Alumni

Bulletin Board

April 10, 2017 by Staff Comments Off

Winter Break Party in San Francisco

Winter Break Party in Los Angeles

Winter Break Parties
20+ Years of Sagehen Spirit

Sagehens have been flocking to Winter Break Parties since at least 1994. In January, more than 700 alumni and guests braved winter weather in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, D.C., to take part in the 2017 edition of this favorite tradition.

Frank Albinder ’80, host of this year’s party in D.C., offers Sagehen friends who could not attend a peek into a party:

Where was the reception held? “In the Billiards Room of a historic D.C. apartment building. A friend of mine lives there and arranges for us to use the space every year. I’d say there were about 50 of us this year.”

And there were snacks? “Oh yes. The reception was a Costco special—all your favorite snacks from a company founded by a Pomona alumnus. Everything from giant cheese wedges to giant cookies, giant bags of chocolate, giant chips and salsa, and other large-sized treats.”

A few favorite memories of the evening? “Hearing news from the Pomona campus was great. It was also fun to discover that a recent Pomona alumna had moved into the same building where we held the party just a couple weeks before the reception. I told her she’s in charge next year.”

To be sure you hear about Winter Break Parties and other Pomona events near you, update your contact information at pomona.edu/alumniupdate.

Countdown to Alumni Weekend 2017

Campus is buzzing with preparations to celebrate this year’s reunion classes (and welcome alumni of all classes back to Claremont) for the party of the year: Alumni Weekend, April 27-30, 2017. Online registration is open through April 15 at pomona.edu/alumniweekend and on site during Alumni Weekend. Don’t miss this chance to tour new buildings, enjoy a Coop shake on the Quad, attend lectures and performances, catch up with friends and professors and slap Cecil a high five.

Hundreds of Sagehens Rally in Support of DACA-mented and Undocumented Students

Since President Oxtoby published his “Statement in Support of the DACA Program and our Undocumented Immigrant Students” in November, hundreds of Sagehen alumni and families have reached out to the College to support Pomona’s own DACA-mented and undocumented students.

Here are two ways you can make a difference in the lives of these students right now:

Make a contribution to the Student Emergency Grant Fund. Every dollar you donate goes directly to students who request funds, including students with emergency needs associated with immigration (immigration fees or legal resources, responding to family emergencies, etc.). To join the 296 members of the Pomona community who have supported this critical fund since November, visit pomona.edu/give and select “Student Emergency Grant Fund” from the designation menu.

If you have legal expertise related to immigration, join the resource network of Pomona alumni who are offering pro-bono legal services to students with urgent immigration-related needs. The network, comprised of nearly three dozen alumni so far, is coordinated by Dean of Students Miriam Feldblum; Paula Gonzalez ’95, an immigration lawyer based in San Diego; and Derek Ishikawa ’01 of Hirschfeld Kraemer LLP, the College’s legal counsel, which is also providing pro-bono services related to this community effort. To join the network, email RSVPStudentAffairs@pomona.edu and include (1) your contact information and current company/organization information, (2) your legal specialty or focus and (3) your availability.

Happy 50th Birthday to Oldenborg!

When Oldenborg Center was built in 1966, it was believed to be the first facility of its kind to combine a language center, international house and coeducational residence in a single building. And with air conditioning, its own dining hall, two-room singles or four-person suites and a great immersion-like environment for language majors, Borgies like Alfredo Romero ’91 remember it this way: “You never had to leave, even if you could find your way out.” Learn more about the history of Oldenborg at pomona.edu/timeline/1960s/1966 and celebrate this benchmark for the Borg by sharing favorite photos and memories at facebook/groups/Sagehens.

Travel/Study
May 30-June 10, 2017
Burgundy: The Cradle of the Crusades

Join John Sutton Miner Professor of History and Professor of Classics Ken Wolf on a walking tour of Burgundy. Burgundy, the east-central region of France so well-known for its food and wine, was also an incubator for two of the most distinctive features of the European Middle Ages: monasticism and crusade. This trip provides the perfect context for exploring “holy violence” in the Middle Ages and its implications for the 21st century.

For more information, please contact the Office of Alumni and Parent Engagement at (909) 621-8110.

Are You a Fan of Sagehen Athletics? Why Not Become a Champion?

With scholar-athletes earning SCIAC honors, setting program records and competing in NCAA Championships—among many other achievements across teams—it’s a great year to be a fan of Sagehen Athletics! And right now, as Pomona and Pitzer colleges increase their investments in our athletics community, it’s a perfect time to become a Champion of Sagehen Athletics.

