Hoping A Generation Will Find Solutions To Complex Problems
By Sarah Campbell
Glen Burwell, in his second year at Marymount Manhattan College, was born in New York, but raised in Virginia Beach. He returned to Manhattan last fall after being accepted at MMC, and for a young man of 19, Burwell has a long list of academic and extra-curricular achievements. After spending an afternoon with him, it’s clear that Burwell is a young man of brilliance, intelligence, and charm with classic values and modern views. Speaking on topics from politics, to pop culture, Burwell proves that his two-cents should be heard.
Burwell arrives at the Starbucks at 80th and York at 5:58 pm, two minutes before our interview is scheduled to begin. For some reason I’m there early and am glad that I didn’t miss his entrance. Burwell is dressed in a sophisticated, yet carefree style, which seems to come off as more polished in comparison to the normal college kid look. His jacket is a hooded navy pea-coat with silver buttons, two of which seem to have gone missing, yet don’t detract from the chic look of the silhouette which lies somewhere in between slightly fitted and roomy. He’s wearing slim (not skinny) dark blue jeans with shoes. To top it off, he wears a gray hat that’s slightly tilted on his head. He enters the Starbucks and sees me almost immediately, not needing to pause for even a moment until he reaches the table.
Burwell looks as though he’s been walking a bit and when I hear his hello, it is clear that he’s a bit out of breath. He has a large rectangular bag slung diagonally over his shoulder in which it seems a person could fit an entire wardrobe, or maybe even a small Manhattan studio apartment. He lugs it off his shoulders with a sigh and says, “Let me just get a coffee before we start,” which sounds more like one long word as he speaks rather quickly and is still a little out of breath.
When he returns with a grande café Americano, he seems more settled. Burwell hovers over the cup, the cap of which he has removed and blows over the drink, steam rising, as his eyes glance at the coffee, up at me, and then back down again. He asks, “So, how do we do this? How do we begin?” After minor mindless chitchat, we seep into the interview.
What was it that led you to choose MMC?
“New York definitely I’d love to say it was the school, but honestly the bottom line was I wanted to be here.
Do you have a particular field of interest? A major?
“That’s a tricky question,” (he says with a giggle).
Why is that a tricky question?
“Well because it depends on which day and at what time you ask it – it’s different. I originally planned to be a lawyer. My entire high school career was geared towards that. (Burwell studied at The Legal Academy). I’m also really into graphic design, photography. My major that’s easy – it’s communications. Really, I’d just love to be editor at a high style magazine – somewhere at the top of the creative process. I also really love journalism. The truth is really important and the news today is obviously so messed up and people, everyone, myself included, seems so uninformed and that’s unfortunate.”
So I’m guessing you’re not up to date on your US Weekly?(Chuckles). “Most certainly am not. I’m not saying I don’t get the appeal, obviously it is easier to focus on what happened in Hollywood then what’s going on around the world or even right next door. It’s lighter, much easier to deal with and I totally understand the need to not want to deal with thing. But in the end of the day it’s just waste, unnecessary.”
So what do you think our generation should do in order to redirect our attention?
“Well, recently I’ve been asking more questions. Not necessarily what’s right or wrong, but more why? Why are we focusing on this over that? Why would us being distracted be beneficial to certain people or groups of people? You know there are a lot of things that are not right that our generation seems to take as just being a given and I think the only way to really change things is to understand not only what’s going on but also why it’s happening and only then can we find a solution.”
While we’re talking about change, what are your feelings for the 2008 presidential race?
“You know for the first time I’m really doing my research. I’m getting really into it and obviously, this election is absolutely crucial for the future of America. I could talk for hours about who I think and why but we don’t have that time, plus I’m still looking at who’s saying what. The scariest thing is what if neither option ends up being someone you can agree with.”
Do you see that there is any sort of consensus among people, especially among your generation?
“You know I do, but at the same time you’re talking to me and I’m pretty sure you and I are on the same page, but we are also two people in New York City. I think as a whole our generation is more open, accepting, things I obviously consider positive. But then you know we could also focus on how lazy we all seem to be. I guess all I hope is that we get out of this mess with as much dignity and grace as possible. Most people, it seems, are ready for a change and I guess I’m just like everyone else who hopes the rest vote in a way that will make this the kind of place I’d like to be in and to be proud to call home.”
Showing posts with label Classmates. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Classmates. Show all posts
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Friday, November 30, 2007
Classmates
Insight Into A Dancer’s Life
By Jamie Cohen
Emotional strain, multiple injuries, career threatening decisions and life altering situations, these are only a few of the unstated side-effects of living the life of a dancer. Many people say a career in the arts is a path of life that is chosen for you by a higher being. It is a wonderful craft in which not everyone can excel. But if you ever get the opportunity to watch a dancer perform, you would never know about those side-effects, because there is nothing more beautiful than watching a this craft onstage.
Kelly Lafarga, a senior at Marymount Manhattan College in New York City, agrees that dancing is something “You just do.” Lafarga grew up in Miami, Florida and started dancing at the age 3, and continues to do it successfully today. However, life for her isn’t the beautiful picture that many see.
.JPG)
Kelly Lafarga
“A lot of the time when people think about dancers, they believe that’s so cute to get in little costumes and tap across the floor. People don’t understand that dancing is a serious sport that pays your bills just like every other job. But when you’re a dancer your career is over by the time you’re 35,” Lafarga says.
It’s a pessimistic stance that Lafarga expressed, but when listening to her reasons why, you realize that dance for her is a love story, the kind of love unimaginable, and a forbidden love.
“I went through my phases of trying different career paths, but when it came down to it, the way I live and breathe is through dance, not science or singing, but dance. When I would come home from a long day, I would always choreograph my stuff, even if it was 3 am,” Lafarga said. “I always have to dance. And I think the reason why I wanted to try other stuff was because I know that to be a professional dancer, there isn’t longevity or security in that profession but it’s something I can’t refuse.”
It breaks your heart listening to her talk about dance and the limited amount of years she has cast upon it, when asked why the 35 year old retirement plan, you can see the worry in her eyes as she tells the saddest part of her story.
“I’ve already messed up my ankles in high school, my shoulder and recently I hurt my spinal cord. All of that means, taking time off from working, which means less exposure, missing out on choreographing and of course…losing a paycheck. If you don’t take time off to heal, you’ll hurt yourself even worse and then have to take more time off. If you do take time out, you’re missing out on learning newer techniques and jobs,” Lafarga said. “In this line of work, knowing the latest dance moves or techniques is exactly what gets you more jobs. In this industry if you don’t know your stuff, you’re yesterday’s news. It’s a catch 22.”
Lafarga tries not to think about the future too much, that’s what she’s in school for, a safety net to catch her at her 35-year mark. But for her, retirement from professional dancing is a worst-case scenario. The more comfortable Lafarga feels, the more optimistic she becomes about her future.
“There are many people who do retire at a really young age, and that’s the limit you need to live by, with the logic of knowing how things could turn out,” she says. “If my life goes to plan, I won’t be retiring for a long time. I want to choreograph. I want to bring dancing to another level. If you have the drive and motivation to push the level of art that you’re at then you need to push forward. I have that motivation. I have the drive to change the world when it comes to dance, how many people could say that? So 35 isn’t so much a retirement marker as a larger reason to push myself to do great.”
Lafarga lives by her word. She goes to physical therapy three times a week for her spinal cord, and she does yoga for her other injuries. She’s found that with a lot of rest, and as little stress as possible, her dancing career is expanding, and when you hear about her life, you can tell it’s about to explode.
“I just finished dancing in a movie a weeks ago, then a week before that another movie,” she says. “Besides that, I’m in my theatre company, Rhapsody the Company. And besides that I’m a backup dancer for Eve.”
Eve is a huge star in the hip-hop industry, a sure sign that Lafarga’s talent matches her loving personality. So, while Lafarga is realistic in her future, she still marches on towards bigger things, and right into the spotlight.
By Jamie Cohen
Emotional strain, multiple injuries, career threatening decisions and life altering situations, these are only a few of the unstated side-effects of living the life of a dancer. Many people say a career in the arts is a path of life that is chosen for you by a higher being. It is a wonderful craft in which not everyone can excel. But if you ever get the opportunity to watch a dancer perform, you would never know about those side-effects, because there is nothing more beautiful than watching a this craft onstage.
Kelly Lafarga, a senior at Marymount Manhattan College in New York City, agrees that dancing is something “You just do.” Lafarga grew up in Miami, Florida and started dancing at the age 3, and continues to do it successfully today. However, life for her isn’t the beautiful picture that many see.
.JPG)
Kelly Lafarga
“A lot of the time when people think about dancers, they believe that’s so cute to get in little costumes and tap across the floor. People don’t understand that dancing is a serious sport that pays your bills just like every other job. But when you’re a dancer your career is over by the time you’re 35,” Lafarga says.
It’s a pessimistic stance that Lafarga expressed, but when listening to her reasons why, you realize that dance for her is a love story, the kind of love unimaginable, and a forbidden love.
“I went through my phases of trying different career paths, but when it came down to it, the way I live and breathe is through dance, not science or singing, but dance. When I would come home from a long day, I would always choreograph my stuff, even if it was 3 am,” Lafarga said. “I always have to dance. And I think the reason why I wanted to try other stuff was because I know that to be a professional dancer, there isn’t longevity or security in that profession but it’s something I can’t refuse.”
It breaks your heart listening to her talk about dance and the limited amount of years she has cast upon it, when asked why the 35 year old retirement plan, you can see the worry in her eyes as she tells the saddest part of her story.
“I’ve already messed up my ankles in high school, my shoulder and recently I hurt my spinal cord. All of that means, taking time off from working, which means less exposure, missing out on choreographing and of course…losing a paycheck. If you don’t take time off to heal, you’ll hurt yourself even worse and then have to take more time off. If you do take time out, you’re missing out on learning newer techniques and jobs,” Lafarga said. “In this line of work, knowing the latest dance moves or techniques is exactly what gets you more jobs. In this industry if you don’t know your stuff, you’re yesterday’s news. It’s a catch 22.”
Lafarga tries not to think about the future too much, that’s what she’s in school for, a safety net to catch her at her 35-year mark. But for her, retirement from professional dancing is a worst-case scenario. The more comfortable Lafarga feels, the more optimistic she becomes about her future.
“There are many people who do retire at a really young age, and that’s the limit you need to live by, with the logic of knowing how things could turn out,” she says. “If my life goes to plan, I won’t be retiring for a long time. I want to choreograph. I want to bring dancing to another level. If you have the drive and motivation to push the level of art that you’re at then you need to push forward. I have that motivation. I have the drive to change the world when it comes to dance, how many people could say that? So 35 isn’t so much a retirement marker as a larger reason to push myself to do great.”
Lafarga lives by her word. She goes to physical therapy three times a week for her spinal cord, and she does yoga for her other injuries. She’s found that with a lot of rest, and as little stress as possible, her dancing career is expanding, and when you hear about her life, you can tell it’s about to explode.
“I just finished dancing in a movie a weeks ago, then a week before that another movie,” she says. “Besides that, I’m in my theatre company, Rhapsody the Company. And besides that I’m a backup dancer for Eve.”
Eve is a huge star in the hip-hop industry, a sure sign that Lafarga’s talent matches her loving personality. So, while Lafarga is realistic in her future, she still marches on towards bigger things, and right into the spotlight.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Classmates
Slammin’ Poems, Naturally
By Therese M. Whelan
They told me it doesn't take much to let yourself be free
They can hold you down and chain you in but can't stop what you see
They can enter the den of the youthful sinners in the dark, damp alley
But they cannot stop your mind from the creation of destiny
For Priya Joshi, the author of the stanza above, freedom comes in the form of poetry. Joshi, 19, a sophomore at Marymount Manhattan College, grew up in the small town of Chester, New Jersey. As a child she spent 10 years practicing gymnastics and advancing as far as state competitions before stopping at age 15 because she felt she wasn’t going anywhere with it.
Like any interesting person, Joshi says she hated high school. But if she could go back and give advice to a younger version of her self she would tell 13 year-old Priya not to “worry so much about school.” In her junior year of high school, Joshi found something she could focus her energy and creativity on.
