Tanner 2020
20th Anniversary summit & Storycorps partnership
October 2020
ABOUT
Established through the generosity of Wellesley College trustee emerita Estelle “Nicki” Newman Tanner ’57, the Tanner Conference celebrates the relationship between the liberal arts classroom and student engagement in the world beyond the Wellesley College campus. In a typical year on the day of the conference, the entire Wellesley community can gather to learn from students about their participation in and learning from internships, civic engagement, study abroad and other opportunities. Presenters have the chance to reflect upon their experiences and share their insights and growth with their peers, while attendees learn about the ways in which such experiences can complement the classroom experience and clarify one’s interests and goals. Many students describe presenting at and attending Tanner as a highlight of their Wellesley experience.
For Tanner 2020 - the 20th anniversary of the Tanner Conference and a year like no other - the conference will use this year’s gathering to recognize and reflect on this remarkable and historical year of experiential learning for us all. The weeks of - October 19th -30th - will include a virtual Tanner Summit, allowing for campus-wide conversations, and a partnership with StoryCorps that emphasize reflection and interpersonal dialogue. While the format will look different, Tanner 2020 will emphasize, as the conference always does, reflection, engagement and a celebration of the learning that takes place outside of the classroom.
Schedule
The Tanner Summit panels listed below are now available. Please view the the Tanner 2020 Summit playlist on YouTube.
Monday, October 19 at 3:00-4:00 p.m. EST
Moderator: President Paula Johnson
Ashley Anderson, DS '21, English and Creative Writing
Gaya Krishna '22, Neuroscience and French
Michaella Park '21, Environmental Studies and Architecture
Tarini Sinha '22, English and Women’s & Gender Studies
Tuesday, October 20 at 11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. EST
Moderator: Erich Hatala Matthes, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Director, The Camilla Chandler Frost '47 Center for the Environment
Frannie Adams '21, Environmental Studies and Economics
Shukri Ali '21, Economics & Environmental Studies
Hannah Michaud '21 International Relations-History and Mathematics
Dani Pergola, '21, Biological Sciences
THE MOVEMENT FOR RACIAL JUSTICE
Wednesday, October 21 at 11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. EST
Moderator: Brenna Greer, Associate Professor of History
Teran Chapis '22, Political Science
Iris Haastrup, '22, Architecture
Josephine Kim '20 History
Kindred Obas '19 English
Thursday, October 22 at 11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. EST
Moderator: Jennifer Chudy, Knafel Assistant Professor of Social Sciences and Assistant Professor of Political Science
Caroline Alt '21, Political Science and History
Anna Mervosh ‘22, Political Science and Environmental Studies
Gabrielle Shlikas '22, Political Science and English
All members of the Wellesley College Community are invited to record a StoryCorps conversation reflecting on their experiential learning as it pertains to this years’ themes: The Pandemic, The 2020 Election, The Environmental Changes, and The Fight for Racial Justice.
StoryCorps
We are launching an exciting partnership with StoryCorps, inviting all students, faculty, and staff to record (available until the end of 2020) an interview with another member of our community reflecting on this past year and our individual experiences relating to one of the four themes. As always, StoryCorps interviews are archived in the Library of Congress as intimate markers of history accessible to future generations. These conversations, which we will save, with participant permission, in the College Archives, uphold the spirit and goals of the Tanner Conference: to reflect upon powerful personal experiences, to share those reflections with others, and to give our peers the gift of listening. They will also capture, for the future, snapshots of a remarkable historical moment for us as individuals, for our institution.
The directions and details to recording a StoryCorps interview are in the documents below:
How do I record an interview? Follow these simple instructions
Who should I choose as my interview partner? What should I ask them? Review our discussion guide
I have a question! Check out our FAQ
How do I conduct an interview? 7-Minute Masterclass on Interviewing!
If you would like to participate and are under the age of 18, please email tanner@wellesley.edu before proceeding.
Reflections
"It is an ongoing privilege to see, hear, and learn from remarkable Wellesley students who exemplify the difference that smart and thoughtful women can make in the world."
"I attended as many Tanner sessions as I could my first year, eager to learn more about the many ways learning can extend outside the classroom, especially at a liberal arts institution like Wellesley. Now, after finishing my own internship, I’ve applied to the Tanner this fall. My aspiration is to show all the wonderful learning opportunities I’ve been given and share my internship experience and knowledge with the Wellesley College community, with the hope that it inspires someone, just as Tanner did for me."
"Tanner helped me to confront many aspects of my summer experience that I hadn't given much thought to and the process of crafting my presentation from those reflections gave rise to a senior year in which I was able to be much more focused and intentional about my future goals."
"Tanner is about integrating what you learn about society with what you learn from society, what you learn with the heart with what you learn with the head, and what you learn at Wellesley with what you learn away from Wellesley. It is about how we learn for life."
"The Tanner Conference at Wellesley offers more than presentations. After leafing through the booklet with descriptions of each presentation, I was able to attend some of the ones that stuck out to me. However, there was no way for me to go to every presentation that interested me. After the day of the conference, I reached out to each student who had a Tanner that interested me and asked to meet over a meal or coffee. I was able to meet up with almost everyone I reached out to. As a first-year student, it was remarkable to me that upperclass-students were so willing to share their experiences with me."