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Kyle Hart, Class of 2013

By Katie Livermore, CLA Student Writer - February 12, 2025

Catching an early flight to California in 2012, Kyle Hart, Class of 2013, was barely awake at his gate when the man next to him, decked in an all-white velour suit and a mop of dark curly hair, instigated a conversation. Little did he know, Hart had already seen this man many times before, but didn’t know where from. 

A group of travelers approached to shyly ask the man for autographs, but Hart convinced himself he didn’t recognize him. "Must be a California thing," he thought. They conversed for an hour before boarding the flight. 

It wasn’t until he awoke from a dream that Hart finally realized: this man was Richard Simmons.

An American television personality, Simmons swept the nation with his prominent fitness regime in the 80s. His programs featured aerobics routines on shows titled The Richard Simmons Show and Sweatin’ To The Oldies. 

But Hart and Simmons’ story wasn’t over yet. Hart met Simmons again at baggage claim. He apologized for not recognizing him sooner, but Simmons brushed it off. An avid artist and always drawing, Hart asked Simmons to sign his sketchbook. 

“He left his email address, and invited me to visit his dance studio 'Slimmons' at some point during my stay, which was very strange,” Hart said.

***

Kyle Hart has always been drawing. It’s always been a hobby, but he’s transformed this talent into his career and philanthropy work. 

Hart grew up in the small southern town of Grants Pass, Oregon. He lived as an only child in the countryside.

“Naturally, I spent a lot of time sort of in my head, for better or worse,” Hart said. “It fostered a really honest and sincere imagination. My parents were always really encouraging me to be creative and to have fun doing that. I have always liked drawing.”

In early education, Hart started out in a Catholic private elementary school before moving on to the public middle and high schools. Hart was the “class clown” in A.P. classes. With his Catholic background, asked many philosophical questions, not afraid to raise controversial topics. 

“I'm spiritual and religious, but I appreciate honest dialogue,” Hart said. “People who are just like, ‘this is the way to do it,’ and ‘everything else is not right,’ you close yourself off to growth that way.”

As for art, of the one art teacher at both schools, there were none that fostered Hart’s creativity. That didn’t stop him from practicing art in the margins of every assignment–to some teachers' excitement, others’ dismay. His drawings were the outward expression of his imagination.

Throughout school, Hart played many sports–basketball, baseball and cross country–where he frequently played through sprained ankles, broken fingers and toes. 

Everything changed, however, when he blew out his knee in his junior year. Hart was forced to undergo a major reconstructive surgery and leave his sports career behind.

It was the first time he felt truly lost. 

“I experienced my first dream dying because I have always been very disciplined. I worked really hard to try to at least get to play college basketball,” Hart said. “I knew that my odds were slim at making it to the NBA, but I think you have to believe in your own dreams.”

In a state of depression, Hart leaned into drawing and spent most of his time immersed in art. He developed a hobby of dying laceless-style Vans shoes in different colors for his friends.

Upon graduating high school, Hart, a lifelong Duck fan, landed upon Oregon State University for college. He was unsure of what to study, but he decided to begin with business. Not long after, he changed his major to undecided and enrolled in an Exploratory Studies class. From there, he found psychology.

“I'm getting chills, because I remember thinking, 'this is really cool;' how people think, why they think it,” Hart said. “I've since learned about my own mental health stuff, but there were things that I experienced as a kid and even as a young adult, where I was like, ‘I want to learn more about why I do the things I do.’”

As his last assignment for Exploratory Studies he was tasked with shadowing a person from a career that interested him. At that point, he wanted to study exercise and psychological impact. 

Hart immediately thought of Simmons.

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Hart with Simmons in 2012

“My professor looked at me and was like, ‘if you interview Richard Simmons, I'll just give you an A,’” Hart said. “It was great. I interviewed him. We had a great conversation.”

Hart fell in love with psychology. He revels in sociology, writing, and nearly every facet of the social sciences. 

Not limited to fine arts to express his imagination, Hart also wrote psychology-focused articles for The Daily Barometer and hosted a love talk show, “Quit Playing Games,” with his friend for KBVR-FM, OSU’s radio station. 

“I just feel like the brain is still something we don't fully understand,” Hart said. “As it pertains to psychology, I just think that it's moving faster than we can study it.”

After graduating from OSU with a psychology degree, Hart worked for a sandwich shop in Portland for a few months before landing a job on the Nike support service team. 

On the side, he illustrated and wrote his first children’s book, titled The Mustache that Cured World Hunger. This book was a self-published labor of love, and 50 percent of proceeds went to The Oregon Food Bank. 

“There are people in this world who are dedicating their lives to doing good things and in organizations who actually want to see the world heal,” Hart said. “I was financially broke, barely making rent, I was like, but maybe I can make something and try to give back in some way. So I wrote and drew this book.” 

Hart was working on contract at Nike when social media marketing started to boom, then, he transitioned to working for different social media agencies copywriting, editing photos and video, and more.

Hart then was hired to work in Intel’s user experience psychology lab, where he applied his psychology skills.

“We would set up these like tests, essentially to take participants through user experiences with smartphones,” Hart said. “When I was there, we were working on, for Intel, it was Cortana, but like Siri and voice recognition stuff.”

The lab, however interesting, wasn’t the work that excited him. Fueled by his love of basketball, Hart went back to social media to work for the Jordan Brand team. From there, he moved on to become a producer, but it wouldn’t amount to a full-time job. 

About to be kicked off his parents’ insurance, he got to work on Nike’s campus.

“I just started networking a lot,” Hart said. “I started meeting every color designer that I could, and really applied what I learned from Oregon State. I picked color design over graphics or materials because color, is one of the most subjective parts of our world.”

Since he never stopped creating, Hart’s physical portfolio was bursting with tee shirt designs, books, posters and graphics. This, along with a concept footwear project he created, Hart caught designers’ attention and got his foot in the door as a color design assistant. 

