Centers at Beloit College are interdisciplinary hubs that act as a bridge between schools, connecting academic programs with hands-on learning, resources, and real-world experiences. The Global Experience Office is made up of two signature experiences. Semester long programs are points of entry into host societies where students leave their comfort zones and challenge their own worldviews. Global Experience Seminars are short term faculty summer programs where students work collectively to understand pressing global issues. Students can travel to Spain to explore environmental sustainability and economic transition, or visit Senegal this summer to examine development and national identity through the lens of art.

Your last great watch, listen, or read?

The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann is a nonfiction book, based on firsthand accounts, about the 1740 shipwreck of the HMS Wager and the crew’s survival. I also like historical fiction.

Your favorite food or meal?

Since I’m going to Senegal, ceeb u jen, Senegalese fish and rice. Some would call it jolof rice, which comes from the Jolof kingdom in Senegal. The dish is like paella, a stew with a lot of tomato. The vegetables are removed and the rice is cooked in the broth. Then, everything is put back on top of the rice. The fish is stuffed with parsley, garlic, and hot pepper — divine.

Your favorite place on campus or in the Beloit area?

In Beloit it would be Big Hill Park, and on campus, my office. I have an amazing view of Eaton Chapel and its cupola out my window. My office and the building it’s in have a long history, and I love learning about that history. Campbell Hall was the second building built on campus. My office space is named after an alum, J Raymond Walsh (1921). He was a famous economist at Harvard University, and a radio commentator who was blacklisted because he was leftist, specifically in regards to labor politics and economics. Ironically, he went into investment banking after that. Fascinating.

Your favorite place in the world outside Beloit?

The place I found most stunning in the world is Kyoto, Japan. The history and the temples surrounded by hills, the quiet and polite atmosphere so close to larger metropolis city spaces. And, the food is so good. Kyoto is also the site of Doshisha University, Japan’s first liberal arts college, started by a Beloit College alum in the 1870s. It’s still going.

How do you spend your free time?

I spend time with my children. I’m obsessed with professional road cycling and training for road cycling. On my recent trip to the Netherlands, I used my free time for a 40-mile bike ride.

What three things would you want if you were shipwrecked on an island?

A book. A hatchet, and I think I would need something to capture my thoughts. I would lose my mind without the ability to write.

Who would you like to share a meal with, real or imagined?

Isaac Newton because I’m really interested in how he was able to develop his theories and observations. I would like to understand the world as he did, flawed as it was.

A favorite quote or words to live by?

I have many. I’ll share one by American author Henry Miller that I first heard in 2009 from my former director. “One’s destination is never a place but a new way of seeing things.” Post study abroad, we read a lot of literature. Miller’s words were a reflection prompt we would have students talk about when they returned to campus.

This moment in your own words?

We’re building connections between Schools and GEO. It’s exciting to develop how each School articulates their global learning options and work to be equipped to advise on them. We participated in a workshop for a semester that was enriched by our own shared immersion experience. During spring break, representatives of the Schools visited universities in Brussels, Belgium and in Maastricht, Netherlands. We looked at the programs that integrate with the Schools and met faculty members and administrators, while at the same time the Center increased its understanding of student support networks and locations. Our shared experience will make the program more accessible and the faculty more connected to those destinations, and by proxy, their students. Faculty can also more easily browse host university websites with this same understanding.

Why Beloit?

I had worked with Beloit College students during my previous position in Senegal. I knew people and the approach to learning. When the job came up, it was a good fit. Beloit College is a leader in international and global learning, and small enough that I have a part in shaping what it is. I’ve been here for one tenth of the college’s history now.