ESU Junior Designs Tennis Outfit To Be Worn By Jelena Jankovic

A tennis outfit designed by an East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania (ESU) student will be worn by one of the top female tennis players in the world at an upcoming competition. Samantha Swank, an ESU junior, recently won a contest sponsored by sportswear company FILA. She designed a tennis outfit that will be worn by Jelena Jankovic from Serbia, the top player for FILA , who will compete in the 2013 Sony Open in Miami. Swank will attend the competition, which will take place from March 18-31, 2013.

Swank, from York, Pennsylvania, is majoring in communication studies with a concentration in public relations. Prior to enrolling at ESU, she attended The Art Institute of Philadelphia where she graduated with an associate’s degree in fashion. Before she graduated, her Art Institute adviser suggested that she enter the contest. She found out she was a finalist in June 2012.
Her family is her inspiration in all of her designs. The back of the outfit was made to resemble a human spine. Her father is a chiropractic neurologist and growing up, Swank had always been amazed by the human skeleton and its organs. The way the back of the design wraps around to the front resembles and is inspired by human nerves.

While she attended The Art Institute, Swank had an internship at Ariela-Alpha International. She loved working with people in the public relations department, which motivated her to study in this major. Swank is a member of the student-run ESU Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA). Her future plans are to work for a public relations company and open her own boutique featuring her own designs. Her dream job would be to work for Timo Weiland, who is her favorite designer.

PRSSA’s mission is to provide students with an understanding of current theories and practices, encourage the highest ideals and principles, instill a professional attitude, encourage students to network with public relations professionals and obtain an accredited PRSA membership. PRSSA meets Tuesdays in Stroud Hall, room 302, at 2 p.m.

For more information about the FILA contest, contact Mariah McAndrew, treasurer of PRSSA, at 570-335-3424 or by email at Mem0644@live.esu.edu, or Cem Zeytinoglu, associate professor of communication studies, at 570-422-3911 or by email at czeytinoglu@esu.edu.

Ramirez grew up in the Pocono Mountains and, as most mountain dwellers, is an outdoors person. From early childhood, he and his brothers were given first-hand lessons in a love of the natural world. “My parents always taught us how important it is,” Ramirez confirms. “I developed an appreciation for the earth and everything in it.”

Another thing Ramirez learned from his parents was to be of service to others. Ramirez’s parents, Edward and Leticia (herself an ESU grad, with a degree in sociology), have “always been service oriented.” As a result, while Ramirez is still searching for the specific area in which to immerse himself, he knows now his life work has a bottom line: to be of service to humankind and to the earth, including, of course, animals.

Ramirez already had a good list of service-related jobs before college. But as a resident adviser at ESU, he found true fulfillment. “Some of my best experiences have been as an RA,” he says. “My fellow RAs, their support and what I learned from them, has helped me be as successful as I am.”

Ramirez’s first goal is graduate school; one option he’s considering for that is with the Peace Corps’ Master’s International program. The program’s website says that it integrates service overseas while allowing volunteers to earn their advanced degree. The master’s project actually grows out of Peace Corps work. Students come home with “the skills . . . to continue to make a difference.”

In any case, once Ramirez settles on a direction he is bound to give much, and receive much from those to whom he gives. “I look at my heart and who I am as a mosaic,” Ramirez says. “You take a piece of yourself away and you replace it with the people you interact with and you grow. So, I consider myself a product, not just of myself, but also of the experiences with the people I’ve met. I try to keep that in my head all the time.”

Twelve students from Philadelphia and surrounding areas earned their bachelor’s degrees in public health from East Stroudsburg University (ESU) of Pennsylvania during commencement exercises in December 2012.  These graduates were part of the first cohort of students who attended ESU’s extended learning degree completion program offered at the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) Philadelphia Center, located at 701 Market St., Philadelphia, Pa.

