By Sydney Maxey
The muted gray and weathered maroon trimmed wooden home sets neatly off the side of a curvy, mostly untraveled road, in the small town of Navasota, Texas, where the woman rarely runs into an unfamiliar face.
Today is a day Mama Jewel, the mother of 12, will spend with family. Amidst her sun scorched lawn there is a gold Honda civic, a white four door Dodge Ram, an unwashed Altima and a litter of other makes and models of transportation. She feels joy at seeing every member of the family who has come to her humble home today, but her heart aches for the daughter that cannot be here, and will be spending the holiday alone in her ironed cell. Her heart remembers the husband she’s mourned going on 14 years next week. Her mind doesn’t forget her son, the chef, who’s making a name in Colorado. In the many faces she will see today she forgets not her son, Lawrence, who rarely is seen on these occasions but always makes it a point to phone in. She will not dwell on her absent children, not today, because today is a day for gratitude, today is Thanksgiving.
Today she wakes up at 5:45 a.m. She takes from her fridge the corn bread she hand-made two nights before. She chops onions. She chops green peppers and an egg. She dices a bit of turkey breast. And with these ingredients she makes her dressing. The dressing each one of her grandchildren looks forward to and tells their school friends of every Thanksgiving.
After the dressing, she bakes a cake, and after the cake she assembles a pie. And so on. And so on. Until the Thanksgiving feast is prepared.
Soon she hears the footsteps of her youngest son. If she knows him at all, he is already hungry. Shortly after, his brothers and one sister, accompanied by their spouses and children (and even grandchildren for a few of them), will clutter into the familiar home, all at various hours, until grace is to be said.
Mouths open only to take in the banquet of food, and between the football game playing in the background and dessert being served, little will be said but much will be enjoyed.
After several hours hugs and kisses will be exchanged and all around the brothers and one sister will begin packing up and heading back to their respective homes. Except for one son, his wife and two daughters. They are out-of-towners and stay a bit longer than the rest.
The eldest grandchild peers at her grandmother’s cake dish. And askes simply, “Big Momma, how do you make your cakes?”
“Child,” the grandmother responds, “Would you like to see my recipe book.”
The granddaughter knows immediately not to turn this offer down, and so she follows the 79 year old woman into the kitchen, her younger sister will follow shortly behind the two of them.
“Where are the cookbooks?” the granddaughter asks.
“I don’t own any cookbooks.” The grandmother replies as she pulls out a worn loose leaf piece of notebook paper.
In it, etched in light gray cursive are the grandmother’s most cherished recipes.
Suddenly the girl leaves the kitchen. In her hands, when she returns is a school notebook and pen. She copies furiously the ingredients on the first cake, as if they will evaporate if she doesn’t pencil them down as quickly as her hands will allow. It’s the 30 day cake, her father’s favorite.
As she begins writing, her grandmother goes through the recipe from memory. “Now, I don’t use 1 ½ cups of vinegar just 1 cup. Write that down there. And use only a 1 and ½ cups of sugar as well, not 2 ½. That part’s important.” As grandmother talks, the granddaughter pencils every word. Only pausing once. The granddaughter reaches down toward the stooped elder woman and smoothes her fine gray hair down with the palm of her hand.
Then, quickly, the granddaughter begins jotting away again, writing where she left off, copying the recipes on the tattered paper. Halfway through the next recipe, a visitor enters the home. A cousin.
Knocking isn’t custom in this home and so the cousin strolls in and gives the grandmother a long hug. The cousin will make her rounds, telling the wife of the remaining son that she looks as though she’s lost weight. Saying to the remaining son, it’s been too long. And then she will hug her younger cousins.
For a minute the recipes will be put on hold. The grandmother has already begun warming up leftover turkey, dressing and mashed potatoes. She prepares a plate and seat at the table for the wayward traveller. It is obvious to all, the cousin is hungry. But the family will not touch on that, or even what has kept the cousin from visiting so long. They will only enjoy the new visitor’s company. And reminisce about Thanksgiving pasts and hope for, God willing, many more to come.
Friday, December 10, 2010
Jonah Lehrer Speaks at Stonehill College
By Erin Kelly
EASTON: College students, get your cocktail napkins ready.
Why? Because students will be jotting down countless ideas and information during their time in college, said Jonah Lehrer. It’s in college where you really learn how to think, he said.
Lehrer talked about several thinking strategies during an address at Stonehill College on October 7. First year students of the college were required to read Lehrer’s book, How We Decide, over the summer. The presentation was mandatory for them, but it was also open to the entire community.
