Tuesday, May 21, 2013
New job positions available for students in Pittsburgh
With the economy slowly recovering, more jobs are becoming available for Robert Morris University (RMU) students.
“More of the employers are eager to fill open positions that they have,” Kishma Decastro-Sallis, director of the Career Center, explained. “They’re pouring more money to refill these positions at higher periods.” Decastro-Sallis explained that this is a good time for students to apply for jobs.
“We are seeing a boost in the amount of job postings,” Decastro-Sallis explained regarding the Colonial Trak page. She encouraged students applying for summer internships or jobs after graduation to sign up on site and apply for the positions.
“We don’t want employers to lose interest in coming to Robert Morris to do recruiting,” Decastro-Sallis explained.
In addition, students are encouraged to attend the events hosted by the Career Center, such as the Spring Career Fair in March 14 of this year.
“Right now we have about 48 employers lined up,” said Sallis. This is an increase in the number that started with around 20 employers. The majority of them being employers recruiting for busines, engineering, and IT.
“There are employers coming for all disciplines,” added Decastro-Sallis. “No matter the major, students should take the opportunity to attend.”
There will also be the 2nd year of minority networking reception on February 23, and a Creativity At work on March 22.
“This is a nice opportunity for individuals with diverse backgrounds and women to come meet, talk to, and do some networking with area recruiters,” Decastro-Salllis stated regarding the minority networking reception. However, she stated that it is open to every students attending the university.
Creativity at Work is also a networking event for students.
“Students can hear and learn from individuals who have creative careers, especially in Communication and the arts,” Decastro-Sallis explained.
“The career center has remained constant in helping to develop students professionally,” Decastro-Sallis explained. “The Career Center has trained counselors who are here to help students… showcase their talents to recruiters.”
“Robert Morris students are talented.” Decastro-Sallis explained. “They are well spoken…, [and] very well trained academically.”
New Claddagh Club on Campus to honor Irish Heritage
Robert Morris University (RMU) is made up of an additional student club that focuses on something different.
The Claddagh club, which started on Facebook and turned traditional, is composed of mostly students who visited Ireland through the study abroad programs.
“More students had gone to Ireland in our international education program than any other countries,” explained Jim Vincent, associate professor of English Studies.
“Our club is named after the characteristics [of the] Irish ring of love and friendship,” stated Vincent. For this reason, members will be given a claddagh ring.
Vincent, along with Jennifer Crawford, the director of Annual Giving, is the advisor of the club.
“Part of our focus is not just the travel course,” explained Crawford.
Crawford, who has ancestors from Ireland, explained that some of the students joined the club to mostly know about their Irish heritage.
Kayce Craday, a first year student majoring in Pre-Medicine is among the members who joined the Claddagh club to know about their heritage.
“I’m mostly Irish,” stated Craday, who has never visited Ireland.
Craday did express her desire to join the study abroad program.
“I would like to, but they don’t have my major,” she explained.
“We began to discuss it in 2010,” said Vincent on when the club was founded. Although it has been in existence for two years, it is still in his primary stage.
It became official this semester. It was during that Fall semester that officers were elected. Among them are Ryan Kenny as treasurer, Kiersten Metzger as secretary and social media coordinator, Kristen Taylor as president, and Kelly Gibson as vice-president.
“[At] the first meeting, we had an election, and I ran for it,” explained Gibson who joined the club this year after visiting Ireland this past summer.
“I lead the club, [plan] events [and] meetings, and report to Jim any information that I find necessary,” explained Taylor regarding her position.
During their last Fall meeting, the club members put together their constitution to request approval from the Student Government Association. In addition, the members discussed their plans for the Spring semester.
“We’re working with other student groups to plan a St. Patrick’s Day party,” said Vincent. The club will be joined by at least three other clubs.
“We’re hoping to have Irish food, drinks, and entertainment,” Vincent explained. In terms of entertainment, they are planning on possibly bringing singers, and hosting a story telling and poetry event.
“We’ll be screening a video about Irish sports,” Vincent added.
Another event that the claddgah club is hoping to host is a reunion.
“We hope to have a reunion of students past and present who traveled to Ireland,” Vincent explained.
Although the club members often hold meetings to discuss their plans, they are still very involved in their Facebook page.
“Because of the difficulty of planning for meetings to which all students can attend, we have a strong online presence,” Vincent explained. “Part of our organization is virtual.”
Crawley Finds His Strength Through His Writing
After being diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma disease on Sep. 20, Dr. Rex Crawley, assistant dean of the School of Communications and Information Systems and professor of Communication, decided to create a blog to inform people on his situation.
“I was thinking about how do you tell somebody you have cancer?” Crawley explained. “So that’s when I first thought about the blog. I said it’s sort of a great way to sort of communicate my feelings about it, what I’m going through, what the treatments are.”
