what`s in - Alvernia University

November/December 2014
Volume 53 Issue 3
what’s in
Santo Domingo Needs
“Sustainable Communities”
THIS ISSUE
Campus News
Photo Courtsey of Dr. Caroline Fitzpatrick
04
By Alexis Bendyna
Contributing Writer
More than Just a
Bump on the Head
07
Sports
Dr. Caroline Fitzpatrick (center) helps Santo Domingo residents learn
English as a Second Language (ESL).
English and Communication
Dr. Caroline Fitzpatrick.
Throughout the course
students acquire skills on
water analysis and filtration, English as a Second
Language (ESL) training and
grant writing. For the grant
writing portion of the course
students will be collaborating with the grant writing
office of the Bernardine
Sisters on existing grant
applications.
The class culminates
with a 10-day service trip
to the Bernardine Sisters’
mission in the Dominican
Republic’s capital of Santo
Are you interested in
learning about a foreign culture? Does having an opportunity to study abroad for a
short period of time at a low
cost appeal to you? If the
answer is yes, you may want
to consider taking Alvernia
University’s spring course,
“Sustainable Communities:
Santo Domingo.”
This course is teamtaught by Alvernia University’s assistant professor of
Biology Dr. Adam Heinze
and assistant professor of
Continued on page 3
Major
Choices
Six Seconds to Fame
08
Student Life
First Year Seminar
Makes An Impression
11
Veteran Spotlight
Serving Those Who
Served
By Kyle Grim
Contributing Writer
Six seconds is a short
time to do anything. Bryan
Raymond use that time to
make people to laugh on Vine.
Vine is a social media site
launched in 2013 that hosts
short video clips. Each video
can last up to six seconds.
Users make a variety of
videos whether they are comical or informational. The site
quickly grew in popularity,
branching out from iPhones
to Androids.
Raymond discovered Vine
after his friends introduced
him to the app.
“I used to make Vines
in school to entertain my
friends by doing and saying
dumb stuff,” he said. “Until I
realized you can do so much
more with it.”
Raymond has done a lot
on Vine. His account, LifeWithBryan, has over 130,000
followers. Raymond began
obtaining followers by using
another form of social media.
He used Twitter to promote
his videos and this helped
people to find him on Vine.
“I try to keep it pretty
consistent by posting a
couple videos throughout
the week so that my follower
count will keep growing and
growing because they can
expect a vine on my page at
least once,” Raymond said.
Raymond is still developing a strategy for his personal
brand. “As of right now, I
don’t really have a goal with
Vine,” he said. “I’m just kind
of making them as I go along
and trying get more followers
as well as accumulate more
money from companies who
want me to advertise on my
page.”
As of right now, Raymond
has received several small
sponsor who ask him to collaborate and promote their
products. These sponsors
consist of several apps such
as Badoo or Hot or Not, as
well as apparel companies
like Jord Watches and Recognize.
Raymond has been asked
to promote K-Mart and is
looking to create a promotional Vine soon.
The possibility of a bigger
future is never far from Raymond’s mind. He tries not to
dwell on it.
“It would be nice to be
able to get an acting career or
be placed on TV shows like
some Viners and maybe move
out to LA,” he said. “But I’m
not dreaming that big.”
Raymond has a variety
of famous followers. “I know
that Michael Jackson’s son
follows me on Vine,” he said.
“Kyrie Irving the basketball
player and Khleo Thomas
(Zero from the movie ‘Holes’)
have both revined one of my
Vines, and both Drake Bell
and Tyga have tweeted my
vines.”
Vines seem to run in
the family. Bryan’s younger
brother Brandon, better
known by his Vine alias
By Madelyn Johnston
Contributing Writer
Continued on page 5
Photo Courtsey of Kyle Grim
The Man Behind
The Microphone
Bryan Raymond ponders new
material.
As the fall semester ends,
winter and spring semesters
are right around the corner,
and by now students have
finalized their schedules.
Winter and spring semesters
give first year students an
opportunity to continue their
educational career with the
same major or change it.
Students at Alvernia know
it has a diverse array of
majors, from Sports Management to Biology to Theater
Studies. However, certain
majors are much more popular than others.
For example, out of Alvernia’s
28
undergraduate
majors, much of the 2014
First Year Class chose Nursing, Occupational Therapy,
Criminal Justice, Business and
Education. In fact, students
in those five majors make up
52% of the 2014 First Year
Class.
Almost 30% of the First
Year Class comes from PreNursing, Psychology, Athletic
Training, Undecided, and
Continued on page 3
campus news
02
November/December 2014
STAFF
Managing Editor
Billy Tharp
Layout
Amber Nikolaus
Billy Tharp
Advertising
Jarred Merriweather
Copy Editors
Junior Bernard
Genesis Ciriaco
Deandre Clark
Katelyn Evans
Marisa Then
Gabriella Valenti
Contributing Writers
Mikaileigh Baker
Alexis Bendyna
Sabrina Case
Kyle Grim
Madelyn Johnston
Samantha Marino
Maeve McGhee
Preston Moser
Brian O’Shaughnessy
Faculty Advisor
Dr. Ryan Lange
The Alvernian is the
official student
newspaper of Alvernia
University.
To contact newspaper
staff, the office
telephone number is
610-796-8358.
Articles submitted for
consideration into The
Alvernian should be
written in some
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editor, requests for
advertisements, and
general comments
and questions may be
submitted to
ryan.lange@alvernia.edu.
The editors reserve the
right to edit submissions
for clarity, accuracy,
and length.
The views expressed in
The Alvernian are those of
the individual writers and
do not necessarily reflect
the student body, faculty,
staff, administration,
or sponsors.
© 2014 The Alvernian
Flynn Files: Get Engaged
In my last column, I
reported the results of the
Gallop national study of
30,000 college graduates.
They confirmed what many
have long suspected: It’s not
where you go to college that
matters for your future success and long-term wellbeing;
it’s what you do while you’re
there.
According to Gallup,
active engagement by students is THE key. It is not
enough simply to study hard
and complete assigned tasks.
Students should pursue
opportunities for engagement
best suited to their learning
and personal growth: Internships, field placements, or
academic research, especially
with a professor; academic
and social clubs; chorus or
theater, athletics, or other
activities; or, at Alvernia,
community service projects
or a role as a tutor, OWL, RA,
first-year mentor, tour guide,
student ambassador.
Over time, many students
do not simply join these
efforts. They lead them.
On our campus, beyond
the minimum community
service expected of all undergraduates, 86% of students
are involved in a co/extracurricular organization, club,
team, or project; 70% are
active in two or more.
Best of all, many range
widely and join a varsity team
and SGA or serve as a tour
guide, a peer mentor, and as
an officer in their academic
club or work in the South
Reading Youth Initiative and
as a student ambassador and
student campus minister.
Here’s a sampling of
active and engaged Alvernia
All-Stars! See http://alvernia.
meritpages.com for many
others!
Jenna Harper, an OT
major, is an SGA officer, OWL,
varsity lacrosse athlete, and
student ambassador and can
also be found—camera in
hand—shooting pictures for
the Sports Information Office.
Andy Kaucher is dedicated to his English major, to
Sigma Tau Delta (one of our
nationally visible academic
societies) and to community service in Reading and
can also be found—brush in
hand—in his Goggleworks
art studio. He also found time
to call me out for the ALS Ice
Bucket Challenge!