Lehrer, a graduate of Columbia University, wrote for many newspapers including The New Yorker, The Washington Post, and The Boston Globe. In addition to How We Decide, he is also the author of Proust Was a Neuroscientist.
Dressed in a gray suit and black tie, Lehrer looked professional as he spoke to the audience, mainly college students, about learning how to think.
Lehrer described college as “a glorious feeling…a new way of looking at the world.” College students are exposed to a flood of new ideas, but students will forget nearly all of them, he said.
He proceeded to tell the audience that college helps people learn how to think and gave them six points of advice:
· Be an outsider
· Learn to relax
· Don’t push the fat man off the bridge
· Make friends with lots of different people
· Don’t eat the marsh mellows
· Inhale; breathe it all in
Lehrer talked about each point for a short time, and gave real-life scenarios that most college students could relate to. He made jokes and created an active audience, which made them stay interested from beginning to end.
Lehrer left his audience with one last thought. College is a great place. “You are in the palace,” he said. Students will be writing on many cocktail napkins, jotting down information and ideas they believe to be important, but the best thing to do is to “inhale and take it all in,” Lehrer said.
Kirsten Arvidson, a freshman at Stonehill College, said that Lehrer exceeded her expectations. “He was a lot funnier than what I expected and really interesting.”
Although she had to attend, she felt the experience would be worthwhile.
“We sat near the front so we could hear him, and it was weird to realize that that’s how we actually think,” Arvidson said, referring to Lehrer’s six thinking strategies. It was definitely an hour well spent and I learned a lot from him, she said.
Tara Cantwell, a sophomore at Stonehill, also attended Lehrer’s presentation. “I had read the book, so I was familiar with a lot of the stories he told, but I really enjoyed how he related decision-making to the college experience, especially for first year students,” she said.
Cantwell is a Psychology major and Lehrer’s discussion went right along with what she was learning in class. She found Lehrer to be very scholarly and good with the audience. “I think his presentation was engaging and very enjoyable as well as effective,” she said.
EASTON: College students, get your cocktail napkins ready.
Why? Because students will be jotting down countless ideas and information during their time in college, said Jonah Lehrer. It’s in college where you really learn how to think, he said.
Lehrer talked about several thinking strategies during an address at Stonehill College on October 7. First year students of the college were required to read Lehrer’s book, How We Decide, over the summer. The presentation was mandatory for them, but it was also open to the entire community.
Lehrer, a graduate of Columbia University, wrote for many newspapers including The New Yorker, The Washington Post, and The Boston Globe. In addition to How We Decide, he is also the author of Proust Was a Neuroscientist.
Dressed in a gray suit and black tie, Lehrer looked professional as he spoke to the audience, mainly college students, about learning how to think.
Lehrer described college as “a glorious feeling…a new way of looking at the world.” College students are exposed to a flood of new ideas, but students will forget nearly all of them, he said.
He proceeded to tell the audience that college helps people learn how to think and gave them six points of advice:
· Be an outsider
· Learn to relax
· Don’t push the fat man off the bridge
· Make friends with lots of different people
· Don’t eat the marsh mellows
· Inhale; breathe it all in
Lehrer talked about each point for a short time, and gave real-life scenarios that most college students could relate to. He made jokes and created an active audience, which made them stay interested from beginning to end.
Lehrer left his audience with one last thought. College is a great place. “You are in the palace,” he said. Students will be writing on many cocktail napkins, jotting down information and ideas they believe to be important, but the best thing to do is to “inhale and take it all in,” Lehrer said.
Kirsten Arvidson, a freshman at Stonehill College, said that Lehrer exceeded her expectations. “He was a lot funnier than what I expected and really interesting.”
Although she had to attend, she felt the experience would be worthwhile.
“We sat near the front so we could hear him, and it was weird to realize that that’s how we actually think,” Arvidson said, referring to Lehrer’s six thinking strategies. It was definitely an hour well spent and I learned a lot from him, she said.
Tara Cantwell, a sophomore at Stonehill, also attended Lehrer’s presentation. “I had read the book, so I was familiar with a lot of the stories he told, but I really enjoyed how he related decision-making to the college experience, especially for first year students,” she said.
Cantwell is a Psychology major and Lehrer’s discussion went right along with what she was learning in class. She found Lehrer to be very scholarly and good with the audience. “I think his presentation was engaging and very enjoyable as well as effective,” she said.
By Brad Constant
Jacqueline Genovese, 20, knows firsthand how accidents can happen while texting behind the wheel.
