Where in the World Have You Met a Whittie?

Whitman in Kabul

U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker ’71 and newly-tenured Foreign Service Officer Joey Bristol ’01 are shown at the Sept. 11 commemoration ceremony at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan. “Here in Kabul, I work in the Political-Military Section, which is responsible for a broad range of political-military issues,” Bristol wrote in an email. “Specifically, I cover the humanitarian demining, weapons abatement and demining victims’ assistance portfolio.” Bristol wrote that he volunteered for the one-year tour of service and “spent a full year in Dari language and Afghan culture, history and politics before coming out to the post.” He credits Whitman with preparing for his work. “As recent political changes in the Arab world illustrate, the dynamic, fast-moving world requires critical thinking and re-thinking of our assumptions. I credit a Whitman education for a large portion of how I reason, analyze and react to changing situations.”

Philosophers reunite

Hilary Davis ’08, Deanna Burgum Kytonen ’04, Caleb Kytonen ’06, Brian Cutter ’09 and Keefe Piper ’09 spent five days together backpacking in the Enchantments in the North Cascades in August 2011 for their annual Whitman Philosophers’ Reunion.