The following post was contributed by Alumni Memorial Scholars seniors Ashlea Raemer and Revee Needham, who recently completed an independent research project, using their AMS grant funds, studying vegetarian food in Argentina. 

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Together we, Ashlea Raemer and Revee Needham, decided to complete our AMS project on the accessibility of vegetarianism in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Historically, Argentina has been heavily influenced by meat consumption, specifically beef. This started when the Spanish conquistadores brought cattle, which then flourished in the flat grassland pampas. Today, those legacies remain, as Argentines are the second highest meat consumers per capita in the world (source). Searching for ways to have an ‘authentic’ Argentine experience or to-do’s while visiting, tourists are directed towards an asado, the equivalent of a beef barbecue. Thus, we sought out to find answers: Is it possible to affordably eat vegetarian food? Are vegetarian-marketed restaurants spatially aggregated in a certain part of the city? Is vegetarian culture like that in the US?  Read more

The following post was contributed by Alumni Memorial Scholars seniors Rachel Weinstein and Geli Greco, who recently completed an independent research project, using their AMS grant funds, studying the effects of climate change in the Yukon and Vancouver. 

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From Hamilton, New York, climate change can seem like a distant problem. We count our blessings on January days when it’s warm enough to walk outside without coats. We try to forget last year’s record hurricane season and the trillion-ton iceberg that broke off Antarctica. Read more

 

The following post was contributed by Alumni Memorial Scholar Linh Le ’18, who recently completed an independent research project, using his AMS grant funds, studying Vikings in the UK, Denmark, and Norway. 

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During my Spring 2017 Wales Study Group, I got to know more about the history of the United Kingdom and how different groups of people influenced the nation. I was eager to learn about the Viking invasion, because ever since I was nine or ten years old, I have always been fascinated by Norse mythology and Scandinavian culture. I can never forget the excitement of reading the Prose and Poetic Edda, or the heroic quests of Sigurd in the Volsunga Saga, a story which later inspired J. R. R. Tolkien to write The Lord of the Rings. Over ten years later, with funding from the AMS program, I finally had a chance to study their legacy in the United Kingdom and compare it with the portrayal of Vikings in their home nations of Denmark and Norway.  Read more

The following post was contributed by Alumni Memorial Scholar Denise Larson ’19, who recently completed an independent research project, using her AMS grant funds, observing classrooms in Taos, New Mexico. 

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From August 12th to 22nd 2017, I went to Taos, New Mexico to complete an AMS project entitled, “Classroom Observations in Taos, New Mexico.” As a prospective member of Colgate’s 5-year Master of Arts in Teaching program, I’m required to get 100 observation hours in classrooms spanning the grades that compose the secondary level of education. Further, those hours must comprise a diverse body of students and schools, with traits such as disabilities, poor socioeconomic status, and English Language Learners (ELLs).

The latter was proving to be a challenge to observe in upstate New York, so I decided to go to Taos Middle School upon the suggestion of my teammate Hannah Gunther who attended that middle school. The school is 98% Hispanic, 100% free and reduced lunch, and they have a thriving bilingual program. Not only would I be able to satisfy numerous requirements for my observation hours, but I’d do so much more fully than I could have hoped to emulate in upstate New York.

I spent 30 hours in the school and observed social studies classes, bilingual language arts classes, and even an advanced mariachi class. A typical day for me looked like getting dropped off amongst the middle schoolers at 7:40 and then proceeding to observe classes until the end of the school day at 2:45. I would sit in the back of the classroom and take notes on a legal pad.

I was particularly paying attention to classroom management strategies, how curriculum was differentiated for students with different learning preferences (particularly ELLs), and also those stand-out moments in classrooms that establish classroom culture. Coming off of a summer that I spent teaching for the first time, I found myself incredibly attune to the nuances of classroom life at Taos Middle School, and loved every minute of my 30 hours there.

By the end of the week, I even found students approaching me for help as I’d managed to establish myself as a credible figure in the classroom. Those brief moments, in tandem with my pages upon pages of notes have given me a wealth of knowledge to draw upon moving forward in my teaching career. I learned that the smallest adjustments make a difference, such as having written directions in addition to oral directions. I learned the importance of validating students’ cultures in the classroom, but also the importance of maintaining control and encouraging students to follow appropriate norms that the school has established. I learned that there are a wide variety of teaching styles and that no style is innately more effective, but that stylistic choice depends on what type of classroom environment a teacher wants to cultivate. Ultimately, I gained a new appreciation for the role of intentionality in the classroom, and the responsibility the teacher has for making the effort to be intentional.

In addition to the vastly foreign environment I found myself in at Taos Middle School, I also felt transported to another world just being in Taos, New Mexico. As such, my trip to Taos doubled as a cultural experience. I visited Taos Pueblo, and witnessed firsthand the rich Native American culture that flourishes in Taos to this day. This connects to my experience at Taos Middle School because there are some kids at the school who come from the Pueblo, and their culture dictates the way they navigate the school day.

My appreciation for the preservation of Native American culture was reaffirmed when I visited Bandalier National Park, which is home to cliff dwellings created and inhabited by Native Americans hundreds of years ago.
The themes of creativity and resourcefulness that I appreciated at Bandalier were re-emphasized at Meow Wolf, which is an interactive installation art exhibit that is a collaboration of over 100 local artists in Santa Fe.

Meow Wolf was the only exploration of New Mexico I did (besides in the classroom) that took place indoors, as I was enamored by the desert and mountain vistas. I gazed upon the Rio Grande from the Gorge Bridge, and visited the earth ships that sprouted up nearby. The earth ships are sustainable homes that people have built and live in year round with the aim of preserving the environment as well as living simply, and the location seemed fitting in close proximity to the beautiful Rio Grande.
Another day I hiked down to natural hot springs that reside adjacent to the Rio Grande, and that was the lowest point (literally, not figuratively!) of my time in Taos.
The highest point of my time in Taos came from hiking in the Taos ski valley up to a peak elevation of 11,200 feet. The chance to overlook the tourist-destination Taos ski valley as well as the town of Taos took my breath away (at least what remained after hiking 2000 feet of elevation gain!).
I also got to eat some of the best Mexican food I’ve ever had, and get in some high altitude running.

I found myself thinking and verbalizing that New Mexico is the coolest place I’ve ever been, and that was a combination of my experience both in Taos Middle School and across the town of Taos and the state of New Mexico. This wouldn’t have been possible without the help of Colgate’s education department for motivating me to have a rich observation experience, the AMS program for support throughout the grant application process, and the Gunther family for taking me in for my 10 days in Taos as well as being phenomenal tour guides. So a big THANK YOU to everyone who gave me this opportunity and helped me to maximize it!

During winter of 2017, Alumni Memorial Scholar Revee Needham ’18 used her grant funds to learn about organic farming in Costa Rica. She writes:

I worked on the farm most mornings, helping to plant, harvest crops, and befriend the baby goat. I learned about the challenges of organic farming in Costa Rica, where pesticide use is higher than the U.S. Overall, the work was a lot more time and labor-intensive than I would’ve thought. Also, I learned about the devastation of November’s hurricane on the farm’s crops.

You can read more about Revee’s experience on Colgate’s Sustainability News blog. And you can learn more about the AMS program by clicking here.