Though she had always liked to write, Joshi became inspired to write slam poetry after seeing the HBO show Def Poetry. After that she says she began to write poetry in that style. Slam poetry is “poetry with rhythm.” In poetry slams, poets compete in front of an audience and read their poems in a manner similar to rapping.
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Priya Joshi
When describing her writing style Joshi says, “ I write as much as I can... I don’t ever just sit down and say ‘ok, now I’m going to write.’ It really just sort of happens, but I’d say it usually happens twice a month. If I ever have to force a poem out of me, then I stop writing until it just comes naturally.”
Joshi first tried her hand at performing while still living in New Jersey. Now, she lives in Astoria, Queens which she loves because of the residential feel and the fact that her brother, who she calls ‘her best friend,” lives within walking distance. In Manhattan, the poetry scene is mostly downtown, in the West Village. Joshi has who enjoys the excitement of performing, has competed in a few places, and hopes to continue.
Priya, whose name means “love,” enjoys being around her friends and her 17year-old cat Frisky. Her favorite television shows are The Office and Curb Your Enthusiasm. Other favorites include the band Bright Eyes, Red Wine and Lamb Saag. Most of the time Joshi can be found wearing jeans, a t-shirt and boots. She has already traveled to some far off places such as Malaysia and hopes to visit Spain, France and Mississippi. When asked what she would do with a million dollars a year, Joshi says she would “Pay back my parents for everything,” donate some and keep just enough to live on.
“I change my mind like my underwear,” says Joshi jokingly when asked where she would like to be 10 years from now. She does know that she would like to still be writing. As an English major with an emphasis on creative writing, Joshi is well on her way to achieving that goal. She already posts some of her poems on MySpace for her friends to read. The poems are honest and raw and surpass most college student’s poems by miles. Joshi is confident that her generation is unique and fated to, “do something awesome.” It seems that Priya Joshi is destined to be one of them.
By Therese M. Whelan
They told me it doesn't take much to let yourself be free
They can hold you down and chain you in but can't stop what you see
They can enter the den of the youthful sinners in the dark, damp alley
But they cannot stop your mind from the creation of destiny
For Priya Joshi, the author of the stanza above, freedom comes in the form of poetry. Joshi, 19, a sophomore at Marymount Manhattan College, grew up in the small town of Chester, New Jersey. As a child she spent 10 years practicing gymnastics and advancing as far as state competitions before stopping at age 15 because she felt she wasn’t going anywhere with it.
Like any interesting person, Joshi says she hated high school. But if she could go back and give advice to a younger version of her self she would tell 13 year-old Priya not to “worry so much about school.” In her junior year of high school, Joshi found something she could focus her energy and creativity on.
Though she had always liked to write, Joshi became inspired to write slam poetry after seeing the HBO show Def Poetry. After that she says she began to write poetry in that style. Slam poetry is “poetry with rhythm.” In poetry slams, poets compete in front of an audience and read their poems in a manner similar to rapping.
.JPG)
Priya Joshi
When describing her writing style Joshi says, “ I write as much as I can... I don’t ever just sit down and say ‘ok, now I’m going to write.’ It really just sort of happens, but I’d say it usually happens twice a month. If I ever have to force a poem out of me, then I stop writing until it just comes naturally.”
Joshi first tried her hand at performing while still living in New Jersey. Now, she lives in Astoria, Queens which she loves because of the residential feel and the fact that her brother, who she calls ‘her best friend,” lives within walking distance. In Manhattan, the poetry scene is mostly downtown, in the West Village. Joshi has who enjoys the excitement of performing, has competed in a few places, and hopes to continue.
Priya, whose name means “love,” enjoys being around her friends and her 17year-old cat Frisky. Her favorite television shows are The Office and Curb Your Enthusiasm. Other favorites include the band Bright Eyes, Red Wine and Lamb Saag. Most of the time Joshi can be found wearing jeans, a t-shirt and boots. She has already traveled to some far off places such as Malaysia and hopes to visit Spain, France and Mississippi. When asked what she would do with a million dollars a year, Joshi says she would “Pay back my parents for everything,” donate some and keep just enough to live on.
“I change my mind like my underwear,” says Joshi jokingly when asked where she would like to be 10 years from now. She does know that she would like to still be writing. As an English major with an emphasis on creative writing, Joshi is well on her way to achieving that goal. She already posts some of her poems on MySpace for her friends to read. The poems are honest and raw and surpass most college student’s poems by miles. Joshi is confident that her generation is unique and fated to, “do something awesome.” It seems that Priya Joshi is destined to be one of them.
Classmates
Dismissing The ‘Gay Male’ Stereotype
By Gina Mobilio
As he sits down to begin his interview, Jamie Cohen, a 20 year-old Marymount Manhattan College student appears quite nervous. When asked about it, he replies with a smile and surprisingly, a calm tone escapes his mouth. “I am not really nervous, more, excited I guess that someone is willing to let me express how I feel about this issue.”
Cohen is one of the many young men at Marymount and in New York City who are publicly open about being gay and proud of it. “It’s something that I always knew. Even when I didn’t know it,” Cohen says laughing. “Trying to convince myself of being straight would be like a man trying to convince himself he was a dog or something.”
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Jamie Cohen at play
Cohen speaks about coming out to his friends and family as if he was announcing the weather. “It was extremely easy for me; coming out, that is. I announced it when I was around 16 years-old, just when I was facing the sexual pressures that come along with being a teenager.” Cohen grew up in Queens; a place that he said was a very ‘safe’ place for him to come out in.
“Living in New York must have made it easier for me. I can’t imagine what it would have been like for me if I had chosen to come out in the south. Could you imagine? Four years ago, especially in the south, coming out would not have been acceptable, I feel if I hadn’t lived in such am accepting city. My parents are from New York too. They’ve [heard and seen] it all.”
Cohen admits, however, that coming out has had its downfalls. “Everyone has been accepting give or take a few ignorant people. It’s always the ignorant people who cause the problems,” he giggles, “But I just smile at them and am always willing to answer any questions that anyone might have for me. I understand that my lifestyle may be interesting for people to grasp. One thing I can’t tolerate, however, is those damn stereotypes.”
Cohen struggles with being categorized with the gay men who are referred to as feminine, and says he finds it to be insulting when someone thinks of himself that way. “I won’t stand for it. I don’t listen to Madonna, do Crystal Meth, and I definitely am not into fashion. That’s something my girl friends and female family members are into, not me. I think my dad might even know more designer names than I do!”
The bubbly college student continued, “It’s probably my biggest pet peeve in the world. It gives me a reason to actually understand why some people have a problem with gay men. I mean, to me, being gay is strictly based on my sexual orientation. I don’t understand where the whole ‘gay men like Barbara Streisand’ stereotype came into play. I must be missing that gay gene!”
Cohen laughs but then becomes serious. “I feel like when gay men contribute to any part of that stereotype, they turn our culture into something it’s not. We are simply men who want to have relationships with other men. That’s all. Why does all of that other stuff have to come along with it? For me, its humiliating.”
When asked if there is a possibility of the stereotype diminishing, he was less than positive. “There are always going to people of a certain culture who keep any stereotype alive. It’s not something that I feel will ever go away. Stereotypes are what make cultures recognizable. I’m not saying that it’s bad to play a part in a stereotype if that’s how you want to be. I’m just saying don’t include me in it!”
By Gina Mobilio
As he sits down to begin his interview, Jamie Cohen, a 20 year-old Marymount Manhattan College student appears quite nervous. When asked about it, he replies with a smile and surprisingly, a calm tone escapes his mouth. “I am not really nervous, more, excited I guess that someone is willing to let me express how I feel about this issue.”
Cohen is one of the many young men at Marymount and in New York City who are publicly open about being gay and proud of it. “It’s something that I always knew. Even when I didn’t know it,” Cohen says laughing. “Trying to convince myself of being straight would be like a man trying to convince himself he was a dog or something.”
.JPG)
Jamie Cohen at play
Cohen speaks about coming out to his friends and family as if he was announcing the weather. “It was extremely easy for me; coming out, that is. I announced it when I was around 16 years-old, just when I was facing the sexual pressures that come along with being a teenager.” Cohen grew up in Queens; a place that he said was a very ‘safe’ place for him to come out in.
“Living in New York must have made it easier for me. I can’t imagine what it would have been like for me if I had chosen to come out in the south. Could you imagine? Four years ago, especially in the south, coming out would not have been acceptable, I feel if I hadn’t lived in such am accepting city. My parents are from New York too. They’ve [heard and seen] it all.”
Cohen admits, however, that coming out has had its downfalls. “Everyone has been accepting give or take a few ignorant people. It’s always the ignorant people who cause the problems,” he giggles, “But I just smile at them and am always willing to answer any questions that anyone might have for me. I understand that my lifestyle may be interesting for people to grasp. One thing I can’t tolerate, however, is those damn stereotypes.”
Cohen struggles with being categorized with the gay men who are referred to as feminine, and says he finds it to be insulting when someone thinks of himself that way. “I won’t stand for it. I don’t listen to Madonna, do Crystal Meth, and I definitely am not into fashion. That’s something my girl friends and female family members are into, not me. I think my dad might even know more designer names than I do!”
The bubbly college student continued, “It’s probably my biggest pet peeve in the world. It gives me a reason to actually understand why some people have a problem with gay men. I mean, to me, being gay is strictly based on my sexual orientation. I don’t understand where the whole ‘gay men like Barbara Streisand’ stereotype came into play. I must be missing that gay gene!”
Cohen laughs but then becomes serious. “I feel like when gay men contribute to any part of that stereotype, they turn our culture into something it’s not. We are simply men who want to have relationships with other men. That’s all. Why does all of that other stuff have to come along with it? For me, its humiliating.”
When asked if there is a possibility of the stereotype diminishing, he was less than positive. “There are always going to people of a certain culture who keep any stereotype alive. It’s not something that I feel will ever go away. Stereotypes are what make cultures recognizable. I’m not saying that it’s bad to play a part in a stereotype if that’s how you want to be. I’m just saying don’t include me in it!”
Classmates
She’s Now Getting An Adrenaline Rush From Immigration Issues
By Gunes Atalay
When we talked, it was 10:30 pm and she was just getting home. Janette Lynott, a very pretty Communications Art major at Marymount Manhattan College living in New York City with her four best friends is very busy. She mostly takes night classes because she works fulltime in a law firm, which she loves and finds very exciting.
.jpg)
Janette Lynott
Adrenaline seems like one of her passions. As she talks about adrenaline in her life before her current job, we start laughing. Before moving to New York from Philadelphia, Lynott was acting in independent films. When she was 17 she met a very cute guy, Jon, who was in one of the independent films where she worked, and later they became involved. He was 21 and into street racing.
“One day he picked me up with some of his friends and I saw a pick-up truck and a street bike. I said ‘I wanna ride that,’” Lynott said. And she did, without a helmet. That was her first time and she was very excited. They were going 70 miles an hour and it was “scary as hell.” She loved it. She was wearing flip flops and a skirt and her flip flops melted because of the engine heat.
After that, Lynott began attending street races with her boyfriend. She said the most fun and exciting part was running from cops. Since street racing was illegal and very dangerous, police would constantly raid the street races and everyone would jump into their cars with their friends and drive away as fast as they could. Lynott said she knew it was very dangerous, but that was why it was thrilling. Her boyfriend Jon was seriously injured in an accident when he was 23, burning 40% of his skin, breaking his shoulders and two disks in his back. After the accident, he stopped racing, but that didn't stop him from attending these races. Lynott said another friend was paralyzed from the waist down in an accident. After seeing and hearing about these horrible accidents, she was afraid.
Lynott keeps saying now how “stupid” she was at that age and how “stupid” it was to do this, but she also admits that she would still love to do it if she could. Living in New York and not knowing exactly where to go, Lynott said she has slowed down a bit. When she met some racers in the city for one of her journalism class assignments, she wanted to find out where to go to get back into racing, but she couldn't find anyone to go with her and she didn't want to go alone.
Lynott says nowadays she is satisfying her adrenaline need with her job. “Law is a new kind of energy for me. It is exciting. And immigration law is so big now thanks to our immigration issues,” she says. “I analyze very important issues for the first time in my life, and it keeps me very busy. I also love the people I work with.”
