Saint Benedict's / Saint John's Magazine Spring 2011

SPRING 2011

M A G A Z INE

Students take on energy challenges

Martha Kaempffer describes her encounter with her new friend at the Langata Giraffe Center in Nairobi, Kenya: “We went to the Giraffe Center and fed them from a platform. I kissed one!” Students at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University study abroad in 17 semester-long programs in 14 countries, as well as short-term and service learning overseas trips. CSB and SJU ranked No.1 nationally among baccalaureate institutions with students who participate in mid-length study abroad programs, according to the most recent report published by the Institute of International Education.

spring 2 0 1 1

2 Campus connections 4 Green campus initiatives 8 Student research projects 10 CSB student creates paper from native plants 12 Polish piano prodigy 14 Going global: learning, service, leadership 26 Three questions 28 Reflections

Saint Benedict’s/Saint John’s Magazine is published in the spring by CSB/SJU Communication & Marketing Services EDITOR: Glenda Isaacs Burgeson, ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Mike Killeen DESIGNERS: Karen Hoffbeck, Greg Becker EDITORIAL TEAM: Michael Hemmesch, Diane Hageman, Barbara Hein STUDENT EDITORIAL TEAM: Megan Barrett ’11, Jillian Yanish ’13, John Murray ’11, Emily Bina ’11

CAMpUS CONNECTIONS

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CAMpUS CONNECTIONS

Students drum to the beat in orientation

By Glenda Isaacs Burgeson First-year students at CSB and SJU got to tap into their inner child during orientation, led by renowned drummer Jim Donovan. As they took their seats in the Stephen B. Humphrey Theater at SJU for an orientation session on Fine Arts Programming, they found placed at each seat one of a variety of noisemakers: drum sticks, clackers, whackers, drums, bells and cymbals.

The students needed no instruction.

They went to work, filling the hall with random percussive rhythms until Donovan took the stage to a thunderous vibration.

A founding member of the multiplatinum band Rusted Root, Donovan shares the power of rhythm across the country in educational drumming programs at universities, festivals, schools, corporations and specialty venues.

In a few, short exercises Donovan demonstrated to the students the impact they have on others.

The goal of the session, he said, was to see how well they could play one thing together. Donovan assigned simple rhythmic percussion patterns and a vocal call-and-response to each half of the hall. They practiced a bit to get the hang of it. Then, after some needling, Donovan challenged everyone to give their best effort. The result was a wall-rattling, clattering cascade of sound waves.

Donovan summarized the lesson of the day: “You have an immense amount of power, and how you affect people around you affects who you are and who we are as a group.�

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Brain power

GREEN CAMpUS INITIATIVES

Students join campaign to reduce energy use

By John Murray ’11

Students at CSB and SJU have joined with faculty and staff to reduce energy use in a year-long, focused campaign called the Year of Sustainability.

The goal of the campaign is to put rhetoric into action and transform ideas into reality. Campus sustainability leaders have worked hand in hand with students to integrate environmental activism in academics, dorm life and the campus speaker circuit.

On a snowy January afternoon, students and faculty gathered to participate in a forum on how to achieve the long-term goal of

carbon neutrality throughout the campuses. The forum was one of a series scheduled throughout the year to address sustainability topics. Despite a full day of classes, students filled the couches and booths of the CSB campus coffee house O’Connell’s.

As students look for ways to reduce energy, they bring their own energy to the cause, engaging in a dialog with faculty and each other to explore how they can make a difference.

“The staff/faculty/administration at CSB and SJU are not only receptive to students’ ideas and aspirations for a more sustainable campus and world, but are supportive and even encouraging,” says SJU student Casey Wojtalewicz.

The students watched a video produced, directed, and starring CSB and SJU students from a variety of fields of study that detailed ways to save energy on campus. Guest stars, including SJU football coach John Gagliardi, provided a few laughs along the way. Jokes aside, students say they are serious about creating change.

“CSB and SJU teach and empower students to make change,” says CSB student Shannon Preston. “I have learned that sustainability is more than recycling, but also includes social and economic realms.”

Wojtalewicz sees opportunity for action on campus.

“We have a lab here full of engaged individuals that comprise a community that dares to be innovative. Once I decided that this is something I care about, there wasn’t anything keeping me from accomplishing my goals but myself.”

As the sustainability forum wound down, many students and faculty continued conversations ranging from veggie-fueled busses to local food suppliers.

Preston gives her perspective on the Year of Sustainability: “Students are embracing the movement to more sustainable campuses. It may seem that college is a time of preparation, but we learn at CSB and SJU that change can be made now. We do not have to wait.”

Students arrange paper windmills to demonstrate their support for alternative energy.

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GREEN CAMpUS INITIATIVES

Green Bike Program off & rolling

By Diane Hageman The College of Saint Benedict campus is a little more colorful these days, thanks to the efforts of Bridget Reilly and several of her CSB Student Senate colleagues. Reilly led the charge in the development of the Green Bike Program which began last spring during Earth Week. The student senators painted 33 refurbished bikes a lively green color to distinguish them from other bikes on campus.

“We heard from students on other campuses that these kinds of programs were pretty popular, so last fall, I contacted several other universities our size and asked them about their Bike Share Programs,” says Reilly, a junior biology and Hispanic studies major from Maple Grove, Minn. “Then I connected with Marcia in Campus Recreation and she helped us to set up the program and find storage space for the bikes.” The bikes were donated by students, faculty, staff, Saint Benedict’s Monastery sisters and community members. They were checked over by staff at the Outdoor Leadership Center at Saint John’s University and from Scheel’s Sporting Goods in St. Cloud.

Marcia Mahlum, director of Campus Recreation, explains that

the bikes are treated like any other piece of equipment that can be checked out. “The students can check out a bike, the lock that goes with it and have an option to check out a helmet as well.

There is no cost. The bikes need to be returned the following day by 4 p.m. and can be renewed for up to three more days. If the bike isn’t returned, then there is a fine.”

Both women say the program has been a huge success. “This has been a great initiative. It was student-led and has been very well-received. This has to be a partnership, and my job is to help the students keep it moving forward,” Mahlum says.

“It has been a really big learning opportunity for me, and I really appreciate the support of Mahlum in helping the senate to set up the systems and operations,” Reilly adds.

Right now there are 28 bikes available for check out, but Mahlum estimates there is demand for 50-75 bikes on a routine basis. SJU is looking at launching a program on its campus, and the long-term goal is to have a cross-campus program where bikes can be checked out and returned on either campus.

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GREEN CAMpUS INITIATIVES

TRASH TALK

By John Murray ’11

In-your-face trash exhibit raises awareness Students got a good look at the amount of trash they produce in an exhibit at the College of Saint Benedict Clemens Library.

“Is It Art? Is It Trash? Is It Sustainable?” attracted attention from the beginning. During installation, curious students watched their library get trashed as volunteers heaved, tugged and squeezed five trash/ art bales through the library doors. Within an hour, the volunteers had transformed two bales of plastic bottles, two bales of cardboard, and one bale of paper into Saint Ben’s messiest art exhibit.

Varying in weight between 400-800 pounds, the bales showed students how much trash they produce.

The bales were placed in a heavily trafficked area, so students walking between classes would catch a glimpse and maybe even recognize their own contributions.

Organizers hoped to raise awareness of current waste and to encourage recycling. Art students turned waste into sculptures, proving that recycling does not have to be a passive act. Signs accompanied each bale and pointed out misconceptions and facts. For example, campus tap water is a safe and cheap alternative to bottled water, and 35.6 tons of cardboard is recycled each year at CSB. The goal was to help students visualize what they discard on campus, says Adam Konczewski of CSB Media Services, who thought up the concept.

“The best result we can achieve is to educate the public,” he says.