“I got a flat tire once because I was texting while driving and I ran up on a curve and poked a hole in the side of my tire,” she said.
The National Safety Council reported that 28 percent of all car accidents are caused by texting or talking on the phone while driving and 81 percent of the population has admitted to texting while driving.
Brockton Police Chief William Conlon outlined the scenario by saying “texting is something that is a new phenomenon. People didn’t text until a few years ago. As we encountered it and found out how dangerous it is, measures needed to be taken to stop that practice.”
“It’s definitely a decrease in safety, people are too focused on the text message itself and not the road and the other people on the road, I don’t think it’s necessary,” said Genovese.
Genovese is aware of the dangers, saying “I don’t do it often, but if I get a text message that I need to respond to right away I’ll do it without even thinking.”
JonLars Carlson, 21, of Andover MA, said it’s not safe to text and drive “I feel it’s dangerous because you’re not putting your full attention to the road while you’re driving, which is bad, but I still do it occasionally.”
Carlson said he knows one friend who “whenever he sees a cop will put his phone down if he’s texting, but no changes besides that.”
Katherine H. O’Toole, of Duxbury MA, said she doesn’t text while driving, “I’m not good at multi-tasking so if I texted while I drove I’d probably crash into something,” she said.
A study done by the University of Utah found texting while driving to increase the risk of a crash 8 times, while driving drunk only increases the crash 4 times. Furthermore, the distance for a texter to stop, compared to an unimpeded driver, while driving 35 mph is 25 more feet, as opposed to just 4 feet for a drunk driver.
“Texting absolutely causes a decrease in driving because you cannot multi-task and drive effectively, your eyes need to be on the road to be a safe and effective driver and not on a phone screen or monitor,” said Anthony J. Noto, 21, of Westchester NY.
Stonehill Detective Sgt. Gerard A. Coletta thinks “with drinking, the problem is it slows your reaction time, whereas, with texting you’re concentrating on the text and not looking at the road.”
“People don’t realize that if you’re travelling 60 or 70 miles per hour you’re travelling 80 to 90 feet per second, you could double your reaction time if you’re texting while driving, that’s almost one hundred feet that you’ve travelled because you’re texting and not paying attention,” Coletta said.
Conlon, the Brockton Police Chief, said he doesn’t want to minimize the danger of drinking and driving, “but the drunk is at least trying to keep his hands on the wheel.”
“If with a friend was ‘three sheets to the wind’ you wouldn’t get in the car with them, same thing goes for texting,” Conlon said.
O’Toole has seen how driving can be a problem when she is with her sister. “She gets really distracted while she uses her phone and doesn’t pay attention to anything. She probably looks at her phone for about 15 seconds while not looking at the road. I won’t drive with her anymore. She has almost hit things on several occasions, I’ve told her to stop but she hasn’t.”
When asked if they’ve seen any noticeable changes since the new texting while driving legislation passed, most interviewees said no.
“I think it’s a really hard thing to patrol and people know that, it’s different than talking on the phone because you don’t have the phone up to your ear,” said Genovese.
O’Toole is a bit more optimistic, “I don’t think there have been any real changes. I think people are more aware when they’re doing it, but they don’t change their behavior. People are more careful when they’re doing it, but they’re still doing it,” she said.
Conlon said he believes “the new law has lessened texting somewhat, but not to a huge extent, there are going to be kids that know the penalties are severe and the consequences are dangerous so they’re going to stop so they don’t get caught.”
Conlon compared law to public education on smoking “as the new law gets more publicity and people realize how dangerous it is people will stop doing it. People will start to scold each other by saying stuff like ‘I’m in the car with you, put that thing away.’”
Genovese agreed, “If they were doing it before then they’ll keep doing it and just hide it better.”
Poverty By Craig Cottrell
December 3, 2010 By: Craig Cottrell
EASTON – With Presidents Obama’s push the US Federal Government will hopefully vote again on whether or not to extend welfare and benefits.
On November 24, 2010 Republicans shot down the idea of an extension to the welfare benefits for those who have used up their time limit. In the current economic climate the unemployed in urban areas cannot find jobs. With unemployment benefits running out, many US citizens are left homeless. Obama is pushing for another vote in congress; will the republicans shut it down again?
Jessica Bellwood, 28, is a social worker in Hartford, CT and currently has seen an incredible increase in caseloads ever since the economy tanked.
“Many homeless people are coming to Hartford from New York because there is just no work. There are so many people who are past their time limit on unemployment and have been actively searching for months, there is just no jobs.” Bellwood was convinced about the fact that unemployment benefits need to be extended in order for people to get off the streets.
