related to current politics.

“We were really excited to provide good, stimulating conversa-tion for students outside of the classroom,” Morgan says.

Dr. Michael O’Hanlon, a Brookings Institution scholar and na-tional security expert, visited campus to discuss with students the

conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan and the role that the future presi-dent would have in those situations.

“The O’Hanlon lecture provided a totally different approach,” Morgan says. “Students were able to learn about the war in Iraq be-yond the sound bytes and the bias of the media.”

The posters around campus advertising the lecture sparked fresh-man Wesley Vaughn’s interest in the event.

“I’ve always been interested in international politics,” Vaughn, a public relations major, says. “And because O’Hanlon is an expert on the subject I thought it would be interesting to hear his views.”

Dayton-Wood believes that addressing such issues on campus in the fall was beneficial to the student body.

“We chose to move our focus to politics because of the election,” Dayton-Wood says. “We wanted to capitalize on the interest of the students, especially because it was the first time that many students were able to vote.”

In spring 2009 the guest speaker series continued to attract a vari-ety of students with its diverse appeal.

Visiting professor Dr. Sangita Rayamajhi spoke with students on challenges facing women in Nepal. The lecture brought critical is-sues to the attention of students in hopes of increasing their aware-ness of global problems.

In early March, Charlie Lucas, an artist also known as “The Tin Man,” demonstrated sculpting. Those who attended the event were able to enjoy a free meal while learning about Lucas and his experi-ences.

In the last installment of the lecture series for the 2008-2009 term, linguistic anthropologist Shirley Brice Heath shared her experienc-es in studying the linguistic developments of children. The lecture coincided with “Advanced English Composition” classes that had been reading Heath’s book on linguistics prior to the event.

“The cohort of Honors students in the English department will be learning about language and writing that will be tied in with the things they’ll be reading in class,” Dayton-Wood says.

Dayton-Wood, who will be leading the program next year, ex-pects that the program will grow and evolve as time goes on.

“I’m delighted to be doing it,” she says. “We’re going to try and keep the series fresh and interesting ... by focusing on different themes each year and bringing [in] many different kinds of events.”n

Mosaic Spring 2009

Feature

Papermaking and MemoirsThe Classes You Will Want to TakeStory by Randall Copeland

T he Honors College at The University of Alabama offers its

talented students exceptional programs and opportunities. The broad selection of curricular opportunities challenges, enriches and stimulates the minds of its students.

Much of the course selection is not standard history or English class, but instead, classes specifically get students to “think outside of the box.”

Dr. Fran Oneal, who serves as the director of the International Honors Program, sees the enriching benefits of the Honors College.

“Our curriculum offers courses with unique, focused topics,” she says. “Faculty members are asked to teach their passion and draw the students to an understanding of the basis for that passion.”

While all honors classes are academically challenging, some of them are uniquely designed to evoke introspection and creativity.

“Book Arts,” taught by Amy Pirkle, provides an introduction to the concepts, aesthetics and techniques of the art of bookmaking. Students learn the basic elements of hand bookbinding and the techniques to create several types of artistic book structures.

Pirkle feels it’s important “to consider how content and structure work together in artists’ books,” so she gives assignments to further a student’s understanding of the book and its potential for artistic expression.

Freshman Sarah Hicks enjoys “Book Arts,” in large part due to the instructor.

“Mrs. Pirkle is a genuine, approachable and helpful instructor. She’s passionate about what she does—not to mention incredibly talented, and her enthusiasm rubs off on her students,” she says. “One of my favorite things about her is that she encourages creativity, [which inspired a student] to put together an accordion book that made a statement about racism/prejudice and class warfare in our society.”

Hicks believes Pirkle’s assignments allow students to hone their

“”

I really like the Book Arts class because it is different. It is a break from the monotony of traditional

schoolwork for me. I absolutely love being able to experiment with making new things and expressing creativity in

different ways.Sarah Hicks

20

ingenuity and introspection.“I have learned a lot about cultivating creativity [from this class],”

Hicks says. “I’ve also learned a lot about deciding which techniques and mediums help to express [a book] in the most appealing and effective way.”

Hicks, an artistic student who is always excited about learning something new, loves how the Honors College gives students the opportunity to take courses that pertain to their unique interests and hobbies.

“I really like the Book Arts class because it is different,” she says. “It is a break from the monotony of traditional schoolwork for me. I absolutely love being able to experiment with making new things and expressing creativity in different ways.”

Hicks considers the “altered book,” one of her favorite assignments from the class.

“The final project was really challenging but also really enjoyable because we were given such creative freedom,” she says. “I used select pages and excerpts from ‘Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets’ by J.K. Rowling.”


”Sarah Hicks created this book for the Book Arts class.

“ ”Honors classes give you the freedom to learn without the strict constraints

regular classes have.Lauren Heartsill

21

“Southern Memoir and Southern Culture,” another University Honors seminar, taught by Jennifer Horne, explores memoirs from a number of writers on life in the southern United States during the 20th and 21st centuries. In this course, students have the opportunity to think critically and creatively by participating in memoir-writing exercises.

One of the highlights of the fall semester for the class was the guest appearance of author Rick Bragg. Bragg shared his thoughts on the process of writing about his book “All Over but the Shoutin’,” which was one of the assigned readings for the class.

Lauren Heartsill, a junior majoring in journalism, was a little unsure about Horne’s memoir class at first because of the heavy workload. However, she quickly changed her attitude.

Horne “leads the class in the right direction so you can learn without even realizing it,” Heartsill says.

Heartsill finds it “scary” how much she relates to the memoirs. “Although a lot of the writings are about poverty that I cannot

relate to,” she says, “the people underneath the poverty are just like me. It is refreshing to read about someone’s life and become a part of it.”

“This class has taught me so much more about myself than I could have ever imagined,” she continues. “I read about people who have gone through the same struggles as [I], and I realize that everything turned out just fine.”

According to Horne, a number of students in the class agree with Heartsill’s opinion and feel reading the memoirs “prompts memories of their own childhoods.” Others say they gain “a better understanding of the South as a complex, multilayered region, beyond the simple stereotypes.”

Heartsill likes how the Honors College provides classes that don’t fit under the normal structure.

“Honors classes give you the freedom to learn without the strict constraints regular classes have,” Heartsill says. “Honors classes push you to learn and be more open on subjects that regular classes don’t offer. Having classes that are smaller is always a plus, too.”

The Honors College course, “First Person,” also provides the small class size so many of the students enjoy. This special topics class is taught by Carolyn Magner Mason during the spring 2009 semester. Mason’s goal is to “introduce students to the power of a persuasive, first person essay.”

“I want to expand their world view,” she says, “and introduce them to a diverse selection of influential writers.”

Students in Mason’s class read, evaluate and discuss syndicated editorial columnists from newspapers and magazines, such as the Washington Post, Esquire and The New Yorker. Along with writing a variety of “first person” pieces, students write, edit and produce a three minute video for the National Public Radio project, “This I Believe.”

Mason, a working freelance journalist whose work has been published in Family Circle, Writer’s Digest and USA Today, is impressed with her students’ “intelligence, curiosity, open minds and strong writing skills.”

It would be hard for a student not to find personal satisfaction and passion by the many courses offered in the Honors College. From art and literature to photography and creative writing, the possibilities are endless. n

Honors MentoringFeature

Mosaic Spring 2009

Honors College Students Help Local SchoolsStory by Kelsey SteinPhotography by Lauren Collier

S tudents at The University of Alabama live a mere five miles from Holt Elementary School, yet many are unaware of the

challenges some residents face.Holt’s poverty level hovers above 80 percent, nearly twice the

average of schools across the nation, according to the School Data Direct web site. A school’s poverty level is calculated by determining the number of students who participate in the free and reduced lunch program.

“Poverty is not just about material things. It’s also about the resources that you have in your life: mental, spiritual, relational, social,” says Star Bloom, an adjunct instructor who coordinates the Honors College mentoring program. “Most university students arrive with the idea that people are poor because they don’t choose to get out of poverty.”

For the spring 2009 semester, the program consists of 115 student mentors, a combination of students enrolled in several honors seminar classes, returning volunteers and some students from the College of Education. These mentors dedicate two or more hours each week to work with students at Holt, Matthews Elementary School and Davis-Emerson Middle School.

The mentoring program coordinates its efforts with Tuscaloosa’s One Place, a family resource center devoted to improving the quality of life for families living in Tuscaloosa County. Their combined resources help at-risk students through after-school programs that incorporate academic tutoring in reading and math.

“Today there are so many complicated things in the world. Just knowing that you are providing a safe haven for an eight- to 14-year-old for an afternoon is a good thing all by itself,” Bloom says. “So many parents are working and unable to be there after school, and many of them are unable to provide the academic assistance that the kids need.”

Star Bloom”“Today there are so many complicated

things in the world. Just knowing that you are providing a safe haven for an 8 to 14-year-old for an afternoon is a good

thing all by itself.

22

The mentoring program focuses on two major components; First, mentors must create a relationship of trust and serve as role models. They demonstrate to the children successful behavior in the workplace and at school. Second, they must use a one-on-one approach called strategic tutoring in order to develop the children’s math skills, Bloom says.

“One of the most difficult things when I started mentoring was being a friend and being close but at the same time maintaining my role as an adult,” says Charles Beck, a senior majoring in marketing who works as a student leader at Davis-Emerson. “I can relate to them because I was always the kid who talked and cut up in class.”

Beck has participated in the program since the fall of his sophomore year, when he got involved through an honors seminar class and then became a student leader.

“The amazing thing, especially at the elementary schools, is that you hear these heartbreaking stories and free lunch statistics and you know the background these kids come from,” he says. “But when they tell you about their day, they could be from anywhere. This kid is coming from these circumstances, and they’re just like any other elementary school student.


Ashley Allman mentors students in Holt, Ala.

23

Since he became a mentor, the scope of the program has expanded from a few classes initially, to this semester, in which returning volunteers comprise nearly half of the student mentors. Many mentors establish an attachment with their mentees and come back to volunteer simply because they enjoy the experience, instead of for course credit.

Beck’s enthusiasm for the program has given him unforeseen opportunities as well, including a summer internship working with Tuscaloosa’s One Place. He helped to organize a transition program for students who would have trouble adjusting to sixth grade.

“I think mentoring is the most significant thing I’ve done in college,” Beck says. “I’m from Birmingham, and I lived in the suburbs, so I never saw any of this growing up. It opens your eyes to how a lot of people live. I didn’t really know what I wanted to do coming into school, and this gave me an avenue that I wouldn’t have even considered before.”

Taking an honors seminar class is a beneficial way to join the mentoring program because it provides a forum where you can discuss difficulties that may arise and how best to deal with them, he says.

During these classes, mentors complete weekly progress reports to better track their mentees’ academic and behavioral development. By monitoring the reports, mentors can help the mentees choose achievable goals, such as making a C in a subject where they had

previously made a D, instead of aiming for something unattainable and being disappointed, Bloom says.

“Most of these kids have been let down by so many adults in their lives that once they realize that their mentor is going to come back next week it gives them a lot of hope and excitement,” says Ashley Allman, a sophomore student leader majoring in computer engineering. “I hope that they realize that not everyone in this world is going to let them down.”

