Around the Block

By Sarah Senese ’23

Jane Hilberry, professor of creativity and innovation, led the second-ever block of her Contemporary Poetry: Investigation and Innovation class in Block 3. Hilberry, who has been a professor of English specializing in poetry and creative writing  at CC, has turned her expertise to a different but, as she would put it, equally important department — Creativity & Innovation.

Hilberry sought to join the two things she loves and believes in most: poetry and creativity. Upon their arrival to class, 18 students were all given a brand new, shiny sketchbook, courtesy of the Creativity & Innovation at CC, and told that they were encouraged to sketch, collage, draw, paint, and express what they felt during class whenever they wanted. The back of the classroom was lined with every art supply one could think of, and the students were eager to begin.

Jane Hilberry’s approach is to show students that there’s more than one way to analyze poetry other than analytically. Poetry, like all other forms of art, is one that can be manipulated and viewed through a number of lenses. Hilberry wants to instill in her students that, even though they’ve always been taught to respond analytically to writing, they can respond in any creative way that speaks to them, resonates with them, and inspires them.

When asked what she hoped her students would take from the class, Hilberry conveys the importance of leading students “to a more embodied multi-dimensional knowledge of what they were studying.”

Students Alonso Rios ’23 and Mariel Zech ’23 are full of gratitude towards Hilberry when reflecting on their Block 3 experience. “She helped us realize that poetry can be more engaging than just when responded to with more writing. She taught us so much about poetry in a way we never could have imagined, and we’re so grateful to her.”

Hilberry and her 18 poetry students learned not only about contemporary poets and their importance in the world of creative writing, but about their own creative processes and approaches to understanding art. Although it may not have been her immediate intention, Hilberry inspires her students to dig deeper — not just to understand poetry, but also to understand themselves.

You can find Jane Hilberry in the innovation space at 232 E. Cache La Poudre St. during Creative Mondays, 3-5 p.m., making art and responding to poetry.

By Sarah Senese ’23

In Professor Tamara Bentley’s Block 4 Art of China class, physical art isn’t the only aspect of the culture students explore. Bentley invites Mauro Saachi, who’s trained in the art of qi gong (movement meditation), to teach workshops to students each fall.

Qi gong, a traditional Chinese movement exercise and spiritual practice, allows for students to both better their understanding of the cultures they study and also interact directly with their learning. Bentley, who usually partners with Professor Hong Jiang in these workshops, says that qi gong workshops help their students “not only academically, but in kinesthetic ways.” Here, Bentley’s class, Jiang’s class, and Professor Christian Sorace’s political science class “Power and Everyday Life” converged in the Cossitt dance space to learn the Chinese art of Qigong.

In Bentley’s Art of China class, there’s a lot to learn about qi, which is often portrayed in visual art, the primary focus of students’ studies, through flowing lines. In Jiang’s Chinese language class, culture is also taught to give students a background on the language, connecting her class as well to the ancient physical practice of qi gong.

Students Zoey Zhou ’20 and Carter Norfleet ’22, who participated in the session with Saachi, share how the experience translated to the class and their general knowledge of qi gong and the Chinese culture surrounding it. “It was a very relaxing and mindful experience. I found qi gong very meditative in terms of its emphasis on the connection to earth and air around us. It is rare for us to pay such close attention to nature as we live in such a fast-moving world,” says Zhou. Norfleet notes that over the course of the block, he found it “interesting to compare lessons from ancient China with this qi gong experience.”

Bentley and Jiang take pride in the benefits qi gong practices have instilled in their students each fall. “[Qi gong] helps our students nurture the energy in their bodies even when they are under a lot of work or school pressure,” says Bentley, who hopes that Saachi’s workshops continue for students in blocks to come.

By Miriam Brown ’21

Twice a week for two hours, Andre Dufresne ’21, Caroline James ’20, Mia Altenau ’21, and Associate Professor of Psychology Tricia Waters can be found in the basement below Loyal Coffee in downtown Colorado Springs.

There, they met seven other students from the U.S. Air Force Academy, Pikes Peak Community College, and the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. The group is brought together by the Quad Innovation Partnership, which connects students and faculty from the four institutions to work on strategic projects with real clients, aiming for hands-on solutions. QIP is the only higher education partnership in the United States that combines a community college, private liberal arts college, state university, and a service academy.

QIP has several project groups assigned to work for different clients. The group including Dufresne, James, and Altenau has spent the semester working for Partners for Children’s Mental Health, a new center developed by Children’s Hospital Colorado and the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Colorado. Their assignment? To create a portfolio of suicide prevention programs to implement in Colorado elementary and middle schools, James says, as well as a feasibility index of how to implement them.

As a senior psychology major interested in child development, the project with QIP has helped James think about what kind of work she wants to do after graduating.

“I’m applying for jobs and I can advocate for myself more because I’ve done important work and here’s what I have to show for it,” James said. “So I think it’s helping me going into that to be more confident in my skills.”

Together, the students have given a few presentations on their work to PCMH and presented at a “demonstration day” for the broader Colorado Springs community. A typical week required six to eight hours of work outside of the biweekly meetings, Dufresne says, and right now, they’re working on a end-of-semester report for PCMH that he expects to be about 60 pages.

But for Dufresne, the work was never stressful.

“You’re doing something important that has real implications, so it doesn’t always feel like work,” Dufresne says. “It’s exciting work, and you can always find the energy to do it. … I think it’s definitely worth it if any student is considering doing it.”

Learn more about upcoming Quad Innovation Partnership programs and opportunities.

By Emma Holinko-Brossman ’20

Food for Economic Thought talks are hosted by the Department of Economics and range in topics from the interesting lives of CC alumni to insights from visiting professors to  relevant economic news. Assistant Professor of Economics Jessica Hoel presented a recent talk titled “Who Won the Nobel Prize and Why?” This year, the Nobel Prize in Economics was won by Michael Kremer, Abhijit Banerjee, and Esther Duflo for their work in poverty alleviation. Hoel discussed the economists’ award-winning research, and how she had herself worked with Kremer in Kenya where they researched clean water and water access. There, Hoel was also able to work with many governmental, local, and international entities.

A solid turnout of students and faculty participated at Hoel’s FEET talk. She shared an interactive presentation looking at the randomized controlled experiments for deworming students to increase school attendance rates. Hoel humanized some of the highest levels of economic research into an accessible topic for the audience. The discussion turned to students asking about the ethical implications of the research along with other external factors. And, Hoel is teaching a Block 4 class — Economics of Poverty — in conjunction with Associate Professor of Economics Kristina Acri, which may extend the exploration of the topics raised.

FEET talks range in topic, but there is always an interesting discussion of current events explored through the lens of economics. Anybody at CC is invited to join these talks to bring new perspectives and learn about some of the cutting edge-research of alumni and faculty in the field of economics. The FEET talk series is one of the hidden jewels of CC; small groups are able to gather and conduct discussions that bring together people from all backgrounds and disciplines outside the classroom.