Nationwide citizens are struggling with the lack of unemployment benefits. Local Brockton resident Dominic Gruderez, 32, said, “Yo we strugglin’, hustlin’ to do anything for money.”
Gruderez said that he has not been able to get work in five months. He stays in the local hostel as long as he gets there in time to secure a bed. If it weren’t for the hostel, he would have nowhere to go.
He ended his statement by saying, “It’s real out in these streets, we need help!”
An organization in Easton that answers the call of the poverty in Brockton is My Brother’s Keeper. This Christian based organization provides direct relief to families that cannot afford furniture for their homes. My Brothers Keeper provides them with donated furniture that they collect. Their policy is “If you wouldn’t want it, we wont take it.” They only provide good quality items for these families in need. In some unsafe urban communities in Brockton, they want the kids to stay safe indoors. By providing them with a nicer living environment, children can stay safe at home with nice furniture.
Brain Presalice, 20, is a sophomore at Stonehill College and has been volunteering at My Brothers Keeper for five months now and recently been on many deliveries to families who are about to lose their welfare.
“On the last three deliveries the people receiving the furniture were explaining to me how they are about to loose their unemployment and disabilities aid. Their living conditions were definitely below the poverty line and all the families seem to be in desperate need.” Presalice seemed very concerned for these family’s futures.
The argument that Republicans are defending is that they are tired of illegal immigrants receiving benefits that are for the citizens and the increase of a financial burden on the already broke government cannot happen. What the Republicans fail to see is that many US citizens are in serious need and they still need help. We need to prevent the people who lost unemployment and welfare aid from losing their homes. Hopefully Obama can follow through and get Congress to extend relief to our struggling US citizens.
EASTON – With Presidents Obama’s push the US Federal Government will hopefully vote again on whether or not to extend welfare and benefits.
On November 24, 2010 Republicans shot down the idea of an extension to the welfare benefits for those who have used up their time limit. In the current economic climate the unemployed in urban areas cannot find jobs. With unemployment benefits running out, many US citizens are left homeless. Obama is pushing for another vote in congress; will the republicans shut it down again?
Jessica Bellwood, 28, is a social worker in Hartford, CT and currently has seen an incredible increase in caseloads ever since the economy tanked.
“Many homeless people are coming to Hartford from New York because there is just no work. There are so many people who are past their time limit on unemployment and have been actively searching for months, there is just no jobs.” Bellwood was convinced about the fact that unemployment benefits need to be extended in order for people to get off the streets.
Nationwide citizens are struggling with the lack of unemployment benefits. Local Brockton resident Dominic Gruderez, 32, said, “Yo we strugglin’, hustlin’ to do anything for money.”
Gruderez said that he has not been able to get work in five months. He stays in the local hostel as long as he gets there in time to secure a bed. If it weren’t for the hostel, he would have nowhere to go.
He ended his statement by saying, “It’s real out in these streets, we need help!”
An organization in Easton that answers the call of the poverty in Brockton is My Brother’s Keeper. This Christian based organization provides direct relief to families that cannot afford furniture for their homes. My Brothers Keeper provides them with donated furniture that they collect. Their policy is “If you wouldn’t want it, we wont take it.” They only provide good quality items for these families in need. In some unsafe urban communities in Brockton, they want the kids to stay safe indoors. By providing them with a nicer living environment, children can stay safe at home with nice furniture.
Brain Presalice, 20, is a sophomore at Stonehill College and has been volunteering at My Brothers Keeper for five months now and recently been on many deliveries to families who are about to lose their welfare.
“On the last three deliveries the people receiving the furniture were explaining to me how they are about to loose their unemployment and disabilities aid. Their living conditions were definitely below the poverty line and all the families seem to be in desperate need.” Presalice seemed very concerned for these family’s futures.
The argument that Republicans are defending is that they are tired of illegal immigrants receiving benefits that are for the citizens and the increase of a financial burden on the already broke government cannot happen. What the Republicans fail to see is that many US citizens are in serious need and they still need help. We need to prevent the people who lost unemployment and welfare aid from losing their homes. Hopefully Obama can follow through and get Congress to extend relief to our struggling US citizens.
The Jimmy Fund Clinic
By Tara Daniels
Walking through the double doors of the Jimmy Fund Clinic, children are on the ground playing with toys, gawking at the fish tank. Teens sit and listen to music, some paint pottery and others make bracelets. Kids are just being kids.
