Achiever 8/03 - Duquesne University

Page 4
Advisory Board
Dr. Eunice Anderson
Principal, Milliones Middle School
Dr. Marilyn Barnett
Principal, Westinghouse High School
Mr. Paul-James Cukanna
Director, Admissions Office, Duquesne University
Mr. David DiPetro
Executive Director, Palumbo Center, Duquesne
University
Mr. Richard Esposito
Interim Director, Financial Aid Office, Duquesne
University
Mr. Gust Flizanes
Director/Design and Construction, Facilities
Management, Duquesne University
Dr. Janie Fritz
Associate Professor, Communications and
Rhetorical Studies, Duquesne University
Rev. Timothy Hickey, C.S.Sp.
Director, Mission and Identity, Duquesne
University
Dr. Rodney Hopson
Chair, Educational Foundations & Leadership
School of Education, Duquesne University
Ms. Patricia Jakub
Registrar, Duquesne University
Mr. Althier Jones
District Director, Western Pennsylvania District
Office, Small Business Administration
Dr. Fred Lorenson
Director, Freshmen Development and Special
Student Services, Duquesne University
Dr. Joe Maola
Director of Accreditation Services, School of
Education, Duquesne University
Mr. Gene Mariani
Assistant Academic Vice President, Duquesne
University
Mr. Alex Matthews
School Board Member, Pittsburgh Public Schools
M. Gayle Moss
President, NAACP
Ms. Valerie Njie
Vice President, Operations, Bidwell Training
Center
Mr. Robert O’Connor
Special Assistant to Gov. Rendell, Southwestern
Pennsylvania Governor’s Office, Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania
Mr. Sylvester Pace
Executive Director, Negro Educational Emergency
Drive
Judge Oscar Petite
Judge, Uptown District, Allegheny County
Dr. Gary Shank
Associate Professor, School of Education,
Duquesne University
Mr. Randall Taylor
School Board Member, Pittsburgh Public Schools
Dr. John Thompson
Superintendent, Pittsburgh Public Schools
Mr. Jeff Worthy
Vice President, NDSC Executive Offices, PNC
Bank
sleep last night – there is a strong possibility that you only got four and are not whining
and griping.
2. Take exquisite care of your goose. Don’t expect a beat-up run down, ill-cared-for
automobile to perform like the “ultimate driving machine.” It can’t do it. Accordingly
consider the following four areas:
a. Physically. Come on. EAT RIGHT! Stop with the sugar, caffeine, alcohol, smoking, no
sleep, no water, processed junk food. Eat more raw fruits and vegetables. Exercise.
You know the drill. But DO IT!
b. Emotionally. Love, hug, smile, guffaw, cry, be moved. Shower the people you love
with love. Thank people. Give bouquets of gratitude. Strengthen your relationships.
c. Mentally. Learn something new every single day. Force yourself to think outside your
self-imposed limitations. Entertain new possibilities. Stretch. Learn (happily and
willingly) by failure. Dance, sing, juggle, build a doghouse.
d. Spiritually. By whatever beliefs you hold to be true, honor your Spiritual nature. This
might simply be through prayer, meditation or service. But whatever it is, consider it
vital to your overall well-being.
3. Schedule in your recovery time. Yes. Actually log it in your calendar. Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, 7 a.m., Walk for 30 minutes! Monday through Friday, 5:30 p.m. to 5:45 p.m. –
close the door, turn off the lights, and shut off the phone. Sit in silence and focus on your
copious blessings.
4. Clean it up! You will work so much more efficiently when your environment is lean and
clean. Throw out the old magazines, clean off your desk top, donate the items in your home
that you know you are not actually going to ever use. Let’s face it. I am NOT going to use
that camping gear again!