The Champions of Sagehen Athletics, formed earlier this year, is a group of supporters committed to changing the game for scholar-athletes by giving a gift that goes directly to the athletics program or any one of Pomona-Pitzer’s 21 varsity teams. Every gift has an immediate and profound effect in the lives of scholar-athletes and coaches, supporting team travel, upgraded facilities, equipment and apparel, and other tools and resources that allow Sagehens to thrive in the competitive world of NCAA Division III intercollegiate athletics. Learn more about this exciting moment in Sagehen history and become a Champion today at sagehens.com/champions.

ideas@Pomona LIVE RECAP: Climate Change & Cleantech Innovation Event

On February 1, more than 30 Sagehens gathered at the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) to think collectively and creatively about the challenges presented by climate change. A distinguished panel of alumni and faculty experts included Bowman Cutter, associate professor of economics at Pomona; Audrey Mayer ’94, associate professor at Michigan Technical University; Amanda Sabicer ’99, the evening’s host and vice president of Regional Energy Innovation Cluster at LACI; Matt Thompson ’96, president-elect of the Alumni Association Board; and Cameron Whiteman ’75, managing director at Vertum Partners. The Ideas@Pomona program curates the best content from around campus and the alumni community to ignite discussion, share ideas and highlight exciting areas of faculty research. Check out pomona.edu/lifelonglearning to find out more.

Aboard the Vallejo

October 25, 2016 by Jodie Hollander ’99 Comments Off

eric

On the first morning of my writing residency, I looked out the window and was filled with dread. ‘It’s back,’ I thought. For months I’d been battling episodes of vertigo, which seemed to strike after changes in elevation. And since I’d just flown from the mountains of Colorado and landed at sea level, I was sure it was back, and just in time to thwart this dream opportunity. Fortunately, what I thought was an imbalance in my inner ear was actually the gentle swaying of the outside world. After all, I was on a boat, a houseboat in fact—the SS Vallejo—home to the newly created Varda Artist in Residence (VAR) Program.

The Vallejo had a rich history before landing in the hands of the current owners and program directors. Originally a passenger ferry in Oregon, after being decommissioned, the Vallejo was due to be sold for scrap metal. Fortunately, in the magical year of 1947, Jean Varda bought the boat and turned it into an artists’ haven in Sausalito, CA. Varda invited others, such as Alan Watts, Gary Snyder, and Allen Ginsberg to join him. Soon the boat was a flourishing artists’ community, complete with a reputation for wild parties that experimented with alternative ways of thinking. The Vallejo also became home to many of the Beat poet gatherings, as well as the conversations Alan Watt recorded that came to be known as the “Houseboat Sessions.” After Varda’s death in 1971, the boat changed hands several times. In 2015 the Vallejo officially became the home of the VAR program.

Après Le Deluge
After Rimbaud

After the idea of the deluge

ended, a little hare appeared

in the moving flowers, spoke

of rainbows lighting the spaces

of a spider’s web: the colors,

it said, can be seen only

after the years of darkness.

But the stones, the old

unbelievers, remained unmoving

in the streets, and watched

as the same stalls were erected,

the same ships were hauled to sea.

Only the children, looking out

from their big glass houses, saw

the New World like a painting,

like something from a dream.

Among the other artists with me were a rock musician from New York, a sound artist from Portland, Ore., and a visual artist from New Zealand. Not only was I the only writer, I was also the program’s first poet. Before my arrival, I’d just completed my first full-length poetry collection, My Dark Horses, and I was waiting to hear news from publishers. Given that I’d been writing about the rather heavy topic of my childhood, I felt both a sense of accomplishment and relief after finishing the book, and I was looking forward to using the residency to tackle something new. Originally I’d planned to translate the French poet Arthur Rimbaud’s Illuminations. However, only a few days into the project, and with the boat’s rich inspiration, I found myself creating a sheaf of my own new poems that built off Rimbaud’s poetry.

I was delighted by the simple yet elegant space I’d been given for my work. My room was a freshly painted white, and three of its walls had expansive views of Sausalito Bay. Blooming plants were in every corner, and the large windows allowed the fresh air and the music of the ocean and birds to enter. I faced my desk toward the long view of the water and unpacked my favorite collected poems: by Philip Larkin, Robert Frost, Sylvia Plath, and Donald Justice. I placed them next to my computer and was ready to work.

However, no progress was to be made without a strong cup of coffee. I unpacked my stovetop espresso maker and beans and figured I’d be set. After looking around the kitchen, I was surprised to find I’d be grinding my beans by hand and working up a sweat from turning the crank hundreds of times. I eventually grew accustomed to this ritual and even came to enjoy it. But as it turned out, the real coffee challenge was yet to come. One of the unique things about houseboat living is that one must climb a ladder to reach one’s room. Other than the possibility of a drunken stumble or unexpected bout of vertigo, it hadn’t occurred to me that the ladder would be an obstacle—I was forced to devise a system. First, I’d take a few sips to lower the coffee level in my mug and to give myself a small shot of caffeine, should I need to make a quick save during transport. Then, I’d hold the side of the ladder with my left hand moving the coffee up one rung at a time with my right. Meanwhile, my feet followed suit, one rung at a time, until my coffee and I were both safely delivered up the ladder to my desk and my computer.

I’m sure this looked ridiculous, particularly to the others who simply drank their coffee in the kitchen and avoided the drama altogether. But aside from enjoying my coffee in solitude, I’d developed this quirk of needing a mug of coffee beside me while I worked; thus the struggle was worth the effort.

Vagabonds
After Rimbaud

Oh, pitiful brother,

I cannot be your sister

you cannot be my brother,

since you are still a mistress

to our late mother—

Many years have passed,

and these days I wonder,

what’s become of you

and what foreign land

do you these days inhabit?