“Bracelets were always my favorite thing to do while I was waiting for chemo,” Mack Spangenberg, freshman at Presbyterian College in South Carolina, said.
He was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in December of 2008.
In 2007, about 10,400 children under 15 were diagnosed with cancer and about 1,545 of those children would die, according to http://www.cancer.gov/.
Spangenberg is one of many patients that have been positively affected by the Jimmy Fund Clinic, the pediatric oncology clinic at Dana Farber Cancer Institute. “That is the place where you feel secure when the world is so scary,” Spangenberg said.
Madison McKinley, a junior at Bedford High School in Bedford, New Hampshire, says that the Jimmy Fund Clinic has helped her embrace her status as a “cancer kid.”
“The Jimmy Fund Clinic is like my second family,” McKinley said.
She was diagnosed at age four with Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma, a cancer with no cure as of today. McKinley continues to thrive because of more than just the medical attention that the Jimmy Fund gave her.
When she was diagnosed at a hospital in Ohio, she was sent home to die. It was then that her family moved to New Hampshire, within driving distance from Boston’s Jimmy Fund. “The Jimmy Fund Clinic gave my family and I hope,” McKinley stated, “And they continue to do so.”
Jacquelyn Blanchard, 21, of Corinth, Maine was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma in 2001. “The Jimmy Fund is a place where you can get the best care possible,” Blanchard said.
She said she always stresses to those that ask about the clinic how nice everyone there is and how everyone knows your name and asks how you’re doing.
When Blanchard was admitted to Children’s Hospital Boston, she was under doctor’s orders not leave the hospital. The doctors from the Jimmy Fund Clinic knew how much she loved the Red Sox and when players came to visit the clinic, they brought Blanchard from the hospital and brought her over to meet the players.
“The care there goes beyond the medical care, they care for your emotional well-being as well,” Blanchard said.
Jennat Mustafa, senior at Doherty Memorial High School in Worcester, Massachusetts says words can’t describe how much fun she has had on the special trips that the Jimmy Fund organizes for its teen patients.
“I made such unbreakable bonds with other kids because of those trips,” Mustafa said.
After being diagnosed with Stage 4 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, careless mistakes were made at the first hospital Mustafa went to. It was then that she came to the Jimmy Fund Clinic and it is because of the it, she says, that she is alive today.
“The Jimmy Fund tries to address the impact cancer has on multiple levels of a child’s life,” Pediatric Psychologist, Robert Casey says.
He also said that the Jimmy Fund tries to focus on all aspects of a child’s life: their family, their school, their friends.
Kelli Pedroia, wife of Red Sox 2nd Baseman, Dustin Pedroia, said that the Jimmy Fund is life changing, amazing, one-of a kind, a life saver. “Every kid that walks through that door must feel a sense of hope knowing that other kids are experiencing the same things they are,” she says.
To visit the Jimmy Fund Clinic online: http://www.jimmyfund.org/
Walking through the double doors of the Jimmy Fund Clinic, children are on the ground playing with toys, gawking at the fish tank. Teens sit and listen to music, some paint pottery and others make bracelets. Kids are just being kids.
“Bracelets were always my favorite thing to do while I was waiting for chemo,” Mack Spangenberg, freshman at Presbyterian College in South Carolina, said.
He was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in December of 2008.
In 2007, about 10,400 children under 15 were diagnosed with cancer and about 1,545 of those children would die, according to http://www.cancer.gov/.
Spangenberg is one of many patients that have been positively affected by the Jimmy Fund Clinic, the pediatric oncology clinic at Dana Farber Cancer Institute. “That is the place where you feel secure when the world is so scary,” Spangenberg said.
Madison McKinley, a junior at Bedford High School in Bedford, New Hampshire, says that the Jimmy Fund Clinic has helped her embrace her status as a “cancer kid.”
“The Jimmy Fund Clinic is like my second family,” McKinley said.
She was diagnosed at age four with Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma, a cancer with no cure as of today. McKinley continues to thrive because of more than just the medical attention that the Jimmy Fund gave her.
When she was diagnosed at a hospital in Ohio, she was sent home to die. It was then that her family moved to New Hampshire, within driving distance from Boston’s Jimmy Fund. “The Jimmy Fund Clinic gave my family and I hope,” McKinley stated, “And they continue to do so.”
Jacquelyn Blanchard, 21, of Corinth, Maine was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma in 2001. “The Jimmy Fund is a place where you can get the best care possible,” Blanchard said.
She said she always stresses to those that ask about the clinic how nice everyone there is and how everyone knows your name and asks how you’re doing.
