Wilson Magazine Fall 2018

a new

ENERGY

Prioritizing the student experience

White Rhino Earthwatch Trip | Dramatic Results for Christi Wilkins ’84 Rescue of Refugee Scholars | Alaskan Internship | Fort Hunter Dig volume 91 | FALL 2018 | number 3

JOIN US AS WE CELEBRATE ALL THAT IS BOLDLY WILSON!

Events to commemorate our past, present and future will take place between spring 2019 and spring 2020, with a special kickoff on Charter Day.

Stay connected to all 150th activities at

www.wilson.edu/150

volume 91 | FALL 2018 | number 3

FEATURES 16 Saving the Chubby Unicorn

By Cathy Mentzer Earthwatch Prize allows Assistant Professor of Biology Abby Maley Berkey to study white rhinos in South Africa.

32

22 Achieving Dramatic Results

By Lori Ferguson Christi Wilkins ’84 conquers early challenges to create a successful arts education nonprofit.

26 The Rescue of Science and Learning

By Amy Ensley, Director of the Hankey Center How Wilson provided aid to refugee scholars during World War II. 10 2017-18 PRESIDENT'S REPORT

AROUND THE GREEN 30 Searching for the Lost Fort Wilson archaeology students participate in dig at Fort Hunter Park.

32 Wildest Catch MacKenzie Bindas ’19 spends summer internship on Alaskan fishing boat.

34 Wilson Welcomes New Volleyball Coach — Plus One Jenn McMonagle balances coaching with new motherhood.

ALUMNAE/I 36 Alumnae Association President’s letter; 2017-18 gifts; Aunt Sarah volunteers needed; 2019 trips; Flat Phoenix sighting.

38 Class Notes 57 In Memoriam

16

DEPARTMENTS 02 Letter from the Editor

22

03 Wilson News College receives U.S. Department of Justice grant; fall 2018 class shatters enrollment record; chaplain’s office wins grant for disaster relief work; Pennsylvania agriculture official visits Fulton Farm; Board of Trustees welcomes new members; construction proceeds on veterinary education center; campus celebrates Arts Day; Henninger Field prepares for spring baseball season; College gears up for 150th anniversary; Wilson adjusts institutional voice.

08 Alumnae/i News Anne Grimes ’82 receives new state department position; Jeanne Schubert Barnum ’72 joins Philadelphia forum; Candace Straight ’69 backs new movie.

09 Hidden History: Wilson women active on the World War I home front

By Kieran McGhee, College Archivist 60 Last Word: Standing in solidarity against hate

By the Rev. Derek Wadlington and President Barbara K. Mistick

ON THE COVER The Rev. Derek Wadlington blesses Felix the pet turtle, belonging to Kaitlynn Bjonnes ’21, as Angeline Zolla ’20 watches during this year’s Blessing of the Animals ceremony. Photo

by Jenny Cisney.

STAFF Coleen Dee Berry Managing Editor Kendra Tidd Design Cathy Mentzer College Editor Contributing Writers Coleen Dee Berry, Chris Brunner, Amy Ensley, Lori Ferguson, Evan Hoke ‘19, Kieran McGhee, Cathy Mentzer, Barbara K. Mistick, the Rev. Derek Wadlington Contributing Photographers Jenny Cisney, Lisa Helfert, Evan Hoke ‘19, Matthew Lester, Cathy Mentzer, Dave Sinclair, Ryan Smith, Kendra Tidd, Courtney D. Wolfe �12 Cover Photo by: Jenny Cisney

WILSON MAGAZINE COMMITTEE Coleen Dee Berry, Managing Editor Lynne DiStasio ’74, Alumnae Association President Amy Ensley, Director of the Hankey Center Marybeth Famulare, Director of Alumnae/i Relations Lisbeth Sheppard Luka ’69, Alumnae Association Cathy Mentzer, Manager of Media Relations and College Editor Camilla B. Rawleigh, Vice President for Institutional Advancement Susan Ross ’66, Alumnae Association Kendra Tidd, Graphic Designer Courtney D. Wolfe ’12, Associate Director of Marketing and Communications Judy Kreutz Young ’63, Alumnae Association Wilson Magazine is published by the Office of Marketing and Communications and the Alumnae Association of Wilson College.

Send address changes to: Wilson College Alumnae/i Relations, 1015 Philadelphia Ave., Chambersburg, Pa. 17201-1279, 717-262-2010 or ARoffice@wilson.edu.

Opinions expressed are those of the contributors or the editor and do not represent the official positions of Wilson College or the Alumnae Association of Wilson College.

CONTACT US: Wilson Magazine mag@wilson.edu 717-262-2790 www.wilson.edu/magazine Alumnae Association aawc@wilson.edu 717-262-2010 www.wilson.edu/aawc Office of Alumnae/i Relations ARoffice@wilson.edu 717-262-2010 www.wilson.edu/alumnae

— letter from the —

editor

You can feel it all over campus these days. A new energy has enveloped Wilson.

There are many reasons for this new vibe—the most important being the College’s continued emphasis on the student experience. “Wilson has, and always will be, about students,’’ President Barbara Mistick affirms in her 2017-18 annual report. “The Wilson experience, regardless of which cohort a student may belong to, is one that instills confidence, enthusiasm and trust between each student and the College.” Read more about this new campus energy in the annual report contained in this issue.

The incoming class of fall 2018 provided Wilson with another round of good news. A total of 1,499 students are enrolled for the fall semester, a more than 23 percent increase over last year and the largest enrollment in the College’s 149-year history. The College was also recently awarded nearly $300,000 from the U.S. Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) Campus Program, which will fund Phoenix Against Violence, a comprehensive, coordinated program to prevent sexual and dating violence in the Wilson community and enhance victim safety and support. Find these stories and more in the news section.

Our students, faculty, staff and alumnae/i continue to inspire us with their stories.

In this issue you can read about how the Joan M. Thubel ’52 Earthwatch Prize enabled Assistant Professor of Biology Abby Maley Berkey to make an emotional journey to study white rhinos in South Africa. MacKenzie Bindas ’19 used her Wilson summer internship to work on board an Alaskan fishing boat. And enjoy the remarkable saga of Christi Wilkins ’84, who overcame a difficult childhood to create a successful arts education nonprofit—and whose son, Daniel, is now a sophomore at Wilson.

Excitement is also growing with the approach of 2019, the year Wilson begins celebrating its 150th anniversary. The first sesquicentennial event will be around Charter Day. Watch the Wilson website for announcements. Special anniversary editions of Wilson Magazine will begin in fall 2019.

Happy holidays to all! Read on, and enjoy…

Coleen Dee Berry Managing Editor

You can read Wilson Magazine online at:

www.wilson.edu/wilsonmag Class notes are not published online for privacy reasons. If you would like to receive a PDF of the class notes, please email Wilson Magazine at mag@wilson.edu.

WILSON NEWS COLLEGE RECEIVES GRANT TO COMBAT SEXUAL AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

W

ilson was recently awarded nearly $300,000 from the

on every college campus. One in five women and one in 16 men

U.S. Department of Justice Office on Violence Against

are sexually assaulted while in college,” Williams said. “This grant

Women (OVW) Campus Program to strengthen the ability to

will allow us to dedicate a full-time staff member to training and

respond to crimes of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating

implementing policies and procedures on our campus that will

violence and stalking on campus. The three-year grant will fund

help our students stay safe and help one another with regard to

Phoenix Against Violence, a comprehensive, coordinated pro-

domestic violence, sexual violence and stalking.”

gram to prevent sexual and dating violence in the Wilson community and to enhance victim safety and support.

The College plans to hire a full-time coordinator and imple-

Williams calls the grant “a game changer” for institutions of higher education like Wilson. “It will impact every area of the College,” she said. “It will change the college culture to become

ment an in-depth training program for students, faculty and

more educated about sexual violence and domestic abuse.

staff, and will work closely with community partners such as

Through this education, I hope students will feel more empow-

Women in Need and the Chambersburg Police Department to

ered to help and support one another.”

coordinate responses, according to Vice President for Student Development Mary Beth Williams.

The College sought the funding, in part, because of Wilson’s

Wilson’s Phoenix Against Violence (PAV) program encompasses the following objectives: • Create a coordinated community response (CCR) team that

growth over the past six years, said Williams, who is also the

brings together Wilson’s on-campus student safety and

dean of students. “It’s actually a proactive grant,” she said. “At

support resources, and community-based partners in order

Wilson, we have a growing population, which positions us nicely

to ensure students’ access to well-coordinated, effective

for re-evaluating our procedural training and education.”

responses to sexual violence and dating violence.

Wilson had a total enrollment this fall of 1,499 students—the

• Provide mandatory sexual violence/dating violence preven-

largest in the college’s 149-year history and a 116 percent

tion education for all incoming students by implementing a

increase from 2013.

new web-based online prevention education tool, which will

“We know that sexual misconduct and domestic violence are the most underreported crimes, and we know that it happens

enhance the existing prevention education session provided in person during new-student orientation.

• Implement a universal education program using “Green Dot for College,” a bystander intervention model that engages

It's actually a proactive grant. … We have a growing population, which positions us nicely for reevaluating our procedural training and education.”

Mary Beth Williams, Vice President for Student Development and Dean of Students

all students, staff, administrators and faculty as allies to create a safe campus culture that is intolerant of violence.

• Establish an annual collaborative program to train all Wilson Department of Safety officers to respond effectively to sexual violence/dating violence using victim-centered, trauma-informed best practices.

• Establish an annual collaborative program to train all Wilson Joint Honor Council members—which includes students, faculty and staff—to respond effectively to sexual violence/ dating violence using victim-centered, trauma-informed best practices.

While PAV will focus on Wilson’s traditional student population living on campus, it will extend to all students, including women, men and LGBTQ students.

College officials planned to begin implementing the PAV program during the fall semester.

— Cathy Mentzer

fall 2018 03

WILSON NEWS WILSON BREAKS ANOTHER ENROLLMENT RECORD A total of 1,499 students are enrolled for the fall semester, a more than 23 percent increase over last year and the largest enrollment in the College’s 149-year history. The number of new students entering the traditional undergraduate college increased by nearly 16 percent to 249—the largest incoming class since 1966.

This year, 662 students are enrolled in the traditional undergraduate college, a 19.7 percent increase from last fall and the most students in the traditional undergrad program since 1968. Nearly 60 percent of these students live on campus. Men now represent 19 percent of this population and nearly 21 percent of the total enrollment.

This year’s enrollment marks the sixth consecutive year of growth under the Wilson Today plan, a series of measures approved in 2013 to revitalize the College and set it on a path to economic health and sustainability. The plan included a tuition reduction and student loan buyback program, new career-oriented academic programs, campus improvements, coeducation in all programs and improved marketing and retention efforts.

“The energy and excitement of having more students on campus is palpable,” said Wilson President Barbara K. Mistick. “The work and

commitment of everyone associated with the College—faculty, staff, the board of trustees and alumnae/i—has paid off and we are dedicated to continuing the positive trend in enrollment.”

Wilson’s second-largest student population is in graduate programs, with 455 students enrolled this year in 11 master’s degree programs—a 16.6 percent increase over fall 2017. A total of 382 students are enrolled in the college’s Adult Degree and other programs, which is up nearly 40 percent since last year.

Wilson students come from as far away as California and Florida.

They represent 24 states (including Pennsylvania), as well as 17 foreign countries.

Wilson’s continued enrollment increase contrasts with national enrollment trends. Based on the most recent data available, the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center reported a decline of 1 percent in higher education enrollment nationally for 2017, while showing a 0.4 percent decrease at four-year, nonprofit private colleges.

Since 2013, Wilson has seen a 115 percent increase in traditional undergraduate enrollment, with a 126 percent increase overall. —CM

Arts Day The Wilson campus celebrated Arts Day 2018 on Oct. 10 with exhibits, readings, performances and interactive art sessions. From left: Associate Professor of Fine Arts Robert Dickson drives a paving roller to make giant woodcut prints; recycled book pages turn into flowers; students create linoleum block prints at "The Art of Garlic"—sponsored by the Fulton Center for Sustainable Studies and Holly Brooks Strayer, art teacher at Chambersburg Area High School.