Seeing each other every week forms a strong emotional bond between the mentor and mentee, she says. The mentees develop an interest in their mentors’ personal lives, like Allman’s mentee last semester who attempted to play Cupid, constantly trying to set her up on a date with a student leader.

Noticeable academic improvement also occurs when a mentor tutors the same mentee for a long period of time, Allman says.

“I’m very proud of the academic mentoring program for several reasons,” Bloom says. “We can see progress when we look at the test scores and grades and observe their attitude and behavior. We can see what a positive thing it has been for them to have a good role model who cares about them. Also, every single person who has mentored has gained something in their own personal development. This is going to impact their citizenship, how they become involved in their community, how they serve their schools, and I think it’s going to help them become better parents.” n

From Africa to AlabamaFeature

Story by Margaret McNeillPhotography by Sumerlin Brandon

The Story of Exchange Student Okechukwu Mgbemena

I

Mosaic Spring 2009

24

f you walked past Okechukwu Mgbemena on the Quad, you wouldn’t notice anything out of the ordinary about him. He looks

just like any other college student hurrying by, trying to make it to class on time.

But K, as he is known here, is quite different from many of his Alabama peers. That’s because K is not from Alabama. In fact, he isn’t even from the United States. K came all the way to The University of Alabama from Nigeria.

Mgbemena, 21, was born and raised in Nigeria, Africa. After attending a seminary school for his high school education, Mgbemena focused on the future.

“I went to a school away from my home and family for six years, so after I finished I wanted to spend some time at home with my family,” Mgbemena says.

Although he was able to spend time at home, it was for a relatively short period spanning just a few months. Mgbemena was busy planning the next chapter in his life.

When time came for Mgbemena to begin looking to further his education, a friend of his from Nigeria, Stephen, told him about UA.

“Stephen and I grew up in the same area,” Mgbemena says. “He encouraged me to come to Alabama, and now I am here.”

Mgbemena enrolled at UA and has been attending school here since June 2007 and has not been home since. But Mgbemena came with some big goals and has been working hard to achieve them.

Not only is Mgbemena a chemistry major, which he has chosen to prepare himself for medical school, but he is also planning to accomplish the difficult task of finishing his undergraduate degree in two years. To do this, he takes anywhere from 17 to 18 hours a semester. He is also completing a minor in computer science.

Mgbemena knew when he started school at UA he wanted to do something different from just going to class and doing homework.

This is why he joined the Honors College, specifically participating

in departmental honors classes.“I have been involved in Chemistry Honors,” Mgbemena says.He hopes to do more for the Honors program in interim.But when Mgbemena isn’t busy with class and homework, he is

serving as a student tutor at the Center for Teaching and Learning [CTL], as well as an undergraduate researcher in biochemistry and organic chemistry.

Mgbemena has been a tutor at CTL for less than a year, but according to Anthony Winston, the manager of supplemental instruction & tutorial service at CTL, and Elva Bradley, the director of CTL, he has already made a great impact.

As a tutor, Mgbemena serves in the areas of chemistry, computer science, math and physics.

“We are most grateful for K’s wide range of subjects, his strong academic background, and his ability to make students feel comfortable during tutoring session,” Winston says. “He makes learning easy.”

Winston says that Mgbemena is well respected among his peers and is in high demand as a tutor, with students asking for K by name.

“K does not take his opportunity for an education lightly,” Winston says. “He is so very sincere in his approach to his education and the education of others. K leads by example and exemplifies excellence in everything he does.”

Although Mgbemena will not be graduating until after completing the fall 2009 semester, the staff, which is thrilled about his successes, is already lamenting the fact that he will not be working for CTL much longer.

“K is the kind of person who makes you think about the theme song to the old television show ‘Cheers,’” Bradley says. “Around the CTL, everyone knows K, and we are also glad that he came to work as a tutor. We extend our very best wishes for his continued success in all future endeavors.”


25

In addition to his work at CTL, Mgbemena works as an undergraduate researcher in biochemistry for Dr. Laura Busenlehner.

He approached Busenlehner as a student in her biochemistry course in fall 2008 and asked if he could do research in her lab.

“K began working for me in January,” Busenlehner says. “His job is to analyze mass spectrometry data on a protein that repairs DNA damage in E. coli.”

Although Mgbemena has not worked for Busenlehner long, she says he is a nice young man and a very good student.

“It is obvious that K studies hard and makes his education a priority,” Busenlehner says.

Even though attending school so far from home has been difficult, he says attending UA has been a great educational opportunity.

“The education system here in America is different from

going to school in Nigeria,” Mgbemena says. “Nigeria’s form of an undergraduate program is more like the graduate schools in America. You would have to know what you wanted to specialize in right away.”

Mgbemena says the flexibility was what ultimately led to his decision to attend school in the United States at UA.

“I have gotten to know if medical school is what is right for me, instead of just going directly to med school after high school,” Mgbemena says.

Mgbemena is now in the process of applying to medical schools. However, he plans to spend six months in Nigeria, possibly teaching chemistry, before entering medical school.

“Right now I am thinking UAB, but Harvard would be great,” he says. n

Okechukwu Mgbemena came from Nigeria to study at The University of Alabama.

Feature

Mosaic Spring 2009

Alumni AbroadStudying Abroad After GraduationStory by Emily Johnson

G raduate school may be a common destination for some

students after leaving The University of Alabama, but Ava Leone’s journey to Georgetown University included stops in Jerusalem, Cairo and Jordan.

Leone graduated from UA in 2006 with degrees in economics and political science. However, instead of heading straight to graduate school, Leone strengthened her résumé and her interest in Arabic culture by venturing overseas.

Dr. John Oneal, a professor emeritus in the political science department, taught Leone during her undergraduate career.

“Ava did well academically,” Oneal says, “but I place her in a very special group with only three or four other students that I’ve known over 25 years of teaching – those who were most interested in actually experiencing the world beyond America’s boundaries.”

After spending some time overseas during her undergraduate career, Leone initiated the International Book Club through the Honors College.

The International Book Club was a student-led Honors College freshman seminar that recruited professors in different fields of knowledge to discuss international books.

“The Book Club was just one aspect of a larger effort that I was making to bring my experiences abroad back home to Alabama,” Leone says.

She also participated in film screenings on international issues and helped organize events at local elementary schools. As a member of Alabama Model United Nations, Leone was in charge of a group focused on Palestine.

After graduating from UA, Leone accepted a Boren Fellowship from the National Security Education Program.

According to the program, the Boren Fellowships focus on

“”

I was the first exception to a stereotype that has been long

fostered by biased media coverage as well as U.S. political and military

action in the region.Ava Leone

26

contributing to United States national security by researching and learning about foreign countries.

She moved to Cairo and worked at the Al-Ahram Weekly, an English-language newspaper in Egypt. After four months she transferred to Jerusalem, where she attended Hebrew University and began working for a Palestinian non-governmental organization. While in Jerusalem, Leone trained inhabitants of the West Bank in leading non-violent resistance.

Leone found living in a completely foreign culture to be an adventure and a learning experience for herself, as well as those around her.

“For some of my Arab friends – a few of them had never actually met an American – I was the first exception to a stereotype that has long been fostered by biased media coverage as well as U.S. political and military action in the region,” Leone says.

“In a discussion about how Americans generally didn’t understand them, or ... in the midst of complaints about American behavior, they always qualified statements by saying, ‘But Ava, she


”Ava Leone

She has a tremendous sense of enthusiasm, and there is always

a new intellectual frontier for her to discover.

“”Dr. Barbara Chotiner

27

speaks Arabic’ or ‘But Ava is different from the Americans we see on TV.’”

After the Boren Fellowship, Leone continued her studies in the Middle East as a Rotary Scholar at the University of Jordan. During this time she worked as a researcher in the Economic Unit of the Center for Strategic Studies in Amman.

Currently, Leone is studying business and economic development, with Arab studies, at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

“For now, I am taking a very critical approach to American development efforts in the Middle East and throughout the world,” she says. “I would like to spend a few years working for USAID or another development agency so that I can better grasp the practical demands of development work.”

According to her past professors at UA, Leone has always been interested in the affairs of the Middle East.

Dr. Barbara Chotiner, a professor in the political science department, says that all of the work Leone does happens because she cares about the people in those regions and not because she’s overwhelmingly concerned about public policy.

“She has a tremendous sense of enthusiasm,” Chotiner says, “and there is always a new intellectual frontier for her to discover.”

Leone views language as the necessary path to understanding the Arabic people and culture, but she also realizes that there is no specific route to success.

“The important thing is to identify something that you do well and about which you feel deeply,” she says, “and then go from there.” n

Feature

Mosaic Spring 2009

28

Eleven students from The University of Alabama opted to study this semester in a completely

different environment and a different country for that matter. On Jan. 28, they set foot on Cuban

soil and have immersed themselves in the foreign culture throughout the spring 2009

semester. The following photos were taken by the students as part of their weekly assignments

abroad and display the rich culture of Cuba.

Photo by Austin Shirey Photo by Kristin Ellis

Photo by Kristin Ellis

Photo by Wilson Boardman Photo by Garrett Shirey

Photo byKate Batson

Photo by Matt Belote Photo by Wilson Boardman

Photo by Wilson Boardman

Feature

The Black Belt ExperienceStudents Strive to Make a DifferenceStory by Katie BorlandPhotography by Lauren Collier

W

Mosaic Spring 2009

ithin the Honors College, there is a highly prestigious program that encompasses scholastic excellence and service

called the University Fellows Experience. Sophomore students in this program are assigned a unique, yearlong “project” that makes a lifelong impact. This project is called the Black Belt Experience.

According to Wellon Bridgers, the coordinator of the University Fellows Experience, the purpose of the Black Belt Experience is to inject hope and prosperity into the impoverished Black Belt region of Alabama. It is the students’ jobs to discover how to accomplish this demanding task.

Alabama’s Black Belt comprises some of the most underprivileged counties in the United States, such as Choctaw, Macon and Perry counties. The Black Belt region is characterized by poverty, population decline, soaring unemployment rates, insufficient housing and very few opportunities for education and medical care. For instance, according to Fedstats.gov, 30.4 percent of Perry County residents were living below the poverty line in 2004. As of March 2009, the unemployment rate was at 16.5 percent in Perry County, according to the Alabama Department of Industrial Relations.

In order to promote change most effectively in the Black Belt, the students divide themselves into four “focus groups,” health care, economy, policy and cultural arts, to attack the various problems faced by the Black Belt community.

Students choose which group they will participate in based on their interests and ability.

“The students understand that we are most effective for creating long-lasting change when we work within our strengths,” Bridgers says.

Through research and communication with Black Belt community members, members of each focus group propose a project within their thematic group which they believe will help the region to prosper. Then, the students will travel to the Black Belt from May 11

”“The main problem with the Black Belt region is attributed to the economy.

Matt Wilson

32

to May 29 to execute their plans. During their visit the students will stay at Judson College in Perry County and work on group projects with the goal of improving the area.

Matt Wilson, a sophomore majoring in finance, is in the economy focus group.

“The main problem with the Black Belt region is attributed to the economy,” Wilson says. “The greatest challenge to people is the lack of jobs.”

