In her opinion, some of the personal characteristics that come with the job are “I think the job requires a person who is organized, self-motivated, and adept at dealing with change.”

She is not new to volunteering. In fact, volunteerism for started at a young age. “As a child, I occasionally volunteered with my church youth group. Our little cohort made holiday cards for the assisted living/skilled nursing facilities in our community, or we actually went and participated in friendly visitation. I actually took the initiative to become a regular volunteer in college, when I joined the Service-Learning Community, a residential service themed floor for first year students at Elon University. After four years at Elon, I’d completed well over 500 service hours. I decided that a year with AmeriCorps was a natural next step in my professional journey, so I joined in 2004. I spent two years with AmeriCorps, stationed here at ECU with the Volunteer and Service-Learning Center.”

Cloutier has a passion for a few organizations in the Greenville Community. “Personally, I enjoy serving with Give2theTroops, the Food Bank of Central and Eastern NC at Greenville and the Ronald McDonald House. These are organizations where I can immerse myself in manual labor, which is a welcome break from the difficult strategy and planning that we involve ourselves in day-to-day at the Volunteer and Service-Learning Center. It’s extremely easy to get burned out when you are constantly immersed in long-term projects that don’t show immediate results. Sometimes, I need the instant gratification that comes with 2 hours of sorting potatoes at the Food Bank. Plus, I strongly support the missions of these organizations, and enjoy the social aspect to serving with them.”

Obstacles play a factor in many jobs working for a federally funded university makes some funding options a little easier but obstacles still exist. For Cloutier, exhaustion can be a major factor. “Burnout is always an obstacle. The work at the Volunteer and Service-Learning Center never ends. We’ve collected more than 30,000 pounds of food in the past 18 months, but our agencies are still begging for more. We’ve placed hundreds of service-learning students as tutors, but every semester we’re asked for more. I often find it difficult to balance my work life and my personal life …it’s difficult to say no when the consequences are so great.”

The civil rights movement of the mid 50’s-late 60’s affect Cloutier differently both directly and indirectly than some other community partner executives. “I grew up in a community with no racial diversity and a state with very little racial diversity. My only experience outside what I will call the “white bubble” came inside my English classrooms when reading authors like Toni Morrison, Ralph Ellison, Amy Tan and Julia Alvarez. Without the civil rights movement, I’m sure my education would have been even more biased toward white literary achievements, which would have been detrimental to my personal growth and cultural awareness.

Her outlook on civil rights and social justice is typical but understands the goal of the bigger picture. A goal that has yet to be reached, for many communities minority groups. “The first thing that comes to mind is Martin Luther King, and the civil rights movement of the 50’s+ 60’s.” Service -learning allows students to work with a multitude of groups. This goal of service is to serve or give time and learn something about yourself and the organization in the process. “I also think of more recent efforts to improve the rights of workers and same-sex couples. Through service-learning, I hope that students become more aware of social issues, and are inspired to become life-long servants/volunteers. I’m not so concerned with the type of service they engage in (whether it’s more advocacy or just donating a book), but rather that they use service-learning as a spring board to find what community issues they’re passionate about, and commit to them.”

The Volunteer and Service-Learning Center is a state-funded center under the umbrella of East Carolina University. Their financial difficulties are existent but are not in the same light of non-profits that rely solely on donations, grants and fundraisers to keep their organizations running. “We partner with non-profits, be we are not a 501(c).” Cloutier was presented the opportunity to work with another organization but was drawn to the intimacy of Greenville. “When I joined AmeriCorps, I had the opportunity of serving with a college in Raleigh, or at ECU. ECU offered a more diverse environment, in a geographic region that was new and exciting to me. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my first five years in Pitt County. Greenville has a small town feel, with all of the amenities I need, and the peacefulness of living outside of a larger, bustling city like Raleigh.”

The demand of both service and a need for education makes the service learning a success. These needs make Cloutier’s job a difficult one but one that has more rewards than complaints. “I truly enjoy my workplace, the people in it, and our mission. No two days are alike because the needs of the students, faculty and community are always changing. It is a perfect environment for a person who, like me, thrives under pressure, enjoys a challenge and successfully navigates near constant change. I also love learning, so its fun to explore all of the sides of my job, from promotion, to evaluation, to long-range planning, and of course, the direct service!”