04 wilson magazine

VETERINARY EDUCATION CENTER CONSTRUCTION ON SCHEDULE Construction of Wilson’s new, $2.8 million veterinary education center is on target for completion in fall 2019. Rooftop heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) units were installed on Oct. 30 and workers from R. S. Mowery & Sons are making progress toward completing the bulk of the exterior before winter. Next steps include roof and window installation and some exterior masonry work, said Brian Ecker, Wilson’s vice president for finance and administration. Once inside, workers will begin installing electrical service before moving to finishing work. Ecker anticipates the VEC will be open for the fall 2019 semester. —CM

COLLEGE WELCOMES THREE NEW BOARD OF TRUSTEE MEMBERS Linda E. Krach ’74 is a physician, administrator and educator.

She currently serves as president of the Courage Kenny Rehabilitation Institute in Minneapolis and is vice president for medical operations and rehabilitation at Allina Health, also in Minneapolis.

Dr. Krach is board certified in physical medicine rehabilitation, with a pediatric rehabilitation medicine sub-specialty. Prior to her current positions, she led the University of Minnesota’s residency program in physical medicine and rehabilitation and served as director of research administration with Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare in St. Paul, Minn.

After graduating from Wilson with a Bachelor of Arts degree in biology, mathematics and chemistry, Dr. Krach earned an M.D. from Hahnemann University (now Drexel University) College of Medicine in Philadelphia, and completed her physical medicine and rehabilitation residency at the University of MinnesotaTwin Cities.

Maxine Lesher Gindlesperger ’98 has worked for eLynxx Solutions in Chambersburg in various capacities since 1989, currently serving as the company’s chief administrative officer.

A graduate of Wilson College, Gindlesperger regularly lends her management expertise to community activities as an active supporter of the arts and social services. She is also a political fundraiser at the local, state and national levels. She has served as chair of the Franklin County Homeless Shelter Coalition and chair of personnel for the Totem Pole Playhouse in Fayetteville, Pa. Gindlesperger, who joins the board as an Alumnae Trustee, was elected by the Alumnae Association of Wilson College in June 2018.

She has been a member of the AAWC board since 2015, serving on the finance and student connections committees, and has received the AAWC’s Distinguished ADP Alumna/us Award.

William P. Kiehl completed a 33-year career in the U.S. Foreign Service after holding public diplomacy positions in Eastern and Western Europe and South and Southeast Asia. In Washington, D.C., he was the senior career official in the State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. He served as diplomat in residence at the U.S. Army War College Center for Strategic Leadership and as a senior fellow of the U.S. Army Peacekeeping Institute, both in Carlisle, Pa. He also taught public diplomacy at the Foreign Service Institute, was executive director of the Public Diplomacy Counsel and lectured at a number of colleges and universities in the United States and abroad. He retired from the foreign service with the rank of minister-counselor. As a retiree, he has been called upon for temporary assignments at U.S. embassies in Norway, Montenegro and Haiti.

Kiehl is currently a special columnist for the LNP Media Group in Lancaster, Pa., specializing in foreign and domestic policy issues.

He serves as a board member for the American Diplomacy Foundation (ADF) and is president of the St. Jude’s Condo Association in Longboat Key, Fla. He holds a doctorate in higher education management from the University of Pennsylvania, an honors degree from the University of Scranton and a master’s degree in foreign affairs from the University of Virginia. —Coleen Dee Berry

fall 2018 05

WILSON NEWS NEWS

IN BRIEF

WILSON ADJUSTS INSTITUTIONAL VOICE On Oct. 20, 2018, the Wilson College Board of Trustees approved identifying Wilson graduates as alumni instead of alumnae/i in all institutional messaging and publications.

This action brings the College’s institutional voice in line with its strategic goals and supports Wilson’s commitment to diversity and inclusivity on campus. It does not impact any requirements or change the name of the Alumnae Association of Wilson College (AAWC), which is a separate 501(c)(3) organization.

The College’s Office of Alumnae/i Relations will now be known as the Office of Alumni Relations and both its staff and that of the Office of Institutional Advancement will be housed in what will now be called Alumni House. Staff titles will be updated to reflect the same. The wording change will be incorporated into the next issue of Wilson Magazine.

COLLEGE GEARS UP FOR SESQUICENTENNIAL Get ready to celebrate everything Wilson, beginning in 2019. Next year marks the 150th anniversary of the founding of the College and we will officially kick off 15 months of special celebratory events with Charter Day in spring 2019.

The College will hold an anniversary gala in fall 2019 to coincide with Homecoming and Family Weekend. Additional sesquicentennial celebrations are being planned, including special events at Reunion Weekend 2019 and 2020.

Wilson Magazine will carry special anniversary sections charting the College’s history throughout its 150 years, beginning with the fall 2019 edition. Look for additional announcements about sesquicentennial events on the College’s website and in future issues of Wilson Magazine.

06 wilson magazine

CHAPLAIN’S OFFICE GETS $6,000 FOR DISASTER RELIEF TRIP The Office of the Chaplain has been awarded a $6,000 grant to allow Wilson students to continue partnering with a central Pennsylvania Presbyterian relief organization, Lend A Hand, to undertake disaster relief trips in 2019.

The grant was awarded by the Synod of the Trinity, Presbyterian Church (USA), which oversees 16 Presbyteries in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio. The Synod has provided the chaplain’s office with an annual gift for more than 25 years, but this year, the process was different. “The Synod redefined its giving program this year as a competitive grant for campus ministry,” said Margaret Light, Wilson director of corporate and foundation relations. The result was a grant that is significantly greater than in the past.

“I was stunned to get $6,000,” said the Rev. Derek Wadlington, the College’s Helen Carnell Eden Chaplain. “I think this is a tremendous opportunity and I’m grateful for this funding, which allows us to engage students in a servicelearning activity that will return tenfold on its investment.”

Last January, Wadlington and nine Wilson students worked with a dedicated group of volunteers in the Lend A Hand group−a disaster relief team coordinated by the Synod’s Camp Hill, Pa., base−to help families in Princeville and Tarboro, N.C., where the communities are still struggling to recover from 2016’s Hurricane Matthew.

The funding for that trip was pieced together with a collection taken at the 2017 Christmas vespers service and money provided by President Barbara K. Mistick’s office, Wadlington said.

I think this is a tremendous opportunity and I'm grateful for this funding, which allows us to engage students in a service-learning activity that will return tenfold on its investment.”

The Rev. Derek Wadlington, Helen Carnell Eden Chaplain

With the new funding, Wadlington said his office will be able to take two relief trips in 2019. He plans to lead a return trip to North Carolina over the upcoming January-Term and another relief mission over Alternative Spring Break in 2019, the location of which has yet to be determined.

The disaster relief trips are important, not just in helping Americans in need, but also in terms of developing Wilson students’ character, according to Wadlington, who said working with the Lend A Hand volunteers last January was an “awesome” experience for students. “It educated and empowered a number of students who went on the trip in a way that was transformative for them,” he said. “It also exposed them to a group of people who give because of their faith … and also offered conversations to folks who want to talk about faith and spirituality. I do believe that spiritual growth and discernment should be part of their college time.” —CM

PENNSYLVANIA AGRICULTURE OFFICIAL TOURS WILSON’S FULTON FARM Pennsylvania Executive Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Michael Smith visited Wilson College on Sept. 7, touring Fulton Farm as part of the agriculture department's ongoing Planting the Seed initiative. Smith met with President Barbara K. Mistick before touring the farm with Fulton Center for Sustainability Studies Director Chris Mayer.

“The Fulton Farm is an excellent resource, not just for Wilson College, but for the surrounding community,” said Smith. “Its commitment to stewardship, sustainability, education and outreach provides students and their neighbors the chance to pursue and explore all of the opportunities available in agriculture.”

Pennsylvania agriculture is a $135 billion industry with a lot of opportunity, but is also one that is facing several challenges, including an aging workforce, according to the agriculture department. Attrition and advancing technologies will result in a workforce deficit of nearly 75,000 over the next decade, the department estimates. The Planting the

Seed initiative aims to engage and educate the next generation about the many education and career opportunities available in Pennsylvania agriculture. —CDB

HENNINGER FIELD WORK PROGRESSING The upgrade to Henninger Field, where Wilson’s baseball team will play its inaugural season next year, continues with hopes that the construction work will be completed before winter, according to Vice President for Finance and Administration Brian Ecker.

“I think from a construction aspect, we’re all done except for the dugouts,” said Ecker, who had expected them to be finished by mid-October. He said the next step will be to prepare the field for winter. Cosmetic work, such as branding with the College and athletic logos, is still to come.

“We’ll be totally ready for play in the spring,” Ecker predicted.

Wilson is making approximately $250,000 worth of improvements to the historic field, owned by the Borough of Chambersburg, to bring it into compli-

ance with NCAA baseball specifications. Work has included leveling and resodding the infield, improving drainage and installing a new warning track. The borough is also working on improvements, including making public restrooms ADA compliant, ensuring that the lights and scoreboard are working, and sprucing up the press box and concession stand, which have been painted Wilson blue.

In exchange for the college-funded improvements, Wilson has a 10-year agreement for the exclusive use of Henninger Field, according to Ecker.

Wilson’s new NCAA Division III baseball team, which will compete in the Colonial States Athletic League, will launch its official season in spring 2019. —CM

fall 2018 07

WILSON NEWS ALUMNAE/I NEWS JEANNE SCHUBERT BARNUM ’72 JOINS PHILADELPHIA’S FORUM OF EXECUTIVE WOMEN Jeanne Schubert Barnum ’72 has been elected as a board member of the Forum of Executive Women, a membership organization of more than 450 influential women representing diverse businesses in the Greater Philadelphia region.

Barnum works at Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis LLP and is co-chair of the firm’s Construction Industry Practice Group. She is a trial lawyer with more than 30 years of experience representing developers, business owners, landlords, lenders and municipalities in a wide variety of business, commercial, premises and product liability defense cases, as well as creditors’ rights litigation.

Barnum has an active dispute resolution practice and she also counsels clients on shifting risk and litigation prevention. She also serves as the chair of the Vision and Leadership Subcommittee of the firm’s Diversity Committee. She received her bachelor’s degree from Wilson in both history and political science. A resident of Cherry Hill, N.J., she and husband Gary have a son, Matthew, and daughter, Sarah.

Founded in 1977, the Forum of Executive Women is comprised of the region's senior women executives working together to increase the number of women in leadership roles; expand their impact and influence; and position them to drive positive change in the region. The Forum has served as the linchpin for a multitude of initiatives that have sparked critical conversations in executive suites, board rooms and public policy arenas.

ANNE GRIMES ’82 APPOINTED TO NEW STATE DEPARTMENT POST In September, Anne Grimes ’82 was named office director of the Office of International Visitors in the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, continuing her distinguished career with the state department.

Grimes has been a U.S. Foreign Service Officer for 28 years and is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service. Her previous postings have included Antananarivo, Madagascar; Surabaya, Indonesia; Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso; Washington, D.C.; Jakarta, Indonesia; Mumbai, India; and Beijing, China. She speaks French, Indonesian and Mandarin.

The Office of International Visitors is responsible for implementing the state department’s International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP).

Launched in 1940, IVLP seeks to build mutual understanding between the U.S. and other nations through short-term visits by current and emerging foreign leaders to the United States.

Each year, nearly 5,000 international visitors come to the U.S. through the program and over the years, more than 200,000 international visitors have engaged with Americans through the IVLP, including more than 335 current or former chiefs of state or heads of government. The Office of International Visitors has approximately 100 staff members located in Washington, D.C., and in New York City.

