Thursday, July 27, 2023

Photo: Biology-Environmental Studies major Taylor Hebert ’25 is spending the summer as an Operations Intern for Gold County Wildlife Rescue in Auburn, California. Learn more on the CCEC blog.

Today, in celebration of National Intern Day, we are highlighting the Whitman Internship Grant program at the Career and Community Engagement Center (CCEC). 

The Whitman Internship Grant program provides funding to students who secure or build an unpaid internship opportunity.

This summer, the Whitman Internship Grant program supported 105 internships in locations across the world, 29 of which are based in the Walla Walla Valley, at organizations like the STAR Project, United Way of the Blue Mountains, SOS Health Services and Blue Mountain Action Council’s Commitment to Community. (A total of 131 internships were supported from the fall of 2022 through the summer of 2023.)

Application for Fall 2023 Whitman Internship Grants will be accepted from August 1 to September 15. If you are a student who is interested in learning more about these opportunities, please schedule an appointment with Assistant Director for Internship Programs Nadine Stecklein.

Earlier this month, under the direction of Associate Professor of Psychology Pavel S. Blagov, eight Whitman students and alumni, along with collaborators from Connecticut College, published a research article in the peer-reviewed journal Personality and Individual Differences. According to the researchers, self-reported traits linked to the psychopathic personality correlated with certain features of people’s self-defining memories. Additionally, when analyzing written self-defining personal narratives, research assistants were able to infer, to some extent, the level of psychopathic personality of the rememberers. The research contributes to the narrative study of personality and to the fields of person perception and the trait theory of psychopathic personality.

Assistant Professor of Physics Ashmeet Singh was consulted for the creation of a science video that was recently published by Veritasium on its YouTube channel which has more than 14 million subscribers and 2.1 billion views. Singh was contacted as an expert physics consultant on the topic of entropy for the video “Entropy: The Most Misunderstood Concept in Physics.” Over a series of video conversations and email exchanges, Singh helped the producers better understand the topic and specifically contributed to the video’s inclusion of black hole entropy and thermodynamics and its contribution to the entropy budget of the universe.

President Sarah Bolton invites all staff and faculty members to take a social break today at 3 p.m. on the Baker Center side lawn. Ice cream (and other sweet treats) will be provided. (Students who are on campus for the summer are also welcome!)

There will be an orientation session for new or first time supervisors of students on campus, on Tuesday, August 1 at noon in Memorial Building 331 (RSVP in advance). The session will cover Human Resources regulations and rules, payroll, Handshake and how to create an inclusive work environment. 

Next week (not this week as previously reported), our campus will be visited by approximately 250 participants in a weeklong musical workshop. The Midsummer Musical Retreat is a noncompetitive summer program for adult singers and instrumentalists. While not officially affiliated with Whitman College, the retreat has made its home here since 1998. Activities will take place in multiple locations on campus (Cordiner Hall, Harper Joy Theatre, Hall of Music, Maxey Hall, etc.).

The Office of Admission is looking for volunteers for the final Discover Whitman Day of the summer, on Friday, August 11. You can help visitors find their way around campus or meet with guests over lunch to answer questions and to talk about your Whitman experience. Sign up in advance.

The Student Activities’ Kooskooskie Cabin on Mill Creek is available to Whitman students, staff and faculty for summer reservations. For $60/night you can enjoy a cabin that comfortably sleeps eight, with a full kitchen, bathroom, large front porch and yard. Located just 20 minutes from campus, the weather at the cabin is typically 10 degrees cooler than in Walla Walla.

Photo (Nicole Huh ’23): This week the Office of Communications visited The Collins Lab to learn more about student-faculty research happening this summer under the guidance of Assistant Professor of Chemistry Jon Collins (far left). Visit the Whitman College Instagram or TikTok channels to learn more from the three students pictured above (from left to right: Kai Kirsch ’25, Courtney Hull ’24, Aurora Anderson ’24).

8 a.m. to Noon

Fire Alarm Inspections

Stanton Hall

3 p.m.

Faculty & Staff Ice Cream Social

Baker Center Side Lawn

8 a.m. to Noon

Fire Alarm Inspections

Tamarac House

Would you like to share an event with campus? Submit the information to the Events Calendar.

“Whitman Today” is produced by the Office of Communications and is emailed Monday through Friday to Whitman College staff, faculty and students.

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