About the students

2013-14

AKranselerAndrew Kranseler ’15
Andrew is from Bellevue, Washington, enjoys getting outdoors in any form, and is a huge fan of traveling. He hopes to explore Ecuador and Quito’s awesome environment and capture as much as possible on his camera. At Puget Sound he is studying Business Leadership and Spanish, as well as being a member of Phi Delta Theta and the rugby team.

Camille Sachs ’15
Camille is Junior from Colorado working toward a major in International Political Economy with a double minor in Environmental Policy & Decision Making and Spanish. While at Puget Sound she has held a leadership position with Students for a Sustainable Campus and been an active participant in the Sustainability Advisory Committee. She also coaches gymnastics and participated in Intramural softball. She is looking forward to studying in Granada, Spain with the ILACA program in the Fall of 2013. Additionally, she is looking forward to the Spring of 2014, which she will be taking off in order to travel and broaden her cultural experiences before returning to Puget Sound in the fall of 2015.
EByrneErin Byrne ’13
Erin grew up in Boulder, Colorado, and immediately caught the travel bug from her parents. She has traveled to France many times, most recently as a participant in the Puget Sound Dijon Program. As a 2013 graduate in French and Communication studies, Erin will be taking part in the French Government Teaching Assistantship, teaching English to elementary schoolers in the northern region of Amiens. She is excited to travel, work on her french and learn even more about a culture she has fallen in love with so many times before.
EEbyEryn Eby ’13
Eryn graduated from Puget Sound in May with a degree in Politics and Government and an interdisciplinary emphasis in Global Development Studies. Originally from Anchorage, Alaska, Eryn is a 2013-14 Luce Scholar through the Henry Luce Foundation and will be living and working with World Education in Laos for the next 13 months. She will be focusing on World Education’s public health projects, but will also help in other areas when needed. Eryn is excited to learn a new language (and a new alphabet!), explore a different way of life, and test her tolerance for spicy Laotian food.
JChapmanJoanna Chapman ’13
Joanna graduated from the University of Puget Sound in May 2013 with a degree in Foreign Languages and International Affairs. Having caught a serious cause of wanderlust, the next chapter in her life involves heading back over to Europe (after a brief stint in Dijon in Spring 2012) to be an English Teaching Assistant. TAPIF, the government sponsored Teaching Assistant Program In France, offers the opportunity for youngish native English speakers to come and assist the French youth in their absorption of the English language. As one of several TAPIF-ers from Puget Sound this year, Joanna will use this blog as her catalogue for all the ways she embarrasses herself in front of fashionable angst French teens, the places where she adventure, and the inevitable emotional roller coaster she will embark on in moving to an entirely different culture for eight months. À bientôt!
MPritchardMeg Pritchard ’13
Meg is from Vancouver, Washington, and majored in French Language/International Affairs and minored in Economics while at Puget Sound. After a terrific semester spent abroad in Dijon, France, Meg is thrilled to be returning to France to teach English through the French Government Teaching Assistantship program. This time she will be located in Lyon, known for its amazing cuisine (it has a reputation as the capital of gastronomy in France), its famous light festival, and its many Roman ruins located in the hillside. This next year will be full of discovery and new experiences, with plenty of travel on the side!
PBittnerPeter Bittner ’12
Peter Bittner is a recent graduate who participated in the 2011-2012 Pacific Rim Asian Studies Travel Program as a fifth-year senior. An International Political Economy major, Peter was awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Fellowship and is currently living in Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia. This blog is a chronicle of his ongoing adventures, musings, and reflections. [Please feel free to contact Peter via email at pjbitt21@gmail.com].

2012-13

Brendan Trosper '14Brendan Trosper ’14
Brendan hails from wine country in Healdsburg, CA and is majoring in International Political Economy and Chinese Language and Culture with an emphasis in Asian Studies. This summer before he starts his junior year, he will be traveling to Taiwan to participate in the Tunghai University language program before going on to study in Beijing, China for the academic year. At Puget Sound, Brendan is a captain on the men’s crew team and a member of the resident community coordinator staff team for houses on campus. He spends his spare time reading web comics, watching 90s cartoons, and appreciates the usage of a well-placed Oxford comma. He estimates his blood to be 20% dark roast coffee.

