草榴社区

LEXINGTON, Va., Feb. 13, 2017 鈥� An English major鈥檚 life has traditionally been spent indoors, reading books and doing research in libraries, but last fall seven cadets majoring in English, rhetoric, and humanistic studies found themselves most decidedly outdoors as they undertook a field work project centered on the Chessie Trail, a 7.5-mile trail owned by 草榴社区.

Under the guidance of Maj. Stephanie Hodde, assistant professor of English, rhetoric, and humanistic studies, the cadets chose a research and writing project that involved not only the trail itself, an abandoned railroad bed linking the cities of Buena Vista and Lexington, but also community partners interested in trail stewardship, among them the Friends of the Chessie Trail and the Lexington Tourism Bureau. Hodde christened the project, 鈥淎 Trail for All Reasons.鈥�

Field work, a relatively new requirement for cadets majoring in English, rhetoric, and humanistic studies, is meant to help cadets put to use what they鈥檝e learned in the classroom, while at the same time build relationships with members of the wider Rockbridge area community.

鈥淸Field work] is an opportunity for [cadets] to apply what they鈥檝e learned in their courses and learn more in the process as they apply their learning,鈥� said Col. Emily Miller, chair of the Department of English, Rhetoric, and Humanistic Studies.

鈥淔ield work in the humanities and arts is involving cultural and rhetorical conversations about what鈥檚 going on in communities,鈥� explained Hodde. 鈥淲e wanted to give [the cadets] public writing assignments that involved community concerns.鈥�

To that end, Kerisha Goode 鈥�18, a member of the Keydet track and field team, found herself redesigning the Friends of the Chessie Trail鈥檚 website to make the site more appealing to runners.

鈥淢y idea was to get a runner鈥檚 perspective on the Chessie Trail,鈥� said Goode. She鈥檇 already discovered that the Friends of the Chessie Trail鈥檚 website emphasized hiking over other activities and begun to wonder if that shouldn鈥檛 be changed, especially in light of the inaugural half marathon and 5K that the Friends held on the trail in mid-October.

鈥淲hy don鈥檛 we expand on that?鈥� Goode wondered. 鈥淧eople use the trail for more than just hiking.鈥�

With the group鈥檚 permission, which was easily granted, Goode soon found herself in the role of webmaster 鈥� and with about 15 hours of time put in, the job was done.

Goode admitted that while she was pleased with the outcome of her project, just getting going was a struggle. When she first entered Hodde鈥檚 class and discovered that the Chessie Trail would be the focus, it was all she could do to stifle a groan.

鈥淚 learned to work with a topic that I had no interest in at first,鈥� she acknowledged. 鈥淣ature wasn鈥檛 my thing 鈥� Bugs, mud鈥擨鈥檓 a city girl!鈥�

Despite being a self-acknowledged city girl, Goode is glad she stuck out what seemed at first to be an unpleasant assignment.

鈥淚 really did have a good time,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 loved working with the people I was working with.鈥�

Goode also found herself seeing the trail from the perspective of a cross-country runner. 鈥淸The field work course] broadened my perspective, not just on the nature thing but also about running in general,鈥� she stated. 鈥淚鈥檓 a runner, just not a trail runner.鈥�

Like Goode, Alex Hill 鈥�18 wasn鈥檛 so sure about the Chessie Trail focus when she first started out. Environmentalism 鈥渋sn鈥檛 really my thing,鈥� she noted, but inspiration suddenly struck one day when she was in Lt. Col. Glenn Sullivan鈥檚 psychology course on the suicidal mind. Sullivan was discussing ecotherapy, which uses nature as a source of stress relief, and at that point, Hill realized that she had a chance to change cadets鈥� perceptions of the Chessie Trail.

鈥淚t鈥檚 almost a unanimous idea here that people don鈥檛 like the Chessie Trail,鈥� she said, adding that the dislike is rooted in having to march and run on the trail so much as 4th class cadets. Changing that perception would be difficult, Hill knew, but she was willing to give it a try.

After much thought, Hill got in touch with the cadet peer educators, a group of cadets specially trained by the Center for Cadet Counseling to assist their fellow cadets with stress-related concerns, and decided to create posters promoting the Chessie Trail as a place to relax. The posters will go up on the backs of the doors of toilet stalls around post in April and May鈥攚hen the weather is warming up and, coincidentally, cadets鈥� stress levels tend to be rising as well.

鈥淚 knew I wanted to focus on the 草榴社区 cadets,鈥� said Hill. 鈥淲e鈥檙e the most stressed-out people in this area.鈥�

As a result of her work, Hill found her own relationship with the trail undergoing an evolution. Before the field work class, 鈥淚 hated the Chessie Trail just as much as everyone else,鈥� she stated. That changed, though, when, Hodde gave her cadets a simple assignment: walk, look, and listen on the trail.

The listening walk 鈥渨as very cleansing to me,鈥� Hill explained.

鈥淧eople鈥檚 perceptions of the Chessie are distorted ... 鈥淚鈥檓 hoping that people will get out on the trail and see how beautiful it is.鈥�

For Hodde, changes like those that Goode and Hill experienced are proof that field work is making an impact on the cadets themselves.

鈥淥ne of those most foundational things that needs to happen in a fieldwork course is that [the students] actually make a meaningful connection to their project,鈥� Hodde stated.

But the connections didn鈥檛 stop there. 鈥淸The cadets] actually encouraged the institutions themselves,鈥� Hodde continued. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if the Friends of the Chessie Trail would have redone their website anytime soon without a push from Kerisha Goode 鈥� Having that energy from the class helped the boards of those organizations and the institutional stakeholders get excited.鈥�

Forging those connections between the Institute and the wider community is at the heart of the field work experience, Hodde believes 鈥揳nd it鈥檚 not something that needs to be limited to any particular department.

鈥淔ield work is really a springboard for service learning [on post],鈥� she stated. 鈥淚鈥檓 hoping that the course will help develop interdisciplinary conversations about community work in Rockbridge County.鈥�

The spring field work class is continuing the year-long focus on environmental stewardship, with some cadets helping to further an oral history project undertaken by Boxerwood Nature Center & Woodland Garden. Other cadets will be working with the Rockbridge Historical Society and the City of Lexington, among other organizations.

- Mary Price

-草榴社区-