Different industries, such as agricultural or animal-based industries, which would open an array of jobs for citizens in the area, hesitate to build factories in the Black Belt because of water absorption issues and travel time. The majority of roads in the Black Belt are dirt roads, not major interstates, so access to this region is difficult and therefore inefficient for the industrial world.

“The best way to boost the economy is through tourism,” Wilson says. “The middle-age baby boomers are approaching retirement [which] means that they will have time and money to spend.”

Because of this, the economy focus group plans to use the Black Belt’s rich heritage to promote tourism and create job opportunities. When its members travel to the Black Belt in May, they will plan to promote the Black Belt’s culture through a series of videos.

The group members will travel to different historical sites and homes and record videos of each site, including interviews from the homeowners, fabled ghost stories and historical information. Each movie that they make will have a number that will correspond with the matching site.

The movies will also be available by podcast or CD audio. Then, the tourists will be able to travel by car to each location and watch a


”

Matt Wilson is a member of the economy focus group for The Black Belt Experience.

33

video of the site, or home, without disrupting the homeowners. Wilson also says that the baby-boomers want adventure and a

real experience.“The tourism itself will not only make new opportunities for jobs,

but also ‘pave the way’ for future industrial development,” he says.Even today, tourism in the Black Belt is a small, but profitable

industry. For instance, a local non-profit organization called Black Belt Treasures sells work from over 250 local artists including quilts, paintings, woodwork and many other “treasures” of the Alabama Black Belt. According to BlackBeltTresures.com, Black Belt Treasures grossed over $500,000 in revenue last year, which is a very promising number for future development in tourism.

Meg McCrummen, another member of the economy focus group double majoring in history and French, says that tourism is the best way to utilize what the Black Belt has to offer, while promoting growth and change.

“The rich tradition of storytelling, in the context of historically significant architecture, naturally intrigued us,” she says. “And there is no shortage of [architecture]!”

During the first week in the Black Belt, the economy group plans to tour the region, searching for historical sites and architecture. The second week, they will do the shooting for the videos, and the third week will consist of editing the footage. The end product will be about 13 videos, two to five minutes each. If successful, the students hope to add on to the tour in the future. The students are also working with a company called Southwest Alabama Tourism to get in contact with homeowners and historians and distribute the finalized videos.

Wilson says that there is already a “cell phone tour” currently in operation for the Black Belt; however, the tourist is not able to see in the home and it comes with a $10 fee.

“The problem with the cell phone tours is you can’t see inside the home,” Wilson says. “People these days are much more visually stimulated than ever before. That’s why we’re using video tours.”

Also, unlike the cell phone tour, the students’ tour will be free of charge to make it more accessible to the public.

Wilson, who has visited the Black Belt region before, says that he looks forward to the upcoming visit this May.

“To speak to people who have lived a hard life, but a happy life, makes me realize money is nice to have, but isn’t everything,” Wilson says. “As a finance major, that’s something to keep in mind: money doesn’t equal happiness.” n

Feature

Fighting Strokes Alan Blinder Takes a Stand Against Childhood StrokesStory by Alden JonesPhotography by Sumerlin Brandon

A lan Blinder, a freshman in the University Fellows Experience, gained his passion for starting The University of Alabama Pediatric Stroke Program from his personal experience with childhood stroke.

“I hate hearing that sentence. ‘I didn’t know it could happen to kids,’” Blinder says. When he began having attacks, teachers, family and doctors alike were baffled that he experienced a stroke at 15.

“Stroke is one of the top ten killers of children,” Dr. Michael Dowling wrote in “Pediatric Stroke Treatment Comes of Age,” a report for the American Heart Association published in 2008. “Of the survivors, over 40 % have neurologic deficits that will persist for their lifetime, which for many children will be the better part of a century.”

Blinder recalls his first attack happened while working on an algebraic worksheet in 10th grade. His pen dropped to the floor. His only reaction was a few slurred words.

Blinder was taken to the school nurse. He had several stroke symptoms, but that seemed unlikely. By the time his parents, David and Sally Blinder, arrived, Alan’s blood pressure and accelerated pulse had returned to normal. His symptoms had disappeared, and he felt fine.

Later that evening, as Alan’s mom described the incident to friends, a stranger overheard.

“Your son may have had a stroke,” the stranger said. He said a friend’s son experienced a stroke and had similar symptoms to Alan’s.

Frightened, Alan’s mother called her son’s long-time doctor. Following an exam, the doctor remained unsure what triggered Alan’s episode. Doctor visits and testings filled the next several months, but no answers were provided. Meanwhile, six months

Mosaic Spring 2009

“ ”Through Fellows, I knew I’d

have tremendous support for the Stroke Program from administrators

and faculty. Alan Blinder

34

later, Alan had another attack, and a third followed two months later.Each time Alan was rushed to the emergency room, but his

symptoms disappeared by the time he arrived. His attacks soon became more frequent. Dozens of medical tests revealed nothing. Each indicated Alan was healthy.

“The single worst moment of it all, I fell down shaking in the school hall,” Alan says. “My best friend shrieked when she saw me.

I was not invincible anymore.”In fall 2006, Alan and his mother headed to the Diagnostic Center

at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, which specializes in complex illnesses.

There, they were linked with Dr. Rebecca Ichord, director of the pediatric stroke program. She diagnosed Alan with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome or POTS. A New York Times article by Lisa Sanders explains blood vessels in the legs constrict when a person sits down, allowing the blood to return to the heart and stay in circulation. POTS patients’ vessels do not pump enough blood to the heart and causes a decrease in the blood circulation in

”Alan Blinder

“ ”There is no pediatric stroke program in the Southeast, despite the fact that

this is part of the stroke belt. Wellon Bridgers Alan Blinder helped create the Pediatric Stroke Program, an Honor’s College initiative.

35


the body. Her diagnosis explained why his symptoms disappeared when he lay down.

Referring to the same article, Dr. Ichord said she thought in Alan’s case an insufficient supply of blood caused regions in his brain to overreact and cause these strange stroke-like symptoms. A study later confirmed her diagnosis.

Alan’s mystery had been solved, but he made it his mission to spread awareness and educate the public about the risk of childhood stroke.

“When I was sick, a profound turning point came in the form of text message while I was in the ER. My friend texted me Job 9:11: ‘We’ll never comprehend all the great things he does; his miracle-surprises can’t be counted. Somehow, though he moves right in front of me, I don’t see him; quietly but surely he’s active, and I miss it,’” Alan says, as he recites the verse. “[The verse] became my mantra and renewal of faith.”

While suffering from the attacks and the ensuing medical mystery, Alan says he was “clamoring for a way to know why it happened to [him].” He began to think he might have gone through it so he could help raise awareness for pediatric stroke.

In 2006 U.S. Senator Saxby Chambliss of Georgia and Alan joined forces to create a resolution for Congress to recognize childhood stroke as a deadly disease in children.

“Very little is known about the cause, treatment and prevention of childhood stroke, but with increased awareness, hopefully more research will be conducted, and we will be able to treat and perhaps prevent childhood strokes,” says Chambliss in a press release for Pediatric Stroke Network. “It was a privilege to work with the Pediatric Stroke Network as well as a young man from Norcross, Alan Blinder, on this resolution.”

Because of their work, the proposed resolution was approved,

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Mosaic Spring 2009

“ ”I have learned if stroke is not treated within three hours, the

damage done can be irreversible. Wellon Bridgers

“”

[It] takes time to build a program that can thrive and become

a powerhouse of information in the Southeast ... But the greatest

reward comes from when students, parents and others from around

the country tell us simply, ‘Yeah that helped.’

Alan Blinder

Wellon Bridgers is the coordinator of The University Fellows Experience.

36

declaring May 6, 2006 Childhood Stroke Awareness Day.While he was in the Atlanta hospital, Alan gained a powerful

connection to Russ Spencer, a Fox 5 News Atlanta anchor whose daughter was admitted in a nearby room. Later, Chambliss, Spencer and Alan produced a video to help educate teachers and school officials of the signs and warnings of childhood stroke. The video was shown in schools across Georgia.

His passion to promote the awareness of pediatric stroke led Alan to UA and the Honors College’s University Fellows Experience. The program is designed for students with a passion for civic engagement and leadership.

“Through Fellows, I knew I’d have tremendous support for the Stroke Program from administrators and faculty,” says Alan. “So, I suppose you could say that the Fellows program is what grabbed

my attention, and when I discovered that they could help me create a Stroke Program, I was hooked.”

Wellon Bridgers, the coordinator of the University Fellows Experience at UA, supports Alan in his efforts.

“There is no pediatric stroke program in the Southeast, despite the fact that it is part of the stroke belt,” Bridgers says. “I have learned if stroke is not treated within three hours, the damage done can be irreversible. This program not only brings attention to pediatric stroke, but it is also a good thing for the Southeast.”

Alan, along with freshmen Mike Zhang and Annie Ostrow, designed the Pediatric Stroke Program as a part of the Fellows freshmen project. Bridgers says that all Fellows students are required to start a program to help an issue they believe in.

According to the program’s proposal, it is the first of its kind in the Southeast, joining similar programs in Philadelphia, Dallas and Baltimore. It aims to focus on three main areas: advocacy, awareness and research.

The program’s designers say they are endeavoring to create the framework for a program to succeed after they have graduated.

“That is the best way to measure if we have achieved our goals,” Alan says. “[It] takes time to build a program that can thrive and become a powerhouse of information in the Southeast ... But the greatest reward comes from when students, patients and others from around the country tell us simply, ‘Yeah that helped.’” n

Wellon Bridgers is the coordinator of The University Fellows Experience.

37

Professors AbroadStudying Abroad isn’t Just for StudentsStory by Danielle DragoPhotography by Lauren Collier

any students at The University of Alabama enjoy the luxury of studying abroad, but Honors College faculty members also

travel overseas to teach classes and explore foreign worlds.Angela Channell, director of Overseas Study and assistant director

of International Academic Programs, believes that it is important for faculty members to study abroad.

“It’s critical to have faculty that are interested in studying abroad. Faculty are leaders,” she says. “When a student sees a faculty member going above and beyond and taking on an endeavor such as leading a summer program, it really shows to the student that they care about the student’s education and well-being.”

Many UA faculty members have studied abroad.“[University] faculty are all over the world presenting in

conferences, getting involved in research, making international contacts,” Channell says. “We have a wealth of faculty who have international interests, and many have studied abroad previously for their own academic interests.”

Dr. Fran Oneal, director of the International Honors Program, has spent a great deal of time abroad in various capacities.

Oneal’s first study abroad experience took place as a Duke University undergraduate in Montreal, Canada, where she took a French language course.

“I found that to be very much like going to Europe because Montreal is a world apart from the rest of North America,” she says. “It was a really satisfactory way to experience a new culture but really not be that far from home.”

Following her graduation from Duke, Oneal traveled on her own throughout Western Europe for a summer and afterwards completed a year of graduate work at Montreal’s McGill University.

“[In Montreal] I was getting that experience of a more cosmopolitan and very diverse area,” Oneal says. “I lived in a Hasidic Jewish neighborhood and everywhere I went there was a different ethnic enclave so that was really exciting for me.”