Chloe ThorntonChloe Thornton ’14
Chloe is a country girl through and through. Nothing hits her in quite the same way as a glass of sweet tea or fresh-squeezed lemonade bought for a quarter from the neighbor kids down the block at their summer lemonade stand. She’s from a place where ball caps, cowboy hats, Wrangler jeans, big belt buckles, and worn cowboy boots are considered fashionable. She is from Kalispell, Montana, a small, Rocky Mountain town located about one mile away from the Canadian border, about two-and-a-half hours away from any sort of shopping mall, fifteen minutes away from the north shore of the beautiful Flathead Lake, the largest freshwater lake this side of the Mississippi, twenty minutes away from two ski resorts where lift lines are seemingly unheard of and untracked knee-deep powder is always easy to scope out, and about forty-five minutes away from the most beautiful place on earth, Glacier National Park. She is from a place where people have Chaco tans on their feet, dirt under their fingernails, and genuine love in their hearts. She is from Big Sky Country, “The Last Best Place,” where the state’s population has only just hit the one million mark. Chloe is from Montana, and she’s damn proud of it.
David Ho ’14
David was born and raised in Portland, Oregon, where “eco-friendly, organic, and local food movements; trendy-but-weird; and hipster-dom” are just some ways of describing the city. He is pursuing a major in Biology and a minor in math. At Puget Sound, David has been a resident assistant in a first-year residence hall, worked as a course assistant in the Biology department, and gives tours to prospective students. In his spare time, he enjoys a good cup of coffee, cooking, photography, and browsing Wikipedia. You can usually find him in Diversions Cafe or Thompson/Harned Hall, but his love for Biology is taking him to Monteverde, Costa Rica for the Fall 2012 term. He is excited to be in the rainforest, learn about tropical ecology and conservation, identify plants and animals, and speak Spanish. Besides Biology, his other passions include education and leadership.
Emily SwisherEmily Swisher ’12
Emily is a recent graduate of the University of Puget Sound, completing her bachelor’s degree with a double major in French and Comparative Sociology. During the 2012-13 school year, she will be teaching English to French students in Nantes, France. Emily has always been deeply passionate about the French language, so when she was accepted as a language assistant, she was thrilled by the prospect of spending a year abroad in a country for which she has such a deeply abiding respect. She looks forward to a year of passion, discovery, travel, and growth.
Emma de VriesEmma de Vries ’13
Emma is a junior majoring in English with an emphasis in Creative Writing and minoring in Studio Art. She is a member of Alpha Phi and a KUPS DJ, as well as being an avid horseback rider. She will be studying in Amsterdam during the fall 2012 term and in London for the spring 2013 term.
Emily Strichartz ’12
Emily has been studying French since she was 12, and she knew right away that it was something she loved. She chose University of Puget Sound because of its exceptional foreign language program (her words, not ours!), and was lucky enough to study abroad in Dijon, France during the spring semester of her junior year and work as an intern in Paris the summer after. She new the second she stepped foot on American soil that she wanted to go back, and the French Government Teaching Assistantship was the perfect opportunity to combine her love of French, her interest in teaching, and her desire to go back to France. Starting October 2012, she will teach English for seven months in the northern region of Lille.
Kat Schmidt ’12
