The Greek Philanthropy Union, Physical Plant, and the greater Hamilton community surpassed their fundraising goal and raised enough funds to purchase 130 Easter hams and donate $325 for more groceries for the Country Pantry in Clark’s Mills.

Trial and error, changing careers and taking risks are all steps to realizing one’s true passions. These were just some of the messages alumni in the field of communications shared with students at Hamilton’s first Communications Bootcamp, sponsored by the Career Center and held in the heart of Times Square on March 23.

William R. Kenan Professor of East Asian Languages and Literature Hong Gang Jin was an invited key speaker on March 16 at the 2nd Annual Chinese Pedagogical Workshop. The event was sponsored by the Department of Asian Studies of Penn State University.

Hamilton’s Alternative Spring Break (ASB) group in Virginia helped build a Habitat for Humanity house during the first week of spring break, March 16-23. The Hamilton students worked with Hanover Habitat for Humanity in Mechanicsville, where they helped build a house for a family in need.

Rachel B. Cackett ’13, a double major in geosciences and art, presented a poster titled “A Laboratory Exercise for Paleontology: Environmental Analysis Using Invertebrate Fossils” at the 48th Annual Meeting of the Geological Society of America – Northeastern Section.

Visiting Assistant Professor of Comparative Literature Janelle A. Schwartz ’97 presented a lecture on March 23 at Counterpath in Denver. The talk, based on her book Worm Work: Recasting Romanticism (2012), incorporated both science and literature in an examination of the world of worms.

Visiting Assistant Professor of History John Ragosta discussed his new book -- Religious Freedom: Jefferson's Legacy, America's Creed -- at the Virginia Festival of the Book in Charlottesville, Va, on March 22.  The Virginia Festival is the largest gathering celebrating writing and reading in the Mid-Atlantic region drawing new and best-selling authors in all genres.

Luce Junior Professor of Asian Studies and Anthropology Chris Vasantkumar is the author of an essay titled "Unmade in China: Reassembling the Ethnic on the Gansu-Tibetan Frontier" that has just been published by Ethnos: Journal of Anthropology.

In a Huffington Post essay titled “The New Washington Economics,” Government Professor P. Gary Wyckoff questioned the financial soundness of the sequester.  In the March 21 posting, he addressed the economic reasons why the sequester may be quite detrimental to the economy while not reducing the deficit significantly.

Lauren Howe ’13 has been awarded a prestigious Thomas J. Watson Fellowship for 2013-14. Her project is titled “The Future of Food: Modern Technology and Traditional Agriculture Systems.” Howe was among 40 national winners of the Fellowships. This year 148 finalists competed on the national level, after their institutions nominated them in the autumn. Each fellow receives $25,000 for a year of travel and exploration outside the U.S.