Crawley added that he wanted to talk about the process of dealing with cancer before anyone told his story.
“I decided I would rather be in control of information,” explained Crawley on the reason he created the blog, named A Healthy Disregard for the Impossible. “As a communication scholar, I sat down and thought about how I wanted to sort of manage information.”
Crawley said that anyone who wondered about his daily handling of cancer would be able to find the facts in his blog. For instance, he explained the process of going through chemotherapy in one of his entries.
“I go through a detailed description about what it feels like to have poison flowing through your vein and destroying vast growing cells,” Crawley said.
He also explained the stage of his cancer in one of his entries to calm his worrying friends.
“I call it giving voice to cancer,” Crawley added about the blog.
He described cancer as taboo topic that is often not talked about in details.
“Often times, people have questions, and they’re afraid to ask,” explained Crawley. “I try to answer questions before people even have to ask.”
Crawley also said the blog became powerful for him because he answered questions that people with close ones affected by cancer always wondered about.
“It becomes a twofold, one way to manage information” Crawley said. “And then two, it becomes very therapeutic for me.”
Crawley explained that, through his blog, he is able to speak about his feeling toward his diagnosis.
“I have been having some pain to my stomach,” Crawley said. “I didn’t know what it was, so I went to the doctor.” Doctors suggested that Crawley do a Computerized Axial Tomography (CAT) Scan, which led to the discovery of a huge tumor lodged against his kidney.
“They immediately put me in a hospital to do a kidney stint,” Crawley said. This surgery was done to save his kidney, which was blocked from functioning by the tumor.
“Once they were able to get my kidney stabilized, that’s when they began the diagnosis to find out what the tumor actually was” Crawley explained. After going through a biopsis, they realized that the tumor was indeed cancerous.
“I wasn’t as devastated as I was the first time I heard that I had cancer,” stated Crawley, who is a 15 years survivor of the same type of cancer. “Of course, I was traumatized at the thought of having to go through chemotherapy again and, perhaps, even a bone marrow transplant.”
“This is her first time experiencing this with me,” Crawley said regarding his wife. “I was a little concerned for her, but she’s really dealt with it pretty well.”
“My Mom and my sisters, having gone through this before, I think they were more optimistic,” Crawley explained.
Crawley added that his wife and he have been managing information with his four-year-old son to ensure he was not negatively impacted by the news.
“I think for all of us it’s just been a major lifestyle change in terms of getting used to being back in the whole hospital culture again,” Crawley added.
Crawley will be going through chemotherapy treatments until January. He will be staying at the hospital for four days every three weeks.
“Once I’m done with this treatment, I’ll be in remission,” Crawley explained. The remission stage should take about three or four years.
“If I want to be cured, then they suggest I… [will] probably need a bone marrow transplant,” Crawley explained.“One of the issues that this raises for me… is that African-Americans tend not to donate.”
This causes a small chance for Crawley, who doesn’t have any match in his family, to find a donor.
Crawley is actually starting a project to raise awareness in the African American community about bone marrow donation.
“Lots of people need bone marrow transplant, particularly African Americans, and just can’t find donors” Crawley explained.
Crawley is planning on starting the projects next semester.
“It might be an interesting campaign for our campus to think about,” he added.
Rooney Scholar Visits for Celebration
Robert Morris University (RMU) just welcomed another visiting scholar for the Fall semester.
Dr. Catherine Ramsey-Portolano joined RMU and Luca Guardabascio, this Fall’s Rooney scholar, to help celebrate the 150 years of Italy’s Unification.
She is the department chair and an associate professor of Italian studies at the American University of Rome, an affiliation to RMU for the study abroad program.
Ramsey-Portolano stayed in RMU from Oct. 24 to Nov. 4, and gave lectures to RMU faculty and staff members, along with students.
“Many professors welcomed me into their classes,” said Ramsey-Portolano, who spoke to students in several classrooms. Among these classes, was the Honors Research Method one, in which she used her thesis on an Italian female writer to lecture the students on research.
“I’ve talked about Italian Literature and culture,” she explained regarding the main topic of her lectures. “I hope that has increased students’ awareness of Italy.”
She added that students who attended her presentations were interested in her experience in Italy, which she shared with them.
Ramsey-Portolano, a native of the United States, went to Italy as a study abroad student when she was 20 years old, and was entering her last year in college.
“I loved it so much, I decided to stay longer,” said Ramsey-Portolano.
It was actually Ramsey-Portolano’s second time in Italy. She visited it for a summer program, in which she stayed in Urbino, a small in the Central part of the country. This six-weeks sojourn led to her decision to return to Italy and reside there for a year.