“I've always been making stuff, it’s how I express myself,” Hart said. “There's a flow state for the most part, that I feel when I'm drawing or creating, that I just don't get from a lot of other places.”

Suddenly, Converse, all the way in Boston, was hiring. But Hart was born and raised an Oregonian. 

When he got the job, Hart planned to bring the offer back to Nike in hopes they would match and he could stay comfortably in his home state. Instead, the vice president of Nike Color Design at the time gave him advice he’d never regret taking. 

“I was afraid to move across the country. I don't know anybody,” Hart said. “The V.P. said, 'Nike's gonna be here. Nike's not going anywhere. Go to Boston and get some experience.' Looking back, it was some of the best career advice I ever got.”

Hart’s risk led him to work as a kids’ color shoe designer to basketball shoes to mens’ shoes. 

Now, he’s Converse’s Lead Trend & Concepts Footwear Color Designer. He uses trend and current market indicators to inform decisions on color palette. He has published five children's books and 100 percent of the proceeds go to a non-profit organization based on the story’s topic, for example, coping with grief as a child which is the subject of his fourth book, The Sideburns that Empowered Everyone. 

Hart’s message is that everything is creative and everyone has imagination. 

“I gave a TEDx talk at OSU about how imagination isn't constrained to the arts, because we all have to envision the life that we want,” Hart said. “Every decision takes imagination because you have to imagine what life is going to be like if you make that decision or if you don’t.”

What he imagined, Hart accomplished on a journey of jobs, leaps of faith and a dash of imagination.

“If I could go back and tell this to my past self, I’d say, 'you don't have to be defined by what you studied,'” Hart said. “When I try to plot and plan every move, it often doesn't work the way I want or expect it to. But always believe in yourself and the person you want to become.”

View more of Kyle Hart's work

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By Colin Bowyer, Communications Manager - February 12, 2025

Rural communities are diverse, complicated, idealized, and disparaged; they are sometimes healthy and sometimes struggling. Whether they are isolated geographically or sit just outside sprawling urban boundaries, complex issues affecting rural livelihoods require passionate problem solvers who appreciate the resilience and vulnerabilities of these places. Rural communities are a frequent topic of discussion, particularly during election years, but the discourse has rarely substantively addressed the systemic challenges facing residents in these communities. 

Rural policy is understood as those policies specifically targeted at small, nonmetropolitan areas. While some communities benefit from new investments that open up economic opportunities, others struggle with the loss of industry, out-migration of youth, and an increasing reliance on tourism. Such communities can benefit from trained policy professionals who are informed on the needs, advantages, options, and opportunities in rural places.

The School of Public Policy employs OSU’s long-standing reputation as a leader in research and connection with rural communities to offer a unique Ecampus graduate certificate focused on addressing the socioeconomic and political challenges facing provincial populations. 

“Very few universities around the country offer the possibility of focusing strictly on rural public policy, that’s not a subset of agriculture policy,” said Mark Edwards, professor of sociology and director of the Rural Policy Graduate Certificate program. “This program looks to help students understand rural populations’ own sense of efficacy. These communities are often marginalized and have their own distinct socioeconomic challenges from urban population centers.”

Now in its 6th year, the graduate certificate program is rooted in social science, and open for anyone who’s successfully completed their undergraduate studies. Students nationwide and in diverse careers gain valuable interdisciplinary insights into complex challenges facing rural places. The curriculum touches on topics such as rural economic development, housing policy, amenity migration, service delivery, and more.

“These are extraordinary questions specific to rural communities, where a policy solution from an urban or suburban landscape would not have the same effect” explained Edwards. “How can public policy help young people find work, stimulate housing production, and administer SNAP programs? In addition to more contemporary problems, like how do these communities adapt to displacement or gentrification?”

A program ready for whenever you are

Amy Jester is a mid-career professional who was looking for a program to help provide a greater understanding of the federal policy landscape, as well as a class schedule that fit into her busy day. Finishing the certificate program in August 2024, Jester is the director of policy at a regional community foundation in Northern California who works with local, state, federal, and tribal partners to create policy changes to help her region thrive. 

“First, from a historical perspective, the program gave me a better understanding of how federal policy has been shaped over time to divest from rural communities,” explained Jester “Then, it helped me dig deeper into environmental law and policy and allow for me to develop my own point of view and critical analysis.”

Jester also appreciated the ability to complete the 20 credits at her own pace and on her own time, able to pick up and pause classes depending on her workload and personal obligations.

“I was looking for flexibility in the learning environment,” explained Jester. “With my schedule, I couldn’t make an in-person class work and could only really fit in one class a week. With the certificate program, I could design the experience based on my personal and professional needs. I also like the potential pathway into the master’s of public policy program, in case I decide to continue in the future.”

The transition from the certificate program into the master’s program is something that Keith Lindblom is taking advantage of. Lindblom, who works for a Washington D.C.-based nonprofit focused on policy, long wanted to work towards a master’s degree. With some starts and stops along the way, Lindblom completed the certificate program and is now a master’s student in the public policy program (M.P.P.). 

Initially enrolling in the certificate program to gain a better understanding of the complexities of rural policy making, Lindblom’s transition into the M.P.P. program complements his rural policy studies and positions him to work more directly on rural policy issues. 

“Growing up in a small South Dakota community, I understand rural places and the challenges they face,” said Lindblom. “Now, working at a policy-focused nonprofit, I can bring together my personal experience and education from the certificate program to benefit my organization’s work on rural topics. If you don’t have rural voices or perspectives involved in the process, you can’t expect an outcome that addresses their needs.”

Understanding rural communities

Since its establishment in 1868, OSU’s support of rural livelihoods, traditionally through agricultural research, has yielded a thriving academic community committed to advancing the sustainability of provincial economies. In the College of Liberal Arts, scholars from the School of Public Policy examine the economic, sociological, and political issues to offer comprehensive paths to potential solutions. Each scholar brings their individual expertise to the multidisciplinary online certificate program.

