Annie Shactman Loomis Chaffee GESC

My Global & Environmental Identity

  • My understanding of being a global and environmental citizen is actively trying to make our planet a more sustainable, equitable, and kinder place. Embracing these objectives will allow me to act as an agent for change to help solve environmental and global problems. In other words, I want to help change the world, and with that comes great responsibility. However, in order to change the world, we need one to inhabit. Therefore, I deeply care about the impact and issues surrounding climate change and what that means for our future and the future of our planet. My passion is to educate, inform, and help solve the rapidly emerging issue of climate change, and being a GESC student is the first step.
  • Throughout my life, I have been blessed enough to travel and experience the beauty of our diminishing natural world. I was lucky enough to be a part of a semester school in Leadville, Colorado, called the High Mountain Institute (HMI). This semester school specialized in taking students on weeklong backpacking trips through the Rockey Mountains and the canyons of Utah. As someone who had never backpacked before, I was forced to embrace the experience and the serenity that nature brought. When I returned from HMI, a fire within me lit, and it burned for adventure. This led me to embark on an Alvord Center sponsored trip to Italy, where we emersed ourselves in local culture and nature. Through these experiences, I realized that due to our warming world, these breathtaking places, like the rolling hills of Sardinia or Jacobs Chair Utah, would soon disappear. To save these places and experiences, climate change must be a more prevalent issue.
  • GESC Goals: To help make Loomis a more sustainable and eco-friendly environment and to better the community both through physical and social aspects.
  • To the left is an image of me climbing a tree. I have also loved the environment, even from a young age.

Global & Environmental Resume

GESC-designated Courses

  • World History: Systems of Justice & Injustice (9)
  • Ceramics I (9)
  • Civilizations That Changed the World (10)
  • The Middle East: A History of Peace & Conflict (10)
  • CL Environmental Science (11)
  • Philosophy of Nonviolence (10)
  • CL History Seminar: Immigration & Ethnicity in the United States (12)
  • CL Social Science Seminar: Globalization (12)
  • CL Statistics (12)
  • Spanish V: Cinema (12)
  • CL English IV: Literature & the Environment (12)

Elective Courses

  • GESC Elective Course: CL Social Science Seminar: Globalization (12). This class educated me about cultural globalization, global economies, and the ways in which individuals, communities, and countries are connected on a global scale. We also learned about the connections and interconnectivity between globalization and the environment. The class was the epitome of the confluence between being a global citizen and an environmental citizen.

GESC Experiential Education

  • Italy: For my GESC experiential education trip, I was lucky enough to travel to Rome and Sardinia, Italy. We learned about Blue Zones which are geographic regions where people live longer, healthier lives than the average individual community. They have high populations of centenarians, which are people who live 100 years or more. On this trip, we explored an actual Blue Zone and were able to learn about their daily lifestyles, diet, and home cultures. The trip was an unforgettable experience filled with great food, sights, people, and Italian bliss.

If applicable ...

  • High Mountain Institute (HMI): Students who attend the HMI Semester school live on a campus surrounded by curious and ambitious peers in sustainable, off-the-grid cabins, while completing a rigorous academic course load. Unique to HMI, students spend twelve weeks learning on campus and then four weeks of the semester backpacking in the mountains of Colorado and the canyons of Utah. The classes are taught to engage students with real-world problems and HMI utilizes a place-based educational model. The teachers also lead the expeditions, creating a close community. The image to the right was taken during one of our expeditions after summiting Mt. Massive, the second-largest mountain in Colorado.
  • Environmental Proctor: Since sophomore year, I have been an Environmental Proctor (E-Proctor) for my work job. I have contributed to making Loomis a more sustainable place by working on decreasing food waste, helping promote upcycling and reuse initiatives, and helping in the greenhouse. I have advocated for making Loomis a more eco-friendly and environmentally cautious place.

Learning Artifacts

GESC Coursework

  • Assignment Prompt From CL Literature and the Environment: "For this assignment, you will write and revise a curated collection of 3 Winter Walks poems, in the style/spirit of Ted Kooser’s 'Winter Morning Walks'. Accompanying this collection, you will write a 2-3 page explication that explains and analyzes some of the poetic choices you made in crafting your own poems, exploring connections (or disconnections) between those choices and thematic or formal elements we’ve discussed with the Kooser poems."
  • Winter Walking Poems: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QS4VL5ZNm4iENlcs7Qwk3JgqnF5UsZnetQHkL1Y0zBo/edit?usp=sharing.
  • This assignment connects to the Alvord Center Matrix because it focuses on personal engagement and interaction with our environments. It connects to the key elements of the GESC program by enhancing understanding and developing skills through poetry and a unique style of writing that is intertwined with the outdoors and our surroundings.

