I’m spending my summer interning with the public affairs office, doing odds and ends work while conducting historical research on changes at Wabash over the last decade or so.
But about half of the interns employed by Wabash this summer are working directly with professors on academic research. Most of these interns are researching in the new science center.
Biology professor Shivi Selvaratnam mentors three men who are studying the environmental conditions of Little and Big Sugar Creek.
“I have always been interested in environmental problems, and Sugar Creek is perfect for our study,” Selvaratnam tells me. “It provides us with the perfect field site to study different types of pollution.”
This project, which began earlier this year with three other students who graduated in May, is a long-term study on the bacteria levels in Sugar Creek. Junior Paul Drambarean is working daily on the project, running tests and tracking results in the lab. Drambarean is concerned with the antibiotics that are introduced into the creeks through animal waste and field run-off from local farms.
Together, the students are learning from the research and interaction with Selvaratnam, and also hoping to improve the safety of Sugar Creek. “We consult everyday,” Selvaratnam says about her research team. “I’m there to help them out and teach them the techniques.”
Across campus in Trippet Hall, six students are studying the benefits of attending a liberal arts college. Two students working alongside professor Ed Chan traveled to Ecuador to follow a group of Wabash students on a month-long immersion program. Steve Andrews and Dunmomi Owolabi are studying the effect of study abroad programs on a liberal arts education.
These two men are not the only students to travel overseas as part of their summer research. For now, senior Seth Ditchcreek is keeping inventory at the College bookstore, but thanks to a prestigious Wabash grant he will be flying to Russia at the end of the month. In Moscow, Ditchcreek is joining a four-member expedition to study Russian folklore and religious ceremonies.
Of local interest is senior Ben Tooley’s continued research on Mexican migration to Crawfordsville. Last summer, Tooley and another student traveled to Mexico with political science professor Andy Schlewitz to retrace the steps of those who moved to Crawfordsville. This summer, Tooley is building on the initial research he helped gather last summer.
To most Wabash students, Crawfordsville offers less entertainment than the hometowns they left behind for the summer. But most of them are discovering that Crawfordsville does make a pleasant summer home without the stresses and hectic schedules of a typical Wabash semester.
“I am enjoying the time with my friends that are here this summer, and taking it easy after a long semester,” says Tooley, who is also working at night for the alumni office. “We watch movies, go out, or just hang out at someone’s house. It is much more relaxed than during the school year.”
Junior Jonathon Hensley echoes his thoughts.
“There’s not much to do after the work day is over. However, it is a great opportunity to work with other students you don’t normally associate with, and to make new friends.”
Mark Shreve is a native of Cincinnati, Ohio, and is a rising senior at Wabash. A history major, he is doing a summer internship in the public affairs office after spending last semester studying in Perugia, Italy.>/I>