Grimes received her bachelor’s degree from Wilson in both history and French. She lives in Kennett Square, Pa., and is married to Tala Ramiandrisoa, a professional jazz musician. The couple has two children: a son, Joshua, and a daughter, Joelle.

Alumna Backs New Movie Her first movie as an executive producer was the 2016 financial thriller Equity. Now Candace Straight ’69 reprises her role as executive producer, this time for a political thriller starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Tika Sumpter, due in theaters this January.

An Acceptable Loss is about two women, one a former top national security advisor, the other a political veteran, who set out to expose a government cover-up about a controversial military action. The movie, distributed by IFC Films, is produced by Joe Chappelle and written by Colleen Griffen.

View the trailer at ifcfilms.com/films/an-acceptable-loss

DONOR RECOGNITION REPORT CORRECTIONS In the 2017-18 Wilson Donor Recognition Report, a gift brick was omitted from page 15: In Memory of Charles R. Coen, Wilson Dad.

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— hidden —

history

WILSON WOMEN ACTIVE ON THE HOME FRONT DURING WORLD WAR I

By Kieran McGhee

N

ov. 11, 2018, will mark 100 years since the end of World War I. While many may know about the Zimmerman telegram, poet Wilfred Owen, the Lusitania and the battle of St. Mihiel, the events on Wilson’s campus during the war may be less familiar. When the United States entered the war in April 1917, and as more and more men enlisted, female staff, faculty and students took on work around campus that was at the time considered for men only.

Wilson students were greatly changed by war and adapted to a tremendous shift in responsibility.

During World War I, the number of women in the labor force expanded nationally to almost 3 million. Like women and girls all over, Wilson women made a concerted effort to be involved and support their friends and families overseas.

The newly inaugurated Wilson president at the time, Ethelbert Warfield, encouraged students to remain at the College, despite the temptation to leave. His wife, Nellie Francis Warfield, formed a War Relief Committee in early April 1917, a few days after the United States formally entered the war. In that same month, the Pharetra, Wilson’s early newspaper, opened with an editorial stating, “With the organization of the Wilson Red Cross chapter, and with the launching of serious plans for such national service as we girls can do here at college, we have this month taken a definite patriotic stand.”

Wilson’s commitment to wartime assistance stayed strong and consistent all throughout the course of the United States’ participation in the war. Wilson students performed Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s play, The Rivals, for the benefit of the Red Cross. The campus community also participated in traditional efforts such as rationing food, knitting clothing and donating first-aid care packages. The Wilson Red Cross chapter also had a special interest in the French war efforts, sending numerous comfort kits to French hospitals and “adopting” a French baby boy. In 1918, Wilson students knitted, constructed and/ or donated 60 sweaters, 40 mufflers, 40 helmets and 50 pairs of

wristlets. Fifteen members of the Wilson community took classes on how to make surgical dressings.

During wartime, extracurricular activities were curtailed in favor of first-aid courses, and physical fitness was strongly encouraged. When the influenza pandemic (Spanish flu) swept the nation, Wilson remained largely untouched—a fact attributed to Warfield's emphasis on physical fitness that included regular drills, marches and other exercises.

But it wasn’t all work and no play. Wilson’s numerous academic organizations continued to hold functions, and groups like the Science Club and Suffrage League held steady throughout the war. The January 1918 Pharetra noted, “In spite of war, in spite of Mr. Hoover, in spite of the snowy weather, Thanksgiving was a big day at Wilson,” where during the celebrations, President Warfield gave a toast to the “The Boys in Olive Drab.” A Students’ Friendship War Fund was formed by four faculty members and 24 students, and Wilson students volunteered on the donations were meahome front by serving in the Wilson Red Cross chapter during World War I. sured by a handmade “thermometer” in Main Hall. The 1919 Conococheague yearbook was published with a lighthearted, but respectful military theme.

While America’s women were at work everywhere during World War I, on the home front and internationally, the Wilson community quietly continued to do what it could here at home.

The College’s collective belief was reflected in an April 1917 editorial in the Pharetra: “The most effective patriotism is not always the most sensational … Real service is vital and thorough: and such service we must learn.”

— For more information on the Hankey Center’s C. Elizabeth Boyd ’33 Archives, please send email to hankeycenter@wilson.edu or call 717-262-2562.

fall 2018 09

T

here’s a lot on campus today earning rave reviews—our modern main entrance and academic quad, the renovated John Stewart Memorial Library and the dynamic Lenfest Learning Commons. While many members of our community have happily observed the physical changes at Wilson, there is also the excitement of a new energy here, a palpable vibe of strength and vitality.

I was first struck by this new school spirit when I attended a Phoenix basketball game last winter. Gannett Memorial Field House was packed with enthusiastic parents, faculty, staff and students, many of them student-athletes from other Wilson teams there to support their fellow Phoenix. Happy moments like those—watching our community embrace

Wilson today—prove to me there is a great momentum building on campus. And, that is as it should be.

There is a strength to our sense of anticipation for what is to come, for the successes that lie in our future.

And it’s not just team spirit for athletics. You can see it academically in our expanding Phi Beta Kappa numbers. You can see it in the increased participation at our annual Student Research Day in April. You can see it in the explosive growth of the nursing program, which in just five years has become the College’s largest program. There is definitely a new energy on campus.

A New Energy

2017-18 president’s report

“the successes that lie

in our future” So what’s causing this buzz, this excitement? Undeniably, credit lies in Wilson’s steadily increasing enrollment. A total of 1,499 students are attending classes for the 2018 fall semester, the most in Wilson’s 149-year history. And, total enrollment for 2018-19 is up more than 23 percent over last year. The number of new students entering the traditional undergraduate college increased by nearly 16 percent over fall 2017, producing the largest incoming class since 1966.

Wilson is also seeing its largest total enrollment in the traditional undergraduate program since 1968. This year, 662 students are enrolled in the undergraduate college, a 19.7 percent increase from last fall. Men represent 19 percent of this population and nearly 21 percent of the total enrollment.

Nearly 60 percent of our undergrads are now living on campus, so it’s no wonder our residence halls are teeming with students.

10 wilson magazine

2017-18 president’s report

This record enrollment marks the sixth consecutive year of growth under the College’s strategic plan. We learned in the Wilson Today process that we could be small—but not tiny—if the College is to remain financially sustainable.

And a side benefit of our growth is the energy you can feel on campus, which makes a huge impact on the Wilson student experience.

setting the balance Balancing the needs of this larger and more diverse student population while retaining the core concepts of our student experience—small class sizes, personal attention from faculty and staff and a friendly, intimate campus atmosphere— has become the new priority.

Wilson, but higher education today. By providing a new road map for the College, it helped refocus our goals through a student-first lens. Every faculty and staff member has a role, a responsibility, in making each student successful. Everyone in the Wilson community understands their responsibility to develop the mind and character of all students, preparing them to lead successful lives of service and purpose, and to meet the challenges of a global society.

Students like Ethan Kron ’20 and Autumn Treaster ’21 are already making an impact on their community. The two are currently co-presidents of Wilson’s Learning Campus Club, which supports the Learning Campus tutoring program for K-5 migrant children in the Chambersburg area. Twice

Left, the crowd is pumped up during a men's basketball game; above left, Sardrick Owusu ’19 presents during Student Research Day; right, from left, Ethan Kron ’20, Kieren Marshall ’20, Alexis Enders ’19 and Elsa Zavala Hurtado ’19 interact with children in the Learning Campus tutoring program.

Wilson has, and always will be, about students. Everything we do is predicated on serving students, from classrooms and academic support services to residence life and the business office. The Wilson experience, regardless of which cohort a student may belong to, is one that instills confidence, enthusiasm and trust between each student and the College. As the school approaches its 150th anniversary, one thing has remained the same: the transformative effect this place has on the lives of its students.

When we created our current strategic plan—Setting the Balance: Prioritizing the Student Experience—in 2017, it deepened our understanding of the current challenges facing not just

a week, Ethan and Autumn volunteer to tutor and mentor children of migrant worker families at after-school sessions held on the Wilson campus, two of 33 students currently volunteering for the program. Thanks to committed student volunteers like Ethan and Autumn, this project has successfully provided literacy and math enrichment services to area children since 2009.

the support to succeed For the inspiration to enhance the student experience, we need look no further than Wilmina Rowland ’29. This amazing alumna spent much of her life working to provide

fall 2018 11

2017-18 president’s report

WILSON BY THE NUMBERS Fall 2018 Enrollment

1,499 STUDENTS 23% INCREASE

STUDENTS REPRESENTING

249 NEW STUDENTS + 76% RETENTION RATE

16

COUNTRIES

= RECORD ENROLLMENT

10

189

FIRST-GENERATION STUDENTS

DIVISION III Athletic Teams

93% RESIDENCE HALLS OCCUPANCY

12:1 STUDENT: FACULTY

RATIO

74+

COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS

12 wilson magazine

100% PASS RATE ON NCLEX CERTIFICATION BY

FIRST NURSING PROGRAM GRADUATES

students, especially those from a rural background, with opportunities for higher education. During World War II, she was the executive secretary of the World Student Service Fund, which provided financial assistance to student refugees and student prisoners of war. She also worked extensively with the Presbyterian Church USA to administer student opportunity scholarships.

The transition to college, which is almost always fraught with apprehension, can be doubly anxious for first-generation students. To help ease that anxiety, we have introduced a pre-college, summer bridge program, fittingly named Rowland LEAP (Learning, Exploring, Achieving, Participating), which brings students to campus early for extra academic assistance to help ensure a successful process. Students immerse themselves in math and writing courses, in addition to honing their study and research skills and brushing up on time management and note-taking techniques. Together with our revamped orientation sessions and First-Year Seminars, LEAP provides the support students need to navigate their first year successfully—a program that would certainly make Wilmina proud.

Perhaps most valuable is the support LEAP students find among themselves. They know best the barriers faced and the burdens carried by fellow students. They feel the pressure to succeed and make their families proud. Friends made in the Rowland LEAP program often form a nucleus of support when a student needs a sympathetic shoulder or to talk through a tough challenge.

Wilmina Rowland would also be pleased to note our additional tools and support for students. To guide students through their entire four years at Wilson, we offer both a personal librarian and a personal financial counselor. And, we are currently crafting a new student coaching/mentoring program and a second-year experience program that—along with our first-year initiatives—will form a two-year plan to help students clear many of the hurdles they encounter at college. In the 2017-18 school year, approximately 75.6 percent of Wilson freshmen returned for their sophomore year. That’s a positive increase and proof our student retention efforts are working.

Last fall, the College opened a centralized student services center in Lenfest Commons. This “one-stop shop” approach was in response to student feedback about the need to minimize the number of offices they must visit to obtain a wide range of campus services. The center has already created a more student-focused environment by providing quick and

2017-18 president’s report

In January, the nursing program sponsored Wilson’s first medical mission trip. Students and faculty traveled to the Dominican Republic to assist health workers providing medical care to Haitians working in migrant sugar cane work camps. The trip made such a powerful impression on participants that the Division of Nursing and Health Sciences, along with corporate partner Summit Health Inc., are planning to sponsor another medical mission trip in 2020.

And to kick it off, the first fundraiser to help with the cost of this important work—the Hustle for Health race—was held in April, raising $7,465 for future medical mission trips.

efficient assistance with applying for financial aid and scholarships, obtaining transcripts and parking information, and paying bills and getting student identification cards.

Over the past several years, we have made remarkable strides in guiding students through crucial decisions about college loans, grants and scholarships with our financial literacy program. Students learn how to excel academically while at Wilson, but just as importantly, they must learn vital life skills, such as how to manage financially. More students are now eligible for the College’s groundbreaking loan buyback program, which gives students who meet certain academic requirements monetary awards when they graduate. Nine students to date have received loan buybacks.