After getting her bachelor’s degree from the University of Tennessee, Ramsey-Portolano enrolled in a university in Italy, Libera Universita Maria SS. Assunta, to continue her studies and receive her degree in Italian Literature.
Ramsey-Portolano has been living in Italy for 20 years now.
“I worked in several universities in Rome as an adjunct professor,” said Ramsey-Portolano.
Ramsey-Portolano also worked in two universities in the United States. While getting her Doctorate from the University of Chicago, she taught at both the aforementioned university and Loyola University Chicago.
Ramsey-Portolano became a full-time professor when she joined the American University of Rome.
Ramsey-Portolano is married with two sons, named Thomas and James, aged seven and five respectively.
“I speak English to them, so they are growing up knowing Italian and English,” said Ramsey-Portolano. “It’s important for them to be aware of their heritage.”
“It’s been a very warm welcome,” stated Ramsey-Portolano, who is visiting RMU for the first time.
Before leaving for Italy on Nov. 4, she held an informational meeting about The American University in Rome hoping to get more students, and teach some of them.
English Department Chooses Two Winners for Its Fourth Creepy Conference
On Tuesday, Oct. 25, the Robert Morris University (RMU) hosted its fourth annual Creepy Conference in the Sewall Center, and picked two winners for the prize the next week.
“Our students did an amazing job,” stated Dr. Sylvia Pamboukian,
Four contestants, Nikki Weis, Sara Gunkel, Kenya Johns and Marulla Quirk, along with Professor Gavin Buxton and the Rooney scholar, Luca Guardabascio, participated in the event.
Although only one student usually win the contest, two students, Johns and Gunkel, were chosen this year because of a tie between them.
“We generally look at students who capture the idea of scholarly gothic best,” explained Pamboukian regarding how they picked the winners.
The judges were all of the part-time and mostly full-time faculty members from the English Department who attended the conference. Among them were Pamboukian, Dr. A. J. Grant and Professor Jim Vincent.
“I definitely was suprised,” said Gunker, a senior at RMU, regarding winning the contest. “I didn’t expect to capture many people’s attention.”
For her presentation, Gunker discussed the the ethnology of Harry Potter’s characters, in which she explained the possible origin of the characters’ names.
“I’ve always liked Harry Potter in high school,” explained Gunter on the reason for choosing this topic. “There was always an interest that struck upon me.”
Johns’ presentation involved a series of photos of light that she photoshopped to evoke mystery from.
“It’s a look at the worldwide light curiosity,” said Johns, a senior majoring in Media Arts.
Weis’ presentation was on the narrative of the supernatural of Charlotte from England. She explained the fiction from a real life story of the murder of a woman, Charlotte Dymond, and the trial of her lover, Matthews Weeks.
“There’s actual court record,” Weis, a sophomore majoring in English, explained. “A lot of research is done on how the trial went.”
Weeks was accused of the murder, and was hung as a result.
Quirk, a first year student majoring in Marketing, decided to read a short thriller story that she wrote two years ago, and prolonged for the conference.
“I was a little nervous,” she said.
Buxton did a psychic presentation, in which he chose a member of the audience to pick a card for him to guess what it was. He also mentioned his new research project, which will involve understanding radioactivity in bananas.
After the presentation of the contestants and Buxton, Guardabascio, presented a short movie that he filmed, Dismophorbia, which was inspired by “The Twilight Zone.”
“I… [showed] something that I shot seven years ago,” Guardabascio explained.
The winners of the conference received each a Barnes and Noble gift card from the English Department.
“I think it’s great the English Department does stuff like this,” said Weis. “Hopefullly, more people will get interested in the department.”
Successful Filmmaker Becomes This Fall’s Rooney Scholar
The Robert Morris University faculty is joined this fall semester by an accomplished filmmaker.
This fall’s Rooney Scholar from Italy, Luca Guardabascio, is a filmmaker, a writer, an actor and a producer.
Guardabascio, from Eboli and Campagna, Italy, started writing at a very early age.
“Writing is my passion,” he said.
He was six years old when he was first published. His school teacher edited 70 short stories that he wrote in a matter of six day, and published 300 copies of them.
“My imagination was full of things,” he explained.
At 13 years old, Guardabascio received a video camera from his father.
“With the video camera, I filmed … [a lot of] of movies,” he said.
Guardabascio made a lot parodies, such as The Godmother and Natural Pork Killer.
When he was 15, he filmed a parody TV show named Eboli Vice, which became very successful and sold all over Italy.
Guardabascio attended a university in Rome.
“My first idea was to be [an] actor and [a] writer,” he said. However, his parents encouraged him to study something more.
“I discovered [that my] level of filmmaking was very good,” Guardabascio said. For this reason, Guardabascio decided to pursue a career in film.
15 years ago, Guardabascio filmed two successful independent movies, and a successful TV show.