By Gunes Atalay
When we talked, it was 10:30 pm and she was just getting home. Janette Lynott, a very pretty Communications Art major at Marymount Manhattan College living in New York City with her four best friends is very busy. She mostly takes night classes because she works fulltime in a law firm, which she loves and finds very exciting.
.jpg)
Janette Lynott
Adrenaline seems like one of her passions. As she talks about adrenaline in her life before her current job, we start laughing. Before moving to New York from Philadelphia, Lynott was acting in independent films. When she was 17 she met a very cute guy, Jon, who was in one of the independent films where she worked, and later they became involved. He was 21 and into street racing.
“One day he picked me up with some of his friends and I saw a pick-up truck and a street bike. I said ‘I wanna ride that,’” Lynott said. And she did, without a helmet. That was her first time and she was very excited. They were going 70 miles an hour and it was “scary as hell.” She loved it. She was wearing flip flops and a skirt and her flip flops melted because of the engine heat.
After that, Lynott began attending street races with her boyfriend. She said the most fun and exciting part was running from cops. Since street racing was illegal and very dangerous, police would constantly raid the street races and everyone would jump into their cars with their friends and drive away as fast as they could. Lynott said she knew it was very dangerous, but that was why it was thrilling. Her boyfriend Jon was seriously injured in an accident when he was 23, burning 40% of his skin, breaking his shoulders and two disks in his back. After the accident, he stopped racing, but that didn't stop him from attending these races. Lynott said another friend was paralyzed from the waist down in an accident. After seeing and hearing about these horrible accidents, she was afraid.
Lynott keeps saying now how “stupid” she was at that age and how “stupid” it was to do this, but she also admits that she would still love to do it if she could. Living in New York and not knowing exactly where to go, Lynott said she has slowed down a bit. When she met some racers in the city for one of her journalism class assignments, she wanted to find out where to go to get back into racing, but she couldn't find anyone to go with her and she didn't want to go alone.
Lynott says nowadays she is satisfying her adrenaline need with her job. “Law is a new kind of energy for me. It is exciting. And immigration law is so big now thanks to our immigration issues,” she says. “I analyze very important issues for the first time in my life, and it keeps me very busy. I also love the people I work with.”
Classmates
Finding A Place For Her Creativity To Flourish
By Priya Joshi
Actress, writer, photographer, traveler, dreamer. Any of these words can be used to describe 19 year-old Therese Whelan.Growing up in Springs, NY, Whelan always dreamed of moving out of her hometown and moving on. New York City was her destination and now she couldn’t be happier.
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Little Therese thinks it over
“I have my dream apartment on the upper west side of Manhattan,” says Whelan. “ It’s a great little studio and I have a balcony. When I step outside it looks like Europe!”
Currently majoring in communications at Marymount Manhattan College, Whelan says her true love will always be the stage. “I could never stop acting,” she says with a smile. “I believe that I am the happiest right before a show begins and the cast is waiting for the curtain to open. The anticipation is amazing.” When asked why she chose not to pursue acting as a college major, Whelan said it just wasn’t practical. She doesn’t want to risk being broke and out of work once college is over.
As we talked in the quiet corner of the school library, Whelan and I took on more of a conversational tone and the nervousness of the interview soon faded. Her easygoing personality immediately put me at ease. I learned that her favorite music artist is Regina Spektor (she even got to meet her!), and her favorite television show is The Office (the American version, of course). Whelan grew up the oldest of three sisters and says that her large and interesting family has greatly shaped the person she is today.
“My father is one of 12 siblings!” says Whelan with a laugh. “I have 43 cousins on my father’s side of the family. Sometimes I can hardly remember their names but we always have so much fun at family gatherings. I have a family member in every state of the U.S. If I ever need anything anywhere, I know I have someone I can call.”
Aside from her passion for acting, Whelan is also an accomplished photographer. Using digital cameras, Whelan says she loves taking street photography, especially around her apartment building. “I would have majored in photography, but Marymount doesn’t really offer the kind of photography that I enjoy doing,” says Whelan regretfully. “I am just sort of waiting to graduate and then go off and do my own thing.”
Taking photographs from all angles, and many from her balcony, Whelan captures the unique beauty of New York City in what she calls “my piece of the city.” Her photos and more can be found on her FaceBook page.
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Photo by Therese Whelan
When asked where she saw herself in 10 years, Whelan paused for a few moments and said, “I love New York City and I know I’ll stay here for at least a few more years, but after that it’s anyone’s guess,” says Whelan. “I really like France and England. I might want to eventually end up back here. All I really know is that I don’t want to be working a 9-5 job that doesn’t interest me at all. I know I don’t want to be another number on the payroll. In 10 years, I just want to be in a place where my creativity can flourish.”
Wherever Therese Whelan ends up, letting her creativity flourish won’t be a problem. And if she gets stuck, she’s probably got a family member somewhere close by.
By Priya Joshi
Actress, writer, photographer, traveler, dreamer. Any of these words can be used to describe 19 year-old Therese Whelan.Growing up in Springs, NY, Whelan always dreamed of moving out of her hometown and moving on. New York City was her destination and now she couldn’t be happier.
.JPG)
Little Therese thinks it over
“I have my dream apartment on the upper west side of Manhattan,” says Whelan. “ It’s a great little studio and I have a balcony. When I step outside it looks like Europe!”
Currently majoring in communications at Marymount Manhattan College, Whelan says her true love will always be the stage. “I could never stop acting,” she says with a smile. “I believe that I am the happiest right before a show begins and the cast is waiting for the curtain to open. The anticipation is amazing.” When asked why she chose not to pursue acting as a college major, Whelan said it just wasn’t practical. She doesn’t want to risk being broke and out of work once college is over.
As we talked in the quiet corner of the school library, Whelan and I took on more of a conversational tone and the nervousness of the interview soon faded. Her easygoing personality immediately put me at ease. I learned that her favorite music artist is Regina Spektor (she even got to meet her!), and her favorite television show is The Office (the American version, of course). Whelan grew up the oldest of three sisters and says that her large and interesting family has greatly shaped the person she is today.
“My father is one of 12 siblings!” says Whelan with a laugh. “I have 43 cousins on my father’s side of the family. Sometimes I can hardly remember their names but we always have so much fun at family gatherings. I have a family member in every state of the U.S. If I ever need anything anywhere, I know I have someone I can call.”
Aside from her passion for acting, Whelan is also an accomplished photographer. Using digital cameras, Whelan says she loves taking street photography, especially around her apartment building. “I would have majored in photography, but Marymount doesn’t really offer the kind of photography that I enjoy doing,” says Whelan regretfully. “I am just sort of waiting to graduate and then go off and do my own thing.”
Taking photographs from all angles, and many from her balcony, Whelan captures the unique beauty of New York City in what she calls “my piece of the city.” Her photos and more can be found on her FaceBook page.
.JPG)
Photo by Therese Whelan
When asked where she saw herself in 10 years, Whelan paused for a few moments and said, “I love New York City and I know I’ll stay here for at least a few more years, but after that it’s anyone’s guess,” says Whelan. “I really like France and England. I might want to eventually end up back here. All I really know is that I don’t want to be working a 9-5 job that doesn’t interest me at all. I know I don’t want to be another number on the payroll. In 10 years, I just want to be in a place where my creativity can flourish.”
Wherever Therese Whelan ends up, letting her creativity flourish won’t be a problem. And if she gets stuck, she’s probably got a family member somewhere close by.
Classmates
Real Life Battle With ADHD
By Kelly Lafarga
He is often known as the life of the party. His quick wit and sarcastic humor is what makes him magnetic and is what he’s best known for. He’s charming, loving, and always in a good mood. Jamie Cohen is all of these things and more. What people tend to not know about Jamie is his battle with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD).
Cohen, a 20 year-old student at Marymount Manhattan College, was diagnosed with ADHD only two years ago. This disorder is believed to be an imbalance or impairment of neurotransmitters, which sends messages to and from brain cells. It indicates that he has a lot of trouble focusing on things and also has hyperactive tendencies. It is a very serious disorder and not many people understand the weight of it. Cohen has trouble in school when it comes to completing work due to his inability to focus on one thing for too long.
“Sometimes I just feel like giving up,” Cohen says. “My problem could be solved if I took medication, but I don’t. There are way too many risky side effects that I’m not willing to deal with.” Because he chooses not to take the medication, he struggles constantly with trying to keep up in school. “I don’t go around telling everyone my disorder so they don’t understand. Even when I do tell them they sometimes think I’m just making excuses,” Cohen says.
There is a solution for students with ADHD and other disorders and that is to enroll as a special needs student, which requires a test. The problem is Cohen was diagnosed long after he began studying at Marymount. He figured he would just continue with the way things were going. He is treated the same as any other student and expected to do the same amount of work in the same amount of time. This could seem awfully unfair due to his condition.
Other than these obvious work-related issues, there are many other insecurities that Cohen deals with daily. “Having ADHD makes me think almost obsessively of what I’m going to say, especially in a classroom. Sometimes I stutter because of it,” he says. This is just one more challenge that Cohen has to handle.
There are ways other than medication that can help this disorder. “Right now I’m in cognitive therapy to change my behavior and study patterns,” Cohen says. This can help him learn to get over the obstacles that come along with having ADHD. It’s not something that cures it, but it helps. “I’m concentrated on a direct path to changing these patterns so that one day I can live normally just like everyone else,” he says.
There is so much more to Cohen than meets the eye. Always a smile on his face, one would never presume that he battles with such a serious disorder.
By Kelly Lafarga
He is often known as the life of the party. His quick wit and sarcastic humor is what makes him magnetic and is what he’s best known for. He’s charming, loving, and always in a good mood. Jamie Cohen is all of these things and more. What people tend to not know about Jamie is his battle with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD).
Cohen, a 20 year-old student at Marymount Manhattan College, was diagnosed with ADHD only two years ago. This disorder is believed to be an imbalance or impairment of neurotransmitters, which sends messages to and from brain cells. It indicates that he has a lot of trouble focusing on things and also has hyperactive tendencies. It is a very serious disorder and not many people understand the weight of it. Cohen has trouble in school when it comes to completing work due to his inability to focus on one thing for too long.
“Sometimes I just feel like giving up,” Cohen says. “My problem could be solved if I took medication, but I don’t. There are way too many risky side effects that I’m not willing to deal with.” Because he chooses not to take the medication, he struggles constantly with trying to keep up in school. “I don’t go around telling everyone my disorder so they don’t understand. Even when I do tell them they sometimes think I’m just making excuses,” Cohen says.
There is a solution for students with ADHD and other disorders and that is to enroll as a special needs student, which requires a test. The problem is Cohen was diagnosed long after he began studying at Marymount. He figured he would just continue with the way things were going. He is treated the same as any other student and expected to do the same amount of work in the same amount of time. This could seem awfully unfair due to his condition.
Other than these obvious work-related issues, there are many other insecurities that Cohen deals with daily. “Having ADHD makes me think almost obsessively of what I’m going to say, especially in a classroom. Sometimes I stutter because of it,” he says. This is just one more challenge that Cohen has to handle.
There are ways other than medication that can help this disorder. “Right now I’m in cognitive therapy to change my behavior and study patterns,” Cohen says. This can help him learn to get over the obstacles that come along with having ADHD. It’s not something that cures it, but it helps. “I’m concentrated on a direct path to changing these patterns so that one day I can live normally just like everyone else,” he says.
There is so much more to Cohen than meets the eye. Always a smile on his face, one would never presume that he battles with such a serious disorder.
Classmates
The Girl Who ‘Can Do And Be’
By Janette Lynott
Christine Levitin-Breyette, who never wanted to come to New York City, has adjusted quite well. She originally intended to go to Cornell University and become a veterinarian. However, she had changed her mind and was geared toward entertainment and that is when she decided to to go to New York.
Levitin-Breyette had read that an actress from The Guiding Light, a popular TV soap opera, was speaking at Marymount Manhattan College. When she attended this event she realized that there is where she wanted to go to school. This is one of the events that lead her to believe that everything happens for a reason and that when something happens and you’re attracted to a certain direction, you should keep following it. When asked if she believes in fate, she said, "not so much fate, but maybe destiny."
