Cutler Scholars Spring 2015

Cutler ScHolars Newsletter

Spring 2015

Senior Dinner

Senior Cutler Scholars, staff, friends, and faculty gather to celebrate the senior scholars and their most influential mentor.

In this issue...

•

Director’s Note

• Alumni Update

2

3 • Class of 2019 4-6

Working on the Weekdays • Alumni Essay • Class of 2015 •

6 7

Find us on Facebook at Ohio University’s Manasseh Cutler Scholars Program Find us on Instagram @cutlerscholars

8

1

Note From the

“

Director Dr. Herman “Butch” Hill Jr.

Spring Semester Colloquia: Adventures in Gore, Capitalism, and Suicide Prevention In the winter quarter of 2001 the Baker Peace Conference dealt with genocide, and our colloquium reader was the atrocity-filled Crimes Against Humanity. Although the crime that gave the book its title wasn’t even identified until after WWII, we read of earlier atrocities certainly worthy of the name. After that term, I vowed not to choose a similarly depressing reader again.

During the current spring semester, we talked about the evidence that mankind is becoming less violent over the course of civilization. I chose Stephen Pinker’s The Better Angels of Our Nature, which sets out in its 1,000 pages to convince the reader that violence is on the decline. We had used Pinker’s The Blank Slate in 2004 to talk about nature vs. nurture—and found that to be a pleasant volume full of amusing anecdotes. With such an uplifting thesis, how could Better Angels be depressing?

Unfortunately, Pinker chose to show how relatively non-violent present times are by highlighting the atrocities of the past…in great detail. We could have had the horror-filled winter of 2001 all over again, if it weren’t for our array of guests.

Prof. Richard Vedder spent an evening with us, arguing that free trade and capitalism are at least partly responsible for a more civilized society. Basically, the idea is that trade is more efficient than pillaging for obtaining goods. The Scholars found his arguments to be polarizing—that is to say, it was a typically good session with him.

Pinker notes a correlation between declining murder rates and the appearance of etiquette books in the Middle Ages. We tested this idea by holding an etiquette dinner, led by Kristine Daugherty. The affair was remarkably non-violent, and Kelsey Davis even ate a little salad for the first time, but the experiment was inconclusive overall.

Prof. Nukhet Sandal, Director of the War and Peace Studies Program, sought to broaden our discussion of violence by considering institutional violence. For example, she suggested that huge student-loan debt could be considered a form of institutional violence.

Shakespeare’s plays are a frequent reference point for Pinker about the prevalence of bloodshed in those days. We had Ohio University’s own Shakespeare expert, Prof. Sam Crowl give his wary opinion of this. We learned the real meaning of the term “the long peace” and were treated to Crowl’s famously interactive lecture style.

“

Maybe it’s a sad commentary that a highlight of the semester was a session on suicide—but it was! Dr. Krystal Hernandez of Counseling and Psychological Services opened our eyes about how common it is for college students to think of suicide (about 10% of college students in the country, according to a 2006 survey).

Scholars found her common-sense advice uplifting on how to approach friends who might be contemplating self-harm.

We still have two weeks to go in the semester, but I’m not confident that this will be the academic term when we actually solve the problem that we’re discussing. We will only have one real colloquium night left; the last meeting will largely be taken up by a send-off of our four seniors: Devon Baum, Kelsey Davis, Kara Frisina, and Kit John. Perhaps they’ll include the solution as part of their parting words of wisdom!

2

Alumni Update

Stephanie Ksionzyk Boman Konneker-Cutler Scholar ’07

Emily Albright Miller Hoff-Cutler Scholar ’01

Married John Boman in November 2014.

Is now working with Victoria Secret as AVP of Marketing Strategy.

Ethan Cottrill

Sam Miller

Cutler Scholars Alumni-Cutler Scholar ’13 Was accepted to the Medical Scientist (MD/PhD) Training Program at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

DHI-Cutler Scholar ’12 Will complete his M.S. in Geological Sciences this May.

Gabe Weinstein

Grasselli Brown-Cutler Scholar ’13 Started a new job as Sports Editor of the Taos News in Taos, NM in February 2015.

Meghann Karnes Ackley Konneker-Cutler Scholar ’10

Welcomed baby Addy in March 2015.

Natalie Kruse Daniels

Carrie Chute Torr

Welcomed baby Wilder in December 2014.

Welcomed baby Henry in January 2015.

Moss-Cutler Scholar ’04

Riedel-Cutler Scholar ’06

3

Class of 2019New Scholars Selected Shanan Ashton

Maxwell Annable

Ashton is number

Stocker-Cutler Scholar Annable is ranked first Stuckey-Cutler Scholar one in her class, and in his class and was Proctorville, OH has been named an Oberlin, OH president of student council for his junior and senior year. He served as the Interact Club vice president and played in the marching band. Annable played varsity tennis and cross-country.