Graduates of the Philadelphia cohort were: Shikha Ahuja, Channtoo Chhean, Sará Fleming-Donley, Arbesa Hyseni, Jeremiah Laster, Justine Lattany, Marja Leaks, Stephanie Whetts, Miriam White, and Raymona Williams, Philadelphia, Pa.; Lauren Brooks, New Castle, Del.; and Adrijana Zidarevic, Allentown, Pa.

“Health care is at a critical juncture in the U.S.,” said Alberto Cardelle, Ph.D., ESU professor and chair of the health studies department. “There are a growing number of retirees, an increasing number of people with chronic diseases, and the implementation of health care reform, all of which will dramatically increase the demand for quality health care. These first graduates of ESU’s public health program in Philadelphia are now ready to become part of the ever-increasing health care workforce. We are very proud of these graduates, and know that future graduates will continue to strengthen the region’s health care system.”

Established in 2011, ESU’s Extended Learning program at the Philadelphia Center enables students to apply existing earned college credits and complete a bachelor’s degree in two years of evening and weekend study in convenient Center City Philadelphia. The fast-track program leads to the public health degree and, depending on the number of existing credits held by a student, can be finished within two years.  Credits earned from other institutions and programs are easily transferred into the ESU public health degree program. Academic advisers work with students to prepare individual transfer credit evaluations so students will know exactly what they will need to graduate with a bachelor’s degree.  Concentrations in health services administration and community health further allow students to choose paths that are the most applicable for their experience and goals. All classes are held at a convenient Center City location in a secure, accessible, and comfortable environment which is operated by the PASSHE for partner universities.  It is PASSHE’s goal to extend additional options for public higher education to Philadelphia residents through this location, which will offer undergraduate and graduate degree options.  ESU’s program offers affordable tuition, financial aid for eligible students, small classes, and educational assignments and experiences that enable students to make use of Philadelphia’s many public health resources.

Admission to the program is rolling.  Applications are still being accepted for a March 2013 start.  The program consists of five eight-week sessions, and students can take up to 30 credits per year over three semesters each year.  Class meets two evenings per week, 6 – 9 p.m., and on Saturday, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. at the convenient Center City location. The interdisciplinary program consists of coursework within the ESU departments of health studies, business management and political science.

This degree provides the educational foundation for careers in health services administration, delivery, and policy and community health. Graduates could work in health care delivery and education settings (hospitals, clinics, home health agencies); public health settings (county and state health departments or community-based organizations); in other allied health settings (nursing homes) or in the insurance segment (insurance companies and HMOs).

Students in the public health program have the opportunity to complete internships with major health care facilities in Philadelphia or with their own employers if they are already working in the field. Student internship sites include government agencies; federal state and local health departments; medical centers, hospitals and other health care institutions; community coalitions and health improvement programs and worksite wellness and health promotion programs for employees.

“This program was simply amazing,” said graduate Miriam White.  “At first I was unsure if I was going to be able to keep up with an accelerated program, but the entire staff was very helpful in our success. When we had questions they were available. If we needed tutoring they were available. And all of my classmates made this journey memorable. We were there for each other.”

Another graduate, Sará Fleming-Donley, also was pleased with the program.

“ESU has given me the opportunity to not only further my education, but embark on a new life path,” said Fleming-Donley. “The class size, flexibility of our instructors, and adult learning format made it possible for me to complete my degree, and still work full-time and care for my family. ESU has prepared me for the inevitable challenges that life brings, as well as opened my eyes to all that is possible and a new career path.”

With an enrollment of more than 7,000 students, ESU’s main campus is located in northeastern Pennsylvania, 90 miles from Philadelphia on the border of New Jersey and adjacent to the scenic Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area in the Pocono Mountains.  Founded in 1893, the university is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools and is dedicated to providing students with a comprehensive university education distinguished by innovation and tradition.  ESU’s new extended learning degree completion programs are offered in Philadelphia, Bethlehem and at the main campus in East Stroudsburg.

