How Centre folks are spending the summer: Part 6 (the end)

RELEASED: August 9, 2007

DANVILLE, KY—Here we go for the last time this summer: With the Centre community, even a small request can generate a huge response. When the call went out to faculty, staff and students to tell us how they're spending their summers, it came as no surprise that the responses were quick, plentiful and interesting! Here's the final installation of a multi-part series showcasing the cool ways the Centre community is rockin' its way through the summer. (Check out Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 and Part 5 of this series, too.)

Molly Buckley, admission welcome center coordinator
I vacationed in July at Ocean Isle Beach, N.C., with my family. It was a family reunion of sorts, and there were 50 of us there! People came from San Diego, Chicago, Atlanta and Lexington to be there. We rented a house right on the beach and spent the days playing beach volleyball, sitting on the beach with our feet in the ocean, playing cards and cooking huge seafood dinners. Charlie Boyd, class of '06, joined us, as well. We're one big, crazy Italian-Irish Catholic family!

Ryan Smith, junior, Crestwood, Ky.
Probably the most interesting thing I've done this summer is shadow Dr. Timothy Kremchek in Cincinnati, one of the top orthopedic surgeons in America. He's also the Cincinnati Reds team doctor, but he operates on many different Major League Baseball players. I got to scrub in on nine surgeries and shadow his office visits with patients. It was a really amazing time. In addition to Dr. Kremchek, I'm shadowing other doctors this summer (an ER doctor and a pediatrician).

Meredith Booth, senior, Louisville
As Ray Larson, the district attorney in Fayette County (Ky.), would love to hear me say, "I'm spending my summer fighting crime." In all actuality, I'm learning exactly how to fight crime and all the different elements that go into it. I'm an intern in the Commonwealth Attorney's office in Fayette and have had the opportunity to work under and with some phenomenal people. Through my internship, I've not only worked hand-in-hand with attorneys on everything from reviewing evidence to interviewing witnesses, but I also have seen all other branches of the legal system and the work that goes into preparing a case for trial. I spent a day with a detective, had a ride-along with a police officer, went to a crime lab, watched an autopsy and so much more. I've been given an in-depth and priceless look at the criminal justice system through this internship. This experience will leave me with memories, experiences and lessons I doubt I'll soon forget.

Tyler Jones, senior, Katy, Texas
I've just finished my Research Experience for Undergraduate Program (REU) with the Los Alamos Laboratory in New Mexico doing geophysics research. Most of my time was spent at an archaeological site using geophysical techniques to map a 16th-century Native American pueblo without destructive excavation. We also did a ground-water study for a gravel and ore pit outside of Santa Fe, as water is a natural resource that's in short supply in this arid climate.  

Stephanie Beard, senior, Lancaster, Ky.
This summer I'm interning at the Kentucky World Trade Center in Lexington where I've had the opportunity to meet foreign delegates and many important Kentucky representatives. I'm a trade research intern, so I spend my days researching the particulars of the mobile crane market in Russia, compiling a list of ceramic moulding manufacturers in China and so forth. Recently the KWTC was host to a delegation from Russia, and I was able to meet with them and be involved in researching the information that was presented to them about creating more trade links between Russia and Kentucky. Later we changed gears and hosted a delegation from China.  

I also drove across the country with Ben Sheene '08 to visit my brother in California and look at law schools. After traveling around Europe while studying abroad we were interested to see how our U.S. journey stacked up. 

Molly Reynolds, senior, Brentwood, Tenn.
I'm working at the Smithsonian Institution this summer in The National Museum of American History. I'm working with the Lockwood Green collection, as well as helping with the "On the Water" exhibit.  

Lauren Medley, senior, Owensboro, Ky.
I'm living in Lexington, Ky., this summer with three Centre '05 alums (Maggie Ray, Lindsay Rall and Sarah Fromm) while completing an internship at Preston-Osborne, a public relations, marketing and research firm in Lexington. I get to do everything from writing press releases and articles to attending meetings with clients. It's a really good learning experience.

Dan Burkey, junior, Falls Church, Va.
I spent two weeks at the Kennedy Center Summer Playwriting Intensive where professional and student playwrights spend the two weeks studying the craft and business of playwriting under the guidance of some of the best minds in the business. In the first two days, I wrote two monologues and learned more about the art of drama than I thought possible in such a short time.


Haley Esson, senior, Kansas City, Mo.
One night this summer my friends and I decided to go see the new Bloch Building at the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Mo. The museum is one of the best in the country, and their new building has sparked a lot of hype and extra tourism for the K.C. area. However, our visit was a little unusual in that we decided to explore the area after dark due to its lighted glass structure. It was perfect for some fun silhouette pictures.

