Wide horizons

June 7, 2013

Having each received $4,000 to integrate academic-year theory into real-world practice, 20 Skidmore students have embarked on experiences this summer that they’re likely never to forget. For example:

• Art major Rivkah Gevinson ’13 is making a north-south traverse of her native Norway, documenting the unusual qualities of summer light in that country;
  
  
• Environmental studies major Joshua Inaba ’14 is helping the Nature Conservancy save marine habitats and fish species in Hawaii’s Kiholo Bay;

• Dance major Salome Egas ’14 is documenting the dances, stories and fables of the indigenous people of Ecuador;

• Physics major Anna Egner is with NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, helpingmeasure atmospheric aerosols such as sulfates, carbons, and nitrates.

“The more ambitious the endeavor, the better,” says Kim Marsella, associate director of academic advising and administrator of Summer Education Experiences—Learning Beyond Campus. Now in its second year, with support from the Mellon Foundation, the program coordinates the competitive SEE-Beyond awards. Among the dozens of applicants, the 20recipients were nominated by the department or program in which they major or minor and then selected by an interdisciplinary faculty panel. 

“In making these awards, we’re encouraging students to challenge themselves as they never have before, creatively applying all of the analytical and communications skills they’ve acquired in three or four years at Skidmore,” Marsella says, noting that the stipends are large enough so that even students who would otherwise need to find paying summer jobs are able to participate in a summer of intensive, academically relevant experience.

Below in alphabetical order are 16 of the 20 SEE-Beyond award recipients. (Photos not available for Martha Snow '14, Marguerite Griesmer '14, Benjamin Bechand '14, and Alexandra Bilodeau '14.)