Rob Waller, an Iraq veteran, accounting major, and
Holleran Fellow is one of the
students who led the development of our Bog Turtle
Creek Farm and is active in
other environmental projects
and in our Alternative Break
program.
Ashley Winters, an
elementary and special education major involved in the
Education Association and as
a tutor in the Learning Center,
is another Holleran Fellow
who has been a leader in the
South Reading Youth Initiative and a key person in the
launch of the Reading Collegiate Scholars Program.
Kelli Fitzgerald, an OT
major active in her academic association (SOTA)
and another third-year RA,
oversees all freshman livinglearning communities and
serves as a head tutor for the
Learning Center in addition
to helping out as a tour guide
and ambassador.
Janessa Rasmus, a
nursing major, combines
leadership roles as an RA,
student campus minister, and
member of Alvernia Sexual
Assault Prevention Peers
(ASAPP).
Brianna Whitton, a
behavioral health major with
minors in psychology and
music, leads our flute ensemble, plays French Horn in the
band and is the work study
staffer in the Fine and Performing Arts Department as
well as president of Hooked
Photo courtesy of Snavely
t he alverni a n
Vol. 53 Issue 3
Alvernia President, Dr. Thomas Flynn
on Helping and secretary for
the Veteran’s Club.
Mylen Ruppert, an early
childhood education major
and two-sport athlete (track
and cross country) recently
chosen for the highly selective Marine Corps Officers
Program, is an officer of the
Ethnic Awareness Society and
Active Minds and serves as
a peer mentor and Diversity
Committee member.
Amanda Galanti, a sport
management major and
another two-sport athlete
(field hockey and softball),
has been a team captain and
a member of the Student
Athlete and Intramural Advisory Boards (SAAC and IAB)
as well as being active in the
Sports Management Association.
Brielle Gincley, a transfer student marketing major
working to launch a campus
chapter of the American
Marketing Association, is a
Holleran Fellow active both
in environmental (Bog Creek
Turtle farm) and inner city
education (South Reading
What does PERFECT JOY mean to you?
Youth Initiative) issues and
has helped found Alpha Phi
Omega.
Terry Harrington (aka
Spiderman), a Health Care
Science major and vice president of the Science Association, is a third-year RA who
works in Student Financial
Planning and also serves as
a peer mentor, volunteers
at St. Joe’s Hospital and the
Highlands, and participates in
the CureSader and Veterans
clubs.
Actively engaged students
are happy and satisfied students too. A recent extensive survey of our students
found 9 of 10 seniors and an
astonishing 98% of last year’s
freshman satisfied or very
satisfied with their Alvernia
experience. To say the obvious, those profiled above
are a few of the countless
examples of Alvernia students
(soon to be proud alumni)
who are “Doing Well and
Doing Good.”
Peace and All Good, Tom
Flynn
St. Francis liked to add adjectives to emphasize the meaning of words so he could convey
their significance to those he preached to and with. Perfect Joy is a Franciscan term often used
when things aren’t even close to being perfect as a reminder to carry on in a joyful, humble and
patient way. To persevere, to be joyful and find joy despite any challenging circumstance. In what
ways are you living perfect joy?
Many display a nativity, manger scene, also called a crèche, around Christmas to visually
depict the birth of Jesus. Did you know this is attributed to St. Francis of Assisi?! In 1223 in a
the town of Greccio, St. Francis wanted to reenact the events in Bethlehem to rouse the hearts
of those weak in the faith. This incarnational approach of using very concrete means to awaken
peoples faith is central to Franciscan heritage. The Incarnation is the embodiment of Jesus human and divine nature. At Christmas we are reminded of the humanity of Christ, of Emmanuel
or God With Us. How might you be more aware of God’s presence in your life?
campus news
November/December 2014
03
Vol. 53 Issue 3
Domingo. Students work
alongside members of the
Sisters’ school and mission
and apply what they have
learned in the classroom.
One of the most important tasks students help
with is water infrastructure.
The water in the Dominican
Republic does not go through
the same filtration process
as water from outside the
country, therefore is a health
hazard.
Dr. Heinze uses the
service trip to teach students
and the residents of Santo
Domingo practical ways of
cleaning the water.
“In simplest terms, you
take out the stuff that makes
you sick,” Dr. Heinze said.
“Find a good water
source such as rain. Strain
out the big stuff, sticks,
leaves, poop. Then, mix in a
chemical to make the small
stuff larger, a process called
flocculation. Then, run water
through a bed of rocks and
sand so that the particles
stick to the rocks and sand.
Then, you add something to
kill the remaining bacteria,
like bleach or UV light. Now
you have clean drinking
water.”
Students also help people
in the Los Tres Brazos neighborhood learn English. Many
of the best- paying jobs in
the area require English as
a second language. Alvernia
students help these people
help themselves by teaching
them basic English.
This unusual course has
a transformative effect on the
students who participate.
“No individuals involved
in the short term study
abroad experience are ever
the same when they return,”
Dr. Fitzpatrick said.
Dr. Heinze agreed. “It
changed my life and I think it
will change yours,” he said.
“People who are poor
cannot afford to pay experts
to think about their problems
so this small amount of focus
will have a dramatic impact
on the well-being of these
individuals literally for gen-
erations for a small amount
of money. Also, it is fun and
exotic.”
Ashley Wilson, a junior
Biology major and former
course participant describes
the impact of her involvement
in the course, “My experience
during the Sustainable Communities course has been my
most important experience at
Alvernia,” Wilson said.
“The time I spent in the
Dominican Republic changed
my life and gave me a new
appreciation for everything
that I have. I am so grateful I
was given the chance to help
the students at the school and
make the friendships that I
have with the other students
on the trip. In all honesty, I
had an amazing time.”
Seats are limited, and
enrollment in the course is
competitive. For information
about the course and course
applications, email Dr. Adam
Heinze at Adam.Heinze@
alvernia.edu or Dr. Caroline
Fitzpatrick at Carrie.Fitzpatrick@alvernia.edu.
Healthcare Science majors.
The remaining 18% comes
from all other declared
majors.
But why are some majors
more popular than others?
Director of Undergraduate
Admissions Dan Hartzman
thinks that a lot of that decision takes place well before
students end up in college.
“[Students] know what
they want to do and what
they want to be,” Hartzman
said. “[Their major of choice]
is probably a combination of
something they enjoy and that
has good career prospects
coming out of it.”
Incoming students generally agree with Hartzman
about their choices of major.
Sandra Smith is a first year
student in forensic science.
“I was always good at science in high school and it
interested me.”
Smith changed her mind
about her major after realizing that the amount of science she had to learn was too
much for her to handle. Smith
instead moved to Criminal
Justice, where she can pursue
her dreams in a way that fits
her aptitudes.
“I wanted to be the one who
found out how [a crime] was
done,” she said. “I can do that
in C.J. without getting overwhelmed with science. I could
catch the person who did it
and I’m told I’m good with
people.”
First year student Blaise
Kabbeko says that his desire
to advance the minds of
others was what drove him to
Secondary Education.
“I wanted to go into a profession that I could present
information, be able to teach
it, and help people intellectually as opposed to helping
people in a health care or law
enforcement related area.”
