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By Ann Mary Quarandillo
When Derek Law, ’01, graduated from high school in Flagstaff, Arizona, he
signed up as a merchant sailor, traveling the coasts of North America, taking
breaks to study different spiritual techniques such as Tai Chi, Yoga and Aikido.
But it was when he quit sailing to attend Berea that he found a place he could
really grow.
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Derek Law, '01 worked in the college gardens
as part of his agriculture and natural resources major. He
is the 19th Berea student to receive a Watson Fellowship
since the College became involved in the program in 1988.
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An agriculture major with an emphasis in sustainable systems,
Law studied organic gardening, not only as a practical skill, but
as an active form of spiritual meditation and a means to perform
service to others. Because of his unique multidisciplinary approach,
he has been awarded a $23,000 Thomas J. Watson Fellowship, which
allows students from 50 of America’s top liberal arts colleges
to travel abroad and explore topics of their choice. Law, who graduated
in December 2000, will spend the next year traveling in Europe
and Asia, studying and working in monastic communities which include
gardening as a part of their spiritual practice.
"The only way to learn about spirituality is to live it.
It’s impossible to simply talk about it because it’s
indescribable," he says. "I can’t imagine a better
group of teachers than the monks, since they are absolutely dedicated
to the contemplative life." Law will travel to monastic communities
in England, Belgium, France, India and Japan, studying the connection
between spirituality and labor in the context of gardening.
Law credits Berea’s agriculture department with giving him
the freedom to develop in his discipline. "When I came into
the department, no one was teaching organic vegetable gardening," he
says. "I wrote a proposal, and they gave me the land and funding
to put my ideas into practice. When Ineeded guidance, my professors
were there to help, but I had the opportunity to explore on my
own as well." The Watson Foundation is a charitable trust
founded by Mrs. Thomas J. Watson, Sr., to honor her late husband,
the founder of IBM.
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