Explores - Champlain College

| VIEW FROM THE HILL |Photographs by Kathleen Landwehrle (top, right) and Stephen Mease (bottom right)Student Crowned Miss Vermont USACommunity BookProgram Marks aDecadeChamplain College senior Brooke Werner, 22, of Granville,Vermont, earned the title Miss Vermont USA on November30, 2008. The first-time pageant participant, who creditsChamplain’s Career Services with helping her prepare for theinterview portion of the pageant, is a Public Relations majorgraduating in May 2009. Werner went on to represent her homestate in the Miss USA Pageant in Las Vegas on April 19. — SMThe Tortilla Curtain, a novel by author T.C. Boyle, was the featured readingin Champlain College’s 10th annual Community Book Program (CBP) lastOctober. As with the CBP’s previous featured authors, Boyle visited campus,where he gave a reading, answered questions, and met with students, faculty,and staff.The author of 12 novels—among them The Road to Wellville and DropCity—and eight story collections, Boyle is known for a satirical touch even whenaddressing serious topics. The Tortilla Curtain juxtaposes the hard-knock life of aMexican immigrant couple in southern California against the affluence of a yuppiecouple whose path they cross.The CBP’s 10th anniversary also inspired reflection on the program’s history.“We wanted to create a Champlain experience that would be unforgettable, thatwould be life changing,” CBP cofounder, Professor Jim Ellefson, says, “and togive young people a chance to be as excited about writing and literature as weare.” Shelli Goldsweig, CBP cofounder and director of the Life Experience & ActionDimension (LEAD) initiative, is similarly pleased with the CBP’s accomplishments.“A book can take you to a place you’ve never been.It helps you think about things in ways you haven’tthought about them before,” she says. “I think theprogram did that.”Past CBP books include Julia Alvarez’s In theTime of the Butterflies (1999), Ernest Gaines’A Lesson Before Dying (2000), Tim O’Brien’sThe Things They Carried (2001), E.L.Doctorow’s Ragtime (2002), HelenFremont’s After Long Silence (2003),Eric Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation(2004), Khaled Hosseini’s The KiteRunner (2005), Julie Otsuka’s Whenthe Emperor Was Divine (2006), andDave Eggers’ What Is the What(2007). —Erik EsckilsenCollege Names NewService DirectorKyle Dodsonbecame thedirector ofChamplain’s Centerfor Service & CivicEngagement at thestart of the 2008-2009academic year. Dodsonholds a bachelor’s degreein history from Harvard University anda master’s degree in finance and businessadministration from Columbia University,the latter of which he received whileworking in the financial industry.“I was never able to find my place onWall Street,” Dodson says. “I realized thatI wanted work that was more communityoriented.”Dodson was first drawn to Vermontas a ski bum. On the slopes at MadRiver Glen he realized that, as he recalls,“education fit what I was interested in.”Over the next eight years, heworked for St. Michael’s College, firstin Admissions and later as director ofMulticultural Student Affairs. He returnedto urban life as principal of Lee Academyin Boston. When his wife landed a jobin Vermont, they returned to the GreenMountain State, where they are raisingthree children.In his new position, Dodson createsprograms that deal with civic engagementand service opportunities connected tolocal non-profits. This past November, hebraved the cold alongside students duringthe Tent City event on campus. He saysthat a main goal for his new position isto “give the students the opportunityto grow and to be able to measure theirachievement.” —DFChamplain View | Spring 09 9