“The program has been particularly enlightening,” said Katey McIntosh, ‘06, who earned the certificate in spring 2024. “The online aspect brings in students from all fields of policy with most people working simultaneously. Then, you have this multidisciplinary mix of instructors who bring their own knowledge. It’s great to see the variation of how policy works across sectors, which makes the learning environment and conversations much better and more engaging.”

McIntosh, a rural education specialist living in Texas, enjoyed how the instructors brought the impacts of good or bad policy down to a personal level, showcasing the need for effective data gathering and preliminary research. 

“From a social services standpoint,” explained McIntosh, “Mark [Edwards] and the other instructors put so much effort into humanizing policy and what it looks like on the ground; it forever changed the way I look at policy making.”

There were two courses that stuck out to Lindblom.

“Public Policy Theory [PPOL 512] with Professor Brent Steel was not strictly focused on rural policy per se, but it was a really deep, theoretical, and practical look at the policy making environment,” said Lindblom. “It provided color to what we read in the news coming out of Washington and the state capitals.”

Another class that stood out for Lindblom was Rural Sociology (SOC 575) with Professor Lori Cramer, which looked at the challenges and opportunities that are unique to rural communities. The course only reinforced to Lindblom the importance of incorporating various perspectives into policy making to reduce divisiveness and design better-informed and more equitable solutions.

“People who live in rural communities have a different sense of community and service than people from cities, and a heightened consciousness of what’s going on immediately around them,” explained Lindblom. “From a policymaking perspective, it’s important to understand rural communities in order to better serve their needs. The courses that are part of the certificate program highlighted these and other aspects of rural places that matter to policy design.”

“The program was well structured to allow for students to explore their interests,” explained McIntosh. “For me that was critically examining education systems and social service delivery in rural settings. How can we build structures that allow for a sense of agency, while also counteracting initial policy decisions that put people in disadvantaged circumstances.”

For prospective students looking to develop an awareness of rural communities and their environments, the Rural Policy Graduate Certificate program will provide a deeper, multidisciplinary understanding of how to effectively support systems and structures to create a productive impact in these spaces.

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Dr. Patricia Fifita

By Colin Bowyer, Communications Manager - February 6, 2025

In summer 2023, a friend of Patricia Fifita’s came to her with a stunning proposal: help restore 432 acres of Anahola coastline that lies within the moku (region) of Koʻolau along the northeast coast of Kauaʻi. With support from the Lenfest Ocean Program, Fifita, an assistant professor of ethnic studies, now co-leads a team of scholars, researchers, and community liaisons to develop an restoration plan centering on Kānaka Oiwi self-determination, histories, ecological health, and healing.

“For over 200 years, there’s been a dispossession of ancestral homelands on Kauaʻi, as well as a dismantling of the Indigenous system of managing and protecting land and coastal resources,” explained Fifita. “As Indigenous Hawaiians regain access to land and sea spaces, there is a need for Indigenous-driven efforts to sustainably re-engage and re-incorporate Indigenous knowledge systems, practices, and ancestral connections to place in meaningful and equitable ways.”

In February 2022, Jeremie Makepa, Fifita’s friend, Native Hawaiian, and resident of the Anahola Hawaiian Homestead community, was awarded a Rite-of-Entry permit to oversee the long-term utilization and stewardship of the coastline. The acreage is currently owned by the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, an agency overseen by the U.S. State Department that's tasked with returning Hawaiian homestead lands to Native Hawaiians. 

Makepa, who’s also a fire captain for Kauaʻi County, established the ʻĀina Alliance. Through the nonprofit, Makepa was able to remove thousands of pounds of trash and abandoned cars, as well as clear and maintain the land to mitigate wildfires, a growing threat on the islands. Makepa later invited Fifita and Emmalani Makepa, a community liaison for ʻĀina Alliance, a local nonprofit, to collaborate on developing a makai (ocean) restoration and management plan for the site.

Together, through a series of “kūpuna-led” participatory talk-story sessions, Fifita, Makepa, as well as Dr. Lori Cramer, professor of sociology, and Dr. Lelemia Irvine, a physics professor at the University of Hawaiʻi-West Oahu, will develop a community-led pathway towards the coastlines' restoration. Fifita will also be partnering with researchers at the Center for Oral History at the University of Hawaiʻi-Mānoa to help preserve the data and oral histories gathered from Anahola residents. 

“What we’re hoping to record is traditional and customary management responsibilities and practices of the coastline,” explained Fifita. “It’s so important to capture and preserve the memories of those who once lived and continue to carry knowledge and memories of the Anahola coastal areas. We are interested in understanding what used to go on there.” 

Additionally, the research team will be working with Kūkulu Kumuhana O Anahola (KKOA), a local nonprofit that blends traditional and modern culture to promote sustainability. Recorded Indigenous knowledge will help inform future KKOA projects to more sustainably shape communities along the coastline. 

A significant component of the project is also to develop a data sovereignty statement to outline for future researchers of Anahola how data from Indigenous residents can be used and shared. Helping Fifita with data collection and transcription, as well as crafting the data sovereignty statement are two undergraduate research assistants Heavenly "Naia" Afo and Tihani Mitchell, both students in the College of Liberal Arts.

“When embarking on a project of collecting ‘data,’ which can include anything from ancestral knowledge, cultural practices, social information, and more, it is critical to allow Indigenous communities to have authority over their own stories, as well as define a code of ethics and responsibilities for researchers as to how they can use this valued information.” 

Fifita, Cramer, along with the two undergraduate research assistants, recently presented some of their initial findings as part of a Lenfest Ocean Program webinar series. 

“Jeremie and the research team have received an outpouring of support from Anahola residents for this ongoing project” said Fifita. “The community-focused planning work myself and my colleagues are managing is only a small part to help inform the long-term restoration work for the entire Anahola ahupuaʻa.”

