Practicum

My Practicum included studying abroad in Singapore and exploring the culture and festivals of this eclectic city. To start I investigated different festivals, both in Singapore and in other countries. Through my time in Singapore, I was able to explore the culture of the city through visiting the iconic sites and talking with locals. Upon returning, I embarked on a research project, learning more of the “factual” side of Singapore, comparing the city I saw to what I can research. From that I developed the During and After assignments. Through researching the city and experiencing the city I was able to gain a much deeper understanding and appreciation of my host city. You can see my Practicum here: https://peterreasoner.wixsite.com/retepsworld

I have had a passion for architecture and design my entire life; as a result, I decided to investigate the use of architecture as a tool to further political ideologies and agendas, specifically in Denmark. To begin, I developed a research paper that outlined and analyzed the ways in which architecture has historically been used by political bodies to emotionally and psychologically influence their audience. I then studied abroad for the semester in Aarhus, Denmark, where I applied the ideas discovered in the paper. After applying the same ideas to the structures in Aarhus (and a couple around Denmark), I developed a sort of photo journal that analyzed the use, influence, and purpose of architectural choices and elements in the context of Danish societal and political goals. Immersing myself in the culture and personally experiencing the structures and their interaction with the surrounding environment allowed for a more in-depth and valuable practicum. This truly was an incredible experience that had personal value far beyond my expectations and deliverables.

My practicum was an investigative exploration of the exotic pet industry in the United States. I started my exploration by compiling information on laws, definitions, and statistics. I created parameters and definitions of my own to work with, as some terms I had to work with were rather subjective, such as “domestic” and “exotic”. I then began seeking out interviews with people involved with the exotic pet industry, such as those who own exotic pets and even a private zoo owner with hundreds of animals. I also visited a wide variety of exotic pet stores. During these outings and interviews, I paid the most attention to quality of care and the “why” of keeping the vast array of beautiful animals encompassed within the exotic pet industry. My “big finale” was when I attended the Nashville Exotic Pet Expo and to capture footage and gain a true understanding of the people who keep exotic animals, for better or for worse. All of my experiences were synthesized into a 50-minute documentary. I believe that this documentary encourages people to think critically about the commodification of complex, need-intensive animals and why we have such a fascination with wild animals. 

https://avadriscollwbl.wixsite.com/altpetsproject

My Practicum experience took me from Copper Mountain Ski Resort to Highway 114 over the course of 20 days. I crossed rivers and climbed peaks, all the while exploring who I was and what nature had to offer me. About half of the trip was spent alone, with occasional “good morning” calls from squirrels and one really good conversation with a marmot. The other half of the trip was spent with some of my closest friends and family. As much fun as I had, the trip had two clear intentions from the start. The first was to explore the ways in which humanity connects with nature in the hopes of revealing why American society loves to get outside. The second was to allow my mind to wander the trails my legs couldn’t quite take me on with the dream of being able to communicate why nature is so special to me. I sought answers to my questions both on the trail but also in a plethora of books, ranging from memoirs to poetry to history. I was even so inspired by the literature I read, that I produced my own works of poetry to commemorate and reflect on the trip. While my realizations about nature have years of refinement ahead of them, I’ve come to the conclusion that nature is special because it’s one of the few places where we can be ourselves without influence or recourse. Joy, exhaustion, excitement, adventure, awe, fear, nerves. Nature lets us experience all of it while showing us who we truly are. For more insight into my trip, visit my blog here.

His Practicum:

For this practicum, I took my own personal experiences of foreign travel, that of study abroad in Japan and the Nepal Hike for Help trip, and attempted to write stories which held some connection between the experiences. In other words, I wanted the stories of both Nepal and Japan to have overlaps and connections. The connection piece was shown more clearly through song. For each set of stories, I wrote a set of lyrics as well as well guitar (and eventually production) which encapsulated some of the emotional experiences and lessons learned while living these stories. Although based around reality, much of the stories were also fictionalized to provide greater depth to the writing. To showcase the pieces and music, a website was made where all of the writing was stored and audio files for the music were embedded. In addition, voice overs of the stories were made to provide a fully audio based experience when moving through them (incomplete at the time of writing this, hopefully done at the time of you reading this). The stories are placed in a specific order, but the order in which they’re read doesn’t really matter.