Kat is just your typical flower child/microbiologist/artist/German student. She was born in California, raised in Oregon, and attended college in Washington, creating a northward trend. Naturally, her next home will be in Germany! She’s going to spend 10 months as an English Teaching Assistant on the Fulbright Fellowship, which is very exciting. She’s been to Germany once before, for two weeks, and really enjoyed it. She discovered that tofu comes in glass jars, like pickles, the snow will be at time 2 feet deep, and baking powder comes in little packets, much like yeast. She’s looking forward to having many more epiphanies, and, as a blues dancer, to dance in every city she visits!
Madeline Waddell '14Madeline Waddell ’14
Madeline is from Houston, Texas, and is a double major in Comparative Politics and Economics with a particular interest in Islam and the Middle East. In pursuit of these interests, she will travel to Israel this summer and spend the fall semester studying in Cairo, Egypt. On campus, she is involved in ASUPS, Greek Life, and Habitat for Humanity. She is also a member of the Women’s Swim team and the Etc. Tutoring program. Her passions include cooking, climbing, and the Constitution.
Max Honch '12Max Honch ’12
Max was born and raised in La Canada, California by his parents, Jack and Annie Honch. Max graduated with a BA in History and Religion this year, and is considering a career in education. He enjoys music, rock climbing, and photography. Max will spend the 2012-13 academic year in Thailand through the Princeton-in-Asia program.
Sarah Plummer '14Sarah Plummer ’14
Sarah’s home is the Chicagoland area. At Puget Sound she is studying Comparative Sociology and Environmental Policy and Decision Making with a Global Development emphasis. She’s a KUPS DJ and an active member of Students for a Sustainable Campus and RDG. Before heading to Vietnam in the fall, she will be traveling this summer to Botswana and Namibia for a field school in conservation and development. In her free time she loves funky music, walking down to the Sound (or any body of water), making crafts, and just being silly. She believes there are few things in life finer than sitting around a fire with good friends.
Serena Berkowitz '12Serena Berkowitz ’12
Serena is from Madison, Wisconsin, and will be teaching English in Pau, a small city in the Pyrenees mountains of France, starting this fall. As a true Wisconsinite, she looks forward to trying as many different types of cheese as possible, as she didn’t get through them all while studying abroad in Nantes. Serena just graduated from Puget Sound this spring with a major in French and minors in Latin American Studies and Spanish. She’s looking forward to keeping up with some of her favorite campus activities while in France, namely playing on an ultimate frisbee team and playing violin in an orchestra.
Vienna Saccomanno '13Vienna Saccomanno ’13
Vienna is from Grass Valley, California and is a Biology and International Political Economy double major. Outside of class, she enjoys being active in her sorority, Gamma Phi Beta; dancing with the Repertory Dance Group; running (she just finished her first half marathon!); playing piano; and exploring the magnificent Pacific Northwest. Vienna served as the 2011-12 environmental chair for the Phi Sigma Biology Honors Society, is a 2012-13 Student Admission Associate, and is the 2012-13 student representative on the Puget Sound Board of Trustees Finance and Facilities Committee. A 2012 Goldwater scholar, Vienna is applying for a Fulbright scholarship to continue her current summer research on the mineral extraction industry in Peru after she graduates from Puget Sound. Ultimately, she plans on attending graduate school for an advanced degree in water science, policy, and management.