“”

When a student sees a faculty member going above and beyond and taking on an endeavor such as leading a summer program, it really shows to the student that they care about the student’s education and well-being.

Angela Channell

M

Oneal also did graduate work abroad for her dissertation at Vanderbilt University regarding the different political bases for public sector growth versus public sector contraction in the United States. She researched in the British Library, but focused on various countries in Western Europe, Japan, New Zealand and Australia.

After spending many years studying abroad as a student, Oneal decided to take on a teaching role with the Alabama at Oxford program, where she taught Classics of Political Economy for two summers.

Oneal says that her classes benefited from learning in the same place where many famous economists studied.

“You can go to Oxford University and see where Adam Smith signed in as a student,” she says. “You’re in the place, you’re in the moment, you’re in the setting where these philosophers and political economists were writing, and it comes to life.”

During the 2007 spring semester, Oneal taught two courses on American foreign policy in India at a graduate school in New Delhi, India. There, she noticed the differences between American and Indian students, with it being the societal norm for students to respectfully stand in front of faculty.

“They have a very formal relationship between students and faculty,” she recalls. “One time I was in my office and [the students] came to my door and I stood up to greet them, and I told them to

38

Feature

Mosaic Spring 2009

“”

You get much more of a feeling of being a citizen of the world and realizing how

huge the world is and how many different sorts of people there are ...

Allen Jones

have a seat, and they were just horrified that I stood up at my desk because they entered the room.”

Oneal has also attended a number of conferences internationally. The most impressionable one was in Dubai, she says, where she participated in a conference on women as global leaders.

“[It was] a little feminist effort in the Middle East, though the word ‘feminist’ was never explicitly stated. I understood that the United Arab Emirates [where Dubai is located] had very progressive leadership and everyone in the nation accepts that women should have higher education, but they also thought that women should go home and start a family,” Oneal says. “Higher education [for women] was going to waste.”

Oneal was able to show the women that she had pursued a career and a family. Overall, she says that her various experiences abroad have impacted every aspect of her professional career.

“Bouncing ideas off other people in other settings and venues has informed my professional work in terms of being a student overseas, taking American students overseas, teaching foreign students and interacting with foreign students overseas,” she says.

Like the Alabama at Oxford program, faculty-led study abroad programs are becoming popular at UA.

“Faculty-led programs are invaluable,” Channell says. “I have yet to meet a student who has not benefited from these programs.”

According to Channell, faculty-led programs give students a chance to have a more hands-on experience.

“Essentially the country becomes the classroom,” she says. “It’s a unique experience that cannot happen anywhere else.”

Allen Jones, a faculty member with the Honors College, has participated in Alabama at Oxford for more than five years, teaching “The Arts of Oxford,” a class similar to “The Arts of Tuscaloosa” course she teaches at UA.

“What’s wonderful about that class is that you explore Oxford and get to know it through the arts,” she says.

Through Alabama at Oxford, students are able to see the locations for the inspirations for many famous works, including Lewis Caroll’s “Alice in Wonderland.” Students read the works of poets and authors who wrote at Oxford as they visit the very sites that inspired the works.

“There’s something about being in the landscape that brings it all so much to life when you are right there looking at and getting the

feel of this history and literature,” Jones says.Jones was also a teaching assistant with the Alabama in Greece

program, and she cites walking around the historical sites as her favorite pastime.

“It’s gorgeous” she says. “There was always something to see.”However, Oxford remains one of Jones’ favorite places to study

abroad.“It’s a magical place,” she says.Whether it be through a program or for gathering research for

a dissertation, faculty members agree that studying abroad is an enriching experience for students.

“Students should absolutely [study abroad] because you never have another chance like this,” Jones says. “No matter which program you choose, there’s no better option than studying abroad.”

Oftentimes, UA is a destination rather than a starting point for students seeking to study abroad. Such was the case for Dr. Steffen Guenzel. Guenzel was born in Eastern Germany but came to UA in 1993 as a Fulbright scholar.

Guenzel says that adjusting to a different culture was a challenge.“Originally I came here and I didn’t know anything,” he says.

“The language was different. I was trained in British English, so when I came here and people asked me something I had no clue what they were asking. It took me a couple of days to figure out what they were talking about.”

Once he broke the language barrier, Guenzel says that he truly enjoyed his time at UA.

“People [in Alabama] just took their time to do things. They didn’t just run and try to fulfill one task after another, so it was very nice to experience,” Guenzel says.

Guenzel counts personal growth as an added benefit of studying abroad.

“I grew up because I had to be on my own,” he says. “If you

39


” Dr. Fran Oneal informs students about her experiences while studying abroad.

wanted to achieve something, you had to show initiative and take some risks.”

Guenzel enjoyed his experience so much that he decided to return to UA to earn his doctorate in 20th Century American Literature.

“I had fond memories of Alabama,” he says. “There was a high quality of faculty in the English department, and I felt very welcomed.”

Currently, Guenzel teaches a course with the Honors College called “Behind the Iron Curtain.”

“We contextualize the East German experience by looking at 1,000 years of Germans,” he says. “[We look at] how Germany [was] formed and founded and then experienced two world wars. [We examine] what it did to the German psyche to be split into two countries for almost forty years and how Germany has come together since 1989.”

According to Guenzel, being open to different cultures is a crucial part of the study abroad equation.

“I think what [a student] needs to do is know the language and the culture. You need to understand that not everything will be the American way. Sometimes you will be craving a hamburger from McDonald’s, but there will also be other foods and other choices,” he says. “Second, you should focus your studies and make it valuable for yourself and your education. And finally, my [third recommendation] would be to save some time to travel in surrounding areas of your post.”

Guenzel says that study abroad programs offer students the opportunity to expand their horizons to include a global perspective.

“I think of myself as having become a Weltburger, which means

that you have an understanding for global concerns, or you see the world globally and you can meet new people and be exposed to new cultures,” he says. “I came to the understanding that we are all in it together, that we are all interconnected despite our languages and cultures being different. We are all so much of the same. I have a better appreciation and a better understanding of different cultures.”

Channell says that studying abroad can enlighten students to their own strengths.

“Studying abroad exposes student[s] not only to the world but [also] to their own abilities and gives them a chance to step outside of their comfort zone,” says Channell. “For those who have a passion for other cultures, it’s a unique opportunity to immerse themselves.”

According to Jones, one’s world view shifts as he or she studies abroad.

“You get much more of a feeling of being a citizen of the world and realizing how huge the world is and how many different sorts of people there are and how valid all of these different cultures and societies are,” Jones says. “You have the opportunity to seek more diversity in these other countries just because they aren’t as isolated as we are.”

Oneal explains that studying abroad can open students’ eyes to the world’s possibilities.

“I think people get so embroiled in the small intricacies of their lives that they don’t realize that there are a lot more important things in the world and a lot more fascinating and interesting things than what [they’ve] allowed [themselves] to get tangled up in here,” Oneal says.

Oneal also states that studying abroad can also lend itself to solving bigger issues.

“I recommend that every student studies overseas. [It’s] important for world peace. I think that it’s easy to carry stereotyped ideas about other people,” Oneal says. “And those stereotypes fly out the window when you’re face to face with someone you thought was going to be one way and you got to their country and you find out that the stereotypes that you thought were true were wrong.”

She said that studying abroad, both as a student and a faculty member, helps people understand each other better.

“With so many long-standing conflicts, and ten more waiting in the wings, I think that human understanding has a lot to do with it,” says Oneal. “That’s why studying abroad is important.” n

Feature

Where in the WorldStories of Studying AbroadInterview by Angel Everett

Mosaic Spring 2009

he “Culture and Human Experience” course, foreign language study, “international studies concurrent courses.” Ask any International Honors Program [IHP] student at The University of Alabama what the three aforementioned phrases have in common, and they will tell you: “requirements for IHP.” However, the fourth requirement to graduate with the IHP designation is the most exciting: study abroad. In a forum conducted this school year, seven IHP students recall their experiences during their required overseas study. These students have traveled to a combined total of eight countries in different regions of the world and offered up some helpful tips throughout the conversation. You will learn why you should not excessively wear jeans outside the United States, that not all of Latin America likes bright colors, and why it is necessary to learn proper travel etiquette.

Jessica Hetherington: ChinaSusan Gorin: ChinaMarion Steinberg: AustraliaKendall Smith: Chile, Mexico and GuatemalaMary Sims White: ChileTeresa Hill: Prague, SpainLindsey Mullen: South Africa

Angel (moderator): Did you have preconceived notions about your host country, and once you arrived, was it what you expected?Jessica: I definitely had preconceived notions, because I had been there before. I had gone in the summer ... with a much more intensive program. So I actually had ... in all about ten hours [of class each day]. The second [experience] definitely moved away

40

T from the classroom ... and focused more on actually knowing and understanding - the mysterious, at times - China. We got exposure to everything ... from Buddhism to Confucianism ... You name it! We did it together.

Marion: I think that I thought most of Australia was going to be pretty much like the U.S. On the surface, it kind of looked like [the United States] ... just walking down the street, not talking to anybody, not interacting ... it just looked like a modern city. But then when I went to the grocery store, I couldn’t even find peanut butter of a [familiar] brand. It took me hours just to go shopping. The more in depth I got, the more different it seemed.

Kendall: Even though I knew a little about Chile, I still had this feeling that it was going to be like, you know, [stereotypical] Latin culture, lots of spicy food, lots of bright colors and lots of music. NO ... no. Go look up anything that says “Latin America” or “Spanish,” and it’s like bright [colors] ... And that’s what I was expecting. I got there in the middle of July, and they all were wear[ing] black, blue, brown or gray ... and the majority of Chileans don’t dance ... They like a lot of reggaeton [or] rap, not a lot of salsa at all. The food’s not spicy; it’s actually very bland. Mary did you get some of these ideas?

Mary: …It wasn’t, like, “Chilean” culture, but [rather] other parts of South American culture [combined]. I felt like Chile was a sponge of culture. They brought in American culture, and Argentinean culture, and Bolivian culture into their culture…I did learn to salsa, but it’s a fun thing for them like it is for us. It’s not like their [national dance].


“”

I think if anyone’s going to study abroad they need to learn about that culture and what’s

appropriate.Teresa Hill

41

What did you like or enjoy the most?Mary: Getting to know your way around a city. There’s a certain sense of [achievement when] you know where you are, and you don’t have to use the maps ... like which metro to take, and [when you] have favorite [local] shops.

Susan: The best part of my trip was the three-week study tour we went on. We went to all the non-touristy places. [In China there are] different villages that are a 30 minute drive from each other, but [the people of the different villages] won’t be able to speak to each other because they have different dialects. We lived in a village one week, and we worked on a road. We harvested rice. We fished in rice paddies ... Actually the best part of the trip was when we drove eight hours ... to hike in the Himalayas for three days.

Is there any part of your study abroad experience that you did not like?Lindsey: I got frustrated by the Americans I was with. I was on a study abroad with sixteen Americans ... we weren’t together all the time. We were with our homestay families. But the parts of our trip [when] we were together ... I just did not like group travel at all … I prefer smaller groups.