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Sydney Wiese

By Quinn Keller, CLA Student Writer - February 19, 2025

Growing up in Phoenix, Arizona, Sydney Wiese, ‘17, was born into a basketball family and never stopped playing. Wiese’s first basketball experience was in a youth boys league, followed by club basketball and high school, where she excelled in leading her team to three appearances in the state high school basketball championships and becoming the 2013 Arizona high school player of the year. 

During her junior year, Wiese began to hear from coaches from around the country, offering a spot on their teams, including Scott Rueck, OSU women's basketball coach. 

“I was fortunate to have the opportunity to be recruited by multiple schools and have the support of my family to navigate that chaotic time,” said Wiese. “My initial conversations with Scott and OSU’s assistant coaches went far beyond compared to other colleges. I could feel the team’s energy and got a great sense of pride and vision for OSU.”

Wiese started at OSU in new media communications, with thoughts of being a basketball commentator after a professional career, but switched to speech communication after a recommendation from her teammates. The entire curriculum played to her advantage; Wiese has put to use the skills she learned from the group, nonverbal, and interpersonal communication classes everyday. 

“At the root of speech communication and basketball is human connection,” explained Wiese. “The skills I learned during my time in the School of Communication helped me in my day-to-day life and were transformational for my basketball career, particularly when I went to play overseas.”

During her four years playing for OSU, Wiese scored 1,276 points, an average of 13 points per game. She also broke OSU’s records in assists and three pointers, as well as setting the Pac-12 conference record for career three-pointers made. In the 2017 draft, Wiese was selected 11th by the defending WNBA Finals champions Los Angeles Sparks.

“It’s an indescribable experience being drafted,” said Wiese. “I have so much gratitude for my coaches and teammates who helped me get to that point. A huge part of why I was able to truly celebrate was because of the support system that I had through OSU.”

Wiese started and also came off the bench for the Sparks for four years, shifting from point guard to shooting guard, as well as played overseas in Australia, Israel, Spain, Italy, and Turkey  during the off-season. 

“There’s a world of difference between professional and college basketball,” explained Wiese. “College is more personal and relationship-based, because you’re spending time with your coaches, trainers, and teammates constantly. In a professional setting, oftentimes you show up to the office or gym for your allotted time, and then you go your separate ways after.”

In 2021, she was traded to the Washington Mystics, then devastatingly tore her ACL in 2022. During her two years of recovery, Wiese started commentating and became a youth basketball coach. She was planning to return to professional play, but a call from Rueck, asking if she’d be interested in returning to OSU to coach, changed everything.

“Coach Rueck’s call surprised me, but I was ready to take on a new challenge,” said Wiese. “It took me a lifetime to play at a high level, and now as a coach, I have to explain, demonstrate, translate, and embody what has come intuitively to me for the past two decades.”

Wiese is one of three assistant coaches on staff for the OSU women’s basketball team, including former teammate Deven Hunter, whom Wiese has stayed close with over the years. Just as OSU had recruited Wiese, Wiese is now majorly involved in recruiting incoming players, a more nuanced process from the opposite perspective. “It's been a fun challenge trying to meet players where they are, particularly considering I’ve been in their exact position. I'm learning just as they are.”

Rooted in love, Wiese talks about being as accurate and intentional when coaching the student-athletes, but not to overwhelm, as well as the consistent need to be present to create a secondary support system and “making sure that they feel loved throughout all the growing pains that come with college,” Wiese explained. “The transition from high school to college can be uncomfortable, and as long as they know that we’re coming from a genuine place, it makes my job really easy, because our top priority is taking care of them.” 

“One of many things I am appreciative of for being a communications major is learning the importance of listening intently and becoming slower to respond,” Wiese explained. “I’ve had the privilege to play the roles of student, athlete, and now coach, in different countries and environments. The skills I’ve learned from speech communication can be applied time and time again, helping my ability to communicate with others.”

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Moreland Hall

By Gabriella Grinbergs, CLA Student Writer - February 26, 2025

When you hear the word “medieval”, what comes to mind? The elaborate fashions of old European royals, ordering servants around in picturesque stone castles? Or knights, swords drawn, valiantly riding into battle on horseback? Or maybe the infamous spread of the bubonic plague?

While these images aren’t completely unrelated, Dr. Tekla Bude’s research and classes reveal the true complexities and societal intricacies in Europe of, what is commonly referred to as, the Middle Ages. 

Bude’s fascination with the medieval has been a part of her life for as long as she can remember. Early on, she fell in love with the aesthetics of the classic film Sleeping Beauty and young adult novels, like The Chronicles of Narnia, set in a medieval-like past. 

“I got my first etymological dictionary when I was probably in grade school,” Bude recalled. “I've always been obsessed with the history of words.” 

It was during her undergraduate years at University of Michigan that she chose to depart from her pre-medical education to focus on medieval studies, earning bachelor’s degrees in English and German.  

“I will say that no matter what your degree path is, the moment you decide ‘this is the career I want’, you're rejecting a lot of possibilities,” Bude explained. “You're starting to put a stake in the ground that feels really risky.”

With this decision came a “whole other layer of professionalism” and a necessary ability to separate her love of the subject from the reality of pursuing a career in academia. Ultimately, however, her passion for her field far outweighed the risk. 

She went on to complete a Master of Studies – a year-long program specifically in medieval literature – at the University of Oxford on top of a master’s degree in English literature at the University of Pennsylvania. While at Oxford, she completed a project on Richard Rolle, a writer from the 14th century who was fundamental to the development of English prose. 

“Eventually that would go on to become the kernel of my Ph.D. project,” she explained, “and the core of my book that came out a couple of years ago, too.”

Sonic Bodies: Text, Music, and Silence in Late Medieval England was published in 2022, roughly six years after becoming an OSU faculty member, and stemmed from a personal obsession with music. Her love of music combined with her devotion to medieval literature as she analyzed how “bonds between readers or between readers and the text are strengthened or changed when a musical performance becomes part of that relationship.”

