Ducks @ Oregon - University of Oregon

Know Your Stuff! by Wen Lee

Trafton B.

November 15, 2009 - 6:15 PM

Ever wonder what your former classmates are doing with their lives? Well, I found out what one fellow Duck is up to when she came back to Eugene to screen the pilot episode of her television show, "Know your Stuff!

Wen Lee was the graduate teaching fellow for an Environmental Science course I took during winter term of freshman year. So to be fair, Wen was more of a former professor than a former classmate, but you get the idea. Anyway, Wen has been working for Free Range Studios in Berkeley, CA since summer and her latest project is writing, producing and directing a 45-minute video about the coffee farming in Costa Rica.

The show was awesome. The premise is to trace the production path of her cup of coffee from farming and harvesting to roasting and drinking. So, for four weeks she lived on a coffee plantation and worked the fields with the locals, and she also visited a coffee mill that pitted the coffee fruit and shipped out the unroasted beans. Not only was the show very fun and educational, but I was also really impressed at how little bias there was. When you're talking about topics like environmental impact, consumerism, and global trade, it's all too easy to just throw in personal opinions, which can be a major turn off for the audience. The show was just straight forward telling you the facts. Fair trade coffee means that more money is going to the famers; organic means no pesticides were used. But Wen never made any suggestions about which type of coffee we should buy, they just leave that up to the viewers to decide. Here's some information, do with it what you please. I really appreciated that.

It's pretty neat seeing someone you know on television, obviously, but it's also nice to see a product of your school doing something successful out in the real world. It gives me hope for finding work after I graduate, or at least it gives me someone that might show me the ropes and help me find a job.

Overall, Wen wants to turn this into a weekly show or a web show that follows a different consumer good - coffee, t-shirts, computers - each week. Personally, I think she's onto something good, and if anyone wants to check out the trailer for the pilot, I've included the link. There's an article about Wen on the Environmental Studies home page, too. In the mean time keep your eyes out for the next hit show on Discovery Channel. Know Your Stuff! hosted by Wen Lee.