As a child, Levitin-Breyette had some medical issues that limited he ability to participate in some activities that other children could. She stated that she felt she, "could not do or be." Due to this, she participated in activities that her health allowed her to. This was theater, and she was very active in her high school plays. If she wasn't on the stage then she was helping back stage.
Levitin-Breyette says her favorite actress is Meryl Streep who she once had a chance encounter with. While walking the streets of New York City, Levitin-Breyette noticed the film, The Devil Wears Prada was being shot in midtown. The curiosity got to her and she approached one of the workers on set and had asked if Ms. Streep was around. Of course, they said no. But when Levitin-Breyette bent down to tie her shoe she heard a familiar voice and looked up and saw none other than her idol, Meryl Streep herself. She acted as anyone would when star struck. She stood there blankly relishing the moment
Levitin-Breyette believes she is destined for great things. She is currently an intern for the casting agency Lynn Kressel, which handles casting for Law and Order, and she also participates in fundraisers for The Guiding Light. Levitin-Breyette said it was not easy getting the internship with NBC. Yet she was persistent, and through word of mouth, her resume was picked up by the people at Law and Order-Criminal Intent. She now does office work and sits in on auditions for potential actors on the show. Levitin-Breyette is now a Communication Arts major, and after overcoming childhood medical issues, she is full throttle towards a career in the entertainment industry. Unlike what she thought as a child, she really can do and be.
By Janette Lynott
Christine Levitin-Breyette, who never wanted to come to New York City, has adjusted quite well. She originally intended to go to Cornell University and become a veterinarian. However, she had changed her mind and was geared toward entertainment and that is when she decided to to go to New York.
Levitin-Breyette had read that an actress from The Guiding Light, a popular TV soap opera, was speaking at Marymount Manhattan College. When she attended this event she realized that there is where she wanted to go to school. This is one of the events that lead her to believe that everything happens for a reason and that when something happens and you’re attracted to a certain direction, you should keep following it. When asked if she believes in fate, she said, "not so much fate, but maybe destiny."
As a child, Levitin-Breyette had some medical issues that limited he ability to participate in some activities that other children could. She stated that she felt she, "could not do or be." Due to this, she participated in activities that her health allowed her to. This was theater, and she was very active in her high school plays. If she wasn't on the stage then she was helping back stage.
Levitin-Breyette says her favorite actress is Meryl Streep who she once had a chance encounter with. While walking the streets of New York City, Levitin-Breyette noticed the film, The Devil Wears Prada was being shot in midtown. The curiosity got to her and she approached one of the workers on set and had asked if Ms. Streep was around. Of course, they said no. But when Levitin-Breyette bent down to tie her shoe she heard a familiar voice and looked up and saw none other than her idol, Meryl Streep herself. She acted as anyone would when star struck. She stood there blankly relishing the moment
Levitin-Breyette believes she is destined for great things. She is currently an intern for the casting agency Lynn Kressel, which handles casting for Law and Order, and she also participates in fundraisers for The Guiding Light. Levitin-Breyette said it was not easy getting the internship with NBC. Yet she was persistent, and through word of mouth, her resume was picked up by the people at Law and Order-Criminal Intent. She now does office work and sits in on auditions for potential actors on the show. Levitin-Breyette is now a Communication Arts major, and after overcoming childhood medical issues, she is full throttle towards a career in the entertainment industry. Unlike what she thought as a child, she really can do and be.
Classmates
Surviving Early Adversity And Aiming High
By Janette Lynott
Christopher Evans, a student at Marymount Manhattan College, is more than just a communications major and your average student. He is a survivor. Born in Lusby, Maryland, Evans admits that being a small town boy has its perks. He says he enjoys the more simpler things and that one of his happiest moments was spending a night at a friend's house while staying up all night laughing and playing video games. However, this small town boy found passion in not only the city, but also the media.
Evans was originally a theater arts major but realized that it wasn't where his heart was. "After taking theater history I was like no, it was so bleak and boring and I realized I didn't have as much passion for theater as I thought I did. I realized I was much more interested in television and film then theater," Evans said in a recent interview.
Some interesting things you can take away from Evans will include the fact that pirates are in fact cooler than Ninjas and he is a big fan of Christina Aguilera. Evans enjoys contributing to an online community blog on www.ohnotheydidn't.com, a web site dedicated to the entertainment industry. He explains that it does not focus solely on celebrity gossip but on what is happening in the film and music industry. When asked how he felt about these entertainment-geared websites, he explained, "I think a lot of people are addicted to these sights and tabloids. When the press puts that stuff out there, people are lured and can’t pull themselves away. I think this stuff is addicting.”
Not only does Evans have a passion for the world he lives in, and the world he will soon enter after college, but he is also open about how he became the person that he is. He admits that at one time all he wore were baggy clothes and outfits that were unflattering. "I despise baggy clothes in any capacity and think they should all be banned," he says. Currently, Evans sports a very casual yet sophisticated look that usually contains neutral colors. His clothes always flatter not only his complexion, but also his build. He can be described as a sharp dresser.
Evans is open about the difficult times in his life. When he was a child he suffered, what was at the time, the mysterious loss of not only his stepmother but also his half-brother. He described them as, "two of the purest souls he ever came in contact with and were taken before they should have." Once he became older, the words of others reached him, and although it is still not confirmed, he believes that it was a freak chance that their deaths could have been AIDS.
Chris Evans, a passionate young man who has overcome so much in his life is currently completing his bachelor’s degree and has his aim high for the world. His goal in life is "ideally to be a creator, executive producer and a show runner of my own television program." After all of the life experience Evans has endured, there is no doubt he is capable of handling what life can bring.
By Janette Lynott
Christopher Evans, a student at Marymount Manhattan College, is more than just a communications major and your average student. He is a survivor. Born in Lusby, Maryland, Evans admits that being a small town boy has its perks. He says he enjoys the more simpler things and that one of his happiest moments was spending a night at a friend's house while staying up all night laughing and playing video games. However, this small town boy found passion in not only the city, but also the media.
Evans was originally a theater arts major but realized that it wasn't where his heart was. "After taking theater history I was like no, it was so bleak and boring and I realized I didn't have as much passion for theater as I thought I did. I realized I was much more interested in television and film then theater," Evans said in a recent interview.
Some interesting things you can take away from Evans will include the fact that pirates are in fact cooler than Ninjas and he is a big fan of Christina Aguilera. Evans enjoys contributing to an online community blog on www.ohnotheydidn't.com, a web site dedicated to the entertainment industry. He explains that it does not focus solely on celebrity gossip but on what is happening in the film and music industry. When asked how he felt about these entertainment-geared websites, he explained, "I think a lot of people are addicted to these sights and tabloids. When the press puts that stuff out there, people are lured and can’t pull themselves away. I think this stuff is addicting.”
Not only does Evans have a passion for the world he lives in, and the world he will soon enter after college, but he is also open about how he became the person that he is. He admits that at one time all he wore were baggy clothes and outfits that were unflattering. "I despise baggy clothes in any capacity and think they should all be banned," he says. Currently, Evans sports a very casual yet sophisticated look that usually contains neutral colors. His clothes always flatter not only his complexion, but also his build. He can be described as a sharp dresser.
Evans is open about the difficult times in his life. When he was a child he suffered, what was at the time, the mysterious loss of not only his stepmother but also his half-brother. He described them as, "two of the purest souls he ever came in contact with and were taken before they should have." Once he became older, the words of others reached him, and although it is still not confirmed, he believes that it was a freak chance that their deaths could have been AIDS.
Chris Evans, a passionate young man who has overcome so much in his life is currently completing his bachelor’s degree and has his aim high for the world. His goal in life is "ideally to be a creator, executive producer and a show runner of my own television program." After all of the life experience Evans has endured, there is no doubt he is capable of handling what life can bring.
Classmates
Finding An Identity After A Tragedy
By Chris Evans
Talking with Janette Lynott felt like talking to an old friend. Though I’d had limited interactions with her prior to our interview, I felt completely comfortable asking her the questions I’d prepared for her, and even continuing with follow-up questions—as personal as some of them might have been.
Born in Scranton, Pennsylvania—only an hour or two outside the city, Lynott lived there until she was about 13, at which point she started moving around a bit. “I’ve gone to five different schools. It’s hard but it gets easier after doing it two or three times. It makes it easy to adapt,” Lynott said.
When asked about when she decided she wanted to come to New York City and why, she said she always knew she wanted to come to the city. “I knew I wanted to come to New York my entire life. Hut going to NYU was too expensive.” She said she thought about going to Pace University, but by chance ended up taking a look at Marymount. “I came out to the city to look at Pace, missed the first orientation and had time to kill until the next one. While I was waiting I checked out Marymount.”
And it seems she’s happy with her choice. “I love the teachers and the close environment. If you were the type of person to act pompous and stick your nose up in the air here then you alienate yourself. I went to a high school that was very isolated but I liked it anyway,” Lynott said.
When asked about a particular course she enjoyed she said, “I would have to say it would be this writing class I took with a brilliant woman named Esther Weiner. It was called the Popular Outsider. I liked it because I think I was the only one in class who really understood her and we related on a good student-teacher level. She was really underappreciated in that class.” When it came to deciding on a major, Lynott decided to go with Communications because it covered a lot of ground. “It was the most broad,” she said.
Lynott has big dreams for herself when she graduates—she says she wants to attend law school—though she doesn’t know where yet. Right now she works at an immigration law firm while attending school, and hopes to be a practicing lawyer later on. “I’d like to maybe get into communication law,” she said.
In spite of all the moving around she’s done, Lynott has managed to remain quite close with her brothers and sisters. She has a twin brother, a stepbrother who’s six months older, and two younger sisters. Even when they weren’t all living together, at some point they still went to the same school.
But it hasn’t been all smiles for Lynott. Right before she moved to New York, one of her best friends drove drunk and killed a person. It was a low point in her life but she said it ultimately lead to personal growth. “I had to figure out who I wanted to be.”
Being a career woman in training, Lynott says she’d love to see a female president. “I think it’s a great idea. I was a huge Bill Clinton supporter and I think he’d be [Hillary’s] right hand man. The economy was great. He kept shit on lockdown,” she said laughing.
Years later, Lynott still remembers one of her most embarrassing moments. When she was nine or ten years old and excited about getting into a swimming pool, she ripped off all her clothes and ran out to the pool naked—with her bathing suit in her hand. Despite demands from school and a full time job, Lynott still has time for the movies. She loves the cult classic Boondock Saints, and the recent Samuel L. Jackson flick Black Snake Moan. Lynott says her favorite actor is Ray Liotta.
“For some reason when I see him on screen I can’t take my eyes off him.” Her favorite Liotta film? Good Fellas. "I love that movie.” When asked who would play her in a biopic about her life, she apprehensively replied “Angelina Jolie. Who she used to be—prior to Brad Pitt. Really crazy, spastic, free-spirit.” I told her she has the lips for it.
By Chris Evans
Talking with Janette Lynott felt like talking to an old friend. Though I’d had limited interactions with her prior to our interview, I felt completely comfortable asking her the questions I’d prepared for her, and even continuing with follow-up questions—as personal as some of them might have been.
Born in Scranton, Pennsylvania—only an hour or two outside the city, Lynott lived there until she was about 13, at which point she started moving around a bit. “I’ve gone to five different schools. It’s hard but it gets easier after doing it two or three times. It makes it easy to adapt,” Lynott said.
When asked about when she decided she wanted to come to New York City and why, she said she always knew she wanted to come to the city. “I knew I wanted to come to New York my entire life. Hut going to NYU was too expensive.” She said she thought about going to Pace University, but by chance ended up taking a look at Marymount. “I came out to the city to look at Pace, missed the first orientation and had time to kill until the next one. While I was waiting I checked out Marymount.”
And it seems she’s happy with her choice. “I love the teachers and the close environment. If you were the type of person to act pompous and stick your nose up in the air here then you alienate yourself. I went to a high school that was very isolated but I liked it anyway,” Lynott said.
When asked about a particular course she enjoyed she said, “I would have to say it would be this writing class I took with a brilliant woman named Esther Weiner. It was called the Popular Outsider. I liked it because I think I was the only one in class who really understood her and we related on a good student-teacher level. She was really underappreciated in that class.” When it came to deciding on a major, Lynott decided to go with Communications because it covered a lot of ground. “It was the most broad,” she said.