Sonic Bodies later won the Anne Middleton Book Prize from the International Piers Plowman Society, a scholarly group that focuses on Piers Plowman and related late medieval literature. Winning this prestigious award was “sort of a surprise” Bude described. “To be recognized for my work by that group of people in particular was incredibly meaningful.”

As of now, Bude is developing her second book on mathematical imagination in the tenth to fifteenth centuries. The core argument of her research positions mathematics as “a historically determined discipline” and analyzes how different systems of thought in the medieval era shaped how mathematics is used and interpreted today. 

“If you ask a random person on the street, ‘what is math?’ you might get a bunch of different answers,” she explained. “What I'm trying to do in this book is to say that for people in the medieval period, they might also have had any number of different answers to the question, what is mathematics?”

According to Bude, mathematics might have been found in places we, as modern math users, might not immediately identify. One example includes how medieval mystics conceptualized the idea of God as a type of infinity “that resides in the infinitesimal as a circle of infinite size, or as the tangent between a straight line and a circle of infinite size,” and other concepts of infinity often found in modern mathematics.

“If you've ever taken calculus,” she stated, “you'll recognize some of the same sort of thought processes of an integral or differential calculus in that way of thinking about God.” While not identical to integral or differential calculus, Bude clarified, a form of latent mathematics was present in medieval mysticism. 

Bude also plans to explore how mathematics was embedded in material practices, like the development of textiles and Nålebinding – an early common form of knitting. She even ties literary texts into this research by analyzing writers’ contemplations of the future as a type of risk assessment and probabilistic sets of reasonings. 

Much of the research process for this, Bude explained, involves relearning linear algebra, set theory, and basic theorems and principles of calculus while examining various literary, mystical, and legal texts, in search of similar thought processes.

As for her students at OSU, Bude teaches several upper-division courses on a variety of medieval topics, which interested students should feel free to email her about. She hopes her students leave her class with an understanding of how drastically language, systems, ideas and literature itself can change and shape our perceptions of the world today. 

“The more widely you read cross-culturally and cross-temporally, the better sense you get for the huge variety and possibility of the human condition and how it can be talked about,” Bude said. “So, as a humanities degree is the process of trying to make you more humane by helping you understand different types of people, I think learning about the deeper past is really crucial to that.”

In this way, Bude believes everyone should take a course on any type of distant history – whether it be on the medieval period, classical India, or Egyptology – with the goal of deepening and broadening one’s studies as much as possible.

Medieval literature shows its value at OSU as it reveals different possibilities for social and informational structures, Bude expressed, which pose their own benefits and shortcomings. 

Many of the negative impacts in the medieval period, according to Bude, resulted from information systems that weren’t built for the development and spread of rationality and logic. From these shortcomings, she continues, there are significant lessons to be learned from the distant past.

“The medieval has a lot to teach us about our present moment.” 

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Students visiting Historic Environment Scotland

By Colin Bowyer, Communications Manager - February 7, 2025

In summer 2024, Todd Kesterson, senior instructor of new media communications, and Joshua Reeves, associate professor of new media communications, led a first-of-its-kind study abroad trip to Scotland, where students utilized  3D scanning technology, which is used to help digitally preserve historical sites and artifacts. The six-credit program allowed students to “discover the beauty and rich history of Scotland,” while also gaining invaluable experience working with 3D  scanning tools.

Students on the fourteen-day study abroad program visited the cities of Edinburgh, Stirling, and Oban, as well as made many side trips to historical sites, including Kilmartin, Dunstaffanage, and Linlithgow castles. After the two weeks in Scotland, students worked remotely with faculty to develop a complete multimedia project reflecting their experiences, consisting of photos, videos, written components, and their own 3D scans from the trip.

“Even just ten years ago, 3D scanning used to require large and sometimes onerous technological equipment,” explained Kesterson. “Now anyone can download an app and get started.”

They visited Historic Environment Scotland, and learned about their technologies and methodologies of digitally preserving Scotland’s structures and monuments. Using their own personal phones, students 3D scanned artifacts during the two weeks and some students uploaded their progress for public access on a 3D asset website called Sketchfab.

Abigael Craig, a senior majoring in digital communication arts (DCA), saw the study abroad program to Scotland as a way to expand her awareness and understanding of 3D scanning.

“Truthfully, 3D scanning  was so foreign to me in particular,” Craig explained. “I always saw the field as something more based in video games development. Now after using this tech myself, it was really eye opening and made me want to learn more about its potential.”

3D scanning and modeling is something Cara Simpson, also a senior in DCA, is looking at for a potential career. Simpson was already a student of Kesterson’s previous classes on 3D modeling and animation, but the trip to Scotland took their skills and interest to another level. 

“Being able to utilize 3D technology for a larger purpose and greater good was what attracted me to the program,” said Simpson. “This trip made me feel more integrated with the technology and pay more attention to detail. It also directly impacted my direction to pursue a career in 3D modeling.”

Kesterson plans to offer the faculty-led study abroad program to Scotland again in summer 2026.

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Jessica Cole

What kickstarted your interest in history as a child or young adult?

I was born and raised as a small child in Minneapolis, MN. When I was 8, our family moved to a small rural town in Southern Oregon called Glendale. After we moved, I felt cut off from my extended family, and the loss was heightened after my grandpa and great-grandma died before I could see them again. My grandpa was very proud of his Irish heritage, and as a teen I started to delve into genealogy to honor him. Over time, genealogy became a passion of mine. Although I didn’t realize it for over a decade, I came to realize that a large portion of my interest in genealogy stemmed from a love of history. I enjoyed combing through archives, discovering new clues during research, and writing stories of the past. This realization is what inspired me to pursue a degree in history. 

What attracted you to the College of Liberal Arts’ history Ecampus program?

Although I attended college fresh out of high school, I took a break to focus on raising a family. When I decided to go back to school, my schedule was extremely limited due to taking/picking up kids from school and various extracurricular activities. I was drawn towards Ecampus because it let me determine my own timeframe concerning classes. I was able to work on assignments when I wanted, which was usually late at night after the kids were in bed, or in the car while I waited in the school pick-up line. Without this freedom there is no way that I could have committed to going to school full time. 