Website: https://www.torinj.com/

Email: torinjmusic@gmail.com

Youtube (there’s not much on it yet, but maybe around summer 2021): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0ME7lF6Ge0UfxEcHc60BOw

Her Practicum:

Interested in exploring the nuances of animal welfare, I spent ten weeks in the Netherlands and volunteered at a seal rescue center called Zeehondencentrum. Needless to say, it was an absolutely amazing experience!  Not only do I now have an inordinate amount of seal knowledge, but I also learned so much about myself and the relationship between humans and nature. While at the center, I had the opportunity to speak with the seal nurses, observe a pod of seals in their natural habitat, clean seal enclosures (lots of cleaning), and even hold seal pups during umbilical cord checks. After returning from the Netherlands, I wrote and self-published a short story which summarized my biggest takeaways from the experience. Overall, my practicum taught me both the good and more challenging aspects of animal rehabilitation, and I now have a new appreciation for seals, animals, and nature.

Contact Info: lillywilson@mines.edu

For my practicum, I wanted to investigate the world of fashion and the value that goes into fashion design. I was very lucky to be able to accompany a traveling McBride class on their trip to London, one of the world’s fashion capitals. While I was there, I toured different design studios as well as several fashion exhibits at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Upon my return to Mines, I used some of the new skills I acquired to create a piece of clothing inspired by values I see exhibited on the Mines campus. I am very happy with my project because not only do I have a new piece of clothing to wear out and about, but I also discovered the world is a big place and I can’t wait to explore more of it! 

Here’s the link to my blog. Everything should be up and running now:

https://ldambra1781.wixsite.com/ingenium-fashion

I went to Nepal to utilize various technologies in conjunction with monkhood practices to create a documentary that explored the possibilities of elevating age-old philosophies with modern ‘spirit tech’ (brain reading, writing, VR) devices.

Website and DocuLink: 
https://jasonleeresume.net/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4CKj5Ng6kM&t=1635s&ab_channel=JasonLee

Inspiration Links: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nG_chQK9iGc&t=669s
https://www.amazon.com/Spirit-Tech-Consciousness-Enlightenment-Engineering/dp/1250274931
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdGC-xzIGEA&t=146s&ab_channel=100huntley

I noticed sometime at the beginning of the Fall 2022 semester that I was spending a lot of time on my phone (predominately social media). Accompanying this increase in social media usage I also noticed a rise regarding my dissatisfaction in my own mental and physical health. For my Practicum I set out to conduct an experiment with myself as the test subject in order to qualitatively and quantitatively describe the effects of social media on my own mental and physical wellbeing.

For my practicum I did an investigation of the Norteño culture of Northern New Mexico by researching the history of the area as well as interviewing family members that have spent their lives there. I focused my investigation around the central themes of sense of place, familial structure, and shared values. What I found was that the cultural identity of Norteños was centered around a strong connection to the land that have been rooted in hundreds of years of survival and farming dating back to Spanish conquistadores and Native Puebloans. I was also reminded of the importance of family gatherings and the cohesion of a family unit based on mutual respect and loyalty. Lastly, the aforementioned themes were tied together in shared values of land stewardship, family above all, and the preservation of our culture and language. I had a great time completing this practicum and hope to continue my investigation in the future as well as document my journey for others to explore and learn about my home and people.

Website: https://nortenonuevo.weebly.com

For my practicum I wanted to explore three different cultural hubs around the Denver area, including Lebanese, Ethiopian, and Cuban cultures. Exploring the idea of the authenticity of these restaurant’s dishes through a variety of different lenses. I wanted to have a conversation with them over food that allowed me to hear and experience their culture. Those conversations then helped me open a doorway into their culture in Denver and give me more insights into how this cultural hub formed in Denver. Through this experience, was able to “explore my world” without leaving the Denver area and help guide people on how to do the same in other areas. Feel free to explore my website here: https://startranchvet.wixsite.com/my-site

My name is Charles Nissen, and my practicum was how flow state  impacts my every-day life, in an experimental manner. I started with the Introduction and a heavily researched topic regarding the psychological phenomena that Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi introduced, and the impact it had on athletes, musicians, and artists. From there, I started creating scientific articles about my experiences with flow-state, taking note of the initial conditions and variables, in every experience. I then compiled these experiences into a lab-report style of conclusion to publish my findings in a manner that was easy to follow for the general public, so that any user can take my experiences and help incorporate these causes of flow-state in their life.