Our Place in Walla Walla: Jennifer Lopez ’13
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Feature by: Noah Leavitt, College Liaison for Community Affairs
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Name: Jennifer Lopez
Class year: 2013
Current job: Alumni Relations and Donor Engagement at Walla Walla Community College Foundation
Early last Tuesday morning, Jennifer and I met in Reid and marveled at the little green shoots we saw popping up all around the building. The ducks greeted us as we walked inside.
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How are you involved in the Walla Walla Valley and in the community?
A lot really stemmed from my upbringing. There was always a big emphasis on community. When my parents immigrated, they came from a communal pueblo in southern Mexico, and so traditionally, when a family was stressed we’d make a meal or do something useful. Or if the church needed to be restored people would come together and provide labor and goods and money together to help. My parents really instilled that sense in me and my siblings. Here in Walla Walla, this manifested first within my family—with aunts, uncles doing home repairs, coming to help us, taking care of the kids—those kinds of supports. Then when I got older, this calling became more faith-based—like we’re staying after church to volunteer at this event or help out with whatever’s needed. In school, “service” was always to meet your volunteer hours. For me, I never saw it as that, but rather as an expectation.
When I became college-aged, my time and focus on college obligations took time away from any community work. I did things now and then, but it wasn’t until after graduation and moving away and establishing myself as an independent professional that I realized I missed what I had learned and done as a younger person. I could do all the “adult” things, but I realized I wasn’t helping other groups out. I wasn’t helping them move toward community well-being.
When I moved back to Walla Walla, it was when Trump was first elected, and it was clear that that was going to hurt our community and especially our community’s immigrants, so I got very involved. I learned a lot from people I hadn’t known before. Neat to see where that need to be involved came from—so many different ways.
Read more.
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Beyond the interview:
Jennifer Lopez will be available for questions and further conversation this Wednesday, March 5, at noon in Reid Campus Center, Room 207. The Career and Community Engagement Center will provide lunch for the first 10 students in attendance. Questions or ideas or accommodation requests? Contact Noah Leavitt at leavitns@whitman.edu.
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Welcome New Staff Members
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Please join us in welcoming the following new Whitman College staff members who started in February:
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- Jennifer Shelepet, Gift and Data Processing Coordinator
- Will Allen, Collections Archivist
- Cody Tornow, Director of International Student and Scholar Support Services
- Ricardo Sotelo Santoyo, Temporary Assistant Men’s Soccer Coach
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Open Budget Forums This Week
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There are additional opportunities this week to hear from President Sarah Bolton and Vice President for Finance and Administration Jeff Hamrick and provide feedback on the budget reduction proposals.
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- Tuesday, March 4, at 4 p.m. (open to students, faculty and staff)
- Wednesday, March 5, from 10–11 a.m. (open to staff)
- Faculty are also holding discussions in division meetings.
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The Whitman community is also invited to submit their feedback through an anonymous survey—open through Monday, March 10.
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Learn About the Watson Fellowship on Wednesday
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The Career and Community Engagement Center will host two events related to the prestigious Watson Fellowship on Wednesday, March 5. The events will feature three Watson fellows: Katie Jose ’23, Annie Means ’22 and Cameron Conner ’20. (Flyer attached.)
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The Watson Fellowship offers graduating seniors $40,000, health insurance, 12 months of student loan payments and the opportunity to engage their deepest interest on a global scale.
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Series of Talks on Impacts of Mega Mining
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The Center for Global Studies and Politics Department will host a series of talks titled “Critical South-North Dialogues on Mining Extraction and the Energy Transition.” The series will explore the impacts of the mega-mine “Mirador” in the southern Ecuadorian Amazon.
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- Wednesday, March 5, from 5–7:30 p.m. in Maxey 306
Speaker: Luis Sánchez
- Wednesday, March 12, from 5–7:30 p.m. in Maxey 306
Speaker: William Sacher
- Wednesday, April 2, from 5–7:30 p.m. in Maxey 306
Speaker: Michelle Báez
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Public Talk Reimagining Border Crises on Thursday
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Lisa Flores, the Josephine Berry Weiss Chair of the Humanities and Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Penn State, will deliver a public talk titled “Spectacular Urgencies and Quotidian Lives: Reimagining Border Crises through Black ‘Aliveness’” on Thursday, March 6, at 5 p.m. in Olin Auditorium. (Flyer attached.)
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Photo (Abby Spaulding ’28): At recent home basketball games, the Sorority & Fraternity Life community participated in Penny Wars—raising and donating more than $500 to the Huntsman Cancer Institute, Sigma Chi’s philanthropy of choice.
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Reid Campus Center, All Faiths Room
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Sherwood Athletic Center, Multipurpose Gym
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Reid Campus Center, Lower Level
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Cordiner Hall [community event]
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Baker Center, Board Room (RSVP)
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Penrose Library, Lounge ’41
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Hunter Conservatory, Kimball Theatre
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Reid Campus Center, Lower Level
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Reid Campus Center, Young Ballroom
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Reid Campus Center, Lower Level
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Reid Campus Center, All Faiths Room
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Reid Campus Center, Room 207
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Reid Campus Center, Queer Resource Center
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Reid Campus Center, All Faiths Room
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Harper Joy Theatre, Freimann Studio
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Welty Student Health Center
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McNary National Wildlife Refuge
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Hall of Music, Chism Recital Hall
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Hall of Music, Chism Recital Hall
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Harper Joy Theatre, Freimann Studio
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Reid Campus Center, Lower Level
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Harper Joy Theatre, Freimann Studio
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Harper Joy Theatre, Freimann Studio
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Reid Campus Center, All Faiths Room
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Harper Joy Theatre, Freimann Studio
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Hall of Music, Chism Recital Hall
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Would you like to share an event with campus? Submit the information to the Events Calendar.
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Whitman Today is emailed to Whitman College staff, faculty and students each weekday during the academic year and twice a week during breaks. An archive of previous issues is available online.
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