![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/bulletin\/files\/2017\/04\/BUL-SPRING17-11-BOTBScholarsWashburn.jpg\")
<\/a>Abigail Washburn \u201999 hosted a master class for CC student musicians just a few weeks before the banjo player and singer won her first Grammy last year. Photo by Bryan Oller.<\/p><\/div>\n
\u201cMiranda July is a feminist, an independent filmmaker, a performance artist, and first and foremost, a writer,\u201d says Tom Lindblade, professor of theatre. His was one of five classes that converged for the morning discussion with July, who was on campus as the keynote speaker at CC\u2019s 2017 Cornerstone Arts Week. \u201cShe was able to relate to all the students and help them connect each other\u2019s disciplines,\u201d Lindblade says. \u201cThe Block Plan is perfect for such an experience because of its immersion: The guest artist arrives in the second week of the block, when ideas are percolating and being birthed. Miranda was a catalyst for the fruition of these ideas in the last two weeks of the block.\u201d<\/p>\n
July\u2019s visit is one of dozens of examples of distinguished scholars who not only visit campus, but also\u00a0 <\/span>spend time engaging with students. By creating in-residence programs and inside-the-classroom opportunities for artists, scholars, social entrepreneurs, journalists, postdocs, filmmakers, and others, CC is building on the assets of the Block Plan and extending its reach to deeply engage individuals who are experts in their fields and interested in sharing their experiences with students.<\/p>\n Nobel Laureate chemist Tom Cech visited campus in May 2015, spending an entire day with biochemistry students. Photo by Bryan Oller<\/p><\/div>\n \u201cHaving the chance to listen to her talk in person about her works and artistic process made me realize that she was not always all-knowing and definitive about her art,\u201d says Alana Aamodt \u201918<\/b> about July. \u201cWhile sprinkling in anecdotal stories, experiences, and personal opinions, she spoke passionately about her ideas and inspiration for her art, and by the end<\/span> Providing time and space for discussions like these to evolve, based on students\u2019 and visitors\u2019 questions or topics of interest, is one of the assets of the block. Focusing on one class at a time enables a depth and breadth that\u2019s just not possible in a different teaching format.<\/p>\n When Nobel Laureate chemist Tom Cech visited campus in May 2015, he spent a full day with biochemistry students.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have the class all day. On a semester plan, you have a few hours at a time. There was nothing else the students had to do other than to be part of that time with Dr. Cech,\u201d says Neena Grover, professor of chemistry and biochemistry.<\/p>\n \u201cThey could interact formally, informally, and do lunches and presentations. Dr. Cech got to see how bright and capable our students are and our students got to see that they can understand the level of science Dr. Cech presented in the evening,\u201d Grover says. \u201cIt\u2019s good for students to learn that level of confidence and build their abilities to make a difference in the world, and to learn to host important conversations in life. This was just the beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n Cate Stetson, an appellate lawyer who has argued before the U.S. Supreme Court, taught a political science class before her lecture to the broader community. Photo by Jerilee Bennett<\/p><\/div>\n Interactions like the ones with Cech and July can be the start of students uncovering their passions, or fuel a spark that might not happen if the learning experience didn\u2019t involve these real-life lessons and insights from visiting scholars. Each visitor is able to have an extraordinary impact on the Block Plan, connecting students more broadly to the world of work, seeing how practitioners live, and providing real-world application to concepts discussed in the classroom.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe can align the goals of the class with the visitors on the Block Plan,\u201d Grover says. \u201cI made sure Cech was coming when I was teaching a biochemistry class. And he had written papers that won him a Nobel Prize with <\/span>Brenda Bass \u201977<\/b>, a CC grad. Those papers were an important part of readings for the class, for students to see what these discoveries mean. To meet the people who do the work to win the Nobel Prize that you\u2019re learning about is transformative. Students don\u2019t get those kinds of experiences very often.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n They are experiences that can inspire, and they extend across subject matter, with artists, journalists, musicians, and scholars in residence sharing expert insights with students.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was an illuminating experience,\u201d says Leandro Montes \u201917<\/b>, a political science major, of Cate Stetson\u2019s visit to his class. \u201cHow she was willing to explain things that were basic for her, but for us, as we are just getting started, are very complex.