Newspapers / The Guilfordian (Greensboro, N.C.) / Aug. 31, 2012, edition 1 / Page 7
Part of The Guilfordian (Greensboro, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
F E ATU RE S AUGUST 31, 2012 CAPE FEAR Continued from Page I Experiencing these intricate connections of nature through first-hand experience is the theory behind the new interdisciplinary Cape Fear River Basin program. The course is steeped in outdoor classes, alternative speakers, student-led discussions and art projects with the purpose to learn about the earth and ourselves in relation to our local Greensboro watershed, the Cape Fear River Basin. Dery leads the First Year Experience class "Reflecting Nature," which has become the inaugural class for the CFRB program. A requirement for this class was a four-night, five- day camping excursion to Carolina Beach led through the organization "Surf Camp." This trip involved surfing during the morning, volunteering and touring sites in the CFRB in the afternoon, and engaging in campfire discussions with pertinent speakers in the evening. "At a time in life when a college student is learning independence, individuality, decision making and undergoing the stress that comes along with all of those things, surfing provides such a healthy alternative and retreat as opposed to other typical recreational college activities," said Jason Andre, who served as the group's head surf instructor and beach guide. The goal of this program is to develop a tangible connection and a "sense of place" within each individual based in North Carolina's CFRB. "(A) sense of place is a sense of responsibility; of being a part of something larger and more enduring than yourself," said Dery. "We need to take time to imderstand and value our place and our fellows on this fertile rock. We are at great First-year Erie Pierrelouis wades in the Cape Fear River marsh grass for samples. Students volunteered and learned about river biology, surfing, and their connections to the environment risk of losing our habitat on a planetary scale." This sentiment was also recognized by the students who participated in Surf Camp. "Once you find out how much each one of your own actions affects where you are, you start to know that if you drink coffee it goes into the basin," said first-year Julia Beveridge. "Detergent, pesticides, Miracle-Gro, it's all there. Every single one of your actions has an impact." The Surf Camp trip also served as a grounding element for the class. "Instead of learning basic facts about the CFRB, actually having gone (to the mouth of the river basin) allows us to piggyback off of that experience in order to learn about the river basin in a variety of ways," said Beveridge. "No matter how much you learn about any topic (through classroom instruction), you're always going to have a wall barring your knowledge of what actually goes on." Andre stressed the importance of experiential learning with regard to developing a vested interest in conserving the nature around u^. "In a culture that focuses so much on learning from a book in a classroom, the majority of people learn by doing," said Andre. "Surfing then becomes a vehicle for environmental change, as those who fall in love with it fall in love with the ocean, and then feel obligated to make any change necessary to take care of it." Dery shares a similar understanding of the importance of physicality being an integral part of this educational moment. "Being recreated by physical, bodily endeavor in the water (such as surfing) is the best way I Imow of modeling and inspiring the kind of love that helps you make sense of just how real, important, rare — in the context of human history — and precious this educational moment is." said Dery. This program was made possible with the support of the Center for Principled Problem Solving. The hope is that the CFRB program will continue to be supported and that experiential learning becomes a more integral part of Guilford College, as learning does not just occur from the neck up. I .*u t Guilford Farm offers CS^shares to publil When the going gets tongh, the grads get going BY JUSTYN MELROSE Staff Writer The world can be a dark, scary and seemingly jobless place at times, and while the economy struggles and the job market grows less promising, thei« is good news for Guilford College students. A recent survey proves that 2011 Guilford graduates were ready and rose to the challenge. The annual alumni survey reported that 69 percent of 2011 Guilford grads have fotmd full-time employment, 14 percent have foimd part-time employment and 19 percent have moved on to graduate school. These recent findings leave the full-time employment rate of Guilford graduates 14 percent higher than the national average of 55 percent foimd by has already begun showing promise working in the world beyond Guilford. 2012 graduates William Moser IV and Colleen Hayes have both already found work and exemplify what great resources professors can be in the search for employment. Moser now works at Patriot Biodiesel where he disposes of oil, produces biodiesel, and "(throws) barrels like Donkey Kong," thanks to Donald Smith, assistant professor of physics. "(Smith) knew the owner of the place that I work at and was able to get him to come do a seminar, so that's how I met him the first time," said Moser. Hayes found work at APEX Analytix, an auditing firm in Greensboro. However, this job opportunity would not have been fotmd "Moser now works at Patriot Biodiesel where he disposes of oil, produces biodiesel, and "(throws) barrels like Donkey Kong." Donald Smith, assistant professor of physics the National Association of Colleges and Employers. "Bloomberg (News) did a list of the top 50 cities in America to live in," said Alan Mueller, director of the Career Development Center. "Well, of those 50 cities, five were in North Carolina. If you're in a place where everybody wants to live, there's going to be a lot more competition for jobs. "You put ^at up against that fact that 45 percent of our students are CCE students who have ties to this area and are job searching primarily in the triad — that makes our job (at the Career Development Center) tough and that makes us (the Guilford faculty) a little extra proud of that 69 percent." While the numbers have shown the success of the class of 2011, the class of 2012 were it not for David Limburg, professor of foreign languages. "He sent a bunch of people he knew ... an email over the summer that he had received from a temp agency, asking if he Idiew anyone who would be interested in this position," said Hayes. "At the time, I was working at Bruegger's just as a line person so I was like, 'Eh, why not?"' As the class of 2012 bursts out of the bubble and into the world, they march in the footsteps of the class of 2011 and other alumni, proving again just what Guilford graduates are capable of. If Guilford's graduate employment rates continue to rise, we can be certain to see some great work from the class of 2012. The next step is up to them.
The Guilfordian (Greensboro, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Aug. 31, 2012, edition 1
7
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75