2008 Woodie Awards
Students Recount Odyssey Experiences at Friday Afternoon Discussion
Amber Johnson
Issue date: 3/31/06 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
Friday Afternoon Discussion took on a new tone last week as it focused on the school's Odyssey program. A panel of faculty, students and staff answered a variety of questions related to the novel program that has engulfed Hendrix.
A group of students kicked off the afternoon session by presenting projects they had undertaken as a part of Odyssey.
Freshman Will Green talked about his immersion in a Catholic monastery that resulted from his interest as a Methodist curious about religion beyond the dogma and practices one learns in the classroom.
"I was trying to make the spiritualism of Catholicism applicable to my own life," he said.
Senior Christie LeBlanc recounted her experience at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. researching the letters and journals of Shirley Jackson. Jackson is an author who only has one biography, which is restrictive because "reading someone's opinion about someone else's opinions removes the reader," she said. "This was the difference between a passive and active education."
Sophomore Joey Williams spoke about his adventure in Las Vegas, Nev. at the Coin Magic seminar where he was able to meet his long time hero, David Roth. Williams, now twenty years old, wrote letters to Roth as a boy. When he introduced himself to Roth, the master magician replied, "Yeah, I know you. You used to write me letters."
Williams said his experience was "educational and mind blowing to not only be in the same room with these legends but to also get to discuss magic philosophy."
He described eating lunch with four of the greatest coin magicians alive and discussing the advantages and disadvantages of making something disappear and pondering the question of should one bring it back.
Then, the floor was turned over to the guests, which included current students and many prospective students.
Sophomore Bonnie Garrigan said she remembered the days before Odyssey and how nice it is to turn a "Hey, wouldn't it be nice…" into a reality, as she did with the EcoHouse, an alternative, environmentally-friendly student-run house funded in part by the Odyssey program.
Dr. Nancy Fleming, professor of music and associate director of the Odyssey program, said that Odyssey emphasizes Hendrix's hand-on learning focus and couples the information one learns in the classroom with experience one gains from doing a project.
Ryan Burwinael, a prospective student from Houston, Tex., said he found the opportunity to come to college and teach himself something an attractive aspect of the Odyssey program and Hendrix.
Odyssey Program Director Dr. Mark Schantz said that Odyssey is helping Hendrix discover something about itself. Aside from being known for its incredible pre-med program and strong academics, Schantz said, "Through the fostering of student creativity, we may very well be also known as 'Hendrix: The Art School.'"
A group of students kicked off the afternoon session by presenting projects they had undertaken as a part of Odyssey.
Freshman Will Green talked about his immersion in a Catholic monastery that resulted from his interest as a Methodist curious about religion beyond the dogma and practices one learns in the classroom.
"I was trying to make the spiritualism of Catholicism applicable to my own life," he said.
Senior Christie LeBlanc recounted her experience at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. researching the letters and journals of Shirley Jackson. Jackson is an author who only has one biography, which is restrictive because "reading someone's opinion about someone else's opinions removes the reader," she said. "This was the difference between a passive and active education."
Sophomore Joey Williams spoke about his adventure in Las Vegas, Nev. at the Coin Magic seminar where he was able to meet his long time hero, David Roth. Williams, now twenty years old, wrote letters to Roth as a boy. When he introduced himself to Roth, the master magician replied, "Yeah, I know you. You used to write me letters."
Williams said his experience was "educational and mind blowing to not only be in the same room with these legends but to also get to discuss magic philosophy."
He described eating lunch with four of the greatest coin magicians alive and discussing the advantages and disadvantages of making something disappear and pondering the question of should one bring it back.
Then, the floor was turned over to the guests, which included current students and many prospective students.
Sophomore Bonnie Garrigan said she remembered the days before Odyssey and how nice it is to turn a "Hey, wouldn't it be nice…" into a reality, as she did with the EcoHouse, an alternative, environmentally-friendly student-run house funded in part by the Odyssey program.
Dr. Nancy Fleming, professor of music and associate director of the Odyssey program, said that Odyssey emphasizes Hendrix's hand-on learning focus and couples the information one learns in the classroom with experience one gains from doing a project.
Ryan Burwinael, a prospective student from Houston, Tex., said he found the opportunity to come to college and teach himself something an attractive aspect of the Odyssey program and Hendrix.
Odyssey Program Director Dr. Mark Schantz said that Odyssey is helping Hendrix discover something about itself. Aside from being known for its incredible pre-med program and strong academics, Schantz said, "Through the fostering of student creativity, we may very well be also known as 'Hendrix: The Art School.'"