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GREEN CAMpUS INITIATIVES

Sustainability and spirituality: A Benedictine match

Arne Myrabo - Earth, Lake, & Sky 2010 Arboretum Photo Contest Winner: Best In Category

By Glenda Isaacs Burgeson

Early morning mist rises from Lake Sagatan at Saint John’s.

The Benedictine tradition of stewardship reaches back through centuries. As Benedictine institutions, the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University have a longstanding commitment to the natural environment.

A decade ago the schools formalized that commitment with a pledge to take a leadership role in promoting good stewardship for the natural environment. The statement also vows to foster environmental awareness through education.

The 2,700 wooded acres and lakes that surround Saint John’s serve as a reminder of the value of those commitments. On a practical level, they provide educational opportunities as natural labs for research. With their natural beauty, they serve another purpose, a physical presence that offers space for reflection and inspiration.

Br. Lew Grobe appreciates the interplay between spirituality and sustainability. A 2006 graduate of SJU, he is now a monk at Saint John’s Abbey, and he works as a sustainability associate.

He defines sustainability in the broadest sense as “the effort to meet our current needs without infringing on future generations’

ability to meet their own,” and he applies this same ideal to his sense of Benedictine spirituality.

“This same basic idea of passing things on from one generation to the next finds itself rooted in Benedictine spirituality and especially the Benedictine values of humility, frugality and stewardship.

By trying to live out these values on a daily basis, we become aware that we are part of creation, not above it, that consumption doesn’t have to be our way of life, and that we are totally dependent on a healthy environment.”

As he works to establish practices in sustainability as part of daily routine on the campuses, he says the Year of Sustainability will provide momentum.

“It is refreshing to see a generation of students take this initiative on themselves and push the institution and themselves to make the necessary changes to make our campus more sustainable. Of course our campuses will not become sustainable overnight, but I see this year as a spring board for making sustainability a central part of our community’s vision and future.”

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STUDENT RESEARCH PROJECTS

f o m r o o futur r s s a l c e a

: Assignment

Create

stude nts

By Diane Hageman

Pam Bacon has never seen so much “buzz” created in her Psychology Research Methods class.

Last fall, Bacon, an associate professor of psychology, gave her class of 16 College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University psychology majors a pretty big assignment: research what a college classroom of the future should look like at Saint Ben’s, and present the findings to college leaders and the architectural and engineering firm responsible for the design of a new building.

Why? CSB plans to construct a new academic building in a few years that will house the economics, psychology, computer science and mathematics departments. College leaders want faculty and students to try out innovations in classroom technology and teaching methods before the new building is constructed.

After meeting with the architects to find out about the building, the students got to work. “The project gave students the opportunity to use the research skills they developed in the class to work on a project that could benefit future generations of Bennies and Johnnies,” Bacon says. “I have never had a group of students approach a research project with such enthusiasm.”

The students identified the topics they would need to research and divided into six research groups: development of a faculty classroom survey, development of a technology survey, empirically established effective teaching methods, how to assess learning and engagement in the new classrooms, effective classroom layout and design, and the impact of classroom technology on student learning.

“The students worked together to search the library’s databases and consulted with librarians or other research teams when they couldn’t find what they needed,” Bacon says. “They became

experts in their research topics and were able to critically evaluate the research they found.”

Catherine Birmingham, a CSB junior psychology/pre-med major, was part of the group that researched how to assess learning and engagement in the new classrooms. “I loved being involved in this research. It was such an unconventional project, and it meant something to me as a CSB student to be able to help improve the school,” she says.

In addition to the research, the students spent time honing their presentation skills. “Because they knew they had to present their findings to the CSB president and the architects, they worked on their public presentation skills a lot,” Bacon says. “During our final practice session, the students acted like colleagues, providing each other with critiques and suggestions to improve the final presentation.”

At the end of the presentation, the students gave an executive summary of their findings to the representatives of HGA, the architectural and engineering firm overseeing the project.

“It was very informative and fun for us to hear the results of the students’ research,” says Jim Goblirsch, project architect and partner with HGA. “They did a good job on their research and their conclusions were insightful.”

What’s next? Two classrooms in the Benedicta Arts Center will be set up using the recommendations from the students regarding the furniture, technology, and lighting needed to enhance student learning and faculty teaching. The plan is to have faculty begin teaching in these rooms in the fall.

“This whole process went really well. I just can’t imagine a better experience for our students,” Bacon says.

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Wordplay:

STUDENT RESEARCH PROJECTS

Students explore the meaning behind words

By Glenda Isaacs Burgeson Imagine you could use only one word to describe yourself, or someone else. What word would you choose?

A group of CSB and SJU students put that question to fellow students for a service campaign project in Karyl Daughters’ Gender and Communication class.

The course examines the impact of socialization on gender roles and the influence of gender roles on communication.

The students designed a project to explore the ways individuals describe same-sex and opposite-sex groups. They surveyed students outside the class, asking them to use one word to describe CSB students and one word to describe SJU students. To meet a marketing requirement for the assignment, the team created posters to display around the campuses. The posters presented their results in four separate word clouds, depicting the word choices for each group.

Commenting on the results, Daughters observes one striking detail.

One quarter of Saint Benedict students surveyed chose the word “beautiful” to describe CSB students. Similarly, a high percentage of Saint John’s students chose “beautiful” to describe CSB students.

Emily Dobesh, a member of the project team, says the word “beautiful” is subject to interpretation. “The word beautiful can be used to describe not only the outer beauty of Bennies, but also the inner beauty.”

However, Daughters points out that no one describes Johnnies as “beautiful,” in either an outer or inner sense. “There is still an emphasis on physical attributes,” she says. “This particular word choice is a very classic gendered term.”

has in their fellow Bennie and Johnnie students. It recognized the traditional perceptions of each gender by those who answered with adjectives like “beautiful/sexy” for Bennies from Johnnies, or “athletic/smart” for Johnnies from Bennies,” he says.

“However, we also were able to point out more contemporary perceptions like “intelligent/responsible” for Bennies from Johnnies, going against traditional perceptions that tend to focus on physical appearance in women.”

CSB students most often used “gentleman” and “respectful” to describe SJU students, while SJU students used “awesome” and

A sample of adjectives CSB students used to describe SJU students – the size of the word indicates its frequency.

“athletic” to describe Saint John’s students.

The poster displays around the campuses help extend classroom conversations to a greater audience.

“The goal is to use the material to contribute to the community,” Daughters says. “In this project, the goal was to generate a dialog outside the classroom about gender and communication.”

Team member Lauren Pehler says their campaign prompted conversation among friends about the way college students use language.

“This campaign challenged them to really think about their word choices,” she says.

Daughters hopes students will apply that insight in a meaningful way.

“I want them to be responsible for their own behavior. I want them to understand how their behavior is gendered and to be responsible for it.”

Dobesh believes the experience will have lasting impact.

“Our project did a good job getting students thinking about how they view each other,” she says. “Being a member of the Saint Ben’s/Saint John’s community is something we are going to be a part of for the rest of our lives. Therefore, it is important to make sure the words we use to describe each other are words that we want to reflect ourselves.”

Daughters also wants students to recognize they can change patterns of behavior by being aware of how they use language.

“The premise of the class is that there is a social construction of reality.” She hopes the students discover they have responsibility to construct a better reality.

A sample of adjectives SJU students used to describe CSB students – the size of the word indicates its frequency.

While “beautiful” may have been a dominant word choice, team member Brett Krebsbach observes other word choices indicate a greater range of perception.

“I thought our project illustrated the perceptions each gender 9

Prairie Paper CSB student creates pap College students receive homework assignments all the time. But Ellory Eggermont once received an assignment that couldn’t be completed by opening a book or logging onto a computer.

The task? Make a signature paper for the College of Saint Benedict — and oh, by the way, make it with natural plants and grasses unique to the area.

