Slide 1: Welcome! I can’t tell you how exciting it is to have so many of my
favorite people in the same room.
Most of you know me, but for those of you who’ve come with friends, I’ll
introduce myself.
I’m Andi Gomoll, and I’m a senior Ole with a major in the Center for
Integrative Studies. The title of my independent major is Growing Up in
America: A Systems Thinking Approach. It’s a combination of ideas from
the fields of Anthropology, American Studies, Psychology, and Education,
and it has grown to consider the complexities of developing a sense of self
and identity in this country—particularly in our American education system.
I’d like to use this presentation to tell you first about the questions and
events that led to this major, and move on to share with you a few of the
considerations that came from my independent study and experiential
learning opportunities—moving finally to tell you about the work of my
Senior Project and how it fits in with where I’m headed after graduation.
But before I get into all of that, I want to start somewhere simpler. I want to
start with stories.
****
As I participated in daunting interviews, applications, and conversations
about my “future” this past Fall, I spent a lot of time thinking about my
story.
I spent a lot of time thinking about all of your stories too—about why we tell
them, who we tell them to, and where they take us.
My major is about identity and connections and thinking in systems, but it’s
also about something simpler: storytelling.
Slide 2: Whitefish Bay/ My House
When I was a little girl growing up in Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin, I used to
ask myself again and again; “who am I ?” until the question no longer made
sense.
That question didn’t go away. Our generation faces it each and every day.
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Slide 3: Image of “Who Am I?”
We are confident and fear-filled and optimistic and hopeless all at the same
time as we fill in its “answer lines.”
We are faced with conflicting messages as we attempt to define ourselves in
these years that we’ll look back on fondly.
We are told to be our resumes, to devote time to friends, to play, to engage
in our communities, to learn holistically, and to memorize. We flip through
Facebook albums to prove that we are who we want to be.
We wonder about our power and our privilege and our histories.
We are approached often with the tension that exists between expressed and
operative values—the things we say we want and the things we do.
We feel lost as we recognize the injustices of our world and our inability to
tackle all of them.
Our expressed values are filled with lots of isms: Environmentalism,
optimism, feminism, globalism, romanticism… We are verbal about our
belief in things like tolerance, justice, sustainability and peaceable living.
However, the values that we live through our actions are also isms. These
include consumerism, narcissism, and corporatism. We don’t feel that we
can take on every cause, but we do our best to at least talk about all of them.
We’re not sure about what “difference” we can really make, but we still
hope to make one.
****
My mind has wound around these contradictions for the past four years. I
have had the opportunity to follow my interests through the Center for
Integrative Studies while developing a wide base of knowledge and theory.
This journey has shaped my vision of “education” and its true purpose.
Slide: Storytelling
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In my experience on the Hill, my stories have become intertwined with the
stories of my peers, my coaches, my professors, and my family members.
They’re woven in with the stories of the incredible children I’ve tutored, the
organizations I’ve joined, and each and every one of the assignments I’ve
read or presented or written (whether I enjoyed them or not.)
We learn as much from each other as we do from our textbooks and lectures
and tests. We are a culture filled with hidden curriculums. These
curriculums became the content of my major.
Through my CIS Major, I have been able to take my own story and
understand it in many contexts—using personal experience as a way to
understand American identity in a broader sense.
****
So, after all of this introduction, where did my independent major start?
Jim Farrell (Slide image of these two)
In my first year at St. Olaf, while navigating the inner workings of Pause
Dances, sledding on cafeteria trays, and shifting groups of friends, I learned
the art of “dense facting” via American Conversations program. I was
captivated by the genius of professors Jim Farrell and Gary Gisselmann.
The strangely conjugated verb “to dense fact” is an expression for seeing the
connections in everyday life. It was everything I wanted from education in a
nutshell.
The stitching on a pair of blue jeans transformed into a study of department
store history, globalization, and “branded selves.” My dorm room was a
museum. We thought deeply together about what our possessions said about
us. Stories were in everything.
I learned that I could write an informative essay about something as
mundane as a paperclip--because I knew the art of complexifying things, of
systems thinking. I didn’t want the experience to end.