5. Simplify. Here’s the deal: The more toys I have, the more maintenance I have to do.
AND the more space I have to create to house the toys. AND the more hours I have to work
to buy, insure, and house the toys. Just hang around with friends who have all the toys you
like. Let them do all the work. The bell has been rung, the horses are out of the gate and the
pace has been set. Your goal is to run the race with as much power, stamina and clarity as
possible. By implementing the above five ideas, not only will you be able to be tremendously effective and successful in your endeavors, but you can enjoy the process as much as
the outcomes.
Linda Larsen helps individuals and companies get unstuck, have more fun and be more productive.
She is an international speaker, trial consultant and author of the book, True Power, and the best
selling audio program, 12 Secrets to High Self-Esteem. She can be reached at www.lindalarsen.com
or 941-927-4700. Copyright 2003 Linda Larsen Communications, Inc.
To really excel, you need to strive for balance in all the areas of your life–not just intellectual and financial , but physical, emotional, personal, social, and spiritual as well. That’s
why Duquesne is the perfect place to achieve balance – “Education for the Mind, Heart, and
Spirit.”
MICHAEL P. WEBER LEARNING
SKILLS CENTER
ACT 101/LSP
DUQUESNE UNIVERSITY
PITTSBURGH, PA 15282
(412) 396-6661
Non-Profit Org.
U.S. Postage
PAID
Permit No. 390
Pittsburgh, PA
Fall 2004-Spring 2005
Vol. 12 No. 2
The
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CHIEVER
D UQUESNE U NIVERSITY’S ACT 101 /L EARNING S KILLS P ROGRAM N EWSLETTER
Nadeen Seldon: Weathering
Change, Reaping Rewards
By Martin Sivitz, M.M.
D
ifficult transitions have figured
heavily for Nadeen Seldon, an ACT
101 student who has recently finished
her freshman year at Duquesne.
Born in Philadelphia, she decided in
2001 to move to Pittsburgh, where her
godmother lived. She was still in high
school at the time. “It was time for a
change” is what Nadeen has to say
about it.
Nadeen, now a sociology major with a
Nadeen Seldon
minor in criminal justice, described a
fish-out-of water story in her transition
“It was a
from urban South Philly to suburban Mt.
culture shock.
Lebanon, where she attended Mt.
I’d never been
Lebanon High School. It wasn’t just a
matter of forsaking one town for
exposed to such
another, or a Philly cheesesteak for
prestige.”
Primanti’s. “It was a culture shock,” she
said. “I’d never been exposed to such
prestige. It was like living in a bubble,”
she said of the new environment. She made good academic
strides, but socially, she stayed to herself.
Nadeen describes herself as shy, but if you spend a bit of time
with her, it is obvious that she is well-liked, the kind of person
who gets a lot of warm “hellos” and people like to talk to her.
Another major transition occurred when she entered Duquesne through the Spiritan Division Summer Program in 2003.
Her reaction is typical of students in the program: She remembers
it as challenging but is grateful for the edge it afforded her when
the fall semester began.
The difficulties have paid off, though; she has gathered some
awards along the way. Nadeen has received a BASH (Black
Association of South Hills) scholarship, as well as scholarships
from NEED and Lavelle-Merritt. Nadeen has been inducted into
the Phi Eta Sigma Honor Society and has joined the Black Student
Union. Recently she was honored by the Women’s Leadership
Society at Duquesne.
She has also been involved in Service Learning. This past
semester Nadeen was a PACT tutor working in Operation
Mainstream (a college prep program) under the supervision of Dr.
Uhuru Hotep, Associate Director of the Michael P.Weber Learning Skills Center. She has found the experience fulfilling even if
getting out of bed was sometimes difficult. She especially
appreciated becoming a mentor to a student with a learning
disability.
Nadeen describes her vocational goals as “social work or
child advocacy—something impacting the lives of young people.”
She plans to get an undergraduate degree in sociology and a
master’s degree in social work.
Having a job has kept her schedule hectic. Currently a ticket
agent for Greyhound, she deals with “crazy hours” but also has
the perk of free travel anywhere. Nadeen manages to find time
for her interests, which include shopping and travel, and
spending time with her family. “I get back to Philadelphia as
often as I can.”
