McBride Honors Program in Public Affairs
Colorado School of Mines
What is Practicum?
Practicum is an opportunity to design your own learning experience. As the capstone experience in McBride, this course asks you to draw upon experiences and broader learning outcomes from the program, but it allows you to apply those in a context that is wholly of your own making. Additionally, as the title suggests, the course asks you to apply these in practical, experience driven ways. This is an online, asynchronous course that is designed to be highly flexible and adaptable and to meet students quite literally wherever they may be in the world. The course will offer guidance on how to set up successful learning, as well as a community of other students to provide insight, feedback, and inspiration. The Practicum is meant to be taken by students in their late Junior or Senior year. It is not meant for first year McBriders. If you have questions about the course, please reach out to either Justin Latici or Melanie Brandt.
Justin Latici:
Office: 1704 Illinois St, room #105
Honors Enrichment Awards: These are available to all McBride students and may be used to help offset some costs associated with the Practicum.
Practicum Cohort
Ryan Kennett
Her Practicum:
Mimi Clot de Broissia
Her Practicum:
For my practicum experience, I focused on diving into the intersection of landscape, textiles, and identity in China and Iceland. I completed research to understand the history of textile art and its role in the region’s culture, then moved to the creation of five textile wearables, all representative of space. Creation of various textiles has always been an interest of mine, as I grew up learning to sew, crochet, embroider, and weave. Being able to actually explore the importance of textiles in other regions provided insights into their respective cultures through a familiar lens!
Gavyn Stiles
His Practicum:
Makenna Straka
Her Practicum:
Traditional road trip narratives often portray the road as a promise: an escape from the confines of society, a chance to achieve self-discovery, or a spiritual space granting epiphany to anyone willing to chase the dashed yellow line far enough. My practicum explores this canonical mythos of the road through a review of American road stories, both traditional and marginalized. These perspectives gave context to my own road trip from Tacoma to LA, allowing me to explore the untold and evolving stories of the road through my unique lens as a woman traveling alone. My findings are ultimately memorialized in my own road trip short story.
Sofia Martikonis
Her Practicum:
The goal of my practicum was to redefine and better understand the relationship we have with nature. I approached my understanding through three main pillars of research: science through quantum physics, religion through old and new age practices, and lived experiences. The first bit of my practicum consisted of research, where I then got to apply ideologies and perspectives I had gathered- from religions like Shinto and Taoism to theories like the metaphysics of oneness- to real world experiences. I spent much of my practicum out in nature and understanding how the cultural and social lenses we grow up with limit our understanding of nature. My practicum accumulated with me going solo-camping for half a week in Moab, Utah, where I spent that time reflecting on my experiences thus-far and developing my own relationship and understanding of nature. Through my practicum, I’ve been able to better understand that by unlearning our preconceived notions surrounding nature, we can better coexist with nature and find purpose in the simple pleasure of existence.
Ava Driscoll
Her Practicum:
My practicum was an investigative exploration of the exotic pet industry in the United States. I started my exploration by compiling information on laws, definitions, and statistics. I created parameters and definitions of my own to work with, as some terms I had to work with were rather subjective, such as “domestic” and “exotic”. I then began seeking out interviews with people involved with the exotic pet industry, such as those who own exotic pets and even a private zoo owner with hundreds of animals. I also visited a wide variety of exotic pet stores. During these outings and interviews, I paid the most attention to quality of care and the “why” of keeping the vast array of beautiful animals encompassed within the exotic pet industry. My “big finale” was when I attended the Nashville Exotic Pet Expo and to capture footage and gain a true understanding of the people who keep exotic animals, for better or for worse. All of my experiences were synthesized into a 50-minute documentary. I believe that this documentary encourages people to think critically about the commodification of complex, need-intensive animals and why we have such a fascination with wild animals.
Preston Nash
His Practicum:
My Practicum experience took me from Copper Mountain Ski Resort to Highway 114 over the course of 20 days. I crossed rivers and climbed peaks, all the while exploring who I was and what nature had to offer me. About half of the trip was spent alone, with occasional “good morning” calls from squirrels and one really good conversation with a marmot. The other half of the trip was spent with some of my closest friends and family. As much fun as I had, the trip had two clear intentions from the start. The first was to explore the ways in which humanity connects with nature in the hopes of revealing why American society loves to get outside. The second was to allow my mind to wander the trails my legs couldn’t quite take me on with the dream of being able to communicate why nature is so special to me. I sought answers to my questions both on the trail but also in a plethora of books, ranging from memoirs to poetry to history. I was even so inspired by the literature I read, that I produced my own works of poetry to commemorate and reflect on the trip. While my realizations about nature have years of refinement ahead of them, I’ve come to the conclusion that nature is special because it’s one of the few places where we can be ourselves without influence or recourse. Joy, exhaustion, excitement, adventure, awe, fear, nerves. Nature lets us experience all of it while showing us who we truly are. For more insight into my trip, visit my blog here.
Project Inspiration
Check out some of the fantastic work and experiences that other McBriders have done. Still looking for opportunities? Check out some of the following links that cover a range of opportunities.