Month: December 2016

Sarah Miller ’09 When Sarah Miller ’09 took an ecology class in the fall of 2007, she discovered that she was “fascinated by the study of how organisms interact within ecosystems.” The following May term, she traveled to Belize with biology professors Belinda Sly and James Wagner to study tropical marine and forest ecosystems. The course focused in part on how human activities are affecting these unique environments. “It was an amazing experience to see first-hand the fragile balance of natural ecosystems,” said Miller. “For me, the experience emphasized the importance of finding a career through which I could help create a more sustainable world.” Today, Miller works with Booz Allen Hamilton as a consultant to the Army’s Energy Initiatives Task Force, based at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. Her job is to identify energy sources appropriate for each Army installation, considering local renewable energy options—such as sun, wind, and biofuels—when available. She serves as an on-site project manager and works with utility companies and developers to find the best solutions. “Our energy makeup won’t look the same everywhere. There are regions where you have large-scale solar projects going in, such as Arizona and southern California. We also have to value other resources, such as natural gas. It’s more of a holistic approach that will include leveraging traditional carbon-based fuel sources as well as renewables.” I have the opportunity to facilitate a fundamental shift in how the U.S. Army acquires electricity for its installations

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Rya Luttrell ’12 When Ryla Luttrell ’12 arrived at Transylvania, the expression “liberal arts education” meant nothing to her. After four years of study, however, she has a much better grasp of how all fields of study are interconnected. And her engagement with others on campus has helped her refine who she is and how she can express herself through her art. As part of her wide-ranging experiences on campus, Luttrell says she “had the opportunity to have tough conversations about topics that are too often taboo, such as religion, politics, and ideology.” She could safely test her own ideas and “converse with peers of different upbringings and beliefs.” As Luttrell explains, “This understanding has been incredibly beneficial to me as a person and as an artist. It has allowed me to communicate with people outside my field with confidence.” These opportunities for dialogue also helped Luttrell look beyond herself and better understand her place in a larger global community. She credits her professors for expanding her world view and teaching her how to “weigh choices based on my own needs and the needs of others in my life.”  The meaningful relationships she developed with Transylvania professors initially surprised her. Luttrell found that her professors—including writing, rhetoric, and communication professor Scott Whiddon, music professor Ben Hawkins, and art professors Kurt Gohde and Zoé Strecker—“talked to us like we were intelligent individuals with valuable ideas, and respected us as people.” It was through my study of

Read “Reaching Out to Others Through Art”