Whitman Stories

More admitted students and their parents attended and actively participated in the college's first-ever virtual event than previous on-campus tours.

Associate Professor of History Brian Dott, author of The Chile Pepper in China: A Cultural Biography, speak with the host of KCRW's Good Food about the chile's pre-modern journey from the Americas to a staple of Chinese cuisine.

Composer, pianist and Whitman College music instructor Kristin Vining wrote the song, "deep calls to deep," and had each part recorded individually by Whitman students and a fellow instructor. She then edited each part together to create a musical "call and response." The song evokes feelings around the pandemic and voices calling to each other across a vast distance, Vining said. Watch the video to hear the song and read more of the story of how it came together.

Whitman College's campus may be closed, but it is still a buzz of activity. The Physical Plant, Campus Security, Bon Appetit and Residence Life are among those teams continuing to work in-person to make sure the campus — and the students who are still living on it — are safe and cared for.

A model developed by Alan Turing helps explain the spots on the flowers—and many other natural patterns. Cooley and fellow biologists describe the intriguing species in-depth.

President Murray writes about how Whitman is adjusting to this strange new reality and thanks the Walla Walla community for its generosity of spirit.

Miller shares how admitted students are taking advantage of the enrollment flexibility Whitman has offered. When weighing the options for next year, starting their college education on time may make the most sense, especially considering gap year possibilities are likely to be curtailed due to COVID-19.

As graduating high school seniors ponder their next move in a time of unprecedented change, students like Rose Sosa and her family look to how helpful colleges have been during the crisis. With that in mind, Sosa chose Whitman despite not having the chance to visit campus this spring due to the virus.

The classes of 2008 and 2009 faced one of the most challenging job markets in decades, as the U.S. reeled from the impacts of the Great Recession. The Class of 2020 faces an equally uncertain job market, with hiring slowing and the unemployment rate rising in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Instead of their annual weeklong training camp, which hosted between 50-75 children ages 4-11 from across the Walla Walla Valley, this spring each player on the Blues Baseball team created their own video demonstrating techniques and teaching drills for children to practice at home.

This spring, Evangelos Sarantinos ’20 was awarded a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship to study rare disease and caregivers around the world.

Cameron Conner ’20 believes strongly in the power of communities. He demonstrates that it in his actions, whether that’s volunteering as a wrestling coach at a Spokane, Washington, high school, becoming certified as an EMT, co-founding a nonprofit or helping the city of Walla Walla create a neighborhood-building program. Moving forward, he’ll dig deeper into what makes communities work as a recipient of the Thomas J. Watson Fellowship.