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During one trip, students visited the site of the
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York City, where
nearly 150 workers were killed in 1911. The tragedy
led to improved working conditions for millions of
Americans. “It gives it meaning for students,” Sherayko
said. “America changed for the better out of a terrible
tragedy. It is a powerful thing to be there and see that
after reading about it.”
Julio Rodriguez, associate professor of sociology (left), talks with Will Berke ’12 during an
American Culture trip.
On a tour of highways in Pennsylvania, the group
talked with engineers and other transportation experts
about the evolution of highways and the differences
between roads like the Lincoln Highway and the
Pennsylvania Turnpike. The Lincoln Highway, the first
transcontinental highway in the United States, was
designed to encourage travelers to stop at towns along
its route. In comparison, the Pennsylvania Turnpike was
designed to get travelers to their destinations as quickly
as possible.
“The students were able to ride on those highways
and think about what they had learned,” Sherayko said.
“They were able to get a feel for how different things are
now and what that has done to the American psyche.”
The program’s approach provides students with
hands-on knowledge of what they are studying. “It
was hard at first, but it pays off when you start seeing
things from so many different perspectives,” said Jane
Campbell ’12. “You read about things. You listen to
speakers. You look at images. You go on trips where you
can see the places where these major events happened
and experience them with your professors. You are not
just being lectured. It makes it more real and much
more interesting.”
Faculty members in the program try to incorporate
alumnae as much as possible. This year,
students were taken on a behind-the-scenes
tour of the Nemours Mansion and Gardens
in Delaware by Grace Gary ’76, who serves
as the executive director. They also met with
Lynn Kehoe Rollins ’64, who talked about
her role as senior advisor for women’s issues
for George E. Pataki, the former governor
of New York.
“This program made me think more
critically,” Campbell said. “It made me think
about the country in a different way.”
A favorite trip for many of the students
was to visit Margaret Krome-Lukens ’07,
who is assistant director of the Pickard
Mountain Eco Institute in Chapel Hill,
North Carolina. Students met people
involved in the local food movement and
were able to spend time working on the
farm with Krome-Lukens.
The discussions about sustainable food
included a visit on campus from the market
manager of Lynchburg’s Community
Market and discussions about waste, American
consumption, and the growing movement toward
purchasing more local food.
After the session on food, Leonard went out
immediately and bought a lettuce plant. Today, she
harvests leaves from the plant daily. “I see so many things
from a completely different angle now,” Leonard said.
“Take my lettuce plant. If everyone had their own plant,
it would make a huge impact. That applies to everything
in the American Culture Program: the movements, the
civil rights, the transportation, the prison movement, the
gay rights movement. All of them started with individual
people. Enough people started paying attention, and
eventually American thought changed.
“Having that lettuce plant is a constant reminder to
me of what I learned in American Culture,” she added. “It’s
something I can do. It’s a way I can play a part.”
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