Task Force, the show, which is about a task force that helps people in natural disasters, was filmed in many countries in the world, such as Brasil, South Africa and Malta. Guardabascio will film the third season in June 2012.
When it comes to his semester at RMU, Guardabscio hopes to help students have a better understanding of the culture of Italians.
“Our culture is not just pizza… [and] spaghetti,” he said.
Guardabascio explained that Italians have a different way of life.
“The Italian people can overcome situations,” he said.
He will concentrate in teaching Italian movies to students.
“In this full semester, I’ll try to explain the important point of view of our cinema,” he said.
He talked about the fact that even tragic movies contain some sort of comedy.
“They forgive the tragedy very soon,” he explained.
Guardabscio also talked about his way of teaching at RMU.
“Students teach you a lot of different things,” he said.
He explained that in each class, there are different brains and personalities found in each student.
“You have to understand what they feel…[and] their history…” he said. “You have to build a connection with them.”
For this reason, Guardabascio does not prepare a fixed schedule for classes to allow a more flexible environment.
“Teaching for me is like a hobby,” he explained. “I want to break the rules.”
He also wants students to have good memories of him.
“I take my personality to each class,” he added.
To Guardabascio, the difference between the school atmosphere in the United States and the one in Italy is the students’ characters. He describes RMU students as shy and respectful toward their professors compared to the ones in Italy.
“Students are happy to be on campus,” he added.
Although it is Guardabascio’s first time in the United States, he explained that he grew knowing a lot about the country.
“I grew up with Hollywood… [and] New York,” he said.
He described the city of Pittsburgh as a clean and friendly city with beautiful people and good food.
Guardabascio will film a tragic comedy on campus with Michael DiLauro, the director of the Academic Media Center, and famous actor, Ron Palillo, from Oct. 16 to Nov. 5. He welcomes student to watch the filming and see the finished work, which should be available next year.
This fall’s Rooney Scholar from Italy, Luca Guardabascio, is a filmmaker, a writer, an actor and a producer.
Guardabascio, from Eboli and Campagna, Italy, started writing at a very early age.
“Writing is my passion,” he said.
He was six years old when he was first published. His school teacher edited 70 short stories that he wrote in a matter of six day, and published 300 copies of them.
“My imagination was full of things,” he explained.
At 13 years old, Guardabascio received a video camera from his father.
“With the video camera, I filmed … [a lot of] of movies,” he said.
Guardabascio made a lot parodies, such as The Godmother and Natural Pork Killer.
When he was 15, he filmed a parody TV show named Eboli Vice, which became very successful and sold all over Italy.
Guardabascio attended a university in Rome.
“My first idea was to be [an] actor and [a] writer,” he said. However, his parents encouraged him to study something more.
“I discovered [that my] level of filmmaking was very good,” Guardabascio said. For this reason, Guardabascio decided to pursue a career in film.
15 years ago, Guardabascio filmed two successful independent movies, and a successful TV show.
Task Force, the show, which is about a task force that helps people in natural disasters, was filmed in many countries in the world, such as Brasil, South Africa and Malta. Guardabascio will film the third season in June 2012.
When it comes to his semester at RMU, Guardabscio hopes to help students have a better understanding of the culture of Italians.
“Our culture is not just pizza… [and] spaghetti,” he said.
Guardabascio explained that Italians have a different way of life.
“The Italian people can overcome situations,” he said.
He will concentrate in teaching Italian movies to students.
“In this full semester, I’ll try to explain the important point of view of our cinema,” he said.
He talked about the fact that even tragic movies contain some sort of comedy.
“They forgive the tragedy very soon,” he explained.
Guardabscio also talked about his way of teaching at RMU.
“Students teach you a lot of different things,” he said.
He explained that in each class, there are different brains and personalities found in each student.
“You have to understand what they feel…[and] their history…” he said. “You have to build a connection with them.”
For this reason, Guardabascio does not prepare a fixed schedule for classes to allow a more flexible environment.
“Teaching for me is like a hobby,” he explained. “I want to break the rules.”
He also wants students to have good memories of him.
“I take my personality to each class,” he added.
To Guardabascio, the difference between the school atmosphere in the United States and the one in Italy is the students’ characters. He describes RMU students as shy and respectful toward their professors compared to the ones in Italy.
“Students are happy to be on campus,” he added.
Although it is Guardabascio’s first time in the United States, he explained that he grew knowing a lot about the country.
“I grew up with Hollywood… [and] New York,” he said.
He described the city of Pittsburgh as a clean and friendly city with beautiful people and good food.
Guardabascio will film a tragic comedy on campus with Michael DiLauro, the director of the Academic Media Center, and famous actor, Ron Palillo, from Oct. 16 to Nov. 5. He welcomes student to watch the filming and see the finished work, which should be available next year.
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