Anna DeGarmo Elllis-Cutler Scholar Chillicothe, OH

Leah Huff

Jewell-Cutler Scholar Londonderry, OH

4

AP Scholar. She was a member of National Honor Society and ran cross country each year of high school. She was a peer tutor and was in the Math Club for three years. Ashton plans to study biological sciences.

Abigal Faires

DeGarmo earned high honor roll every year and was named an AP scholar. She played volleyball each year in high school, serving as varsity captain for two years, and was named a scholar athlete. DeGarmo plans on studying biological sciences.

Bush-Cutler Scholar Glouster, OH

Huff will be valedictorian of her class. She was a member of the Vinton County marching band for four years and served as vice president of the band her senior year.

Huff was a member of the Spanish club for four years, serving as president her senior year.

Tracy Kondrit

Gibby-Cutler Scholar Cheswick, PA

Faires served on student council each year, serving as vice-president and president her senior year. She played volleyball and softball all four years and was named All Academic in the Tri-Valley Conference each year.

Faires plans to study biological sciences.

Kondrit was a member of student council every year, serving as treasurer, secretary, and vice-president. She was on varsity track, soccer, and swimming every year and won many awards in both sports.

Kathryn Ludden

Cailin Michael

Konneker-Cutler Scholar Ludden played Hughes-Cutler Scholar Michael was on the volleyball for four years Olean, NY Oak Hill, OH University of Rio Grande and was named a scholar athlete. She volunteered for the Homeless Huskies Foundations for three years and was on the high honor roll for four years. Ludden plans on studying mechanical engineering.

Zachary Reizes

Rachel Onusko

Konneker-Cutler Scholar Onusko is one of Greenfield, OH the top three students

in her class and was vice-president of her senior class. She was on the drill team and participated in drama club and choir. Onusko was a member of the Buckskin Stitchers and Mixers for nine years.

Bradley Schweikert EAB-Cutler Scholar Hendersonville, NC

Merit List of 2013 and 2014 while participating in a dual enrollment program. She was a varsity cheerleader all four years. Michael plans on studying Communication Sciences and Disorders.

Schweikert is one of the top three students in his class. He was a varsity wrestler and a varsity soccer player. Schweikert played on his school’s symphonic band as well as his high school’s jazz band, serving as an officer and a section leader.

Grasselli BrownCutler Scholar Shaker Heights, OH

Lydia Seiter Russ LegacyCutler Scholar Cincinnati, OH

Reizes participated in the International Baccaluarite Diploma Program and was a member of the Model United Nations. He was a member of the Israeli Culture Club and helped organize a TEDx event for his high school. Reizes plans on studying global studies war and peace.

Seiter was named an AP scholar with honors. She was a member of Latin Club and served as social chair and president. Seiter played in the band and was section leader her junior and senior year. She was a varsity cheerleader and was captain her senior year.

Continued on Page 6

5

Hannah Smith

Riedel-Cutler Scholar Flushing, OH

Smith was one of the top five students in her class. She played on the marching band, was on band council and served as the flute section leader. Smith plans on studying music therapy.

Working on the Weekdays

Favorite part about Jewell-Cutler Scholar ’17 your job?

Chloe Musick

Job: Upward Bound Office Manager

Most rewarding part of your job?

“Seeing how the students grow as they progress through the program. They start as freshmen in high school with little to no knowledge about college and finish as seniors in high school, ready to start college (or an alternative).”

6

“I was in Upward Bound when I was in high school, so I have a chance to give back to a program that assisted me on a regular basis when I was a student. I love the aspect of giving back, as well as interacting with students who are currently in a similar position that I was in.”

How will this job apply to your future career?

“I am very interested in the correlation between socioeconomic backgrounds and education. My hope is that by working for a federal program that caters to the needs of impoverished students, I can get my foot in the door somewhere along the way.”

Mary Faith Voinovich

Russ LegacyCutler Scholar Hudson, OH

6

Voinovich was a member of the Hudson High School Business Club and served as the secretary her junior year and vice-president her senior year.

Voinovich played on Hudson’s chamber orchestra and played as the principal cellist her senior year.Voinovich plans to study chemical engineering.

Current Cutler Scholars have a variety of jobs on campus. that to them. Sometimes it Emma Perrin

Jewell-Cutler Scholar ’17

gets really stressful when we have a sold-out performance, so being an usher has also taught me a great deal about solving problems on the spot and being ready for anything.”

Least favorite part about your job?

Job: Usher Manager for OU Event Services What is the biggest thing your job has taught you?

“My job has certainly taught me how to be a better and more professional communicator. People who come to see performances at Memorial Auditorium are expecting a nice evening and it’s our job to give

“Working the events means I never really get to enjoy them completely. I haven’t actually attended a show with friends as an audience member in a year and sometimes I miss that.”

What is the most rewarding part of your job?

“I get to work with some amazing event services staff. It’s really rewarding to be part of a good team and to work together to deal with any challenge that might come up.”

Alumnus Reflects

Colin McCrone

“I

Emrick-Cutler Scholar ‘08

would like to share with you my thoughts on how being a Cutler Scholar has influenced my life and my career.