Russia, Japan, China,

in that mind of yours

you were never right.

But what if now we met?

Could I restore you

to your original state;

or would you drag me,

just as She did,

into your dark room

of old howling sorrows?

Bringing an empty coffee mug, or anything for that matter, down the ladder was much easier than taking it up. When I first arrived, I’d made a dozen or so trips up and down carrying my clothes and books in small, backpack-sized deliveries. But at one point, the rock musician suggested to me: Why not just throw your clothes down? An excellent idea I wished I’d thought of myself! This began the jettisoning of shorts, dresses, and pants to the main level of the boat in a Great Gatsby-esque moment of liberation. I’m sure, at the very least, the Beat poets would have approved.

The program allowed as much or as little contact with the outside world as we liked. Some of the artists spent their days exploring the offerings of San Francisco, while others stayed on the boat. I was of the latter, less hip group. Among other reasons for this was the chance to observe a tragic pair of resident seagulls. This couple squawked outside my room early each morning; then walked on the roof with such deliberation that I wondered if two very serious lawyers were debating above me. One day I noticed that the gulls had built their nest precariously atop one of the pier’s wooden piles. Upon some investigation, I learned that each year their nest fell terribly into the ocean—the eggs lost to the deep blue. The parents cried out in painful squawks of loss, buried their beaks dejectedly in each other’s feathers, and seemed to mope around the boat until their grief passed. And yet each spring they’d rebuild their nest in the same place, and the same disaster ensued. I wondered what kinds of bird-brained behavior my fellow artists were witnessing on the streets of San Francisco.

From time to time the Vallejo hosted its share of social gatherings. These were nothing like the famed wild parties of the Beat Generation, but rather intimate events that allowed each artist to display his or her work. On our last evening, we ate salmon from the local fishmonger, broiled with fresh cherries. We made a colorful salad, cut thick slices of bread and drank plenty of California wine. Each of us gave a short presentation describing how the boat had inspired or changed our work during our stay. Later that night, we piled into a rowboat and quietly reflected on our time spent on the Vallejo. For my part, I chose to row—pushing the old wooden oars quietly through the dark waters.

NOTE: The Vallejo’s owners have requested that we note that the boat is not open to the public.

Bulletin Board

October 25, 2016 by Staff Comments Off

Welcome New Alumni Association Board Members

47 hearty chirps to Jordan Pedraza ’09 as she steps into her new role as president of the Pomona College Alumni Association. On October 2, to kick off the first meeting of the 2016–17 Alumni Association Board at the Seaver House, Pedraza welcomed four new at-large members to the Board: Mercedes Fitchett ’91, Nina Jacinto ’08, Ginny Kruger ’53 and Don Swan ’15. Pedraza also shared her goal for the board this year—to foster “the three Cs”:

Communication—to raise the visibility of the Alumni Board so alumni have an additional channel to be heard, and also to share more updates and opportunities between the board and the community

Connection—to enhance alumni connections across a range of affinity groups, regions, identities and generations, as well as increase connections between alumni and students

Collaboration—to strengthen the productivity of the board as we work to create opportunities and events through special projects and our working committees

Congratulations, Jordan, and welcome new board members!

The Alumni Board is a group of dedicated volunteers who lead alumni engagement efforts and serve as conduits between the on-campus and off-campus Pomona communities. To see the roster of current board members and learn how to get involved, visit www.pomona.edu/alumni/alumni-association-board.

Calling All Lifelong Learners

Join

ideas@pomona

Ever wish you could go back to class?

The new Ideas@Pomona program curates the best academic content from around campus and the Pomona community to ignite discussion, share ideas and highlight daring research. To take part, join the Ideas@Pomona Facebook group at facebook.com/groups/ideasatpomona. Not a Facebook user? Check the Pomona College YouTube channel for videos and watch your email and this bulletin board for updates on development of a web-based home for Ideas@Pomona content.

pcm-fall2016text39_page_27_image_0028

Settle Into Fall with New Pomona Book Club Selections

Fall semester is well under way and it’s time to head back to the library with Pomona! With a national election on the minds of many Sagehens, we’ve asked faculty across campus to recommend books that approach crucial political and cultural topics in insightful ways. Fall and early winter selections include:

October

The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America by George Packer

Recommended by Associate Professor of Politics Susan McWilliams

November

Founding Brothers by Joseph J. Ellis

Recommended by Warren Finney Day Professor of History Helena Wall

December/January

The Plot Against America by Philip Roth

Recommended by Associate Professor of Sociology Colin Beck

To join the Book Club and access exclusive discussion questions, faculty notes and video content, visit www.pomona.edu/bookclub.

Career Connections at Pomona College

Matt Thompson ’96, Wayne Goldstein ’96, Bill Sewell ’95, Jeremiah Knight ’94, Paulette Barros ’11

Pomona College Career Connections kicked off its year of programming at Claremont Graduate University’s downtown LA campus on September 27 with a panel of Sagehens discussing careers in advertising, digital media and virtual reality. Panelists included Paulette Barros ’11, Wayne Goldstein ’96, Jeremiah Knight ’94, Bill Sewell ’95 and Matt Thompson ’96. The Pomona College Career Connections program fosters meaningful relationships for Sagehens in their professional lives and provides opportunities for volunteers to help current students as they discover different career paths. To learn more about the Career Connections program and events, visit www.pomona.edu/alumni/careerconnections.