Lynott has big dreams for herself when she graduates—she says she wants to attend law school—though she doesn’t know where yet. Right now she works at an immigration law firm while attending school, and hopes to be a practicing lawyer later on. “I’d like to maybe get into communication law,” she said.
In spite of all the moving around she’s done, Lynott has managed to remain quite close with her brothers and sisters. She has a twin brother, a stepbrother who’s six months older, and two younger sisters. Even when they weren’t all living together, at some point they still went to the same school.
But it hasn’t been all smiles for Lynott. Right before she moved to New York, one of her best friends drove drunk and killed a person. It was a low point in her life but she said it ultimately lead to personal growth. “I had to figure out who I wanted to be.”
Being a career woman in training, Lynott says she’d love to see a female president. “I think it’s a great idea. I was a huge Bill Clinton supporter and I think he’d be [Hillary’s] right hand man. The economy was great. He kept shit on lockdown,” she said laughing.
Years later, Lynott still remembers one of her most embarrassing moments. When she was nine or ten years old and excited about getting into a swimming pool, she ripped off all her clothes and ran out to the pool naked—with her bathing suit in her hand. Despite demands from school and a full time job, Lynott still has time for the movies. She loves the cult classic Boondock Saints, and the recent Samuel L. Jackson flick Black Snake Moan. Lynott says her favorite actor is Ray Liotta.
“For some reason when I see him on screen I can’t take my eyes off him.” Her favorite Liotta film? Good Fellas. "I love that movie.” When asked who would play her in a biopic about her life, she apprehensively replied “Angelina Jolie. Who she used to be—prior to Brad Pitt. Really crazy, spastic, free-spirit.” I told her she has the lips for it.
Sunday, May 06, 2007
Classmates
The Rise of Hope, As One Man Tells It
By Leigh Baker
We are constantly reminded of the conflict in Darfur and the AIDS battle in Africa, but have you heard anything lately about the North Country Mission of Hope (NCMOH)? I hadn’t either until Ben Peryer, a fellow student at Marymount Manhattan College spoke of it.
In speaking with Peryer, I learned just what it is and what it means to him. “These projects not only helped me grow, but they made me realize what I wanted to do as a career.” It is something that he has been heavily involved with since age 16.
What exactly is NCMOH? The organization was created in 1992 as a humanitarian effort in response to Hurricane Mitch. When the opportunity to help someone in need presented itself, Peryer jumped. It was started at his rival high school, but that was no matter because a recent family vacation to South Africa had taught him of the horrors of desperate poverty.
“As we drove from the beach to a restaurant or wherever we were lucky enough to be going, we would pass miles and miles of shanty towns. To me, they looked like garbage fields, so you can image how shocked I was to see people living in them,” Peryer says of his vacation. “Our air conditioned sedan created this line, this divide, between myself and reality as it drove along the road,” he said.
This divide would soon be broken with his involvement in NCMOH. Peryer was sent to Chiquilistagua, Nicaragua where, he explains, that he became a part of the community. “We lived in a compound right in the middle of the village. It would seem wrong to do it any other way.” This mission team was given jobs that would benefit the shattered community, such as food delivery, and establishing medical clinics and shelters, to name a few.
Peryer says he enjoyed the daily run of food because it allowed him to interact with the others, but his most rewarding experience was building a home for someone. “Community members started to get involved in the building. We taught them a little, they taught us much more.”
Audaciously, Peryer tackled another hurdle by establishing a pharmacy in the name of a close friend and a founding sponsor of NCMOH, Gary Moore. Unfortunately, Mr. Moore had passed away shortly before one of Peryer’s trips. “[I did it] to honor him and all that he did for me and the organization,” he explains.
Peryer didn’t stop there. He increased his efforts at home by fundraising, joining the Board of Directors as a student representative, and sponsoring the education of a child. He knew the child, Rodolfo, for a year before sponsoring him, providing time to build a relationship. He speaks of Rodolfo with utter adoration. “He's a good friend, and a killer soccer player.”
Though Peryer is no longer on the executive team due to his inability to attend each meeting, he is still as active in the organization as possible. Attending speaking tours and hoping to revisit Rodolfo in the near future, Peryer expresses his gratitude and sheer appreciation for the opportunity that he has had. I think we can all say that the world is one step closer to breeching the divide that Peryer initially saw, while hope continues to rise for others around the globe.
By Leigh Baker
We are constantly reminded of the conflict in Darfur and the AIDS battle in Africa, but have you heard anything lately about the North Country Mission of Hope (NCMOH)? I hadn’t either until Ben Peryer, a fellow student at Marymount Manhattan College spoke of it.
In speaking with Peryer, I learned just what it is and what it means to him. “These projects not only helped me grow, but they made me realize what I wanted to do as a career.” It is something that he has been heavily involved with since age 16.
What exactly is NCMOH? The organization was created in 1992 as a humanitarian effort in response to Hurricane Mitch. When the opportunity to help someone in need presented itself, Peryer jumped. It was started at his rival high school, but that was no matter because a recent family vacation to South Africa had taught him of the horrors of desperate poverty.
“As we drove from the beach to a restaurant or wherever we were lucky enough to be going, we would pass miles and miles of shanty towns. To me, they looked like garbage fields, so you can image how shocked I was to see people living in them,” Peryer says of his vacation. “Our air conditioned sedan created this line, this divide, between myself and reality as it drove along the road,” he said.
This divide would soon be broken with his involvement in NCMOH. Peryer was sent to Chiquilistagua, Nicaragua where, he explains, that he became a part of the community. “We lived in a compound right in the middle of the village. It would seem wrong to do it any other way.” This mission team was given jobs that would benefit the shattered community, such as food delivery, and establishing medical clinics and shelters, to name a few.
Peryer says he enjoyed the daily run of food because it allowed him to interact with the others, but his most rewarding experience was building a home for someone. “Community members started to get involved in the building. We taught them a little, they taught us much more.”
Audaciously, Peryer tackled another hurdle by establishing a pharmacy in the name of a close friend and a founding sponsor of NCMOH, Gary Moore. Unfortunately, Mr. Moore had passed away shortly before one of Peryer’s trips. “[I did it] to honor him and all that he did for me and the organization,” he explains.
Peryer didn’t stop there. He increased his efforts at home by fundraising, joining the Board of Directors as a student representative, and sponsoring the education of a child. He knew the child, Rodolfo, for a year before sponsoring him, providing time to build a relationship. He speaks of Rodolfo with utter adoration. “He's a good friend, and a killer soccer player.”
Though Peryer is no longer on the executive team due to his inability to attend each meeting, he is still as active in the organization as possible. Attending speaking tours and hoping to revisit Rodolfo in the near future, Peryer expresses his gratitude and sheer appreciation for the opportunity that he has had. I think we can all say that the world is one step closer to breeching the divide that Peryer initially saw, while hope continues to rise for others around the globe.
Classmates
A Seriously Funny Man With No Hidden Talents
By Julie Buntin
As Matt Rasmussen and I entered the stairwell from the library, a blonde girl stopped him with hair falling out of her ponytail. “Hey Matt!” she said brightly, obviously pleased to bump into him.
“Hey,” he said back, “I’m having a party this Friday night. Be there?” His tone carried a note of urgency, which didn’t surprise me in the slightest. I’d read his Spring Break story posted on the MMC Chronicle website, and assumed well before this (our first encounter outside of class), that Matt is the kind of guy who has serious good times, and those good times are probably facilitated by large quantities of alcohol.
The fact that he is having a party this Friday was simply confirmation. Don’t get me wrong. Matt’s no generic, thumbs-up, beer downing frat boy, by any stretch of the imagination (sorry Matt, you‘re not Senor Rock). He just possesses a friendly, open demeanor that immediately puts people at ease.
After our forty-five minute conversation, I came away with one image I think anyone genuinely interested in getting to know Matt would consider valuable. Imagine the following: a huge, fiberglass ice cream cone, tall enough to reach the eyes of a standing Matt (around 5’7 I’d guess) when balanced on its point, and as wide (at it’s thickest place, the top) as the distance between his two elbows, according to Matt’s description.
This item (what shall we call it? Relic? Object of intrigue?) was discovered by Rasmussen on some unspecified NYC side street on some unspecified date within the last month. These factors are not the illuminating ones. What is pivotal for an initial glimpse of Matt’s essential Matt-ness (in my understanding) is that Matt lugged this fiberglass confection to his home in Astoria, Queens, where he is currently brainstorming possible uses for the freakishly large ice cream cone.
A sampling of his current ideas includes; lamp, catcher of power balls (he explained the game, kind of lost me), a place for people to hide, and a prop in a personal re-staging of American Gladiator. Rasmussen is the sort of person who sees the power ball game hidden in the guise of a gigantic, abandoned fiberglass ice cream cone.
Perhaps because this image was a large subconscious force in our discussion, much of our conversation revolved around ice cream. Real ice cream. In fact, by the end, I thought I would go crazy if I didn’t get a cup of Tasty-D-Lite (that craving remains unsatisfied).
A day in the life of Matt Rasmussen (not a typical day, just a kind of day) may include planning an informal ice cream social with friends, during which a miscommunication occurs, paid for ice cream never appears, yet toppings abound, even obscure ones like walnuts, and expensive ones like strawberries. Rasmussen takes these little pitfalls of life in stride. Vanilla is his favorite ice cream flavor.
When a guy walked by us in the hall wearing a Virginia Tech hockey t-shirt, I asked Rasmussen to tell me his immediate reaction. “Well, that guy, he probably knew someone. You can’t really just go online right now and order a shirt like that. But honestly, I’m borderline outraged by how everyone’s dealing with the situation. Like, writing letters to families of victims and students, that’s a really nice gesture. But some people are literally just like I’m going to change my buddy icon to a VT logo and that’s going to be a huge, meaningful thing.” The shallowness of the average college student’s response to this tragedy seemed very disturbing to him.
Rasmussen confessed cheerfully during a topic change that he has no hidden talents. “All my talents aren’t hidden,” he said. “If I have a talent, I immediately exploit it!” Whistling, singing, and snapping are no exceptions -- Rasmussen can’t successfully do any of the triumvirate of stupid human tricks. However, he can “sling drinks” as his face book profile says, and he does nightly, at his bar managing job at Studio 54.
After talking with Rasmussen, I came to two overwhelming conclusions. One, Rasmussen is funny. Seriously, you should go talk to him. You’ll laugh.
Two, I’m sincerely sorry I have to miss that party.
By Julie Buntin
As Matt Rasmussen and I entered the stairwell from the library, a blonde girl stopped him with hair falling out of her ponytail. “Hey Matt!” she said brightly, obviously pleased to bump into him.
“Hey,” he said back, “I’m having a party this Friday night. Be there?” His tone carried a note of urgency, which didn’t surprise me in the slightest. I’d read his Spring Break story posted on the MMC Chronicle website, and assumed well before this (our first encounter outside of class), that Matt is the kind of guy who has serious good times, and those good times are probably facilitated by large quantities of alcohol.
The fact that he is having a party this Friday was simply confirmation. Don’t get me wrong. Matt’s no generic, thumbs-up, beer downing frat boy, by any stretch of the imagination (sorry Matt, you‘re not Senor Rock). He just possesses a friendly, open demeanor that immediately puts people at ease.
After our forty-five minute conversation, I came away with one image I think anyone genuinely interested in getting to know Matt would consider valuable. Imagine the following: a huge, fiberglass ice cream cone, tall enough to reach the eyes of a standing Matt (around 5’7 I’d guess) when balanced on its point, and as wide (at it’s thickest place, the top) as the distance between his two elbows, according to Matt’s description.
This item (what shall we call it? Relic? Object of intrigue?) was discovered by Rasmussen on some unspecified NYC side street on some unspecified date within the last month. These factors are not the illuminating ones. What is pivotal for an initial glimpse of Matt’s essential Matt-ness (in my understanding) is that Matt lugged this fiberglass confection to his home in Astoria, Queens, where he is currently brainstorming possible uses for the freakishly large ice cream cone.
A sampling of his current ideas includes; lamp, catcher of power balls (he explained the game, kind of lost me), a place for people to hide, and a prop in a personal re-staging of American Gladiator. Rasmussen is the sort of person who sees the power ball game hidden in the guise of a gigantic, abandoned fiberglass ice cream cone.