Somehow nearly five years have passed since the last time I addressed this question for this newsletter, and as you can imagine, I’ve found it illuminating to compare my thoughts now to my writing then. Five years ago, I celebrated how my Cutler Scholarship had afforded me the chance to deeply pursue multiple interests. I was just one year into my 3.5-year Masters of Architecture program at Cornell, and it was already obvious that my opportunities were only increasing in “interestingness” because I had had the chance to build such a unique (if not brow-furrowing) skillset. So what do my physics and French majors have to do with architecture? I don’t know—lots of things and nothing. It turns out that that isn’t the right question to ask.

At Ohio University, no one ever asked me: “what do you want to be when you grow up?” Though I admit to spending plenty of time fretting about finding an answer, questions for me were instead: “What are you interested in?” “May I introduce you to so and so?” “How can we help?” These are better questions because they helped me build a definition for myself in an additive manner–“I want to try to combine these five interests”—rather than restrictive—I want to be this kind of architect with that kind of specialty.

Today, at the ripe old age of 30, my answer to the larger question is: being a Cutler Scholar taught me to be comfortable being special. Not long after my last article in this newsletter, my path in architecture school diverged from the traditional design and theory-centric education that Cornell so excels at, toward more technical problems like building energy use and computational geometry. I spent as much time as I could on the other side of campus with engineers in multi-disciplinary teams, and for several projects, I played a central role as the guy who understood and could communicate with both designers and engineers. I faced some political risks within the architecture school for this; I was sometimes typecast as a too technical, and people noticed that I didn’t chase the same coveted internships as my peers. To the credit of my amazingly talented classmates, most people “got it” that I was simply on a different path. Still, it was not easy feeling like a black sheep, but perhaps because I had great practice as a Cutler Scholar, I was not uncomfortable sticking out.

So what am I now that I’m all grown up? First, let’s hope that none of us is ever afflicted by an adjective so terminal as “grown up.” I have a dream job—my business card says I am a “Computational Design Evangelist.” To note, none of those words were on my tongue a decade ago when I was at Ohio University imagining possible futures. It means that I am the most public-facing member of a product team developing software tools for architects and engineers to solve some of the most complex problems in design today. The program is called Dynamo, and I work at Autodesk and live in San Francisco. I get to be the guy in the middle: I teach designers to think like programmers and I curate feedback to help programmers understand designers. When I tell people I studied physics and architecture now, I notice that furrowed brows have given way to nodding heads: “oh, okay, that makes sense.” I agree that it fits, but I swear I couldn’t have planned it. As one of the most significant components of my head start in my life and in my career, my Cutler Scholarship helped me embrace intellectual diversity, feel comfortable being special, and appreciate just how lucky I am.

7

“

Senior Farewell Devon Baum

What will you miss the most about the Jewell-Cutler Scholar Program?

Mechanical Engineering “The conversations with fellow Scholars from all over the nation and world from different backgrounds and disciplines.”

What is the biggest lesson you learned while at OHIO? “Staying on schedule is essential. This allows

Kara Frisina

Best memory with the Konneker-Cutler Scholar Program?

Commercial Photography “When we went to Washington D.C. my and Spanish freshman year. It was such an adventure running around the city with the big group.”

What will you miss most about OHIO? “The community. I can’t imagine my undergrad without the Athens

Caitlyn John

Emrick-Cutler Scholar Information Telecommunication Systems

8

The Cutler Scholars Program says goodbye to the Class of 2015 Kelsey Davis projects to stay on schedule and makes things easier in the long run.”

What is something you wish you knew as a first year student?

“I wish I knew how important class scheduling is and how important establishing good relationships is.”

community as well as the Cutler Scholar community.”

What is the biggest lesson you learned while at OHIO? “I learned to take action and responsibility for my own life. Opportunities like friendships, experiences, jobs and learning new skills are only attainable if you reach out and take them.”

Something you wish you What will you miss the knew when you started most about the as a first year student?

Program?

“College is what happens in between classes. You need classes to get a degree, but I’ve been exposed to so many more ideas through lectures, campus events, rallies, and even conversations between friends.

Konneker-Cutler Scholar Communication Sciences and Disorders

The other Scholars, of course! It’s rare to find a large group of people who can have high-level intellectual discussions or hang out in the study lounge and watch HGTV. I’m grateful to have had the chance to know all of these wonderfully weird scholars.”

Who was the most influential person during your time at OHIO? “Dr. Konneker has been undoubtedly the most influential person in my life here at OU. The past four years, I’ve tried to let his light of generosity shine through me and spread his kindness. I am a product of his generosity and he’s instilled in me the confidence to invest in myself and my education as I pursue a master’s degree.”

Any Final Thoughts?

“I’ve been able to accomplish more in my undergraduate career and see more than I thought I would in my entire life. This Program has allowed me to learn more about myself than I thought I ever could. I will forever be grateful for the opportunities given to me through this Program and the person I became because of it.”