Avery Bedows ’19 demos technology from his virtual reality startup Altar Technologies, Inc.

Give your gift and tell us why you are committed to Pomona at www.pomona.edu/give.

Last Look

August 3, 2016 by Staff Comments Off

Alumni Weekend 2016

Here are a few photos from the 2016 Alumni Weekend, held in April. For information about the event, see the Alumni Bulletin Board.

—Photos by Carlos Puma

PCM-summer2016text58-web2_Page_34_Image_0001

Bulletin Board

August 3, 2016 by Staff Comments Off

Sagehens Celebrate 4/7 with Good Deeds

President David Oxtoby poses with a group of student volunteers on 4/7 Day, 2016

On April 7, Pomona hosted the second annual Celebration of Sagehen Impact to honor and recognize the good work and good will of our community of “everyday Daring Minds.” Sagehens around the world flooded the Pomona Alumni Facebook group with thousands of likes, comments and posts about alumni service projects, while more than 500 students braved spring rain on campus to celebrate this special day of community spirit. 47 chirps to Sagehens near and far for bearing your added riches, and for another year of uplifting community support that is solidifying the 4/7 Celebration of Sagehen Impact as a proud, new Pomona tradition! To see a sampling of posts from alumni participants, visit facebook.com/groups/sagehens and search for #SagehenImpact.

Pomona Book Club

In April, Pomona’s new Alumni Learning & Career Programs team launched the Pomona College Book Club on Goodreads. The Book Club connects Pomona alumni, professors, students, parents and staff around a common love of reading. Become a member by visiting pomona.edu/bookclub to check out a summer reading list of recommendations from some of this year’s Wig Award–winning faculty and share your own favorite books.

Alumni Weekend and Alumni Award Winners

Julian Nava ’51 (center) with professors Tomás Summers Sandoval Jr. and Miguel Tinker Salas

Gretchen Berland ’86

John Edwards ’64

Pat Riggs ’71

Ed Krupp ’66

Alumni Weekend, April 28 through May 1, 2016, brought nearly 1,600 Sagehens home to Claremont for a weekend of fun and reconnection. In addition to cornerstone activities such as class dinners, guest speakers, the alumni vintner wine tasting and the parade of classes, guests of Alumni Weekend 2016 enjoyed tours of the new Studio Art Hall and Millikan Laboratory, tasted local craft beers with the Class of 2016, attended a Presidential Search Forum and engaged in discussion with executive staff in a town hall–style forum regarding current campus issues. Looking forward to your reunion year or just pining for some California sunshine among hundreds of Sagehen friends? Be sure to mark your calendars for the last weekend of April and return to campus for Alumni Weekend 2017!

Alumni Weekend 2016 was also an occasion for guests to hear from 2016 Blaisdell Distinguished Alumni Award winners Gretchen Berland ’86, Ed Krupp ’66, Julian Nava ’51 and to honor Blaisdell winner George C. Wolfe ’76, who could not attend the celebration. Alumni Distinguished Service Awards were presented to John Edwards ’64 and Pat Riggs ’71. Learn more about these annual awards and their deserving recipients at pomona.edu/alumni/services-info/awards.

(For more photos, see Last Look on page 64.)

Thanks to Onetta

47 hearty chirps to Onetta Brooks ’74 for a year of thoughtful leadership and dedicated service as Pomona’s 2015–16 President of the Alumni Association! Onetta proved a wonderful steward for the board’s evolution to a more action-oriented group, and exhibited her commitment to a thriving alumni community throughout the year during alumni events and 4/7 activities, organization of responses to the Title IX policy and engagement in conversations about

inclusivity. Many thanks, Onetta!

Travel-Study

Burgundy: The Cradle of the Crusades

May 29–June 10, 2017

Bulletin Board

April 7, 2016 by Staff Comments Off

Looking for your chance to come face to face with fellow Sagehens?

This Bulletin Board is a great place to learn about alumni community events on campus, in your area and around the globe. For more frequent updates on opportunities to come together with fellow Sagehens, join the Pomona Alumni Facebook group at facebook.com/groups/Sagehens, check listings of upcoming events at pomona.edu/alumnievents and update your email address at pomona.edu/alumniupdate.

Pomona in a City Near You…

Pomona in the City Southern California

The fall 2015 edition of a popular new Sagehen tradition, Pomona in the City Southern California, took place on Sunday, November 8 in Dana Point, California. 135 alumni, parents, faculty, staff and friends flocked to the St. Regis Monarch Beach to reconnect with the College community and attend a series of learning sessions, kicked off with a welcome from President David Oxtoby and a keynote address by Professor Char Miller. The afternoon of learning concluded with an outdoor cocktail reception on the Pacific Ballroom Promenade. To date, Pomona in the City—a conference-style program that takes the academic offerings of the College to major cities to share the classroom experience with the Pomona community—has been held in Seattle, San Francisco, New York, Washington, D.C., and Southern California. Pomona in the City speakers have included David Oxtoby, Pierre Englebert, George Gorse, Lesley Irvine, Susan McWilliams, Char Miller, John Seery, Shahriar Shahriari, Nicole Weekes, Ken Wolf and Sam Yamashita.

