Monday, December 16, 2024
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Our Place in Walla Walla: Nathan Brannon
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Feature by: Noah Leavitt, College Liaison for Community Affairs
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Nathan Brannon is the manager of the Farm to School Garden Education initiative of the Sustainable Living Center. He is also a nationally-recognized stand-up comedian. Nathan and I spoke over hot bowls of soup in Cleveland Commons on a cold day last week. As we were walking out, we bumped into Bon Appétit General Manager Shannon Null, and as I headed back to my office, the two of them were brainstorming how to utilize some of the campus food scraps.
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Tell me about arriving in Walla Walla.
My wife grew up in Dixie, and we moved here in 2016 with our 1½-year-old baby to get closer to family. At that time, I was still living and working in LA. We were making lots of trips back and forth. So once the remote work opened up, I was able to spend more time in town. With stand-up comedy you want to try to make a positive impact on the world through words and ideas, but here in Walla Walla that particular avenue is much less feasible, and a big part of what I was figuring out was how to help people in a different way. So I looked at my skill set and saw what I had to offer. Being a new father with a career up in the air, I thought about what I could contribute to my family immediately and also make the most of things in the long term. And it turns out a lot of people have trouble accessing food and eating healthy and I realized I had an answer to that!
How did you make the switch from stand-up to gardening?
I originally started growing just for my family and surrounding community, and then the pandemic hit and stresses got exacerbated, so everything I was working on became a bigger issue because the seriousness of local hunger really increased. So I was realizing, I can’t just grow food and get food to people, but I actually need to address the underlying reasons why these folks aren’t accessing food in the first place. That’s when I started making the instructional videos so people could learn how to do this themselves. In 2021 someone who had been watching these connected me with the Farm to School program. I hadn’t heard of that and got to see they were doing what I was doing on a larger scale, so they hired me in summer 2021, and since then, every month we’re shooting to do something bigger than the previous month.
Read more.
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Beyond the interview:
Nathan Brannon will be available for questions and further conversations on Wednesday, Dec. 18, at noon in Reid Campus Center, Room 207. The Career and Community Engagement Center will provide lunch for the first 10 students in attendance. Please send your questions, ideas or requests for accommodation to Noah Leavitt at leavitns@whitman.edu.
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Senior Named USBWA National Player of the Week
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Whitman College forward Korin Baker ’25 was recently named U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) Division III National Player of the Week. This is the first time a Blues player received this recognition since 2018. In addition, Baker was named Most Valuable Player following the UC Santa Cruz Thanksgiving Classic and was also named Northwest Conference Player of the Week.
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Book Rental Returns & Buyback This Week
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If you rented textbooks from the Whitman College Bookstore, they must be returned by Friday, Dec. 20. Book buybacks are also available through Thursday, Dec. 19. The Bookstore is open Monday–Friday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
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Washington Paid Family & Medical Leave Premiums To Increase in 2025
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The Washington Employment Security Department has announced the 2025 premium rates for the Paid Family and Medical Leave (WA PFML). This rate is calculated every October and is based on premiums received and benefits paid during the previous year. Beginning on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, the WA PFML rate will increase from 0.74% to 0.92%. Employers will pay 28.48% of the total premium, and employees will pay 71.52%, a similar ratio to 2024.
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Wayfinding Feedback Survey
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Thank you to everyone who provided in-person feedback on campus wayfinding. It’s not too late! If you have thoughts on navigating campus, the wayfinding experience, campus signage, etc., please fill out this short survey.
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Whitman’s soprano-alto a cappella group, the Sirens, performed at the Feast of Carols concert on Sunday, Dec. 8. Sponsored by the Music Department, the event collected donations of nonperishable food items for Blue Mountain Action Council.
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Reid Campus Center, All Faiths Room
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Reid Campus Center, Room 207
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Luncheon With Nathan Brannon
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Reid Campus Center, Room 207
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Winter Celebration: Faculty & Staff
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Cordiner Hall [Community Event]
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Would you like to share an event with campus? Submit the information to the Events Calendar.
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Produced by the Office of Communications, Whitman Today is emailed to Whitman College staff, faculty and students each weekday during the academic year and twice a week during breaks. An archive of previous issues is available online.
All submissions are welcome! If you have accomplishments to celebrate, an event to publicize or other Whitman content to share, email whitmantoday@whitman.edu. Submissions of 125 words or less are due by noon for the following day’s newsletter. Submissions may be edited and/or held for a later date according to space and editorial needs. Your submission also authorizes use on Whitman's social media unless otherwise specified.
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