“I received my Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) certificate during the remote fall semester. The course was 150 hours plus 20 hours of practical experience through the International TEFL Academy. I took the course as I was unable to study in Bologna for the full year and I hope to see Italy either through Dickinson or by teaching English there!” —Sadie Fowler ’22 (international studies and educational studies with a minor in Italian)
"As for new skills/behaviors since the start of the pandemic last March, I:
“In the summer, I started preserving wildflowers in resin. I have had a lifelong love of flowers and my background in science (environmental studies major) gave me some of the skills I needed for mastering the very exact process. You can check out my work on Instagram @posy.floral or at etsy.com/shop/posyfloral.” —Dani Shae Thompson ’12
"This week I tore through Rebekah Taussig’s Sitting Pretty (published 2020). In it, Taussig weaves together a tapestry about accessibility and representation and ableism by sharing the details that make up her life as a woman who navigates the world by way of wheelchair, and in doing so, she demonstrates that this world is built for some bodies and not for others. She pushes back on the notion that such a category as “ablebodied” really exists, and, instead, argues that we’re all and always traversing between points of strength, dependence, health, pain, illness and resilience. It’s just that some of us can pass for a little bit longer (to the detriment of a world that could make space for all types of bodies and benefit from their unique contributions). While she’s writing specifically from her experience as a disabled woman, the parallels for other marginalized identities seemed impeccably clear. The world is a series of accommodations, unequally distributed. Representation matters—it’s our blueprint for feeling welcome and our assurance that our future is possible. Hierarchies are dangerous. Listening is critical. I’m just scratching the surface of the terribly important, relevant ideas that this book so beautifully, clearly and compellingly conveys." —Caly McCarthy ’17
"My wife, Judy, highly recommends the following books published in the last 10 years that she’s read recently:
My son, Ben, really liked:
Avery Leslie O’Neill ’80 recommends Gaku’s Question: How Can Everyday People Create Peace? written by her college roommate Betsy Johnston ’80. She invited Betsy to a Zoom book club discussion and highly encourages her fellow Dickinsonians to read this book, encourage friends and family to read it and talk about how we can each create peace every day.
Email your response to Editor Lauren Davidson (davidsol@dickinson.edu).
Read more from the winter 2021 issue of Dickinson Magazine.
Published February 15, 2021