The diversity of our programs of study at Wilson is of great benefit, since graduate students make up our second-largest student population. With 455 students enrolled this year in 11 master’s degree programs, we saw a 16.6 percent increase over fall 2017. Our programs are ever evolving to meet the demands of this growing cohort. For example, last spring the education department added a new master’s degree to its expanding offerings in graduate programs: a Master of Mass Customized Learning. The MMCL program prepares educators to create a student-centered learning environment by enabling them to tailor their teaching methods to the individual learning style of each student.

new student options and opportunities Wilson continues to offer students memorable opportunities for cultural immersion, study abroad, special programs and internships. Last fall, the first two Wilson students attended a semester-long program at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute at the Front Royal, Va., campus of the Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation.

While there, Karis Daniel ’19 made valuable connections with two Smithsonian experts who have provided references and contacts for her graduate school search. “I cannot emphasize enough how incredibly supportive the Smithsonian community is, or the strength of impact it continues to have in my life even a year after leaving SCBI,” Daniel said of her experience.

Left, Karis Daniel ’19, second from left, at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute; above, students from the Rowland LEAP program during a group outing to Washington, D.C. this summer.

fall 2018 13

2017-18 president’s report

As the world changes, so must we. And as markets change, we adapt. Pennsylvania’s current teacher shortage crisis is increasing interest in teaching careers. In response to this growing demand for teacher certification programs, Wilson’s education department has expanded its Teacher Certification Pathways (TCP) and now offers an online-only certification program and a program for foreign language teachers, as well as the traditional program. This way, students have flexibility and options. They can attend class and pursue certification using the method that best suits their lifestyle—just another way Wilson is prioritizing the student experience.

staff of the private school in Hagerstown, Md. These kinds of partnerships provide a path for students to earn college credits while still in high school.

For our student-athletes, the College is partnering with the Borough of Chambersburg to revitalize historic Henninger Field, where Babe Ruth and the 1929 New York Yankees once played an exhibition game. This will be the home of our first baseball team, whose inaugural season will begin in the spring semester. This fall also marks Wilson’s arrival into a new athletic conference, the Colonial States Athletic Conference, a move that is expected to enhance the overall

Left, students gather around President Barbara K. Mistick to take a selfie at Accepted Student Day; right, Vice President for Academic Affair Elissa Heil speaks to the largest incoming class since 1966 at Fall Convocation.

creating new partnerships We continue to forge educational partnerships to benefit our students’ continuing education. Our recent expanded agreement with Harrisburg Area Community College will allow HACC associate degree graduates to seamlessly enter Wilson, bringing all of their credits earned with a grade of C or better with them. The College is seeking similar agreements with other regional community colleges to improve access to our bachelor’s degree offerings.

Wilson is also making it easier for high school students to enroll. Last spring, the College approved our 10th dual enrollment agreement, which will allow qualified St. Maria Goretti High School 11th- and 12th-graders to take classes here. The accord also opens Wilson programs to faculty and

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student-athlete experience by aligning the College with other small, private colleges and providing more balanced conference competition.

looking ahead But we’re not stopping there. Wilson is already moving forward and looking for what’s next. In July, we broke ground on another addition to the campus landscape—the new veterinary education center, located on the west side of the Brooks Science Complex. The project was launched by the generosity of three Wilson trustees: $1 million pledged by Margaret Hamilton Duprey, a resident of Wellington, Fla., and current member of the board; $975,000 from trustee emerita Susan Breakefield Fulton ’61; and a $100,000 bequest from the late

2017-18 president’s report

Eleanor Martin Allen ’49, also a trustee emerita. The total estimated cost of construction is $2.8 million and the building is expected to be completed for the start of the 2019-20 school year. Fundraising is ongoing and I know the Office of Institutional Advancement would welcome your pledge in support of this critically important project.

At our annual Fall Convocation, I was happy to share some very exciting news with the community. We learned just as the semester got underway that Wilson was selected to receive a $300,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) Campus Program. This proactive grant focuses on education, collaboration and support, and will strengthen the College’s ability to respond to crimes of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking on campus. Wilson is one of only three Pennsylvania institutions of higher education to be awarded this competitive threeyear grant in 2018.

The funding will be used to create Phoenix Against Violence, a comprehensive, coordinated program to implement prevention and education programs, enhance victim services and strengthen campus security. The College plans to hire a full-time coordinator to administer an in-depth training program with educational opportunities for students, faculty, staff and public safety officers. Working closely with community partners such as Women in Need and the Chambersburg Police Department will allow us to continue important conversations and proactive efforts to educate the college community and prevent sexual assault and harassment from occurring on our campus.

“small, mighty and boldly

transformative”

This is a unique moment in time for Wilson College. The excitement of our renewed energy and continued enrollment growth across every cohort, together with a dedicated time to reflect on our rich and storied history, is building toward a remarkable 150th anniversary.

Planning is underway for celebrations beginning with Charter Day in spring 2019 and continuing through Reunion Weekend 2020. Our sesquicentennial will honor all that is Wilson—the excellent academics, the exciting time of self-discovery, bonds between professors and students, the achievements of our students and alums, lasting friendships and most of all, the lifelong impact the College has on each member of the community.

This historic moment is cause for great celebration, fresh new ideas for the future and, of course, the possibility for a new capital campaign! I can’t wait to see what the next 150 years holds for our small, mighty and boldly transformative institution. W

2017-18 FINANCIAL

HIGHLIGHTS REVENUE

STUDENT TUITION/FEES.........70.3% PRIVATE GIFTS....................... 10.2% GOVERNMENT GRANTS...........0.9% INTEREST & DIVIDENDS...........0.7% INTEREST FROM TRUSTS HELD BY OTHERS.....................1.6% OTHER SOURCES......................1.5% AUXILIARY REVENUE............ 14.8%

EXPENSES

INSTRUCTIONAL................... 20.0% ACADEMIC SUPPORT.............14.9% STUDENT SERVICES...............13.9% INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT..... 20.5% AUXILIARY ENTERPRISES......... 7.5% FINANCIAL AID...................... 20.8% INFRASTRUCTURE/ DEFERRED MAINTENANCE......2.4%

fall 2018 15

g n i v a S

h C e h t

Assistant Professor of Biology Abby Maley Berkey uses Earthwatch Prize to study white rhinos

By Cathy Mentzer Photos by Melissa Dawson

16 wilson magazine

ubby U nico rn

B

efore Assistant Professor of Biology Abby Maley Berkey traveled to South Africa in August to work as an Earthwatch volunteer with white rhinos, one thing topped her wish list for the trip. “I’ve been telling everyone I’m going to hug a rhino,” Berkey said, “which means I’m probably going to die while I’m over there.”

Joking aside, Berkey’s work at a privately owned wildlife reserve to study the ecology and behavior of the white rhinoceros was deadly serious. Rhinos are being illegally slaughtered by poachers for their prized horns, which are erroneously believed to have curative properties in traditional Asian medicine. More recently, rhino horn has become a status symbol in

eastern Asia. It is worth more than gold or diamonds on the black market, Berkey said.

“Every eight hours, a rhino is poached. That’s 1,000 rhinos a year,” said Berkey. Given that white rhino reproduction is a slow process, “within 10 to 20 years, if it goes on the way it is now, we won’t have any rhinos.”

The 15-day trip, which was financed by Wilson’s Joan M. Thubel ’52 Earthwatch Prize, represents the culmination of a lifelong dream for Berkey, whose fondness for the natural world has driven her all of her life. “I’ve always, ALWAYS wanted to go to Africa,” she said. “I always knew I was going to do this—I just had to find a way to get there.”

fall 2018 17

Two days before leaving, Berkey—wearing a shirt with the image of a rhino and the words “Save the Chubby Unicorn”— could barely contain her excitement.

She returned from the trip even more enthusiastic, though deeply affected by what she had done and seen. “It was by far the most powerful thing I’ve ever done—and I don’t say that lightly,” she said. “I don’t think I could have been disappointed, but it went beyond what I was expecting.”

to go back. I mean, I do. I’ll come up with something.”

Aug. 7 to 21 — Earthwatch On Aug. 7, Berkey flew out of Washington, D.C., journeying for two days to reach Johannesburg, the largest city in South Africa. From there, it took another two hours to reach her destination, the Mankwe Wildlife Reserve—a nearly 12,000-acre privately owned reserve in the North West Province about three miles from South Africa’s Pilanesberg National Park. The reserve has 50 species of large mammals, 15 species of small mammals, 30 species of reptiles and hundreds of species of birds.

PHOTO BY LAURA DOLNIK

While there, Berkey got to observe or interact with a variety of exotic animals— from zebras and antelope to Cape buffalo, warthogs and of course, white rhinos. The reserve staff also took her and other volunteers to the nearby national park to observe the wildlife there.

Above, an emotional Abby Maley Berkey sits by an anesthetized rhino while its horn is being trimmed; bottom right, Berkey in the classroom at Wilson; top right, Berkey and other volunteers help with a rhino dehorning at the Mankwe Wildlife Reserve in South Africa.

The heartbreaking plight of the white rhino—and the caretakers who are desperate to save them from poachers— moved the usually effervescent Berkey profoundly. “Did I mention I cried a lot?” said Berkey, who is already determined to return. “I’m trying to figure out ways now to fundraise to afford another trip back. Someone gave me $5, so that’s the first donation. But yes, I have

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Hunted nearly to extinction more than 100 years ago, the white rhino—the second-largest land animal after the elephant—had been brought back through successful management and protection programs. But all of that has changed and now the white rhino is classified as near-threatened, according to the World Wildlife Fund. As reported

by National Geographic, the number of rhino poaching incidents overall in South Africa rose from 13 in 2007 to a high of 1,215 in 2014. In 2017, 1,028 rhinos were illegally killed there.

“If we want to conserve the rhino, we have to find ways of decreasing poaching,” said Berkey. One method of deterrence has taken hold in some places: dehorning the animals. While removing the rhino horn eliminates what the poachers seek, the practice is controversial because of concerns about the effects on the animal.

“Yes, rhinos have horns for a reason.

The males use it in battles and they use it to scrape wallows, places to roll

in the mud,” Berkey said. “So how does (removing the horns) affect their behavior, how they protect their calves, what habitat they live in and how they interact with each other?”

Studying that behavior and recording data was one of Berkey’s roles as a scientist and volunteer at the Mankwe reserve, where all of the white rhinos were dehorned four years ago. Now, their horns are periodically trimmed because, like fingernails, they grow back.

“We spent most of the day gathering data for (the reserve),” Berkey said. “We did behavioral observations where we would go out and look for a rhino and when we saw a rhino, we would watch it and record what it did. Our goal was at least 45 minutes. Sometimes it was more, if the rhino cooperated.

“When we found mothers with their babies, we would look at how mom and baby behaved together,” she continued. “Did mom position herself between us and the offspring? The idea is that if horns are affecting how she’s protecting her offspring and she doesn’t have a horn, she should be more protective. She should feel more vulnerable.

“That’s not what the data is showing— they don’t seem to do things differently.”

PHOTO BY LISA HELFERT

Researchers have also noticed with a small pad of horn that is left after the bulk is removed, “they can still scrape

holes and the males still battle,” Berkey said. “When we were there, some of them had wounds from day to day, but the dominance is now determined more by overall body size instead of just horn size.”

If it can be proven that dehorning is not detrimental to the rhinos, the hope is that in other places that have resisted the practice−including the nearby national park−it will alleviate concerns and those rhinos will be dehorned and protected from poachers. “Thus far, and this data has been going on for a couple years now, they have found no difference in behavior,” said Berkey.

“Convincing the parks that dehorning is safe is a really important thing because poaching in the national parks is really brutal right now.”

Like the park management, Mankwe’s owners were initially skeptical and did not embrace dehorning. “For years the owners of the reserve had fought against dehorning the rhinos,” Berkey said. “They said, ‘You’re defacing it, I don’t want to do that−it’s part of the rhino.’” An especially horrific poaching

incident changed all that in 2014 when two female rhinos were slaughtered.

One was still alive when its horn was cut off; the other’s unborn calf, close to birth, perished when its mother died.