So I kept it going.
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I created my own academic path. I continued to “dense fact.” I took a risk by
creating a major that many would scoff at when I explained it over brunch or
at an event where “so, what’s your major?” is the icebreaker.
****
To give you a general sense of what I actually did in the academic and
experiential work of my major, I’ll share a few of the questions I asked and
topics I considered. I’ll begin with my independent studies—the spaces
where I connected what I was reading and discussing in my classes with my
experience as a college student, current events, and what it means to have a
“sense of place”
Slide: Child Rearing Across Cultures (2011)
 Tom Williamson, Professor of Anthropology
 Child-rearing is a crucial place where humans become socialized into
a particular cultural system. Examining popular parenting texts,
traditions, and myths in several different cultures, Tom Williamson
and I learned about the ways parenting practices shape the process of
becoming American—fears, taboos, hopes and dreams, and economic
constraints and political structures.
 Throughout the semester I participated in multimedia assessment–
including artwork, blog posts, traditional posters, and weekly one-onone discussions. My work with Tom set the tone for my future
independent studies.
 This slide is an art project I did for Tom—featuring a few of our
ongoing questions. ‘’
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Education in the US: Maria Kelly (slide)
This course focused on the hidden curriculum of the American classroom—
exploring the dynamics of sexuality, race, place (urban vs. rural,) and
immigration from the perspectives of teachers and their students.
In my final project, I outlined my own “utopian” education system–
acknowledging that this ideal may never be achieved, but that it is a good
start to laying groundwork in my lifetime for a better future education
system.
In conversation with Tom’s IS, I was able to think more holistically about
the experience of children in US education.
This course allowed me to take my own experience growing up in a very
privileged and very white school district…more on this later.
Emerging Adulthood, Electronics and the Environment (slide)
* CURI 2011 with Jim Farrell
- The concept of Emerging Adulthood asserts that the current
“Millennial” generation is taking longer to reach socially accepted
“life stages” like marriage, home ownership, and “settling down”
than any generation before them. In our research, we studied this
psychological theory with Generation M’s electronic use, political
engagement, and environmental perspective in mind.
- In the subgroups of electronics, politics, and environmentalism, we
found that Emerging Adults experience a series of conflicting
messages from society about how to behave. These messages form
a complex series of contradictory feedback loops–leading
Emerging Adults to remain politically disengaged. If Emerging
Adulthood were understood in terms of feedback loops and as a
time period for developing civic responsibility, we might see a
positive transformation in American society.
- This literature review got me thinking about social change and the
potential college students hold for it.
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SustainAbilities- CURI 2012 (slide)
* SustainAbilities was an opportunity to engage college students on our own
campus—giving them a voice in the environment around them.
This year the college initiated a student-led co-curricular sustainability
education program.
The SustainAbilities initiative, which spans all four years of the
undergraduate experience, is integrated into residence life through
SustainAbility representatives located in each residence hall. SustainAbilities
helps students to see the environmental politics of everyday life, develop
transition skills from college to what comes next, learn from inevitable
failures, and understand the importance of communication and collaboration
for social change.
The mission is to expose students to sustainability as they journey through
their four years at St. Olaf--cultivating a sense of place that begins with their
everyday lives on campus, extending outward to the greater global
community.
This past summer’s CURI research work on the SustainAbilities program
included research to examine sustainability efforts at other institutions of
higher education, ongoing conversations with the director of St. Olaf
Residence Life, the production of resources for sustainability
representatives, the creation of a cohesive website showcasing sustainability
efforts on campus and beyond, and the development of a plan for the future.
We hope our research will serve as an example of an interdisciplinary
approach to sustainability education in the coming years.
I’ve been able to continue the exploration begun in this research through my
position as a co-teacher in the innovative Campus Ecology course.
Alongside Jim Farrell, I’m able to continue a tradition begun in 2004 by
fellow CIS Major Elise Braaten—a young woman who envisioned a
democratically run class and made it a reality. Its success became the
inspiration for the SustainAbilities program.