Pomona in the City: San Francisco

The most recent Pomona in the City program was scheduled for Saturday, April 9, 2016, at the Hotel Nikko San Francisco. Watch for details of future editions of this popular program in your mailbox and at pomona.edu/alumnievents.

Honor a Daring Mind Wrap-Up
Two Daring Minds honorees Daring Mind honoree Cecil and a Daring Mind participant Note from Professor Andresen

What makes a meaningful finale for a years-long, record-breaking campaign? A celebration of the people at its heart, of course! Members of the Pomona community showed up in droves for the Honor a Daring Mind celebration, which kicked off in November and gained momentum through December as Sagehens around the world caught word. More than 1,100 students, alumni, parents and friends answered the call to honor their favorite Pomona person, recognizing 678 inspirational professors, coaches, classmates, mentors and friends. Gifts given in honor of Daring Minds during the celebration, totaling $447,064, were matched by the Daring Minds Fund, fulfilling a $1 million matching grant to support Pomona education. Thank you, Pomona community, for recognizing the people at the heart of this effort and closing the Campaign with a ringing “Chirp!” To see the full list of honorees, please visit pomona.edu/hdm before June 30.

Quest Student/Alumni Engagement Reception at Alumni Weekend 2016

Happy Anniversary, Quest alumni! This year, Pomona celebrates 10 years of partnership with QuestBridge, a program with a mission to match high-achieving, low-income students with top-tier colleges and to support them from high school through college to their first job. Since 2006, Pomona has enrolled 325 students through the program.

Students, alumni and friends of the Quest program are invited to a special Quest Student/Alumni Engagement Reception on the Pomona campus on Friday, April 29 to celebrate as part of the Alumni Weekend 2016 festivities. 47 chirps to our Quest alums!

To see the growing list of events and receptions planned for Pomona College cohorts, campus organizations, academic departments, visit pomona.edu/alumniweekend. Make your plans soon to come back to Claremont for the biggest Sagehen party of the year!

Winter Break Parties

More than 800 Sagehen alumni, parents, current students (and early decision admittees of the Class of 2020!) gathered in 10 major cities this January for Pomona’s annual Winter Break Parties. Held during the first two weeks of January, Winter Break Parties are one of the best ways for Sagehens of all ages to connect with the Pomona community in their own city. For more information on Winter Break Parties and other events in your area, visit pomona.edu/alumnievents and join us in the Pomona College Alumni Facebook Group.

The Natural

April 7, 2016 by Sneha Abraham Comments Off

Joyce Nimocks ’15 has fond memories of her grandmother teaching her to make body butter out of olive oil and using natural, homemade concoctions on her granddaughter’s curly hair.

Nimocks’ grandmother was both creative and resourceful. Store-bought hair products were usually made for women who wore their hair straight. Mainstream cosmetics made Nimocks’ skin break out. And money was tight.

After graduating from Pomona last May with a $12,000 Napier Initiative grant in hand, Nimocks returned to her hometown of Chicago to conduct free summer workshops for low-income women of color to inform them of the ingredients in commercial cosmetics and teach them how to make their own products with natural, non-toxic ingredients.

An environmental analysis major, Nimocks wrote her thesis on the health implications of hair relaxers. Exploring the issue in depth through the Summer Undergraduate Research Program, as well as her study-abroad in Brazil, she found an extensive study showing an association between African American women who frequently used hair relaxers and the presence of uterine fibroids.

She cites research indicating that hair relaxers seep through the epidermis, making it easier for estrogen-mimicking hormones to enter the bloodstream. In addition to inducing fibroids and uterine cysts, they have been implicated in causing premature puberty in girls as young as six months old.

“What I found is that this isn’t just a public health issue; this is also a social justice issue, in my opinion, because these products are only being marketed toward women of color,” says Nimocks.

The injustice continues because all-natural products are prohibitively expensive for low-income women, she says. “You can get a bottle of a non-natural brand of lotion—32 ounces for four dollars at Walmart. You get a small 12-16 ounces of a natural brand, and it costs you seven to eight dollars,” says Nimocks.

In her workshops, she focused on teaching women how to make lipsticks on stovetops with beeswax, shea butter and crayons; body butters using a cake mixer, with aloe vera gel, cocoa butter and, of course, olive oil; and natural perfumes with witch hazel and essential oils. One of Nimocks’ favorite homemade products is her deodorant, a blend of coconut oil and baking soda, infused with lavender, orange and tea tree oils.

Nimocks herself is a powerhouse blend, according to Professor of Environmental Analysis Char Miller. “She has a compelling ability to weave together her academic interests with her activism, her professional and civic engagement,” says Miller.

Nimocks hopes to someday open a center where low-income women can come and make their own cosmetics for free, funded by workshops she’d conduct for a fee in middle-to-high-income communities.

Thanks to a six-week Social Entrepreneurship class taught through the Draper Center for Community Partnerships, Nimocks has written a business proposal to start a nonprofit. She says her summer research and classes like these have given her the confidence required to believe she can bring big ideas to life.

