Notice: Undefined index: HTTP_REFERER in /home/stparch/public_html/headmid_temp_main.php on line 4394
Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
August 23, 2007     Shelton Mason County Journal
PAGE 16     (16 of 46 available)        PREVIOUS     NEXT      Jumbo Image    Save To Scrapbook    Set Notifiers    PDF    JPG
 
PAGE 16     (16 of 46 available)        PREVIOUS     NEXT      Jumbo Image    Save To Scrapbook    Set Notifiers    PDF    JPG
August 23, 2007
 
Newspaper Archive of Shelton Mason County Journal produced by SmallTownPapers, Inc.
Website © 2025. All content copyrighted. Copyright Information
Terms Of Use | Privacy Policy | Request Content Removal | About / FAQ | Get Acrobat Reader




College Spotlight: Ben's busy studying business By REBECCA WELLS Even as a little boy, Ben Ander- son was business-minded: He ran a leinonade stand. During junior high and high school he sold Na- tive American-style dream catch- ers, pouches and jewelry at local bazaars and through a classified ad in The Journal with his compa- 'ny, Big Chief Indian Goods. Later he operated his own landscaping business. "Everything I did was business- oriented :in one way or another," he remembers. He's just completed his first year towards a degree in business at The Evergreen State College. Ironically, breaking his leg in an accident last summer, which left him temporarily unable to contin- ue landscaping, spurred him on to enrolling in college. That's when the better professional opportu- nities available through a college education began to really appeal to him. Even before then, when all he had was a business license, he realized that running a company without an education in the field can be a nightmare. "If you're going to go into busi- ness, you have to do a lot of plan- ning," he explains. A CLOSE FRIEND encour- aged Ben to attend college, so he enrolled at Evergreen, a school he had actually considered go- ing to right after high school. In fact his classmates in high school voted him "most likely to become a Greener. Ben is the son of Tom Anderson and Mary Duncan. His thther had attended Evergreen in the 1990s for job retraining and the college's beautiful campus and liberal atmo- sphere had always attracted Ben. He appreciates how the school pro- vides recycling bins all over cam- pus and even collects food scraps in the cafeteria tbr use as compost. Being a strong advocate tbr recy- cling and environmental preser- vation, he had initially thought about taking environmental stud- ies at Evergreen. When he started having trouble with the heavy scientific empha- sis in environmental studies, one of his classmates suggested pur- suing more business classes. He did and just tll in love with the program. Evergreen's business offerings have expanded since he began looking at the college a few years ago and some of the new thc- ulty in the department have really impressed him. One professor did his graduate studies at Stanford University. "To say 'business' at Evergreen is just so trying-to-conform-to-so- ciety," Ben points out in reference to the college's open, flexible, well- rounded approach to academics. "You can take a program as seri- ous as you want or as relaxed as you want." SO FAR, HIS classwork has involved a page or two of writing, 200 pages of reading, and quizzes each week, while students in other classes haven't had any of these assignments. One of his favorite classes so far has been a program course called the Ethical Entre- preneur which explored non-gov- ernmental organizations, market- ing and business planning. Learfi- ing about grassroots organizations benefiting social causes with fl'ee BEHIND THE front desk in the office of Mason County Literacy is Ben Anderson, who is employed there through work-study. He is currently studying business at The Evergreen State College. services and programs such as mi- cro-loans intrigues him, too. He's also taken an American studies class anti pre-business, which in- volved a lot of research tbllowed by a mock presentation to investors. Having the ability to stop by a protbssor's office or call fac- ulty directly is something he re- ally values about Evergreen when compared to larger universities where professors are more aloof. And while some of his friends are in classrooms packed with more than 500 students taught often by graduate students, he hasn't had a class with more than 20 students per professor yet. Evergreen limits class sizes to 23 students per pro- fessor, he says. "I like to be able to raise my hand, ask questions," he says. He is able to