If I had to describe what I’m passionate about in one word, it would be storytelling.
Here are some of my favorite written pieces
Linda Peterson, a Native American jewelry artisan from the Tule River tribe, files down a ring she is working on in her studio. Sitting on her property right off the Umpqua River in Scottsburg, Oregon, this small building houses her many tools, materials, and projects. Four years ago, she took a class to brush up on what she learned in the art classes she took while in college, and has been full-time silver-smithing ever since.
Wearing earrings that she purchased in support of another Native artist, Linda focuses on stamping a metal pendant for a necklace she’s constructing. She is a regular vendor at a variety of local markets and advocates for the support of fellow Native creatives by sharing the importance of purchasing directly from the artist.
After adding some finishing touches to the piece, Linda takes in the pendant she has been piecing together for over a year. “Sacred Deer Dance” draws inspiration from Native celebrations honoring harvested deer. Linda uses designs and ceremonies from her culture and the stones themselves to inform the jewelry she makes.
While hammering away at a piece of metal to stamp it with a design, Linda explains one of her favorite parts of making jewelry — the emotions. “Jewelry brings back positive memories for people. I’ve never met someone who had a negative experience with it,” she said.
While Linda doesn't pick favorites with her pieces, she does enjoy certain techniques more than others — heating up metal being one of them. Linda believes that her, “…innate desire to make things — beautiful things,” has kept her motivated in her work, and will continue to as she keeps creating and educating.
Meet Andrea:
A group of chatty students navigate the dim streets around the University of Oregon campus to reach their destination — an empty field right off the Willamette River. Professor Andrea Goering leads the way, a telescope strapped to her back. Andrea currently teaches introductory astronomy courses at the UO, and instead of spending her Saturday evening at home, she is taking her students out to stargaze on one of the last clear nights of the term.
Current sophomore astronomy student, Maren Fullerton, is taking her second class taught by Andrea, and despite not being a science major, Fullerton looked into adding an astronomy minor after taking her first class. “You can tell she’s passionate about what she does,” said Fullerton, “and that’s definitely impacted my excitement to learn.” Andrea’s commitment to her students makes challenging topics more accessible.
From a young age, Andrea has been captivated by the cosmos. Her passion for space led her to the Colorado School of Mines to explore aerospace and pursue an undergraduate degree in physics. However, teaching captured her interest more than her labs did, and after getting her Ph.D. in physics at the UO, she went back to the classroom. “Because both of my degrees are in physics, there’s been this progression of learning astronomy while teaching it, which has been equally challenging and fun,” she said. Andrea feels like students are inherently motivated by astronomy which has impacted her passion for teaching it.
Being a woman in a science field has come with a fair amount of challenges. While studying for her Ph.D., stories of women around her having their ideas ignored until male colleagues echoed them were all too common. During this time, Andrea bonded with her advisor — another woman in the field. When her advisor left the UO before Andrea graduated, it put her in a tough spot. "It took time to find new mentors, but they got me out of feeling so stuck and alone. I don't think I would've graduated without them,” she said. Building a new community of advisors after the departure of her first one was vital in her journey from student to professor.
Andrea is excited to continue teaching and learning alongside her students. She believes that the study of space is for everyone, and wants to keep providing others with the insight that has helped form her view of the world. "The more I think about space, time, and the inevitability of death — even for our universe,” she explained, “the better I feel about the world we live in and all its problems." Learning about things outside of our world is comforting to Andrea, and that feeling keeps her striving to learn more.