Did you have any favorite classes, professors, or experiences while part of the undergraduate program?

My favorite classes were History of Medicine (HSTS 417), which was initially quite a surprise to me. I took the first class simply as a credit filler, and was not looking forward to it in any way. Online classes tend to sometimes feel monotonous, but the professor, Dr. Linda Richards, somehow made the class intriguing - to the point where I was looking forward to the next class. She also really made a point to engage with students, and it was a direct result of her encouragement that I decided to pursue my master’s at OSU. I ended up asking Dr. Richards to be on my graduate thesis committee, and she brought with her the same boost of passion and positivity that she had to her classes, and was just such an overall support during the process. 

What motivated you to go for CLA’s master’s program in history?

OSU did not offer a graduate program in history when I first decided I wanted to pursue my masters, so I was actually looking into other colleges as I finished up my undergraduate. Then a few professors (including Dr. Richards) mentioned that I would be a good fit for OSU’s possible new graduate history program. Dr. Nicole von Germeten, who was the director of the School of History, Philosophy, and Religion at the time, kept me apprised of the program’s development, and strongly encouraged me to consider applying. I figured I had such a strong support system with her and Dr. Richards that there was no need to look any further at other colleges! 

What is your current occupation today?

I am the reference librarian for Elko’s Mybrary, a bi-county library system with eight branches in Northeastern Nevada. While being a librarian was originally not on my list of potential careers, I was intrigued by the job description as it included improving the library system's role as a local history resource. (I did have to agree to return to school to qualify for this position, and am now attending the University of Idaho in order to obtain a Public Librarian Certification.) My favorite part of being a reference librarian is fulfilling obscure historical queries for patrons - the more investigation required, the better! Besides obvious duties that come with the role of a reference librarian (mainly assisting patrons), I have spent the last year digitally preserving items of historical significance found within the library archives, along with researching people, places, and events of local interest. My end goal is to create an online database with these records so that people can easily access and discover history pertaining to the region on their own. 

When I finished graduate school, I knew I wanted to be a public historian. While I had initially thought I would end up working at a museum or historical society, I have discovered that there are other positions (e.g., a reference librarian) that can influence an interest of the past within the community they serve. Besides research/archival work related to the database, I strive to find other ways to intrigue locals concerning their area's past. One program I am really looking forward to initiating is a guided historical cemetery tour which will focus on both the notorious historical characters of Elko, as well as the lesser known individuals. I think it is important when presenting public history to not only represent the prestigious and infamous players, but also the 'everyday Joes' and especially those that have been forgotten, or even purposely expunged, from the annals of history.

What skills or lessons have you learned during both your undergraduate and graduate studies that you still use today?

I was thrilled to be accepted into CLA’s master’s program in history, however, my dad died shortly before classes started. For the first year, I struggled. Although I turned in assignments and kept my grades up; I was simply just going through the motions. Then, I was offered a fellowship at the start of my second year, and I think it was recognizing that people still believed in me that helped me to emerge from the haze of depression that I had been living in. 

I then realized that even though I had kept up with my classes, I was WAY behind in preparing for my thesis. Although the pressure was definitely on, I still was not that worried because I had the topic of my thesis all planned out (the disparity of funerary practices afforded to patients of the Oregon State Hospital in the early twentieth century). Then, Dr. Marisa Chappell, a professor in my major, started encouraging me to think broader and pursue other areas of research. At first, to be honest, I was a bit resentful, because I already knew exactly what I wanted to focus on, and I was already in a time-crunch as it was. However, as I begrudgingly did the research she had assigned to me, which involved going over OSH patient records at the state archives, I stumbled across information that completely changed the trajectory of my thesis. 

My apathy turned to obsession as I strove to uncover historic injustice, and the rest of the year was spent in absolute chaos as I dedicated every spare moment I could to research and writing. Throughout it all Dr. Chappell, along with the rest of my committee (Dr. Richards and Professor Kelley Bosworth), guided and motivated me. Their glowing reception of my thesis made such an incredible impact on me, and due to their encouragement, I am now in the process of writing a book on the topic. 

Throughout this process, I realized how important having a support system is, and also how important it is to be flexible and open to new opportunities. For example, even though I had no interest in the history of medicine, it ended up being something I really enjoyed, and even the field in which my thesis (and hopefully future book) is based. Putting extra research into a topic I was unenthusiastic about sparked a passion within me that I didn’t know existed. I use these lessons today in both my personal life and my career: realizing that it is okay to reach out and ask for help and support from others, and when approaching something I am lackluster or even reluctant about, remaining optimistic about new interests or opportunities that may result.

Oh, also citations. I learned to cite everything!

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Jenna Proctor

By Jessica Florescu, CLA Student Writer - February 5, 2025

As a graduate history student and Associate Director of Relationship Insights for the OSU Foundation, Jenna Proctor, ‘16, continues to follow her passions towards highlighting the voices of people who haven’t had their stories told. She has aspirations to give justice to the lives of those who deserve to be recognized for their perseverance and accomplishments. 

“My parents instilled a love of history in me from a young age,” Proctor explained. “I grew up watching history TV shows and going on family vacations to museums and national parks, which taught me about the importance of education and a love for history.”

Proctor’s family was also highly invested in the world of music; most of her relatives were piano teachers. She started learning how to play piano in 3rd grade and still continues to incorporate her love of music into many aspects of her life. By the end of her high school career, Proctor had already made outstanding academic progress in addition to playing French horn in her school’s marching band. 

Following graduation, she decided to take a gap year to attend a theology program in Lancashire, England. 

Proctor shared, “The gap year was incredibly beneficial for me. I was able to find clarity for my education moving forward. It wasn’t always easy to live with 160 people from around the world, and getting to know people with different cultural backgrounds was both challenging and rewarding, but looking back, it prepared me for college success.”

