Our Place in Walla Walla
Our Place in Walla Walla is a periodic column published by Noah Leavitt, Co-Director for the Career and Community Engagement Center for External Affairs and College Liaison for Community Affairs. It was created as a tool to help Whitman students learn more about the Walla Walla Valley, many of whom are living in Walla Walla for the first time. Each piece examines a different element of the area, from annual events to landmarks to community leaders.
Our Place in Walla Walla is published bi-weekly during the academic year as a featured column in the Whitman Today newsletter and here on the website.
May 20, 2024
Our Place in Walla Walla #18: Summer!
Our place knows how to enjoy summer vacation. Long days and no school mean that it’s time to take full advantage of the Valley.
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May 6, 2024
Our Place in Walla Walla #17: Wine
Our place loves grapes. This past weekend, you may have noticed extra traffic in town and around our community as Walla Walla hosted the annual Spring Release weekend, with thousands of people visiting town to participate in dozens of special events, tastings and other wine-related festivities.
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April 22, 2024
Our Place in Walla Walla #16: Higher Education
Our place enjoys and benefits from a vibrant higher ed sector. Yesterday, Whitman students along with students from our two local higher education partners, Walla Walla Community College (WWCC) and Walla Walla University (WWU), along with area residents joined hands for the Spring Tri-College Community Day.
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April 8, 2024
Our Place in Walla Walla #15: The Penitentiary
This week, the Whitman Wire features a story about a recent tragedy at the Washington State Penitentiary (WSP), one of our state’s four maximum security prisons (“close custody”) and, until the Washington Supreme Court ruled the state’s death penalty statute unconstitutional in 2018, the location of Washington’s Death Row and the facility where the state executed convicted inmates.
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March 25, 2024
Our Place in Walla Walla #14: Community Spirit
Our place is filled with Whitman community members making it better for everyone.Last week, our local newspaper, the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, celebrated the fourth annual cohort of remarkable local residents through their 39 Under 39 initiative.
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March 11, 2024
Our Place in Walla Walla #13: Women Leaders
In honor of last Friday’s International Women’s Day and the current Women’s History Month in the United States, today we honor and learn from some of the many women leaders all around us.
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February 26, 2024
Our Place in Walla Walla #12: Getting Noticed
Our place attracts attention.To borrow a phrase that Whitman Board of Trustee member Jonathan Sposato ’89 recently used to describe our lovely small college, our lovely small city punches above its weight.
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February 12, 2024
Our Place in Walla Walla #11: Asian-Americans
This past weekend was Lunar New Year for many Asian cultures and events celebrated this moment both on campus and in the Walla Walla community.
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January 29, 2024
Our Place in Walla Walla #10: Olympia
Our place is connected to our state capitol. The 300 miles between here and Olympia may seem a long way, however, for a short time every year that distance collapses.
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January 15, 2024
Our Place in Walla Walla #9: Civil Rights
Our place is tied to the Black liberation campaigns in the 1950s and 60s. Despite Walla Walla’s physical distance from the Southern states where organizers were most active, this community watched and felt the impact of the Civil Rights Movement in many ways.
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December 4, 2023
Our Place in Walla Walla #8: Religion
Our Place in Walla Walla #8: Religion
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November 13, 2023
Our Place in Walla Walla #7: Veterans
Our place honors our veterans. Nearly 10% of our county’s residents have served our nation in armed conflict. This community has seen many of its young people step into roles that protect our nation and uphold our liberties.
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