Sharon Methvin brings a whole new variety of experiences to UP students
(Photo courtesy of Sharon Methvin -- The Beacon)
By Rachel McIntosh Staff Writer mcintosh14@up.edu
Meet Sharon Methvin, a marathon-running archeologist who is now an anthropology professor at the University of Portland.
Methvin has dabbled in a wide range of subjects. She has a degree in religious studies and history from Trinity College in Chicago as well as a master's degree in prehistoric anthropology and archeology. Additionally, Methvin has an interdisciplinary degree in sociology, social work and psychology as well as a Ph.D. in cultural and biological anthropology for a total of five different degrees.
Recently, Methvin has made a few major life changes. Three weeks ago, Methvin decided to trade in her rural life on seven acres of land for a 1,200-square-foot downtown apartment.
Methvin is also doing her best to go green.
"I'm giving up my car," Methvin said. "Looking at the aftermath of the gulf oil spill I decided I couldn't justify the kind of lifestyle I was leading, and so I felt like on my deathbed I really wanted to be able to say that I tried to do my part to walk my talk."
Her current interests focus mainly on cultural anthropology as she travels back and forth to China every other summer. Methvin lived there from 2006 to 2008 studying the changes in consumptive practices among young people.
Living in China also sparked Methvin's interest in animal rights.
"I got really involved with Chinese dissidents over there who are literally laying down their lives to save animals," Methvin said. "I totally changed my research and changed my interests."
Her involvement with the animal rights activists contributed to her housing seven furry companions.
"I'm not married, and I don't have children, I have cats," Methvin said. "I have some cats from when I did rescue work after Hurricane Katrina. So I have three cats from the hurricane and some four that I brought back from the meat market in China. So my family consists of animals."
Methvin is a dedicated to maintaining a healthy lifestyle. She has been a vegan for 25 years and is an avid runner. She runs three times a week and goes to the gym two days a week for an average of one hour of per day.
Methvin started running in 1992 when a group of students she was teaching in Oklahoma encouraged her to run a 5k race. Even though she had never been a serious runner, Methvin committed herself to finishing the race and the three ROTC students ran with her until the end.
She took her running passions to the other side of the world while she lived in China.
"One of my peak experiences in China is when I ran the Great Wall Half Marathon," Methvin said. "It was so amazing to run on the Great Wall. Basically you were climbing and walking and running. It was like an adventure marathon."
But her running experiences do not end there. Methvin also had the opportunity to carry the Olympic torch in 1996 for the Atlanta Olympics.
"I felt like I was carrying it for all of humanity," Methvin said. "It was amazing to be able to pass that torch from me to the next person, and they were playing the music to Rocky!"
In spite of all this, the aspect of her life that always leaves her students wide-eyed and mystified is the fact that she is an experienced martial artist. Her training started about a decade ago during her first trip to China.
"I do a couple of forms of Chinese sword which is called ‘taichi', and I do a practice called Chikung which is a standing meditation. Very powerful," Methvin said.
Now that she has been to the other side of the world and back, Methvin's new focus is her anthropology students at UP.
"Dr. Methvin has a lot of information on what she teachers. It's not that she just teaches it, she's involved in it," junior Shelby Lies said. "She has been to the archeology sites and has experienced things first-hand so it makes the lessons more interesting."
According to Methvin, she encourages students to be active and engaged so that they can make a difference in social justice issues.
"You just never know the seeds that you are going to plant in life and how they are going to grow," Methvin said.