Proctor spent her first two years at OSU in the University Exploratory Studies Program, as well as minoring in piano performance. After taking classes in forestry, fisheries and wildlife, psychology, geography and more, Proctor eventually chose history as her major. 

She was also a student in OSU’s Honors College, which meant that additional requirements were added to the standard history thesis needed for her major. With the guidance help from her capstone mentor, Ben Mutschler, she began conducting research about the history of liberal arts curriculum at OSU, when she came across plans for a large music hall that was supposed to be built on OSU’s campus in the 1970’s.

“The Great Hall, a predecessor to PRAx, was the first project that the newfound OSU Foundation tackled,” stated Proctor. “This would have been a huge transition to valuing and prioritizing the arts in a land-grant, STEM-focused institution.” 

Ultimately, the Great Hall never came to be due to a combination of factors according to Proctor, including  OSU’s leadership and donor base who were hesitant to invest in arts and culture programming, as well as a struggling national economy.

The College of Liberal Arts highly valued the significance of Proctor’s research, and she was awarded undergraduate researcher of the year by both CLA and OSU Libraries. Additionally, she was given the opportunity to present her thesis at aOSU Foundation’s Board of Trustees’ meeting.

“Research in relation to the arts is so deserving of recognition, but it tends to be overlooked fairly often,” Proctor explained. “My thesis gave me an opportunity to combine my two passions of music and history into one piece of work. I’m very proud that my research was still recognized for its historical importance.”

Proctor looked to enter into the museum world, hoping to be a curator. She interned at the Benton County Museum while a student, but ultimately couldn’t find a full-time role in a museum setting after graduating. Her undergraduate mentor, Associate Professor of History Ben Mutschlar,  suggested that she apply for a research analyst role at the OSU Foundation. Now, after almost ten years, Proctor is associate director of relationship insights, leading donor prospect research and data analysis.

Proctor’s primary responsibility for the OSU Foundation is translating complex data sets that posit takeaways to guide decision making. In addition to prospect research, she recommends fundraising strategies, bridging the gap between fundraising and data analytics. 

In 2020, wanting to continue to conduct research, Proctor joined the first cohort of the School of History, Philosophy, and Religion master’s in history program. Working full-time and in the program part-time, Proctor’s research explores demographic changes in Oregon over time, focusing on the lived experiences of nineteenth century Indigenous and mixed-race women after Oregon’s white settlement, their marriages to French Canadian fur traders and white settlers, and how their children navigated the rapidly changing Salem-region. Proctor is tracing the journeys of three sisters who grew up in a Methodist orphanage in French Prairie, yet went on to live completely different lives. 

“My goal is to piece together each of my references to paint an accurate picture of their lives,” Proctor explained. “These stories have never been told before, but it is equally important to bring justice to their past experiences.” 

Proctor’s current job focused on fundraising data analytics related to fundraising is very different from the museum curator role she originally envisioned or the history track that she’s on now.

“I ended up loving my position at the OSU Foundation, and I’m still here 8 years after being hired,” Proctor said. I’ve learned to keep pursuing my interests, but to also be open to any opportunity that presents itself. I want to highlight voices in the world of history. Regardless of my specific career, I’ve realized that I don’t need to be a practicing historian to use diverse stories to advance the field.”

Having a solid plan laid out for her life is more comfortable for Proctor, but college has also taught her that it is okay to not have everything figured out. She advises students to be open to exploring different career options throughout their time in college, so that they are able to find something they really love doing. Proctor believes that her liberal arts background gave her critical thinking skills that are transferable to many different fields, and she is grateful for her current job position. 

Proctor is very appreciative of everything that she has learned through her degree within the College of Liberal Arts, and strongly believes in the importance of pursuing the things that you are passionate about. She expressed, “Much more enjoyable experiences come from striving towards something that you love, so don’t be afraid to take the time to find the right path for you.”

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Veronica Suchodolski

By Ellie Webb-Bowen, CLA Student Writer - January 30, 2025

Veronica Suchodolski, now in her second year of the School of Writing, Literature, and Film’s Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing program, was writing short fictional stories from an early age. 

“I was just kind of one of those kids that always wanted to be a writer,” Suchodolski said. 

Although, as many young adults face, Suchodolski went through periods where she felt as though she should be doing something more ‘practical.’ • “My parents were like, ‘well, what are you going to do with an English degree?’ And I was like, I don't know. It just is the thing that I wanted to do, and I was lucky enough to have several teachers who encouraged me growing up.”

After attending high school in rural Western Massachusetts, Suchodolski went on to become an English major at Barnard College, in New York City, with a concentration in creative writing and minor in French and philosophy. After cherishing her time at a historically women’s college in N.Y.C., Suchodolski worked as a Digital Content Creator for Barnard, writing feature and news articles for their website, then moving to Seattle and working in communications at Seattle University.

Behind the scenes, Suchodolski continued to write for herself and attended a conference focused on fiction in 2022. Suchodolski was paired with author Hannah Tinti. After a week working with Tinti, Suchodolski realized she had so much more to learn about being a writer. “That was when I first started to seriously consider pursuing an M.F.A program,” Suchodolski explained.

What attracted Suchodolski to the M.F.A. program at the College of Liberal Arts was the weekly mentorship students received from SWLF’s distinguished faculty, as well as a small cohort class accepted each year. “I have already learned so much in one year, which is really amazing, to have grown as a writer so significantly in nine months,” Suchodolski conveyed. “The classes are really amazing. Particularly in the fiction track, we have three full-time professors for eight students at a time, so you really know the people who are teaching you and they're available to talk outside of class.”

Focusing primarily on writing this past year has been special for Suchodolski, who’s currently working on her first novel. “I don't necessarily have more time to write, but I feel like I have to anyway, which is a big difference from before when I was working nine to five. When I didn't feel like writing that day, I just didn't. It's been nice to remove myself from the idea that there has to be like a perfect set of circumstances where I get my writing done,” Suchodolski stated. 