John DeGonda, senior, Eden Prairie, Minn.
I've been participating in an internship at a therapeutic center known as Washburn Child Guidance Center. As an intern, I've been placed in a therapeutic classroom with two teachers, one other intern and six preschool-aged children. These children are all diagnosed with some kind of anxiety or conduct disorder. We use cognitive techniques within the classroom to teach the kids how to read their feelings and behave appropriately. The goal of the program is to get the kids to function properly in their schools and homes. This internship has been an amazing learning experience and an eye-opener into some of the problems kids can face and the result of such environments and traumas.

Emily Gallt, junior, Lexington, Ky.
I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to work as an intern on the Steve Beshear for Governor (D-KY) campaign. I'm working in the finance office, which is currently dealing primarily with the fundraising efforts for Beshear. I work with the deputy finance directors and help with mailings and planning events. It's a really great opportunity, and it's an internship that most definitely gives me experience in the government field. One of my potential career goals is to be a campaign manager, and this has been the perfect gateway into that field.

Morgan Taylor, junior, Richmond, Va.
I'm working at the Children's Museum of Richmond in my hometown of Richmond, Va. I'm a camp educator for the summer camps and love it! It's hard work and extremely tiring, but I'm lucky to work with young children all day long. The campers' ages range from three to eight years. I get the young children for half the day and the older children during the other half. There are science, dinosaur, art, music, cooking, drama and nature camps.

Katherine Park, junior, Louisville
I'm doing an internship this summer in Louisville called Summerbridge. It's an educational program for children in middle school who have high potential but come from at-risk areas in the city. I'm teaching English to 10 of these children as well as teaching yearbook and coaching the kickball team. It's been an extremely rewarding experience and has prepared me well for when I become an educator.

Taylor Thistlethwaite, sophomore, Glasgow, Ky.
This summer I'm working for one of America's top antiques dealers, Sumpter Priddy, in Alexandria, Va. He mainly deals in Southern American furniture ranging in price from $10,000 to $500,000. Being a history major, I've used a lot of my experience from Centre to help with research and tracking down the history of different pieces.

Tyler Current, sophomore, Louisville, Ky.
First, I'm interning at UBS Financial where my father works. I do asset allocations, portfolio diversification, performance review presentations and sit it on meetings my dad has with clients. This has been particularly useful and has helped me gain great appreciation and insight into a possible future career. Next fall I'm taking numerous economic classes, and I'm sure my experience this summer will help. It's been amazing, the things I've learned thus far, whether it be what the prime or discount rate is or information about supply-and-demand and to realize this knowledge is used on a professional level every day.

Catherine Naiser, senior, Louisville
I'm spending my summer working part time and working on getting grounded at home after a semester abroad in Strasbourg. I recently took a trip to northern Michigan, and I'm planning a road trip with two other Centre students to Glacier National Park.

Hunter Hayes, sophomore, Hopkinsville, Ky.
I've been working full time for a professional photographer in Hopkinsville, Ky. I've learned a lot about dealing with unhappy customers and selling pictures. The owner has also taught me how to use some very useful tools in the business, such as Photoshop, mat cutting, framing and setting up computers. On top of the full-time job, I get up every other morning at 5:30 to train for soccer, and when I get off work I'm in the pool training for diving. I went on a family vacation in Del Ray Beach, Fla., which is 40 minutes from Ft. Lauderdale. I trained in Ft. Lauderdale at the Hall of Fame pool with Olympic-caliber divers for three days. My summer so far has definitely kept me occupied.

Laura Beth Griffith, sophomore, Lexington, Ky.
Earlier this summer my family and I traveled to Africa!

Farley Stephenson, junior, Florence, Ky.
This summer I've gone on a few trips and primarily tried to save some money for spring term, when I'll study abroad in London. I've been on a few camping trips, and I went to Gatlinburg the first week of August.

Joshua Gwinn, senior, Gallatin, Tenn.
I'm working for Americans Against the Escalation in Iraq (AAEI) in a program called the Iraq Summer Campaign. In the tradition of the Mississippi Summer during the civil rights movement and Vietnam Summer, I'm working in the Cincinnati area to pressure Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-OH) and Sen. Voinovich (R-OH) to bring our troops home from Iraq in a safe and responsible manner. As a part of this effort, I'm learning the ever-important skills of organizing folks to become active in their democracy. This is a wonderful opportunity where the academic skills I've developed at Centre are playing a vital role in my job on the ground. The liberal arts education at Centre has given me the breadth of knowledge and learning skills to succeed this summer and hopefully make a meaningful difference in our democracy and our world.

Penelope Wong, assistant professor of education        
I just returned from the Amazon!

Mandy Smith         , senior, New Carlisle, Ohio
I've been doing a Research Experience for Undergraduate Program (REU) at North Carolina State University in Raleigh. My small group has been working on teaching a computer to solve a jigsaw puzzle by calculating the curvature of the pieces' edges. It's been a great learning experience since it's given me a chance to get a taste of what graduate school might be like.