For more information about the public health degree in Philadelphia and other extended learning programs, please contact Millie Román-Buday, ESU extended learning transfer admission representative, at 610-419-2516 or by email at mroman@esu.edu.

Just 18 and filing for the first time, Weber went toe to toe with state and federal tax regulations; and decided to help make the process easier for others in his situation. As a freshman, he created his first website – a free portal of easy-to-understand information on filing taxes.

Weber has worked his way from freelance web developer to business owner, and now boasts almost a quarter million visits to his websites every week. Now 21, and a double major in computer sciences/computer security at East Stroudsburg University, Weber finds himself on the cusp of taking some major strides in the business world.

A junior come this fall, Weber entered the Annual PASSHE [Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education] Business Plan Competition with a plan for a new web startup. He took first place, winning $10,000 to support business development, and a year’s office space in ESU’S Business Accelerator Program located in the ESU Innovation Center.

His new startup, e-Dentified People Search, is a powerful people search engine. Weber developed proprietary search algorithms that can create a full profile of an individual’s internet presence and internet identity by using a single piece of information about the individual — like an email, username, handle, etc. His algorithms link pieces of information until it finds the true identities behind an online persona. As with his tax site and all of the sites owned by him, the emphasis of Weber’s newest venture is to help educate others with practical information.

The $10,000 certainly helps, but what truly excites Weber is his office at the ESU Business Accelerator, and connecting with the CEOs and entrepreneurs he meets through it.

Before winning the PASSHE competition, Weber wasn’t aware of the Business Accelerator program at ESU. He feels that may be true of many others and he is passionate about getting the word out. “I know there are many other students who have ideas like me,” says Weber. “And the ESU Innovation Center and Business Accelerator program provide great opportunities for people in just about every field.”

Given his youth, energy and feel for what people want and need – as well as his new student interns and office in ESU’s Innovation Center, Weber will no doubt learn much and succeed often. “College is about far more than just classes,” said Weber. “The experiences and opportunities I’ve found at ESU go above and beyond anything I had expected.”

McClanahan, chair and associate professor of the communication studies department at ESU, was one of a dozen people selected to attend a weeklong Feminist Intensive Workshop in June.

“Words cannot express how the week invigorated me in my research and activism in Women’s Studies,” she said upon returning to campus and reporting that the workshop was a life-changing event.

The week was organized by Jennifer Baumgardner and Amy Richards, activists and authors of two books McClanahan uses in her courses: “Manifesta: Young Women, Feminism and the Future” and “Grassroots: A Field Guide for Feminist Activism.”

Only 12 people — faculty of women’s studies programs and staff of women’s centers — were selected to attend, giving each a chance to get close to people and organizations working on women’s rights.

“We were really able to connect and discuss issues,” said McClanahan. “I met women from across the country — some of whom I am already speaking to about collaborative research projects.”

Steinem, journalist and activist known as a leader of the national women’s liberation movement in the late 1960s and 1970s, was just one of the well-known feminists who met with workshop participants.

Among the others were Sheila Tobias, known for her focus on women in math and science; poet and author Robin Morgan, another key women’s rights activist in the 1960s; Anu Bhagwait, known for her work fighting sexual assault and harassment in the military; and Joanne Sadler, former executive director of the UN Development Fund for Women.

The workshop included a number of discussions on media issues, and meetings with the Women’s Media Center, Equality Now, National Advocates for Pregnant Women, and Women’s World Banking.

Feminism, McClanahan reports, is now experiencing its third wave. The first wave brought about women’s suffrage in 1920. The second wave — the fight for women’s rights including career and reproductive choice — ran from the 1960s through the early 1990s.

Today’s third-wave feminism is defined more broadly, with issues like race, class, age, ethnicity, sexuality, and gender all playing a role in how women define themselves, she said. But one reason people may not be aware of the current movement is that there is no single “big” issue.

But there are many obstacles remain for women, she said, especially overseas.