Were you picked on when you traveled in big groups? Or looked at?Lindsey: Looked at a little bit, but I just felt obnoxious. There [were not] the kinds of restaurants that there are here that are made to accommodate big groups. There are a lot of locally owned places,

not like Ruby Tuesday’s, so when you go in with sixteen people to eat ...

Marion: ... and you try to just remain low key, and observe ev-erything around you. But when you walk into a restaurant with more than two Americans, all of a sudden your table’s the loud-est table in the place.

Lindsey: I could [easily] spot Americans.

Teresa: And it wasn’t just the fanny packs and white sneakers. We have terrible travel etiquette, as a culture ... I think if any-one’s going to study abroad they need to learn about that cul-ture and what’s appropriate. Bring lots of different types of clothing, just in case. You want to be safe. You don’t want to stand out.

Kendall: The worst [combination] to bring is a t-shirt, a pair of jeans and sneakers.

How well do you feel the IHP class (“Culture and Human Experience”) prepared you for your travel experience?Susan: I got to read a cool book about this Peace Corps volunteer in China, so [the course] kind of [prepared me], but nothing prepares you for it except being there.

Marion: I really liked [“Culture and HumanExperience”]. I think a lot of it was common sense...We did a lot of reading that I actually enjoyed. It was the only class that was heavy on the reading that I actually found re-ally interesting ... The other thing I liked a lot was “Culturally Speaking.” Knowing that I was going abroad the following se-mester, I was like, ‘oh my gosh. I want to talk to these people [from other countries]. I need to hang out with them.’ I really appreciated [doing] that because when I [was] abroad, and there

“”

I felt like Chile was a sponge of culture.Mary Sims White

“ ”Lindsey Mullen

You’re either really wealthy, or your basic needs are met,

or you’re really poor.42

Feature

Mosaic Spring 2009

“”

Actually the best part of the trip was when we drove eight hours ... to hike in the Himalayas for three days.

Susan Gorin

Lindsey Mullen shares stories about her trip to South Africa.

”

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Phot

o by

Sum

erlin

Bra

ndon

were people who went out of their way, it just made me feel re-ally good that it was just coming back around.

Teresa: I think the IHP class should be required [for anyone at UA who will study abroad]…

After returning from your host country, was there anything you subsequently realized about U.S. culture that you hadn’t before? Lindsey: The [American] middle class. In South Africa, from what I was exposed to ... they have their basic needs met ... and they weren’t hurting for food and water or electricity ... In the cities there are people in poverty. But there aren’t people that are not really wealthy, but can afford to go on a vacation or to study abroad ... You’re either really wealthy, or your basic needs are met, or you’re really poor.

Mary: I was blown away by the diversity when I came back to the States … I came back, and I was like, ‘I can have Mexican food; I can have Indian food; I can have Greek food’ ... But I like better how the Chileans eat dinner later.

Teresa: One of the things I am really proud of and appreciate a lot more is the American work ethic. I was mainly in countries that were Post-Communist countries, and there are still some things that haven’t fixed themselves and are a little jaded ... we did site visits to Monster.com, some accounting firms ... and other big companies that have offices everywhere, and [the executives] were all complaining about the Czech work ethic; that they’re still a little jaded from the Communist days. So I really appreci-ate [our work ethic].

Is there anything else you want to say? Any last comments?Study Abroad! Go! Learn the ‘real deal’ about another culture! n

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The Science of ArtWhat do Dance and Science have in Common?Story by Anna Pendleton

T he word creativity typically denotes artistic expression in the way of drawing, painting, poetry or prose, but in this modern

age, the world of computers is a platform for infinite creative possibility. A work—or a mind—need not be exclusively scientific or artistic, as the technological sphere has room for the expression of both strengths.

Keith Weber, a senior majoring in computer science, and Jessica Triplett, a junior double majoring in communication studies and dance, teamed up to put their abilities to work in creating a program that functions as a grading tool for professors in The University of Alabama Dance Department.

UA’s Computer-Based Honors Program [CBHP] offers an in-depth study for students interested in learning to use a computer’s resources to research and to create practical programs. There is an inherent element of creativity in the program, as students are given the freedom to pursue projects according to their interests.

“The Computer-Based Honors Program really is an undergraduate research endeavor. Our freshman year we go through an extensive training that teaches us how to use computers extremely well to prepare us for three years of doing research with computers so that we can be of benefit to faculty,” Weber explains, attempting to correct the common misconception about CBHP that it is all about computer programming. “It’s really much more of a professional development program, research program, and it just so happens that computers are so ubiquitous now that we are supposed to use them in our research.”

CBHP offers a practical background in research necessary in today’s academic world, and—for Triplett especially—also presents a tight-knit intellectually invigorating community.

“I like that the feeling in the community is very academic but purposeful. It’s not splitting hairs and talking about silly philosophical things like how many angels dance on the head of a pin,” Triplett says. “They’ll talk about subatomic particles and

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Mosaic Spring 2009

things, but when you ask them what it can be applied to, it’s just great things that have a great impact.”

This duo has created quite an impact with their program, which essentially functions as an accessible and flexible rubric for the ever-subjective dance professor. Weber and Triplett got involved with the project after Professor John Virciglio put in a request with CBHP for an easy-to-use program that would assist professors with grading in dance classes.

Dr. Shane Sharpe, interim dean and director of CBHP, suggested the project to Triplett because she had experience with dance.

“Dr. Sharpe gave [the proposal] to me and said ‘Hey, why don’t you find some people to put this together because I think that it’s right up your alley,’” Triplett says. “So then I called Keith to see if I could get some help from CS [computer science]-based minds who would really know what they were doing to build a high-quality database and have it run the way he needed it to.”

The program idea expanded to allow professors the ability to determine their own grading criteria, keep records and add comments to let students know their progress in the class.

Triplett utilized her knowledge of organization within a dance classroom to tailor the program to the specific needs of dance professors. She recognized the need for a grading system that would be conducive to progression as a dancer.

“I think my familiarity with how classes function has helped me to be able to work with the dance professors and Keith to make it the most useful it can be so that it’s highly compatible with the dance class and so that a teacher can actually use it,” Triplett says.

Often, dance students do not get concrete feedback until they receive their grades for the semester. With this program, Triplett explains, a dancer is given more tools for improvement.

“As you’re being told throughout the semester where you’re losing points or where you’re not getting points you can actually improve those things instead of just getting a grade at the end of

45


“”Jessica Triplett

I like that the feeling in the community is very academic but purposeful. It’s not like splitting

hairs and talking about silly philosophical things like how many angels dance on the head of a pin.

Keith Weber and Jessica Triplett created a program to grade dancers.

the semester that says just work on this overall and having to wait until the next semester to really get started on that,” she says. “This way you’re starting to fix [your mistake] the first time you hear about it, and you have someone keeping you accountable for really improving.”

Weber and Triplett worked together to ensure the versatility of the program. Depending on the type of class, teachers will have different grading criteria, so it was essential to leave some ambiguity in the program for individual professors to work with.

“It’s very much an online rubric that [professors] can define themselves, but it’s more than that because it’s also a communication tool between the professor and the students,” Weber says. “The professors can actually leave comments to the students saying, ‘here’s how you’re doing and here’s how you need to improve,’ and e-mail it directly to the students from within the program.”

Designing a computer program conducive to a dance classroom is a feat, as the freedom and subjectivity of dance often inhibit qualitative measurement. Weber and Triplett had to get in touch with their own creativity to create the program with flexibility and without limits.

“We had to throw a lot of uncertainty into the code,” Weber explains, “so there are a lot of standard programming practices we had to bypass in order to make sure that the variability would work.”

Building the program with ambiguity was not the only challenge the two honors students faced. The first roadblock appeared in the early stages as Weber and Triplett looked for a host site for their

program on a nonexistent budget.“It had to be a secure Web site and it had to be free,” Weber says.

“And those two factors introduced a lot of problems.”Because their program aimed to hold student data, such as grades

and campus-wide ID numbers, they had to be sure their program was in a secure location. Lo and behold, the server was hacked, and the pair had to start over halfway through the semester.

With the hardest work behind them, Weber and Triplett introduced the program at a College of Arts and Sciences showcase for independent projects. Triplett says that interest in the program has extended beyond the dance department.

“A lot of foreign language departments are very interested in the program,” Triplett says, “because it’s very dynamic software and the teacher determines the grading criteria, so it can be used for whatever you want.”

As for their futures in CBHP, Weber and Triplett plan to add to this program, “dressing it up by adding a more user-friendly interface,” Triplett explains.

Both students also plan on working on different CBHP projects. Weber plans to work with electrical engineering and Triplett hopes to focus on a more research-based project as opposed to the development-heavy dance software.

The creative freedom within CBHP will allow both students to follow their interests, wherever they may lead.

“I’m looking to branch out and try something different,” Triplett says. n

Feature

Mosaic Spring 2009

Time forAn Internship with Boeing

Story by Drew Hoover

Takeoff

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erlin

Bra

ndon


f I push these impulse engines too hard in the condition they’re in they’ll blow apart!” said Montgomery Scott, played by James Doohan, in an episode of Star Trek: The Original Series in 1968.

Forty years later in the Mission Evaluation Room of the Johnson Space Center, Doohan’s grandson, Kyle Cruz of The University of Alabama, was interacting with astronauts aboard the International Space Station [ISS] during a summer internship program.

Cruz is a senior majoring in mechanical engineering, and last summer he got an internship with Boeing working for Passive Thermal Control, a team that monitors temperature sensors on the ISS and advises NASA during Extra Vehicular Activity [EVA].

The entire International Space Station is covered in Multi-Layer Insulation to protect it from the extreme temperature variations that occur in space. Surface temperatures in shadows can plummet to -120°C and soar to 150°C when in the sun. This gives the Passive Thermal Control team a responsibility of paramount importance to keeping the ISS functioning smoothly.

“Before [NASA] took off a cover of MLI off of a part on the ISS, we had to run thermal analysis to tell them when it would get too hot or too cold,” Cruz says.

It only makes sense that Cruz should follow in his grandfather’s footsteps, going, in a paraphrase of Captain Kirk, ‘where no University of Alabama student has gone before.’

“The best moment of my working this summer was two days after I got there. NASA sent the 124th space shuttle up to the ISS and I got to watch mission control as the space shuttle was going up and I was in the mission evaluation room when space walks were going on,” Cruz says. “I got to have a headset on and hear astronauts. There was a white button in front of me, that if I pressed on it I could speak to the astronauts, but they would kick you out if you did that.”

Last summer, Cruz applied to about 40 summer internships, many of them with Boeing. He was one of 1000 hopeful applicants for the internship at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

“I got a phone call and did two phone interviews,” Cruz says, “and they asked me ‘would you like to work in Houston?’”

Among his responsibilities as a part of the 18 member Passive Thermal Control team were studying graphs of exposure simulations and using FORTRAN-based computer programs to work these simulations. Cruz learned FORTRAN through his work in the Computer-Based Honors Program at UA. He also picked up skills from the Passive Thermal Control veterans.

Kyle Cruz worked at Boeing and NASA for his summer internship.

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oove

rI

“The team was fun. Everyone was so focused. There was a very wide range of experience,” Cruz says. “I sat next to a man in his mid seventies who worked for NASA during the Apollo missions and Neil Armstrong’s spacewalk.”