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Sustainability Culture (slide)
Following our work together with SustainAbilities, Jim and I decided to
create an independent study that married the pertinent topic of sustainability
with my passion for early education and fascination with American
parenting styles.
Examining top selling parental advice texts, "mommy blogs," children's
books, and diverse approaches to environmental education in and out of the
classroom, I have worked to identify common environmental messages in
the American child's experience.
Tutoring here and abroad: Experiential Learning (slide)
Once per week while studying abroad in Galway, Ireland, I worked with
Irish primary school students on Math and Reading. This provided
inspiration for my independent major and my future vocation.
The work complemented my experience tutoring 2nd graders at Northfield’s
Greenvale Park Elementary School during my Sophomore, Junior, and
Senior years.
Juxtaposing the experiences in Ireland with those in Minnesota, I gained a
greater understanding of educational systems across countries and cultures.
*****
I’ve chosen to share summaries of these courses with you because they
shaped my major. In each of these experiences I was able to follow my
interests and run with them.
As I explored these questions and topics, I recognized that many of them led
me back to education. I began to see my personal experiences “growing up
in America” in a new light. Here is where storytelling comes back into the
picture…
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Slide: School Bus image.
Growing up in the affluent community of Whitefish Bay, I witnessed
disparities daily in the form of three bright yellow school buses. There was a
clear “achievement gap” in our schools (a concept I understood much better
after classes with Maria Kelly)
For those of you who aren’t familiar with the term “achievement gap,” it is
defined by Education Week as “the disparity in academic performance
between groups of students. The achievement gap shows up in grades,
standardized-test scores, course selection, dropout rates, and collegecompletion rates, among other success measures. It is most often used to
describe the troubling performance gaps between African-American and
Hispanic students, at the lower end of the performance scale, and their nonHispanic white peers, and the similar academic disparity between students
from low-income families and those who are better off.”
In high school, not one black student filled a seat in my AP-level classes.
Even at 18 and in a position of privilege, I was struck by the unmentioned
injustices. Like the “who am I?” question, considerations of race, class, and
privilege would be unpacked at St. Olaf.
But I wanted to take these considerations one step further—channeling them
into something that would influence my postgraduate vocation, and allow
other St. Olaf students to expand upon their interests and questions in the
same way I’ve been able to.
Slide: Students for Education Reform St. Olaf
Last summer, I participated in several education-themed conversations that
took place in the Leaders for Social Change house, an intentional living
community where 10 students participate in nonprofit internships all over
Northfield and live together.
While living there, I gained the opportunity to co-found a chapter of a
national nonprofit organization focused on student voice in education reform
with senior Ole Katie Busch.
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I decided to make this experience into my senior project— creating a
resource guide in my final semester to ensure the organization’s longterm
sustainability.
Throughout this project, I thought about the power of storytelling as a cochapter leader of “Students for Education Reform” or SFER as we like to
call it.
Through this student group, part of a nonprofit organization that uses
student voices on 100 campuses across the country to raise awareness about
achievement and opportunity gaps in education, I have developed my
personal outlook on education reform and brainstormed ways to express my
values in my immediate communities.
Before I take you through the resource guide as a finished product , I’d like
to tell you about SFER’s National mission and how St. Olaf fits in. I’ll do
this by showing you a short presentation we developed to articulate our
group’s mission.
Prezi: SFER
SFER Principles:
 High Expectations
 Quality school choices and community engagement
 Great teachers and leaders
 Rigorous standards and meaningful assessment
 Fiscal transparency and accountability.
 Pretty easy to agree with.
 (Focused on passing education legislation and the advocacy of college
students)
SFER at St. Olaf: unpeeling the layers of the education system
(thinking about what’s at play, and how we feel about it before we
advocate)
Local to Global: Beginning with our St. Olaf community, engaging
the student groups and organizations that are already thinking about
these issues and acting upon them.
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An effort to avoid re-inventing the wheel.
Groups we collaborate with
Members feel ownership: Something we hope to emphasize with the
use of our resource guide. It’s for all members.
