The Women’s Programming Committee is presenting this (free) screening of The invisible War, a powerful documentary about rape in the military, Wed, 7:30 pm, Fisher 139. There will be a facilitated discussion held after the conclusion of the film.
Wed, 4/13 at The Orpheum Theater in Hancock, 6:00 pm
Free Community Screening of Naomi Klein’s, “This Changes Everything” followed by a brief community discussion.
Wednesday, 4/13, at The Orpheum Theater in Hancock, 6:00pm Free Community Screening of Naomi Klein’s, “This Changes Everything”
This film is being brought to you by Transition Marquette, Transition Keweenaw, and Green Film Series co-sponsors. We will follow the
film with a brief community conversation regarding next steps.
***
Saturday, 4/16, 1-4pm, at Portage Lake District Library. Citizens’ Climate Lobby (CCL) Houghton Chapter Launch. Please join us for a
workshop to create the political will to address climate change. Become a citizen climate advocate and help create a livable world.
by Maria Bergstrom
A summer, online German language course and an interest in study abroad have paved the way for ME student and German minor, Alden Groen, to participate in a unique and prestigious opportunity to study and work abroad in Germany as one of only 75 American students selected for the Congress Bundestag Youth Exchange for Young Professionals. Alden will travel to Germany this coming July for two months of intensive language study, a four-month study abroad experience at a German University, and a five-month internship with a German engineering company.
It all began for Alden when he enrolled in a summer online introductory German language course at Michigan Tech with Professor Karin Schlenker. He was interested in learning a second language and drawn to German because of Germany’s strong reputation in engineering and technology. Alden enjoyed the course so much he followed up with another semester on campus and began looking for an opportunity to study abroad in Germany. With help from International Programs and Services, Alden found a six-week program in Stuttgart for the following summer. As part of the home stay program, Alden lived with a German family in Stuttgart for the full six weeks, which, he says, was one of the highlights of his time there. He was able to experience everyday German family life in the evenings, while during the days he was studying with other students from all over the world. In addition to the U.S., students in the program came from Mexico, Canada, Singapore and other nations. “I learned as much about the world from my fellow students as I did from being in Germany,” Alden says.
Six weeks was not enough time in Germany to satisfy Alden, and he found himself looking for a way to return. After doing a summer-fall engineering co-op at Kohler Company, Alden learned about the Congress Bundestag exchange program. Professor Schlenker, who supported his application, says, “Alden’s previous study abroad experiences really helped make him a good candidate for this program. He was able to show that he is adaptable and ready for the challenges of a cross-cultural experience.”
While engineering majors sometimes think they don’t have time for language study or a study abroad experience, Alden is a strong advocate for both. He found language study to be “a really interesting way to fulfill HASS credits in a connected way. Even with only a couple of classes, you can get some use from the language.” As for study abroad, “Everyone should definitely try to do it. If it’s a money thing, look for scholarships and financial aid. If it’s a time thing, consider a six week program in the summer. You can learn so much in just six weeks.”
Interested in digital cinema? Consider producing, editing, and submitting your short film to student-run TUFF – Tahoe Underground Film Festival. Deadline is August 22.
Here is the link: https://tahoeundergroundfilm.wordpress.com/2016/04/11/submissions-for-the-inaugural-tahoe-underground-film-festival-are-now-open/ (Links to an external site.)
When I first came into this co-op, I had no idea what to expect. I’ve now been at Kohler for ½ a year and I can honestly say I have never had a dull moment here, and I love working as a technical writer. I could go on and on about how every day I feel lucky to work with such kind, witty, silly, and smart people, or how every engineer I’ve collaborated with has inevitable become a mentor and a friend, or how exciting it is to be trusted to manage so many projects for so many products across Kohler’s different platforms. I could honestly go on for days about how much I appreciate and enjoy this opportunity; instead, I’ll share one of my favorite memories here at Kohler.
My favorite memory was on NPD day. NPD (New Product Development) day is a day where the company takes a whole day off of work to have a picnic, present awards, and organize different team building games. We began the day by watching videos and recognizing teams for their hard work in product innovation, top sales and various other categories. Morgan and I kept on raving about how amazing it was that Kohler took the time to make goofy videos, present tons of awards, and make food and activities for their employees to enjoy. During one of the silly videos starring some of the Kohler’s head executives, I remember Morgan leaning over to me and asking, “What other company does this?” While the whole day was great, my favorite memory was definitely the first game we played.
The game consisted of a few team members, a basketball, and a small bangle like ring with long strings of rope attached. The goal of the game was to balance the basketball on the ring by holding the ends of the ropes. To win, we needed to get the ball, ring, ropes, and team through 3 wooden doorframes around the park faster than the team we were competing against. Each door was further away than the last, and more importantly, smaller than the last. There were only two rules – if the ball touched the floor or if any of the players held anything besides the ends of the rope, the team had to return to the starting line.