The incident left Mankwe’s owners devastated and they decided to immediately dehorn all of the rhinos on the reserve, according to Berkey.

The first rhino to be dehorned was a beloved favorite at the reserve, an older male named Patrol who was known for his ornery nature. “Patrol was kind of a character. Any time they’d put a new sign on the reserve, he’d tear it down. He’d wander into camp,” said Berkey. But the procedure went awry and Patrol stopped breathing while anesthetized. “They tried to perform CPR on him for 15 minutes and he was gone—the first rhino they dehorned,” she said. “They didn’t have time to mourn, they just kind of had to move on without taking a moment. They had other rhinos to dehorn.”

When all of the rhinos on the reserve had been dehorned, it was a dangerous time for the reserve owners and

fall 2018 19

staff because they were in possession of a priceless amount of rhino horn— and local poachers likely knew it, according to Berkey. “This was a large fortune that they were sitting on,” Berkey said. “They took every employee in the reserve that night into the one brick building they have, and all the guns, and stayed up all night to guard these things.”

The reserve was limited in what it could do with the horn, which cannot be legally sold and is tightly regulated and tracked by the South African government. After several unsuccessful attempts to find a local bank to store the horn in a safe deposit box, the reserve finally found a vault in Johannesburg that would store the horn—for a fee of about $1,000 a month, according to Berkey.

“The next day, they sent word out to the local town to come to the reserve,” she said. “They gathered people at the gate” and while they were there, all of the horn was loaded onto a helicopter and flown out. “Once the box was gone, knowing word would get back to any poachers in the area, they told everyone, ‘The horn is gone. There’s no more rhino horn at this reserve, there’s no point in attacking it.’”

And although the dehorning has kept poachers away—Mankwe hasn’t had an incident since—in some other cases, animals have been killed for the small pad of horn that remains, Berkey said.

20 wilson magazine

Berkey participated in trimming the horns of five white rhinos at the Mankwe reserve, a solemn and reverent experience. “This was incredible,” she said. “My entire life, I’ve been seeing videos of people tranquilizing animals and doing something like this and it’s always been this thing in my head that I’ve always wanted to do. Not a lot of things bug me, not a lot of things make me cry. I cried repeatedly before I went on this trip just because it meant so much to me. I was finally going to see these things that I’ve wanted to see my entire life. Beyond that, being able to touch a rhino—it makes it real in a way that it wasn’t before.”

A number of volunteers took part in the horn trimming. First, staff veterinarians tranquilized the animals, then injected de-wormers and antibiotics before trimming the horn with a small, motorized saw and then sanding down the edges with a rotary tool. “While they’re trimming the horn, the rest of us were running around getting any kind of

horn trimmed was a female named Kelly, who was with her 12-month-old calf, Amahle. In such a case, the calf must be anesthetized too, because it will try to defend its mother. While Kelly was asleep, “They said, ‘Kiss her and wish her well,’” Berkey said. “Do you know anyone else who’s kissed a rhino?”

A kiss is not a hug, but she’ll take it.

Berkey, who gave a presentation on the trip for the campus community in October, says she wouldn’t trade the experience. “This was an extremely fulfilling experience for me because I was able to volunteer and help out with something that really needs the help, and it’s something that I really care about as well.”

Professor Berkey Berkey, who joined the Wilson faculty as an assistant professor in fall 2017, teaches courses in ecology, contemporary biology, conservation biology, marine biology and animal behavior. The Penn-

T

hey said, ‘Kiss her and wish her well.’Do you know anyone else who’s kissed a rhino?”

– Abby Maley Berkey, Assistant Professor of Biology

measurements we can on the rhino,” said Berkey. “If you have a rhino that happens to be tranquilized, you take advantage of the opportunity.”

When the rhinos are anesthetized, it’s a dangerous time, so several people closely monitored the animals’ breathing. In one case, the rhino having its

sylvania native previously spent two years as a visiting assistant professor in the biology department at Eastern Mennonite University in Virginia. She graduated magna cum laude from Ohio Wesleyan University with a bachelor’s degree in pre-professional zoology and earned her master’s and doctoral degrees at the University of Illinois in

Champaign. Her doctorate is in ecology, evolution and conservation biology.

Her passion for her field developed early. One day, when she was 7 and on her way to school with her mother−a teacher−they encountered another teacher who was bringing the class pet, Herman the box turtle, to school for the day. She let Berkey carry him. “It flicked some switch in my head,” said Berkey, who jokes that she “made a lot of life decisions when I was 7.”

Animals and nature were then, and remain, an obsession. “I’m completely in love with this kind of thing,” Berkey said. “It’s 30-some years later from first grade but I’m still on top of the world if I get to touch a turtle.”

She conveys that spark and enthusiasm in the classroom. Karis Daniel ’19 has taken a number of Berkey’s classes and Berkey is one of her senior research project advisers. “I love her,” Daniel said. “She has this really deep-seated passion for the natural world and it sort of touches everything that she does, and it’s fantastic. It’s contagious.”

For a long time, teaching was not what Berkey envisioned as her future career.

In graduate school, she decided that adding teaching skills to her resume could be valuable so she became a teaching assistant. “I was really awful at it the first couple times, to be honest,” laughed Berkey. “But what kind of grew on me is, undergraduates are so full of enthusiasm and they’re not jaded.”

Berkey loves fueling the enthusiasm of her students. “I get to be the person who helps them chase their goals. And I get an audience two or three times a day that lets me talk about my favorite subject,” she said. “It’s really wonderful to try to pass this enthusiasm I have to someone else. And I’ve got a lot of enthusiasm, I’m just saying.” W

Left, Berkey rides with a group of volunteers observing wildlife at the Mankwe Wildlife Reserve; below, a South African sunset.

In addition to teaching, Berkey used a summer stipend provided by the College to begin studying hermit crabs− specifically their behavior and how they communicate with one another. Her students will help continue the research, which will include studying whether the noise hermit crabs make and the ways they move their antennae are forms of communication. “Nobody’s really delved into this in great detail,” said Berkey, who hopes to present her research on the hermit crabs at the Pennsylvania Academy of Science next spring.

In addition to biology, Berkey has a number of hobbies and talents. She knits, sews and is a gifted harper, the term for someone who plays the folk or Celtic harp, as opposed to the concert harp. “I’ve always had a bit of a creative streak,” said Berkey, who also owns a spinning wheel. “To be able to do something ‘left brain’ is very rewarding.”

fall 2018 21

22 wilson magazine

achieving dramatic results Christi Wilkins ’84 conquers early challenges to create successful arts education nonprofit

By Lori Ferguson

Christi Wilkins ’84

is well acquainted with facing

obstacles—and overcoming them. After spending the first seven years of her life in Iran, she returned to the United States with her mother, Carole Rouin, and immediately found herself labeled “mentally retarded” by school officials because she couldn’t speak English and lacked any knowledge of American customs. Determined to see the classification removed, her mother gave Wilkins a crash course in English and American culture and within six months, her daughter had been reinstated to the regular classroom.

Wilkins also struggled to assimilate to the small, rural California town where she and her mother settled after leaving Iran. She discovered her closest friend in a local Paiute Native American girl whose grandmother taught Wilkins many things, including how to weave baskets.

When Wilkins was a teenager, she relocated to Washington, D.C. The move would prove fateful—it was here that Wilkins first learned of Wilson, the college where she would later earn a degree in sociology. After completing her undergraduate degree, Wilkins traveled abroad for several years, then returned to California to pursue a career helping the disadvantaged.

By 1992, Wilkins was working as a grant writer for a southern California nonprofit and itching to reimagine the way the agency operated. “I wanted to do things differently—include accountability measures, for example—and I had strong writing skills, so I started applying for grants to develop my ideas,” she said.

Students in a Dramatic Results class use basket weaving to learn math skills.

When Wilkins decided to start her own nonprofit arts organization, her mother offered her $2,500 in seed money to take her idea to the next level. “She said, ‘If you think you can do something, then go do it!’” Wilkins recalled with a laugh. And with that push, Dramatic Results—an innovative nonprofit dedicated to solving educational challenges through art—was born.

Employing art to effect change Through Dramatic Results, Wilkins and her team help underserved and at-risk youth in California’s Los Angeles County, Oregon and Alaska hone their ability to identify problems and find solutions through the arts. Using in-class arts-integrated programming, staff members and the educators they train, teach science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) concepts to children in grades K through 6.

Through programs such as “Math in a Basket,” (a tribute to

Wilkins’ basket weaving lessons), educators cultivate students’ math, arts and social studies skills while also emphasizing creativity and hands-on learning that encourage social and emotional development.

“California public elementary schools, particularly Title I sites, have not had art teachers on staff since the early 1980s,” Wilkins said, “so we offer them engaging opportunities to create functional art. Book learning can be dry, but when kids use the concepts they’re learning to create objects they will take home, show their parents and use in real life, suddenly they’re engaged.”

Wilkins insists she had no idea that Dramatic Results would grow into the $25 million, award-winning organization it is today. But looking back over the nonprofit’s 25 years of existence, she is immensely proud of the 25,000 children and 350 classroom teachers it has reached across 50 public

24 wilson magazine

school campuses in Long Beach, Compton, Wilmington, San Francisco/Oakland, Oregon and Alaska since 1992. “I grew up in poverty and people helped me all along the way. I just wanted to give back and make a difference,” she said.

Clearly, Wilkins has done that and more. Dramatic Results has lived up to its name, blossoming through hard work, positive word-of-mouth and Wilkins’ insistence on rigorous evaluation of results.

“I am constantly running the numbers and assessing our programs, and we have hard evidence that our initiatives are making a difference,” she said. “Our students consistently out-perform the control students, as well as those in the general Los Angeles County student population, and we have clear evidence that the work we do is helping to close the achievement gap and raise test scores for our participants.”

Now, Wilkins is eager to take Dramatic Results to the next level. “Our goal is to go national,” she said. “We just received

our fifth U.S. Department of Education ‘Arts in Education Model Development Grant,’ a $2.5 million grant that will allow us to develop a new curriculum model that can be scaled out at a national level over the next five to seven years.”

The achievement is significant, she explains, not only for the opportunity it affords the nonprofit, but also for the recognition it brings. “Dramatic Results is the only organization in California to have received five of these Department of Education grants,” said Wilkins.

Leveraging curiosity to achieve results Wilkins has fought hard for this success, but it’s easy to see why she has prevailed—she is articulate, inquisitive, persistent and insistently grateful. “I’ve been very fortunate in multiple ways, and I have always known the kindness of strangers,” she said. Plus, Wilkins was raised by a great role

up to meet the famous primatologist. And when Wilkins expressed an interest in architecture, her mother finagled a three-week internship for her then-11-year-old daughter with famous architect, inventor and visionary Buckminster Fuller. “My mother went out of her way to satisfy my curiosity,” said Wilkins, “and it was never about money. People were kind and they worked with us.”

Left, students and instructor get ready for a Dramatic Results class; above, Christi Wilkins �84 surrounded by her students; below, Wilkins and her son, Daniel O'Keefe �21.

model. “My mother was tenacious, pugnacious and insatiably curious. She always went after what she wanted, and she taught me to do the same.”

In light of Wilkins’ early years, tenacity was beneficial.

Although born in the United States, Wilkins lived for seven years in southern Iran. She and her mother moved to the country with her stepfather, a doctor who practiced in the city of Shiraz. In 1967, her mother found herself eight months pregnant with Wilkins’ brother and in a failing marriage. Desperate to give birth in the U.S. to ensure her own freedom, she arranged for friends in the U.S. military to smuggle her and her daughter out of the country. The two relocated to Big Pine, a tiny California town of less than 2,000 residents in the shadow of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Wilkins’ lack of English (her first language was Farsi), coupled with her meager knowledge of American culture, resulted in her erroneous classification as “mentally retarded” and her referral to special education services.

“The schools I attended were small and rural and didn’t reward thinking outside the box,” Wilkins said, “but my mom was a fierce advocate for me. She furiously insisted I wasn’t retarded and dedicated herself to helping me learn English and get back into mainstream classrooms as quickly as possible.”

