Issue date: 4/14/06 Section: News

Media Credit: Steve Nolan

The Committee on Experiential Learning has awarded Odyssey Grants totaling approximately $111,000 to 36 projects proposed by students and faculty in the Feb. 2006 cycle for summer projects, 26 of which were submitted by students.

"This interesting and diverse group of proposals included many from students who arrived at Hendrix this fall-this summer, they will have the Odyssey adventure of a lifetime," wrote Janina Eggensperger, manager of the Odyssey Office in a recent press release.

What distinguishes this pack of projects is not only its diversity, sending students to the American Southwest, the South Pacific, former East Germany and New York, but also, more of these projects are career focused. Freshman Laura Broederdorf, an aspiring researcher and wildlife rehabilitator will be spending time with elephants at Riddle's Elephant and Wildlife Sanctuary, wher she hopes to learn valuable skills for her future career.

Along the same vein, junior Harper Zielonko, will have an internship this summer at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).

"Protecting children who cannot protect themselves is where I have found my calling," said Zielonko, who hopes to have a career as a member of the FBI's Innocent Victims Taskforce.

Many of the projects delve into past, like sophomore Amy Russo's project interning at the Louisiana State Archives office. She hopes learn about her state's history and learn valuable skills for a historian. Sophomores Emily Williams and Stephen Dyle will both be learning about archeology this summer but on different sides of the Atlantic. Williams will be investigating the ancient ruins of Athens as part of her year abroad, while Dyle, an aspiring archeologist will be studying the Mayan ruins in Belize.

Freshmen Jonathan Barnes and Luke Schaffner will be studying history of another kind in their adventure in former East Germany. They will be looking at former GDR (German Democratic Republic) architecture and its correlation to Socialist Realism and more modern history. They will be paying special attention to the difference in contemporary architecture in the years following the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Barnes, a German student, came up with the idea for the project and quickly recruited Schaffner, who has a general interest in Europe and languages.

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