“If people knew what was still happening to women in other countries, they would realize that feminism is still important,” McClanahan said. “Even in our own country we have issues that are still impacting women — human trafficking is a huge issue. And reproductive rights are, once again, under attack — from the rates of unnecessary C-sections to issues like birth control and abortion.”

There is also more focus on the media, as today’s feminists work to show how perceptions of reality are shaped, and that media images can be and often are damaging, she said.

McClanahan’s research is in this area, specifically how the genders are represented in news reports and entertainment. She puts this to work teaching courses such as Gender Differences and Communication, Feminist Theory, Senior Seminar in Women’s Studies and Introduction to Women’s Studies.

Since returning from the workshop, McClanahan has been rethinking how she approaches these courses. “The day focused on global feminism made me realize that I need to spend more time in the classroom speaking about the importance of knowing what is happening globally to women,” she said.

The second day of the seminar was focused on media. “Everything I learned that day will impact my teaching, from learning new statistics to helping students view media stories a little differently.”

“I really believe having the opportunity to speak to people like Gloria Steinem and Robin Morgan — two groundbreakers during the second wave — and Richards and Baumgardner — the two individuals who are really credited with creating the primary text on third-wave feminism (“Manifesta”) — has shaped the way I look at things around me and made me realize that even if I’m discouraged at times, I can and should continue the fight.”

The experience also showed her that the famous feminists she met are normal people “who have an extraordinary commitment to fighting for what is right for women.” Steinem, she said, told the group, “Life is your textbook.”

“Feminism comes from a personal place. Sometimes it is sparked from experiencing an injustice, witnessing a debate, or, like me, reading the writing of a very strong woman who isn’t afraid to speak out,” McClanahan said. “It doesn’t matter how people come to feminism — just that people realize that the fight isn’t over yet.

“The last chapter in the textbook has not been written.”

Shaw and faculty mentor Dr. Jane Huffman, distinguished professor of biology, came up with the idea to develop a tick-testing kit that would be available to the general public. Shaw developed a business plan and her vision won first place in ESU’s Student Business Plan Competition.

After many months of work with the staff of ESU’s division of Research and Economic Development, ESU signed a non-exclusive license agreement in April with Garrett Hewitt International LLC to commercialize Lyme-Aid, a kit for the general public to use to send suspicious ticks in to ESU’s Wildlife DNA Lab to determine whether or not a tick is a carrier of Lyme disease.

ESU licensed the trademark and negotiated a license fee in addition to a running royalty per unit, as Garret Hewitt identifies retailers to purchase and sell the product beginning this fall.

The intention is to have Lyme-Aid kits on sale in more than 20 states by this spring, so anyone can find out if a tick they’ve discovered on themselves or a pet might be a carrier for Lyme disease, before symptoms appear.

Each kit contains a patented tick remover, an alcohol wipe, a specimen bag, labels, a tick/Lyme test form and a pre-addressed envelope. Kits will include instructions on how to remove ticks and how to prepare each specimen for mailing to ESU’s lab.

Once a specimen arrives on campus, staff will test the tick using a fast and accurate molecular test that identifies the DNA of the Lyme-causing pathogen, and then quickly respond by email or phone to the person who sent in the specimen. The suggested retail cost of each kit will be $5.99, and the fee for testing each tick is $39.95.

Store locations and a website for kit orders will be announced this fall. Kits will be sold in a water-resistant plastic case that can be kept handy in a backpack, medicine cabinet or auto, or in fishing, camping, hunting and hiking gear.

Shaw said the kits can help doctors and veterinarians provide prompt treatment before symptoms appear or become severe. Results of the testing are quick and 99.9 percent accurate, she says. The kits can also prevent unnecessary treatment as help avoid side effects associated with antibiotic treatment.
Early detection of Lyme disease is important. Some symptoms may include paralysis of the face muscles; abnormal muscle movement; memory disorders; pain or swelling of joints; muscle weakness; nerve damage; heart palpitations; speech problems and sleep disorders.

