Imagine your first week of college. Far away from parents, old friends, and all things familiar, you saunter around campus and stir up conversations with new classmates. Jokes are shared, people laugh, and before you know it, you’ve got friends. Logging onto Facebook at the end of the day, youmake it official by clicking “Add Friend.”
But wait – you suddenly realize there are about 20 mutual friends between you and each of your new classmates. Realizing you went to school in another state, you sit back and wonder: How could they possibly know each other?
This phenomenon, known as the six degrees of separation, was first introduced in 1929 by Hungarian writer Frigyes Karinthy in a short story titled “Chains.” The theory suggests that every person can be connected to another person through a chain of acquaintances comprised of six connections between individuals.
In a city like Louisville, where the population stands somewhere around 566,503, according to the United States Census Bureau, this concept may not be completely unfamiliar. In fact, several people I’ve talked to seem to run into this situation quite often, suggesting Louisville is just one of those small-town metropolises where everyone seems to know each other.
I took a page from Karinthy’s work and conducted a little research project of my own. Using the old fashioned method of conducting random interviews, I decided to throw off the restraints of the six-degree rule to see just how many interconnected people I could find in the city. I would start with an acquaintance – the original person – and then see how many degrees it would take before the connections led back to the original person.
Her name was Joanna Thompson. We met through a service-learning scholarship program at the University of Louisville.
One day during finals week, I ran into Thompson in the east wing of the Ekstrom Library. We had a chat and talked about our rising stress levels, but eventually our conversation landed on my degrees of separation project. Thus, she became the original person to kick off the chain of connections.
Joanna Thompson
Joanna Thompson
Fine arts and anthropology student at U of L
German-born and Kentucky-raised, Joanna Thompson worked as an AmeriCorps VISTA in the summer of 2011 at Americana Community Center in Louisville’s South End.
While at Americana, Thompson was
introduced to Jordan DelaGarza.
Jordan Delagarza
Jordan DelaGarza
Former intern at Refugee Agricultural Partnership Program
Since his time as a student at U of L, Jordan DelaGarza has always been an advocate of sustainable gardening projects around the city, from the community garden at Americana to Garden Commons, a student-led gardening club at U of L.
Through his involvement in Garden Commons, DelaGarza met Kathy Carden.
Kathy Carden
Kathy Carden 1
Executive associate at U of L’s Office of Undergraduate Affairs
Before getting married, Kathy Carden was commonly known as Kathy George, daughter of Joseph George, the original owner of Zanzabar back when it was called Zanzibar.
Carden and her father continue to spend time at Zanzabar and are close friends with co-owner Antz Wettig.
Antz Wettig
Antz Wettig
Co-owner of Zanzabar
Over the past few decades, the little pub on South Preston Street has undergone several transformations. It went from Zanzibar to Nord’s Brown Bag Deli and Pub until finally – under the supervision of the Wettig brothers – it became Zanzabar.
One of Wettig’s employees is a bartender named Tristan Mishell.
Tristan Mishell
Tristan Mishell 2
Barista at Sunergos Coffee
Patrons of Sunergos Coffee might recognize longtime barista Tristan Mishell, who has worked at the locally-owned espresso bar since June of 2010.
One of Mishell’s fellow baristas at Sunergos is Paula Gollnick.
Paula Gollnick
Paula Gollnick 3
Barista at Sunergos Coffee and lifeguard at U of L’s Ralph R. Wright Natatorium
Originally hailing from San Francisco, Paula Gollnick moved to Louisville the same year she became a senior at duPont Manual High School.
While at Manual, Gollnick met Sierra Love, another student in her American Sign Language classes.
Sierra Love
Sierra Love
Pan-African studies student at U of L
Back when Sierra Love roamed the halls of Manual, she became passionate about volunteerism and started helping out at Americana on a regular basis.
While volunteering at Americana, Love met Thompson, who was performing her VISTA work, which brings the chain of connections full circle.
I looked closer at this seemingly linear route of person-to-person connections and discovered it to be more of a web, complete with intersecting lines and tangled linkages.
In spite of working through countless interviews with people who seemed to be in no way connected, the truth became clear once everything came together. In some small way, everyone everywhere had something in common. It made me realize that, despite our various backgrounds and diverse tastes, we are never too far removed from one another.
I even have the research to prove it.
Random Notes:
- Carden also volunteers at Kentucky Refugee Ministries and has coincidentally worked with some of the same clients that Thompson has served at Americana.
- Mishell lives right across the street from my apartment.
- Both my parents happen to be deaf, so I was able to communicate with both Gollnick and Love in ASL during my interviews.
-Elijah McKenzie
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