Students later in their academic careers can also find
themselves wanting a new
direction. Caitlin Miller, a
junior, switched from Communications to Psychology based
on her interests.
“I wasn’t enjoying what I
was learning,” she said. “[At
the same time,] I was becoming fascinated by the human
mind, and I knew that [Psychology] was what I wanted to
learn.”
Junior Healthcare Science
major Joshua Stevens found
that he wanted a major that
was rewarding and could lead
him on a good career path.
“There are a lot of possibilities with this major as far
as career choices go,” Stevens
said. “The course load prepares us for getting a head
start in the healthcare field.”
However, some students
may still have their doubts
as to whether or not they are
fully satisfied with their major.
What they may be overlooking is the opportunity to take
a minor.
“I think minoring in either
Communications or Psychology is often overlooked,”
Hartzman said.
“To minor in Communications for any major, to learn
to communicate [in the workplace], is gonna help you get
a job and help you do better
Photo courtsey of Caroline Fitzpatrick
Sustainable Communities (Continued from Pg. 1)
Alvernia came together to help give the mission clean water.
Major Choices (Continued from Pg. 1)
in that job. The same with
psychology. Students in the
healthcare majors [i.e. Nursing, O.T., etc.] would benefit from a Psychology minor,
because having that background is an important part of
being a good nurse or occupational therapist.”
What all of these students
have in common is that they
love their majors, whether
it be for their job markets
or what the students enjoy
learning. Also, they refused to
feel obligated to stay with or
choose a major that did not
satisfy them.
It is best that students
major in what they enjoy
and know where their major
is taking them. As the late
George Burns said, “I’d rather
be a failure at something I
enjoy than a success at something I hate.”
Graph courtsey of Dan Hartzman
Below is a chart of the number of incoming first year students in each major.
04
campus news
November/December 2014
Vol. 53 Issue 3
By Gabrielle Valenti
Editor
While Dr. Radosh had
hoped would be a short-lived
bruise became a life-changing
affliction. She couldn’t function for months because she
was extremely dizzy, sensitive
to light and noise, fatigued,
and suffered debilitating
migraines as well as horrible
bouts of vertigo that made it
difficult for her to do anything. Even walking down the
steps was a struggle.
“I couldn’t leave my
house, I was so sensitive to
motion I couldn’t really talk
very bad concussion and it
could take a long while before
I was myself again.”
It’s more than 15 months
since the injury and she is
finally getting her life back on
track. She is not where she
was prior to the accident but
she is on her way.
Dr. Radosh is very happy
to be back on campus this
semester; her neurologist has
her easing back into work.
She is allowed to teach
one class this semester, a special topics-service learning
I realize the importance of
being heard and understood
especially since people with
concussions look “normal” on
the outside. Often, others may
not recognize the seriousness
of those affected by concussions; therefore, validation is
critical.”
Dr. Radosh wants to continue raising as much awareness about this as possible.
“If anyone is suffering
from a concussion please
contact me. I would be happy
to help in any way I can. It’s
much more than just a bump
on the head.”
Dr. Radosh giving a lecture to students about an interesting topic
in the Social Media Marketing class.
course, Social Media Marketing.
“I feel very fortunate that
Alvernia has been so supportive and understanding.”
“My colleagues and all
of administration have been
wonderful. It is great to be
ing and treating concussions,
it’s important to realize
the potentially long lasting
physical, mental, social, and
academic impacts that concussions can have for some
and providing the support
they need. I wholeheartedly
back in the classroom. I have
to dim the lights and always
carry sunglasses as well as
earplugs. I still get headaches
and fatigue. However, I’m
doing so much better than
last year.”
Dr. Claire Murphy, Director of Health Services feels
that a concussion support
group would be beneficial on
campus.
“The field of concussion
management has changed a
lot over the past few years.
As we get better at recogniz-
support Dr. Radosh in her
efforts to start a support
group for those affected by
concussions,” she said.
Based on her experience,
Dr. Radosh intends to start
a Traumatic Brain Injury for
concussions support group at
Alvernia University.
“I want to help other
students, staff, or faculty that
suffer from concussions. I
know how difficult it is and
how isolated you feel. I hope
we can all help each other.”
She has had students
approach her that are suffering from post-concussive
syndrome.
Last April, Dr. Radosh
started an informal Berks
County concussion support
group.
There are about seven
people in the group that have
formed close bonds. Many of
them hit their heads doing
routine activities in their
homes or at work.
Some people in the group
are still suffering from severe
concussions even years later,
while others are improving.
The kindness she felt
at Bryn Mawr Hospital
during her rehab sparked Dr.
Radosh’s interest in starting
the support groups.
“The doctors at Bryn
Mawr are good listeners and
they have been a wonderful
support system. I couldn’t get
through this without them.
Photo courtsey of Gabrielle Valenti
A concussion can have
life-altering consequences.
While most of us think that
concussions are mostly problems for athletes, anyone can
suffer from them.
Dr. Jodi Radosh, associate
professor of Communication
and Associate Director of the
Holleran Center, suffered a
serious concussion in July
2013.
Dr. Radosh was at home
cleaning her refrigerator in
preparation for a replacement. She stood up suddenly while cleaning it and
slammed the back of her head
against the freezer section of
the refrigerator.
“I felt like I was dying,”
she said.
“It felt like someone was
smashing my head with a
hammer and I was so nauseous and dizzy. I couldn’t
take light and even the tiniest
little noise drove me insane. I
could barely get out of bed.”
to people face to face – especially more than one person
at a time.
For nearly 6 months, I
couldn’t look at my phone,
read, watch TV or go on the
computer. My whole life was
put on hold.”
Dr. Radosh began therapy
at Bryn Mawr Rehabilitation
Hospital in Malvern in September 2013.
She visited the hospital
weekly for ocular, physical,
and vestibular therapy to
help her motion sensitivity,
neck pain and eye problems. The doctors and therapists at Bryn Mawr helped
Dr. Radosh understand what
happened to her and that she
had knocked out her vestibular system, which was affecting the gaze stabilization of
her eyes.
“I didn’t understand what
was happening to me before
going to rehab,” she said.
“My therapists helped
explain everything to me. I
finally understood I had a
Photo courtsey of Gabrielle Valenti
More Than a Bump on the Head
Dr. Radosh engaging her class in an interesting topic in the Social Media Marketing class.
RETRACTION
The SelfDiscovery Club,
profiled in the
October/
November 2014
issue of
The Alvernian, is
not a registered
student
organization at
Alvernia
University, and
so does not have
approval to function at the university.
The staff of
The Alvernian
sincerely regrets
any misconceptions that may
have resulted
from our article.
campus news
November/December 2014
05
Vol. 53 Issue 3
Dr. Rachael Zeleny is a
professor on a mission to help
Crusaders write better.
“I want to establish the
visibility of writing initiatives
on campus,” Dr. Zeleny said.
Alvernia hired Dr. Zeleny
this year to serve as both the
Writing Program Director
and an Assistant Professor of
English.
Dr. Zeleny went to
University of Delaware and
James Madison. She became
involved with teaching first as
a graduate student, later as a
high school teacher and then
again while pursuing her PhD.
As a doctoral student, Dr.