GESC Seminars

  • Seminar #2: In GESC Seminar #2, we were able to travel to New Britain, Connecticut to meet and interact with members of the Islamic Association of Central Connecticut. This trip enhanced my understanding of immigration and the global community by allowing me to hear about the real experiences of either people who immigrated to America or of people whose parents immigrated to America. I grew an understanding of how the American lifestyle is so different from others around the world. Having the opportunity to talk to other girls my age put into perspective just how lucky I am to grow up in a country like America and that I should be more grateful for the opportunities that would not be available to me in other countries. When we were sitting at dinner, the conversation somehow ended on the topic of marriage, and the girls explained to us that when they get engaged, the man must pay his fiancé a certain amount of money. The girls in the association saw this as the man showing the woman her worth and that she was valuable, but my first thought was that the man was in a way, buying the woman. This cultural difference highlighted the importance of developing empathy for other perspectives. It is important to understand other people's ideals and how their experiences impact them. As a Global and Environmental Scholar, it is essential to value cultural differences and embrace different perspectives. The experience with the women at the Islamic Association made me want to educate myself further on different cultures and values that may not be as important in America but are vital to other global communities.
  • Seminar #4: For my GESC Seminar #4, I attended a Courageous Conversation with Robin Okunowo about environmental justice. Robin is an advocate for environmental and social justice in all facets of life and this event focused on providing students with the historical background and tools to integrate social activism and justice into future climate work. Robin discussed with us the “5 Elements” of environmental justice which are Earth, Wind, Air, Fire, and Heart. She mentioned that the climate is neutral but the systems we have set up aren't, and therefore, action must be taken. Within the Alvord Center Engaged Citizen Matrix, one of the aspects is to 'Take Action’ and to engage in civil discourse to raise awareness and promote understanding, which felt like the purpose of this discussion. Robin explained how you cannot separate people from the planet, so you can't have social justice without environmental justice. In this conversation, we also learned how to develop skills and seek and identify opportunities to create change because the power for change is ours to use. Robin uses her power as a part of the Captain Planet Foundation and by traveling to schools to educate the youth on the issues of climate change and how that impacts minorities. The impact she creates has inspired me to find ways to take action in my community.
  • Your post-seminar reflections from Seminar #2, #4 and #5 assignment. Note that we may ask you to revisit/revise your writing as your portfolio comes together.

GESC Electives

CL Social Science Seminar: Globalization
  • This image above is of me and some of my classmates noticing a beautiful Loomis sunset. While at dinner, talking about our GESC class, Globalization, we noticed the sunset and went outside to admire it. The class focused on globalization and the interconnectedness of global issues, and the image above was taken after a simulation of a "World Climate Summit" we hosted. The class was split into groups that each had a specific goal they aimed to get out of the summit in regards to climate change. We had worn business attire to appear professional and to demonstrate how deeply we cared about the impending issue of climate change and the urgency of solving the problem.

GESC Experiential Education

Italy International Education Program
  • On the right side of the collage, is an image of me getting ready to throw a coin into the Trevi Fountain. A legend states that throwing a coin into the fountain with your right hand over your left shoulder will ensure your return to Rome. Although the fountain was crowded, it was beautiful, and I hope to return someday.
  • In the top left corner, there is an image of me in a confession booth at the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City. Although I am Jewish, I decided to go into the confession booth and make a confession, because "When in Rome!" It was an original and unforgettable experience for me.
  • Next to this image at the top, is a photo of the Coliseum. It had poured while we had waited to enter the historical site, so many tourists had cleared out. When the rain stopped and we were finally able to see the monument from the inside, there was a sense of serenity and genuineness in its ruins. The sun peeked through the structures' holes, showcasing its historical glory.
  • The final image, in the bottom left, was taken in the mountains of Sardinia when we stayed in yurts. The sun was setting over the vast rolling hills and farmland that made Sardinia so beautiful. The lush greenery and stunning landscape allowed Sardinia to have such a robust agricultural system, leading to the longevity of its people. I remember this beautiful sunset because of how its ability to highlight such a beautiful place.

Capstone Project

Loomis Chaffee Community Dorm Snack Project: https://lcdormsnack.weebly.com/

Project rationale

  • For many reasons, this project is important to the Loomis Chaffee community, myself, and my project partners, Adrienne Hodson and Charlotte Millman. The project was inspired by our International Education Program (IEP) trip to Rome and Sardinia, Italy. Sardinia is a Blue Zone which is a population that has lower rates of chronic illness and longer life expectancies, attributed in part to diet, exercise, and other community lifestyle factors. On our trip, we noticed how the confluence of close communal environments and local foods, created a healthy lifestyle. On campus, we were able to combine these two aspects by gathering local ingredients and cooking a dorm snack as a community, which helped bring people together and strengthen relationships through our project. We brought local and sustainable food into dorms and created an educational and inclusive environment while simultaneously enjoying each other's company and delicious food.