Symptoms can be severe and persist for months or years after initial infection, and if left untreated, the disease can spread to the brain, heart and joints.

Lyme disease has also been reported in dogs, who experience symptoms similar to humans. In places where the disease is endemic, 41 percent or more of dogs have been reported to be infected.

For more information about Lyme-Aid, contact (570) 422-7885 or www.lymeaidkit.com.

Dr. Misurella, who teaches creative writing, journalism and Italian-American literature at ESU, will read from Only Sons on Tuesday, October 9, at 7 p.m., in the community room on the Monroe County campus of Northampton Community College (NCC) in Tannersville, Pa., as part of NCC’s Arts and Lectures series.

This is Dr. Misurella’s fourth book. His previous works are Lies to Live By: Stories; Short Time, a novella, and Understanding Milan Kundera: Public Events, Private Affairs.

Only Sons begins with an Italian-American wedding in the 1960s and reaches into the new millennium through the story of two families, the Salvaggis and Maresciallos, living near each other in eastern Pennsylvania. Sonny Salvaggi, child of a strong, unwed mother, moves from careful, prudent marriage to philandering in his 40s, to being a quixotic older man hopelessly in love with Margo, a woman half his age, whose intelligence, strength, and beauty move him in surprising ways. Jack Maresciallo, Margo’s lover and father to her son Marcello, is a talented, but unlucky artist who, after a bad period of drink and drugs in Paris and New York, straightens out and works for Sonny as director of a health and fitness club. Finally, Marcello, after a difficult youth, grows up to be a scholar of Italian-Americana who seeks to record and understand the story of the two families.  It is a tale that spans the immigration of Carmine, founder of the Maresciallos, his son Anthony’s creation of a national corporation, the enmity between Sonny and Anthony, and the snowstorm and explosion that levels a mountain and a quarry, the source of the two families’ success.

“I wanted to do something with Italian acclimation and the Italian immigration situation,” said Dr. Misurella. “We have been here since the 1880-90s, and we have assimilated quite well. I wanted to tell the story of that kind of evolution and say something about the men in the family—as real men and their evolution, and as men as immigrant people.”

In one chapter the founder of the family illegally immigrates to America by stowing away on a ship to New York. Eventually he moves to Pennsylvania to begin a family. Dr. Misurella also lived in New York before relocating 34 years ago to the mountains of easternPennsylvania, where he lives with his wife, Kim, and son, Alex. He has found inspiration in such places as Roseto,Pa., which was largely settled by Italian immigrants.

Dr. Misurella, who sees Only Sons as taking place around the Delaware Water Gap, worked sporadically on the book for a number of years. Two years ago he went back to it, and the novel that resulted is half the length of the original draft.

A writer, Fulbright Scholar, lover of newspapers, books, movies and most things French or Italian (especially novels and opera), Dr. Misurella has published fiction and non-fiction in many journals, including The New York Times, The Village Voice, The Christian Science Monitor, The Partisan Review, Salmagundi, VIA, Altre Italie, and L’Atelier du Roman.  He makes pilgrimages to Provence, Liguria, and Tuscanyalmost every summer with his family.

Dr. Misurella has taught at ESU since 1978. He is the faculty adviser for TheStroud Courier, ESU’s student newspaper, 1,500 copies of which are circulated every other Thursday. Dr. Misurella says teaching and writing offers a nice balance and he enjoys working with students, many of whom have a working-class background similar to his own.

Job openings in journalism and creative writing can be elusive. Dr. Misurella says that students who want to work in these fields should pursue their dreams.  He adds that new forms of journalism are presenting themselves as career possibilities, such as writing for company web pages.

He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Montclair State College in Montclair,N.J., and master’s and doctoral degrees in English from the University of Iowa.