That man was Robert Brown, a 30 year NASA employee who was a part of the team that heard the infamous words, “Houston, we have a problem” during the Apollo-13 mission.

Cruz’s experience as a Boeing intern certainly makes for an interesting story to tell friends, but the real benefit of this experience is what it does to his resume.

“I would interview with a company and tell them the story about being in the MER and their jaws would drop. I’ve declined several job offers because of location, and I have a job with Boeing when I graduate because of my internship there.”

After graduating, Cruz hopes to work with Boeing on missile defense systems, this time in Huntington Beach, California, to be near his family that lives in the Bay Area. n

48

A Vision for the FutureA CBHP Alumnus Helps Detect Eye Problems in ChildrenInterview by Kelsey Stein

Kelsey Stein: Can you give me a little bit of background about yourself? Jim Kennemer: I grew up in Tuscumbia, Ala. In the ninth grade, as part of a class project, I spent some time with the computer programming staff at TVA, which had one of the few computers in the Shoals area. As a result of that, I became intrigued by the then-amazing things computers could do. The fascination continued for the remainder of high school and it continues still ... During my senior year [of high school], I received an announcement about a new NSF [National Science Foundation]-funded program, the Computer-Based Honors Program at The University of Alabama. They were offering ten fellowships for the charter class, and I decided to apply. Semi-finalists were invited to the campus for a battery of interviews and tests ... I apparently fooled enough people to be accepted, and, since I would be working with computers, my college decision was made. The charter CBHP class was a great group of folks, by the way, and included a future director of the program, Dr. Cathy Randall ... After graduating, I entered and completed the MBA program at Bama. While on campus, I was involved in a number of activities ... I was an officer in my fraternity, ATO [Alpha Tau Omega]. I was very involved in campus politics ... I worked 20-30 hours a week throughout college for a computer systems company that had some extremely talented programmers, doing systems work for Univac and a lot of contract and general business programming.

What was CBHP like when you were at Alabama?My experience with it was outstanding. We had excellent instruction, leadership and guidance from Dr. Seebeck and Henry Copeland. The projects were interesting, and the freedom to run with an idea was great. An IBM 360/50 (the 360 line was revolutionary at the time)

Feature

Mosaic Spring 2009

“”Jim Kennemer

Vision Research develops and markets advanced screening

systems for the early detection of eye problems in children.

had arrived on campus a week or two before I did. The mainframe and peripherals literally filled the entire back end of Gordon Palmer Hall, and the CBHP-ers had total hands-on access to it 24/7. That was amazing.

What do you think was the most significant thing you did in college?On the academic side of things, I designed a real-time operating system for a Univac 9200, a small-scale computer, as one of my CBHP projects, with a lot of guidance from Henry Copeland. There were a couple of papers published on it, and I did a few regional presentations about it.

How do you think you benefited from participating in the Honors program at UA? What doors did it open for you?... As my college career progressed, so did the prevalence of computers in the business world. By the time I finished at the University, an MBA plus an academic, research and professional

49


“

”Jim Kennemer

I benefited from CBHP in a number of ways ... It taught me general analysis and problem

solving skills, and it gave me the background and breadth of

exposure that would subsequently help translate these skills ... [into]

the business world in general.

”

background in computing was a good combination to have. After considering a number of attractive options, I headed off into start-up level systems development. Together with several other pretty sharp folks, we developed some very innovative and successful systems for banking, utilities, insurance companies and various other industries. Our systems were based on the Intel 8080, which itself was revolutionary: the first 8-bit processor on a chip. It was introduced about a month before I completed grad school, and we had major sales and were delivering and installing systems on Wall Street before the year was out.

I benefited from CBHP in a number of ways, as I’m sure all of the participants over the years have. It taught me general analysis and problem solving skills, and it gave me the background and breadth of exposure that would subsequently help translate those skills into solutions in a number of different computing and operations environments, and in the business world in general.

As the president of Vision Research Corporation [VRC], can you describe a little bit about what VRC does?Vision Research develops and markets advanced screening systems for the early detection of eye problems in children. Its systems are based on technology originally developed by NASA and exclusively licensed to VRC. VRC also provides large-scale eye screening programs using those systems. In Alabama, for example, it screens all kindergarten students in all public schools throughout the state. You may recall “having your picture taken” for an eye test in kindergarten, or getting a form and photo with glowing eyes to take home. Vision Research is by far the largest provider of comprehensive eye screening programs. It has screened well over 3.5 million children and identified over 400,000 children with eye problems significant enough to warrant professional attention. Around 70,000 of those children were identified with problems that, if not detected and corrected early enough, could lead to permanent vision loss.

How did you get involved with Focus First?When Stephen Black was forming Impact Alabama, he had a name and an idea for one of the initiatives he wanted to pursue. The name was Focus First, and the idea was that it would provide eye

screenings for children using campus-based student volunteers in service learning programs. In his conversations with others in the community, the name of Vision Research came up several times, and he called and set up a meeting ... I suggested that he consider targeting children in day care centers and Head Start programs. There were several factors behind the suggestion. A key one was the difficulty of efficiently getting to all of the scattered locations, each typically with only a small number of children. With a significant number of student volunteers on campuses throughout the state, that problem would be solved. Another factor was that, with many eye problems (including some of the more serious ones), the earlier the problem is found, the easier it is to correct. VRC’s screening systems require no response from the child, so even pre-verbal children can easily be screened. Combine these factors with the many day cares and Head Starts located in under-served areas of the state, and it seemed like an ideal way to provide screenings for children who needed it the most and were the least likely to get it any other way ... It has been extremely gratifying to see how Focus First has grown, and to know that there are thousands of children whose lives will be better because of its efforts. n

50

To Germany...and Beyond

Feature

Mosaic Spring 2009

Story by Anna Pendleton

I f all little kids committed to the initial occupational aspirations of their childhood, the world would have a surplus of astronauts,

professional athletes and superheroes. When juniors Evan Niner and Kurt Barry were in their adolescent years, they instead dreamt of becoming physicists, to discover the ins and outs of how things work and to unearth the hidden intricacies of the world around them.

Niner says that his fascination with physics began early.“I wrote a paper on Albert Einstein in middle school and just

decided that I wanted to be that,” Niner explains with a laugh.Barry was focused on a separate but equally challenging task.“I was interested in understanding how the universe works,” he

puts it simply.Though these seemed lofty aspirations for middle schoolers, both

Niner and Barry are now well on their way to achieving their goals, having spent the summer after their sophomore years researching with physics doctoral candidates in Germany.

As members of the Computer-Based Honors Program [CBHP], Niner and Barry gained invaluable experience at the Capstone before heading overseas, learning professional research methods and practices.

“The program we participated in is called the RISE program which is fairly difficult to get into, and with our undergraduate research experience that we already had, that was a great boon in allowing us to get accepted,” Barry explains. “And once we were there, it was good that we already had a background and experience with how you conduct yourself on a long-term research project.”

RISE, or Research Internships in Science and Engineering, is open to applicants who have completed at least two years of undergraduate study and those accepted are paired with doctorate students in Germany to conduct research on various projects. The students apply specifically to the doctorate researchers they would be interested in working with, and, in turn, the doctorate candidates request who they want for their research, and then the RISE program matches the groups.

Barry’s experience at Goethe University in Frankfurt inched him

closer toward his goal of understanding the complexities of the universe.

“I worked with a group in Frankfurt that was actually working on the Large Hadron Collider. It’s the big shiny new particle accelerator at CERN (the world’s largest particle physics laboratory), at the border between France and Switzerland,” Barry says. “I wrote code in C++ form online monitoring one of the sub-detectors of one of the detectors at the LHC.”

When Niner describes the project he worked on at Dortmund University, it’s easy to get lost in the technical jargon, but the enthusiasm with which he details his task is certainly clear.

“I worked on a neutrino project called IceCube, and in that experiment there’s a large detector in the ice in the South Pole that searches for neutrinos which are subatomic particles that are coming from extragalactic sources, so outside of this galaxy,” Niner explains enthusiastically. “What I worked on specifically was running computer simulations on this detector and [then] running them on some new computer grids [on which] the software had to be used ... [first] to make sure they [still] worked.”

While their experiences in the labs set the stage for intellectual growth, Barry and Niner both enjoyed expanding their cultural repertoire and exploring the rest of the country.

They learned that in Germany pepperonis are not the pizza topping associated with the name, but jalapeno peppers. They learned to grab dinner early because shops and restaurants close around 8 p.m. And they learned that if you’re in Germany during the summer, you may just find yourself in the midst of a citywide techno music party.

Niner, who had never before traveled outside of the United States, particularly enjoyed the atmosphere during the Eurocup.

“Germany made it to the final match of the Eurocup while we were there, and to see 15,000 people all watch the soccer game was a great experience,” Niner says. “It’s really a great culture.”

Both students returned to the United States this fall with an enriched understanding of another way of life and of the global scale of their research abilities.

“I think I’m a lot more focused and capable of achieving the things I want to achieve now,” Barry says.

“It’s nice to see a research work environment in another country and to see how other people see your skills, and to learn what you can contribute to a different collaboration,” Niner says. n

perspectives &student submissions

Archaeology in ActionMy Semester as an ArchaeologistStory by Amanda KirklandPhotography by Lauren Collier

have always been fascinated with the historical mysteries that go along with archaeology. As a child I would dig holes in my

backyard, certain that one day I would uncover the bones of a dinosaur or the remains of a forgotten city.

As I got older, I pushed these thoughts into the back of my mind and accepted the fact that I was never going to be an archaeologist, but even though I had moved on to other career choices, archaeology always seemed to sneak up on me.

When I visited Rome the summer after my senior year of high school, I watched enviously as archaeologists worked on excavating a portion of the Roman Forums. I visited Pompeii and wished I could one day be a part of something so exciting. Whenever I watch a film in which archaeologists are performing an excavation I feel a twinge of jealousy.

“ ”After all the years of

curiosity surrounding archaeology, I knew this was my chance to

explore the subject firsthand.


I

53

When it was time for me to register for classes for my senior year at The University of Alabama, I had room for an elective class in my schedule and looked at the list of Honors seminars that were being offered for the semester. I stumbled across the “Honors Field Archaeology” course and felt a burst of excitement. After all the years of curiosity surrounding archaeology, I knew this was my chance to explore the subject firsthand. I switched my other classes around to make room for this course and enrolled immediately. Even though this class was going to be a big time commitment – approximately eight hours per week – I didn’t

care. This was my chance to be an archaeologist.The first week of class was not what I expected. Our excavation

site was mere minutes from campus, located at the River Road Park along the Black Warrior River. I anticipated arriving at the site and immediately digging in with trowels and brushes wherever we felt inspired to find hidden treasures. Instead, our professor, Dr. Jim Knight, presented us with the methodological rules of archaeology.

The land had to be measured, mapped and marked before any of us were allowed to even think about digging. Armed with a large shovel we had to dig through dusty, rock-hard Alabama clay in perfectly level layers within our exact 2 x 2 meter units. The fact that I had never actually used a real shovel before did not work to my advantage. Here I was, one of 10 girls swinging away at the earth in 100 degree weather. I seriously wondered what I had gotten myself into.