“It’s about beauty,” she explains. “It’s about relaxation. It’s about self-care and self-love. I can really see my organization being a place where women feel comfortable going to and even talking about community issues. I can see it being a really integral part of communities and also partnering with other community organizations, like libraries or YMCAs in Chicago.”

But before she launches into that project, she has more research to do. Funded by a prestigious $30,000 Watson Fellowship, Nimocks is currently on a tour of Ghana, Japan and South Africa to work with artisans, farmers and other groups and learn about the ways they use local ingredients to produce sustainable, handmade cosmetics.

Nimocks recalls conversations with her grandmother while making their beauty products in the kitchen. Years later, recreating relationships around all-natural cosmetics is a tribute to her heritage. “My grandmother would be really happy,” she says.

The New Face of Cuba

April 7, 2016 by Roland Leiser ’58 Comments Off

A middle-aged Cuban sat at an outdoor table in an alley across from a Havana restaurant that our group would soon enter. Wearing a red and blue baseball shirt, he smiled faintly, and I thought, “Not another panhandler in this impoverished but on-the-way-up nation.”

As I would soon learn, however, this was no panhandler, but a former athlete, one of a number of Cubans of all ages chosen by tour planners to put a human face on today’s Cuba. Rey Vicente Anglada dined with us that afternoon, and then, through an interpreter, highlighted his career as a player and manager for the Industriales and the Cuban national baseball team.

We were 24 Americans visiting Cuba for 10 days. Although at this writing, individual visits by American tourists remain illegal, the recent thaw in relations with Cuba has opened the door to people-to-people (“P2P”) programs like ours, this one operated by smarTours of New York. For my part, I was here to satisfy my own curiosity about the intertwining histories of our two countries, to find out for myself how this Caribbean communist state worked or didn’t, and to meet the island’s people.

The cultural exchanges turned out to be mostly one-sided, but we talked to countless Cubans in all lines of work—artists, teachers, students, cowboys, musicians, actors, guides, fishermen, restaurant owners and one former baseball player.

The first person we met, and in many ways the most interesting, was our 43-year old national guide, Enedis Tamayo Traba. Accompanying us throughout the tour, she put her own spin on both Cuba’s achievements and its failures. A married mother of two, she modestly declared at the outset: “Welcome to my humble country. It is not perfect.” Another time, she noted: “Under Batista, we were mostly poor. Fidel gave us food, housing and health care, which is why we love him.” And in what might have been a popular joke during the Soviet-influenced era, she offered this explanation for the fact that few Cubans are overweight: “The elevators don’t work.”

The tour put us up in a series of luxury properties in Havana (the Melia Cohiba) and Guardalavaca (Playa Pesquaro) near Holguin and at modest but comfortable hotels in Cienfuegos and Camaguey. However, as we toured, there were frequent reminders of the nation’s poverty. Once, Enedis took us to visit a cheerless government store where a farmer had lined up with his rationing book to claim his meager allowance of rice.

However, we also caught frequent glimpses of burgeoning free enterprise—rooms for rent in private dwellings, roadside fruit stands and elderly vendors hawking tiny roasted peanuts to supplement their incomes. In Camaguey, two budding entrepreneurs set up a makeshift display to sell shoes, and puppeteers put on a professional show in a makeshift theatre where seating consisted of about 20 folding chairs.

And then, there are the paladares—homes converted into surprisingly good restaurants. In a country that rations rice, cooking oil, milk and other staples, tourists dine in these privately owned restaurants on shrimp, lobster, crab and fish. At the retro art-decorated La California in Havana, a family-style dinner included pumpkin soup, rolls, black beans and rice, lobster tails, red snapper with vegetables and ropa vieja, a classic dish of shredded beef and spices.

On our final day in Havana, we entered the Partagas Cigar Factory, divided between experienced workers and trainees in hot, humid rooms. Our factory guide, Augustin, related how tobacco leaves are selected for different cigars. By Cuban standards, rolling cigars is a relatively well-paid job, and one that is eagerly sought. Two Romeo and Juliet cigars packed in metal tubes, a gift for a friend, cost me $6.95 each, about 20 percent of the average Cuban’s monthly wage.

Wherever we went in Cuba, we found the artistic muse alive and well. We visited five galleries of different creative pursuits, including the manic display of ceramic art of Jose Fuster in Havana and the feminist art at the Martha Jimenez Gallery in Camaguey.

Musicians entertained us endlessly at concerts and restaurants. At dinner one night in Camaguey, a young man played a trumpet as a woman danced to Latin music near our tables. The musician used a mute to soften the sound against a background of recorded music on a CD, and his partner made her hip-moves while waitresses dodged around her to serve the meal. After one tune, I asked him if he had just played a John Coltrane piece, “Straight, No Chaser.” He quickly answered, “Night in Tunisia … Dizzy Gillespie.”