Leah Campbell, junior, Tullahoma, Tenn.
This summer I'm doing a Research Experience for Undergraduate Program (REU) at Valparaiso University. I'm working with two other undergraduate students and an advisor. We're working on a piece of an intelligent tutoring system for math students, in which a computer can understand dialogue between a student and a tutor and offer tutoring suggestions back to the tutor. It's been very interesting so far because my background is in math, rather than computer science, and since I've done some math tutoring I've been able to compare how I tutor to how other tutors, both novice and professional, teach students.

Sadie Allen, sophomore, Omaha, Neb.
The Event Countdown Clock for the Olympic trials for swimming to be held in Omaha, Neb., in 2008 was first at the Mutual of Omaha. But when Lis Starr '09 and I went to find it, no one knew where it was; apparently it's a traveling countdown clock. So we drove around downtown and we were really happy when we spotted it outside the First National Bank building. We have tickets for the trials and are very excited they're going to be held in Omaha.

Ryan New '04
I've spent my summer getting into shape for triathlons. Now before you're amazed, it's not the iron-man competition. The distances that I train for are Olympic (1.5k swim, 40k bike, 10k run) and the half-iron distance (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run). My first solo half iron was the Muncie Endurathon in Muncie, Ind. The goal for the summer is two events. The first is the Accenture Chicago Triathlon (the world's largest), where I was invited to compete in the elite division. The other is the national half-iron championships in Innsbrook, Mo.

Chris Payne, junior, Louisville
This summer I went to Airborne School in Fort Benning, Ga. It was three long weeks of training and very hot days, but it was all worth the reward of jumping out of a plane five times! Besides that, I've been volunteering at an inner-city day camp in Louisville.

Natalie McIntyre, junior, Lexington, Ky.
This summer has been jammed pack. I'm working at an internship at the Fayette County (Ky.) Court House as well as holding down a retail job and a waitressing job. I did find time to drive up to Cincinnati and take a break with some of my best friends. We spent the Fourth of July weekend together and had an absolute blast.


Victoria Crowell, sophomore, Providence, Ky.
I've done quite a few fun things. I did inventory at my grade school library to make a bit of money this summer. I've visited Berea twice to see my boyfriend, Michael Campbell '10, and Brittany Devine '10. I've hiked up a mountain, worked at a farmer's market and attended a barbeque in Danville that Landon Berry '10 put on.

I saw Bayside, a really excellent band, in Nashville at Rocketown. It was amazing! I went to an anime convention in Paducah, Ky., called OMG!!Con, where there are many Cosplayers (people who dress up as characters in anime) and voice actors.

Furthermore, my father and I are heading to Europe for a two-week backpacking trip. We're first going to London and then making our way by train to Brussels, Amsterdam, Berlin, Zurich and Paris. A stipulation I gave my dad was we could only bring a backpack so he couldn't lug around common travel luxuries. "Roughing it" for two weeks should not only be fun, but also allow us to better understand other cultures.

Travis Stephens, senior, Lexington, Ky.
This summer Ali Hamilton '08, Courtney Frye '08, Matt Ladwig '10, Rus Whalen '08, Jenny Jones '10, Brock Klein '10, Emily Tinker '09 and myself have been living in Kissimmee, Fla., working at Disney and Chick-Fil-A while participating in a ministry training outreach program with an organization called Campus Outreach. We've all had an amazing summer!


Sean Chandler, senior, Bagdad, Ky.
Mostly I've been doing sort of odd jobs from my summer base in Bagdad, Ky. I'm working as a writer for the local Spanish-language newspaper serving Shelby and Jefferson counties. I've been working hard on a novel that I hope to finish before I graduate. I volunteered with the Senior Olympic Games. I met up with some Centre friends and Rick Axtell, associate professor of religion at Centre, for a fantastic dinner in Louisville. And finally, I've crocheted almost 20 sock caps and a 15-foot scarf for my girlfriend.  

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Founded in 1819, Centre College is ranked among the U.S. News top 50 national liberal arts colleges. Consumers Digest ranks Centre No. 1 in educational value among all U.S. liberal arts colleges. Centre alumni, known for their nation-leading loyalty in annual financial support, include two U.S. vice presidents and two Supreme Court justices. For more, visit http://www.centre.edu/web/elevatorspeech/

For news archives go to http://www.centre.edu/web/news/newsarchive.html.

Chris Payne and his dad at Fort Benning, Ga.

Hunter Hayes about to dive off the 10-meter platform at the Hall of Fame pool in Ft. Lauderdale.

Tyler Jones (far right) at the Los Alamos Lab museum in front of a replica of Fat Man the A-bomb dropped on Nagasaki.

Laura Beth Griffith and her sister in Africa.

Victoria Crowell at OMG!!Con

Natalie McIntyre (center) with friends at a Cincinnati Reds game.

Hayley Esson and friends pose in front of the Bloch Building in Kansas City.

Sadie Allen (left) and Lis Starr find the Olympic countdown clock.