With her busy schedule, Suchodolski is working on her novel in phases, writing all  of her first drafts by hand, “because it feels like there's less pressure.”

The novel, title to come, focuses on a family of Polish immigrants who have been residing in the U.S. and are debating whether to move back to Poland to care for a grandparent. The intergenerational novel is told from multiple perspectives and explores the idea of the 21st-Century American dream. “I'm particularly interested in the way that a lot of immigrant families moved to the US for the dreams or the goals of one family member, and then how that radiates out amongst the other family members down the line.”  

Both of Suchodolski's parents are from Gdansk, Poland, located on the Baltic Sea. Suchodolski used to travel to Gdansk as a child to visit her grandparents. “I've been interested specifically in that aspect of my family history,” she stated. “No one here really writes that much about Poland.” 

In addition to being an M.F.A. student,  Suchodolski taught a section of English Composition (WR 121), which was a rewarding experience from a personal growth perspective, and will teach Intro to Fiction Writing (WR 224) for the 2024 - 2025 academic year. After completing the MFA program, Suchodolski’s goal is to publish her novel and find her way as a writer in the world.

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Iván Carbajal

By Selene Lawrence, CLA Student Writer - January 29, 2025

Dr. Iván Carbajal is paving the way for a culturally inclusive psychological field.

Carbajal was born and raised in West Texas after his parents immigrated from Mexico, a background that he embraces as a scientist. “Growing up, it was very much a bilingual and bicultural household. That part of my life has followed me throughout my education, and it is one of the biggest focuses when it comes to my research,” Carbajal said. “A lot of who I am and what I'm interested in studying comes from my upbringing and my culture.”

Before going to college, Carbajal’s friends often suggested he become a therapist due to his listening skills and supportive demeanor. While pursuing a bachelor’s degree in psychology at the University of Texas Permian Basin, he found himself drawn to the research possibilities the field had to offer. “It wasn't until I took a research methods class that I found out that psychology was so much more than therapy,” Carbajal recalled, “I remember being excited that I could come up with a research question and be able to find an answer and create knowledge.” Under the guidance of his research methods professor, Dr. Jaime Hughes, Carbajal acted as her research assistant on various studies and later completed his undergraduate thesis and first publication. 

Carbajal continued his education in behavioral science at the University of North Texas, where he was introduced to the psychophysiological methods that he utilizes in his current research, including electroencephalography, or EEG. “When I first started out in grad school, we were looking at cardiovascular measurements. In my other lab, we did a lot with EEG. It was incredible to see the psychological processes through a physiological approach. It’s a neat way of showing that things don’t only happen in the brain, they also happen in your body,” Carbajal explained. 

At the same time, Carbajal found himself struggling as he navigated racism in the academic field. “When I first went to grad school, I didn’t want to do cultural research because I didn’t want to be stereotyped as one of the few Latinos who wanted to focus on culture. A lot of the ways we were socialized to think about research was about how your identity shouldn’t be a part of the work that you do,” said Carbajal. “There were a lot of trials and tribulations, and a lot of times when I felt like I wasn’t good enough to be in these spaces, or that the research I wanted to do wasn’t going to be seen as valuable.” 

After Carbajal’s first research mentor told him that he would never get a job focusing on diversity, Carbajal transferred labs and became more determined than ever to challenge conformity and embrace his values and cultural identity in his work. “My research really flourished under new mentorship,” said Carbajal, “that was really when I started this journey in the cultural nuances of psychology and incorporating that into more cognitive perspectives.”

During the last year of his Ph.D. program, Carbajal became an online instructor at Oregon State University. Shortly after, he moved to Corvallis and took up the role of assistant professor. In addition to teaching, Carbajal is the creator and director of the Psychophysiology, Intersectionality, Latine, & Acculturative Science (PILAS) lab, where his innovative and interdisciplinary methods serve as the foundation for a versatile community of researchers. The PILAS lab seeks to understand how bilingual and bicultural individuals navigate the world using psychophysiological methods like EEG testing, which measures reactions in the brain through the recording of brain waves and electrical patterns. This data is interpreted through intersectional research theory which considers the impact of race, culture, sexual orientation, and gender identity on cognition. 

The work of the PILAS lab is seen not only in the research they do, but in what they represent. In a white dominated-field where non-hegemonic identities are disproportionately overlooked in the name of scientific impartiality, the PILAS lab honors and centers those identities in research. “We do a lot of different types of research that fit under the umbrella of what we’re interested in,” Carbajal explained. “We’re consistently trying to find ways to tap into these pieces of culture and to develop more inclusive ways to study them, especially in a field with equipment that wasn’t created to be that way. We aim to make psychological research more inclusive and less exclusionary.”

As lab director, Carbajal ensures that student researchers are given the space and support to explore their own experiences and those of their communities in their research.  “Most psychology research is 10-15 years behind current cultural movements,” Carbajal noted. “In the PILAS lab, we focus mostly on integrating cultural and critical perspectives into our science, especially the perspectives that have been excluded for so long in the research process. I want the work we do in our lab to be meaningful to the people doing it. I think that the passion behind that and the personal investment make for a much richer project. A lot of the research becomes more developed because it allows for more nuance.”

As for the future of the PILAS lab, Carbajal sees it as a mixed effort between him and his students. “I’m starting to focus on the grander context. I can see it moving in a way where I focus on the big picture and my students are focusing on specific pieces within,” he said. “Getting to know the students and getting to talk to them about their experiences at OSU has been one of the most rewarding experiences for me. I push them to be better researchers and they push me to be a better researcher at the same time. I teach them the research methods and they teach me better ways to think about the phenomena that we’re interested in. That's one of my favorite parts of the job.”

“I’m very aware of the responsibility that I have, not just to my students, but to the communities I want to work with as well,” he said. “With research. I need to know that it’s not just taking from them;  I also have to find ways to give back.”