Zeleny worked in the writing center, co-taught their
pedagogy course for writing
instructors and worked as an
assistant to the athletic program so as to provide extra
support for students who
needed one-on-one guidance.
Dr. Zeleny is running a
“Teaching Tutoring” class
next semester. The goal of
developing the course is to
help students be better tutors
to their peers.
This will also improve
the level of feedback from the
learning center, instead of just
having students go there for
Photo courtsey of Kyle Grim
ABOVE: Bryan Raymond (left) and Connor Mustakas (right) act out a
new Vine.
BELOW: QR Code to “LifeWithBryan.”
Bryan Raymond (back) acting out his Vine.
The Pen is Mightier than the Sword
By Maeve McGhee
Contributing Writer
Bryan Raymond (center) being filmed for a Vine.
Photo courtsey of Kyle Grim
Childish Brandino, has over
450,000 followers from his
own Vines.
Bryan relishes time spent
vining with his little brother
because of the chemistry they
have as siblings. Bryan and
Brandon have enjoyed a lot of
success when vining together.
“I love vining with my
brother a lot,” Raymond said.
“It’s so easy to get it done
since we both envision it
the same way. Since he’s my
brother and all, we kind of
have that chemistry going for
us. Also, usually one out every
three vines we make together
ends up doing really well and
that’s always nice too.”
Raymond loves Vine and
everything that it comes with
it, but has prioritized school
over pushing his Vine career.
“I still have to focus on school
right now.”
You can find and following Raymond on Vine by
searching for him at LifeWithBryan.
Photo courtsey of Kyle Grim
Six Seconds to Fame (Continued from Pg. 1)
grammar issues they might
be having.
The student tutors will be
able to meet with faculty and
learn their lesson plan. When
students ask those tutors for
help, they will have knowledge of what the professor
is asking for, and be able to
provide the best assistance.
Dr. Zeleny also plans to
start a satellite class to help
students reach out to tutors
more easily. One of the goals
of the classes is to have
students feel more comfortable getting help with their
papers. The other goal is to
have convenient tutoring for
students wherever they may
be on campus.
Aside from helping students write better, Dr. Zeleny
also wants to reach out to
faculty. She intends to run
workshops for faculty to help
them develop ways of better
teaching the kind of writing
that their majors need.
“As I grew older, I have
learned that teaching writing
isn’t just about essays; it is a
means of empowering students to express themselves,
advocate for themselves,
pursue careers, declare love,
and assert their place in a
world that is changing by the
minute.” Dr. Zeleny said.
06
November/December 2014
lifestyle
Vol. 53 Issue 3
Cheese-Takes And Mistakes: A Culinary Journey
South Philadelphia
revolves around two essential
things: Sports and food. South
Philly is defined by the Eagles,
Flyers and 76ers just as much
as Pat’s, Geno’s, and Jim’s.
Philadelphia fans are
united when inside the stadium or arena, but when it
comes to cheesesteaks, it’s a
house divided.
Going to get a cheesesteak
is one of the essentials when
visiting Philadelphia, as is
going to see the LOVE statue
and running up the “Rocky
steps” of the Philadelphia Art
Museum.
As getting a cheesesteak
is key to getting the full
Philadelphia experience, so is
picking a favorite cheesesteak
joint.
From the infamous corner
of South 9th Street and
Passyunk avenue, to the shops
of South Street, the cheesesteaks have their similarities,
but also their unique differ-
ences. Whether its customer
service, to simply the infamous taste of Cheez Whiz
and meat on a hoagie roll.
Options are critical, for
new comers or first timers,
knowing how to order your
cheesesteak is a valuable
skill. A cheesesteak novice
must know what kind of
cheese (Cheez Whiz, American, or provolone) they
want.
Newbies also need to
know whether they want
onions or no onions, properly pronounced “wid or
widdout” in the streets of
Philadelphia.
Some might wonder who
has the best cheesesteaks
in Philadelphia, so myself
and my first year friends
Kevin Walsh, Stephanie
McLaughlin, and Deyon
Taylor went downtown to
see for ourselves. We ranked
the cheesesteaks using three
categories, taste, presentation, and customer service.
The first place we went
to on this cold Philadelphia
afternoon, was Geno’s.
Geno’s has a special place
in my heart because it was
my first experience of the
famous Philadelphia cheesesteak.
My friends and I all
agreed that Geno’s is indeed
delicious. Its legendary taste
and sloppiness screams
Philadelphia, and that was
something special.
“Something about the way
it was made, how the people
working there were oddly
rude to you, made me like
Geno’s the best, not to mention the taste,” Walsh said.
For those who may of not
known, Geno’s is right next
door to Pat’s ,thriving the
Philadelphia cheesesteak
phenomenon.
Right after I polished off
my Geno’s, my friends and I
stumbled our way across the
street into what seemed like
a new neighborhood.
We all sat down and
began eating our Pat’s and
as soon as we could get the
sandwiches out of the wrap-
“It takes a lot of dedication to achieve something
you’ve never done before,”
Benton said.
“My belief was that if I
really do what it takes, I’d
eventually see myself on the
other side of the wall.”
Nutrition played a major
role in Alexis’s preparation
for the bikini contest.
“One of the hardest things
for me was food. I’d see my
friends eating ice cream and
donuts; I’d have no choice
but to say no.”
“Besides developing
a better body shape and
definitions, maintaining
a carefully calculated diet
is necessary [for fitness].
Things I’d consume were
mainly protein shakes,
vegetables and lots of meat
multiple times a day.”
Benton goes further to
explain that the average
person eats between 1800 to
2200 calories a day.
“During the beginning
of training I ate around
1700 to 1800 a day,” Benton
said. “When I started to cut
weight, I reduced it to about
1500 calories.”
Benton has since risen
up the ranks. She competed
for the first time as a bikini
contester on June 28 at the
NPC South Jersey Championships.
Samantha Smith, friend
of Benton’s and a forensic
science major, attended the
contest.
“During Alexis’s entire
competition I was extremely
nervous for her, especially
with it being her first show
to ever compete in,” Smith
said.
“I most certainly knew
she was going to do well
because of all her hard work
and dedication leading up to
her competition.”
Despite being new to the
competition, Benton came
in third of 19 other competitors, novice Class A and 4th
place in bikini open, Class B
(Classes range from A, being
the shortest and D, the tallest).
Benton’s success qualified
her for nationals. As of now,
the dates for the upcoming championships haven’t
been released yet. However,
Benton is determined to win
her next competition with
even greater honors.
“This time I will train
harder and stay more
focused because this is just
the beginning of an amazing
journey,” she said.
pers, a man asked us how
we were doing. The man
was working for his family, It
gave me humility and I truly
believe my friends all felt the
same way.
“It made me feel at home,
and really made my experience more enjoyable, the
environment really embodied the cities culture,” Taylor
said.
Without thought of
proper health, after we
devoured our Pat’s, leaving
the working man a tip, we
stumbled over to Jim’s for
our final cheesesteak of the
day.
The food was worth the
wait of about twenty minutes as the line crawled out
of the door for about two
blocks. Once the anticipation
of getting the food was over,
the real thing did not disappoint.
Overall, I cant say which
one is the best, as it is surely
personal preference, but
what I will tell you is, three
cheesesteaks in a span of 3
hours probably isn’t the best
idea if you are looking to avoid
stomach aches.