personally talk with faculty on a first-name basis and tutors are also readily avail- able to provide academic assis- tance. "That's the biggest thing that I like about Evergreen," Ben continues. "I don't have to just wait in line. I'm not just another number." MOST OF THE professors he's encountered on campus have doctorate degrees and purposely chose to work at Evergreen for various reasons. Among them is the fact that they have less pres- sure to publish work and are more encouraged to focus on teaching, he says. He describes the profes- sors he's met as: "Just absolutely brilliant." Eventually, Ben himself would like to continue on to Evergreen's graduate school and possibly earn a master's degree in public admin- istration or maybe environmental studies as well. Something else he learned was the sense of community surround- ing Evergreen: People at the col- lege understand why he endorses shopping locally and buying organ- ic, environmentally friendly prod- ucts. This supportive, community feeling extends into Shelton and it gives him the chance to get to know store clerks, bus drivers and people on the street. He even runs into old high-school classmates. Not only is Ben living in Shel- ton, he's also very involved in two community service organizations based in the city: Mason County Literacy and SOCK, Save Our County's Kids. Since he qualified for work-study in February, he has been working as an adminis- trative assistant and tutor in the office of the literacy organization in downtown Shelton. RIGHT NOW HE'S working lHllIIlllIlllllIlil[lllllll[iIlllllIlllllllll Ma,,;om 6otu VFW Poxt 1634 awtd Eke, ,,, Mrs. A{icJJe¢ter, reft  M 'i Fi4[er I • for to be., w;eg Monday-Friday 9 a.m.-4 p.m. (25 + Years Experience) General Dentistry full service practice Restorative care (Crowns, Bridges, Fillings) Extractions • Full & Partial Dentures Repairs * Relines Most Insurances Accepted S. Peters, DPD C. Ngo, DDS Page 16 - Shetton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, August 23, 2007 on updating the Microsoft Access database in the office, his goal be- ing to have the tbrms and applica- tions match. This will help the of- fice more accurately keep track of the status of participants. It will also allow staff to simply print out a list of participant addresses, in- stead of writing them out by hand. "I enjoy technology and making things easier," Ben says. He's also using technological skills he learned through an eBay course he took at Olympic College to manage a direct-sales account for Mason County Literacy. He can research product values and then sell in-kind donations to ben- efit the organization. "That's just fun, because I love on-line selling. I love Craig's List," he says. He has also come across a few summer side jobs over Craig's List, an on-line bargain site. Once the school year begins again this fall, Ben plans to keep working part time in the office. Meanwhile, he's also working part time for Save Our County's Kids, a local youth organization. Originally he had wanted to help with the organiza- tion's regular day programs, but since this conflicted with his work schedule, he's working on the Fri- day Nights @ SOCK program. He has experience working with children at Camp Bishop during the summer of 1997, followed by jobs-lbr-youth programs with the Shelton chapter of the Boys and Girls Club in the summers of 1998 and 1999. "I enjoy youth and I felt com back to my community, I was born and raised," plains. NOW THAT HE'S in 20s, Ben qualifies t'or cial aid which has paid his! up to this point. Trying to t$ vantage of all of the oppo open to him at the mome also enrolled in Students vice. This is a part-time P of AmeriCorps for college  versity students to provide  in their communities. By in 900 hours of service,  pants can earn a scholarS" $2,362.50. '! He spends quite a bit at the college bike shop, w,lla , works on his own bike an others work on theirs. Aside from service contri 17. for this scholarship progra also looking into helping t0.][T, a student-run cafe call|tEl$ Flaming Eggplant, whieiU feature Earth-fl'iendly me !1 an is already involved in i launch a project called th a for Entrepreneurship thr!! business department. A is now considering offering q[h 16-credit contract to help Pla, 1"  program. 4!  "That's where you can re your concentrated area ofs'b 't' Evergreen, where you write own course with faculty's sUlP aq Ben notes. r- Alpine Way is just the place! You live our own private apartment with your .,,, furniture and possessions around you. v]- can come and go as you please and  involved with the residents and activities Alpine as much as.you want- the choice 1 yours. If you need help, we have nurses other staff on duty 24 hours a day. R ETI R EM ENT APARTM ENTS, ASSISTED LIVING AND ALZHEIMER'S SPECIAL CARE For a complete tour and complimentary 1 : ,: O Beth Johnston, R.N., manager (360) 426-2600 900 West Alpine Way • Sheltort College Spotlight: Ben's busy studying business By REBECCA WELLS Even as a little boy, Ben Ander- son was business-minded: He ran a leinonade stand. During junior high and high school he sold Na- tive American-style dream catch- ers, pouches and jewelry at local bazaars and through a classified ad in The Journal with his compa- 'ny, Big Chief Indian Goods. Later he operated his own landscaping business. "Everything I did was business- oriented :in one way or another," he remembers. He's just completed his first year towards a degree in business at The Evergreen State College. Ironically, breaking his leg in an accident last summer, which left him temporarily unable to contin- ue landscaping, spurred him on to enrolling in college. That's when the better professional opportu- nities available through a college education began to really appeal to him. Even before then, when all he had was a business license, he realized that running a company without an education in the field can be a nightmare. "If you're going to go into busi- ness, you have to do a lot of plan- ning," he explains. A CLOSE FRIEND encour- aged Ben to attend college, so he enrolled at Evergreen, a school he had actually considered go- ing to right after high school. In fact his classmates in high school voted him "most likely to become a Greener. Ben is the son of Tom Anderson and Mary Duncan. His thther had attended Evergreen in the 1990s for job retraining and the college's beautiful campus and liberal atmo- sphere had always attracted Ben. He appreciates how the school pro- vides recycling bins all over cam- pus and even collects food scraps in the cafeteria tbr use as compost. Being a strong advocate tbr recy- cling and environmental preser- vation, he had initially thought about taking environmental stud- ies at Evergreen. When he started having trouble with the heavy scientific empha- sis in environmental studies, one of his classmates suggested pur- suing more business classes. He did and just tll in love with the program. Evergreen's business offerings have expanded since he began looking at the college a few years ago and some of the new thc- ulty in the department have really impressed him. One professor did his graduate studies at Stanford University. "To say 'business' at Evergreen is just so trying-to-conform-to-so- ciety," Ben points out in reference to the college's open, flexible, well- rounded approach to academics. "You can take a program as seri- ous as you want or as relaxed as you want." SO FAR, HIS classwork has involved a page or two of writing, 200 pages of reading, and quizzes each week, while students in other classes haven't had any of these assignments. One of his favorite classes so far has been a program course called the Ethical Entre- preneur which explored non-gov- ernmental organizations, market- ing and business planning. Learfi- ing about grassroots organizations benefiting social causes with fl'ee BEHIND THE front desk in the office of Mason County Literacy is Ben Anderson, who is employed there through work-study. He is currently studying business at The Evergreen State College. services and programs such as mi- cro-loans intrigues him, too. He's also taken an American studies class anti pre-business, which in- volved a lot of research tbllowed by a mock presentation to investors. Having the ability to stop by a protbssor's office or call fac- ulty directly is something he re- ally values about Evergreen when compared to larger universities where professors are more aloof. And while some of his friends are in classrooms packed with more than 500 students taught often by graduate students, he hasn't had a class with more than 20 students per professor yet. Evergreen limits class sizes to 23 students per pro- fessor, he says. "I like to be able to raise my hand, ask questions," he says. He is able to personally talk with faculty on a first-name basis and tutors are also readily avail- able to provide academic assis- tance. "That's the biggest thing that I like about Evergreen," Ben continues. "I don't have to just wait in line. I'm not just another number." MOST OF THE professors he's encountered on campus have doctorate degrees and purposely chose to work