About Dave Wheelan

One would think that Church Hill’s David Smith would be willing to sit down with the Spy to talk about his amazing career as a Navy submarine commander during the cold war. But it was the remarkable side story to David’s life, a lifelong passion for bees, that was the subject of our Spy chat a few weeks ago.

Well before he started at the Navy Academy, David Smith had already made beekeeping a part of his life growing up in rural Indiana. With the help of a 7th-grade math teacher, he not only loved watching bee colonies grow but creating better solutions to ensure their survival. It was also the first time he experienced a bee sting and realized the pain suffered was negligible given the pleasure of watching honey being made.

The Spy sat down with David a few miles from downtown Church Hill as a special reflection point. In the last year, he decided to sell his bees as he and his wife prepare for a move to a retirement community. And while it turns out his new community has shown interest in hosting bees, it was an excellent time to hear him talk about his own bee stories.

This video is approximately five minutes in length

Ken Eaton has a pretty tough job. For the last decade or so, he has used his volunteer time to help lead a group called ABATE of Maryland – Mid-Shore. That is not perhaps the most natural name for an organization devoted to the safety and use of motorcycle enthusiasts. But the name, like recreational motorbiking itself, has a long history of meaning different things to different people.

And Ken’s volunteer job most weeks is to explain to the general public this multidimensional organization as it takes on such controversial issues as fighting against helmet laws and state rules on passing vehicles in the same lane.

In his Spy interview, Ken talks about the positive work that ABATE does locally, but doesn’t shy away from sharing his organization’s more controversial advocacy work. He also gives a surprising answer are why so many bikes, including the legendary Harley Davidsons, are so darn loud.

This video is approximately four minutes in length. For more information about ABATE Mid-Shore please go here

Much is lost in translation and added in assumption”
― Rasheed Ogunlaru

There doesn’t seem to be a lack of examples in failures of translation. From world leaders misinterpreting the intentions of foes to a major theme in countless Hollywood movies, we are reminded almost every day of the dangers that come with these important missed signals.

But nothing personalizes these human events more than when that failure happens at the most simple of exchanges. The need to understand a drug prescription, open a bank account, or communicate with first responders in moments of emergency is well understood, but yet for a good number of new residents on the Eastern Shore, these moments present unique challenges.

The Chesapeake Multicultural Resource Center decided to start filling in this important gap in the training of interpreters in dozens of Mid-Shore businesses two years ago. Under the coordination of Dr. Lorelly Solano, almost 1,000 professionals have participated in a program designed to create new bridges of understanding and support for those in need of bilingual services in the community.

The Spy sat down with Lorelly at the Spy Studio last week to talk about the Language and Cultural Competence Program and the impact it already has had in the region.

This video is approximately five minutes in length. For more information about Chesapeake Multicultural Resource Center and Language and Cultural Competence Program, please go here.

It was reassuring to sit down with three women graduate students at Horn Point Lab the other day, not one of them had experienced any second-guessed in their schools or among their peers about their desire to have a career in Marine Science. While decades ago, traditional science jobs were held by mostly men, it was a relief that for this new generation of scientists are long gone.

But it was still a bit disconcerting for Lexy McCarty, Anna Windle, and Hannah Morrissette to arrive at Horn Point to start their Ph.D. work only to find that only 30 percent of the facility and senior administrators at one of the University of Maryland’s premier research institutions were women.

But rather than seen this as an injustice to be fixed by policy, Lexy, Anna and Hannah realized that the best way to make a difference was to start a peer support group for women (and supportive men) to encourage women in marine science. They formed a chapter of the Society for Women in Marine Science (SWMS) to do just that.

In their interview with the Spy a few weeks ago, the three women came to the Spy Studio to talk about their careers, the importance of mentoring and support, and SWMS activities, which will include their first symposium on the Eastern Shore.

The symposium, “Diving Deep into Scientific Communication” will be held on September 13 -14 at the Horn Point Laboratory to connect attendees with future marine science leaders, gain career advice from a panel of marine scientists, improve scientific communication skills, and educate those young minds to think ambitiously about their future in science.

For more information about the HPL SWMS chapter and future events, visit their website here or follow them on twitter @hpl_swms.

This video is approximately three minutes in length. To learn more about Saturday’s outreach event for middle and high school students, contact  hplswms@umces.edu or call Carin Starr 410-221-8408.