When Blanchard was admitted to Children’s Hospital Boston, she was under doctor’s orders not leave the hospital. The doctors from the Jimmy Fund Clinic knew how much she loved the Red Sox and when players came to visit the clinic, they brought Blanchard from the hospital and brought her over to meet the players.
“The care there goes beyond the medical care, they care for your emotional well-being as well,” Blanchard said.
Jennat Mustafa, senior at Doherty Memorial High School in Worcester, Massachusetts says words can’t describe how much fun she has had on the special trips that the Jimmy Fund organizes for its teen patients.
“I made such unbreakable bonds with other kids because of those trips,” Mustafa said.
After being diagnosed with Stage 4 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, careless mistakes were made at the first hospital Mustafa went to. It was then that she came to the Jimmy Fund Clinic and it is because of the it, she says, that she is alive today.
“The Jimmy Fund tries to address the impact cancer has on multiple levels of a child’s life,” Pediatric Psychologist, Robert Casey says.
He also said that the Jimmy Fund tries to focus on all aspects of a child’s life: their family, their school, their friends.
Kelli Pedroia, wife of Red Sox 2nd Baseman, Dustin Pedroia, said that the Jimmy Fund is life changing, amazing, one-of a kind, a life saver. “Every kid that walks through that door must feel a sense of hope knowing that other kids are experiencing the same things they are,” she says.
To visit the Jimmy Fund Clinic online: http://www.jimmyfund.org/
Networking Key to Postgraduate Success
By Rebecca Leach
Graduating seniors can no longer simply send their resumes to companies and hope to hear back.
Networking is now the key to landing that dream job.
Stonehill’s Post-Graduate Career Outcomes says that just 37 percent of students in the class of 2009 were employed by graduation, compared to 49 percent in the class of 2007.
“For most seniors, right now is the time to be networking. Networking is so much more essential than job searching and it is by far the most important thing students can do,” Career Services Associate Director Christina Burney said.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that between 2004 and 2014 there will be 13.9 million job openings for entry-level college graduates.
Their report, “The 2004-2014 Estimated Job Openings for College Graduates,” says more than half of the openings are expected to come from the need to fill newly created jobs.
Ranked number 19th in the nation for career assistance by the Princeton Review, Burney said that Stonehill’s Career Services also provides great opportunities for students, even after graduation. The department sponsors recruiting events, a tool for students to contact different companies and land interviews.
Experts like Burney are there for students to help them write their resumes, guide them in the right career direction, and assist them in finding internships or jobs, among many other things. Networking is also their specialty.
Stonehill senior Heather Tellier, 21, said, “Like I always say, your network is your net-worth. It’s the best way you can actually experience entry-level job satisfaction to ultimately land the job of your dreams.”
Online networking websites, such as LinkedIn, are gaining headway as more recruiters are using them as a tool to find possible new hires.
“Two people have already contacted me through LinkedIn for job opportunities,” Tellier said. “I created my account my junior year and it has been a great way for me to network and form connections.”
Other seniors are not as confident. Julia Saltanovich, 21, said that, “I find this big networking push to be pretty overwhelming. I have completed multiple internships and have been trying to form a network, but it is just a very stressful process.”
With more than 1.6 million students expected to receive bachelor’s degree this year, it is even more important that Stonehill students participate in career building activities before graduation.
Graduating seniors can no longer simply send their resumes to companies and hope to hear back.
Networking is now the key to landing that dream job.
Stonehill’s Post-Graduate Career Outcomes says that just 37 percent of students in the class of 2009 were employed by graduation, compared to 49 percent in the class of 2007.
“For most seniors, right now is the time to be networking. Networking is so much more essential than job searching and it is by far the most important thing students can do,” Career Services Associate Director Christina Burney said.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that between 2004 and 2014 there will be 13.9 million job openings for entry-level college graduates.
Their report, “The 2004-2014 Estimated Job Openings for College Graduates,” says more than half of the openings are expected to come from the need to fill newly created jobs.
Ranked number 19th in the nation for career assistance by the Princeton Review, Burney said that Stonehill’s Career Services also provides great opportunities for students, even after graduation. The department sponsors recruiting events, a tool for students to contact different companies and land interviews.
Experts like Burney are there for students to help them write their resumes, guide them in the right career direction, and assist them in finding internships or jobs, among many other things. Networking is also their specialty.
Stonehill senior Heather Tellier, 21, said, “Like I always say, your network is your net-worth. It’s the best way you can actually experience entry-level job satisfaction to ultimately land the job of your dreams.”