\u201d Stetson, an appellate lawyer who has argued before the U.S. Supreme Court, says that interacting with students helps her think about things differently, and gives students practical insight into how she made decisions throughout her professional journey. She says she\u2019s hopeful the political science class she taught before her lecture to the broader community provided some inspiration and a road map of sorts for those looking to follow a similar path.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the kind of law that I practice, there aren\u2019t a great many women who do it. I can talk with these students and say, \u2018This is your path forward,\u2019 especially for a female student. I didn\u2019t have that,\u201d says Stetson.<\/p>\n Dana Wolfe, assistant professor of political science, says notable scholars can add timely commentary to classroom discussions. \u201cHaving students interact with someone like Stetson brings the material alive,\u201d says Wolfe. \u201cIt allows them to consider the real-world consequences of elections and Supreme Court appointments.\u201d Wolfe was able to invite Stetson to lead her classroom discussion soon after the presidential election, helping connect course material to the current political scene.<\/p>\n Not only do these great minds share insight on stage or at the front of the class through dynamic presentations and panel discussions, but thanks to the nature of the Block Plan these notable experts are also teaching courses, guiding field trips, and offering master classes with CC students.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s so cool that we get this experience to hang out with world-class musicians,\u201d says Jaiel Mitchell \u201918<\/b>, a music major who attended a masterclass with Chris Brubeck, a musician and composer in jazz and classical music. Brubeck and his quartet worked directly with student musicians, providing professional feedback that Mitchell says is valuable.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s awesome to see them play. To get the feedback and have somebody just show \u2018this is what I\u2019m talking about.\u2019 He could say that, but that means a whole different thing when he plays it,\u201d she says. \u201cI think that having the practical aspect makes it so much more fun and understandable.\u201d<\/p>\n Abigail Washburn \u201999<\/b> hosted a master class for CC student musicians just a few weeks before the banjo player and singer won her first Grammy last year. \u201cThe thing that keeps it all in check is feeling thankful. Thankful for this minute, this second, for this year, this child I have, for every opportunity, this moment I get to stand onstage tonight at Armstrong Hall and speak to Colorado College students and sing for them and share this art I\u2019ve been creating all these years,\u201d she said during her February 2016 visit to CC. \u201cI\u2019m just thankful. And I think that\u2019s a beautiful thing that I\u2019d love to share with all of these young adults here.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The Block Plan opens a big enough window to allow students to see into what a life really looks like in one of these fields, for one of these practitioners of their craft. Peter Breslow, senior producer for National Public Radio, has returned for more than one block, teaching as a journalist-in-residence.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been in the field for so long, I\u2019ve been in most circumstances, I have many entertaining stories to tell of my adventures,\u201d Breslow says of what he brings to his classes. \u201cYou don\u2019t even realize how much you know until you start talking about it and giving examples. I\u2019ve made many, many, many mistakes and if I tell the students about those mistakes, hopefully they\u2019ll make fewer. If I were trying to break into radio, this is a huge opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n Breslow says the Block Plan allows the course to be \u201csuper hands-on and intensive,\u201d sending students out to report a story, and coming back to class the next day with a piece that can be edited and refined, providing students immediate feedback on their work. \u201cIt\u2019s very much high volume. I feel that in the beginning, the more you do, we\u2019re not trying \u201cHearing their advice on how to give interviews and how to make a story is relevant no matter what I\u2019m doing,\u201d says Ben Bacher \u201918. <\/b> These have been the most valuable takeaways of working with journalists like Breslow, he says. <\/b><\/p>\n Charlotte Wall \u201919<\/b>, a Southwest Studies major minoring in journalism and urban studies, says the interaction with professional journalists allows her to ask questions about specific challenges she\u2019s experiencing.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just a really amazing experience to work with people from the real world, hearing their expertise of working in the business of journalism, which is something I want to do myself.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/a>
\nof the class time with her I found myself trusting her \u2014 that she wasn\u2019t fake, and that she truly believed in her work.\u201d<\/p>\nInsights from the Real World<\/h2>\n
<\/a>Finding Their Passion, Elevating Their Craft<\/h2>\n
\nto make them perfect, but hopefully you learn a little each time,\u201d he says. And working so closely with a professional to edit each student\u2019s piece is something Breslow says mirrors what happens daily as a reporter at NPR.<\/p>\n