2011-12

Abigail Struxness ’13
Abigail is a junior studying International Political Economy with a minor in French. While on campus, she is an active member of the French Club, RDG, and Phi Eta Sigma Honor Society. She also plays and teaches piano and holds leadership positions in her sorority, Gamma Phi Beta. This Oregonian will be traveling far from home as she adventures to Southern Africa with the Center for Global Education. She looks forward to exploring new cultures and new (less rainy) environments and broadening her perspective on the world.

Amelia Vance ’13
Amelia is a math major with a religion minor. She is spending her spring 2012 semester in Cairo, Egypt, where she is studying Arabic, Islam, and Egyptology. Her love of religion has led her to spend a semester solely focused on gaining an appreciation of Islam and a country that is experiencing a huge transition. Originally from sunny San Diego, Amelia also loves dogs, knitting, and volunteering at the San Diego and Tacoma Waldorf schools. She is thinking about becoming a high school math teacher after college, but is waiting to see what opportunities arise from her study abroad experiences.
Becca Zavala ’12
Becca is a music major at Puget Sound with an emphasis on music history and a minor in French. Originally from Seattle, she grew up with a love for adventure. On campus she is a member of the university’s symphony orchestra, opera pit orchestra, the sorority Gamma Phi Beta, and participated in this year’s famous lu’au. In her spare time, Becca enjoys long walks, ab workouts, hot yoga, pick-up soccer games, and hiking excursions. Some of her less active pastimes include baking delicious desserts, listening to fun music, sewing pretty dresses, and hanging out with friends. When she’s not active being a student, Becca enjoys teaching private swim and cello lessons for young children. She’s excited for her year abroad, including semesters in Senegal and Vienna, Austria.
Caitlin Jost '13Caitlin Jost ’13
Caitlin will be traveling to Christchurch, New Zealand for the first semester of her junior year. There she will continue her studies in philosophy and English. Caitlin is from Eugene, Oregon, which she admits has had a big influence on her personality. She really enjoys living in such green places with such laid-back but motivated people. She loves ultimate frisbee and hopes to find a group of awesome people to play with. She also loves psychological movies and all sorts of music, but trip-hop is definitely her favorite. Caitlin is a self-admitted internet culture nerd, and hopes to work with an internet-based company in the future.
Chelsea Asher ’11
Chelsea recently graduated from the University of Puget Sound with a double major in English and French, specializing in literature of the renaissance. In her time at Puget Sound she worked as a Writing Advisor, served on the editing staff of the literary magazine Crosscurrents, danced in the annual Lu’au, and was a four-year athlete on the varsity crew team, among many other adventures on and off campus. Having studied abroad in Nantes, France in Fall 2009, she has decided to go back to France, this time to teach her native English to adolescents in Toulouse with the TAPIF program for the 2011-12 school year. Chelsea also enjoys reading science fiction novels, hiking, learning new words, and otherwise satisfying the never-ending pangs of curiosity.
Gaelyn Moore ’13
Gaelyn is a psychology student from NW Montana where the mountains are huge and the people sparse. For the last two summers she has worked as a boat captain in Glacier National Park where she met travelers from all over the globe. She is soon to embark on her own traveling adventures to Senegal with SIT in a program called National Identity and the Arts. Ever since she played in a marimba ensemble in high school she has been drawn into African rhythms and dance and simply cannot wait to experience the cultures first hand. On campus Gaelyn is a student athlete on the Puget Sound crew team. When she is not on the water she can be found hiking or biking around the beautiful PNW. With bilingualism as an ultimate goal Gaelyn is off to Africa to study French.
Kyle Kubler ’13
Kyle is a Religion and French Language, International Affairs double major from Albany, California. He is a member of Tacoma’s own folk/bluegrass band Barleywine Revue, and hopes to spread bluegrass across France during his stay in Dijon. Along with playing music, Kyle is part of the Sailing Team on campus, as well as the Religious Exploration Club, and Chess Theory Club. Two summers ago, Kyle spent a month working on a farm in the south of France with the Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms, or WWOOF program. He is eager to immerse himself in language, culture, and music.
Rebecca Palter ’13
Rebecca is studying Psychology with a neuroscience emphasis and minoring in Biology. Originally from California, she danced and played soccer her whole life and hopes to incorporate these hobbies into her experience abroad. During her time in Australia she hopes to gain a better understanding of the biodiversity there, as well as becoming immersed in Australian culture.
Shelby Cauley ’13
Shelby is a junior English major with an emphasis in Literature and a minor in Classics. She has lived everywhere from England to Washington, but consider Chanhassen, Minnesota, to be my hometown. Shelby is studying at Trinity College in Dublin during the 2011-12 academic year, where she hopes to rub elbows with the next James Joyce and take full advantage of having access to the Trinity College library! (Shelby says, “Google and ye shall understand.”) At Puget Sound, she is involved in many activities including, but not limited to, working as a Tour Guide, being in the Honors Program, and spending Friday afternoons in a “Finnegan’s Wake” reading group. Most of her other interests fall into one of three categories: Everything European, Words and Things Composed of Them, and The Internet. Her greatest passion, however, is travelling, and she look forward to many opportunities to gallivant during her time abroad.

Spring 2011

Caitlin Barrow ’12
Caitlin is a junior majoring in history and minoring in communication studies with an interest in Eastern Europe. She enjoys arts, crafting, poetry revivals, sarcasm, and trains. She is an avid photographer, a speaker of French and conversational German, and a radio DJ. She also is a huge Paul Simon aficionado. While studying in Vienna this spring, she hopes to expand her knowledge of lesser known Eastern European countries, and thinks that Vienna is not only an amazing city, but also a perfect jumping-off-point for other adventures.
Note: Caitlin is blogging for the IES website. The university is highlighting her posts.