Maggie Powell: An Act 101
Freshman
By Uhuru Hotep, Ed.D.
M
aggie Powell is not your average
ACT 101 student. This perky
freshman grew up in New Kensington,
Pa., a Pittsburgh suburb, and attended
Valley High School, where she played on
the girl’s soccer team and graced the
stage as a cast member of the Viking
Theatre. She starred in student productions of Grease and The Wizard of Oz. She
also served on Student Council as a
sophomore and junior class vice presiMaggie Powell
dent.
Maggie visited and fell in love with
“What I
Duquesne in October of her senior year.
enjoyed most
She already had friends here, but she is
the first in her family to attend the
was meeting
University. What most appealed to her
and making
about Duquesne was the accommodating
friends...I also
size of the campus and the small classes.
discovered that
When she visited campus last October,
college classes
she met Debbie Zugates in the Office of
require a lot
Admissions, who assured her Duquesne
more work. ”
would be a great place for her and then
introduced her to the Spiritan Division
and its summer program.
Regarding the summer program, Maggie states, “It was a real
learning experience. What I enjoyed most was meeting and
making friends with my fellow students. I also discovered that
college classes require a lot more work than high school classes.”
She also enjoys the independence that living on campus allows
and her Spiritan Division instructors, whom she describes as
“very helpful,” a characteristic she really appreciates.
Maggie is considering majoring in marketing and taking a
minor in theatre. And once she acclimates to the college scene,
she intends to explore campus opportunities to join a theatre
group and play women’s soccer. In her spare time, she visits the
South Side or the Waterfront.
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Insights
Contributed by Sherry Goldman, M.M.,
Assistant Director for Academic Services
SKILLS AND CAREER SATISFACTION
By Carol Cantini, M.S.Ed.
ome students are career
others struggle to find direction
for their studies and their work after
college. There are many resources
available to both. The Career Services
Center at Duquesne (http://
www.careerservices.duq.edu/) offers
workshops on such topics as resume
writing and interview techniques and
direct employment services such as
on-campus interviews and resume
referrals. All students should fully
participate in the Center’s programs.
Oftentimes, students look for
jobs that pertain to the skills they
have learned through their major area
of studies. Sometimes, depending on
the student’s major, the skills that
student seems to have do not seem to
match the skills required for the job.
What to do?
While it is true that many jobs
require candidates with specific
majors—accountant, pharmacist,
nurse, etc.—still others require
candidates who can demonstrate
other concrete skills—oral and
written communication skills or
research skills, etc.—or abstract
skills—leadership, human relations,
etc. Commonly called transferable
skills—as opposed to content skills
S
developed through the major—these are
skills one learns from everyday student
life. Transferable skills are developed
through extra-curricular activities, parttime jobs, and internships. They may be
enhanced through coursework.
The following extract is from the
Web site, http://www.mapping-yourfuture.org. It provides a structure for
analyzing your skills and relating them to
your career interests:
Skills and Interests
• Make a list of your school activities
(clubs, organizations to which you
belonged). Make a list of any
volunteer work you have done
(either through social, civic or
religious organizations).
• After you have assessed your
interests and skills, determine the
relationship between skills and
interests and possible careers. You
may need to research types of
careers.
• Think about your interests.
• What do you like to do? Think about
experiences you have enjoyed. What
kind of school, religious, social, or
sports activities do you like?
• Make a list of 10 activities you have
enjoyed doing in the past four years.
• Evaluate those interests. Think about
what you liked about the activities.
What challenges did the activities offer?
What skills do you need to develop
further to continue in those activities?
• Once you have found a career that
matches your interests and skills,
you are ready to set your career
goal.
• Identifying transferable skills
requires a little work, but the result
will pay off in the job search
because the student will be able to
articulate what he or she brings to
the employer besides a major in …
• Consider your skills.
Michael P. Weber
Learning Skills Center
• Evaluate school, volunteer, work, or
leisure experiences.