Wilkins’ mother also encouraged her daughter’s continued growth by supporting her intellectual curiosity—a decision that is not lost on the innovative educator. “My mother took me to theater performances and poetry readings to develop my language skills, and if I expressed an interest in something, she did her best to make sure I got more exposure,” she said.

For example, Wilkins recalls that her mother took her to California Institute of Technology to hear Jane Goodall speak, and after the presentation, she led her daughter

When Wilkins’ mother landed a position as a political activist in Washington, D.C., she took her teenage daughter along. There Wilkins met Susan Breakefield Fulton ’61, who quickly became a valued mentor and friend. It was she who encouraged Wilkins to consider attending Wilson after her freshman year at American University proved disappointing. “All of my classes at American were taught by teaching assistants and I wasn’t happy about it,” Wilkins said. “I was paying for college myself and I wanted more.”

Fulton assured Wilkins that her Wilson experience would be markedly different, and the young transfer student quickly discovered she was right. “I was enrolled in an English class and one morning, I just didn’t feel like going so I stayed in bed,” Wilkins said. “Before long, someone began pounding on my door and when I answered, I found my English professor standing there. He said, ‘We’re waiting for you—get dressed and get to class.’ I realized immediately just how much individual attention and care I would receive at the College.”

Wilkins graduated with a bachelor’s degree in sociology and today credits Wilson with enabling her success. “During my time at Wilson, I learned how to write, how to think and how to form an argument,” she said.

“My experiences not only allowed me to graduate, but also to form a career that has enabled me to touch tens of thousands of people and make their lives better. I entered Wilson wanting to be of service—my education has truly allowed me to do that in a meaningful way.”

Now Wilkins’ son Daniel, Wilson Class of 2021, is continuing the tradition. Daniel is one of the first male traditional residential students at Wilson whose mother was also a traditional residential student. Like his mother, Daniel has decided to major in sociology. “He’s extremely social justice-minded and a firebrand,” said Wilkins. “He’s learning how to think and express himself, as I did. It’s wonderful to watch.” W

fall 2018 25

W

hen the Nazis rose to power in 1933, a new law ravaged Germany’s colleges and universities.

The Law for the Restoration of the Civil Service required that anyone of Jewish descent or married to anyone of Jewish descent—or even anyone deemed “politically unreliable”—be removed from their positions. As a result, nearly 40 percent of the faculty in German universities were dismissed.

At first, faculty sought positions in institutions elsewhere in Europe, but as the threat spread, the scholars and those trying to help them turned to institutions in the United States. In 1940, Wilson College answered the call. The College’s efforts resulted in bringing safety and security to a Nobel prize-winning physicist, an award-winning author and five other scholars in an effort known as “The Rescue of Science and Learning.”

American and English agencies sought to provide aid to refugee scholars, including the Academic Assistance Council of England (which changed its name to the Society for the Protection of Science and Learning), Rockefeller Foundation, Institute for International Education and New School for Social Research, which established the University in Exile to employ displaced scholars. Together, these organizations formed a critical link to save the lives of some of Europe’s most brilliant intellects.

Administrators at the Rockefeller Foundation in New York, along with prominent Jewish New Yorkers in banking and medicine, organized the Emergency Committee in Aid of Displaced German Scholars, which was led by Stephen P. Duggan and a very young

Edward R. Murrow. The two worked to gain visas and work permits, coordinate financial help and network with American colleges and universities to place scholars.

It was an uphill battle. In 1935, Murrow wrote, “The thing that really concerns me, is the general indifference of the university world and the smug complacency in the face of what has happened to Germany. There is a tendency to consider the matter as a Jewish problem and a failure to realize that it represents a threat to academic freedom in this country, as well as in Europe. Part of this attitude undoubtedly has its roots in the latent anti-Semitism, which, in my judgment, is increasing very rapidly over here.”

In most cases, U.S. immigration law required a foreign scholar to have a hiring agreement from a college before being allowed to immigrate. But, as this was the height of the Great Depression and many Americans were without jobs, colleges were wary of criticism if they hired refugee scholars over unemployed American scholars.

By 1940, Wilson’s faculty—then comprised of 85 percent women—decided to help. They requested that the Board of Trustees create a guest scholar position and the faculty agreed to contribute a portion of their own meager salaries for the support of the scholar. The request to the board stated the faculty’s belief that “in helping them we are helping to defend the cause of democracy.”

James Meisel, who was Jewish, was the first of seven refugee scholars to be hosted

by Wilson. Born in Berlin, Meisel earned a doctorate at age 22 from the University of Heidelburg. He was an award-winning author

The Rescue of Refugee Scholars 26 wilson magazine

During the Aliyah Bet from 1920-48, Jewish refugees fled by ship to British-controlled Palestine. Many were turned away by British authorities.

how wilson provided aid to foreign refugee scholars during world war ii by amy ensley

who had fled first to Vienna and then to Italy before arriving in the United States in 1938 to work as an assistant and collaborator with author Thomas Mann. After two years, he was urged to establish himself at an American university and came to Wilson.

After Meisel’s year at Wilson, then-President Paul Havens wrote dozens of letters to help him find a permanent position. Havens wrote that he was concerned that Meisel would be forced to do farm labor if nothing better turned up. Meisel found a permanent position at the University of Michigan and would become best known for his books, The Myth of the Ruling Class, The Fall of the Republic and Counter-Revolution: How Revolutions Die. Erna Barschak, a German Protestant professor of education, was Wilson’s second refugee scholar. She arrived in the United States on Oct. 3, 1940, aboard the Samaria. On the afternoon after the ship started its voyage, air raid sirens sounded and passengers were confined to their cabins.

German aircraft dropped incendiary bombs that narrowly missed the Samaria. Barschak felt that America meant a new life of safety—“No more bombs, no more Gestapo terror, no more of Nazi cruelty.”

Appointment of this noted scholar for one semester will … perhaps save his life.

Laurens Seelye, Emergency Committee

As was fairly typical, despite being highly educated, Barschak was offered low-level positions such as housekeeper or warden in a girl’s dormitory before coming to Wilson. Barschak wrote a memoir called My American Adventure, which detailed her experience as a refugee scholar. She eventually found a permanent position at Miami University of Ohio.

28 wilson magazine

By far the most nerve-wracking rescue undertaken by Wilson officials was that of Jean Perrin. Born in Lille, France, Perrin was an atheist, a socialist and a professor at the Sorbonne in Paris who had won the Nobel Prize in physics in 1926. He was a close associate of Marie Curie and her family.

In 1938, Perrin gave an address before the International Peace Congress in London and declared that world science stood or fell with democracy.

After the German invasion of France, Perrin lived in Lyon as a refugee and became active in the Free French Movement and member of France Forever. In May 1941, Wilson Professor Emily Allyn received a telegram from Laurens Seelye of the Emergency Committee, stating, “An urgent special delivery letter mailed tonight will reach you tomorrow in regard to Dr. Jean Perrin … Appointment of this noted scholar for one semester will almost certainly insure (sic) his leaving France and perhaps save his life.”

Letters for Allyn and Havens arrived the next day. It took several unsuccessful attempts and a direct appeal by Havens to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the French Vichy government before Perrin received his exit visa in September.

On Dec. 17, 1941, Havens received a telegram: Perrin had

Jean Perrin

made it aboard the last American ocean liner before all service ceased between the United States and Europe.

Perrin finally arrived at Wilson in January. He spent several months giving lectures in both Chambersburg and New York, as well as serving as dean of the University in Exile.

Havens wrote to Seelye expressing deep concern that Perrin was not well and was overworking himself.

Barschak, whose time at Wilson overlapped with Perrin, recalled, “An unforgettable experience was the reaction of Professor Perrin, the great French Nobel prize winner, to the

food abundance in this country … Professor Perrin was startled when he came to a faculty tea the second day after his arrival in the winter of 1941. We had been having four o’clock tea every afternoon, with toast, jam, and butter—which at that time was still unrestricted. ‘But I already had buttered toast in the morning,’ said Professor Perrin incredulously, ‘is it really possible to have butter twice a day?’”

Not every rescue was a success. One of Wilson’s scholars, Maximilian Beck, was never able to adjust to the American system of higher education. In German universities, faculty did not have to advise student clubs, participate in committee work or grade writing assignments. German professors were often researchers with little contact with students. Beck never found a permanent position after Wilson, despite Havens’ concerted efforts.

Another refugee scholar, University of Vienna law professor Philippine Hannak, worked in the John Stewart Memorial Library during his stay at Wilson and gave lectures on topics related to European culture. Wilson’s last refugee scholar was Michael Erdelyi, a Hungarian Catholic who was the only refugee scholar to be hired full time. His contract was renewed but he chose to leave for a different position.

Erna Barschak

Susanne Englemann

Unfortunately the 70-year old Perrin died of a stomach disorder early in 1942. Barschak wondered in her book, “Was the rich food too much for him?” Perrin was buried in New York but after the war, his body was returned to France, where he was interred in the Pantheon.

Susanne Englemann was a German Protestant whose mother was Jewish. She was terminated from her position as principal of a large German public high school for girls for “political unreliability.” After being dismissed, Englemann traveled to Istanbul and as the war spread, she journeyed through Russia, Siberia, China and Japan, finally reaching the U.S. in 1941. She taught evening courses at Stanford University, but restrictions on enemy aliens on the West Coast forced her to move east.

Stanford’s Lewis Terman (creator of the Stanford-Binet IQ Test) offered this recommendation to Wilson: “If I were running the war, I would hire her as a traveling lecturer to go from one educational institution to another and tell them what Nazi political philosophy is doing to the human soul in German schools … She is a Nazi hater if there ever was one.”

After a semester as a guest scholar at Wilson, Englemann received a recommendation from Wilson physics professor Dorothy Weeks, who described her as, “very active, not bitter, not broken by her experiences.” Englemann eventually found a permanent position at Mary Washington College.

Author Marjorie Lamberti observed in The Reception of Refugee Scholars from Nazi Germany in America that by the early 1940s, refugees were considered “citizens by conviction,” and the Emergency Committee reported that émigré chemists and physicists were doing work critical to the war effort. But questions about their presence persisted. Abbott Hamilton wrote in Scribner’s Commentator in 1941, “Must or should America shoulder problems, burdens and anxieties thrust upon her because of the violent policies of European dictators? Must we help the alien at the expense of our own citizens?”

Writing for Forum magazine, American Frank Ritchie— who had been sent to Germany by the League of Nations to study the refugee issue—countered, “To slam shut the gates of immigration for such a reason is tantamount to admitting that American democracy has failed in the past and no longer exists today.”

As debate continues today in an environment of travel bans and restrictions on refugees, there has been a renewed effort to provide aid to a new generation of displaced scholars. The New School has created the New University in Exile, providing two-year visiting positions for faculty from Syria, Turkey and other countries. The Institute of International Education—Edward R. Murrow’s former employer—has a Scholar Rescue Fund that has provided support to more than 750 professors and researchers from more than 50 countries since 2002. W

fall 2018 29

SEARCHING FOR

THE LOST FORT Wilson archaeology students participate in dig at Fort Hunter Park

By Coleen Dee Berry

B

onnie Rock-McCutcheon knows archaeology is not all Indiana Jones and Lara Croft thrills and romance. This fall, Wilson’s archaeology lecturer sent her students to participate in a real-life excavation, where they discovered that hands-on archaeology involves a lot of digging, hours of tedious work—and too much time spent waiting for the rain to stop.

Students in Rock-McCutcheon’s Introduction of Archaeology course took part in a dig at Fort Hunter Park in Dauphin County, Pa., which overlooks the Susquehanna River a few miles north of Harrisburg. For the past 12 years, the Archaeology Section of the State Museum of Pennsylvania has searched for evidence of a 1750s French and Indian War fort on the site.

