ESL students attend MTU Earth Week event with author Katie Alvord

By Michele Bourdieu, ESL Reading Instructor

HOUGHTON -- After reading prize-winning author Katie Alvord's articles on climate change published on Keweenaw Now, Finlandia's ESL students attended researcher Rolf Peterson's Earth Week presentation at Michigan Tech University and met with Katie afterwards for a discussion.

Peterson spoke about his work with the Wolf-Moose Study on Isle Royale, which is one of the topics included in Katie Alvord's articles on the effects of global warming in the Lake Superior Basin.

Rolf Peterson, Michigan Tech University professor and renowned researcher, gives a slide presentation and talk on his Isle Royale Wolf-Moose study during MTU's 2008 Earth Week celebration in March. Finlandia ESL students attended the presentation. Click on photo for larger version. (Photo by Michele Bourdieu)

In addition to reading about climate change, students had also discussed this and other environmental topics in their conversation class with Finlandia instructor, Suzanne Van Dam, who drove the group to MTU in a Finlandia van. After the talk, author Katie Alvord met with the students and their instructors for an informal discussion at the Library Restaurant in Houghton.

Pictured here during their discussion with prize-winning author Katie Alvord, third from left, and Instructor Suzanne Van Dam, fifth from left, are ESL students, from left, Daniel Rodriguez, Toshi Mita, Takaaki Niikura (Nick), Kumiko Takahashi, Kana Ito and Kazuki Nishiyama. Click on photo for larger version. (Photo by Michele Bourdieu)

The students all asked thoughtful questions, and Katie even rode back to Hancock in the van with them to continue the discussion.

Katie Alvord, the author of Divorce Your Car! Ending the Love Affair with the Automobile, is among the winners of the 2007 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Journalism Awards. She received her award ($3000 and a plaque from AAAS) in the category of online journalism. Her articles can be accessed from the links on the archived Keweenaw Now Web site. Visit her blog at http://katiealvord.blogspot.com.