And of course, any account of a visit to Cuba would be incomplete without some mention of those amazing vintage American cars, visible on postcards, placemats and paintings as well as in the streets. Without them, Cuba simply wouldn’t be Cuba. At different times, drivers chauffeured members of our group in a 1940 Chevrolet sedan and a 1958 Edsel convertible, both impeccably maintained in spite of the seemingly insurmountable obstacle of the U.S. embargo. A 1954 Studebaker parked at a roadside gasoline station could undoubtedly win top prize in a restored vehicle competition in the States.

This tour didn’t come cheap, but we met Cubans and toured their country in ways that I couldn’t have done on my own—even if it were legal.

For those interested in taking part in a people-to-people visit to Cuba, it’s important to keep in mind that (in the words of a customer service representative at smarTours) “it’s not like going to the Jersey shore for a weekend.”

The required paperwork is extensive, including a registration form and a copy of your passport page for the tour company, a Treasury Department travel affidavit confirming that you’re participating in a people-to-people visit; a reservation form for Cuba Travel Services; a visa application; and a variety of health forms.

Here are a few other things to keep in mind:

Credit cards aren’t accepted and ATMs aren’t available, so be sure to bring extra cash for emergencies.
Cuba charges a 13% fee to exchange American dollars into Cuban convertible pesos (known as CUCs) but no fee to exchange Canadian dollars or Euros into the national currency, so you can save money by converting your travel money into Canadian bills before you leave
Photography is prohibited at Cuban airports and military facilities.
The Treasury Department mandates that P2P tourists keep a daily travel journal and keep it for five years, in order to prove that the trip was legal.

Flocking Together

December 2, 2015 by Staff Comments Off

Members of the Alumni Association Board include: (from left, front row) Emma Fullem ’14, Jared Mathis ’94, LJ Kwak ’05, Onetta Brooks ’74,Cathie Moon Brown ’53 P’75, Kyle Hill ’09, (second row) Jahan Boulden PZ’07, Jon Siegel ’84, Guy Lohman ’71, (third row) Anne Bachman Thacher ’75 P’07, Diane Ung ’85, Mac Barnett ’04, Nico Kass ’16, Maggie Lemons ’17 (intern), Mary Raymond, (fourth row) Lisa Phelps ’79 P’12, (fifth row) Roger Reinke ’51 P’80 GP’14, Emma Marshall ’14, Jordan Pedraza ’09, Brenda Barnett ’92, Matt Thompson ’96, Professor Lisa Beckett, (sixth row) Ward Heneveld ’64 P’92, Craig Arteaga-Johnson ’96 and Taziwa Chanaiwa ’95 P’17. Not pictured are: Conor O’Rourke ’03 and Peggy Olson ’61.

The Alumni Association Board held its first meeting of the year, led by Alumni Association President Onetta Brooks ’74, on October 4. President Oxtoby shared an informal “State of the College” and members were joined by parent and student guests for the following committee meetings:

Athletic Affinity (alumni co-chair Jared Mathis ’94)
Alumni Career Services (alumni co-chair Matt Thompson ’96)
Young Alumni Engagement (alumni co-chair Emma Fullem ’14)
Giving/Service Days (alumni co-chair Lisa Phelps ’79 P’12)
Current Matters of Concern (alumni co-chair Cathie Brown ’53 P’75)

To nominate someone for the Alumni Association Board, email alumni@pomona.edu.

Winter Break Parties

Celebrate the new year with a Pomona College Winter Break Party, coming to a city near you January 2–15, 2016! Held while students are home for winter break, this Pomona College tradition is one of the best ways for alumni to connect with students in their hometowns and to meet fellow Sagehens living nearby.

2016 Winter Break Parties are currently being planned for Boston, Chicago, Kansas City (Missouri), Los Angeles, Menlo Park, New York City, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, D.C.

Don’t miss out—check out our listings at pomona.edu/alumnievents for details and updates about the Winter Break Party nearest you.

4/7 Celebration of Impact

Civic-minded Sagehens: Make sure you are part of Pomona’s second Celebration of Sagehen Impact, scheduled for April 7 (yes, 4/7), 2016. Last year, more than 150 Pomona students and alumni flooded the College’s Alumni Facebook group and Instagram feeds with pledges, shout-outs and stories about the many ways Sagehens are “bearing our added riches” on campus, in our neighborhoods and around the globe. Organize with fellow Sagehens or find your own ways to contribute your time, talent or treasure to the causes that mean most to you. Our community will be ready to celebrate your good work on April 7.

Budenholzer Heads List for Hall of Fame

Mike Budenholzer poses with Coach Charles Katsiaficas.

Mike Budenholzer ’92 with Mens’ Basketball Coach Charles Katsiaficas.

National Basketball Association Coach of the Year Mike Budenholzer ’92 and former Athletic Director Curt Tong were among the honorees when the Pomona-Pitzer Hall of Fame inducted six new members this fall. Also honored during the 58th annual induction ceremony were Scott Coleman PO ’05 (soccer); Joy Haviland PZ ’03 (water polo, swimming); Kevin Hickey PO ’99 (baseball); Lucia Schmit PO ’03 (water polo, swimming). Budenholzer was inducted as an honorary member (basketball) and Tong was honored for his years of distinguished service as athletic director.

Want to keep up with our sports teams and engage with the Athletics community? Follow @Sagehens on Twitter and like “Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens” on Facebook.