“We do exercises in the classroom, but I wanted the students to get the experience of a real dig, to get a feel for all the work that is involved,” Rock-McCutcheon said.

“I wanted them to realize it’s not like in the

30 wilson magazine

movies—you’re not going to stumble across the lost ark or jump into a pit of snakes.”

Rock-McCutcheon is a veteran of an excavation at the ancient Agora in Athens, along with fieldwork at sites in both Corinth and the island of Kythera in Greece, so she knows firsthand the hard work these projects require. But there can be payoffs. Rock-McCutcheon recounted how, after a day spent digging at Fort Hunter, Willie McDowell ’19 uncovered a piece of pottery. “He was just thrilled that he found something,” she said.

“It was just a small piece of pottery but it’s cool to think I found something that old,” said McDowell, a business major. Kurt Carr, the state senior curator of archaeology who is overseeing the dig, said the piece could date back to 500 years ago when Native Americans had farming communities along the Susquehanna.

Fort Hunter presents a challenge to archaeologists, Carr told Wilson students during

one of their visits in October. The dig is located in back of a handsome stone mansion, which was built in 1814 and continued to be renovated into the early 1900s—and all that construction disturbed the surrounding area, including the ground where researchers believe the fort was located. Unlike some digs where artifacts are located in layers, with the oldest located the farthest down in the earth, “here we have all sorts of items mixed in together—early Native American artifacts existing at the same level as items from the 1700s and 1800s,” Carr said. “It complicates dating some of the items.”

Some of the artifacts discovered on the site include a 9,000-year-old spear point, a 1724 King George penny, glass beads for trading with Native Americans, a cannonball, scratch blue ceramics used during the French and Indian War and a “Brown Bess” musket gun lock, Carr said. This September, volunteers unearthed a complete 4,000-year-old Native American ax head. “This is the part I

really find most interesting—the prehistoric items,” Kaitlynn Champion ’20 said as she examined the ax during the class’ October visit. “I wish we could have spent more time digging here.”

The rainy weather in September forced the cancellation of two of the dig times for the class, so Rock-McCutcheon had students working on two other projects: helping catalog Greek and Roman artifacts at the College’s Hankey Center and continuing to map the site of the Lehman fulling mill on the campus’ Fulton Farm.

Daniel Lehman bought the property along the Conococheague Creek in 1786 and built the mill, which was used to wash and degrease woolen cloth. Rock-McCutcheon’s

Left, Wilson archaeology students Corinne Corsaro ‘22, Christyann spring 2018 arLong ‘19 and Taylor Giles ‘20 work at the Fort Hunter excavation. chaeology class Above, clockwise, State senior curator of archaeology Kurt Carr talks created six rewith students at the excavation pit; Carr with Kaitlyn Champion ‘20; search posters Suzy Hillary ‘22, left, learns how to use a screen to search for artifacts. on the mill for Student Research Day, and she sees research on the new sign about the mill location for the infulling mill as a long-term project for future terpretive trail that runs through the farm. classes.

Rock-McCutcheon plans for future classes “This semester, we are going to create a to work on a more extensive survey of the website using the information from last area and search for traces of the mill race. year’s SRD posters, because in archaeol- “It’s possible that the mill floor is still there ogy, you have to share what you find,” said and I would like to investigate that,” she said.

Rock-McCutcheon, who is also researching “I doubt that it will ever be a full excavation the mill site for a Franklin County Historical project, but I expect that it will be a powerful Society article. Students will also design a teaching tool.” W

fall 2018 31

WILDEST

CATCH

MacKenzie Bindas ’19 spends summer internship on Alaskan fishing boat

By Evan Hoke �19

M

acKenzie Bindas ’19 arrived for her internship as a deckhand on a fishing boat in Homer, Alaska, on May 22—and six days later was heading out on her first fishing excursion. “I had to learn how to dock, change motors, reseal portions of the boat and tie knots in a really short amount of time,” said Bindas.

Working on a fishing boat may not be everyone’s first choice for an internship. But for Bindas, who is majoring in environmental sustainability, interning as a deckhand for Alaska Ocean Pros was an unforgettable experience—one she says changed her life.

“My uncle has been going to Alaska for the past 40 years as a teacher,” she said. “While there, he became good friends with the owner of the company I interned for. When I visited my uncle in February to work with him at the Great American Outdoor Show in Harrisburg, Pa., the owner flew down to work at the show as well. I ended up working with both of them for about a week, and when it was over the owner asked what I was doing that summer and offered me a position on his fishing boat.”

As a self-described quick learner, Bindas, of Pittsburgh, used the guidance of her three captains to learn and grow. She said she

32 wilson magazine

stayed calm every day they went out to sea, even if she was nervous on the inside.

“Usually it would just be me as the deckhand and one of the captains as the staff on the boat,” Bindas said. “We’d usually be accompanied by (about) 24 customers who wanted to go out to sea, so I’d wake up at 5:30 in the morning and be at the boat by 6:30 to start getting ready.”

Her job included pulling out all the buoys, putting away the ropes, cutting bait for the day and checking all of the fishing lines. “Since people were paying hundreds of dollars for these fishing trips, I knew I had to make their experience as fulfilling as possible.”

Kingpin, the boat Bindas was working on, fished for halibut from Thursday to Monday. They also fished for lingcod and rockfish on occasion, catching a total of 3,000 fish during her eightweek internship.

Although Bindas worked hard for the customers, her experience went beyond just laboring as a deckhand. “It took two hours to go out to sea and we usually spent six hours fishing,” she said. “It also

took two hours to come back, so I spent a lot of time on the water and I was able to see whales and different wildlife almost every day. It definitely isn’t for everyone, but for me, watching all of these marine animals really made me appreciate how fortunate I was to be interning on the boat.”

Bindas also had to battle harsh conditions while out at sea. “It was a rough time. The weather was particularly bad this summer, as I was told by other captains and deckhands,” she said. “There were many days with high winds, large waves and rain. Every day was a risk, but it was one of most thrilling experiences I’ve ever had.”

This job was physically and emotionally demanding. She returned from the experience full of energy and gratitude.”

— Edward Wells Professor of Environmental Studies In the classroom, Bindas likes to focus on environmental law and policy.

During her internship, she chose to study the laws regarding commercial fishing, as well as different aquatic species in Alaska and the pollution they experience.

“I learned a lot during my time, but I’m not done studying the fishing environment there,” Bindas said. “I plan on going back for the next couple of years and eventually, my goal is to become a captain so I can be in charge of my own boat.”

On campus, her academic adviser, Professor of Environmental Studies Edward Wells, noticed the change in her after she returned from Alaska.

“I think the greatest benefit that came from this internship was honing her time management skills, enhancing her maturity and working through tough conditions,” he said. “This job was physically and emotionally demanding. She returned from the experience full of energy and gratitude.”

Bindas credits her internship with helping her discover even more about herself. “Before I went, I was afraid of the ocean. I used to swim competitively, but I never went swimming in rivers or lakes or anything,” she said. “While I was on the boat, though, I felt like I knew the places that we traveled to. They seemed familiar to me. It’s hard to describe, but the experience really was breathtaking. I made so many friends and have so many great memories from my time. I’ll never forget it.” W

Left, MacKenzie Bindas ‘19 with an Alaskan halibut caught on fishing trip. Above, from top: the Kingpin, the fishing boat Bindas worked on; a little fun with the daily catch; Bindas shows off an octopus.

fall 2018 33

NEW COACH

–PLUS ONE

Jenn McMonagle balances coaching with new motherhood

By Chris Brunner

F

or Jenn McMonagle, the start of a new week usually means strategizing and preparing for her team’s upcoming games.

The week of Sept. 10 was different, however.

The start of that week also marked the final week of her pregnancy.

With five days before her due date, Wilson’s new men’s and women’s volleyball coach contemplated whether she should make the hour-long road trip with her women’s team for its away match (pending her doctors’ approval, of course).

The dilemma was not unexpected—McMonagle took the job knowing her due date was midseason. After she accepted the coaching job, the athletics department worked with her to come up with a comprehensive plan to cover her duties during her maternity leave. The team’s assistant coach, Alyssa Booth, assumed her coaching duties while other members of the athletic department handled her day-to-day operations at the field house. “I know Alyssa is enthusiastic about taking over while I am out, but I do not plan on being away for long,” McMonagle said.

Both volleyball teams look forward to working with McMonagle, according to Wilson Director of Athletics Lori Frey. “She has a great work ethic and brings a great amount of energy every time she steps into the building,” Frey said. “We are delighted to see how far she can take these two programs.”

McMonagle wants to build successful volleyball programs for both teams. “I want to make sure that we are bringing in the right players. I want them to be doing the little things the right way, both on and off the court.” McMonagle said.

The new coach makes sure that team members perform at their peak during practice

34 wilson magazine

and games. She also holds players personally accountable both on and off the court.

“Our team responds really well to Coach McMonagle,” said Laury Jean Baptiste ’20. “She holds us responsible for ourselves and holds us responsible as a team. One way is that she reminds us to always clean up (the gym) after our matches ... (She) wants us to leave the gym cleaner than we found it.”

McMonagle said her biggest challenge as a new coach to two teams while pregnant is balancing her usual high energy approach.

“If one of my players need me to demo something, I’ll jump up in there and show them,” McMonagle said. “I’m used to getting

their practices and preparing that team for games, she also works with the men’s team to get them ready for their spring season.

She also handles recruiting for both teams.

The teams have their own style of play and unique challenges. “With the women’s team, we focus a little more on strategy,” McMonagle said. “Their game tends to be a little more about ball placement and positioning, whereas the men’s game tends to be a little more focused on ball speed and ball power.”

Team members have enthusiastically welcomed McMonagle. “The whole team is excited about having coach here,” said

She holds us responsible for ourselves and holds us responsible as a team.”

— Laury Jean Baptiste ’20 up there on a box and demonstrating something for them. But (now) sometimes I’ve realized that I need to step back and take a different approach.”

Fostering teamwork and camaraderie is vital to the success of both teams on and off the court, according to McMonagle. “I’ve always been a coach who is all about the relationships and I’m always striving to get to know my players,” she said. “I love the college atmosphere because, as a coach, you have such a major influence on the student-athletes. I want my student-athletes to be good humans and having them enter into the world as such is definitely the part that I love the most.”

While the women’s team competes during the fall, McMonagle not only focuses on

women’s volleyball player Sierra Hill ’21. “We have even dubbed her child as the ‘team baby’ and cannot wait until coach brings him to practice.” Men’s volleyball player Evan Hoke ’19 added, “I think that the new coach is bringing a new energy to the team. It's like she's revitalizing us and getting us pumped for the new season. I'm eager to start working with her."

So, what did McMonagle decide during the week of Sept. 10? She chose not to make the trip with her team and delivered a healthy baby boy the next day. Callan Jay McMonagle was born on Sunday, Sept. 16, weighing a total of 7 pounds, 3 ounces, and coming in at 20.75 inches in length. McMonagle and Callan both plan to be back to the court as soon as they can. W

PHOTO BY DAVID SINCLAIR

Women's volleyball head coach Jenn McMonagle watches from the sidelines during a match against Hollins University.

PHOENIX SPORTS WRAP The FIELD HOCKEY team advanced to the conference championship game for the fourth consecutive season.

Previously, the Phoenix appeared in the North Eastern Athletic Conference finals, but this season marked the team’s first appearance in the Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) finals. A three goal hat-trick performance from First Team All-CSAC performer Michaela Singer ’21 helped the Phoenix to a pivotal 4-1 win over Cedar Crest College. In the semifinals, Singer, along with Payton Dziemburski ’19, provided the scoring in a 2-1 victory over Keuka College. The Phoenix then faced off against Keystone College in the Nov. 3 CSAC championship game, falling to Keystone, 2-0.