After doing this, I feel like
I have lived in the Philadelphia area for my whole life. It
isn’t just cheesesteaks, but an
experience I will never forget.
Photo courtsey ofPreston Moser
By Preston Moser
Contributing Writer
An example of a Pat’s Cheesesteak.
This one is “wid,” meaning that it
also has onions.
By Junior Bernard
Editor
What does it take to be a
nationally competitive bikini
contender?
“It takes a lot of dedication
and self motivation, as well
as self-control.” Alexis Benton
said. “You have to be able to
say no parties and time out
with friends during prep.”
Alexis Benton, junior,
wasn’t always interested in
fitness competitions, let alone
working her way to competing at a national level.
Benton became inspired to
be a part of fitness competitions from her former roommate, Alyssa Victoria. Benton
met Victoria while at Newbury College who was a bikini
competitor who became
nationally qualified in both
her competitions.
Victoria inspired Benton to
start pushing her workouts
harder.
“I knew I had nothing to
lose,” she said. “In fact, this
looked like an opportunity for
me to redefine my health and
obtain the best physical shape
possible.”
Benton formally began
training in February 2014,
and the shift in routine was
grueling. She spent almost all
her free time at the gym or
studying diet and exercise.
Photo courtsey of Alexis Benton
Alexis Benton’s Total Transformation
Alexis Benton with some of her awards. “This is just the beginning of an
amazing journey,” Benton said.
November/December 2014
sports
07
Vol. 53 Issue 3
The Man Behind the Microphone
“FOR THREEEEEE” is one
of the signature calls that
defines Crusader basketball’s
play by play announcer. Many
students love how much
excitement that rumbling call
brings to the game, but few
know his name.
Mark Piekarski is the
Director of Annual Giving at
Alvernia and he is the voice of
your Alvernia Crusaders.
Piekarski began calling
games at Marian High School
in Indiana, after a seasonending knee injury ended his
sophomore basketball season.
“[My High School] didn’t
have a public address
announcer for a game,” Piekarski said. “and since I was
done for the year and knew I
wasn’t gonna be able to play,
they asked me if I could fill in
and I filled in for the rest of
the year.”
After working for and calling games at SUNY Oneonta
in New York for seven years,
Piekarski moved to Alvernia
in May of 2012 and accepted
the Director of Annual
Giving Position.
After hearing that Piekarski was coming to Alvernia,
The Sports Information
Director at SUNY Oneonta
called Jon King, Alvernia’s
Sports Information Director,
and highly recommended
him.
After talking with King,
Piekarski agreed to call the
games for Alvernia’s basketball teams.
His reward: All the Diet
Coke he can drink during the
games.
Editor’s Note: While Mark
Piekarski gets all the Diet
Coke he can drink for his
stellar play-by-play work,
students will still need to purchase their own refreshments
when attending Crusader
home games.
“We’re lucky to have a
professional like Mark to
handle public address at our
home basketball games,”
King said.
“He’s reliable, he entertains the crowd, and he’s
genuinely invested in not
only what he’s doing behind
the mic, but also how our
teams are doing on the
floor.”
“It’s a blast,” Piekarski
said. “You get the best seat in
the house.”
Piekarski is not only
appreciated by the home
crowd but by the visitors as
well.
“I’ve had parents of the
players on opposing teams
come down after games and
tell me that they liked the
way I call a game,” Piekarski
said.
Piekarski believes that
the reason he’s good at calling games is because of his
experience playing basketball in high school.
“It’s easier for me to call
the games because I can
anticipate what’s gonna
go on by what I see on the
court,” Piekarski said.
“I’ve been told that I’m
faster at calling a game than
the game.
Over the past three years
the webcasts have gotten
a lot better. Everything
from picture quality to the
announcing has upgraded
each year.
Webcasts used to cost
money to watch and listen.
King said, “This year we are
with a company called Volar
Video for webcasts. Volar
has a partnership with SIDEARM Sports, the company
that hosts our website. Volar
and SIDEARM announced a
deal last spring where they
would provide free web
streaming to Division III
schools. The basics of the
deal are that they provide
free SD-plus quality streaming if the school agrees to
play a certain number of ads
per broadcast.”
This is the first year that
webcasts are free so there
should be a major increase
in viewers.
“When we started, we
didn’t have the budget to
provide the stream free, so
we had to share the cost and
pay per view was the most
reasonable way to do that,”
King said.
“We used extra money
earned from the pay per
view to upgrade our equipment. A few years ago when
we moved to Stretch Inter-
net as our streaming host we
decided to upgrade to HD
streaming, which also came
at a cost.”
There have been a few
new additions. One is the
new feature of instant replay
for the online webcasts. This
feature allows fans to see
an exciting play more than
once and also in slow motion
to capture the moment and
enjoy it. King said,
“We have used the instant
replay feature. It is working
pretty well. It’s a next level
feature for us. I know from
watching the streams myself
in years gone by I used to
see a play and say, ‘Man, I’d
like to see that again.’ Now
we have the ability to do
that. ”
Another addition is the
new press box down at the
turf field. The press box is
equipped with Wi-Fi so the
announcers are able to use
their lap tops to look up
player stats and names.
“The press box is great.
We’ve only had it in place
for a little more than a week. The new pressbox on the turf field stands vigil over the Crusader field.
We decided not to have the
“The press box is great,” Jon King said.
company that built it do any
finish work on the inside so
we can customize it a little
more once we see exactly
how we’ll use it.”
Photo courtsey of Mark Piekarski
By Brian O’Shaughnessy
Contributing Writer
Mark Piekarski is Alvernia’s Director of Annual Giving. He is compensated for calling Crusader basketball games with “all the Diet Coke he
can drink.”
most people.”
During his two and a half
years at Alvernia, Piekarski
has attended over 500 local
sporting events, including
Alvernia’s basketball games.
As Alvernia prepares for
another season, Piekarski
encourages all Alvernia fans
to come out for the games and
cheer on their Crusaders.
“There’s nothing more fun
than being a public address
announcer when the building
is full.”
By Lamont Clark
Editor
A lot of people come to the
sporting events here at Alvernia University. The majority of those people do not
know what goes on behind
the scenes of those sporting
events.
The Sports Information
Director is the one doing
most of the work behind the
scenes.
The man with that responsibility at Alvernia is Jon
King. King and his crew do a
great job broadcasting each
sport. They keep the record
books and take stats of all
the games. They also take
pictures for each athletes’
profile. Most of the work for
sports information is done
behind the scenes but they
can be heard and seen during
sporting events.
King is the head of the
whole operation but he gives
his student employees some
freedom in order to make
sure the work is high quality
and also enjoyable.
Ryan Shannon, Craig Mellinger, and Scott Dressler are
three of the broadcasters for
the sporting events. They
announce for the online webcast. They all enjoy it because
they are able to express their
thoughts to the fans during
Photo courtsey of Lamont Clark
The King of Sports Information Reigns Over Alvernia
08
November/December 2014
student life
Vol. 53 Issue 3
First Year Seminar Makes an Impression on Students
in mentoring new students
into successful Alvernia
graduates and build a strong
bond with them.
students to use credit cards
wisely or stay away from
them all together. He gives
tips on budgeting and saving
one’s money.