Perhaps because this image was a large subconscious force in our discussion, much of our conversation revolved around ice cream. Real ice cream. In fact, by the end, I thought I would go crazy if I didn’t get a cup of Tasty-D-Lite (that craving remains unsatisfied).
A day in the life of Matt Rasmussen (not a typical day, just a kind of day) may include planning an informal ice cream social with friends, during which a miscommunication occurs, paid for ice cream never appears, yet toppings abound, even obscure ones like walnuts, and expensive ones like strawberries. Rasmussen takes these little pitfalls of life in stride. Vanilla is his favorite ice cream flavor.
When a guy walked by us in the hall wearing a Virginia Tech hockey t-shirt, I asked Rasmussen to tell me his immediate reaction. “Well, that guy, he probably knew someone. You can’t really just go online right now and order a shirt like that. But honestly, I’m borderline outraged by how everyone’s dealing with the situation. Like, writing letters to families of victims and students, that’s a really nice gesture. But some people are literally just like I’m going to change my buddy icon to a VT logo and that’s going to be a huge, meaningful thing.” The shallowness of the average college student’s response to this tragedy seemed very disturbing to him.
Rasmussen confessed cheerfully during a topic change that he has no hidden talents. “All my talents aren’t hidden,” he said. “If I have a talent, I immediately exploit it!” Whistling, singing, and snapping are no exceptions -- Rasmussen can’t successfully do any of the triumvirate of stupid human tricks. However, he can “sling drinks” as his face book profile says, and he does nightly, at his bar managing job at Studio 54.
After talking with Rasmussen, I came to two overwhelming conclusions. One, Rasmussen is funny. Seriously, you should go talk to him. You’ll laugh.
Two, I’m sincerely sorry I have to miss that party.
Classmates
Mera’s Got Skills!
By Lindsay Cooper
Another stressful week had gone by, and Mera and I were looking for a fun-filled, random party to go to. While our expectations for the night were not exactly going as planned, our mutual determination finally landed us at a bizarre, pseudo-exclusive party in the upstairs room of Mantra, an Upper East Side lounge. The night was just beginning to take a sudden but exciting turn where Mera Szendro was able to show off her PR skills.
Szendro is a junior at Marymount Manhattan College who was born in Hungary in 1986 where she spent most of her childhood. “My grandfather owned the biggest Hungarian theater in which he showed controversial plays involving the Nazis. She says her grandmother, who she considers her “guardian spirit,” was a secretary and a communist spy.
“I believe my diverse background and adventurous experiences in Hungary and Amsterdam has made me into a social individual who craves unordinary people and situations.” She also thinks that any connection one makes is meaningful even in the most mundane situations.
As we were sipping our overpriced drinks and trying to look social, the host of the upstairs party pranced in and quickly glanced over at our table. Szendro broke the awkward vibe he was giving off and casually engaged him in conversation.
In a gaudy manner he said, “ Hi my name is Javier, you girls should totally join my party upstairs!” In an excited but relaxed manner Szendro replied, “ Of course we would love to join your party upstairs, what are you throwing a party for?” One could easily see how she was confidently able to apply her journalistic skills in her brief conversation with Javier.
Within a matter of minutes we were upstairs at an exclusive VIP table drinking champagne and mingling with his so called “entourage.” As the party was really getting started and the music was pumping in the background, Szendro tried to continue her conversation with Javier. In a loud voice she asked him what he enjoys most about his high profile career.
He briefly expressed how he tries to fulfill what he couldn’t have in his models. After he said this, Szendro spontaneously got up and pretended to be one of his so called models walking down a catwalk. Javier started laughing and said, “Well girl that was a good imitation but you had too much bounce in your step.” Szendro’s impulsive humorous side continued to make people feel naturally drawn to her authentic presence during the night.
Szendro explained that when she was growing up, it was very difficult for her to communicate effectively with the people around her. “I had all the emotions, I just didn’t know how to express them in a way where I felt like people really understood me.” Her childhood difficulties with expression manifested in her later desire to really become involved in acquiring professional communication skills as a communications major. “I find that at this time in my life, it is really important to take advantage of all the opportunities available to me in the city.”
Currently, she works for a PR agency in which she is hoping will help her progress further in a career that she will absolutely love. In the few weeks of getting to know Szendro, one can simply see her desire to spend a lifetime doing what she loves but being successful at it too. “ I want to be able to keep my personality wherever I may go and be valued for it as well.” It is Szendro’s genuine curiosity and sustained interest in people that make her respected and intriguing to many.
By Lindsay Cooper
Another stressful week had gone by, and Mera and I were looking for a fun-filled, random party to go to. While our expectations for the night were not exactly going as planned, our mutual determination finally landed us at a bizarre, pseudo-exclusive party in the upstairs room of Mantra, an Upper East Side lounge. The night was just beginning to take a sudden but exciting turn where Mera Szendro was able to show off her PR skills.
Szendro is a junior at Marymount Manhattan College who was born in Hungary in 1986 where she spent most of her childhood. “My grandfather owned the biggest Hungarian theater in which he showed controversial plays involving the Nazis. She says her grandmother, who she considers her “guardian spirit,” was a secretary and a communist spy.
“I believe my diverse background and adventurous experiences in Hungary and Amsterdam has made me into a social individual who craves unordinary people and situations.” She also thinks that any connection one makes is meaningful even in the most mundane situations.
As we were sipping our overpriced drinks and trying to look social, the host of the upstairs party pranced in and quickly glanced over at our table. Szendro broke the awkward vibe he was giving off and casually engaged him in conversation.
In a gaudy manner he said, “ Hi my name is Javier, you girls should totally join my party upstairs!” In an excited but relaxed manner Szendro replied, “ Of course we would love to join your party upstairs, what are you throwing a party for?” One could easily see how she was confidently able to apply her journalistic skills in her brief conversation with Javier.
Within a matter of minutes we were upstairs at an exclusive VIP table drinking champagne and mingling with his so called “entourage.” As the party was really getting started and the music was pumping in the background, Szendro tried to continue her conversation with Javier. In a loud voice she asked him what he enjoys most about his high profile career.
He briefly expressed how he tries to fulfill what he couldn’t have in his models. After he said this, Szendro spontaneously got up and pretended to be one of his so called models walking down a catwalk. Javier started laughing and said, “Well girl that was a good imitation but you had too much bounce in your step.” Szendro’s impulsive humorous side continued to make people feel naturally drawn to her authentic presence during the night.
Szendro explained that when she was growing up, it was very difficult for her to communicate effectively with the people around her. “I had all the emotions, I just didn’t know how to express them in a way where I felt like people really understood me.” Her childhood difficulties with expression manifested in her later desire to really become involved in acquiring professional communication skills as a communications major. “I find that at this time in my life, it is really important to take advantage of all the opportunities available to me in the city.”
Currently, she works for a PR agency in which she is hoping will help her progress further in a career that she will absolutely love. In the few weeks of getting to know Szendro, one can simply see her desire to spend a lifetime doing what she loves but being successful at it too. “ I want to be able to keep my personality wherever I may go and be valued for it as well.” It is Szendro’s genuine curiosity and sustained interest in people that make her respected and intriguing to many.
Classmates
Escape And The City
By Mark Moran
In a tiny shoebox dorm room, the classic and timeless story of a small town girl making it in the big city is being replayed by another wide-eyed youth. Thousands of young women have traveled to the “greatest city in the world” in hopes of living a Carrie Bradshaw life of designer labels and tumultuous big city love affairs. Before Sex and the City, these girls made their pilgrimage to be one of the Friends.
The televised motivator for small town gals wanting to become NYC dames goes as far back as That Girl. Jennifer Rozansky, 21, begins to resemble a real life “That Girl” as she sits on a standard issue bed in the Vanderbilt YMCA. However, unlike many who have made the same journey, Rozansky feels no need to emulate Carrie Bradshaw's glitzy, fast lane life. A dirty blonde with a relentless desire to escape Greencastel, Pennsylvania, Rozansky seems to have found refuge in the hustle and bustle of New York City.
According to Rozansky, growing up in Greencastel epitomized the small town, nothing-to-do stereotype. “There's absolutely nothing to do in that town. Wanna know what is considered a fun night in Greencastel? Hanging out in the parking lot of Mikey's ice cream while sitting on the back of people's pick-up trucks and talking.” Boredom seems to be an understatement when it comes to Greencastel's sorry nightlife. “It nearly drove me crazy!” she says through clenched teeth.
Nothing-to-do syndrome is why many young people escape to New York City. The city's bright lights, diverse people, and grandiose disposition are the perfect cure for this chronic boredom-based disease. Rozansky, like many, was running from her fear of Saturdays spent in parking lots; but New York meant a lot more to her than exciting weekend plans. For Rozansky, the Big Apple was a key: freeing her from gossipy, narrow, and oppressive small town thinking.
“I knew I had to get out after Aaron died.” Aaron Cristman, Rozansky's best friend, died before he reached 18. Carbon monoxide killed him friend and Greencastel nearly killed the dignity of Aaron's memory.
Aaron died February 2004 alone in the parking lot of a local diner. It had snowed the day before and the diner had shoveled the parking lot, leaving snow banks at the top of each parking spot. A fight with his parents drove Aaron to that fateful parking lot so he could collect his thoughts and have some time by himself. He backed into one of the lot's spaces, keeping the engine running so he could stay warm. Little did Aaron know that his extended tail pipe was clogged by a bank of know. The carbon monoxide went back into the vehicle and a little while later Aaron was dead. There was so much gas in his pick-up truck and he had been dead for so long that identifying his body was almost impossible.
“Losing Aaron was one of the hardest things I have ever gone through. He was my best friend. I didn't know how I'd be able to go to school the next day knowing he wasn't going to be there.” Getting to 3:00 p.m. the following day at school was in fact too much for Rozansky. “Greencastel High School is a very small public school. There are probably 800 kids in the entire school, so by the next day everyone knew about Aaron's death. I had to leave early because I was still so upset.”
Small towns tend to foster busybodies ready for the next piece of juicy gossip. Rumors began to buzz throughout town regarding Aaron's death. “Someone told me that Aaron had committed suicide. I knew for a fact this wasn't true. He was a happy person, he had good friends, family, and a new girlfriend.” Suddenly, a tragic accident became a word of mouth suicide with an entire town picking apart the memory of the deceased. It became too much for Rozansky to handle. She found out who started the rumor and phoned them to inform the gossiper of the facts about Aaron's death. The next day at school the truth came out about Aaron, the rumor of suicide seemed to have been squashed.
However, the truth set no one free: the rumor had merely evolved. “They thought I was lying and telling everyone Aaron killed himself.” Rozansky doesn't seem to look back on these events not in anger. A deep sadness is the obvious emotional tone, as her pained eyes look downward. “The entire day at school everyone harassed me. It got to the point that I had to go home early again because I couldn't take it anymore. I had just lost my best friend and now I was being harassed for starting a rumor I didn't start.”
The cruel ridiculousness of the situation marked the moment when Rozansky knew college in New York City was a means to escape. “When I was 10 I visited New York and I knew I wanted to live here. My parents laughed when I told them, but I knew I could make it in the city. After senior year and everything that happened with Aaron, I knew it was now or never.” Rozansky left Greencastel and didn't look back. She enrolled at Marymount Manhattan College as a Communication Arts Major and got a job at the MTV store in Times Square.
The past is like gum on the bottom of your shoe: no matter how much you try to scrape it off you can never fully rid yourself of it. It's a part of you. Once you think you have a clean shoe, another chewed up wad is waiting inches away to be stepped in.
Rozansky can't seem to scrape Greencastel off her shoe. “After I got a job at the MTV store, one day this woman cuts the line and is just rude to me. She hands me her credit card when I'm checking her out and it's from Greencastel National Bank. I was courteous to her, but once she left I looked at the person on the register next to me and said, 'That's why I left!'”
Rozansky is no Carrie Bradshaw and she'll be the first to admit it. She didn't come to New York City to live a Sex and the City life. She came here to start new, try to scrape all the gum of her shoe so to speak. As she rests her head on her standard issue YMCA mattress in her shoebox dorm room, she doesn't complain about her meager refuge. The escape plan went off without a hitch and the city offers her the endless possibilities of a clean slate. “I started fresh when I came here.” Rozansky can't get the gum off her shoe, but she most certainly can buy a new pair.
