Whitman Stories

Senior theater major Haley King '20 went to her thesis advisor with an idea to do her senior thesis project on special effect make-up. When the production, "Playing with Fire: (After Frankenstein)" came on the table for the 2019/2020 season, King was able to make her idea a reality.

Even before COVID-19 hit Washington and forced the closure of Whitman College’s Walla Walla campus in March, Zidane Galant-LaPorte was already talking about the novel coronavirus in her health and illness class, led by Associate Professor and Garrett Fellow Alissa Cordner.

The chemistry department partnered with a Salem, Oregon, distillery to lend expertise and develop a quick recipe for much-needed hand sanitizer, preparing the correct portions of glycerin, hydrogen peroxide and water in batches on campus.

Citing her own experience conducting a study during the 2016 election cycle, she wrote that while 65 percent of kids surveyed knew that a woman has never been elected president of the United States, only 25 percent mentioned gender discrimination as a factor.

She joined host Jessica Rolph for a discussion on executive function in babies, including the famous "marshmallow test," and how parents can boost such development.

"Even when we're not in the middle of a pandemic, most people with anxiety disorders grapple with trying to distinguish between excessive fears to threats that aren't real, or what's called false alarms," explained Armstrong, who researches anxiety-related disorders and phobias. "Now we're being told those fears that once seemed irrational are rational. The alarm isn't false."

In response to the growing COVID-19 pandemic, on March 12, 2020, President Kathleen Murray announced that Whitman would move to online learning for the remainder of spring semester. With classes restarting March 30, Whitman’s faculty and staff had only two weeks to move their material and prepare students — and themselves — for the unprecedented shift.

The Alpine Ski Team is one of seven club sports at Whitman College. The team isn’t only lifelong skiers like Hoffman and Carron, many of the athletes started racing in college. The night before a race, the team will sit down and talk about their goals for the race day ahead.

Jim Russo, an associate professor of Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Molecular Biology (BBMB) at Whitman College and an expert in infectious diseases, talks about the importance of social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The head of research and development for Pharma-Tech Lab, NOVAVAX, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, Gregory Glenn '77 and his team have joined scientists all around the world who are committed to fast-tracking a vaccine for the novel coronavirus.

The Whitman politics major and 2018 graduate of the Yale School of Management is kick-starting his career with the formation of Blue Wood Capital, a search fund aimed at acquiring a business he will lead as CEO.

This spring's summer job fair is going virtual. A smaller, in-person fair was held in early March, but throughout the spring, employers and organizations looking for volunteers, interns or paid employees will set up virtual info sessions through the SEC. The events will be held on Handshake, Whitman’s online platform for jobs an internships. The virtual info sessions make it easy for students finishing the semester remotely to still connect with opportunities.