Ellie Barber ’12
Ellie is a current junior at Puget Sound on her way to Ecuador in Spring 2011. She is a Science, Technology, and Society (STS) major with an environmental emphasis and a music minor. In Ecuador, she will be living with a homestay in the country’s capital, Quito, when she is not off hiking and exploring through Ecuadorian cloud forest, rain forest, and the Galápagos Islands on one of her program’s arranged week-long excursions. The SIT program, entitled Comparative Ecology and Conservation, emphasizes teaching and learning within the biodiverse ecosystems Ecuador has to offer (Ellie could not be more excited about the fact that a hand lens, compass, whistle, and pair of binoculars are among the first things listed on her SIT packing list!). At school, Ellie divvies up her time between sustainability initiatives on campus through Students for a Sustainable Campus and the Sustainability Advisory Committee, playing her cello (whether it is in orchestra or as a member of her folk trio), and playing on the Puget Sound women’s Ultimate Frisbee team. Outside of that, she always enjoys breathing the fresh air of the great outdoors, rock climbing, cooking and enjoying a quality meal, and drawing.
Helen Shears ’12
Helen is a history and french double major with a particular interest in late medieval/early modern British and French history. Currently, she is studying abroad in Dijon, France in the hopes of improving her French and learning more about French culture and history. This is her second long sojourn in Europe; she lived in Copenhagen, Denmark during middle school and traveled in Europe frequently with her family. She is a citizen of both the United States and the European Union. She loves to write and hopes to pursue that passion after Puget Sound through a graduate degree. When she’s not writing, Helen enjoys eating French pastries and eating them while she explores cities and photographing what she sees.
Joan Hua 2012 Joan Hua ‘12
Joan is a music major with interests in early music, history, art, and foreign languages. If her plan of traveling around the world forever did not work out, she hopes to pursue her postgraduate studies in library science with a concentration in archives and preservation. Joan grew up in Taipei, Taiwan and moved to Missoula, Montana in her teens. She speaks fluent Mandarin and some French. She recently picked up German in the hope that knowing some of the language will help her gain a better understanding of the culture when she studies abroad. She will spend her spring 2011 semester in Vienna, Austria and especially looks forward to improving her German, spending time at coffee houses, discovering long and pleasant walks, and visiting exciting places like the Austrian National Library.
Pauline Membrino ‘12
Polly Membrino is a Junior from Maryland, just outside the nation’s capital, working toward a major in Politics and Government and a minor in Environmental Policy and Decision Making. Polly has loved living on both coasts of the US and can’t wait to live near a new coast while she studies Political Ecology and Wildlife Conservation with SIT in Tanzania in the spring of 2011. At Puget Sound, Polly is actively involved in Students for a Sustainable Campus, the women’s Ultimate Frisbee team, as a DJ for KUPS, and as a trumpet player in Concert Band. Polly also finds joy in camping, backpacking, sailing, cooking, yoga, and all things outdoors. Polly is excited to send you weekly dispatches from Africa and asks that you send good vibes to help keep the cackling hyenas at bay when she spends her nights out in the field.
Peter Russell ’12
Peter was born and raised in Beavercreek, Oregon and came to Puget Sound for three reasons: He love the Northwest; he wanted to have a rich academic experience; and he loves to play soccer. A politics major, he has always wanted to travel and experience as many cultures as he could, especially in the Islamic world, the largest part of his academic interests. He looks at his study abroad as an introduction to his exploration of the world, beginning in Cairo, Egypt.
Note: Peter was moved to Morocco during the recent changes in Egypt and will spend the remainder of his study abroad there.

