Great Profiles

About this weblog

j270 — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 04:46:07 +0000

The profiles on this weblog were written by University of Montana pre-journalism students in Professor Clem Work’s reporting class in the fall semester of 2007.

Students wrote profiles of artists and wordsmiths, teachers and builders, missionaries and drug addicts, environmentalists, reformers and activists, didgeridoo and fly-fishing and falconry fanatics and a courageous family fighting their daughter’s deadly disease.

Badria al Abdullah profiles missionary/jeweler Debbie Lee | Nic Barnum describes English composition instructor Greg Hill’s angst | Brenna Braaten shows why students flock to UM anthropology professor Garry Kerr | Raptors have hooked their talons deep into Kate Davis’ soul, writes Bess Brownlee | Kappa Kappa Gamma sister Liz Martin seems destined for a life of service, notes Caitlin Curran | UM dance professor Heather Adams has big plans for her own adult dance studio, writes Danielle DeBouver | Carly Flandro details environment activist Bryony Schwan’s struggle to save our planet | Versatility is the hallmark of Grizzly right tackle Brent Russum, writes Leigh Frederickson | Life for jeweler Alice Ryan is a lot more complicated than tiaras and sequins, according to Erin Gallagher | Her parents’ love for brain-damaged Mikaslyn Larson knows no bounds, writes Alexandra Haan | Stefanie Kilts shows how green builder Steve Loken treasures Earth’s bounty through recycling and energy-saving | Ashley Klein profiles UM junior Matthew Tremper and his work to save orphans in Vietnam | Grizzly Hackle owner Dan Shepherd’s enthusiasm for fly-fishing is pretty much all-consuming, notes Bryce McLean | De-criminalizing marijuana is just one facet of John Masterson’s busy life, writes Bryan Nevers | Didgeridoo-ist Mandela Leola van Eeden spins a colorful tale, as recorded by Victoria Norskog | Cameron Rasmusson describes musician Peter Mason’s homecoming | Rachel Rawn shows how UM English professor Jocelyn Siler conveys her love of good writing | A drug rehab center helped turn Jonathan Saltz’s life around, he told Brittney Roberts | Justin Woodburn profiles a literary master, Bryan Di Salvatore.

Jewelry of Hope, by Badria Al-Abdullah

j270 — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 04:40:28 +0000

The 4-foot 9-inch OB nurse curls her knees up towards her chin as she sits on her couch, black ringlets fall across her face. The movement suddenly hides her brown eyes—the gateway to ten years of life-changing memories.

“In 2002 I broke down emotionally. I came back weeping (after visiting a Mother Theresa orphanage),” said Debbie Lee. “It’s not that I haven’t seen poverty that deep. I didn’t know if the kids would survive the night. We’re sheltered from that aren’t we?”

There are more than two million orphans in Kenya, many abandoned because of disease and abuse. But as extravagant a number as this is, one Missoula resident is determined to help see it drop drastically—one bracelet at a time. Full profile

Active Creation, by Nic Barnum

j270 — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 04:00:13 +0000

It’s rare to find people who are able to make a living doing what they love. Everybody tries, everybody has a dream of what they want to be when they’re young: a fireman, doctor, rock n’ roll star. But as we get older we somehow stray away from those dreams, not necessarily by choice, but because of certain circumstances and compromises we must make. Before we know it, we’re working at some business, selling products we’ve never heard of or waking up at five every morning to dig holes and lay bricks and basically, be unhappy. We didn’t make it, were not doing what we want or what were good at. It’s because we made one too many compromises or waited too long to do anything about our life and got stuck in these roles we never would have pictured ourselves in.

Greg Hill Jr. is 32. He sits in an empty classroom at the University of Montana’s Liberal Arts building. He looks stressed, comfortably stressed, like he’s been feeling this way for a while. He’s a writer. He sits on a small wooden desk. He wears a dark goatee and has thick black hair that seems pasted to his forehead. Thinly framed glasses border his eyes, which are constantly making eye contact. He looks Italian and personable. Hill teaches ENEX 101, a writing course required for most majors at UM. When he’s not instructing English, he’s studying and writing poetry. Full profile

Chocolate and Culture, by Brenna Braaten

j270 — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 03:54:24 +0000

One particularly boring day of class, a tale, lanky professor with chestnut-colored hair and a big, infectious smile realized that he was losing his student’s attention quickly. He remembered a book he had just read on a culture in Africa and was struck with an idea. He started groaning, which caught some notice from the students at the front of the class. While walking around holding his back as if in pain, he complained that he hadn’t seen his toes in several months, that he was bloated, and that he was having cramps. Soon his water broke. Suddenly, all of the young men in the class were laughing and the professor had the attention of the rest of the class as he continued the process of giving birth.

Every semester UM Professor Garry Kerr goes through birth in his anthropology classes. He claims, “I’m one of the few men who gives birth on campus regularly.” Full profile

Bird Woman, by Bess Brownlee

j270 — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 03:45:29 +0000

“I’ll be right there!” yelled a strong voice from the doorway of a beautiful log home in the snow-covered Bitterroot Valley. With her snow boots on, Kate Davis leapt outside to examine who had just pulled up her long driveway. She ducked back inside and reappeared shortly with two large buckets in hand. A pair of playful Irish setters, Zoey and Peanut, followed closely at her heels. “Don’t worry, they’re friendly,” she said good-naturedly as they galloped toward me, barking wildly, wagging their tails. “Let’s go feed the birds.”

