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April
2008 - Vol. 1 No.
2 Faculty stories from
spring break
Each year, the Monmouth College campus empties for
the week of Spring Break. Students scatter everywhere –
from long-awaited trips back to their families, to warmer climates for
athletic opportunities or R&R, to college-sponsored Alternative Spring
Break trips. Faculty lead or accompany some of the trips, but they also
use the break to catch up on grading, relax or, in some cases, work on
special projects. Here are some of their stories:
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An EF5 tornado hit Greensburg in
May 2007. |
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The tornado
destroyed over 95 percent of the town. |
Janeve West, professor, theater
arts: Though West did not participate in any professional development
during Spring Break, she did partake in "some personal healing," she
said, spending the bulk of her free time visiting her hometown of
Greensburg, Kansas.
There, West had the opportunity to
see the town’s progress in rebuilding from an EF5 tornado in May 2007
that destroyed over 95 percent of the town.
"I know Illinois people will
understand how proud I am of the resilience of these Midwesterners, and
this academic community will appreciate the fact that Greensburg is
rebuilding completely green," said West.
All city and government buildings
are setting their goal to be LEED Platinum in their green standards, and
the bulk of the community is building back as green as possible.
"They are setting themselves to be
the greenest community in the nation, serving as a pilot program for the
newest in green technologies," she said. "Volunteers continue to visit
the town and find a variety of welcome signs and T-shirts. One of my
favorite (shirts) quotes Corinthians, saying, "We are hard pressed on
every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted,
but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed."
Anyone interested in learning more
about Greensburg can visit
www.greensburggreentown.org or
www.greensburgks.org
. The latter site has information on "Eco-Town," a Discovery Channel
series about the rebuilding of Greensburg.
Susan Van Kirk, lecturer,
communication: Van Kirk, who taught English at Monmouth High School for
many years, is writing a series of stories about those teaching
experiences.
"My idea is to write a collection
of stories about what it was like to teach in a public high school
classroom over an entire career
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the good, the inspirational, the ugly and the humorous," she said.
"Instead of being a story about inspiring teachers, it is a book about
how students influence teachers and are remembered by them. One of my
former MC students told me I should put my stories down on paper, so
that is what I am doing. Spring Break gave me an opportunity for some
face-to-face meetings with people and some time to continue writing."
Van Kirk said that so many of her
former students have been cheering her on and helping her that now she
feels a real obligation to try to find a publisher or at least
self-publish. She believes the book will be of interest to those who
attended Monmouth High School, but she also hopes that it will be
embraced by teachers in general.
"It is taking on a life of its own
as it seems to take a village to do this," she said. "I’ve contacted
folks I haven’t heard from since the early ’70s, checking out details of
stories and also finding photographs I can use."
Monie Hayes, assistant professor,
educational studies: Hayes was a presenter at the Illinois Reading
Conference. Her topic was teen book clubs, and one of her listeners was
MC graduate Katie Hatch ’06, who is now teaching middle school in
Chicago.
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Sally and Monie Hayes talk
with an Iowan attending the January caucuses. |
On another note, Hayes and her
daughter, Sally, who is a sophomore at Monmouth, continued their
political support of 2008 presidential hopeful Barack Obama. The mother
and daughter attended their Democratic county convention in Iowa and
were both elected delegates to the district convention.
"There was a contest
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this is rare," said Hayes of the election. "Usually, we have to recruit
and assure those who agree to have their names listed as alternates that
they likely won’t be called upon to go."
William Urban, professor, history:
Predictably, the prolific author spent his Spring Break working on a
forthcoming book. Published by Greenhill Press, Urban expects "Bayonets,
Scimitars, Bayonets: Mercenaries in Europe and Beyond, 1500-1789" to be
available for Christmas.
Chad Braun and Dave Ragone,
assistant football coaches: Within 17 hours, the Braun and Ragone
families welcomed new members. The Brauns’ third child, a son named Asa
James, was born March 7. The Ragones welcomed their first child on March
8, a daughter named Olivia Christine. Besides their football duties,
both men coach spring sports and typically take their teams on extended
road trips for Spring Break. Braun’s tennis team took the week off,
while Ragone’s golfers took their annual Southern trip and played at
their season-opening meet at Millikin without him.
Christine Johnston, dean of
admission: Johnston spent the week making connections in China to help
Monmouth College draw more students from the approximately 300 million
Chinese who graduate high school each year. She squeezed in some R&R,
too, including a visit to the Great Wall of China.
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