“It was something totally new to me,” says Eggermont, a CSB senior from Fargo, N.D. “I hadn’t done any actual papermaking before. But I was interested in sustainable practices and the environment in general and the environment around us, specifically on the prairie. I wanted to get some experience definitely learning a new process to its fullest extent.”

Some 500 sheets of handmade paper later, Eggermont aced her assignment.

“I’ll use the paper for my senior art project, which all senior art majors have to do in the fall and the spring,” Eggermont says.

A nationally known papermaking artist, Mary Hark — who is a CSB alumna — initially suggested the idea to make a signature paper from natural materials at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University. The CSB Literary Arts Institute brought together members of the English, art and biology departments at CSB and SJU to investigate how the paper might be made.

Only one hurdle remained — find someone to make the paper.

Enter Eggermont. Rachel Melis, assistant professor of art at CSB and SJU, says Eggermont was selected because of “a combination of her art experience and her environmental-ecological interest.”

So off Eggermont went to the prairie and forest areas around CSB and SJU in the summer of 2009. She looked for

grasses that she could use in the papermaking process. A trial and error period followed — pick grass, make paper, see how it turns out.

“It sort of became her life,” Melis says.

“I can’t think of anyone doing a better job with that than her. She ran with it.”

Stephen Saupe, professor of biology at CSB and SJU, suggested certain plant species and research methods in Eggermont’s papermaking process, including using a blue dye — often used in biology experiments — to track the transformation of the materials microscopically as they were beat into paper. Eventually, she settled on a combination of Big Bluestem and Reed Canary grasses.

Eggermont’s project combined her art experience with her interest in the environment.

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“That makes a fairly nice artistic paper, but in order to write on it, I added sizing, which is a chemical that helps the paper hold ink. And, I added flax, because it’s something that’s grown historically right here at Saint Ben’s. That makes the paper a lot nicer, softer and lighter in color,” Eggermont says.

The proximity to these natural elements at CSB and SJU played a big role in the project.

per from native plants “Here we have a very direct connection to the land we live on, and that was the main influence for this project, to create something that’s specifically from Saint Ben’s and Saint John’s,” Eggermont says, “and the grass is quickly renewed. The grass I took from the prairie last year has already been replaced. Trees are renewable, but it might take 100 years.”

Eggermont, who wants to be a college art teacher, says she has grown as a person

because of the project.

“I think personally for me, I’ve learned how valuable it can be to put yourself out there and get involved in something that you have no idea about,” Eggermont says.

“I also gained a greater appreciation of my direct environment of the arboretum that surrounds me, as well as the prairie and woods at Saint Ben’s, and starting to figure out how the place I live influences who I am.”

By Mike Killeen

Both Scott Murphy, assistant professor of art at CSB and SJU, and Eggermont presented a workshop on papermaking during the Friends of Dard Hunter National Papermaking Conference Oct. 18-24 in Gatlinburg, Tenn. They addressed the collaboration between various departments (including environmental studies and Undergraduate Research) to produce the paper as well as the benefits to both students and faculty.

Polish piano prodigy: Saint John’s student brings music to the ears of CSB/SJU community Megan Barrett ’11 photo: Dawid Chabowski

Talented Polish pianist Kamil Tokarski could have attended any prestigious music conservatory in the world. Instead, he chose the secluded campus of Saint John’s University.

“I was looking for a peaceful place where I could develop and bring freshness to my education,” he says.

Tokarski began his musical career at just 6 years old in his hometown of Bydgoszcz, Poland. His father, a conductor for the National Orchestra of the Polish Army and a pianist, was his first teacher and the inspiration behind his love of music.

Today, the SJU senior and piano performing major still lives for the passion of playing and studies with Fr. Bob Koopmann, OSB, SJU president and music professor at CSB and SJU. “He’s the most motivated student to become a concert pianist I’ve ever come across,” Koopmann says. “He was so well trained in Poland that he was the most advanced student when he came into the music program here.”

During his first couple of years on campus, Tokarski has garnered numerous awards. He won the grand prize in the St. Cloud Symphony Orchestra Competition and was featured soloist with the orchestra in May 2009. He also won the Collegiate Young Artist Competition grand prize awarded

by Minnesota Music Teachers Association, the second prize in the Thursday Musical Collegiate Young Artist Competition and received an “honorable mention” award at the Music Teachers National Association West Central Division Competition. Most recently, he received an “honorable mention” award at the Music Teachers National Association Young Artist Competition.

Tokarski spent most of his younger years immersed in musical education. His elementary and secondary schooling took place at Arthur Rubenstein School for Music in Poland, and he spent the next three years at the Music Academy of Lodz, a Polish music conservatory.

As a young man, he realized that conservatory life did not suit him.

“I attended musically-based institutions since I was eight years old, and I felt the need to try something different,” he says.

Tokarski began looking at colleges and universities all around the world and came across SJU during one of his many Internet searches. He got in touch with Koopmann and the staff at the SJU admission office, who were initially puzzled

by Tokarski’s desire to attend the small liberal arts university instead of an international music conservatory.

Tokarski simply wanted the best of both worlds: an authentic college experience and a strong musical education.

The unlimited access to practice rooms and the great number of performance opportunities at SJU have provided Tokarski with resources that he scarcely found at the music conservatories where he previously studied.

“During his time at —Fr. Bob Koopmann Saint John’s, I have seen him expand his expressive capacity as a pianist,” Koopmann says. “He plays in an amazingly expressive way that is full of soul.”

One of Tokarski’s keys to success is to create a biography of each composer before learning to play his piece.

“Performing music well calls for more than time at the piano,” he says. “Understanding the circumstances of a piece’s origin and of the composer requires a great amount of research and study. I try to delve into the minds of composers and bring their pieces to life through my own interpretation.”

As Tokarski’s time at SJU comes to an end, he will audition at some of the most prestigious music graduate programs in the country, including Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y., and Northwestern University in Chicago.

In the next few years, Tokarski says he would like to expand his musical repertoire and perform with his sister, a pianist studying at the Schwob School of Music at Columbus State University in Columbus, Ga.

“He plays in an amazingly expressive way that is full of soul.”

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GOING GLOBAL

Study abroad service teaches lifelong lessons

By Mike Killeen Katie Brown doesn’t plan any of the 17 semester-long study abroad opportunities offered by the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University. But what if it was up to Brown?

“I absolutely feel that the service learning component should be a part of every study abroad trip,” says Brown, a CSB senior.

She should know. Last spring, Brown was part of the CSB and SJU study abroad trip to South Africa — a program that

includes a mandatory two-credit academic service learning opportunity. Brown volunteered at Pendla Primary School, an underfunded K-8 school located in a township of Port Elizabeth.

“I’ve gained so much from this experience,” said Brown, who grew up in Appleton, Minn. “The greatest life lessons occur when I’m confronted with our society’s obsession with materialism. Those (South African) students lived in absolute poverty, but they still shined with happiness.”

Leah Boyer Asp ’07 teaching at Pendla Primary School in South Africa. Photo by Bethany Sieren Bauer ’07.

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This spring semester, CSB and SJU students had a choice of three options to serve in South Africa: Pendla Primary School; AIDS Haven-House of Resurrection, an orphanage for children who are affected by HIV/AIDS; or Missionvale Care Centre, which provides care for the poor, with particular emphasis on those living with HIV/AIDS. The latter site is new to the program this year.

Since 1998, when the South Africa study abroad program was started, just

GOING GLOBAL

over 400 CSB and SJU students have worked six hours a week at one of the sites. All totaled, they spend approximately 2,700 hours per semester in service work.

“Students choose the South African program because of this. It’s a major component of the program,” says Peggy Retka, director of the Office for Education Abroad (OEA) at CSB and SJU. Retka says about 80 percent of the students who participated in the South Africa program did so because of the service learning component.

“The students really want to feel like they’re giving back during their study abroad experience,” Retka says. “Generally, the South Africa program attracts students who are already involved in service before they go. This is typically not their first time they’ve been volunteers.”

