Mathfest 2010

A fantastic student (Maureen Whalen, pictured) and I just returned from Mathfest in Pittsburgh, PA, where we each presented a talk concerning our Rockhurst-Hogan Interdisciplinary Summer Institute (a college-experience institute with local high school students). We discussed how the structure of this institute has influenced the Pre-Calculus course at Rockhurst and how it could potentially affect other courses like our Freshmen Seminars. We did this only with the behind-the-scenes help and coaching of a wonderful Math professor, Dr. Guadarrama, who had a baby last week and of course could not attend the conference. As a biologist, I was especially fascinated by the Biomathematics talks; and I also thoroughly enjoyed the discussions on fractals, which are just incredibly cool. To top things off, we got to enjoy a Pirates game and see the lovely Pittsburgh skyline from atop Mt. Washington. And on our way home, we shared a plane with the band Foghat! It was a great experience.

Back in KC...for a few weeks

I am in Kansas City again between trips. We just went to Milwaukee for my sister-in-law's (Heather's) baby shower (I guess it was my brother's, too) , and I'll be leaving for a conference in Pittsburgh next week. The baby shower was so much fun, and that day was when it really hit home that I will soon be an aunt and my brother will be a dad! We also got to go to a Brewer's game, which was awesome and really exciting since they won in the 10th inning. The pictures are of my brother, Jeremy and his wife, Heather; and me and Heather's sisters, Tanya and Brittany. We will all three become aunties in November and we are preparing to spoil little Tessa as soon as she arrives!

Busy busy.

I know it's been awhile since I last posted but May took me (and our Biology Field Trip class) to southern Missouri and then to a conference in Cincinnati, and June began with our Hogan Institute and a seminar in China and Tibet. In this picture I am eagerly awaiting the beginning of the Cham festival at Mingdrolling Monastery outside of Tsetang, Tibet Autonomous Region. During this festival the monks celebrate the life of Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava, or "the Second Buddha," the yogi who brought Indian Buddhism to Tibet) through dance. It was amazing! This celebration only occurs once a year on Guru Rinpoche's birthday (May 10th on the Tibetan Lunar calendar), and we just happened fortuitously to be visiting Mingdrolling that day. We couldn't believe our luck! I am wearing a kathak, or prayer scarf, given to each of us as we were graciously invited into the monastery by the interim abbott, a very kind Buddhist Lama who arranged for us to have a tour of the monastery and fantastic seats at the Cham.

An exciting week

Not only is this finals week and the lead-in to our Biology Field Trip, but over the past weekend my family celebrated a landmark event: my parents' 40th wedding anniversary! They are the cute couple pictured here, holding a gift from some friends. People came in from all over the country to celebrate the occasion, including friends they hadn't seen for years and I hadn't seen since I was little. After a picnic and some catching up we listened to their friends' band and I actually saw my parents dance for the first time in my life! We all had so much fun and we're so proud of them.

Belize reunion

This afternoon our Belize Service Immersion Trip group from this past spring break had a short reunion meeting. Seeing everyone truly brought the importance of the trip back to the forefront of our minds and reminded me of how much I miss all of the wonderful people I spent that week with. Not only do I miss seeing the energy and passion of our students, but I miss that of our Belizean companions. The two groups complemented one another so perfectly and I feel that a genuine solidarity arose among us as we all had a chance to see the world as others see it.

Walkin'

This past weekend was one for walking. On Saturday we held the annual Harry Wiggins Trolley Walk in honor of this generous RU alumnus in an effort to raise funds for two scholarships. I walked alongside nearly all of our fraternity and sorority members, as this was also the kick-off to Greek Week on campus. It was a perfect day for it and we enjoyed the opportunity to get together for this cause. Then on Sunday I attended the annual EarthWalk for Earth Day at Theis Park (a lovely site across from the Nelson-Atkins Art Museum and bordering Brush Creek). Because I thought that driving to the EarthWalk would defeat its purpose, I decided to walk to the walk. Including the walk back, this made for a trek that measured right around 6.5 miles. Fortunately, it turned out to be another beautiful spring day in KC so it didn't feel at all like work. I also saw several RU students (one of whom also walked to the walk!) and walked with the other representatives from the Kansas City Wildlands team (including Sam "Wildthing" Lehrbaum, a 5-month-old border collie/St. Bernard mix). Our team raised a substantial amount of money for Bridging the Gap, our wonderful local environmental not-for-profit agency. It was a great weekend, and it was said that I earned my surname!

Evo Blogs

Please check out my Evolution class' latest blog entries below! They have done a fantastic job of relating their service-learning projects to class material (their textbook is pictured above) and peer-reviewed literature.