What We’ve Done this Year:
- Weekly meetings
- 4 School Tours
- Panel Discussion
- Guest Speakers (CSP Dan Wick, Jo Franklin)
- Co-sponsored events (Race Matters, Precious Knowledge)
- Leadership Development
- Summit Attendance
- Building a strong network
- Institute for Democratic Education in America (IDEA Network)
Vision for the Future:
- Presence on campus and in community (tours, regular events,
school board)
- Strong groundwork
- Longevity
- Ownership by students
Introduction to the resource guide
To make this vision possible, I spent this semester developing the SFER St.
Olaf Resource Guide.
 Throughout this resource guide there are tools to guide the
organization of future SFER St. Olaf Events, develop a strong
Executive Board, articulate your student group’s mission, and build a
network of important relationships.
 There is also a set of resources that may help fuel group discussions
about the scope and definition of “education reform.” These include
books, movies, TED Talks, and a selection of articles.
 Goal of this project: To ensure the sustainability of a student
organization that I have helped to build, and that is close to my heart.
(Point out all sections)
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 Articulating our Vision through Storytelling
 Community Organizing (historical context and practical advice
about leveraging networks and collaborating)
 Weekly meetings- agendas and notes. Ways to get all members
involved.
 Executive Board- Resources and position descriptions
 Event Planning: Task lists, contacts, logistical links, what we’ve
done…
 Post-graduate vocation: Many members asked about these
opportunities, so we made a page. An example of how the
organization should meet the needs of its students.
***
Design:
 Meant to fit the needs of a Chapter Leader or member
 Demonstration: If you want to find information about planning a
specific event and you are the Operations Director, you can find
resources under your title in the Executive Board page. You can also
find task lists for all kinds of events in the Event planning section)
 This site was also designed for Leadership Transitions: Trying to
make these as fluid as possible
 This guide was designed to help future members navigate the complex
climate of a growing student organization while partnering with a
nonprofit that has its own advocacy agenda. It was influenced heavily
by my work with Emerging Adulthood and SustainAbilities CURI
research. I had to think a lot about overcoming the barriers to
involvement for students on this campus in order to make the resource
guide as usable as possible. This became a common space to place all
resources.
 On this note, the SFER Resource guide is really applicable to any
student organization—this doesn’t have to stay within SFER. Gets at
the question: “how can you effectively engage college students in
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issues that matter?” This is a question for SFER National, but also for
any college student on any campus (not to mention citizens who
believe that social change in this country is necessary!)
****
Now that I’ve taken you through the inspiration for my major, a few of the
elements of the major itself, and the innerworkings of my Sr. Project, I
should talk about what I’m going to do with this work in the coming years.
Where I’m Going:
After a summer of intensive training, I will head to Indianapolis to begin
teaching at a charter school called Enlace Academy through the Americorps
program Teach for America—an organization that recruits emerging leaders
to enter our school system and work to ensure that “kids growing up in
poverty get an excellent education” by committing to teach for two years in
a low income community. Their mission is filled with the word
“opportunity.”
As a new teacher, I will have the space to take my privilege and use it to
work toward affording my students the same choices I was given. I will use
my “systems thinking” to build community—creating a dialogue with
students, teachers, and classroom parents.
My success as a teacher will be measured through the successes of my
students. I hope that the children I teach will develop a positive sense of selfidentity and receive the tools they need to be continually motivated and
“ahead of the curve” for years to come—just as I did at St. Olaf College.
Through this program, I will have the chance to put ideals into action,
applying my St. Olaf education to the education of others. I will be
challenged in a very new way—no longer just responsible for my own story,
but for the stories of 30 children living in Indianapolis.
In the coming years, I will acknowledge my ignorance, and dedicate
myself to learning from new communities—adding chapters to my story and
never forgetting this one.
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I feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to mold my college
experience through the CIS department—working hard to “demand what I
want from my education,” as Jim Farrell often asks his students to do.
Beyond content, this experience has changed the way I think and the way
I relate to others. I will carry it with me for the rest of my life.
Thank yous.
And now, I’ll open it up for questions!
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