After a slow start to the season, MEN’S SOCCER finished strong and qualified for the CSAC tournament. In the opening match of the tournament, the Phoenix upset top-seeded Cairn University on the road in a match that was settled in a shootout, as the Phoenix advanced 3-1. In the CSAC championship game, the team was defeated by Keystone College in a close,

2-1 game. A program record six men’s soccer players earned all-conference recognition: Kevin Lysaght ’19, Aaron Tuss ’19, Ethan Russ ’19, Sardrick Owusu ’19, Justin Vizzi ’19 and Rene Quintanilla ’21.

The WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL team had its best season since the program returned in 2016, as the Phoenix won seven matches and qualified for the CSAC tournament. The Phoenix, however, fell to Bryn Athyn College in the tournament by a score of 3-0. Tioleaoauli Posiulai ’22 earned All-CSAC honors.

The WOMEN’S SOCCER team recorded five victories this year, its most wins since 2016. Jasmine Bankert ’21 became the first player since Courtney Bernecker ’14 to earn allconference accolades.

MEN’S GOLF competed in three events this fall. The team’s

best showing was a sixth-place finish at the Williamsport Collegiate Invitational. Josh Howells ’22 fired the best round of the fall for the Phoenix with a 95.

fall 2018 35

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Dear fellow Wilson alums, This is such an exciting time for Wilson College!

Not only is the College marking its 150th anniversar y in the coming years, it is doing so with its highest enrollment in a very long time. We can celebrate this important milestone in Wilson’s history with great optimism for its future. We were individually connected to Wilson’s story during our years as students, and we collectively took action 40 years ago to enable Wilson to continue, in order to reach this anniversar y. Every one of us should feel pride in Wilson’s journey.

The sesquicentennial celebration will span two of our Reunion Weekends, 2019 and 2020. I really hope that those of you who have reunions in those years will try to get to campus and participate.

Even if your class does not have a scheduled reunion in those years, I invite you to join us. We have events planned for everyone and will offer a casual dining option on campus, should you not be joining a group for dinner on Saturday night.

Beyond Reunion, look for information from Wilson about other events planned to commemorate the anniversar y and join in the celebration. You are a part of the history we are celebrating!

The AAWC seeks to foster a close bond between Wilson and her former students.

I welcome your thoughts or suggestions about programs, events or activities of interest to you that you believe will strengthen that bond. We have programs operating now to enable alumnae/i to connect with and support current students, such as our popular Aunt Sarah program and our grants to support students participating in internships. We also support Sarah’s Cupboard, the on-campus food pantry.

Please consider getting involved and providing assistance as you are able, as these programs are meaningful to the current students on campus. There are also volunteer projects with the Hankey Center.

Let me know if you see opportunity for something new and different that you think would support Wilson, its alumnae/i and/or current students. Even better, come join us at one of our meetings on campus or get involved in a way that works best for you.

Sincerely,

Lynne DiStasio '74

AAWC President

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Aunt Sarah Volunteers Needed

In Wilson’s Aunt Sarah Program, alumnae/i volunteer as “aunts” and are paire d with students who sign up to be “niec es or nephews.” Aunt Sarahs contact their nieces/ nephews each month through a letter or ema il, and can also send an occa sional package to provide encouragement.

The program builds bonds betw een former and current students . Some of the pairi ngs last a semester, some through commencement and others remain for a lifet ime.

"The Aunt Sarah program is a great way to connect with the current stud ent body.

Being an ‘aunt’ allows me to bring joy and encouragement to a student who needs to know someone cares about them , and to be a mentor for life. It is a very easy and inexpensive way to give back to Wilson."

-Ama nda Clever ’14 To volunteer, visit wilson.edu/au ntsarah

FLAT PHOENIX SIGHTING!

Director of Alumnae/i Relations Marybeth Famulare treated her Flat Phoenix to a summer trip to the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy.

Do you have a Flat Phoenix adventure you’d like to share?

Email your photo and caption for posti ng on the Wilson website to ARoffice@wilson. edu. Need a Flat Phoenix of your very own? Go to www.wilson.edu/flat-phoenixphotos to download one.

Getaway To Iceland April 25-29, 2019

1015 Philadelphia Ave. Chambersburg, PA 17201

Iceland is a place of con tradictions. This is where the Northern Lights dance through the dark skies of winter and the sun barely sets in the summer; where you can experience the bustling nightlife of Reykjavik contras ted with the jagged lav a fields of the countryside, all in the sam e day.

Wish you were here … or there!

Soak in the mineral water of a geothermal spa. Wi tness the pristine, extraordinary landsc ape, and dine on the fres hest seafood you will ever eat. Discov er the history, nature and geological forces that have combin ed to create this fascinatin g island on tour with Wilson College in April 2019.

2019 Alumnae Association Trips

June 13-21 Flavors of Chianti: Tou ring the hill country in and out of Florence, Italy.

To request a complete pro gram itinerary and registr ation materials, contact Discover Europe at (866) 563-7077 or info @discovereuropeltd.com

Aug. 3-14 Celtic Kingdoms Cruise: Sailing on Oceania’s Marina fro m London and visiting Edinburgh, Inv ergordon, Glasgow, Dublin, Cork and Portland.

Sept. 16-25 Symphony on the Blu e Danube: Travel aboard the MS Amadeus Silver II to Prague, Vienna and Budapest.

For more information, visit:

www.wilson.edu/alumnaei-toursand-travel

2017-18 fiscal year to support activities of the AAWC. AL YE AR FTS: FISC AAWC GI ng the 2017-18 duri ind -in-k gifts viduals contributed funds or The following indi

Silver Lining Fund Ashley Barner ’08 Linda Collenberg Bisaccia Ammerman ’68 Susan Whitmore Brooks ’63 Lynne DiSt asio ’74 Karen Markley Dyer ’73 Mar y Flournoy ’68 Carol Hardy Folk ’68 Susanna Knox Griefen ’68 Judith Coen Grove ’74 Leslie Hickland Hanks ’70 Karen Sandberg Havens ’63 Lisa Havilland ’04 Patricia Hoberg ‘68 Pamela McFadden Hoovler ’67 Pamela Kempf ’68 Bett y Jane Weller Lee ’57 Trac y Leskey ’90 Gretchen Weber Mayne ’68 Katharine Hor ton Minnihan ’58 Carol Parssinen ’82 Catherine Conbeer Pasierb ’73

Evanna Proc tor ’90 Ellen Van Looy Reed ’53 Patricia Weaver Telkins ’63 Patricia Vail ’63 Dorothy Van Brakle ’06/ ’09 Sue Wallenius Welch ’63 Sylvia Winfrey ’73 Lois Wolff ’67 Franklin County Club Scholarship Cynthia Fink Barber ’73 Mar y F. Cramer ’91 Edna “Denise” Sites Foreman ’48 Maxine Lesher Gindlesperger ’98 Patricia Markle Keffer ’96 Janice St. Clair Kohler ’57 Bett y Jane Weller Lee ’59 Gretchen Mackey ’69 Rosemary Culp McClear y ’40 Peggy McClear y ’71 Lori Loreman Tosten ’01 Phyllis Carrington Wer time ’50

Kathleen Wolfinger ’66 Dorothy Van Brakle ’06/ ’09 Carol Zehosky ’15

Reunion Raffle Carole Stoehr Ashbridge ’70 Cindy Fink Barber ’73 Patricia W. Bennett ’68 Amanda Clever ’14 Sue Ann Morin Cook ’81 Mar y F. Cramer ’91 Bridgette Daugherty Karen Markley Dyer ’73 Mar ybeth Famulare ‘17 Karen McMullen Freeman ’76 Susan Sheffey Gatliff ’60 Rose Gish Gerke ’59 Judith Coen Grove ’74 Leslie Hickland Hanks ’70 Jacqueline Elder Murren ’69 Mar tha Estep O’Brien ’65 Julie Raulli Marie Behler Schleicher ’68 Mar y Pohl Trac y ’68 Theresa Tsai ’73

Nancy Wilson ’69

Internship Gift Program Cynthia Fink Barber ’73 Susan Whitmore Brooks ’63 Mar y F. Cramer ’91 Lynne DiSt asio ’74 Karen Markley Dyer ’73 Carol Hardy Folk ’68 Judith C. Grove ’74 Leslie Hickland Hanks ’70 Lisa Havilland ’04 Gloria Wong Hisamoto ’68 Patricia Hoberg ’68 Pamela Kempf ’68 Bett y Keefer MacLaughlin ’67 Gretchen Weber Mayne ’68 Patricia Weaver Telkins ’63 Patricia Vail ’63 Dorothy Van Brakle ’06/ ’09 Sue Wallenius Welch ’63 Lois Wolff ’67 Unrestricted Beques t Mar y Holcombe Kohn ’39

fall 37 fall 2018 2018 37

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word

Standing in Solidarity Against Hate

By President Barbara K. Mistick and the Rev. Derek Wadlington, Helen Carnell Eden Chaplain

T

he hate crime shooting, on Oct. 27, of 11 innocent souls gathered in prayer at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood was a harsh reminder that there is a deep divide in our world and that violence is, unfortunately, all too common. This tragedy hit particularly close to home for many at Wilson who have intimate connections—family and friends, educational and spiritual ties—to that area.

In the shooting’s aftermath, we have reckoned with reports that hate crimes are on the rise in America and the realization that no community is immune to these incidents. And yet, despite the darkness, there have been many points of light.

Out of that tragedy, we are able to reflect on the amazing community outpouring of love and support, to appreciate that we are stronger together, and to perform some self-evaluation: Do we value community enough? Is our community a place where there is no room for hate? How do we create a nurturing, resilient community that supports, empowers and welcomes all, and how does that community react in time of great challenge?

Humans are communal by nature. We come together in families, tribes, organizations, schools, colleges, neighborhoods, towns and states. The strengths of these connections range from loose and casual to well-established and long-lasting. These connections help shape us, nurture us and give us a sense of identity, both individual and shared.

These shared identities become the communities we inhabit.

Healthy, vibrant communities celebrate together when times are good and provide support and strength in times of adversity. But these communities don’t simply happen; they take work, an intentionality in their commitment to be community. We could see this commitment reflected in the actions of Pittsburgh citizens—from the first responders bravely rushing into a devastating scene to the interfaith community vigils bringing all together to mourn and raise

60 wilson magazine

funds in support of their Jewish brothers and sisters. Every member is important and circumstances affect all—not just one.

For thousands of years, some of the strongest bonds in these communities were faith-based. Faith brought people together, gave them sanctuary and a collective identity, and provided a belief system and set practices for how to live in intentional community. But faith as a common connector has greatly diminished in today’s world, leaving many communities struggling without a system to provide direction on how to interact with each other, to model good behavior, to react with kindness and, if necessary, to punish those who transgress established norms.

In a time when so many are trying to use wedge issues and beliefs to divide us, it is imperative that we find ways to come together. This starts at a personal level. To be in communion with someone is to acknowledge their humanity, to learn from each other, to share the things that we have in common and that make us unique. And, most importantly, to love one another—and stand in solidarity against hate. This personal interaction helps break down the walls of stereotypes and associations that make it far too easy to label a person or group as “other,” allowing “the other” to be dehumanized and marginalized.

At Wilson, we work and learn together, we play together and we support each other, and all of this builds unity within our community. We are a diverse campus with a variety of gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation and religious beliefs. And that challenge of diversity creates an opportunity to combat hatred with acts of love. If we seize the opportunity to learn about those who are different than us, we build community and we are all enriched. We expand our capacity and welcome inclusivity. We become community, which is the powerful witness we need in the world today. W

The Wilson Fund

“Unrestricted funding is critical because it allows us to meet the greatest need at the institution. It really helps close the gap between the cost of running the institution and the tuition revenues that come in. Particularly today, the need for that kind of unrestricted giving just keeps going up and up.�

Barbara K. Mistick President, Wilson College

wilson.edu/makeagift

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Thanks to the Joan M. Thubel ’52 Earthwatch Prize, Assistant Professor of Biology Abby Maley Berkey made an emotional journey to South Africa to study white rhinos.

Read more on page 16.