But Retka says it is important the program remain intentional about the service learning experience.

“There is a delicate balancing act each semester between our large group of students and the on-site partners,” Retka says. “Students need to understand that they are not there to ‘save’ the South Africans.

“We want the students to have a really empowering and impactful experience — which they inevitably do,” Retka says.

“Students set out to help those at the service sites, but they ultimately learn just as much or more from the site and their experiences as they give. Throughout the entire semester we stress that the group should take their lead from our partners there, about what their needs are and how they might assist. They should not come in ‘knowing’ the answers.”

Luke Opsahl, an SJU senior economics major from Forest Lake, Minn., helped students with their mathematical problems while serving at Pendla. He says he got “a great deal” out of his service work, especially connecting with students and faculty from a different culture with their math homework.

“This experience has helped me to see how you can connect with others when the same language is not even spoken, and that you can amaze yourself at what you can do if you just try it,” Opsahl says.

The CSB and SJU students hold several

SJU student Jacob (Jake) Sieve reading with one of the preschool students at AIDS Haven-House of Resurrection in South Africa. Photo by Peggy Retka.

fundraisers throughout the year to raise money for the projects they will work on. Fundraisers have included Pennies for Pendla; a letter-writing campaign to friends, relatives and businesses; a benefit concert featuring the Van Gogh Bros. band; and the CSB coffee shop Clemens Perk donating a percentage of sales on special beverages. The efforts have funded new chairs at Pendla, staff training sessions at AIDS Haven, a “Health and Hygiene Day” and a “Family Night.”

“You see the long-term impact this program has on the lives of our students.

Participants from five or 10 years ago are still sending money to go toward those fundraising efforts, because they know their money is going to go directly to Pendla School or AIDS Haven-House of Resurrection, to the projects our students

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are implementing,” Retka says.

Brown might be happy to know that the 2011 CSB and SJU study abroad trip to India this spring — a new program for the OEA — is also requiring a service learning experience. In addition, students on both the Chile and Guatemala trips conduct service learning in a variety of educational and social service settings.

“The best way to learn about the country is through service to those less fortunate,” Brown says. “I learned so much more about South Africa by working at Pendla than I ever could through courses or assigned readings. I saw first-hand the obstacles the next generation was up against.

“The greatest impact of my study abroad experience came from the service learning component.”

GOING GLOBAL

Bye bye comfort zone

By Megan Barrett ’11

Photos by Brian Heilman and Theresa Reichert

A new study abroad site in India expands horizons for an adventurous group of students.

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GOING GLOBAL

CSB and SJU students are no strangers to world travel.

The CSB/SJU study abroad program consistently ranks among the top nationally for international study, and, with the recent addition of an India program, students have embraced a challenging new frontier.

The India program is not for the faint hearted.

“India is a first and a third world country at the same time,” says Peggy Retka, CSB/SJU Education Abroad adviser. “It’s somewhere I describe as the most challenging place I’ve ever been to and the one that calls me back the most.”

The CSB and SJU students pioneering the first trip to India all have the same aspiration: to push themselves out of their comfort zone and into a place that is culturally, geographically, politically and economically different from the place they call home.

“The commonality I see in these students is the desire to explore a part of the world that is becoming more visible on the international scene, but a place that they know is radically different from their own world,” says Madhu Mitra, CSB/SJU India study abroad faculty director and Kolkata, India, native.

SJU junior and psychology major

Danny Elenz acknowledges the difficulties life in India will present, but looks forward to the challenge.

“I am focusing on keeping an open mind, expecting the unexpected and figuring things out as I go,” Elenz says.

Ranked No. 1 nationally among baccalaureate institutions with students who participate in mid-length study abroad programs, CSB and SJU combined some of the best features of their other study abroad programs to create a transformative experience for students, including a focus on service learning and an integrated educational experience.

“We found that one of the big things that speak to students is service learning, which we made a crucial component of the India program,” Retka says.

The home of the late Mother Teresa, India continues to symbolize the power of helping those in need.

“There are very stark contrasts of wealth and poverty that students will be confronted with the moment they land in India,” Mitra says. “They are pushing all kinds of boundaries.”

Students will spend five to 10 hours per week in service learning projects, many of which focus on empowering women who live on the streets.

At the Loreto Day School, students

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will teach and interact with girls who are orphans, victims of sex trafficking and street children.

“The service learning aspect of the trip really interested me, as I wanted to go somewhere that didn’t feel like a vacation,” Elenz says. “Working with the young girls and others in the slums of India will allow me to help people who need it the most.”

Students will also have the chance to pursue opportunities that are of special interest to them.

“As an art and environmental studies double major, I’m interested in many aspects of the Indian culture,” says Brynn Haugen, CSB junior. “I want to learn more about population growth, waste management systems and the ecosystem, as well as religious art and symbols. I’m also hoping to make a documentary while I’m there.”

The CSB and SJU study abroad pioneers are prepared to confront the challenges of India with open minds and hearts.

“I know that this experience will totally throw me out of my comfort zone, but I am willing to dive right into the Indian culture,” says Kia Lor, CSB sophomore and communication major. “I’m ready for something totally new and different.”

GOING GLOBAL

Diplomatic bridge building Johnnie takes leadership role in student-run cultural exchange

By Michael Hemmesch

The distance between the United States and Japan spans half the globe. Saint John’s University sophomore Kunihiro Shimoji wants to bridge that distance, by way of Okinawa.

Kuni’s goal is to become an expert on U.S.-Japan relations as they relate to Okinawa.

“I would like to stand between and among these different actors (Okinawa, United States and Japan) talking on different levels and be a bridge,” says Kuni, a political science and economics doublemajor from Okinawa, Japan. “I would like to bring Okinawa, Japan and the United States on the same page. That’s why I want to focus on international relations.”

He is well on his way.

Last year, Kuni was one of 70 students — 35 from each country — selected in 2010 for the 62nd Japan-America Student Conference (JASC), the oldest student-run cultural exchange between the U.S. and Japan, dating back to 1934, and he was among eight students selected after only one year of university study.

Each summer, nearly 80 students from universities across Japan and the United States convene to discuss some of the hottest topics facing the two nations. The program alternates host countries each year, giving students the rare opportunity to see places, whether at home or abroad, and learn about their culture through the eyes of others. Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and former Japanese Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa are among alumni of the program.

The conference was held July 23-Aug. 21 at four locations — Earlham College in Richmond, Ind.; George Washington University in Washington, D.C.; New Orleans and San Francisco. The conference featured seven roundtable topics, and Kuni’s roundtable focused on social entrepreneurship.

“We did some field trips, visited Teach

Kunihiro Shimoji with an alumnus from the 5th Japan-America Student Conference.

for America, some local entrepreneurs and the Consul General,” Kuni says. “When we were in D.C., we had a security forum and exchanged our views on international relations between Japan and the United States, and also other parts of the world.

We invited some professors and visited the Capitol, Department of State and talked with the person in charge of the JapanAmerica Security Alliance.”

At the conference, Kuni quickly set himself apart as a leader. He was elected to the executive board of 16 students, which is in charge of organizing next summer’s conference scheduled for July 24-Aug. 21, 2011, in the Japanese cities of Niigata, Kyoto and Tokyo and the prefecture of Okinawa. Kuni is the Okinawa site coordinator, with responsibility for virtually all of the planning and logistics for that portion of the conference.

Kuni will also lead a roundtable at the conference on strengthening the ties between nations through comprehensive 18

security. He wants to further the discussion on how the Japan-America Security Alliance should work, not only from the military perspective, but also from nontraditional angles, including environmental security issues.

As a first-year student at SJU, Kuni’s potential for leadership drew attention.

