This August, the Principia College men’s soccer team took an eight-day trip to England. Three coaches and seventeen players traveled around the country, holding regular practices and playing matches. “The trip allowed us to start bringing together the core of the team and building a foundation for the new season,” says head coach Vitalis Otieno, expressing gratitude for this time of “working together, being together, training together.”

But of course teambuilding can be done within the borders of the United States. Otieno says his primary goal for traveling abroad was to give his players an understanding of the significance of soccer, something more readily evident in the UK. “[The players] get immersed in soccer culture—living, breathing the game,” he notes. “They can see what it takes to be the player they think they want to be.”

A highlight for many on the trip was taking in a Premiere League opening-day game between Manchester United and Newcastle. “It was euphoric. It was just priceless,” comments Otieno, who openly admits to having done his best to convert his players into Manchester United fans. “The Manchester United game was definitely a highlight for all of us,” confirms Thomas, “whether we were fans or not.” Other memorable experiences included training in professional soccer stadiums with professional soccer club coaches, and meeting Andy Cole (standing in the center of the photo), a former high goal scorer for Manchester United.

Otieno asks his players for “dedication, commitment, and passion.” The trip was meant to develop the third, which he says is critical. “It’s a lot easier to be dedicated, to be committed,” he notes. If Thomas’s experience is any indication, the coach’s goal was met. “[The trip] definitely influenced our mental approach,” he comments. “The activities we did, the teams we played, everything—it was inspirational.”

A member of the College’s Theatre and Dance Department, Steele spent almost her entire summer in workshops and classes or planning her upcoming abroad. First, she headed to New York for a six-day intensive workshop at the Kristin Linklater Center. The workshop focused on voice, body, and textual analysis, all leading to a deeper understanding of Shakespeare’s works.

“[We were] looking at the text in terms of the grammatical structure as opposed to the verse structure,” Steele explains, animatedly describing the different messages conveyed by alternate readings. “Shakespeare gives us so much information if we pay attention to it.”

Steele then returned to the College, where she took part in the first alumni dance retreat, which she describes as “an amazing week of classes, new friendships, and performances.” She also shared some of the ideas gleaned from her Linklater seminar in two workshops on Shakespeare that she and English professor Heidi Snow gave during that reunion weekend.

Next, Steele left on a two-week planning trip for the upcoming England abroad that she and Snow will co-lead in the fall of 2012. Asked about her travels with Steele, Snow responds, “It’s like traveling with the Energizer Bunny! She’s a great colleague because she’s continually creative. In any situation, she sees so many possibilities. And she’s got the energy to implement them.”

After the trip to England, Steele returned home for two days—during which time she worked with the theatre and music departments to select Principia’s next musical—before leaving for Goddard College in Vermont to begin an MFA program in interdisciplinary arts. “My focus will be looking at the intersection of voice, movement, and text in performance,” Steele explains.

Once back from Vermont, Steele found herself in Chicago for two more days of Linklater voice study. For the moment, she’s back at Principia, prepping for the start of fall quarter—one of the few things that can keep her in one place for ten weeks!

Principia College alum and Academy Award-winner Robert Duvall (C’53) introduces the film, which gives you a behind-the-scenes view of the effort and inspiration behind Principia’s remarkable seventh place finish in the 2009 World Solar Challenge, a 1,877-mile race across Australia.

You can link to the schedule anytime from Principia’s homepage (www.principia.edu) or go directly to it at www.principia.edu/solar.

“We have a number of students having some great experiences this summer,” said professor George Cooke, adviser for nine of the ten current mass communication interns. “They are working everywhere from The Mother Church (TMC) in Boston to video production and graphics companies.”

Senior Jamie Eichar (pictured) opted to intern for Fig Media in Chicago, a small company that provides videographers, photographers, and deejays for events. “They’ve given me a full wedding to edit,” said Eichar, excited by the prospect of combining hours of video footage and hundreds of pictures into a polished final product. “I feel like I’m doing real work—not just making coffee.”

Principia senior Andie Raffles, an intern for the National Ice Center, an Olympic training facility in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has been very satisfied with her experience as well. In addition to revamping templates and updating the Center’s website, Raffles was trusted with the task of redesigning their fall/winter brochure from cover to cover. “It was really cool to see the final proof,” Raffles shared. “They’re going to send it out to 1,000 homes!”

Among the many benefits of interning is the possibility of a job offer. This summer, Alex Strezev, who will graduate after completing his internship, was offered a job at Saddle Ranch Productions, a video company based in Beverly Hills. He gladly accepted.