Several bird calls wove their way through the crisp morning air as Davis tromped through the snow toward nearly a dozen enclosures. All of these bird habitats varied in size, and housed a variety of predatory birds. “We care for eighteen birds here, fifteen are injured raptors, and three are falconry birds,” she explained. As we neared the largest enclosure, three gigantic eagles shifted menacingly on their perches.

Kate Davis started Raptors of the Rockies, a non-profit educational program, nearly twenty years ago in 1988 on her ranch in Clinton. “That was six Subaru’s ago!” chuckled Davis. In 2001 she and her husband moved to Florence and constructed all the highly specialized bird homes in seven days. Next door neighbors Geoff Schroeder and Georgia Milan thought she was running a puppy mill. Davis said that when she introduced herself and told them what all the little buildings were for, they were relieved. “She is a wonderful woman and a great neighbor,” said Milan. Full profile

Life of Service, by Caitlin Curran

j270 — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 03:38:49 +0000

On a grey, brisk April afternoon, tents began to rise around the University of Montana’s oval. It was the second annual American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life. Students gathered with their teams to prepare for the 24-hour walk later that evening. Circling the oval through the night was a task that awaited them, but it was a much smaller task than those who suffer from cancer must take on.

Towering over the forming crowd, brown hair draped down her back, and her blue eyes glistening from the chill in the air, Liz Martin stands out. As a freshman Martin remembers that crowd in the main tent. Participants were waiting to purchase luminaries in honor of those who have fought the battle against cancer. Martin was in charge of luminary sales that day. During the planning that led up to the event, Martin hadn’t felt much emotion but, once the evening began she felt overcome. “I feel lucky that my grandma is a survivor and I’m sad I’ve lost an uncle, but that’s the sad part about cancer. I’m just one small person in this big fight against cancer,” said Martin. The emotions during Relay for Life were so powerful on that day that they were almost indescribable. Full profile

Dance With a Hundred-Watt Smile, by Danielle deBouver

j270 — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 03:31:48 +0000

As if Heather Adams’ contagious laughter weren’t enough inspiration to jump into a casual Tuesday night salsa class at the Badlander, eccentric black and white skeleton murals illuminated by dim lighting lend themselves to the irresistible beat of the salsa music.

You would never guess that the woman about to teach salsa, greeting everyone with a hundred-watt smile, had started dancing at age five with focused dreams of becoming a tutu flaunting ballerina with a tight bun. Nor would you guess that this woman who snorts, giggles and goofs at random intervals throughout her University classes retained this focus to change dance in Missoula.

She starts an eight-count, guiding two lines of four moving left to right, reminding everyone that salsa is nothing without the swaying of hips. Adding music, Heather declares it time to partner up, and everyone listens. There’s a certain authority and trust held in this bubbly figure that no one wants to offend. Eight dancers have grown to ten. College to middle-aged, new to experienced, dancers pair up to salsa for the next hour and a half.
Full profile

A Vision For Mother Earth, by Carly Flandro

j270 — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 03:19:41 +0000

It was a picture on a wall.

It showed an old, dead tree and some pueblos in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Bryony Schwan walked around the conference room of the Biomimicry Institute and paused in front of the photo.

The tree was leafless.

Its broad trunk had diverged into branches, which formed dozens of intricate limbs that wandered skyward. Measured rooftops of sun-baked pueblos rose behind the tree and accentuated its meandering lines.

It was a photograph hanging on a wall – her photograph.

Bryony, the executive director of the Biomimicry Institute, has always seen things differently. Full profile

Tackling Life, by Leigh Fredrickson

j270 — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 03:06:16 +0000

Standing 6 feet 4 inches tall and 289 pounds with bulging biceps and broad shoulders and long shaggy hair, Brent Russum looks intimidating both on the field as an offensive lineman for the Grizzlies or off the field, but appearances can be deceiving. Anyone who spends any time with Russum finds him to be a friendly, down to earth guy always laughing or smiling and trying to get everyone around him to do the same. “He is one of the nicest guys on the team,” says former Grizzly manger Jared Uncles. He further describes Russum as, “A hard working guy always looking to improve, yet he jokes around and can have fun at the same time.” When you ask anyone who has encountered Russum to describe him, a similar opinion is usually echoed, always starting with, “He’s the nicest guy,” followed by an anecdote of some nice action or gesture he had performed. Full profile

Queen of the Market, by Erin Gallagher

j270 — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 03:01:38 +0000

During its seasonal art fairs, the University Center atrium is a scene of organized chaos. People mill about in the congested aisles, trying to do business with local vendors over the inescapable noise of the crowd, or browse the numerous hand-made goods on display and coo about them with friends.

“If you see anything you like, you’re welcome to touch it, pick it up, and try it on! We’re very hands-on here, and we love to make people smile!” said a female voice from behind a table littered with a variety of sparkling, colorful necklaces and bracelets made from gemstone beads and silver. Amidst the jewelry sat a selection of intricate crowns and tiaras, some glittering with crystals and beads, others exploding with colorful flowers and ribbons that would catch the eye of anybody in the table’s general vicinity. Full profile