Dr. Misurella will also read from Only Sons at Hofstra University in New York at a conference of Italian-American studies on November 30 and December 1. For more information about Only Sons please contact Dr. Misurella at 570-422-3395.

The original sky show, “October Skies,” will be shown on the state-of-the-art Spitz SciDome projection system. It will be a traditional sky show describing what can be seen in the heavens this month. The feature show, “Black Holes” explores the dark world of a black hole and its life in space.

The program is open to the general public at no cost, but reservations are required due to limited seating. Reservations will be taken online starting at 8:00 a.m. (October 15), on a first-come, first-serve basis at www.esu.edu/planetarium. Another planetarium show is scheduled for November 16, 2012. Reservations for this event will be taken the Monday prior to the show. Those interested in attending planetarium events may reserve up to four seats for a specific show. Programs are suitable for children but be advised that the planetarium will be quite dark during the sky show and feature show.

Group inquiries should send an email request to stardomes@po-box.esu.edu. A schedule of planetarium shows for the fall 2012 semester is posted at www.esu.edu/planetarium

Dr. Ball, an associate professor of theatre who has been with ESU for twelve years, led a beginning workshop in performing American Musical Theatre at the Chinese university. She and assisting students, Brandon Cabrera, Katie Dembesky, Karen Guilliams and Michael Lloret, taught their students the song, Somewhere Over the Rainbow. “The Chinese had heard the song,” says Ball, “but our workshop focused on diction and translation. Then we had them sing it individually. And then we asked them to make a gesture, as they sang, that meant what the words meant; so we could all be sure that they did understand.”

Shanghai Normal University is one of ESU’s two sister schools in China, and one of five global partners. For the People’s Republic of China, i.e., the government, this bridge-building is the essential reason for exchange between our countries. “[They] wanted our students to intermingle with their students,” Ball explains, “because they will be working with the West and have to get to know us.”

Students in Chinese universities work hard to get in, Ball says. She estimates that only about a third of students do. But that scary stat no doubt fuels at least some of the students’ drive.

“[Our Chinese students] had incredible discipline,” Ball says. “For them, classes are pretty much about listening, and then giving back to the professor. They memorize it and, say, it’s chemistry they’re being tested on – they can be asked anything in a chemistry book, anything. So, of course, they need to know the whole thing.”

“It was good for our students to see their discipline,” Ball continues. “And how well they work as an ensemble, how they support each other.” But she also notes the reverse, of how great it is that the Chinese had a chance to observe their new-found American friends. “Our students work well as individuals; the Chinese work more collectively,” Ball says. “There are good things in both approaches. And putting them together we got something even better.”

Pictured from left: Katie Dembesky of Dixon City, Pa.; Brandon Cabrera of East Stroudsburg, Pa.; Karen Guilliams of Cape May Courthouse, N.J.; Dr. Margaret Ball of East Stroudsburg; and, Michael Lloret of East Stroudsburg.

The “Phases of the Moon” sky show addresses the mysteries and misconceptions about the appearance of our nearest cosmic neighbor. “The Little Star That Could,” which appeals to children, follows a personified “average” star called “Sol” in search of planets. Along the journey, the star learns about the lives of other stars and their properties as well as clusters, galaxies and planets. The second feature show, “Oasis in Space,” describes mankind’s current knowledge of the universe and solar system, and the search for water and possible life on other planets.

The program is open to the general public at no cost, but reservations are required due to limited seating. Reservations will be taken online starting at 8:00 a.m., on Monday, September 24, 2012, on a first-come, first-serve basis at www.esu.edu/planetarium. Another planetarium show is scheduled for October 19, 2012. Reservations for this event will be taken the Monday prior to the show. Those interested in attending planetarium events may reserve up to four seats for a specific show. Programs are suitable for children but be advised that the planetarium will be quite dark during the sky show and feature show.

Group inquiries should send an email request to stardomes@esu.edu. A schedule of planetarium shows for the fall 2012 semester is posted at www.esu.edu/planetarium.