Collaborative

Humans of Davidson College

“What makes us human? Storytelling.”

– Professor Carol Quillen

Being Human: Disciplinary Reflections Lecture on September 3rd, 2019

In the beginning of the school year, I joined the Dinner At Davidson Club. This student organization works to raise awareness and funds for the Davidson Trust. In previous years, this organization held an annual dinner on campus to encourage donations and talk about the Davidson Trust. However, this year, the group decided to create an instagram account to highlight stories from individuals on campus. This is an effort to emphasize how the Davidson Trust allows us to build a rich and diverse community of spectacular and interesting humans. In collaborating with other students, faculty and staff, I will be not only working to further the goals of the club, but I will be working to create a space where humans can share their stories and thus, share themselves with others.

I will update this page with the interviews that I personally conduct. However, I recommend reading the other interviews on the instagram page as well.

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“I’ve been a member of the Department of Biology at Davidson since 1998 and can’t imagine a better place to be. When I interviewed for my job, someone remarked that the best part of Davidson is the sense of community that exists here. My initial thought was, ‘Yeah, right. That’s just a line.’ Now, all these years later, I say the exact same thing whenever a visitor asks me what makes Davidson special. Our community truly is remarkable. And the community includes all of us – students, faculty, staff, and residents of the town. We’re all working together, with a shared purpose, helping each other every step of the way. Indeed, my fondest memories have nothing to do with biology or the classroom. Rather, my most meaningful memories all involve community. A shared coffee at Summit. Dinner at Warner Hall. A casual walk across campus with a group of students. Davidson isn’t perfect. But it’s pretty good!”

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“In 2016, my family went to a presentation at the National Geographic Museum in D.C. about Jordan and its recently established hiking trail called the Jordan Trail. Before going to the presentation, I didn’t know anything about Jordan, and I think, because of the way we talk about it in the US as being so dangerous, I never really thought about the Middle East as a destination. However, this presentation showed me a glimpse of Jordan’s beauty. My senior year, when I was thinking about taking a gap year, I decided that I wanted to spend some of that year in Jordan. So I hiked the Jordan Trail with my dad for twelve days. In high school, I had done day hikes and I liked spending time outside, but I had never done anything like this. The Jordan trail is not man-made. There are no signs or physical markers– instead, you hike based on coordinates throughout the country. We were literally walking through the desert, surrounded by huge expanses of sand. I was completely removed from my world and my life at home which forced me to always be present. Being so present and immersed in such a beautiful place was so special and strengthened my passion for the natural environment.”

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Mara: “We grew up going to a French immersion school. In France, circus arts are a big deal, so there was an after school program at our school called Lone Star Circus. We joined when we were in the second grade and we grew up with the circus. My act is the walking ball. It’s like a giant cement rolling ball and I hula hoop and juggle on it.” Erin: “The best way to explain it is that we’re acrobats. I do the trapeze, like falls, balancing, and splits on the bar.” Mara: “Growing up, we used to train and perform in shows, spending days working. And then we would also be contracted for outside work. The circus company was hired to put on shows at restaurants, 5Ks, and we even performed once during halftime at a Mavericks game.” Erin: “Once we were in high school, we transitioned from performing to coaching circus instead. It was a great place to grow up. You learn confidence. You get past the nervousness to put yourself on stage. The circus is kinda like a big family. You learn to be a part of this bigger unit.”

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