Ladd Named Inspirational Young Alumna

Jessica Ladd ’08

Jessica Ladd ’08 has been selected as the recipient of the 2015 Inspirational Young Alumni Award. Ladd, who was featured in the summer 2015 issue of PCM, is the founder and CEO of Sexual Health Innovations (SHI), a non-profit dedicated to creating technology that advances sexual health and wellbeing in the United States. At SHI, she spearheaded the creation of the STD partner notification website So They Can Know, the STD test result delivery system Private Results, and the college sexual assault reporting system Callisto.

Before founding Sexual Health Innovations, Ladd worked in the White House Office of National AIDS Policy, as a Public Policy Associate at The AIDS Institute, and as a sexual health educator and researcher for a variety of organizations. She also co-founded The Social Innovation Lab in Baltimore and a chapter of FemSex at Pomona College. Ladd has also recently been recognized as a Fearless Changemaker by the Case Foundation, an Emerging Innovator by Ashoka and American Express, and as the Civic Hacker of the Year by Baltimore Innovation Week.

Video Corner

Daring Minds Talks

Tune in to a series of thought-provoking online lectures withmembers of our alumni community, including James Turrell ’65, EdKrupp ’66, Mary Schmich ’75, Bill Keller ’70 and Gabe London ’00. To find the Daring Minds playlist, and for more inspirational speakers and enriching stories from campus, visit youtube.com/pomonacollege and click “Playlists.”

Travel/Study

From Angles to Angels: The Christianization of Barbarian England

A green pasture with a stone wall

With History Professor Ken Wolf
May 18–29, 2016

The eighth in a series of alumni walking trips with a medieval theme, this is the first involving the United Kingdom. Its purpose is to appreciate the fascinating history (captured by the Venerable Bede) of the conversion of the barbarian conquerors of England, starring the Irish and Roman missionaries. In Scotland, you will visit Kilmartin, Dumbarton and Loch Lomond; in England, Lindisfarne, Hadrian’s Wall and Durham Cathedral.

For more information, contact the Office of Alumni and Parent Engagement at 1-888-SAGEHEN or alumni@pomona.edu.

The Making of The Martian

December 2, 2015 by Carla Guerrero ’06 Comments Off

When producer Aditya Sood ’97 came across writer Andy Weir’s self-published book The Martian in 2013, it was selling on Amazon for 99 cents a download. Sood read the book and knew he had found something incredible—this is part of his job: find great, new material and projects to turn into movies.

The film The Martian, starring Matt Damon, opened on Oct. 2 and is now a box-office hit making nearly $100 million worldwide on opening weekend.

“When I read The Martian, I was blown away,” says Sood. “It is one of the best books I have ever read. I hadn’t seen anything like this, it’s a warm, human book which is so rare in science fiction, which can be a cold and distant genre.”

Sood, who is the president of Genre Films, brought the story to his company partner Simon Kinberg, and soon had Twentieth Century Fox behind it. With an incredible screenplay written by Drew Goddard, they were able to get Matt Damon and director Ridley Scott on board.

“We gave the script to Ridley Scott on a Friday and by Saturday, he called us to say he was in. Six months later, we were in Budapest starting filming,” recalls Sood.

Many of the positive reviews of the film highlight the accurate science and meticulous research that makes The Martian so good.

“More than anything, I’m just happy that we were able to translate Andy’s book into a movie that captured all of its values,” says Sood. “I wasn’t a science major at Pomona, but I’ve always loved science, and I get frustrated when movies don’t get science right but The Martian does. It tells a story that is entertaining and scientifically accurate—we used science to tell the story.”

Sood did major in Philosophy, Politics & Economics (PPE) at Pomona, but he took it upon himself to pursue his passion of films, signing up to receive the Hollywood Reporter in his school mailbox, and interning at New Line Cinema and Dreamworks. Sood passed over film school to come to Pomona and valued what the liberal arts had to offer.

“The greatest thing about Pomona was taking classes in any field. I’d always wanted to be an astronaut for the first 12 years of my life and so I took Bryan Penprase’s astronomy class my first year, which was great,” says Sood.

But Pomona holds a fond spot in his heart for more than academics. It was at Pomona that as a sophomore he met Becky Chassin ’98, his future wife.

“I was a sophomore with a terrible room draw, so my friends and I got doubles in Lyon. She was in a sponsor group right next door to us,” remembers Sood. “We introduced ourselves and became good pals. We were good friends through college and it wasn’t until many years later that we started dating. We got married three years ago.”

Along with the success of The Martian, Sood also recently celebrated the birth of his son, who he says “will hopefully be Pomona class of 2037.”

Sood has some advice for students wishing to make it in films: “Read everything you can—things that are movie-related, screenplays, books about the business, blogs, trade papers.”

He also tells students to find a group of like-minded friends who are into the same thing, friends who you can share information and experiences, and network with. That’s where 5C Claremont in Entertainment and Media (CEM) comes in. CEM recently organized a special screening of The Martian with a Q&A with Sood open to CEM and Pomona alumni.

“It’s incumbent upon students to figure that part out. It only helps you when you’re sharing experiences and information, that’s really valuable.”

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