We started with a really intricate plan to weave our ropes together to make a basket. In theory it was a great idea, however in practice, not so much. We ended up spending the first 30 seconds or so making a huge web of ropes that was 50% a huge mess and 50% quite possibly the poorest basket ever made. Caught in the moment, we were all throwing rope around a ball without any sort of effective “securing”. Maria shouted out from the sidelines to try something else because the other team was already moving. Instead, we went for it and made it about 2 feet before our contraption fell apart. We ran back and started untangling the huge mess we had made for ourselves as the other team very slowly inched their way to the first door. At this point everyone was shouting different ideas and flustering the person who had -at that time- taken control. Two of my team members and I stood back and couldn’t help but laugh at the irony of how poorly our Tech Comm team was communicating with each other.
At some point I shouted out, “Why don’t we put the ring on the floor, put the ball on top, lift all of the ropes up like we’re making a ponytail and then make one big knot, then we each grab an end and run through?” Immediately everyone started untying our previous basket weaving idea and followed my suggestion. We looked over and the other team was far ahead but still moving quite slowly, so we knew we still had a chance. We all grabbed our rope and literally went racing through the doors screaming with excitement. The other team members who sat that game out, were running alongside us, cheering us on as we went through each door. When we finally reached the last door and all carefully maneuvered our ways through, we all let go of our rope and started screaming and hugging. The rest of our team came running over to celebrate with us as we chanted and gave high-fives. I remember feeling closer to my coworkers, happier with the hard work I’d been putting in, and laughing so much, I was sore the next day.
The whole day reminded me that there are still companies that believe in the “work hard, play hard” mentality. It also taught me that someday, I aspire to work at a company that values and rewards hard work. I honestly love what I’m doing here and know I will miss it so much! I think this co-op has not only given me much needed real-world experience, but it’s also opened my eyes to some of the traits I want (no- require) my full time career to offer me. While there are so many things that I respect and admire about Kohler, I have to admit, their easy going nature and spice of fun that’s sprinkled into everything they do, is what really draws me to them. Kohler also has a way of making you feel like you belong- whether that be to a team or a department, or a platform in general. I know that my experience in particular has been supportive, silly, welcoming, and just overall incredibly worthwhile. I feel really lucky to have experienced this all while still a student since I know have a glimpse of what’s to come after school!
I was nervous going into Kohler. Carrying a box of doughnuts toward the turnstile gates, I couldn’t help but wonder what I had gotten myself into. I had to swipe my badge twice–once at the gate and once inside the building–just to get to my desk. I sat down at my computer with someone who took a pastry and gave me my credentials for the email and various databases that Kohler uses. People stopped by to welcome me and grab doughnuts as I was given a crash-course in the software I’d be using for the rest of my co-op. Soon after, I was taken to each one of my coworkers all of whom greeted me with a handshake and a “Thanks for the doughnut!” Just like that, I was in.
Since then, I’ve gotten the chance to be a part of various teams working to create manuals, guides, and video instructions for products being sold all over the globe. I didn’t realize it right away, but the documents I’ve been working on will go out into the world and real people will follow instructions I had a hand in writing. My co-op’s almost done and I still haven’t gotten over how cool that is. In just four months I feel that I’ve gained more than I could have hoped for, and for that I am grateful to everyone I’ve had the pleasure of working with. I am more than impressed with the wealth of experience and the sense of comradery imparted by my coworkers and mentors; I know I will forever remember my time at Kohler as my first glimpse into the professional world of technical writing. Here in the office, you are not treated as a student, but as a fellow employee. Quality work is expected from you as you are relentlessly pushed toward self-improvement. If there is one thing I will take away from this experience, it’s that perfection is an ongoing process.
Three members of the Humanities Department each presented papers at the Interdisciplinary Nineteenth-Century Studies Conference in Asheville, North Carolina. Andrew Fiss presented “Studying Objects, Objectifying Students: Natural History at Women’s Colleges in New York State: 1861-1875;” Laura Kasson-Fiss presented “The Unnatural Club in Late-Victorian Light Humor: The Diogenes Club and Beyond;” and Dana VanKooy presented “The Aesthetics of Atlantic History.”
This article originally appeared in Tech Today.
L. Syd M Johnson (HU) has co-authored “The Ethics of Nonhuman Primate Research” with Andrew Fenton (Fresno State) published at Impact Ethics.
L. Syd M Johnson (HU) has published “Inference and Inductive Risk in Disorders of Consciousness” in American Journal of Bioethics Neuroscience volume 7; issue 1.
Click here to read the abstract.