Discovering Whitman
Being an independent counselor in Portland Oregon, Whitman
College has always been just enough off the beaten path that I had not a chance
to visit. What a great opportunity to
visit as a post HECA conference tour.
Boarding the bus at 7:15 am after a very fun and beautiful evening on
the Portland Spirit, 42 fellow counselors and I traveled to Walla Walla, “the
town so nice, they named it twice”. I
was familiar with Whitman and it’s out of the way location. I wasn’t familiar with what makes Whitman a
special place.
After lunch and a campus tour, we met with Adam Miller,
director of Admissions. I was already
getting a sense of “why Whitman” from the themed houses, to the open quads to
the laid back Northwest feel. Miller
described it best: “Whitman is a place
for those students that go about their college search a little
differently”. Whitman is out of the way;
Spokane (not really considered a major city by many) is three hours away. Portland and Seattle are four hours
away. There is a small regional airport
in Walla Walla, but does not serve Portland.
Students that choose Whitman are looking for something out of the
way.
In an environment that is challenging but not competitive,
professors are not afraid to take the class out of the classroom, whether to
Ankeny Field or to the nearby state penitentiary to study the judicial
system. Nearly 30% of students
participate in Greek Life, yet the atmosphere is open to all and anything but
the typical party scene. The student
panel we heard was varied in their activities and studies, yet all shared
enthusiasm on their Whitman experience.
Hard questions were asked from this group of counselors and these
students embraced them. Of course, that
is why they were chosen, right?
We enjoyed an evening on our own in Walla Walla which
provided the opportunity we don’t normally get on such tours. Walla Walla has a vibrant downtown with a
farmer’s market, great restaurants featuring local wines, ice cream and candy
shops as well as bike and outdoor shops.
Although a student wouldn’t need to use the bike shop in town as
Whitman’s outdoor program provides all the equipment and excursions a student
could want. The Scrambles program is an
outdoor adventure (many choices) for incoming freshman. The outdoor program at
Whitman is top rated in the state.
Another one of our stops around the Whitman campus was in
the Hall of Music. We were treated to
Dr. Susan Pickett and her student research assistant. They shared their love of music and in particular
the project they are working on this summer: transcribing female composer’s
work from the 18th century.
Her student Ryan, received a Parry grant (exclusive to Whitman in the
music department) to compensate him for his work over the summer. The passion from both student and professor
were evident and I marveled at the opportunity this young man was having doing
one on one research with his professor.
With new appreciation for the town of Walla
Walla and especially Whitman, we boarded the bus home Friday for Portland.