The purpose of Deitz’s
presentation is to help the
students decrease their
anxiety of college debt
and making sure that their
financial worries are taken
care of.
Another lecture all the
first year students were
required to attend was the
Coach Smallwood lecture on
October 30. Mike “Coach”
Smallwood from the Rodale
Institute discussed how
organic food can both feed
and save the world at the
same time.
Besides organic food, he
encouraged everyone in the
room to make a change and
be a leader. The first year
students learned that change
starts with them.
FYS also integrates peer
mentors. A peer mentor
serves as a big brother/
sister to the first year stu-
like faculty is willing to help,
which is always a good thing.”
“And my peers are really
supportive. FYS broke down
Alvernia students mingle and have fun at a summer Connection Day.
A recent survey by the
peer mentors were given to
the first year students. So
far, the feedback has been
college for me, I was nervous
at first but now that I’ve taken
the course I have a better
understanding of how college
positive. Aside from the
early timing of the course,
the first year students enjoy
FYS and find it to be very
helpful. They are gaining writing skills, building
bonds and are on the road to
successful paths.
“I feel really comfortable
here,” Dayshaun Dennis, a
biology major, said. “I feel
works.”
For more information
about First Year Seminar, or
how you can get involved as a
peer mentor, contact Dr. Kathleen Muzevich at kathleen.
muzevich@alvernia.edu.
First year students Amanda Benny
and Kathryn Jones helped out with
Halloween On Campus.
Photo courtsey of Carey Manzolillo
Transitioning from high
school to college can be a
challenging obstacle. Alvernia’s First Year Seminar program helps first year students
successfully undergo this
transition.
College is much different from high school. A new
college student has to take
responsibility for their education, including going to class
and keeping up with a heavy
workload.
They are no longer on an
“all day” schedule and they
don’t have teachers reminding them when assignments
are due. Tests and projects are
weighted more than attendance and participation.
Some courses do not have
an attendance policy, meaning
some students can interpret
this as a class they do not
have to attend.
FYS encourages students
to attend every class, rewrite
notes and stay organized.
syllabus, how to take notes,
think critically and how to
manage their time.”
With Alvernia’s FYS
program, first year students
are welcomed into the university life with open arms.
FYS teaches students the
“ins and outs” of college and
the values of a liberal arts
school.
“We try to give the
students more than just a
four year college career,” Dr.
Muzevich said.
“We teach them Franciscan values with our liberal
arts school in order to
help them become a wellrounded person.”
“We strive to give the
students more than just
a major, we offer diverse
courses and promote various activities in order to get
them involved with the
school. This gives them networking skills and an idea
as to what they are ‘called to
do’ once they graduate.”
Beyond classroom time,
FYS instructors send stu-
Photo courtsey of Carey Manzolillo
By Genesis Ciriaco
Contributing Writer
Being a full time student with
courses that consume heavy
workload can become overwhelming and one can easily
fall behind.
“Expectations are much
higher in college compared
to high school,” Dr. Kathleen
Muzevich said. Dr. Muzevich is the First Year Seminar
Director.
“We try to help the freshmen become self-determined
learners. This includes showing them how to understand a
dents to various events in
which they write reflection
papers about afterward.
These events include how
to use MyAlvernia to talks
about financial literacy,
a “majors meeting,” and
a structured visit to the
library.
For instance, Jason Deitz,
a financial consular gives a
lecture on how to stay out
of debt in college. He shares
his college experience with
credit card debt and warns
dents. The peer mentors
must attend each class, take
attendance, read all materials assigned, and attend
the day of service with the
students and much more.
The first year students
should be able to depend on
the peer mentor for assistance, advice or just someone to talk to about classes,
roommate problems or any
other concerns.
The peer mentor is there
to assist the FYS instructor
Photo courtsey of Geniscis Ciriaco
First year students at Alvernia participate in an ice-breaker during a summer Connection Day.
getting crafty
November/December 2014
09
Vol. 53 Issue 3
Are you sick of spending so
much money on the holidays?
There are many ways you can
create gifts without spending
a fortune. Homemade gifts
come from the heart and will
be most treasured by your
loved ones.
“I personally prefer to make
homemade gifts over buying
gifts because I feel like they
have more thought put into
them,” Rosemarie Thress,
senior, said. “Store bought
items are too impersonal.”
Since winter is on its way,
one great gift idea is crocheting a hat, scarf or gloves. You
can go to any arts and crafts
store and buy yarn and a
stitch for about $5 to $10.
“I knitted my boyfriend’s
grandmother a blanket a few
years ago and she absolutely
loved it,” Thress said. “Every
year at Christmas she puts it
out on her recliner chair.”
One valuable gift could be
centered on music. If you’re
familiar with someone’s
favorite songs and artists,
you could make them a
mixed tape or CD.
These days, people mostly
rely on electronic, such as
Ipods and Pandora fror
music, but CDs and tapes
are still used at home and
in cars. Give your friends
and family something good
to listen to while they’re
driving instead of the same
songs that are played over
and over again on the radio.
Danielle Avington, a
senior, received a CD from a
friend in the past.
“These are the songs we
use to hear on the radio and
sing at the top of our lungs
while we were in the car,”
Avington said.
“It was a wonderful gift
because every time I hear
these songs it brings me
back to the times we drove
to play practice when we
were in stage crew together.”
Meaningful photographs
are also great assets to consider for the holidays.
Why not create a collage?
Pictures are always fun to
look back and smile at and
even better as decorations
on walls.
Instead of buying an
expensive bracelet or necklace, make one yourself.
This is especially good for
younger kids. Most of them
enjoy making beaded jewelry for others. So receiving
some is bound to put a smile
on their face.
“My best friend made a
friendship bracelet for me
when she moved far away,”
Melissa Baker, 5th year Occupational Therapy student,
said.
Most individuals love
sweets, and the holidays are
the best time to bake cookies
and other desserts. A can of
goodies is always an exciting
gift. You could also put the
mix in a jar and share the
recipe with friends and families so they can make their
own any time they want.
“One year I baked gingerbread men for my boy-
Carving the Way to Halloween
By Sabrina Case
Contributing Writer
Alvernia students carved,
shaved, stabbed, and scraped
their way to Halloween as
part of the Annual Pumpkin
Carving Competition.
The Annual Pumpkin Carving Competition has become
a staple of Halloween on
campus in the past, and this
year was no different.
Students from the 3D art
class each came up with their
own unique designs. They
ranged from traditional Jacko-Lanterns to sea turtles.
Some students chose to
carve their pumpkins while a
few people also used a shaving technique to take away
layers of the pumpkin and
create a 3D design with different colors.
The student’s pumpkins
could win in four different
categories: Cutest, Scariest,
Funniest, and Best Overall.
Sydni Gajewski’s pumpkin
won the category of cutest,
Fordiane S Jean-Philippe won
Funniest, Shaneece Tolentino
won Scariest, and Cassandra
Noray’s pumpkin won Best
Overall.
Although pumpkin carving seems like a long running
tradition at Alvernia, the idea
actually originated hundreds
of years ago in Ireland. It
started out as the carving of
other foods like turnips and
potatoes. Irish immigrants
brought the tradition to
America, where there was an
abundance of pumpkins, and
the pumpkin soon became
their new canvas.