My classmate Laura Jacobs and I had been assigned to dig out the top 10 cm of soil – called the plow zone – in one of the units at the excavation site. Near the end of the day, I was sweaty, covered in dirt, and we had found nothing.

Dr. Knight came over to check on our progress and comment-ed on something he saw in the soil. He picked up my shovel and made a level scrape along the surface of the hole. There it was: the crystal skull.

Not really, but we had found something. I could see a large, circular shape of soil that was significantly darker than the sur-rounding soil. Dr. Knight explained to us that we had found a midden pit.

Everyone in the class gathered around, excited that one of us had found some evidence of the Native American people who had lived on the land. This pit had been dug out hundreds of years ago and had likely been filled with trash and broken pieces of pot-tery before being filled back with soil. As unexciting as this find

Perspective

Mosaic Spring 2009

Sarah Kelly carefully documents the measurement of her excavation.

Each person is assigned to a post hole to excavate with a trowel. The soil goes into a bucket to be screened for artifacts.

54

Amanda Kirkland is a senior majoring in advertising and minoring in graphic design and English. She is the president of Bama PAWS and is a member of the UA Advertising Team. Kirkland is in the University Honors Program.

may seem to an outsider, I felt a great sense of accomplishment. We may not have found the crystal skull, but it certainly felt like it. Any doubts I had about taking this course were immediately erased from my thoughts.

From this point on, I spent every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon on my hands and knees in the dirt, excitedly digging away at the earth with a trowel. With each passing day we learned more about the Native Americans who had inhabited the site. I bonded with my fellow classmates over the woes of all the roots and grub worms we had to sacrifice during the course of our

excavation. Each day we excavated the remains of a civilization hundreds–if not thousands–of years old.

By the end of the course I had uncovered a quartz Atlatl point, the handle of a frog effigy jar, a large sandstone slab that had been jabbed into the earth and hundreds of pieces of broken pottery. Never had I imagined I could find thousand year old pieces of pottery next to a walking track in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Although we may not have uncovered another Pompeii, our excavation felt just as exhilarating. At the end of the course all of our artifacts were bagged up and sent to the labs to be washed and properly stored. I am still a bit shocked I was given the chance to be an archaeologist for a semester, and am grateful this course was offered for any Honors student who was interested in the subject.

I ended the semester having met some great people, having learned about Native American civilization, and feeling completely knowledgeable about how an archaeological excavation takes place. Just hand me a sharpened shovel and I’ll show you what I can do. n

Story by Alan Blinder

W

How SR465 Happened


hen I experienced my first stroke-like episode in January 2006, my physicians thought the incident was an isolated

one. Although that prediction turned out to be false, and I did not get better for quite some time, my illness allowed for me to become involved in a type of advocacy that often goes unnoticed: citizen advocacy.

Before I got sick, I was actively involved in Republican politics at all levels, ranging from local county commission races to the 2004 presidential campaign, where I worked to develop and implement President Bush’s youth coalition strategy. I was well-versed in a broad range of issues, and I could talk to most people about topics ranging from tax cuts to China. I lobbied on issues of public policy, but never on issues of personal significance to me.

When I got sick, I heard the phrase “pediatric stroke” for the first time. Like a lot of people, the thought of a child having a stroke had never crossed my mind. Wasn’t a stroke what happened to people’s grandparents and not school-age children? But after my world came to a sudden halt, I came to a stark realization: stroke was in the top ten causes of death in children, and it was a cause few knew existed. In my hospital bed, childhood stroke became an issue of personal significance to me, and I knew I could make an impact if I tried.

Not long after I had suddenly fallen ill in the middle of Algebra II, I sent an e-mail to a friend in the office of Saxby Chambliss, a U.S. senator from Georgia. Chambliss had known me since I was 11, and had teased me about getting a girlfriend since I was 12. Two nights before his election to the U.S. Senate, I had stood next to him on the stage as Rudy Giuliani made a final push for the Republican candidate. Would Chambliss be willing to stand up for stroke?

Weeks passed as I traded e-mails with Washington. Every time I thought the resolution was in the bag, they would request another study, another small sliver of information. Finally, on May 3, Chambliss passed the proposed text of the resolution to Bill Frist, a physician-turned-senator from Tennessee who, at the time, was the majority leader and therefore set the Senate calendar. It would be up to Frist to schedule floor action before National Childhood Stroke Awareness Day on May 6. The afternoon Frist got the resolution, a call went out to every Senate office on the so-called “hotline”; the

Raising Awareness for Pediatric Strokes

55

Alan Blinder is a sophomore and the director of The University of Alabama Pediatric Stroke Program, an Honors College initiative.

majority leader wanted to know if any senators would object to unanimous action on the bill, the newly-named Senate Resolution 465. No one objected.

Less than 24 hours later, Frist and Chambliss took to the floor. Chambliss, the bill’s lead sponsor, submitted a statement for the record about the problem of childhood stroke, saying, among other things, “Very little is known about the cause, treatment, and prevention of childhood stroke. Only through medical research can effective treatment and prevention strategies for childhood stroke be identified and developed.”

Chambliss didn’t stop there: “The earlier that we are able to diagnose and begin treatment for victims of childhood stroke, the better the chances are for recovery and a reoccurrence is less likely to happen.” He talked about my case and how my world was suddenly turned upside down.

Frist, who had signed on as a co-sponsor, stood at his front-row desk as the floor leader and asked for the Senate’s unanimous consent to approve the measure. The presiding officer didn’t hesitate, responding “Without objection, it is so ordered.”

I watched the moment on C-SPAN. As I sat pondering – thinking about how a 16-year-old had lobbied the Congress – my mind flashed to something Gerald Ford said: “Our constitution works.”

A citizen had sought action. A senator saw a chance to make a difference. The Congress acted, the resolution attracted attention, and we undoubtedly raised awareness of stroke in children. It all came down to citizen advocacy. I’ve pushed for a resolution every year since, and although we’ve had some challenges from time to time, in the end, the Congress has always listened and helped.

Stroke is not the only issue that can trigger congressional action. Find an issue you’re passionate about, make others equally zealous, and combine efforts to make a true difference. You never know when your efforts might save a life.

Editor’s Note: National Childhood Stroke Awareness Day is May 2, 2009. The Congress is expected, yet again, to unanimously support efforts to raise awareness of pediatric stroke. n

% =+#56

Perspective

Mosaic Spring 2009

Math:The Root of All EvilStory by Jon LauerPhotography by Lauren Collier

A s a math tutor for The University of Alabama’s Center for Teaching and Learning [CTL], I do more than teach math concepts. I have to overcome the students’ fear and loathing of the subject.

My first attempts at telepathically transmitting the material from my brain to my confused students indicated they were woefully lacking in psychic ability. I learned that skipping steps mentally while working out an answer and expecting them to fill in the gaps just left them as lost as I would have been if my professor had explained the problem to me in Klingon.

Although I tutor a variety of subjects for CTL, the subject I find the most satisfying to tutor is math. Because for those people who struggle with math, it is not just this one math class they are now taking that is giving them fits; for most of them math has always been a lifelong struggle. Day after day, gloomy people come in muttering comments such as “I hate math,” or “Math is so hard for me,” and even the occasional bitter jab, “Math is so pointless.”

I look in their eyes when they approach a math problem, and I do not just see confusion; I often see frustration and even anger. They view the math problem through the lens of all their past struggles. It symbolizes the judgmental professors and math teachers they have had that all got a little too red pen happy.

In an objective subject like math, an answer is either right or wrong. No matter how much they try to get close, close is just not good enough. I see how painful it is for the most perplexed among them to agonize over a problem just by staring at the numbers. Or worse, staring at me. (Maybe I should tell them my ESP is broken.) So, I do my best to guide them through the steps required to solve the problem. I am helping them exorcise the personal math demons that have haunted them since grade school.

Because of this job, I have learned to toss aside my expectations.

”“ I was not hired to patronize

these students; I was hired to teach them. Being judgemental

got me nowhere.

Jon Lauer is a junior majoring in mathematics. He is a tutor at the Center for Teaching and Learning. Lauer is in the Computer-Based Honors Program.

When I see a student in Calculus II struggling with an algebra concept, I no longer am appalled or even surprised, because frankly I see this sort of situation all the time. I was not hired to patronize these students; I was hired to teach them. Being judgmental got me nowhere. I quickly learned what worked and what did not. Eventually, I realized that the biggest problem they face is being intimidated by the problem in its entirety. They view it as some long, convoluted mess instead of a series of tiny, logical steps. My mission was to figure out how to break it down for them. It is extremely gratifying to me when I finally see the students form a web in their minds that connects all the necessary steps together. The very same problem that made them squirm uncomfortably in their chair at the beginning of the session is then mercilessly squashed under the mighty grip of their pencil.

I frequently run into former students I have tutored. They smile broadly, and say, “Hey, you got me an 86 percent on that test! Thanks!” I smile back for two reasons. First, because they are dead wrong. I did not “get” them anything. I merely brought out the potential they had all along. The second reason I smile is because that small mental web that they had to form to pass the test is just a tiny component of something much bigger: a single thread that connects the huge entanglement that is math.

If successful, I have given them power over their demons not just by explaining a concept, but by instilling a confident mindset where they can weave the web together instead of getting ensnared by it. n

=# 57

Matthew May is a junior majoring in political science with a minor in biology, and completing a pre-medical concentration. He is currently the head of moderators for Sustained Dialogue. May is also researching rural health and health care with Dr. John Wheat, MD, MPH, professor in the College of Community Health Sciences, and the induction of Parkinson’s symptoms by environ-mental toxins in Drosophila with Dr. Janis O’Donnell, Ph.D., in Biological Sciences. He is chair of the Honors College lecture series, Vital Signs.

Health CareStory by Matthew MayA Much Needed Discussion

T o me, Tuesday, February 19, 2008, was not unlike most other days. To the family that sat humbly, yet visibly somberly, before me, this day was pivotal. I was standing before them, wearing a white coat and scrubs that mirrored those of the cardiovascular surgeon I was shadowing.

Undoubtedly, they assumed I also was a physician, as their glances toward me of solemn yet utter trust spoke in the way that words simply fail to. I observed as the calm, reassuring surgeon offered a grim, yet not statistically frightful diagnosis to the aging man: invasive heart surgery was the only responsive treatment. While it might seem reasonable that the prospect of a five-hour-long, technically intensive, invasive procedure to re-vascularize an aging man would elicit a flurry of negative emotion and sadness, the most peculiar, yet sublime, thing instead occurred: the family, including the patient, expressed relief.

To the family, the prospect of repair was actually optimistic in itself; they had feared much worse lay before them. Yet this moment, as crucial for the family as it was, for me was also singularly revealing of a simple truth: fundamentally, Americans have faith in their doctors.

Although our health care system in America has a long tradition of administrative and other inefficiency, we express undying veneration for the physicians and other professionals who treat us. However, though our doctors work tirelessly to treat their patients properly with a high standard of care, the systemic failures that plague our health care infrastructure demand that the “business” side of American health care coordinate more efficacious interplay with the “care” side.

