Ruth de Jesus was hired last year as the first diversity and inclusion coordinator at Northland College. De Jesus has spent her adult life working with nonprofits, earned her master of divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary, and has served students of color and advancing equity in higher education. Buckles: What’s on the minds of students…
Karlyn Holman ‘62 opened Karlyn’s Gallery in 1968 in Washburn as a place for potters to hone their trade and sell their wares. In the early days, she taught part-time at Northland College, raised three children, mentored budding potters, and worked at her paintings and business. Fifty years later she’s still going strong, starting her…
Kayte Meola ‘90 is a sociologist, researcher, and educator focused on gender, agriculture, and natural resource management in international development. At Northland, she studied outdoor education with a focus on naturalist studies, then worked as a forest ranger, raft guide, wilderness and international community service trip leader, and environmental educator. Because of her interest in…
Evan Coulson, Bro professor of sustainable regional development, tells a story worth remembering. He was managing the rock climbing and rappelling site at Bob’s Rock in the Chequamegon-Nicolet Forest this past summer for a group of Chicago teens. This outing was part of a collaboration between the Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute and The Center for…
On a parcel of land known as the Maxwell property, a dozen Northland students follow Jon Martin, associate professor of forestry, down a narrow footpath near the winding banks of the White River. These students are in the Sustainable Forest Management May Term course and are using the Maxwell property, located ten miles south of…
As an environmental and social justice solutions strategist in Vermont, Jenn Wood ’00 is focused on energy conservation and supporting low-income communities that will be hardest hit by the impacts of climate change. Her consulting practice focuses on realistic, yet timely solutions for individuals, companies, communities, or organizations that can be easily implemented and successful. …
Danny Simpson ’18 worked on his aunt’s organic farm for six years before coming to Northland College, where he has played a major role in the food scene on campus—from managing the gardens to leading food and sustainability initiatives to catering art shows and parties. In April, he was awarded the Student Affairs Division Outstanding…
After college, Audra (Jung) Willing ‘ 05 moved to Seattle to work for the National Outdoor Leadership School as a wilderness field instructor and later as a program supervisor for the mountaineering program. Without Northland, she says she would have likely lived a different life. “I didn’t even know what outdoor education was before Northland,…
Meagan (Wilson) Van Beest ’97 grew up in the apple capital of New York state, near orchards and dairy farms. As a child and a teen, she bagged food alongside her parents at their local food cooperative and spent time with her grandfather who was the president of his dairy cooperative. Van Beest chose Northland…
This past summer Nile Merton ’15 returned to campus to finish a project he started as a student, updating the rain garden at the Larson-Juhl Center for Science and the Environment. At the same time, across campus, junior Shelly Ray started plans for a rain garden for the new Hulings Rice Food Center. In 2018,…