The term Jack O’ Lantern
comes from the Irish folktale
about a clever man named
Stingy Jack who, through a
serious of tricks involving
the Devil, ends up banned
from both heaven and hell.
The folktale ends with
Stingy Jack being left to
roam around forever with
only a burning coal inside of
a carved turnip to light the
way. He was referred to as
Jack of the Lantern or Jack
O’Lantern. People would
carve out scary faces into
foods to keep him and other
evil spirits away.
Next Halloween when you
sit down to carve a pumpkin,
just remember that you have
the Irish and a clever man
by the name of Stingy Jack to
thank for the fun and unique
tradition.
A mixed CD Danielle Avington recieved as a gift. Making mixtapes for
people requires thoughtful consideration of their tastes, as well as reflection on what songs are meaningful to both of you.
friend’s side of the family.
They thought they were
delicious,” Thress said.
Your significant other may
appreciate thoughtful gifts
more than anyone else.
One thing you can do is
create coupons. For example,
one could offer a free back
rub or a movie night with
their choice of movie.
The holidays can be tough
challenging when it comes to
spending money. However,
these ideas are bound to make
anyone happy.
“I’d rather someone make
me something nice than spend
$50,” Thress said.
For more information about
inexpensive gift ideas, contact
Marisa Then at marisa.then@
alvernia.edu. She would love to
hear from you.
Do these purple
boxes haunt your
dreams?
(right) This pumpkin depicts one of the quirky Minions from the animated movie Despicable Me.
(bottom) This design uses carving, shaving, and painting and won the category of funniest.
Photos courtsey of Courtney Wilson
By Marisa Then
Contributing Writer
Photo courtsey of Marisa Then
Be Creative and Spend Less This Holiday Season
10
November/December 2014
opinion
Vol. 53 Issue 3
Finals Week: Laughing or Crying?
By Mikaileigh Baker
Contributing Writer
Have zombies eaten all the students? No, it’s probably just before 11
a.m. on a Saturday morning.
Alexis Bendyna (right) and Heather MacNamara (left), senior communication majors watching television and painting their nails. are not letting
finals stress them out!
Photo courtsey of Bonnie Baker
Alvernia University is a
great place for someone to
learn what they came to this
campus to learn, but when it
comes to weekends, it gets
bland with not much to do.
Yes, Student Activities,
Campus Ministry, CAB, etc.
plans events but they are usually at night. There are sports,
as well, but not everyone goes
to them or is into sports.
Because of these various
factors I have heard several
students on campus complain
about the absence of activity.
I know, if students are old
enough to go out they do
but otherwise the campus is
vacant. If it is in the mornings, before 11 a.m. or noon
on Saturday or Sunday, it is
the same way. No one is out
around campus, except for the
occasional lone soul just kind
of wandering around.
As stated before, there are
events held, and there are
e-mails sent out, but I know
I get so many e-mails in one
day that they all get deleted at
one time. Because of this, I do
not necessarily see the events’
e-mail. The people who do
look at those e-mails are
those who attend everything
and have so much school
spirit.
Those who have extraordinary school spirit go to
most of the events, especially the themed ones like
Maroon and Gold Night. But
why don’t many people have
this spirit, as well?
At other schools, people
are crazy to show that they
go there but here not so
much so they do not attend
events, as a result. Why?
The student body wants
more events on the weekend
but do not attend them. Contradictory, right? Yes. Events
are not always what I expect
them to be, so I suspect it is
the same way for others, as
well.
Weekends like Spring
Fling or Homecoming seem
to draw quite a large crowd,
AND there are more events
than usual for those on
campus to do. But there
are pros and cons to having
more events on campus.
Pros:
1. There would be less
complaining about
nothing to do
styles, which a study group
can bring to the fore more
easily than working alone.
2. Be a more active
campus
3. More opportunities
4. More school spirit
will be formed
Cons:
1. Very busy
2. Complaints that it
isn’t anything they
want to do
3. Complaints, in general
4. A lot of work to
always have something for a small
campus
Will students actually
attend events, if there are
more? I do not know. One
never knows until it is tried
and so I think there should
be something more than
the occasional event on the
weekend, events at night or
just sports. There should be
something more because the
weekends can be boring.
Fire and Ice
Some say the world will
end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted
of desire
I hold with those who
favor fire.
But if it had to
perish twice,
I think I know enough
of hate
To say that for destruction
ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
-- Robert Frost
Is this eerily peaceful campus due
to the influence of phantoms, or
is the relative absence of people
caused by an overwhelming student
apathy? More importantly, do you
even care enough to read this caption? Is anyone out there? Hello?
Photo courtsey of Bonnie Baker
Get ready: Finals are upon
us.
While some students see
little to fear, other students
find finals to be the scariest
things possible.
As a first year student, you
have no idea what to expect.
Many first years have to
confront both being in a new
place for the first time and
facing college-level assessments. Fortunately, seniors
have techniques and tips
to get through finals in one
piece.
One challenge for first
year students is the intimidation factor. The possibility
of reviewing all the material
they learned over the semester can be overwhelming.
“Now that I am in my
senior year of college finals
don’t seem to intimidate me
the way they used to when I
was a freshman,” Alexis Bendyna, senior communications
major, said.
Is Alvernia Boring?
Study groups help break
up the information by
assigning different members
tasks. Different students
may have different learning
with friends and relax a little
bit.
Seniors clearly have the
advantage because they
have experienced all of this
before, they know what to
expect especially if they have
had the professor before.
During your years in the
college students learn to
handle each final differently,
they can prepare differently
if needed.
“Over my four years here I
have learned that sitting and
reading through a textbook
is not my way of studying,”
Heather MacNamara, senior
communication major, said.
“I succeed when I use
note cards and have a study
group to help me grasp
concepts that I didn’t fully
understand when they were
being taught.”
Having the ability to
form a study group can give
students various ways of
reviewing the information
from the course. It can help a
student relax when preparing for finals week as well.
“I have sat through so
many finals throughout my
college career to know what
I need to do to obtain a good
grade.”
Another issue first year
students have is figuring
out which way of studying
works best for them. Even
thinking about preparing
can be scary.
“Beginning to study
weeks in advance, forming a
study group, getting a good
night sleep before the final
and eating a healthy fulfilling breakfast the morning
of the final are all ways to
boost your score,” Bendyna
said.
Nutrition and getting
enough sleep is critical to
student success. Having the
right amount of sleep and a
healthy breakfast will help
you retain your studied
information.
A fun event to attend for
anybody would be the late
night breakfast the cafeteria
offers during finals week, it
is a good time to hang out
Photo courtsey of Samantha Marino
By Samantha Marino
Contributing Writer
veteran spotlight
November/December 2014
11
Vol. 53 Issue 3
By Katelyn Evans
Editor
Americans acknowledge
the sacrifices of its soldiers
each year on November 11
with a variety of solemn ceremonies
This year Mary Ann
Durant, Instructor of Nursing,
wanted to say thank you in a
special way that required the
help of her students in her
Health Care Science writing
class.
Inspired by a Boscov’s ad
that asked for the community’s help in creating or buying
Christmas cards for veterans
overseas, Durant decided that
it was the perfect opportunity
to thank veterans for their
service.
“The students were
ecstatic when the card idea
was proposed, and several
individuals even created more
than one card,” Durant said.