Because of the funding struggles that characterize Medicare and other forms of public insurance, many physicians have their backs pushed against a financial wall, with little choice but to deny the acceptance of further Medicare patients. Physicians further find themselves with an increasing administrative burden,


and a transition to electronic medical records [EMR] represents a significant short-term cost that many physicians must also contend with and find inventive ways to integrate into their business model. Meanwhile, hospitals and medical practices in rural and other areas acutely affected by harsh economic times must cope with a significant percentage of medical care provided charitably, without reimbursement by any payer, leaving these entities in financial limbo and further strapping their ability to make crucial upgrades that facilitate better care. A harsh economic environment also has detrimental ripples that affect employers, leaving an increasing percentage of employers who are choosing not to or are unable to provide health care for their employees.

Traditionally, employers have served as a major, vital source of health care for a large percentage of the public, and this loss of employer-based insurance represents a metamorphosis in the provision of insurance that consequently has many more individuals depending on government-based insurance or possessing no insurance at all. Without insurance, patients find themselves accessing the health care system in heinously inefficient and unresponsive ways, both for the patient and the provider, such as emergency room visits for relatively small concerns.

Without doubt, the American patient will suffer, both in the long run and short run, if the American government fails to respond quickly to the plight of a fledgling health care industry.

While we trust our doctors, it has become clear that similar trust in our industry does not, and likely should not, exist. A serious debate, however, that integrates economics, politics, theoretical considerations, practicality and, foremost, considerations of the American patient, and that delves into the most fundamental question of all regarding health care: “How is the patient best served?,” will represent an inflection point in American health care. This point, however, will be without impact if we do not first build a philosophical foundation: all Americans must receive care more efficiently. We ought not let that family down, the next time around. Not all problems fix themselves. n

The Capstone Summer Honors ProgramStory by Natalie Beck

S

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ummer school will always have a negative connotation, at least if you’re just a kid. For only three months out of each year, you’re allowed to do away with old textbooks, eraser crumbs, that familiar graphite stain the side of your hand gets from rubbing across endless Scantron tests and, not to mention, the stress of striving for perfection. It’s a hard knock life, the school year, so why would a kid ever want to prolong this into the heavenly hiatus that is summer break?

That was my take on summer school when my dad, just weeks before I finished my junior year in high school, suggested the idea of robbing me of one glorious month of summer to shove me into classes at The University of Alabama.

“It’s a distinguished program for select high school students only,” he told me, demonstrating his poor persuasion skills. He probably just read that off the Web site advertising the program.

The program’s application process is similar to applying for undergraduate work. The requirements include a minimum ACT score of 25, essays that discuss your interest and goals for the program and ranking in the top 20 percent of your high school class. The Capstone Summer Honors Program provided an accurate preview of what actually applying for college would be like, a crucial skill only gained through experience.

As I walked to the mailbox to send off my application, I still hoped, maybe, just maybe, I would be politely turned down. I wasn’t quite ready to throw my summer to the books just yet.

UA, on the other hand, was more than ready to throw some books my way that summer.

After being accepted, my nerd syndrome kicked in, and I read all the pamphlets several times through. I discovered that I would be earning either seven or eight hours of college credit by taking two freshman-level courses and an exploratory seminar class designed especially for the program’s students.

Astronomy, economics, journalism, biology, history, political science … the list of course subjects seemed almost endless.

Perspective

Mosaic Spring 2009

Natalie Beck is a junior majoring in psychology. She has a 4.0 GPA and is a member of the Student Executive Council for the College of Communication and Information Sciences. Beck is in the University Honors Program.

Summer at the Capstone After painful flowcharts and hand-drawn diagrams of my future,

I decided on Psychology 101 and a computer science course.But just when I thought the fun part of picking classes was over, I

got to experience perhaps the greatest rite of passage for any excited freshman college girl: designing my dorm room. We would be living in the honors dorms, with our own personal room (a godsend in the world of college dormitories). Members of the program also would receive access to the dining halls on campus, the state-of-the-art recreational facilities and several planned activities on and off the campus and city of Tuscaloosa.

And I thought that was the selling point, until I learned about the chance to win one of eight scholarships, each totaling $4,000.

I would have to finish the program in one of the top eight spots and maintain a 3.0 undergraduate GPA, but friendly competition never hurt anyone. Soon after discovering this, I told my dad that this summer program might just seem “manageable.” I’m so stubborn. I knew it was the greatest opportunity I received in life so far.

The world of college is vastly different from high school: different class times, more free time that you have to learn how to use most effectively to maintain maximum happiness and efficiency, more people and professors to impress and gain connections from, more opportunities to better and further your overall education. The list goes on.

Although it was only a month, I got a very complex overview of college, putting me miles ahead of most of my classmates when I arrived for actual undergraduate work the next fall. And my dad and I came to a silent understanding on this fact.

No, half of my summer was not all fun and games. But the cost of giving up one month paled in comparison to the benefits it generated. And who am I kidding? It basically was all fun and games with a few textbooks thrown in. n

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Victor Luckerson is a freshman double majoring in English and journalism. He is a senior staff reporter for The Crimson White, as well as a staff member of the Marr’s Field Journal. Luckerson is in the University Honors Program and the University Fellows Experience.

Sam Grimes is a freshman double majoring in history and eco-nomics. He is a member of the Honors College Academic Honor Council. Grimes is also a mentor at Davis Emerson Middle School. He is in the University Honors Program and the University Fellows Experience.


Changing TidesA New Approach to Campus JournalismStory by Victor Luckerson and Sam GrimesPhotography by Sumerlin Brandon

t The University of Alabama, the tides are always changing. Over the course of the 20th century the Capstone evolved

from an institution for privileged white males to a home for young men and women of all ethnicities, nationalities and social strata.

Here in the 21st century we are looking at a university fundamentally different from the one our parents might have attended. Students of color make up 17 percent of the University population. More than 80 countries are represented on campus. A non-Greek candidate for SGA President accrued more than 7,000 votes this year, more votes than were cast in total in any prior campus election.

Increasingly, the University is host to a broad spectrum of student voices. Without structure, those voices become dissonant and chaotic. Or worse, those voices are silenced, and individuals recede back into their predefined categories. Instead of truly growing and maturing, the University simply becomes compartmentalized.

Changing Tides provides a voice to the increasingly diverse student body, both directly and indirectly. An online publication, Changing Tides is dedicated to in-depth reporting and analysis of campus issues and culture. The Web site is not so much a lens as a magnifying glass—we will choose two topics a semester and engage with them in a careful, detailed manner over a series of weeks. Our coverage will raise many questions, and while it will provide some answers, the overarching goal will be to make our audience so well-versed on an issue that they can ask this burning question: “What can we as people invested in the prosperity of this University do to improve this issue?” It’s a question that can’t be answered by an editorial staff, but it is our hope that Changing Tides can educate and enlighten people about certain campus issues. It can bring you the stories of the people affected by those issues. It can provide a forum for people to work out the answers for themselves.

The indirect voice will be the staff’s. Our words, pictures, videos, audio slideshows, maps and other multimedia will provide the

A

Changing Tides provides a different look at campus.

context, the framework and the structure. But the direct voice will be yours, the audience’s. We want to afford you a space to discuss oft-suppressed campus issues. We hope that people can use the narratives, data and analysis we provide to springboard into frank discussions, and we will provide that forum to anyone who is willing to engage.

Change is coming, inevitably. To be a part of it, visit changingtides.ua.edu. n

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Sarah Yates is a senior majoring in public relations and politi-cal science. She is a member of Capstone Men and Women and Alpha Chi Omega. Yates is in the University Honors Program.

Student Submission

Mosaic Spring 2009

Sarah Yates

I have your name, but is there anything to it?

For me, it’s the same story, yet closer to my heart.

And if I hold your name there, it won’t do us any good.

Then I’ll blame you for this burden, and we’ll fall apart.

It’s the same story: I’m the one who loves the most.

Except it’s not you I love, it’s the name you gave me.

It burns inside me, too hot to hold onto.

Letting go might save me—it’s too early to know.

Your name burns in my heart, scorching through all feeling.

Soon I’ll be stone, my natural state, and done with you.

For the little while I had your name, it was all mine.

But my story must continue—searching for the name of peace.

Natural State

i’m in love with words

written or voiced

and the sound of my song

myself and my choice

in love with revision

the taking of tea

the lonely condition

mermaids and the sea

i follow in darkness

the song of my soul

the masquerade dreamer

over-thinking my role

the music of discord

the fire of truth

the wild geese flying

the heroes of youth

in love with the concert

and hope from above

my heart full of concepts

with no room for love

a love poem

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ReturnYou don’t know this, but sometimes I

muse when the colors of my day

fuse to bricklayer’s red and the

green of the hills beyond the horizon.

I pick them apart, exposing the grays

and blues and violets underneath,

but the gold of the sun eludes me

despite my search among its rays.

Sometimes, I see you under a shadow:

a shadow of a shadow of the grass blades

between my fingers and my bare toes.

Suppose I were to grasp the blackest

night and hold its dizzying flame

in my heart. Would its power make

you start to understand the willow,

or would you turn your back to me again?

I can’t see you anymore in the shackles

reflecting the anguish of the prisoner

or the yoke pressed hard upon the sodden earth.

Your return is near, riding on the back of

the last autumn leaves before a frost,

but know, until then, that I’m lost without you.

The world hears the wings in the distance

and prepares to be entranced.

I hum melancholy tunes, waiting, and

pulling the midnight door to.

Don’t think for a moment that I won’t

contradict you, saying

“Cotton fields forever.”

But maybe they’re right:

it’s backwards here,

where the autumn pours its life

back into me.

And I’m stuck midway,

thriving off rosy sunset skies.

The trees this time of year are my sign:

the wise old greens, level-headed, knowing,

they see the future but hide it from me.

But there are also the golds, their last days

rich with stretching and reflecting the sun.

Most of all, though, I look to the trees

blushing scarlet, passionate.

They know where they belong.

And death is sweet, gently

rocking along to the twang of

an old guitar.

So, until the sages tell me another way,

I will dance alone, and sway with

the bluegrass song of the South.

Bluegrass

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Student Submission

Mosaic Spring 2009

Drew HooverDrew Hoover is a freshman majoring in history. He is a Center for Ethics and Social Responsibility scholar and a staff photographer for The Crimson White. Hoover is also a member of the Blount Undergraduate Initiative. He is in the University Honors Program.

Survival

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Charlie Push ButtonsFebruary Flowers

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Mosaic Spring 2009

Student Submission

Marshall HoustonMarshall Houston is a sophomore majoring in economics and English. He is a member of Alpha Tau Omega and the University Fellows Experience.

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Mosaic Spring 2009

Student Submission

Emily RobersonEmily Roberson is a junior majoring in advertising. She is the vice president of The University of Alabama Environmental Council and is also a member of the UA Advertising Team.

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Kellie HensleyKellie Hensley is a sophomore majoring in studio art with a digital media concentration. She is the assistant student life editor for the Corolla yearbook. Hensley is also a member of Phi Eta Sigma and the National Society of Collegiate Scholars.

mosaic

Written, Designed and Produced by Honors College Students at The University of Alabama Spring 2009

mosaic, spring 2009

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