Yuko Shibata, assistant professor of modern and classical languages, and Rachel Sherman Johnson, coordinator of Asian studies, advised Kuni to apply for the 2010 JASC conference. Sarah Pruett, English as a Second Language coordinator, and Dave Bennetts, professor of history, supported Kuni with letters, since the JASC application process was rigorous and competitive.

In Pruett’s letter, she comments on Kuni’s skill as a debater. “Kunihiro has a valuable ability which many students his age lack: he can vigorously discuss and debate issues, including controversial issues, and he can challenge and disagree with his classmates in a way that does not hurt or offend. For this reason, he is a great catalyst for lively class discussions.”

Bennetts comments in his recommendation on Kuni’s leadership. “He is very respected by his peers — American and international students alike. He is already a campus leader and participant in a variety of campus lives.”

Kuni is currently a resident assistant in St. Mary Hall and a member of Asia Club, International Affairs Club and Model UN. He also helps the CSB/SJU International Admissions Committee by corresponding with Japanese applicants. Kuni would like to attend graduate school at Georgetown University for international relations after he has completed his undergraduate work at SJU. “I foresee him going into diplomacy or some kind of international relations at a high level, and the contacts he is making through JASC make that even more likely,” Pruett says.

GOING GLOBAL

SJU grad an expert observer on world’s newest country

By Michael Hemmesch As the world watched a historic vote in January to create a new country in Sudan, a recent Saint John’s University graduate helped make sense of events for international policy makers, as well as national and international news outlets, because of his expertise in the region and work for peace.

Zach Vertin, a 2005 SJU graduate from Breckenridge, Minn., currently serves as a Sudan analyst for the International Crisis Group (ICG), an independent, non-profit, non-governmental organization committed to preventing and resolving deadly conflict. ICG conducts in-country research and analysis, and advises foreign ministries and organizations, such as the United Nations, European Union and World Bank.

In his current role, Vertin examines political dynamics and peace and security issues across Sudan, including: northsouth relations and the Comprehensive Peace Agreement; political, economic and security relations with the region; intercommunal violence and state response; and the process of self-determination of South Sudan. Vertin assumed this role in 2009, and splits time between Nairobi and Sudan.

Vertin, a philosophy major, was quoted in many national and international outlets in recent months as the South Sudanese people voted overwhelmingly in favor for the southern region to secede from the north to form the world’s newest country.

“Thousands have turned out to vote, standing in long queues outside polling stations,” said Vertin in a January interview with the Haaretz Newspaper in Israel.

“Many are dressed in their Sunday best, some camped out the night before so as to be among the first to vote. Many mothers brought babies along to share in the historic moment.”

Vertin also had published a January Huffington Post column where he described the challenges that lie ahead for the people

Vertin with former President Bill Clinton at a recent International Crisis Group event.

of Southern Sudan. The two main issues, in his mind, are laying the foundations for a constructive relationship with the North and the need to open political space amid a changing political environment.

“This week’s vote was not the finish line but the critical first step on the path to an independent and democratic state,” Vertin wrote.

Vertin’s interest in foreign policy and conflict prevention began during his time in college. While at SJU, he studied abroad in South Africa, focusing on postapartheid politics.

One of Vertin’s philosophy professors, Fr. Rene McGraw, OSB, recalls the intensity he brought to classroom discussions about power and violence and non-violent resistance. “Three people sat together in that class — challenging, asking probing questions, looking at the use and misuse of violence and examining the way that groups can exercise power over opposing groups.”

Prior to joining ICG, Vertin spent time doing research and advocacy work with the Kenya Human Rights Commission, and 19

with an innovative social services agency in New York City.

From 2006-09, Vertin worked as UN analyst in ICG’s advocacy office in New York. In this role, he worked on policy issues across the UN system, with a special focus on UN Security Council dynamics and African issues on the council’s agenda.

Vertin quickly made a name for himself and impressed others with his writing and analytic skills. He was accepted into a number of fine graduate programs, but seized the opportunity to gain field experience, especially in a volatile area, by pursuing the position in Sudan.

As Vertin progressed in his work in Sudan, he began to be recognized as a leading voice in the understanding of the dynamics occurring in the region.

“Through the four years he was here at SJU, that philosophical underpinning and his native analytic and writing ability were sharpened through a whole series of courses,” McGraw said. “In addition, he carries with him, both from his family and from Saint John’s, a strong commitment to ethical action and community.”

GOING GLOBAL

Global service enterprise Selling beads for a cause After an international trip, a group of CSB and SJU student activists bring home more than the usual souvenir mug or T-shirt.

They return with a mission.

Students active in Extending the LINK (ETL) travel to different countries to produce documentaries aimed at educating their peers about lesser-known issues. They also work to teach how individual choices and collective action can make a difference in the world.

ETL is a nonprofit venture run by students who are E-Scholars who work in association with the Donald McNeely Center for Entrepreneurship to educate others about global issues and inspire them to take action to promote social justice.

An emphasis on service is the most important part of the documentaries, says CSB senior and ETL co-director Emily Bina.

“That’s a way for us to offer service, whether it involves donating money to fund a teacher’s salary or buying goods from an organization that helps previously trafficked women,” she says.

Tom Hoffman with children in Uganda.

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By Jillian Yanish ’13 Since ETL started in 2007, its documentaries have educated students on campus about the need for fair trade coffee in Guatemala, the value of micro loans for entrepreneurs in Chile and the struggles of child-headed families in Uganda.

ETL students do more than raise awareness about such issues. In each instance, they work to inspire their classmates to get involved. They have sponsored benefits, and they have sold fair trade coffee from Guatemala, and jewelry made by women and children in Uganda.

The jewelry, called Hope Beads, has been such a hit with CSB and SJU students, other E-Scholars have adopted the sale of the beads as part of their work.

Last December, student shoppers snapped up the Hope Beads at the campus Fair Trade Sale.

Their purchases raised approximately $700, with 100 percent of the profits benefitting Hope Academy in Uganda.

Senior Kira Garrett, an E-Scholar, has been selling the beads and has seen the positive impact they have on students.

“When students know there is a good cause involved, they are much more likely to purchase.

We have also heard from lots of people that they love the beads,” Garrett says.

The Hope Beads are one example of how ETL students are able to raise money for a specific cause, while teaching a lifelong lesson to consumers.

“We are giving the students an outlet for consumer-based service and action. It’s not just about learning something and then the next day it’s over and forgotten,” Bina says.

Student interest in ETL is growing each year.

“ETL is a huge opportunity to be a part of as a student because it has a structure and it has a goal,” Bina says. “Beyond that, there’s this flexibility that a classroom can’t provide.

There are learning opportunities beyond the syllabus.”

The students are spreading the word about their efforts.

So far, more than 2,000 people have seen their last video, Essubi: Growing Up With Hope. The documentaries are being shown in CSB and SJU classrooms, as well as high school classrooms around Minnesota.

With the growth of the organization and the spread of its documentaries, ETL students hope the causes they promote will have lasting impact.

“While we may not be handing students a hammer to build a house, we are certainly providing them with the tools needed to make a great change,” ETL co-director Tom Hoffman says.

GOING GLOBAL

Ready, set, launch – a business

By Emily Bina ’11 In a perfect world, there would be no uncertainty, no risk.

Our world is not perfect. Welcome to life.

CSB and SJU students in the Entrepreneurial Scholars Program (E-Scholars) learn that lesson early and develop a tolerance of ambiguity.

“My mantra is embrace ambiguity,” says Paul Marsnik, associate professor of management and entrepreneurship, and lead faculty for the E-Scholars Program at CSB and SJU. “And I love it when students begin to understand what that means.”

Marsnik is referring to the unforeseen obstacles of starting a small business, the challenges of quick problem-solving and decision-making, and the embrace of life’s uncertainties.

The E-Scholars’ comprehension of these uncertainties starts on campus, as the two-year program gives approximately 10-13 students per year the opportunity to take classes and develop a business idea, with the hope of launching it before they graduate.

