Live Wire Blog

The big picture

Posted on June 19, 2009 by Karen Pojmann
Category: 2009 Missouri Scholars Academy

Missouri Scholars explore professional, personal and humanitarian roles

Photos by Christopher Young. See more!

GUEST BLOG

June 16, 2009
Elliot Meyer, Hannibal, Mo.

As scholars awoke to what they thought would be another dreary, rainy day, some thought of just hitting the snooze button a few more times and spending the day in bed.

When students departed for their majors, the rained ceased and the sun started to come out. In True Story, we learned about the many possible jobs an education from the Journalism School at Mizzou can lead to. After majors it had become a sunny, humid Missouri afternoon outside.

The Personal and Social Dynamics session showed us that the roles we play in other people’s lives are important to a lot of people. Many scholars found it emotionally difficult to “throw away” our roles with the people who matter to us.

During the afternoon activity, camera obscura, I helped make a pinhole camera in a geology classroom by blocking out all the light entering the room, except for a small hole letting in light from the window. Everything outside was inverted and displayed on the screen inside. As we took turns going outside and climbing on vans, doing cartwheels and fake fighting, the scholars inside experienced the incredible phenomenon of how light travels.

Holocaust survivor Hedy Epstein told us about how she had her world turned upside down during World War II. She was evacuated to England and communicated through letters with her parents, who were kept in concentration camps. She asked us not to applaud her presentation because she feels that it makes light of the horrific tragedies that happened in Europe.

Tuesday night brought the first night of Comedy Sports. Referee Ed Grooms had scholars telling stories of stop-sign-hating cowboys and zombie bacon. Some of the judges were emulating Simon Cowell with their scores, but the crowd thoroughly enjoyed this event.