Voice (412) 396-6661
Fax (412) 396-5466
Web Site
SUPER AT DUQUESNE UNIVERSITY
By Mary Dowd, B.A.
UPER (Stand Up Partners for
Educational Retention) is a
new program for Duquesne students
sponsored by the University and the
Pennsylvania Department of
Education.
SUPER offers member students
opportunities to serve their fellow
students as mentors and peer
advisors in the achievement of their
mutual academic goals, and opportunities to participate in community
service partnerships with Pittsburgh
area businesses and corporations.
Member students can also earn
course credit and/or stipends for
their campus or community service.
The Michael P. Weber Learning
Skills Center at the University is
using the program as a potential
source of tutors. It was first imple-
S
www.lsc.duq.edu
Program Update
LIFE IN BALANCE
W
e all know the story of the
college student whose life is not in
balance... who’s partying more often
than studying... and whose grades reflect
his/her emphasis on the social.
But what about the other extreme?
Who ever questions a student who
devotes so much attention to academics
that nurturing self or others “falls off the
end?” That student is likely to be
positively reinforced by excellent grades,
and accolades from parents, teachers,
and others.
Consider this perspective:
Life at the Speed of Fast
by Linda Larsen
Copyright 2003
L
et’s face it. Everything has speeded
up. It’s as if someone has wound the
clock up too tight and the hands are
flying around at twice their normal
speed. People walk fast, talk fast, and
think fast. You can now read e-mail, talk
on the phone, eat lunch, and work on a
report all at the same time. You can
watch the morning news on television
AND read the world headlines scroll
across the bottom of the screen at the
same time. You can go on vacation and
never miss a beat as you continue to
conduct your business via e-mail,
voicemail, laptop, and Palm Pilot. And
don’t forget the Internet, Ethernet,
hypertext, subtext, subplot and finally –
burial plot.
The following ACT 101/
LSP students earned
undergraduate degrees in
the academic year 20032004 semester. This is a
partial list.
The following ACT 101/
LSP students earned
inclusion on the Dean’s
list for academic year
2003-2004. This is a
partial list.
Barton, Timothy
Bedrick, Christopher
Branduzzi, Domenic
Caponi, Nicholas
Cicuto, Christopher
Conn, Sean
DeNunzio, Maria
Edington, Sean
Foster, Gretchen
Frampton, Jason
Futrell, Candace
Gatti, Michael
Golle, Sean
Grace, Erin
Harris, Charles
Huellen, Tracy
Jones, Pierce
Karczewski, Kalyn
Kearney, Ashley
Kornick, Jennifer
Leshinsky, Matthew
LiVorio, Bo
Marino, Adam
Martino, David
McKee, Emily
Mineweaser, Anne
Okpala, Florence
Peccon, G Michael
Rosenau, Shawn
Schaeffer, Breean
Smith, Heather M.
Snyder, Benjamin
Standfast, Nicole
Tribendis, Matthew
Trinh, Xuan
Wilson, Elaine
Adame, April
Benedict, Melissa
Cobb, Jennifer
Coleman, Ryan
Davidson, Heather
Dempsey, Robert
DeNunzio, Maria
DiBello, Anne-Marie
Ferrance, Nicole
Figore, Heather
Foster, Gretchen
Freund, Mark
Fullwood, Sarah
Gaffney, Emily
Herbstritt, Amanda
Hollis, Amy
Iacurci, Jennifer
Komorowski, James
Kreuer, Vanessa
Murray, Kiley
Napolitano, Holly
Newell, Angela
Newell, Angela
Nguyen, Cindy
Pevarnik, Margaret
Price, Rebecca
Rumble, Candice
Schmidt, Emily
Sciarretti, Nicholette
Seldon, Nadeen
Smith, Heather M.