Other locations for mass communication summer internships include JD Designs Group in Hollywood, Saint Louis television station KPLR, Connecticut radio station WEBE, and TMC Youth.

Cooke praised his department’s internship requirement, saying students are getting “real, working-world experience.” Linda Hannan, Principia’s internship coordinator, concurs, noting, “It’s the best way to bridge what you’re learning in school and what you think you want to do afterwards.”

Alumni and friends of Principia often play a key role helping students locate internships. If you’d like to get involved in the process, contact Hannan at linda.hannan@principia.edu.

Principia was the only small, liberal arts college to compete in the race. The other teams came from major universities and engineering programs such as MIT, Michigan, and Stanford in the U.S., and from institutions of similar size and stature in the Netherlands, Japan, Australia, and Germany. Some also had formidable sponsors like Sharp Electronics and the European Space Agency. Of the 33 teams that attempted the race, 10 completed it. Principia was among them, taking seventh place and winning the much-coveted safety award.

The Secrets of Ra 7 begins airing this month on public television stations around the country. (KETC in St. Louis plans to air it in September, but the date has not yet been determined.) Those stations expected to show the film in August and very early September are listed below, but others are being added all the time, so keep an eye on your local listings even if you don’t see your station listed here:

Arizona: KUAS
California: KCSM, KLCS
Florida: WUSF
Hawaii: KHET
Indiana: WIPB
Michigan: WGVK
Nevada: KLVX
New Hampshire: NHPTV
New Jersey: NJN, WNJB, WNJT
North Carolina: UNC­-EX
Ohio: WEAO
Oregon: OPB
Rhode Island: WSBE
Tennessee: WKNO
Texas: KLRU
Utah: KUEN
Wisconsin: WHAD, WHLA, WHRM

Once class members agreed (by majority vote) on the Faculty Development Fund as their gift, a fundraising goal of half a million dollars was set. Thanks to two matching gift programs and a high level of class participation, the group had already exceeded that goal by the time of reunion—and they added even more to it during reunion!

At a special 50^th Reunion dinner hosted by College President Jonathan Palmer and his wife, Sue, Dean of Academics Scott Schneberger thanked class members for their gift: “Your very generous and foresighted Faculty Development Fund will be a gift that keeps giving, exponentially. It will not only provide a yearly amount indefinitely to pay for advanced degree work by faculty but result in further improvements in our academic excellence in the classroom for students—some of whom will continue on to advanced degrees themselves.”

Dr. Schneberger also told reunioners a little about the professors who will receive grants from the Faculty Development Fund this coming year. Here’s a brief synopsis:

• Barry Huff (C’02), an assistant professor in the Religion and Philosophy Department, is pursuing a PhD in Biblical Studies at Union Theological Seminary with a term at Oxford University.
• Chrissy McAllister (C’93), an assistant professor in the Biology and Natural Resources Department, is working on her dissertation on the genetic diversity of cultivated plants as part of the completion of her PhD in biology from St. Louis University.
• Edith List (C’93), a library faculty member, will begin a PhD program in higher education administration at Illinois State University this fall.
• Danne Rhaesa (C’79), an assistant professor in the Art and Art History Department, will begin work on an MFA, the terminal degree for artists, at Southern Illinois University (Edwardsville) this fall.

So much happens in any given year at Principia College . . . from classes, conferences, and sporting events to theater productions, social activities, metaphysical gatherings, and global travels. Even to summarize such diverse, learning adventures, we’d need at least 100,000 words! So, here you are—100 pictures sharing the 2009–10 school year, each worth 1,000 words.

Oliver Herring, a distinguished contemporary artist featured in the PBS series Art:21—Art in the Twenty-First Century, has been helping groups hold TASK parties since 2002. Born in Germany, Herring has a BFA from Oxford’s Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art and works with sculpture, photography, and video.

The basic structure of a TASK party is that participants write tasks on slips of paper, fold them, and place them in a box. The tasks are then drawn by other members of the party who must perform them. Activities can be done alone or with a few others, or they may require all members of the event to participate (e.g. Get everyone to be silent for 20 seconds).

According to Herring, “TASK’s open-ended, participatory structure creates almost unlimited opportunities for a group of people to interact with one another and their environment.”

Creative writing professor Dinah Ryan met Herring during spring break through her work as a critic. With the approach of this quarter’s “Writers and Artists at Work” course, the meeting was serendipitous.

“The basic idea of the Writers and Artists course is that the working practices of writers and artists are influenced by critical thought,” explains Ryan. “Or more simply, it asks, ‘How do ideas determine the way people make things?’”

