Theme: Where We Belong

For an afternoon, we explore our place in our community, our time, our culture and our universe.

Washington College
Chestertown, Maryland, 21620
United States

Matt Rutherford

On April 21st, Matt sailed into Annapolis harbor, marking a record-setting 309-day, 27,000-mile sail around the Americas, solo and non-stop.

Wayne Gilchrest

Former congressman Wayne Gilchrest served in the U.S. House of Representatives for 18 years. Today, he remains a committed environmentalist and educator for the people of the Eastern Shore. His topic: the need to learn about the world, by being out in the world

Gabrielle Tayac

Historian, Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian. Tayac's talk: What if the native Wicomiss of Chester River had never encountered the colonists? What if they had thrived to become a modern culture and civilization? What would Chestertown look like in this alternative universe?

Paul Reed Smith

Master guitar builder and founder of world-renowned PRS Guitars urges us to "play our cards right" to be all that we can be.

Joe Fino

Joe Fino, a technologist at CHIEF, an interactive branding and marketing firm, talks about using the latest in technology to save our brains from the coming zombie apocalypse.

Meg Daley Olmert

Meg is the current Director of Research for the Warrior-Canine Connection, an innovative therapy program for returning vets, and an author/expert in the field of human-animal bonds.

John Shields

Chef at Gertrude's in Baltimore, TV personality, author and culinary ambassador for Chesapeake cuisine, John will be speaking about the 21st century Chesapeake kitchen.

Kwame Shaka Opare

From the Broadway production, Stomp, to the streets of Ghana, to the inner city schools of Baltimore, Kwame is using dance to disrupt the status quo and bring his students a deeper understanding of their possibilities.

Bryan Matthews

The director of athletics at Washington College and the CEO of his company, TransitionsEdu, Bryan talks to us about the expensive and broken transition to college and how it takes a family to make a graduate.

Carol Christian

Dr. Christian of the Space Telescope Science Institute explains the scale of the universe and helps us find ways to be active explorers in it.

Jen Friedman

Being on stage strikes terror into the hearts of millions. But there are a rare few who feel more at home there that anywhere. Jen Friedman, a comedienne, actress, student, ARC associate, tells us her personal story.

Corey Olsen

Corey Olsen is an Assistant Professor of Engish at Washington College. His podcast, The Tolkien Professor, has had a million downloads, and the success of personal connections with students through online education are surprising everyone. Especially Corey.