Sproull, Christopher
Standfast, Nicole
Stiffy, Michele
Taormina, Christie
Trinh, Xuan
Friends of the Center
• Center for Accelerated Learning
• Learning Skills Center at Milliones
Middle School
The Achiever Staff
Founder and Publisher
Judith R. Griggs, Ph.D.
Editor
Uhuru Hotep, Ed.D.
Contributors
Reggie Bridges, MBA, J.D.
Carol Cantini, M.S.Ed.
Mary Dowd, B.A.
Tommie Lewis, M.A.
Marty Sivitz, M.M.
D
id you ever hear the definition for procras
tination–getting ready to get ready? Many
people spend their lives getting ready to live
their lives. This is a mistake.
Here’s some great advice from Alfred D.
Souza . . .
It seems that I’ve got two choices: I can
either find a way to keep up and survive,
or stick out my lower lip, dig in my heels
and disappear in the dust.
“Obstacles are those
Ok, so let’s say our choice is to keep up
and, not only survive, but actually
thrive. And more than thrive – downright flourish! How do we do it?
Consider the following ideas.
eyes off your goals.”
continued on page 4
Adame, April
Askren, Richard
Benedict, Melissa
Boden, Kevin
Campbell, Autumn
Ciotti, Nina
Cobb, Jennifer
Coleman, Ryan
Davidson, Heather
Dempsey, Robert
DeNunzio, Maria
DiBello, Anne-Marie
Edington, Sean
Ferrance, Nicole
Figore, Heather
Ford, Heather
Foster, Gretchen
Freund, Mark
Fullwood, Sarah
Futrell, Candace
Gaffney, Emily
Gatti, Michael
Gerlach, Thomas
Harris, Charles
Herbstritt, Amanda
Hiller, Carrie
Hollis, Amy
Iacurci, Jennifer
Johnson, James
Jones, Pierce
Kemmerer, Sean
Contributed by Sherry Goldman
Assistant Director for Academic Services
And here’s the scary part: I’d better find
a way to deal with this, or go buy a
house on Walden Pond, because it’s not
going away. So what’s a person to do
here? You know, a person who likes to
eat, pay the mortgage and take a
vacation once in a while.
1. Accept it. It’s not going away. NO
ONE wants to hear me complain about
how “bad” it is. And if I tell you that I’m
exhausted because I only got five hours
The following ACT 101/
LSP students earned a
3.00 or better for
academic year 20032004. This is a partial
list.
Komorowski, James
Kornick, Jennifer
Kreh, Mark
Kreuer, Vanessa
Labik, Gina
Martino, David
Mineweaser, Anne
Mirek, Julia
Murray, Kiley
Napolitano, Holly
Newell, Angela
Nguyen, Cindy
Okpala, Florence
Patterson, Janea
Pevarnik, Margaret
Pisano, Maria
Portis, Justin
Price, Rebecca
Rumble, Candice
Schaeffer, Ashley
Schmidt, Emily
Sciarretti, Nicholette
Seldon, Nadeen
Simmons, Raechel
Smith, Heather M.
Sproull, Christopher
Standfast, Nicole
Stiffy, Michele
Taormina, Christie
Trinh, Xuan
Vogel, Marissa
Walls, Richard
Wank, Jessica
Wood, Eric
Young, Shannon
Zilka, Brandon
Zuroski, Betsy
OBSTACLES
I don’t know about you, but I get tired
just thinking about all this.
mented in the Spring of 2004 and
continues to be offered. Three
students have already expressed a
desire to tutor. They all feel they
wanted to do it because it would be
interesting and worthwhile.
Walls, Richard
Wank, Jessica
Young, Shannon
frightful things you see
when you take your
- Henry Ford
“For a long time it had seemed to me that
life was about to begin–real life. But there was
always some obstacle in the way, something to
be gotten through first, some unfinished
business, time still to be served, or a debt to be
paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned
on me that these obstacles were my life.”
In other words, “This is it!”
Copyright © 2000, Success Online, Rob Gilbert & Geoff Steck, editors; publisher, The Economics
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