Summer and Fall 2010

DAcheampongDanielle Acheampong ’11
Danielle, from Las Vegas, NV, is a history major, French Horn player, Honors Program student, Peer Advisor, and Honor Court Justice when she’s here at Puget Sound. But she’ll be spending the summer in London, UK, in the IES summer internship program. While she’s abroad, she hopes to visit as many historical sites, museums, and landmarks as she can.

gscarsellaGina Scarsella ’11
Gina is a psychology major and loves it. She’s involved in RDG, a core group, and psychology club on campus. She enjoys biking, horseback riding, and lots of other outdoorsy things. She loves traveling and experiencing life in other cultures, which is why she’s super excited to spend time in Dublin this summer.
JNguyenJill Nguyen ’10
Jill is a recent graduate delaying her official entry into the real world by embarking on her return trip to Germany for ten months. She was a Foreign Language and International Affairs- German major with a minor in Economics. This will be her third time there but this time, though, she’ll be attempting to assist German teachers at a school in Berlin as an English teaching assistant through the Fulbright Fellowship.
KParkerKristen Parker ’11
As Kristen reflects on the three years she’s spent at Puget Sound as an English major and a Classic minor, she recognizes great changes in herself compared to her first few months on campus. As she wonders what changed her, she realizes that it was everything about studying at this elite liberal arts college, living on her own, being independent, and learning about herself that brought her to this point. Over the course of her time at Puget Sound, her interest and excitement about learning has increased ten-fold, most significantly through the thought-provoking courses I have taken, the thoughtful and challenging professors in the English Department, and her friends and fellow students. The most important aspects of herself that she is proud to have developed strongly at Puget Sound are her work ethic and discipline. She hopes to continue enhancing these skills as she finishes her studies here and elsewhere in the academic world (including her study abroad in Ireland during Fall 2010).
MBrillantesMahal Brillantes ’12
Mahal grew up in Hawai’i after moving from Los Angeles when she was four. She’s played volleyball since she was nine, and started her first job at Jamba Juice when she was a junior in high school. When she’s not working at Jamba Juice or Juicy Couture, she likes to go to the beach and hang out with friends. She loves eating ethnic foods, such as laulau, chicken long rice, adobo, spicy ahi, meat jun, miso ramen, miso butterfish, mocha ice cream, chow fun, and more. She likes to play Sudoku and read science fiction novels, as well as drawing. She loves to dance, including ballroom and hip hop. At Puget Sound, she’s majoring in Comparative Sociology and considering a minor in Asian Studies. She became the coxswain for the men’s crew team her freshmen year and really enjoys crew. Mahal will be studying in Japan during the summer 2010 season.
MMaplesMark Maples ’10
Mark was born and raised in Yakima, Washington, where he graduated from West Valley High School in ’05. After graduating from high school, he spent a Rotary Youth Exchange year in Comodoro Rivadavia, Argentina. In college, he studied abroad in both Taiwan and China taking intensive mandarin courses. His favorite hobbies are cooking, especially Argentine barbecue, and rock climbing. He is spending the current year in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, as a Fulbright Scholar with an English Teaching grant. He will be placed at two elementary schools in the city, to co-teach English to 5th – 6th graders with the current English teachers at those schools. Mark is still unsure as to his future plans after the Fulbright year, but is excited to explore the realm of teaching.
RThompsonRose Thompson ‘11
Rose is a senior at Puget Sound, majoring in English (emphasis in Writing, Rhetoric, and Culture) with minors in history and Spanish. She is from Grand Marais, Minn., a minuscule town on the North Shore of Lake Superior. Rose is spending her fall semester abroad in Valparaiso, Chile. On campus, Rose is involved with The Trail, Puget Sound Outdoors, and works at the front desk of the library. Gardening, cooking, yoga, a well-developed (yet mildly embarrassing) love of at least ten monthly magazines, and, of course, the daily newspapers also keep her occupied. She hopes to eventually become a professional journalist in some way, shape, or form.
THallTristen Hall ’10
Tristen is a recent graduate who majored in French and Creative Writing. During 2010-11, she will begin her post-grad life as an English teaching assistant in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France. Having studied in Dijon during the spring semester of her junior year, she is more than excited to return to the country, and to have another opportunity to travel abroad.
WillRoundyWill Roundy ’11
Will is a Classics and History double major at Puget Sound. He plans to go on to graduate school in Classics, with the long-term goal of becoming a professor. Will will share his experiences studying abroad in Rome during Fall 2010.

