Elizabeth “Beth” Robinson was in the first Robinson Center Early Entrance Program class and is now the chief financial officer of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Beth will visit the Seattle campus during HuskyFest to share her story with current students and alumni through her talk, “From College Student to Political Appointee.”
Byron Gray and Cameron Turtle, University of Washington seniors, are among 32 Rhodes Scholars named for 2012. The UW is the only public university in the nation with more than one new scholar. Gray and Turtle responded to a few questions we posed. Read the Q&A and a digest of media coverage of the scholarship announcements.
Best-selling and award-winning author David Guterson talks about his experiences as a UW undergraduate in the Honors Program, a teacher, and writer with current Honors student Kat Chow.
The Robinson Center is a national leader for developing programs that serve highly capable young pre-college and college students. In 2011, the Robinson Center created an advisory board to support the mission of and promote the Center, suggest and discuss program development, and reach out to the campus, gifted, and broader communities. Meet the board members!
Alumni e-News Table of ContentsTim says, “My students make me want to teach. Every day I walk into the classroom, and I know that I have some of the brightest minds in the country.”
Tim Harris (’10), an Honors alumnus and former student employee of First Year Programs, is currently a volunteer with Teach For America in Detroit at the Marvin L. Winans Academy of Performing Arts. After receiving encouragement from friends and family to participate in Teach For America, and not having a solid post-graduation plan, he enrolled in the program. However, he didn’t feel the inspiration to teach until he was actually in his teaching job, and connecting with students. “My students make me want to teach. Every day I walk into the classroom, and I know that I have some of the brightest minds in the country, but because of the lack of resources my students have had in the past, they haven’t been able to demonstrate their genius.”
Curiosity and commitment inspire Tim. “In my students, I call it the ’So what you’re saying’ moment. Whenever my students are able to respond to discussions, labs, or lessons with a ’So, what you’re saying is…’ and build a valid point, [it] gives me chills. Or, when students ask ‘why” or ’how’ and are relentless in getting an answer, I feel the urge to support them in answering these questions.” And what about when students get frustrated? “I am always re-inspired whenever a student says ‘I’m going to get this.’ Pushing through adversity is a challenge that is important to the success of students, and to see that in my classroom makes me proud.”
Tim’s number one influence is his dad. “I learned how to network from him, how to stay organized, and how to keep my car running. He never had a college education, yet he has incredible social intelligence. Despite the countless hours he puts in at work—he sacrifices a lot for his family—he always made sure that my siblings and I [were] supported, so that we could attend college.”
Pushing him to ask questions even when he thought he had the answer, Tim’s high school English teacher, Mrs. Martin, taught him the most in school. “So I guess all the Google searches and general quandaries I’ve had about the world are a result of her. I appreciated that she got me so energized that I had to take ownership of my own learning.”
Tim is teaching advanced placement chemistry to seniors this year, and was initially concerned that his students would be too intimidated to handle the high level of work. He was proven wrong. These students are “on a mission. [They] come to class and work immediately. Students’ frustrations turn into motivation to get the right answers. Students support one another; when one student dropped out of [advanced placement], the rest rallied to get her back to the class.”
In the classroom, Tim doesn’t have a motto—his students came up their own. “[They] came up with their own chant that they yell at the top of their lungs at the end of every day. It goes, ‘We’re smart, and we know it, and we ain’t afraid to show it, AP chemistry!’ For students to be so proud of their intelligence is remarkable.”
Since this is Tim’s second year as a Teach For America corps member, his commitment to the program will finish in spring 2012. “The current game plan is to be in medical school by the age of 30; so I have a six-year plan. That gives me six years to travel the world, pick up a new hobby, learn how to make the perfect guacamole, and make a positive impact on 10,000 lives. I’d like to see my juniors get into the college of their dreams; I’ll need one more year in the classroom to do that. But there are a few other opportunities I’m looking into right now, in education and elsewhere, but we’ll just have to wait to see.”
Frances McCue, Honors Program writer-in-residence and instructor, was recently awarded a 2011 Washington State Book Award for poetry and national Grub Street Book Prize for her most recent book of poems, _The Bled_, published by Factory Hollow Press.
Each year, thousands of UW undergraduates participate in research with faculty. As these undergraduate researchers graduate, they bring the critical thinking and problem solving skills they learned to graduate school or right into the workforce. For Undergraduate Academic Affairs and aeronautics and astronautics alum Peter Norgaard, ’04, research was an integral component of his undergraduate years.
Last February, the Robinson Center for Young Scholars hosted an open house for Robinson Center students, parents, alumni, and parents of alumni. Conversation was bright, friendships were formed and renewed, and chocolate flowed freely from the chocolate fountain. Enjoy a few alumni, parent, and student reminiscences on their favorite memories of the Robinson Center.
At the end of autumn quarter, students from the Honors Program Peer Instructor Seminars gathered together to perform poems from the Common Book. Each group of students choose a poem from the Common Book and performed their interpretation of it. These ranged from creative readings and photographs to skits and musical pieces.
Learn about Honors student Geoffrey Morgan and Honors alum Steve Margitan whose international research projects took a different course when the 2008 Sichuan earthquake hit.
Curiosity and commitment inspire Tim. “In my students, I call it the ’So what you’re saying’ moment. Whenever my students are able to respond to discussions, labs, or lessons with a ’So, what you’re saying is…’ and build a valid point, [it] gives me chills. Or, when students ask ‘why” or ’how’ and are relentless in getting an answer, I feel the urge to support them in answering these questions.” And what about when students get frustrated? “I am always re-inspired whenever a student says ‘I’m going to get this.’ Pushing through adversity is a challenge that is important to the success of students, and to see that in my classroom makes me proud.”