Online networking websites, such as LinkedIn, are gaining headway as more recruiters are using them as a tool to find possible new hires.
“Two people have already contacted me through LinkedIn for job opportunities,” Tellier said. “I created my account my junior year and it has been a great way for me to network and form connections.”
Other seniors are not as confident. Julia Saltanovich, 21, said that, “I find this big networking push to be pretty overwhelming. I have completed multiple internships and have been trying to form a network, but it is just a very stressful process.”
With more than 1.6 million students expected to receive bachelor’s degree this year, it is even more important that Stonehill students participate in career building activities before graduation.
To Give or Not to Give: Donating Blood, the Process, Precautions, and Panic
By McKenzie Curran
As the smell of Oreo cookies and fruit juice wafted around her, Stonehill sophomore Laura Plourde,19, of Rockland, ME, sat waiting patiently for her appointment to donate blood at the Braintree Blood Donation Center.
“This is going to save someone’s life,” Plourde remembers saying. “It’s not going to hurt that bad, stop being such a chicken.”
Stories like Plourde’s are becoming increasingly scarce across the United States.
As demand for blood escalates, the number of donors has plateaued, a study by the American Red Cross found.
“When I worked in a hospital blood bank, I remember making many frantic calls to the American Red Cross trying desperately to find some blood that was urgently needed for a patient,” said Stonehill blood and medicine Professor Sheila Barry. “Sometimes they were able to help and sometimes they did not have that particular type available, which meant that the patient would not survive.”
Across the nation, there are five million people who need blood annually. Some of these patients need up to 100 units of blood during treatment. With almost 43,000 pints of blood used daily in the U.S. and Canada, and only 16 million pints donated annually, the numbers say it all. A blood shortage is upon us.
Some erroneously believe there’s enough blood because of the preservatives the Red Cross and other blood donation centers use according to Barry.
“The average anticoagulant can keep blood alive for either 42 or 35 days,” said Barry. “But the 35 day anticoagulant is more commonly used because it’s cheaper.”
This means that hundreds of bags of blood are thrown out because the shelf life runs out. Factoring in the number of bags that aren’t used, the number of viable blood for patients is decreased again, making the blood shortage more dangerous.
According to the Red Cross, only five percent of eligible donors actually donate. Others claim their schedule is too busy, they are afraid, or haven’t even considered the possibility. Giving blood saves lives.
Every two seconds a person in this country needs blood. Chances are you are someone or know someone who has once needed blood. Donate for them, donate for yourself.
The procedure for donating blood is simple. Make an appointment, show up, and you’re out in less than an hour usually. After filling out a thorough questionnaire, as mandatory by FDA standards, you sit on a bed with a trained and experienced nurse. She quickly and gently inserts the needle into your vein, and you only feel a little discomfort for about 10 seconds.
“It felt like I was getting a regular shot,” said Stonehill student and blood donor Kathryn Klem, 19, of Belmont, NH. “People shouldn’t get anxiety over it, the bark is worse than the bite.”
The blood donation procedure only lasts about 7-10 minutes, and the only pain is the initial prick.
Pain is only one of many fears people hold about blood donation, and only one of the fears Stonehill sophomore Jaime McClain,19, of Marco Island, FL, maintains.
“I really just can’t even think about the needles or blood without feeling nauseous.” McClain said, “I’m not going to have some dumb nurse miss my vein five times and steal half my blood content. It’s just not for me.”
That doesn’t happen, according to Barry who not only worked at a blood bank, but also has run many blood drives at Stonehill College.
Having a husband who has received blood transfusions for various medical reasons, Barry also understands the importance and process of blood donation on a personal level.
“Two years ago, when my husband almost died after lung cancer surgery, he received over a dozen transfusions.” Barry said, “Each time I looked up at a new bag of blood going into his arm, I silently thanked the wonderful donor who was helping to keep him alive.”
After someone donates blood, the person is lead to a snack table and given cookies, juice, and water to rehydrate.
Not everyone is eligible to donate, however. Only 38 percent of the U.S. population is actually eligible to donate blood according to a study done by the American Red Cross. This has to do with the strict regulations that come with blood donation.
In order to be a donor, there is a laundry list of standards you have to meet. Donors must be healthy, 17 years of age, or 16 with written parental consent, and meet a certain weight requirement. They also cannot donate if they have gotten a tattoo in the last year; gone to certain parts of Africa South America, or Iraq in the past year, or if they are on certain blood thinning medications.