Target Audience

  • Our project targeted the dorms on the Loomis Chaffee campus. Our project worked specifically with upperclassmen girl's dorms, but we hope that our project will continue and will be replicated throughout all of the dorms. Our project helps build community within the dorms. It also educates people on the importance of local foods and eating local when possible. At each event, we brought flyers for the local farms where we sourced our ingredients. We also made it clear that communal engagement and local foods make a healthier lifestyle altogether, and the people who attended our events were able to see firsthand how an interactive and sustainable cooking experience can positively impact a community.

Project Process

  • Once we decided on our capstone project, we began by reaching out to dorm heads to see when we could hold a dorm snack event and by reaching out to local farms to see what products were in season. After deciding our products from local farms would be milk, eggs, cheese, butter, and syrup, we decided the events would cook “breakfast for dinner” inspired snacks of pancakes, waffles, and scrambled eggs. Once we had dates for our event in the dorms, we got the ingredients so that they were fresh. To prepare for the events, we made informational flyers about the products and farms we utilized and about the point of our project. We also made surveys for the residents of the dorms to fill out after the event, so we could get feedback and see if the event was a success. We hosted the event during late-night dorm check-in so that when people came downstairs to check in, they could help cook, connect with other people, and enjoy a freshly cooked snack. We encouraged dorm residents to help make the batters and manage the stove so that everyone was naturally involved. We wanted it to feel like a communal event that brought people together, so we brought the ingredients and educational aspects, but hoped that everyone else in the dorm would rely on each other to make the night a success – and it worked! People in the dorms helped each other make the night a fun and positive bonding experience.

Visual Interests

  • To the left, there is an image of the event we hosted in Palmer Dorm, a girl's upperclassman dorm. This was our first event and it was a success. There are residents of the dorm at the stove making eggs, pancakes, and waffles, and other residents are mingling, enjoying their food, and the company of others. As you can see, the camera caught me off guard, but everyone else is engaged and enjoying themselves, which is all that matters!
  • For more images and information about our events, go to our website.
  • https://lcdormsnack.weebly.com/.

Project Reflection (To be written upon conclusion of your Capstone, 250-300 words)

  • The four key values of the Alvord Center Matrix are seeking knowledge, enhancing understanding, taking action, and developing skills. Our Community Dorm Snack Project did its best to embrace these key values. To seek knowledge, I went on an IEP to Rome and Sardinia, Italy, where we studied Blue Zones and what a healthy local lifestyle includes. To enhance our understanding, my project partners and I researched local farms near Loomis and educated ourselves on the benefits of being active, engaged, and local with our daily practices. To take action, we hosted events throughout Loomis dorms and came together as residential communities to cook using local foods, enjoy each other's company, and adopt habits inspired by environmental and global influence. To develop skills, we cooked “breakfast for dinner” with our local ingredients and had everyone in the dorms help.
  • This project helped me grow as a global and environmental scholar because I got to use what I learned from my international education trip and combine it with sustainable foods. This intersection allowed me to grow as a scholar because I took inspiration from another culture and reshaped it to benefit as an aspect of something in my local life. It is important to see the world through different lenses and then use varying perspectives to enact positive change, and this project allowed me to do that. My project partners and I were able to directly impact over 100 people through our events, and then an even greater amount of people through articles and our website, which allowed us to spread the important values of community and sustainable practices to a wide audience. We hope that when we are gone, our project will continue to be talked about and hosted throughout the dorms. To ensure our events will be held for years, we met with the dorm heads and asked that our project continue, even when we are gone next year.

GESC Reflection

I have changed significantly from when I first enrolled in the Global and Environmental Studies Certificate (GESC) Program, but that is the whole point of completing this process. The Alvord Center Matrix and the GESC Program are a tool students can take advantage of to help further their identity as global and environmental scholars. In my initial statement of intent for this program, I wrote that I wanted to gain a “larger understanding of my environmental passions” through this process, and I have been able to do just that. I have taken classes that sparked new interests, experienced new cultures that grew my perspective, and embraced a capstone project that allowed me to show my passion for the convergence of community and sustainability.

Climate change will affect all of us. It is important to learn from and see the value in other cultures and lifestyles, and how the environment is a constant that unites everyone. It was important for me to embrace the GESC program and the global perspectives it offers while also grounding those differences in our shared environment, so that when I leave Loomis Chaffee and want to create positive change, I can have a better understanding of how to seek knowledge, enhance understanding, take action, and develop skills. As a global and environmental scholar, I have grown into a more passionate and skilled citizen.

Thank You!