at Evergreen for various reasons. Among them is the fact that they have less pres- sure to publish work and are more encouraged to focus on teaching, he says. He describes the profes- sors he's met as: "Just absolutely brilliant." Eventually, Ben himself would like to continue on to Evergreen's graduate school and possibly earn a master's degree in public admin- istration or maybe environmental studies as well. Something else he learned was the sense of community surround- ing Evergreen: People at the col- lege understand why he endorses shopping locally and buying organ- ic, environmentally friendly prod- ucts. This supportive, community feeling extends into Shelton and it gives him the chance to get to know store clerks, bus drivers and people on the street. He even runs into old high-school classmates. Not only is Ben living in Shel- ton, he's also very involved in two community service organizations based in the city: Mason County Literacy and SOCK, Save Our County's Kids. Since he qualified for work-study in February, he has been working as an adminis- trative assistant and tutor in the office of the literacy organization in downtown Shelton. RIGHT NOW HE'S working lHllIIlllIlllllIlil[lllllll[iIlllllIlllllllll Ma,,;om 6otu VFW Poxt 1634 awtd Eke, ,,, Mrs. A{icJJe¢ter, reft  M 'i Fi4[er I • for to be., w;eg Monday-Friday 9 a.m.-4 p.m. (25 + Years Experience) General Dentistry full service practice Restorative care (Crowns, Bridges, Fillings) Extractions • Full & Partial Dentures Repairs * Relines Most Insurances Accepted S. Peters, DPD C. Ngo, DDS Page 16 - Shetton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, August 23, 2007 on updating the Microsoft Access database in the office, his goal be- ing to have the tbrms and applica- tions match. This will help the of- fice more accurately keep track of the status of participants. It will also allow staff to simply print out a list of participant addresses, in- stead of writing them out by hand. "I enjoy technology and making things easier," Ben says. He's also using technological skills he learned through an eBay course he took at Olympic College to manage a direct-sales account for Mason County Literacy. He can research product values and then sell in-kind donations to ben- efit the organization. "That's just fun, because I love on-line selling. I love Craig's List," he says. He has also come across a few summer side jobs over Craig's List, an on-line bargain site. Once the school year begins again this fall, Ben plans to keep working part time in the office. Meanwhile, he's also working part time for Save Our County's Kids, a local youth organization. Originally he had wanted to help with the organiza- tion's regular day programs, but since this conflicted with his work schedule, he's working on the Fri- day Nights @ SOCK program. He has experience working with children at Camp Bishop during the summer of 1997, followed by jobs-lbr-youth programs with the Shelton chapter of the Boys and Girls Club in the summers of 1998 and 1999. "I enjoy youth and I felt com back to my community, I was born and raised," plains. NOW THAT HE'S in 20s, Ben qualifies t'or cial aid which has paid his! up to this point. Trying to t$ vantage of all of the oppo open to him at the mome also enrolled in Students vice. This is a part-time P of AmeriCorps for college  versity students to provide  in their communities. By in 900 hours of service,  pants can earn a scholarS" $2,362.50. '! He spends quite a bit at the college bike shop, w,lla , works on his own bike an others work on theirs. Aside from service contri 17. for this scholarship progra also looking into helping t0.][T, a student-run cafe call|tEl$ Flaming Eggplant, whieiU feature Earth-fl'iendly me !1 an is already involved in i launch a project called th a for Entrepreneurship thr!! business department. A is now considering offering q[h 16-credit contract to help Pla, 1"  program. 4!  "That's where you can re your concentrated area ofs'b 't' Evergreen, where you write own course with faculty's sUlP aq Ben notes. r- Alpine Way is just the place! You live our own private apartment with your .,,, furniture and possessions around you. v]- can come and go as you please and  involved with the residents and activities Alpine as much as.you want- the choice 1 yours. If you need help, we have nurses other staff on duty 24 hours a day. R ETI R EM ENT APARTM ENTS, ASSISTED LIVING AND ALZHEIMER'S SPECIAL CARE For a complete tour and complimentary 1 : ,: O Beth Johnston, R.N., manager (360) 426-2600 900 West Alpine Way • Sheltort