But that’s just inside the classroom.

Outside, they travel across the United States and to China, meeting with other entrepreneurs and mentors, and getting feedback on their own ideas.

“Getting to meet and interact with entrepreneurial-minded people — alums, professors, business owners and other students — is irreplaceable,” says Kira Garrett, a CSB senior English major.

“It’s so much easier to launch a venture when you have great people to learn from and help you.”

Garrett, with fellow E-Scholar Grady Sloan, a senior management and accounting double major at SJU, started a business selling Hope Beads, which are made from recycled paper by women and children in rural Uganda. Hope Academy — a Ugandan school — benefits from the proceeds.

While some students work across the world, others develop projects closer to home.

Aaron Haakonson, a senior management major at SJU, applied to the E-Scholars Program to expand his lawn care service based in St. Cloud — something he started before coming to SJU. “I wanted to turn it into a full-service company that offers chemical application, weed control, and fertilization,” Haakonson says.

Despite his years of business experience, he still runs into obstacles — in particular in trying to convince lenders that he is a legitimate candidate for capital financing.

“Because I’m young they want proof on paper that I won’t be a risk,” Haakonson says. “Making a good impression doesn’t necessarily cut it.”

E-Scholars have a proven record of overcoming obstacles, as

Chelsea Jo Huisman on E-Scholars tour in China.

demonstrated by the success of their projects.

Clemens Perk, a student-run and student-started coffee shop on the CSB campus, was developed through the program in its first year — 2005 — and paid off its entire loan in 2010. T-Spot, an on-campus T-shirt printing company started in 2007, is thriving, and Extending the LINK, an international documentary series, is now in its fourth year.

While the projects and business ideas vary greatly, student entrepreneurs agree about the benefits of guidance and resources the E-Scholars Program offers — especially when dealing with ambiguity.

“Learning more about entrepreneurship not only helps in understanding and practicing real-world business experiences, but in just dealing with everyday uncertainty, too,” says Sloan.

The E-Scholars Program challenges students from all academic disciplines to fine-tune their problem-solving skills and to act on their ideas.

“Without the confidence and knowledge of what entrepreneurs are, it’s difficult to follow through and make things happen,” Haakonson says. “Many people are talkers, but not so many have the ambition to make it happen.”

SJU senior theater and entrepreneurship double major and E-Scholar Jared Sherlock agrees. A professional magician, Sherlock started a live theatrical production company which entertains his audience with a contemporary variety show. In January 2010, he presented his show, “Night Games,” to a packed house at CSB’s Escher Auditorium.

“Entrepreneurship teaches you how to be independent,” Sherlock says. “But more importantly, how you can make a living doing what you love.”

There’s no ambiguity about that.

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GOING GLOBAL

CSB graduate finds her niche after whirlwind summer

By Mike Killeen

GOING GLOBAL

Some people reach a point in life when they experience an epiphany — a sudden intuitive realization.

For Erica Layer, that epiphany came after her junior year at the College of Saint Benedict.

“I guess you could say that the summer after my junior year had a huge influence on me. I had two very different experiences,” Layer says.

How different? She began the summer on a trip to Uganda and Rwanda with other students from the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University. She finished it with a 10-week stay at Stanford University, becoming part of a graduate chemical engineering lab on organic semiconductors.

“The trip was my first experience in Africa and sparked my interest in HIV/ AIDS and other development issues,” Layer says. “Stanford was an excellent opportunity to conduct research with a mentor.

It helped me understand what graduate school in chemistry would be like.”

With two excellent choices on the table, she “struggled with what to do after graduation,” Layer says. Join the Peace Corps?

Or, go to graduate school?

It turns out she did both. After her 2006 graduation from CSB with a major in chemistry, Layer decided to put graduate school on hold and join the Peace Corps.

She developed an interest in public health, and her work in the Peace Corps led Layer to a job with the International AIDS Society. Afterward, she fulfilled her quest to go to graduate school when she enrolled at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in July 2010.

Layer, a native of Elk River, Minn., served two years (2006-08) as a Peace Corps volunteer in a rural village in northern South Africa.

Layer says nearly every Saturday there was a funeral for a person who died because of HIV/AIDS — often for someone in their mid-30s.

“The most serious issue in the village, and the country as a whole, is the HIV/ AIDS epidemic,” Layer says. “However, no one was talking about HIV. The stigma around the disease was so severe that it was taboo to say that a person died of HIV.” She spent about nine months working with over 30 people from the community to plan a campaign around HIV awareness, including a month-long HIV-testing program.

Erica Layer’s host mother preparing food.

“This event reduced some of the stigma around HIV testing and ignited a discussion about HIV in the community,” Layer says. “This was probably my most significant contribution as a volunteer.”

While finishing her stint in the Peace Corps, Layer realized her passion about the field of public health. She was planning to take some time off before beginning graduate school (she traveled independently for four months through southern and east Africa and India), but then switched gears when she came across an opening at the International AIDS Society in Geneva.

Layer worked for almost a year and a half in Switzerland as the scientific programme officer for the XVIII International AIDS Conference, which took place in July 2010 in Vienna.

“My role was to coordinate the scientific component of the conference along with a committee of HIV scientists from around the world, including many people from United Nations’ agencies and the World Health Organization,” Layer says. “I supported over 30 sessions at the conference and liaised frequently with the invited speakers who came to talk about issues ranging from pathogenesis of HIV to behavorial interventions to human rights approaches in HIV programming.

“Through this experience, I now have a broad network of dozens of leaders working in HIV/AIDS programs worldwide and have an in-depth understanding of the latest issues in the HIV field,” Layer says.

She returned to the U.S. to start her master’s degree at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Maryland.

The two-year program focuses on public health interventions for HIV-prevention and maternal and child health in developing countries.

“I am not at all surprised at Erica’s accomplishments,” says Anna McKenna, associate professor of chemistry at CSB and SJU and Layer’s adviser while at CSB. “Erica did not begin her major until her sophomore year. At some colleges she would have been labeled ‘undecided’ but I prefer to label her ‘open to possibilities.’

“She has been willing and able to focus her life in a field that she could not have imagined as an undergraduate. Her background as a science major with a grounding in the liberal arts has prepared her to excel in an interdisciplinary and ever-changing field,” McKenna says.

Layer says her undergraduate education 23

at CSB and SJU prepared her well.

“My experience at CSB and SJU — my classes, my inspiring professors, my extracurricular activities — are the reason I am where I am today,” she says. “When I started at Saint Ben’s, I never imagined that I would end up traveling around the world, working for an international health organization and pursuing a master’s degree in international public health. CSB and SJU

Erica Layer with kids from primary school.

gave me the opportunity to try new things, to challenge myself and to think about life in a multi-disciplinary manner.

“I cannot think of a better preparation for public health than a liberal arts education,” Layer says, noting that she is currently taking courses in biostatistics and epidemiology, which draw largely on mathematics and natural sciences. “My program also draws heavily from the fields of sociology, anthropology and psychology.

Additionally, I have classes in management, environmental science and biology.

In fact, I’m not sure how I would succeed here without a liberal arts background! I would most certainly recommend a liberal arts college to anyone preparing to select a college.

“I’m not sure where I would be if I didn’t have the opportunity to experiment — to discover — while at CSB and SJU. There is plenty of time to specialize in a subject during graduate school; undergraduate education is an ideal time to try new things and figure out what you are passionate about,” Layer adds.

And finding that epiphany.

GOING GLOBAL

Namibia’s frequent visitor SJU graduate helps protect black rhino

By Mike Killeen

When Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie flew to Namibia in 2006 for the birth of their daughter, Shiloh, many Americans ran to their computers to find out where the country on the southwestern coast of Africa was.