By Mark Moran
In a tiny shoebox dorm room, the classic and timeless story of a small town girl making it in the big city is being replayed by another wide-eyed youth. Thousands of young women have traveled to the “greatest city in the world” in hopes of living a Carrie Bradshaw life of designer labels and tumultuous big city love affairs. Before Sex and the City, these girls made their pilgrimage to be one of the Friends.
The televised motivator for small town gals wanting to become NYC dames goes as far back as That Girl. Jennifer Rozansky, 21, begins to resemble a real life “That Girl” as she sits on a standard issue bed in the Vanderbilt YMCA. However, unlike many who have made the same journey, Rozansky feels no need to emulate Carrie Bradshaw's glitzy, fast lane life. A dirty blonde with a relentless desire to escape Greencastel, Pennsylvania, Rozansky seems to have found refuge in the hustle and bustle of New York City.
According to Rozansky, growing up in Greencastel epitomized the small town, nothing-to-do stereotype. “There's absolutely nothing to do in that town. Wanna know what is considered a fun night in Greencastel? Hanging out in the parking lot of Mikey's ice cream while sitting on the back of people's pick-up trucks and talking.” Boredom seems to be an understatement when it comes to Greencastel's sorry nightlife. “It nearly drove me crazy!” she says through clenched teeth.
Nothing-to-do syndrome is why many young people escape to New York City. The city's bright lights, diverse people, and grandiose disposition are the perfect cure for this chronic boredom-based disease. Rozansky, like many, was running from her fear of Saturdays spent in parking lots; but New York meant a lot more to her than exciting weekend plans. For Rozansky, the Big Apple was a key: freeing her from gossipy, narrow, and oppressive small town thinking.
“I knew I had to get out after Aaron died.” Aaron Cristman, Rozansky's best friend, died before he reached 18. Carbon monoxide killed him friend and Greencastel nearly killed the dignity of Aaron's memory.
Aaron died February 2004 alone in the parking lot of a local diner. It had snowed the day before and the diner had shoveled the parking lot, leaving snow banks at the top of each parking spot. A fight with his parents drove Aaron to that fateful parking lot so he could collect his thoughts and have some time by himself. He backed into one of the lot's spaces, keeping the engine running so he could stay warm. Little did Aaron know that his extended tail pipe was clogged by a bank of know. The carbon monoxide went back into the vehicle and a little while later Aaron was dead. There was so much gas in his pick-up truck and he had been dead for so long that identifying his body was almost impossible.
“Losing Aaron was one of the hardest things I have ever gone through. He was my best friend. I didn't know how I'd be able to go to school the next day knowing he wasn't going to be there.” Getting to 3:00 p.m. the following day at school was in fact too much for Rozansky. “Greencastel High School is a very small public school. There are probably 800 kids in the entire school, so by the next day everyone knew about Aaron's death. I had to leave early because I was still so upset.”
Small towns tend to foster busybodies ready for the next piece of juicy gossip. Rumors began to buzz throughout town regarding Aaron's death. “Someone told me that Aaron had committed suicide. I knew for a fact this wasn't true. He was a happy person, he had good friends, family, and a new girlfriend.” Suddenly, a tragic accident became a word of mouth suicide with an entire town picking apart the memory of the deceased. It became too much for Rozansky to handle. She found out who started the rumor and phoned them to inform the gossiper of the facts about Aaron's death. The next day at school the truth came out about Aaron, the rumor of suicide seemed to have been squashed.
However, the truth set no one free: the rumor had merely evolved. “They thought I was lying and telling everyone Aaron killed himself.” Rozansky doesn't seem to look back on these events not in anger. A deep sadness is the obvious emotional tone, as her pained eyes look downward. “The entire day at school everyone harassed me. It got to the point that I had to go home early again because I couldn't take it anymore. I had just lost my best friend and now I was being harassed for starting a rumor I didn't start.”
The cruel ridiculousness of the situation marked the moment when Rozansky knew college in New York City was a means to escape. “When I was 10 I visited New York and I knew I wanted to live here. My parents laughed when I told them, but I knew I could make it in the city. After senior year and everything that happened with Aaron, I knew it was now or never.” Rozansky left Greencastel and didn't look back. She enrolled at Marymount Manhattan College as a Communication Arts Major and got a job at the MTV store in Times Square.
The past is like gum on the bottom of your shoe: no matter how much you try to scrape it off you can never fully rid yourself of it. It's a part of you. Once you think you have a clean shoe, another chewed up wad is waiting inches away to be stepped in.
Rozansky can't seem to scrape Greencastel off her shoe. “After I got a job at the MTV store, one day this woman cuts the line and is just rude to me. She hands me her credit card when I'm checking her out and it's from Greencastel National Bank. I was courteous to her, but once she left I looked at the person on the register next to me and said, 'That's why I left!'”
Rozansky is no Carrie Bradshaw and she'll be the first to admit it. She didn't come to New York City to live a Sex and the City life. She came here to start new, try to scrape all the gum of her shoe so to speak. As she rests her head on her standard issue YMCA mattress in her shoebox dorm room, she doesn't complain about her meager refuge. The escape plan went off without a hitch and the city offers her the endless possibilities of a clean slate. “I started fresh when I came here.” Rozansky can't get the gum off her shoe, but she most certainly can buy a new pair.
Classmates
Give Her (Sur)reality Or Give Her Death!
In a quest to uncover magic in the mundane, Julie Buntin and Matt Rasmussen wax philosophical on Pinkberry, the Bonner family, and reality television
By Matt Rasmussen
You know who wants to kill George Bush? Julie Buntin (among many, many others). It’s just one of the things I found out in a recent conversation with the college sophomore.
She might be 19, but the fact of the matter is she knows what she wants, and there’s (almost) always a method to her madness. In a period of 20 minutes, we covered everything from novelty ice cream to her dream-murder, if given the opportunity to have a consequence-free chance to take a hit out on someone.
I didn’t go into this interview expecting anything interesting. It isn’t to say I dismissed Buntin as boring, but rather my rather cynical view of humanity as rather insipid in general. In fact, I had even come up with a plan to simply print her answers in mad-lib form (sample excerpt: “Ever since she was a little girl, Julie has always been committed to the art of ____”). What I didn’t see coming is finding a thoughtful, funny, and well-spoken subject who I happened to share quite a bit with. Example: we both agree smoking cigarettes will always be cool, except for the people who it is already uncool for. That makes sense to us, at least.
The truth is I’m lazy, and I like to save time whenever I can. And that I’m terrible with exposition. To combat this, I decided to ask, rather bluntly, how she would describe herself to, let’s say a professor. She answered by telling me she would ask the professor what he expects from her. She then confesses to me her ideal course involves her reading voraciously a plethora of materials, anything and everything on the topic. And then writing her take on it.
From this point, two things become clear: Julie is a people-pleaser, who sets high expectations for herself and tends to fulfill them, and, that she has an addiction -- she is dependent on literature. By the end of our initial interview, which couldn’t have run more than a half hour, she was nearly shaking, in need of a lit-fix.
But there was so much more that I had not yet learned. It turned out we had a multitude of things in common, and some things not-so-in-common. For starters: Tom Bonner. I know him, you know him, and he knows that talking to us mid-interview meant he’d probably make it into the story. Unfortunately, his distraction was one that ultimately took away from the insightful and thought-provoking conversation we were having. We happened to be talking about ice cream and about how butter pecan is unreasonably high up on America’s flavor priorities – number three, actually.
We took turns teaching each other about the world. Buntin explained to me the dessert phenomenon known simply as “Pinkberry” (though I still don’t think I get it), and I tried to unload the vast wealth of pop culture droppings (trivia?) in my head in exchange. After trying to explain American Gladiators and failing, I figured it was probably time to fall back on traditional interview techniques again. In which I get the subject to do the work for me:
“Well, I…uh…sort of have a habit of blacking out far too much, so I don’t think I’d be coherent at that point,” she confessed when asked how she might describe herself to someone at a bar.
Knowing the lowest common denominator is always a possibility, I switch gears again: how might she describe herself to a producer for a reality TV show? She wouldn’t. It just so happens, in addition to having radar for spotting sophomores and Communication Arts majors, and agreeing that a good basis for most impressions of stupid people involves Yogi Bear in some capacity, that she detests reality TV, and doesn’t own a television.
Having being raised by a wild pack of televisions, I wasn’t sure how this was possible. Surely, were it to be life or death, she would be able to pick a reality show to be on (and given the state of the entertainment industry, I don’t think we’re far from mortality-based competitions). She wasn’t sure if death or The Real World was a worst fate.
By the end of the interview, there might not have been any jaw-dropping revelations (besides that butter pecan business – seriously, what kind of crap is that?), but I did make a determination. If given the choice, I’d rather see Julie Buntin on Fear Factor than dead.
In a quest to uncover magic in the mundane, Julie Buntin and Matt Rasmussen wax philosophical on Pinkberry, the Bonner family, and reality television
By Matt Rasmussen
You know who wants to kill George Bush? Julie Buntin (among many, many others). It’s just one of the things I found out in a recent conversation with the college sophomore.
She might be 19, but the fact of the matter is she knows what she wants, and there’s (almost) always a method to her madness. In a period of 20 minutes, we covered everything from novelty ice cream to her dream-murder, if given the opportunity to have a consequence-free chance to take a hit out on someone.
I didn’t go into this interview expecting anything interesting. It isn’t to say I dismissed Buntin as boring, but rather my rather cynical view of humanity as rather insipid in general. In fact, I had even come up with a plan to simply print her answers in mad-lib form (sample excerpt: “Ever since she was a little girl, Julie has always been committed to the art of ____”). What I didn’t see coming is finding a thoughtful, funny, and well-spoken subject who I happened to share quite a bit with. Example: we both agree smoking cigarettes will always be cool, except for the people who it is already uncool for. That makes sense to us, at least.
The truth is I’m lazy, and I like to save time whenever I can. And that I’m terrible with exposition. To combat this, I decided to ask, rather bluntly, how she would describe herself to, let’s say a professor. She answered by telling me she would ask the professor what he expects from her. She then confesses to me her ideal course involves her reading voraciously a plethora of materials, anything and everything on the topic. And then writing her take on it.
From this point, two things become clear: Julie is a people-pleaser, who sets high expectations for herself and tends to fulfill them, and, that she has an addiction -- she is dependent on literature. By the end of our initial interview, which couldn’t have run more than a half hour, she was nearly shaking, in need of a lit-fix.
But there was so much more that I had not yet learned. It turned out we had a multitude of things in common, and some things not-so-in-common. For starters: Tom Bonner. I know him, you know him, and he knows that talking to us mid-interview meant he’d probably make it into the story. Unfortunately, his distraction was one that ultimately took away from the insightful and thought-provoking conversation we were having. We happened to be talking about ice cream and about how butter pecan is unreasonably high up on America’s flavor priorities – number three, actually.
We took turns teaching each other about the world. Buntin explained to me the dessert phenomenon known simply as “Pinkberry” (though I still don’t think I get it), and I tried to unload the vast wealth of pop culture droppings (trivia?) in my head in exchange. After trying to explain American Gladiators and failing, I figured it was probably time to fall back on traditional interview techniques again. In which I get the subject to do the work for me:
“Well, I…uh…sort of have a habit of blacking out far too much, so I don’t think I’d be coherent at that point,” she confessed when asked how she might describe herself to someone at a bar.
Knowing the lowest common denominator is always a possibility, I switch gears again: how might she describe herself to a producer for a reality TV show? She wouldn’t. It just so happens, in addition to having radar for spotting sophomores and Communication Arts majors, and agreeing that a good basis for most impressions of stupid people involves Yogi Bear in some capacity, that she detests reality TV, and doesn’t own a television.
Having being raised by a wild pack of televisions, I wasn’t sure how this was possible. Surely, were it to be life or death, she would be able to pick a reality show to be on (and given the state of the entertainment industry, I don’t think we’re far from mortality-based competitions). She wasn’t sure if death or The Real World was a worst fate.
By the end of the interview, there might not have been any jaw-dropping revelations (besides that butter pecan business – seriously, what kind of crap is that?), but I did make a determination. If given the choice, I’d rather see Julie Buntin on Fear Factor than dead.