The criteria are important to follow because you don’t want to donate blood that is just going to be thrown out because it has risk of infecting another person.
Donating blood saves lives. Without a steady donor population, countless Americans will die because they could not get the transfusions they desperately need. We can’t manufacture or make blood, it can only be given. With one pint of blood you can save the lives of up to 3 people.
Stonehill is having its own blood drive on December 6, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Alumni Hall.
As the smell of Oreo cookies and fruit juice wafted around her, Stonehill sophomore Laura Plourde,19, of Rockland, ME, sat waiting patiently for her appointment to donate blood at the Braintree Blood Donation Center.
“This is going to save someone’s life,” Plourde remembers saying. “It’s not going to hurt that bad, stop being such a chicken.”
Stories like Plourde’s are becoming increasingly scarce across the United States.
As demand for blood escalates, the number of donors has plateaued, a study by the American Red Cross found.
“When I worked in a hospital blood bank, I remember making many frantic calls to the American Red Cross trying desperately to find some blood that was urgently needed for a patient,” said Stonehill blood and medicine Professor Sheila Barry. “Sometimes they were able to help and sometimes they did not have that particular type available, which meant that the patient would not survive.”
Across the nation, there are five million people who need blood annually. Some of these patients need up to 100 units of blood during treatment. With almost 43,000 pints of blood used daily in the U.S. and Canada, and only 16 million pints donated annually, the numbers say it all. A blood shortage is upon us.
Some erroneously believe there’s enough blood because of the preservatives the Red Cross and other blood donation centers use according to Barry.
“The average anticoagulant can keep blood alive for either 42 or 35 days,” said Barry. “But the 35 day anticoagulant is more commonly used because it’s cheaper.”
This means that hundreds of bags of blood are thrown out because the shelf life runs out. Factoring in the number of bags that aren’t used, the number of viable blood for patients is decreased again, making the blood shortage more dangerous.
According to the Red Cross, only five percent of eligible donors actually donate. Others claim their schedule is too busy, they are afraid, or haven’t even considered the possibility. Giving blood saves lives.
Every two seconds a person in this country needs blood. Chances are you are someone or know someone who has once needed blood. Donate for them, donate for yourself.
The procedure for donating blood is simple. Make an appointment, show up, and you’re out in less than an hour usually. After filling out a thorough questionnaire, as mandatory by FDA standards, you sit on a bed with a trained and experienced nurse. She quickly and gently inserts the needle into your vein, and you only feel a little discomfort for about 10 seconds.
“It felt like I was getting a regular shot,” said Stonehill student and blood donor Kathryn Klem, 19, of Belmont, NH. “People shouldn’t get anxiety over it, the bark is worse than the bite.”
The blood donation procedure only lasts about 7-10 minutes, and the only pain is the initial prick.
Pain is only one of many fears people hold about blood donation, and only one of the fears Stonehill sophomore Jaime McClain,19, of Marco Island, FL, maintains.
“I really just can’t even think about the needles or blood without feeling nauseous.” McClain said, “I’m not going to have some dumb nurse miss my vein five times and steal half my blood content. It’s just not for me.”
That doesn’t happen, according to Barry who not only worked at a blood bank, but also has run many blood drives at Stonehill College.
Having a husband who has received blood transfusions for various medical reasons, Barry also understands the importance and process of blood donation on a personal level.
“Two years ago, when my husband almost died after lung cancer surgery, he received over a dozen transfusions.” Barry said, “Each time I looked up at a new bag of blood going into his arm, I silently thanked the wonderful donor who was helping to keep him alive.”
After someone donates blood, the person is lead to a snack table and given cookies, juice, and water to rehydrate.
Not everyone is eligible to donate, however. Only 38 percent of the U.S. population is actually eligible to donate blood according to a study done by the American Red Cross. This has to do with the strict regulations that come with blood donation.
In order to be a donor, there is a laundry list of standards you have to meet. Donors must be healthy, 17 years of age, or 16 with written parental consent, and meet a certain weight requirement. They also cannot donate if they have gotten a tattoo in the last year; gone to certain parts of Africa South America, or Iraq in the past year, or if they are on certain blood thinning medications.
The criteria are important to follow because you don’t want to donate blood that is just going to be thrown out because it has risk of infecting another person.
Donating blood saves lives. Without a steady donor population, countless Americans will die because they could not get the transfusions they desperately need. We can’t manufacture or make blood, it can only be given. With one pint of blood you can save the lives of up to 3 people.
Stonehill is having its own blood drive on December 6, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Alumni Hall.
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