Watch & LIsten : Dr. Alison Palmubo

EPISODE 1: Dr. Allison Palumbo Discusses Book: Love and the Fighting Female: A Critical Study of Onscreen Depictions | Winter 2021

Dr. Alison Palumbo

Dr. Allison P. Palumbo is a tenured English faculty member at Big Bend Community
College in Moses Lake, WA. They have a.D. in English from the
University of Kentucky and a long list of literary loves. Dr. P’s research
and teaching emphasize gender issues in American literature and
popular culture. In addition to their work on the sexual politics of
romance as portrayed onscreen,they have published articles on Henry
Miller’s Tropics trilogy. Beyond their passion or guessing entire movie
plotlines in the first five minutes, they love to read heavy books on hot beaches, indulge in
good food, and take road trips.

EPISODE 2: Dr. Jim Hamm, Physics Instructor Discuss Constellations and Stars | Spring 2021

Dr. Jim Hamm has been teaching at Big Bend since 1993. In that time he has primarily taught physics, astronomy, and science courses, although he has at one time or another taught almost every mathematics course from pre-algebra through differential equations. The only math courses he has missed are statistics, first-quarter calculus, and linear algebra. Before Jim came to Big Bend he taught for a couple of years part-time at Edmonds Community
College and North Seattle Community. To make ends meet during those years he also drove for Shuttle Express, an airport shuttle service. Prior to that he taught at Eastern Oregon State College for two years, and before that he was in graduate school at the University of Minnesota, graduating with a Ph.D. in Physics.

EPISODE 3: Dr. Dennis Knepp, Philosophy & Religion Faculty | Fall 2021

“I’m happy and so proud to introduce Dr Dennis Knepp who was born
and raised in Wichita Kansas as a teenager he worked as a machinist
that his father's business and drove a 1967 Camaro …
that did not have a seatbelt. He started college at Wichita State
University as an engineering student, but eventually found his own path as a
philosophy major. Dennis went to graduate school at Washington University in
St. Louis where he met Jennifer McCarthy, the rest, they say, is history and together
they moved to Moses Lake, in 2000 when Dennis accepted the data and Big Bend
Community College. Dennis has a very long list of published work and we are
proud to have him at our college." -- Dr. Sara Thompson-Tweedy

EPISODE 4: Rie Palkovic, Art Instructor | Winter 2022

"Okinawa, Japan is where I call home. I was born in the
pottery district of the capital city, Naha, on that tropical island
until I left at 18. My mother was Okinawan and my
father was from West Virginia. The benefit of two cultures has
left me enriched with the qualities of both. Although
my art training is in the classical western tradition, my
esthetics have always been eastern. I married young and raised
a family before I went to school and trained to be an artist.
I always knew I would train in art and had no desire for anything else...."

EPISODE 5: D r. John Owens, Music Instructor

Dr. Owens was a percussionist in the US Army band, which gave him the opportunity to
live in Germany and play in about 20 countries. He was also a drummer for Disneyland
and Knotts Berry Farm in California. As a performer, he has run a number of my own bands,
recorded with various musicians, toured with an OC Punk Rock Band, and was a street
drummer in Washington DC for a few years.

When he lived in Germany a friend asked me to help with his drummers and at that
moment, he knew he loved teaching. Since then, he taught music at St Augustine HS,
Page HS, Coconino Community College, Kent State University, and Lake Michigan
College. In addition, Owens served as the music expert for the Department of
Defence Education Activity and consultant for the non-profit Little Kids Rock.

He earned my Ph.D. and Masters in Music from Kent State University.
He has also written a number of articles (published internationally),
two books. His new title is Street Drumming: The People, History, & Grooves.

EPISODE 6: Poet and Alumnus Ricardo Ruiz

"The son of potato factory workers, Ricardo hails from
Othello,Washington and his works often draw from his
experience as a first-generation Mexican-American.
He is passionate about elevating the marginalized
voices from rural communities and takes pride in
being a conduit for cultural connection. His own
struggles straddling cultures provide insight to the
ifficulties of the Mexican migrant worker and their families....

EPISODE 7: Lindsay Groce, Chemistry Instructor

Lindsay Groce is a Senior Tenured Faculty member
of the Chemistry Department. This is her eleventh
year at Big Bend Community College. She loves
science, reading, solving puzzles, salsa dancing, learning new things, travel, and language...

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