Out-of-Classroom Experiences Expand Student Horizons
Building theater sets. Shadowing a brain surgeon. Interning at the International Criminal Court.
These and other out-of-classroom experiences are preparing Alma College
students in sometimes unique and interesting ways for their chosen
careers. The following vignettes are a small sampling of recent student
experiences and accomplishments.
Summer theater opportunities test student skills
A summer internship at BoarsHead Theatre in Lansing has Alma College
senior Philip Himebaugh of Mason enthused about future possibilities.
While his “eye-opening experience” into the real world of professional
theater involved building sets, painting, scrubbing floors and taking
out the garbage, it also provided an opportunity to act.
“I was in a production of Werner Treischmann’s new play, The Clawfoot and Hot Tub Interviews,”
said Himebaugh. “Not only did I have a chance to act, I bought the
rights, did the PR and pretty much produced the entire show with the
help of some of my co-workers. At times I worked up to 16-hour days,
but I am glad to have persevered through the rough times.
“I have now earned my Actor’s Equity membership candidate card and am
working on gaining membership into this professional actor’s union,
which is very exciting and should open a lot of new doors for me in
theater,” he said.
Himebaugh was one of 17 Alma College students and recent alumni who
worked as summer interns with such companies as the Summer Studio
Theatre Co. at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign;
BoarsHead Theatre in Lansing; Naked Ape Theatre Project in Chicago;
Central Piedmont Summer Theatre in Charlotte, N.C.; Berkshire Theatre
Festival in Stockbridge, Mass.; the Glimmerglass Opera in Cooperstown,
N.Y.; Circle Theatre in Grand Rapids; New Harmony Theatre in
Evansville, Ind.; the Utah Shakespeare Festival; Brenau University
Summer Theatre in Gainsville, Ga.; and the New Shakespeare Co. in
Chesaning.
“My experience allowed me to work with professional and student actors
in an environment with new conditions, such as a shorter rehearsal
process, longer running shows and new directors with a variety of
backgrounds,” said Matt Hutchinson, a senior from Merrill who interned
with the Summer Studio Theatre Company at the University of Illinois.
A member of the core acting company, Hutchinson’s summer
responsibilities include attending rehearsals, memorizing lines,
maintaining physical appearance and performing through the duration of
the season.
“It also provided me with a great networking opportunity,” he said. “I
have met numerous directors and actors and have developed a list of
places to send resumes.”
Pre-med student selected for Yale Medical School enrichment program
Brandon Smith, a junior from Harrisville in Alma’s exercise and health
science program, was accepted into an Ivy League summer enrichment
program for students pursuing medical school.
Smith was one of about 90 pre-medical students from around the country
selected to participate in the Yale Summer Medical and Dental Education
Program, an intensive six-week summer program funded by the Robert Wood
Johnson Foundation. Selection was competitive, with participants from
flagship schools like Columbia, Harvard, Yale, Duke, Notre Dame and
Cornell.
The program provides additional preparation for pre-medical students.
Time is spent in science coursework, career development, panel
discussions with practicing physicians and medical students, and
clinical experiences. Smith accompanied an ER doctor as he made his
hospital rounds. He also shadowed a neurosurgeon in surgery removing a
brain tumor.
“I don’t want to sound corny, but this experience has truly changed my
life,” said Smith. “I’m going to come back to Alma with so much
more confidence that I can make it in this profession. I met some
amazing people and was very happy to be around other young men and
women who have similar goals as myself. This experience was one of the
most positive I’ve had so far in my life.”
Recent pre-law graduates distinguish themselves
Colin McLaughlin, a 2004 graduate from Gladstone in the Upper
Peninsula, has won an appointment as the first American legal-intern to
serve at the International Criminal Court at The Hague in the
Netherlands. McLaughlin is enrolled at Case Western Reserve Law School.
Another 2004 graduate, Jessica Karbowski of Freeland, has enrolled at
Yale Law School. She faced a decision after being accepted to the law
schools at Yale, Stanford and Harvard and chose to attend Yale because
“its reputation is second-to-none.” Michael Yavenditti, professor
emeritus of history and former director of the pre-law program at Alma,
says Jessica “is the first Alma student in my memory to be accepted by
Yale.”
At Alma, Karbowski was president of her senior class, participated in
Model UN and was a member of the Alma Leadership Alliance. A foreign
service major with a minor in economics, Karbowski also spent 11 months
in Mauritius, a small island in Africa, to research the use of
information and communications technology as part of her Fulbright
scholarship.
-mjs-
Posted: Mon, July 31st, 2006 at 10:09AM
