She’s been at home in San Jose with her parents, brother, cousin, two dogs, and pet chickens since University of Puget Sound classes went online in March. So, when the Matelich Scholar decided to start a new project she called Mask-ER-Aid, coordinating the production of personal protective equipment (PPE) for essential workers at a nearby hospital, it felt right that it was a family effort.
With Marvel’s Iron Man VR, this Logger has transformed a comic book icon into the hero of a virtual reality game.
Carroll’s current research explores the central role that science fiction fan culture has played in the resurgence of white nationalism. Another of his projects examines what it means to be a geek and how those qualities are seen in modern society. As a visiting professor in Puget Sound’s English department, he asks students to approach his classes with the same openness and creativity found in his research.
Now, as a clinical assistant professor in Puget Sound’s Master of Education in counseling program and a marathon runner, she coaches future counselors by building personal connections and encouraging self-reflection.
For hundreds of thousands of people, it is a source of industry, sustenance, livelihood, and recreation. For painter and Professor of Art and Art History Elise Richman, it is also a source of inspiration.
When she’s not cultivating squash and cabbage in her garden, Megan Gessel is tending to the next generation of scientists. As associate professor of chemistry, she recognizes the immense role that student researchers play at a small school like Puget Sound. Gessel not only aims to help students understand this important role they play, but also encourages them to pursue research by making chemistry more than a series of lectures and truly a journey of discovery.
Cain’s grandparents had instilled in her the importance of education, and she attended a reputable Iowa private school through eighth grade. But Cain says her stubborn independence and desire to be an “emancipated adult” by high school led her down a different path. She became a mother while still a teenager, and found a job tending bar at night so she could be with her child during the day. “Eventually, I was a bartender with three children and an expiring marriage,” she says. “I tried over and over again to return to school; it just wasn’t feasible.”