Senior Courtney McCall, who took the course last spring, enjoyed it so much that she audited it this spring. McCall served as the point person for the TASK party, running class one day, explaining the project to classmates, and arranging logistics. She also e-mailed back and forth with Herring, who graciously agreed to a 50-minute phone conference with the entire class.

The students in the class enjoyed the opportunity to work firsthand with Herring. ”Everyone fell in love with him,” says McCall.

During the conference, Herring encouraged the students to make the event as welcoming as possible and to gather as many materials as they could. Class members brought cardboard, paper, markers, face paint, a set of rollerblades, a camera, makeup, benches, pillows, confetti, and even a Principia go-bike.

The end result was a raucous two hours in Holt Gallery. Students ran platoons, sang favorite songs, told lengthy stories, and even proposed marriage. More important, students thought in new ways, interacted openly and honestly, and learned new things about themselves.

After pulling the task “Find six people and build a pyramid,” Ryan immediately dismissed the idea of forming a human pyramid and instead found six people to help her build a large pyramid out of smaller pyramid-shaped objects. “It pushes you past the threshold of your habitual thinking,” says Ryan.

“So many people involved themselves. And people weren’t judgmental,” comments McCall. “It was wonderful being with everyone—just as bold, just as open with every single person.”

Both McCall and Ryan consider the event a success.

We say Principia is burgeoning with opportunity—if we don’t have it, you can start it. Little demonstrates the truth of that statement more effectively than the Thunder Chickens.

The Thunder Chickens, a club sport begun and run by students, has had increasingly successful seasons the past few years. Not only have the Chickens been winning many of their matches, but they’ve been highly organized. This year marked a big change for the Chickens—the addition of full-time coach Nick Johnson (C’04).

Club teams are generally funded entirely by the players themselves with help from the Student Activities Board (SAB). While Chickens will continue to pay team dues, purchase their own shorts and cleats, and receive funding from SAB, the Athletic Department has graciously agreed to pay Johnson’s salary. According to Johnson, “because the players were serious and demonstrated that they could run an effective team,” the Athletic Department was willing to find and finance a coach.

Johnson has a history with Principia’s rugby team, having played three years as a student and coached on a voluntary basis from 2005 to 2007. Things have changed drastically since he was on the team. “When I played in three seasons, we won three trys (touchdowns),” he recalls. “That’s three scores in twenty games.”

This year, of the 18 regular and tournament games played against collegiate teams and men’s club teams, the Chickens won 11. What’s more, they didn’t lose to a single collegiate team during regular play. “It’s a really exciting time for the program,” says junior James Suber, one of the club’s presidents. “It’s the most competitive we’ve been in a long time.”

Next year will bring still more changes for the Chickens. Previously, the bulk of rugby games have been spring club matches. This coming year, the Chickens will have a full fall season against other collegiate teams. The Chickens are slated to play eight games that will determine who will win the Langenberg Cup and go on to represent the men’s collegiate division of the Missouri Rugby Football Union at the next level of play. To prepare for the season, the Chickens will have their first official pre-fall training camp.

Although the primary team goal remains “have fun,” the Chickens have added “Prepare to win the 2011 Langenberg Cup” to the list. “We’re finding that balance where we’re a serious club sport—we don’t have that quite right yet,” says Johnson.

The Thunder Chickens will be holding an alumni game during homecoming weekend. For more information, contact Nick Johnson at nick.johnson@principia.edu.

There were 11 entries with subject matter ranging from profiles of current students to a fake documentary on present-day Cro-Magnon men. The winning film, produced by junior Jamie Eichar and freshman Philip Riley, was full of whimsical charm. It depicted Riley rescuing a fellow College student from a kidnapper. The film featured no speaking, only overblown expressions reminiscent of 1920s silent films and a song composed by Riley. Minor effects were employed such as stop animation and film played backwards.

Film Club co-president Cory McElrea was pleased with this year’s event, and he’s already looking for ways to improve future festivals. “Awarding cash prizes raised the level of competition,” says McElrea. The winning films were selected based on audience vote, and first through third place prize-winners received $250, $100, and $50, respectively. McElrea is considering alternate options for selecting next year’s winners, such as critics brought in from Saint Louis or an official judging panel.

In an effort to improve the quality of filmmaking equipment available to contestants, the Film Club is allocating funds for a new Canon camera and a shoulder rig. “My focus has been on trying to provide the community with ways to share a love of film,” McElrea explains. “To do that, you have to improve the quality of the work being shared.”

(Photo courtesy of Danilo Prates)