Kristin Borgwald recently joined the faculty of St. Louis Community College, Meramec. She was previously a professor at Miami Dade College for 14 years, and while she misses the Miami sunshine, she is excited to return home to St. Louis where she grew up. Her interests include normative and applied ethics, epistemology, and interdisciplinary work.
What are you working on right now?
I’m kicking around ideas about duty and care. I’ve recently had some “sandwich generation” duties to loved ones that have me thinking about the concepts of duty and obligation, and how we teach these ideas in ethics courses. In many of the introduction to ethics texts that I use, the Kantian idea of obligation or duty is put in terms of what one ought to do, what one must do: like a chore. I am not experiencing my own familial obligations in this way though; I want to do my duty, and I care about my duties in a way that the “I have to do X” imperative doesn’t capture. I feel like we need to rescue how we talk about duty, or at least blend it with a bit of sentimentalism.
If you could wake up tomorrow with a new talent, what would you most like it to be?
I would be a talented vocalist. I wish I could hold a tune with clarity like Whitney or sing from the gut like Aretha. There’s such power and beauty in a good voice.
What is your favorite sound in the world?
My daughter’s laughter. Piper just turned 2, and her little giggle is truly the best sound in the world to me. Sounds cheesy, but it’s true. I also love the sounds of Busch Stadium, home of the St. Louis Cardinals: the announcer, the batting songs, the organ, the crack of the bat, the crowd, crunch of peanut shells under my feet…Baseball Heaven.
What is your favorite holiday and why?
Halloween is my favorite day of the year. I love all things spooky. I love horror movies. I love the smell of autumn decay in the crisp October air. Trick-or-treating, decorating for fall, pumpkin carving, ghost stories, PSLs; I love it all, give me fall!
What do you like to do outside of work?
I like to spend time at home with my family and friends, cooking a good meal, watching a game together, sitting around a fire, etc. I love to watch baseball, tennis, college football, soccer, hockey; all things sport, really. I also like to exercise and move, especially outside. I try to spend time outside as much as possible with my daughter. We walk and explore every day, and will try out her new fishing pole soon! I love to go to movies, especially scary movies, by myself with a bucket of popcorn on a random Tuesday afternoon (half-price tickets!).
What is your favorite film of all time? (Or top 3). Why? To whom would you recommend them?
It’s a tie between The Shining and Halloween. I love the performances by Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall in The Shining; what a terrifying, slow build! I think the film is better than the book in this case! I also love John Carpenter’s Halloween—everything about it. Jamie Lee Curtis, the iconic scream queen, and the theme song are classics. My third is Sunset Boulevard; I love watching Turner Classic Movies for the old Hollywood nostalgia. Gloria Swanson and William Holden are unforgettable in this film.
What time of day are you most productive and creative?
First thing in the morning. I rise at 5am, and that is when I am recharged and ready to roll!
Well, after my coffee that is. I usually journal a bit to focus my mind on what the day requires, exercise and get some fresh air, and then I get to work—mom duties followed by teaching/grading/planning and whatever the day brings.
If you could only use one condiment for the rest of your life, which condiment would you pick and why?
Ranch and hot sauce—separate or mixed, love them both, especially on pizza. Very Midwest.
What is your least favorite type of fruit and why?
At a certain point each summer, I hate mangoes. We have a giant mango tree at our home in Miami, and it drops the sweetest, most delicious mangoes you’ve ever tasted. But one can only make so many mango smoothies/salsas/jams/chutneys before it gets old. Plus, the plant is related to poison oak (so I’ve been told), so most humans are allergic to the sap and skin of mangoes, making the yard clean-up a nightmare. Now that I am back in St. Louis, this will be my first summer in 20 years without that sweet nectar; I will be wishing for that canning and yard work come mid-June…
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Jessica Castellani
Jessica Castellani had a unique high school experience attending Toledo School for the Arts, where she played in a percussion ensemble and steel drum band for six years. She earned her dual Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and Religious Studies from the University of Toledo. Her primary focus was ‘the Self’ and the mystical experience of losing it. She earned her Master of Art in Philosophy from the University of Toledo as well, with a specialization in Comparative Philosophy, Eastern Studies, and Continental Philosophy. She has taught World Religions and Introduction to Philosophy at The University of Toledo both in person and virtually. She is a member of the Buddhist Temple of Toledo, tutors students, and has worked in the service industry for over a decade. In her free time likes to spend time outside and with her pets, friends, and family.