Classmates
Not Your Long Island Stereotype
By Cara Schweikert
Hillary Trautmann stands a mere 5’2 and is attractively petite but embodies a persona that is larger than life. She has dark brown-wavy hair and chestnut colored eyes. She comes from a Polish, Bulgarian, German and Italian background, a mix of different ethnicities but says that her family is “extremely Americanized.”
Born and raised in Roslyn, Long Island, she is not the typical Long Island stereotype, you know the type, bleach-blond hair, shallow, fake, “spoiled little rich girl”. Trautmann is unique in every sense of the word. She is independent when it comes to her style and character, an individual who, “doesn’t try to be fake, and I don’t wear what everyone else is wearing just because it’s expensive or “in”. She is a modest, free spirited individual when it comes to her religious beliefs, relationships, and just her everyday way of thinking.
Trautmann was born on August 18, 1986 to Jodi and Adrian Trautmann and has an older brother whom she “gets along with pretty well.” Her mother is a paralegal who she describes as, “very caring and supportive, I tell her almost everything.” Her father, however is physically “non-existent”, her parents divorced when she was three and she has not seen him since she was seven years old. She says he “calls occasionally on my birthday, but not every year and never on the right day.”
She describes the town in which she grew up as, “a very Jewish community, wealthy, and I am neither of those.” Until age six she says, “I was pretty quiet, after that I became very wild and talkative.” Her favorite childhood memory was hanging out with neighborhood friends who she remains in contact with, “a handful of them.” Her worst childhood memory, “My dad.”
Now she is a full time student at Marymount Manhattan College and works as a delivery driver for “Hunan Taste” a Chinese restaurant, which she says, “the money is good.” Her major focus is becoming a journalist for a major newspaper or magazine such as Vogue, Elle, or NY Times and after reading her Diversity Story, “Making a Choice: Family Over Career” she appears to be well on her way.
She is currently involved in a serious relationship with her boyfriend, “Brett” whom she has been with for the past three years. “He is pretty great and we are very supportive of each other.” She also says she believes in love at first sight because that’s how she and Brett “ended up together”.
One thing that she has learned from her past relationships, “is that you are with different people throughout your life that compliment you at that time. Then, that love may fade, but that’s the reality. You can’t be scared to hurt someone’s feelings if you don’t want to be with them anymore because you have to do what’s good for you.”
Her relationship with Brett is “natural and we don’t push things, we understand one-another.” She hopes to be married once her career is established and she plans to have kids when she is financially stable because she, “wants to spend as much time with the kids as possible”.
Trautmann’s religious beliefs are pretty much as open-minded and accepting as her persona. She says, “I don’t think I believe in God, but I do believe in Karma to an extent, if you are a good person, good things will happen to you, and if you are a bad person, bad things will happen to you.”
Is there something about her family, herself, or her significant other that she has always wanted to know but never asked, “I’ve always wanted to know why my father doesn’t want to be in my life. My parents divorced when I was young and at first my brother and I continued to see him, but by the time I was about seven we just stopped seeing each other. I guess I’d like to ask him why it isn’t important to him to know his own children.”
Trautmann says she is proudest of the fact that, “I guess that I’m not easily influenced by other people and I’ve always been told that I have a good head on my shoulders”.
That is clear as day.
By Cara Schweikert
Hillary Trautmann stands a mere 5’2 and is attractively petite but embodies a persona that is larger than life. She has dark brown-wavy hair and chestnut colored eyes. She comes from a Polish, Bulgarian, German and Italian background, a mix of different ethnicities but says that her family is “extremely Americanized.”
Born and raised in Roslyn, Long Island, she is not the typical Long Island stereotype, you know the type, bleach-blond hair, shallow, fake, “spoiled little rich girl”. Trautmann is unique in every sense of the word. She is independent when it comes to her style and character, an individual who, “doesn’t try to be fake, and I don’t wear what everyone else is wearing just because it’s expensive or “in”. She is a modest, free spirited individual when it comes to her religious beliefs, relationships, and just her everyday way of thinking.
Trautmann was born on August 18, 1986 to Jodi and Adrian Trautmann and has an older brother whom she “gets along with pretty well.” Her mother is a paralegal who she describes as, “very caring and supportive, I tell her almost everything.” Her father, however is physically “non-existent”, her parents divorced when she was three and she has not seen him since she was seven years old. She says he “calls occasionally on my birthday, but not every year and never on the right day.”
She describes the town in which she grew up as, “a very Jewish community, wealthy, and I am neither of those.” Until age six she says, “I was pretty quiet, after that I became very wild and talkative.” Her favorite childhood memory was hanging out with neighborhood friends who she remains in contact with, “a handful of them.” Her worst childhood memory, “My dad.”
Now she is a full time student at Marymount Manhattan College and works as a delivery driver for “Hunan Taste” a Chinese restaurant, which she says, “the money is good.” Her major focus is becoming a journalist for a major newspaper or magazine such as Vogue, Elle, or NY Times and after reading her Diversity Story, “Making a Choice: Family Over Career” she appears to be well on her way.
She is currently involved in a serious relationship with her boyfriend, “Brett” whom she has been with for the past three years. “He is pretty great and we are very supportive of each other.” She also says she believes in love at first sight because that’s how she and Brett “ended up together”.
One thing that she has learned from her past relationships, “is that you are with different people throughout your life that compliment you at that time. Then, that love may fade, but that’s the reality. You can’t be scared to hurt someone’s feelings if you don’t want to be with them anymore because you have to do what’s good for you.”
Her relationship with Brett is “natural and we don’t push things, we understand one-another.” She hopes to be married once her career is established and she plans to have kids when she is financially stable because she, “wants to spend as much time with the kids as possible”.
Trautmann’s religious beliefs are pretty much as open-minded and accepting as her persona. She says, “I don’t think I believe in God, but I do believe in Karma to an extent, if you are a good person, good things will happen to you, and if you are a bad person, bad things will happen to you.”
Is there something about her family, herself, or her significant other that she has always wanted to know but never asked, “I’ve always wanted to know why my father doesn’t want to be in my life. My parents divorced when I was young and at first my brother and I continued to see him, but by the time I was about seven we just stopped seeing each other. I guess I’d like to ask him why it isn’t important to him to know his own children.”
Trautmann says she is proudest of the fact that, “I guess that I’m not easily influenced by other people and I’ve always been told that I have a good head on my shoulders”.
That is clear as day.
Classmates
Trying To Put Down Music Tracks In New York City
By Hillary Trautmann
Cara Schweikert dreams of being a bigwig in the music business, and New York City is probably the best place for her.
“I am a Communication Arts major, and I want to do music management. You know, work for a major record label. I would love to work for Universal, scouting, signing promising new artists and promoting new artists that are signed to the label,” Schweikert says. “Oh, and to be more in depth, I want to primarily work with hip hop and R&B music, because that’s what I love.”
Overall, Schweikert appears to be on the right track for her future. When asked what her proudest moment in her life so far has been she said, “moving to New York.” But living in New York and working in the music industry is not all she hopes her future to hold.
“I want to be successful in what I hope and plan to do in the music business. I never want to depend on a man for money, or anything for that matter! I want to be independent, but I do hope to one day own my own home, get married, and when I feel like I’ve accomplished everything I’ve wanted to do, I hope to have kids of my own.”
Cara Mary Schweikert was born to Dawn and Paul Schweikert on September 1, 1983, in Cleveland, Ohio. She grew up in Cleveland, in a typical middle class suburban neighborhood, which she describes as, “quiet, without much to do.” No wonder she dreamed of living in The Big Apple all of her life, and now for the past four years she has.
Schweikert says, “I always have and still feel as if my parents will never understand me. They are both convinced I’m crazy for wanting to live in New York and never believed I would stay here, but now I have been here for four years, and they are still living in Ohio.”
This is not to say that Schweikert has a bad relationship with her parents, but merely that in most parent/child relationships there is always some gap in understanding each other. She does describe her mother as “caring and supportive”, and her father as having “a great sense of humor, and laid back,” yet also describes both of her parents as introverts.
This could be why as a child Schweikert was very shy and attached to her mother’s hip. Even now as an adult she describes herself as, being shy, “until I feel people out, then I am very outgoing and talkative.”
With such a large family, an older brother and sister, and a younger brother, it is no wonder her parents may think she is crazy for moving so far away for school, when her three siblings are still home in Ohio.
So what if Schweikert’s plans don’t work out as she has hoped? Will she then be unhappy? Definitely not. Schweikert believes that everything happens for a reason. “You cannot reflect on the bad situations that are dealt to you. Sooner or later you wind up realizing that the bad situations you may have been dealt are what make you stronger person. Really they make you who are.”
Maybe the reason Schweikert believes so strongly in dealing with what you’ve been given is because she grew up as a believer in the Catholic faith. As a child she attended church regularly, but now has realized that with a busy New York lifestyle it is hard to attend anything regularly. Yet, she still has a strong faith in the religion she was brought up believing in.
“I still have a strong faith in God, and I think God plays a major role in the things that take place in our lives. I think God plays a major role in certain things that have happened to myself and people in my life.”
With an attitude like Schweikert’s it will be hard to keep her down. It seems that she will make her life the way she has always dreamed it to be. She’s already half way there, but even if it doesn’t work out as she has planned, it seems that she believes it will work out for the best nonetheless.
By Hillary Trautmann
Cara Schweikert dreams of being a bigwig in the music business, and New York City is probably the best place for her.
“I am a Communication Arts major, and I want to do music management. You know, work for a major record label. I would love to work for Universal, scouting, signing promising new artists and promoting new artists that are signed to the label,” Schweikert says. “Oh, and to be more in depth, I want to primarily work with hip hop and R&B music, because that’s what I love.”
Overall, Schweikert appears to be on the right track for her future. When asked what her proudest moment in her life so far has been she said, “moving to New York.” But living in New York and working in the music industry is not all she hopes her future to hold.
“I want to be successful in what I hope and plan to do in the music business. I never want to depend on a man for money, or anything for that matter! I want to be independent, but I do hope to one day own my own home, get married, and when I feel like I’ve accomplished everything I’ve wanted to do, I hope to have kids of my own.”
Cara Mary Schweikert was born to Dawn and Paul Schweikert on September 1, 1983, in Cleveland, Ohio. She grew up in Cleveland, in a typical middle class suburban neighborhood, which she describes as, “quiet, without much to do.” No wonder she dreamed of living in The Big Apple all of her life, and now for the past four years she has.
Schweikert says, “I always have and still feel as if my parents will never understand me. They are both convinced I’m crazy for wanting to live in New York and never believed I would stay here, but now I have been here for four years, and they are still living in Ohio.”
This is not to say that Schweikert has a bad relationship with her parents, but merely that in most parent/child relationships there is always some gap in understanding each other. She does describe her mother as “caring and supportive”, and her father as having “a great sense of humor, and laid back,” yet also describes both of her parents as introverts.
This could be why as a child Schweikert was very shy and attached to her mother’s hip. Even now as an adult she describes herself as, being shy, “until I feel people out, then I am very outgoing and talkative.”
With such a large family, an older brother and sister, and a younger brother, it is no wonder her parents may think she is crazy for moving so far away for school, when her three siblings are still home in Ohio.
So what if Schweikert’s plans don’t work out as she has hoped? Will she then be unhappy? Definitely not. Schweikert believes that everything happens for a reason. “You cannot reflect on the bad situations that are dealt to you. Sooner or later you wind up realizing that the bad situations you may have been dealt are what make you stronger person. Really they make you who are.”
Maybe the reason Schweikert believes so strongly in dealing with what you’ve been given is because she grew up as a believer in the Catholic faith. As a child she attended church regularly, but now has realized that with a busy New York lifestyle it is hard to attend anything regularly. Yet, she still has a strong faith in the religion she was brought up believing in.
“I still have a strong faith in God, and I think God plays a major role in the things that take place in our lives. I think God plays a major role in certain things that have happened to myself and people in my life.”
With an attitude like Schweikert’s it will be hard to keep her down. It seems that she will make her life the way she has always dreamed it to be. She’s already half way there, but even if it doesn’t work out as she has planned, it seems that she believes it will work out for the best nonetheless.
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