“Brad and Angelina sort of helped put Namibia on the map, for a lot of Americans,” says Saint John’s University graduate

Jeff Muntifering, a conservation biologist with the Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley.

Muntifering did not need a map. He has spent the majority of the past eight years in Namibia helping to save black rhinos from extinction as part of the Namibianbased Save the Rhino Trust.

In 2009, the Minnesota Zoo joined forces with the Nature Conservancy and

Jeff Muntifering in Africa.

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Save the Rhino Trust to protect the black rhino and the wild lands they need to survive. There are just 4,000 black rhinos left in the world after poachers killed off 96 percent of the population between 1970 and 1990, largely fueled by the black market demand for their horns. One-third of the world’s remaining wild black rhino persist in Namibia, where an ambitious,

GOING GLOBAL

innovative rhino ‘custodianship’ program, spearheaded by the government, aims to restore rhino populations on both public and private land.

That’s where Muntifering comes in.

As a scientific adviser to Save the Rhino Trust, he provides technical support to key decisionmakers and skills training to communities that agree to protect the species. The community can then enter into contracts with private ecotourism companies who share their profits with them.

“It’s really framed around the Zoo’s mission of connecting people with nature through supporting Muntifering at an exhibit at the Minnesota Zoo. wilderness-based conservation efforts,” Muntifering says. “There Working with multiple levels of governare not a lot of zoos around the world that ment can be challenging, Muntifering says. are directly supporting such conservation The 1999 SJU graduate with a degree in work outside the zoo border with their biology harkens back to his classes at the own staff.

College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s “All the rhinos are government-owned, University as preparing him well for his so any management has to go through the current job — being able to think critically Namibia government. The communities about issues and to actively participate in are actively requesting to get rhinos back discussions. on their land, which is an extremely rare “Those are things that I think are really occurrence in Africa.” cultivated by a small university with small classes, professors that you can go one-onone with, and that’s what I think I really got out of a lot of the courses,” Muntifering says.

He never imagined he would be doing this as a profession. He came to SJU from Sartell (Minn.) High School to play football for legendary coach John Gagliardi, and was interested in pursuing a career in sports medicine.

But in the spring of 1998, he took part in CSB/SJU’s first semester-long study abroad trip to South Africa.

“I made a very, very strong connection with Africa,” Muntifering says. “I also realized that by talking to some professors at the university (in South Africa) and some other folks, you could actually make An exhibit at the Minnesota Zoo shows a replica of Muntifering’s typical office during field research. a career out of field biology. Those two 25

things sort of came together, and I came back — I still had a year left at Saint John’s — and worked really hard to try and get as many conservation-related courses under my belt.

“Within one year I was basically able to shift my whole focus, still graduate in four years with a biology diploma and still go ahead with what I wanted to do,” he says.

Muntifering recently returned to Namibia, where he joined a capture and translocation team in the field to move “at least a dozen rhino” onto new community lands that haven’t had rhino in decades.

“We are looking at a much more holistic direction, I would say, over the next four or five years,” Muntifering says. “The rhino will always be a major, major focus species for conservation in the region, but to sustain rhino, you really have to look at a much broader picture — one that includes the dynamics within and between the ecological, social, political and economical systems. Climate change is going to be a huge, huge issue that really hasn’t hit us yet, but it is something we need to be especially aware of being in the desert. All these things coming together make for a pretty complex picture.”

Three

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Questi ns CSB and SJU faculty and staff answer questions in their area of expertise

By Mike Killeen

To find out more about green jobs, Ernie Diedrich recommends these websites: Green Jobs Network: http:// www.greenjobs.net/ United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) report: http:// www.unep.org/labour_environment/PDFs/Greenjobs/UNEPGreen-Jobs-report.pdf Clean Edge, an organization that looks at where clean technology investment and employment are headed: http://www. cleanedge.com/reports/reportsjobtrends2010.php 2009 Sustainable Business. com blog: http://seekingalpha. com/instablog/332962-sustainablebusiness-com/305-greeninvestment-trends-for-2009 For more information on the Center for Global Education at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University, please see: http://www.csbsju.edu/ Center-for-Global-Education.htm

Mention the words “sustainability” or “international education” to students at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University, and you’re likely to enter into a thoughtful discussion.

After all, we all want to make the world a better place, right? Ernie Diedrich and Joe Rogers are doing their part.

Diedrich, a professor of economics at CSB and SJU and Social Science Division Head, is co-chair of the SJU Sustainable Campus Committee, which oversees sustainability efforts at SJU. Rogers was named director of the new Center for Global Education at CSB and SJU on Nov. 1, after serving three years as director of the Office of Education Abroad.

“His professionalism, international knowledge and leadership have further strengthened our nationally recognized programming in education abroad,” said CSB President MaryAnn Baenninger and SJU President Fr. Robert Koopmann, OSB, in a statement announcing Rogers’ appointment.

Both Diedrich and Rogers were asked three questions about their areas of expertise. Here are their responses:

ERNIE DIEDRICH With this being the Year of Sustainability at CSB and SJU, what do you try to teach students about sustainability when you are in the classroom?

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Though this is the Year of Sustainability on our campuses, it’s really the kick-off for the constant work our schools need to do to in coming years to reach our goal of becoming carbon neutral. That’s the first thing I start with when discussing sustainability. It’s not a goal, it’s a constant, neverending process in an ever-changing context, sort of like achieving and maintaining health as your body and the environment around your body continually changes. In short, working on sustainability is forever.

The second main thing I try to get across is that we’re all in it together so that we can’t opt out of politics or some sort of collective action if we want to be sustainable. Sure, individual acts such as turning off the lights and not wasting water when we shower are important, but systemic change has to occur as well. This requires civic engagement since politics is the “art of the possible” in a democratic society.

This means becoming informed and engaging in changing policy that affects how we use resources and dispose of our wastes.

Making our democracy work is more than voting — it’s about working together in between elections.

Finally, I take it as my job to provide the conceptual tools that allow people to act on options and thereby let hope blossom among a lot of disheartening statistics. As a social scientist, I see it as my task to help equip the future leaders of the world with the understanding and skills they’ll need to take or create the green jobs that will get us closer to sustainability.

We’ve heard politicians (Sen. Al Franken, for one) and other energy experts talk about “green jobs.” What are green jobs?

Some critics of the “green jobs” category charge that there’s no clear definition of green jobs and that any “green job” is really a job that has displaced a job elsewhere in the economy and so isn’t really a new job. Most experts, however, see a new global trend in occupations associated with providing resources for growing countries such as China and India, reducing pollution and dealing with climate change.

According to the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), green jobs are those that maintain or improve environmental quality. These sorts of jobs safeguard ecosystems and biodiversity, help conserve materials and energy, reduce carbon and reduce or avoid waste and pollution. To make this definition a little more concrete, I’d suggest looking at specific examples of jobs that can be found in the Green Jobs Network, an organization that lists green jobs around the U.S. and identifies them as jobs that “focus on environmental and social responsibility” — roughly the same definition as UNEP’s.

As the Clean Edge newsletter points out, “clean-tech jobs are not amorphous as … critics claim, and instead represent some of the most dynamic sectors in the technology landscape, including electric vehicles (cars, trucks and rail), energy storage, green-building materials, advanced lighting, solar power, wind energy and the smart grid.”

Are green jobs economically viable?

If economic viability is measured by the extent to which countries and businesses around the world are putting their investment dollars where their green job mouths are, then green jobs are very economically viable. The reason, quite simply, is that green industries make money since they’re supplying what the world is demanding.

In a 2009 Sustainable Business.com blog, the author asked whether companies that make a commitment to sustainability do better than those that don’t. “Last year, in the most difficult of economic periods, they did. In 16 out of 18 industries, companies with a commitment to sustain-

ability outperformed industry averages by a significant 15 percent, representing $650 million in protected market capitalization per company, according to A.T. Kearney.