“The student’s ultimate
reward is in the heart, knowing that he or she is giving a
glimmer of light and hope to
a veteran by making a difference in that person’s life
through remembrance.”
On November 11, HM3
(FMF/SW) Maurice Stover,
one of Durant’s students,
presented the decorated
Christmas greeting cards to
(Ret.) Brian T. Johnson, Alvernia University Veteran’s Club
Acting President and Project
Manager of the Veteran’s
Center.
Typically Health Care
Science 300 is a core writing course that focuses on
introducing students to
various writing styles and
techniques.
The course covers how to
build resumes, the basics of
creating health care proposals, principles of reviewing
literature, and a brief overlook of medical terminology.
However, Professor
Durant wanted to incorporate the Boscov’s campaign
into her HCS 300 class
because it gave her students
a creative way to encourage
and thank the veterans while
giving them a practical way
to practice writing.
Participating in Boscov’s
Christmas Greetings for Veterans Overseas was a great
way for Alvernia students to
demonstrate the university’s
core values.
The project also helped
the Health Care Science
department raise awareness
for Alvernia’s new Veterans
Center.
If you missed the chance
to participate in Boscov’s
Christmas Greetings for
Veterans Overseas, there is
still the opportunity to send a
veteran a holiday greeting.
Organizations like the
American Red Cross annually
collect Christmas cards for
veterans; more information
for their Holiday Mail for
Heroes drive can be found
at http://www.redcross.
org/support/get-involved/
holiday-mail-for-heroes.
Student officers include:
Brian Johnson, Interim
President; Heather Foreman, Vice President; Brianna
Whitton, Secretary, and
Casey Green, Treasurer. Mr.
Curtis Stevens, Captain, U.S.
Navy (Retired), a student in
the Ph.D. in Leadership Program serves as the Veterans
Advocate in the Veterans
Center.
Contributing greatly to
the success of the Veterans
Club are the following individuals: Dr. Thomas Flynn,
President of Alvernia University; Dr. Joseph Cicala, Vice
President of University Life
and Dean of Students; John
McCloskey, Admissions/Vice
President of Enrollment; Dr.
Claire Murphy, Director of
Health and Wellness, and
Shanna Bossler, Undergraduate Admissions.
Our newly dedicated
Veterans Center is located on
the second floor of Bernardine Hall, across from the
Career Development Center.
The funding for construction of the Center was
donated by Board of Trustee
member and veteran, Carl
Anderson and his wife
Debbie.
A debt of gratitude is
owed to the Andersons and
Dr. Flynn who facilitated
their contribution.
The purpose of the
Veterans Center is to provide
support in a centralized
manner to Alvernia University’s active military and veteran students in alignment
with the Franciscan ideals of
the institution.
Goals of the Center
include increased recruitment and retention of this
underserved population,
by following the 8 Keys to
Success set forth by the U.S.
Department of Education,
Veterans Affairs, Defense,
and Labor Departments.
The plan for the center
was endorsed by the Board
of Trustees in December,
2013, and led to the dedication and blessing of the
Veterans Center on September 3, 2014.
As a Vietnam War combat
veteran, I have a tremendous respect for military
veterans. The citizens of the
United States owe a debt of
gratitude to these men and
women.
Unless you have walked
in their shoes, you may
not fully understand the
sacrifices they have made
to ensure the freedoms we
enjoy in our country.
Providing a venue for
veterans to receive a college
education is the least we
can do for these patriotic
Photo courtsey of Katelyn Evans
Christmas Greetings For Our Veterans
ABOVE: HM3 (FMF/SW) Maurice Stover (left), one of Durant’s
students, presented the decorated
Christmas greeting cards to (Ret.)
Brian T. Johnson (right), Alvernia
University Veterans Club Acting
President.
RIGHT: A QR Code for the Red
Cross’ “Holiday Mail for Heroes”
program.
Alvernia Veterans Club: Serving Those Who Served
The Alvernia University
Veterans Club was re-organized on August 8, 2013.
Alvernia University has
been recognized as a Veteran
Friendly institution by Military Friendly Schools for the
years 2013 to 2015.
The club has been an active
member of the Student Veterans of America since October
2013. Although our club is
relatively young, though our
car shows, we have donated
more than $2,500 to the Keystone Wounded Warriors.
All students, faculty and
staff are welcome to become
members of the Veterans
Club, including those who
have never served in the
military.
You may contact any of the
club officers or advisors for
information on joining and
becoming an active member
of the club.
The advisors for the Veterans Club are Jason Deitz,
Assistant Director, Student
Financial Planning; Edgar
J. Hartung, Criminal Justice
Department Chair and Barry
Harvey, Criminal Justice Professor.
Americans.
Veterans, as a whole, are
a more mature group of
students and as such, are
dedicated to receiving an
education. They are excellent students.
However, we must be
mindful that combat veterans bring with them
memories of terrible events,
including, the loss of comrades in battle, the sacrifices
of their families and issues
of readjusting to civilian life.
We need to be mindful of
their experiences when we
have them in our classes.
“Active duty, Reserve, and
Veteran students are a great
resource at Alvernia University because these students
fully understand the values
of selfless service, moral courage, leadership, and trust,”
Deborah Geiger, Criminal
Justice adjunct professor, and
retired Colonel, United States
Army, said.
“The care and services that
the Alvernia community provides to those that served our
Nation is visible throughout
the campus and is embodied
in the Franciscan idea of compassionate love and servant
to all.”
“I believe the veteran population on campus will continue to grow as our Nation’s
most treasured resource-the
military members-discover
the commitment and traditions at Alvernia and embrace
the core mission of knowledge
joined with love.”
Photo courtsey of Carey Manzolillo
By Edgar J. Hartung,
M.A., J.D.
Criminal Justice Department
Chair; Former Captain, U.S. Air
Force
Graduate and Adult Education
Winter
Sessıon
Starts December 15th & January 5th
Winter One (Dec. 15th–Jan. 16th)
Undergraduate and Adult Education:
ART 190-W1: Introduction to Digital Photography
BIO 109-W1: Human Biology
BIO 203-W1: Biosphere
COM 290 or ENG 290-W1/W2: North American
Folklore & Culture
ENG 103-W1: Introduction to Poetry
HIS 112-W1: The Study of American History
PED 304-W1: Wellness for Life
PHI 105-W1/W2: Introduction to Philosophy
PHI 210-W1: Professional Ethics
PSY 101-W1: Introductory Psychology
PSY 208-W1: Human Development Across
the Life Span
SOC 111-W1: Principles of Sociology
THE 105-W1/W2: Foundations of Theology
THE 210-W1: Medical Moral Theology
THE 225-W1: Global Issues: Gospel Perspective
Graduate:
r
e
t
s
i !
g
e
R day
To
COR 520-W1: Ethics and Moral Leadership
MBA 502-W1: Accounting for the Workplace
MBA 506-W1: Economics & Finance
MBA 520-W1: Marketing Services
Winter Two (Jan. 5th–Jan. 16th)
Undergraduate and Adult Education:
MAT 208-W2: Introductory Statistics
Interested in getting ahead this winter break? Then stay on course by taking advantage of Alvernia’s Winter Session.
Courses are offered in accelerated formats: Online and Blended.
Register today online at www.alvernia.edu/winter
All courses are accredited, and the credits are readily transferable.
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