Spring 2010

MHafner
Mikayla Hafner ’11
Mikayla is a junior at Puget Sound and hails from San Diego, California.  She is a Politics and Government major with a Spanish and Creative Writing minor. Learning Spanish has been one of her goals for a while, and she hopes to really improve while in Spain.  After her program in Spain ends, she will spend two and a half months backpacking around Europe.  And between the end of her program and the beginning of her backpacking adventures, she hopes to participate in the program Works on Organic Farms.  After graduating from school, she would like to join the Peace Corps or something of the sort.

ASchoblaskeAlayna Schoblaske ’11
Alayna is a junior at Puget Sound, and will be studying abroad at University of Edinburgh, Scotland in Spring 2010. She’s from Tigard, Oregon, where she has a younger brother and sister. She is majoring in Biochemistry with an emphasis in Pre-Dental studies (she hopes to one day become an orthodontist). Alayna is involved in many activities on-campus: Chemistry Department TA, Campus Visit Program, Dental Club, Gamma Phi Beta sorority, Mortar Board Honor Society, Habitat for Humanity, Concert Band and Relay For Life. In her spare time, Alayna likes to read, cook, and exploring both Tacoma and the Great Northwest. She is very much looking forward to her semester abroad because of the excellent science education offered at University of Edinburgh as well as the opportunity to explore the culture of Scotland, the entire UK, and hopefully many other countries throughout Europe! She hopes that her blog is interesting to read, and inspires prospective students to consider studying abroad as well.
CCraighead1Cony Craighead ’11
Cony Craighead is currently a double major in Religion and International Political Economy of junior standing at the University of Puget Sound. Born and raised in Montana, she was caught early by a bug for traveling, and has enjoyed several adventures abroad prior to her commitment to study in Morocco. A person of many passions, Cony pursues a large number of interests and activities in the few spaces of free time allowed to her. Among these hobbies include unicycling, painting, brewing tea, cooking with her sourdough colony and backpacking. She has previously been employed as a florist in her summers off, and currently enjoys her third year working for the Slater Natural History Museum on campus, where she helps preserve the many avian specimens (i.e., she skins and stuffs dead birds). Cony is looking forward to the challenge of her experience in Morocco and hopes you will enjoy her weekly reports!
HRatnerHannah Ratner ’11
Hannah is in her third year as a biology major at Puget Sound, and she is studying abroad in Durban, South Africa for the Spring of 2010. Originally from Corvallis, Oregon, she enjoys adventuring, rock climbing, reading, running, and drinking coffee. While at Puget Sound she has been in involved in various activities including Phi Sigma Biological honor society, Cirque du Sound, Lincoln Center tutor, and biology research. In South Africa she will study community health and social policy, and will get to see the interactions between health policies, traditional medicine and western medicine. She is excited to come to new understandings about health care and to learn Zulu!
ErinHoshibataErin Hoshibata ’11
Erin is a Politics and Government major with an Interdisciplinary Emphasis in Asian Studies (IEAS).  As a junior, Erin will be abroad in Yunnan Province, China from February 21 through June 5 where she will study Chinese culture, politics, and ethnic minorities of the region through the School of International Training (SIT).  Long fascinated with East Asian languages and cultures, Erin is determined to improve her Mandarin and sociopolitical understanding of China.  An avid writer and photographer, she also hopes to expand her literary and optical boundaries, drawing inspiration from the diverse environments and peoples she will encounter.  She is from Mililani, Hawaii, and dreams of traveling the world forever to observe, learn and engage in cultures far beyond home.

MCooleyMicaela Cooley ’11

Micaela Cooley is a junior at University of Puget Sound, studying International Political Economy with a minor in Comparative Sociology. She hails from Durango, Colorado in the southwest corner of the state where she lives with her mother, father, and grandfather. Micaela is excited to have to opportunity to study abroad in Vietnam this coming spring semester with a program through SIT on national development and globalization. Micaela gets fired up about gardening, her cello and the healing effects of music, the art of making and enjoying food, and the many mediums to release endorphins such as yoga, biking, backpacking, skiing, and hiking. On campus, Micaela is involved with Loggerasana—the yoga club, permaculture club, the volunteer run bike shop, as a dj at KUPS, the orchestra, open-mic nights, and works with the sustainability services. After college, she hopes to work with a non-profit organization that values global development by enhancing human potential and freedoms. She hopes she is never cured of her need for adventure!

Spring 2011