Investing in sustainability for the long term will prove to be the best way to protect a company’s value through the months and years ahead.”

The “drivers” of a growing green jobs trend come from consumers that want to really change the way all things are produced and used, students that want high schools and colleges to become greener, businesses that need to reduce energy and materials usage to cut production costs or be leaders in the green product industry, legislators that are looking for ways to reduce carbon and other types of pollution, and poor and rich countries that want to conserve their natural capital.

Summing up, overarching problems such as climate change, food insecurity and resource difficulties will accelerate changes in how we make and dispose of things. The world increasingly needs more green problem solvers, so I think the future for good, green jobs looks very bright!

JOE ROGERS What are the goals of the Center for Global Education?

The overall goal for the center is to take CSB and SJU to the next level in terms of our connection to the global community.

This will require us to set priorities for growing the various global opportunities for students, and this will be the work of the Advisory Council over the next few months. We have a remarkable foundation on which to develop our efforts to further internationalize our campuses, but we must be strategic in how we invest our resources.

In our strategic plan there must be new student learning options (like more international internships), new faculty development opportunities (resources to fund international research or faculty exchange programs), and new ways to engage our international partners to deepen our relationships and connections around the world. We also hope to engage our alumni, alumnae and other external con-

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stituents who can bring global opportunities and perspectives to our students.

How will the center help students at CSB and SJU become more internationally connected?

If the center is successful, then our students will benefit from a more thoroughly globalized campus community during their entire four years at CSB and SJU. Students will more easily and readily recognize the benefit of engaging with our 250-plus international student community; they will be exposed to more global issues in the curriculum and in our oncampus speakers series and co-curricular offerings, and they will benefit from a faculty that is better informed and engaged with the global community in a variety of ways. We also hope to make study abroad and international internships and research more accessible for the students at CSB and SJU. Complete and elaborate on this sentence: “In 10 years, I see the Center for Global Education doing (what)?

I can see the center coordinating among the various globally focused departments and offices on campus to deliver a cuttingedge global experience to the students of CSB and SJU. This should include a high profile annual conference featuring at least one world renowned speaker on matters of global interest, the sponsoring of creative and challenging programming like international internships and research, and providing resources, grants and scholarships to help make an international educational experience a reality for each and every student at CSB and SJU. Because one size does not fit all, we must develop short-term and semester-long study abroad options and develop programs for students to have a study abroad-like experience at home.

As we continue to define ourselves as a globally engaged community, we will continue to attract students from all over the world that seek out the benefits of such an environment. This circular process will challenge us to continue to open up new opportunities to meet the needs and demands of a generation that is committed to global citizenship.

Life is a song, sing it.

Seniors reflect on Benedictine influence in essay contest

The following excerpts are from reflections submitted by CSB and SJU seniors to an essay contest last fall sponsored by the Benedictine Institute at Saint John’s.

The contest highlighted both Benedictine awareness and sense of vocation under the auspices of Corad, a nine-year vocations project funded by Lilly Endowment. The essays addressed how the colleges’ Benedictine environment influenced the students’ sense of vocation in thinking about their careers plans and dreams for the future.

“`… they live by the labor of their hands,’ reads the Rule of Benedict number 48, reiterating the value of the dignity of work in appreciating God’s creation.

I think of my own hands, and what they will do for a lifetime: write fervently; pray loyally. But more than imagining my own hands and their journey, the Benedictine values beckon me to watch others’ hands and understand their labor in order to more fully understand my own; beckon me to seek a balance between what my hands have the opportunities to do, and what hands like [South African student] Lalitha’s are given.”

—Emily Bina, New Brighton, majoring in communication

“I signed up for this experience [in a men’s spirituality group] as an opportunity to talk — to share and process my own personal thoughts. As a senior student, I have remained in this group as an opportunity to listen — to learn more about this amazing community of young men and how other people’s views differ from my own.”

—Alex Brehm, Eagan, majoring in communication and Hispanic studies

Throughout my nursing education here, we are constantly being reminded of the Benedictine values. Our program’s core is based on these values: listening, respect for persons, dignity of work, hospitality, stewardship and the common good especially. In taking care of others and helping vulnerable individuals, we

are constantly provided with opportunities to uphold our values. In nursing, we also come across many ethical situations regarding what may be best for individuals’ lives. Ethical issues are not easy to deal with and nursing is not an easy profession; there are continuous challenges to face and difficult situations to get through. It can be a very sad field, but also so rewarding knowing you can help make a difference for someone. My education here at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University has helped me to prepare for my future and be confident in upholding the importance of the Benedictine values they have stressed to us.”

—Jaclyn Imdieke, New London, majoring in nursing

“Life is a song, sing it. At the beginning of my sophomore year, I was feeling rather lost and alone. One of my strong Christian friends introduced me to Praise in the Pub for the first time. The rest is history. Every Wednesday night, I forget my anxieties; I look to the Lord, and re-center myself — all through singing. I wasn’t blessed with the voice of an angel, but that’s not important. Singing, something I never thought I’d enjoy, draws me nearer to God.”

—Delaney Lundeen, Duluth, majoring in Hispanic studies and nutrition “Since the summer before my sophomore year I have felt called to ordained ministry in the Episcopal Church. When I was first exploring this calling my Companions on a Journey group was the first place I felt comfortable sharing this call.

In this group I was supported, affirmed, and able to explore what God has in mind for me and how I can live out God’s love in the world. … I cannot imagine what my understanding of vocation would be like had I not gone to Saint Ben’s and I am grateful for what I have learned and how my relationship with God has grown in the past four years. I conclude with an encounter I had at the Episcopal House of Prayer. The sister I met there looked to be approaching her mid-80s, yet was 28

preparing for a three-day vision quest. As I discern my vocation and where God calls me to be, I realize this is an evolving call.”

—Shannon Preston, Savage, majoring in biology

“Acceptance into the community and making one feel at home is what I loved about the people from Saint John’s, be it a monk or a refectory worker, I felt at home right away. The following experience still lingers in my mind, and I am very thankful to a few individuals who have actually helped me to strengthen my faith as a Muslim and encouraged me to pursue my religious practices although I was literally a hop, step and jump away from the Abbey Church and the monastic community housing many monks. During the international student luncheon, Fr. Douglas Mullin came up to me and asked if I had all the necessary amenities to fast during the month of Ramadhan.

He encouraged me to fast and advised that spirituality is integral to one’s life, and he even expressed his willingness to help me to form a Muslim student association.

Our conversation lasted for a few minutes only, but during the conversation, I was left speechless for the fact that he was encouraging me to pursue my faith despite being a monk and the vice president for student development. After all, I was one of the many thousands of students who walk in and out of Saint John’s, but I was given personal attention like I was the only student on campus.”

—Shafak Mohamed Samsheer, Sri Lanka, majoring in management “Growing out of this self-knowledge is a new kind of stability I hadn’t known before. Despite being a senior with a wideopen future a mere six months away, I feel a new stability and trust in the future. …

Thanks to my experiences here at Saint Ben’s and Saint John’s, I know that I have the skills and ability to succeed in life and in service to others.”

—Aaron Sinner, Cody, Wyoming, majoring in political science

Living Picture

Fresco comes to life at CSB campus Faculty, students and staff gathered at Saint Benedict’s Monastery Sacred Heart Chapel Friday, Dec. 10, to recreate the famous painting “School of Athens” by Renaissance master Raphael. The “living picture” was the brainchild of Tony Cunningham, a philosophy professor at CSB and SJU. Tony and his wife Mickey came up with the idea over the summer and have been planning the recreation and recruiting participants throughout fall semester.

Among those who volunteered their talents for the project was Saint Ben’s President MaryAnn Baenninger, who played the role of Hypatia. In all, 39 faculty, students and staff worked together to create the “tableau vivant” (living picture). See a video online at www.csbsju.edu/Living-Picture.htm

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