The most effective ways to bring attention or promote action for a non-profit initiative is to personalize it. According to Cloutier, it is important to promote a cause you’re passionate about. It’s much easier to build support for your cause when you can speak about it from your heart. I think that extends to education, recruitment, fundraising and all other initiatives related to work in the non-profit sector. Involvement is a little bit more difficult but it still is about asking and personal investment. “As far as increasing involvement, I’ve had the most success when I personally invite people to work on behalf of a cause, and when I serve with them. I don’t think it’s useful to wait for people to join you, but rather to pound pavement, and rally them around you.”

Finally, you have to stay educated and relevant. It’s great to ask people to give blood, but it’s more effective when you know that 1 in 6 people will need blood in their lifetime, or that every 2 seconds, someone in the U.S. needs blood. Knowledge can help you build trust with potential advocates, and can demonstrate why your cause if important. It’s not easy to ask people to give up their time, but if you can show why it’s vital, you’re more likely to keep an audience.

As the service-learning coordinator, she too takes every opportunity to learn about the people she serves, society and herself. “This is my first post-college job, so everyday I learn something new. Most importantly, I think I’ve learned to recognize how vital the co-curricular aspects of my education were to my professional development. Day-to-day, I use knowledge from my leadership positions and service work (as a student) more frequently than any of my academic knowledge. I truly value to emphasis Elon put on the total university experience. It’s certainly made me a stronger employee.” Cloutier has learned that there are still nice people in the world, an attribute she does not take for granted. “I’ve learned one thing about society as a whole. I can say that I am surprised by the generosity of so many of the people I’ve worked with. It’s amazing how much some people sacrifice to help those in need. I’m always being inspired.”

Cloutier advises students especially to volunteering to find a career or job. Many professors advise internships but volunteering usually does not require a pre-commitment. “Volunteer before you choose a career in human services! It is extremely important to realize what the day-to-day realities of the job are. For instance, many persons in non-profit or human service professions work longer than normal hours (50+ each week); have limited benefits, and deal with difficult subject matter day in and day out. On the flip side, it’s also nice to know the positives of the job, so that one can learn how to balance the challenges with job satisfaction. Second, I advise persons in non-profit and human service professions to continue to volunteer outside their job. It’s nice to see other perspectives, widen your professional network, look for collaborations, and give back to others outside your normal service area.”

Jessica Gagne Cloutier is not as concerned with her personal legacy as she is with the legacy of the center. She also hopes that the center has a positive effect on all involved in the initiative. “I think our legacy grows with every new student that walks through the doors. When ECU students serve our communities, they build on the work that the Center does behind the scenes- improving our schools, saving lives through blood donation, feeding the hungry, find new homes for animals- I’m proud to be a part of that. I hope that if and when I move on, the Center continues to be as active and student friendly as it is today.”

The Humane Society of Eastern Carolina (HSEC) is fighting for animal rights. HSEC believes that every animal has the right to be cared for, wanted, loved and to have its basic needs of food, water and shelter taken care of.

Benson’s responsibilities vary depending on the administrative cap she is wearing. “For my position it is important that I be personable and approachable to the community, as I am the volunteer coordinator. I am expected to do TV spots promoting HSEC, so I have to be comfortable with the media. I have to be organized, which is struggle. I am responsible for increasing the volunteer support thereby reducing the need for paid staff and in turn freeing up more money to go towards the animals instead of pay roll. I am responsible for caring for the animals in the facility manager’s absence. Taking care of 50 dogs and 30 cats is a huge responsibility. Not only meeting their basic needs of food, water, medication, but also making sure there is no spread of disease, everyone is vaccinated and scheduling spay and neuter appointments. I am also responsible for maintaining a database of volunteers, donors and members, as well as sending donor acknowledgements.”

As a woman the original civil rights movement of the mid 50’s-late 60’s did not directly affect Benson and its aftermath. The movement did set the groundwork for many of the current movements it also provided more opportunities for woman. “Offhand I can’t think of how the original civil rights movement has affected me, but the women’s movement certainly has. I worked and put my husband through college. For several years, I was either the primary or the only breadwinner in our family. When I worked for the Food Bank of Central & Eastern Carolina, I am proud to say that I was the first licensed female fork lift driver for the organization. I have asked for and earned raises. When I think of civil rights and social justice, I think of the struggle for equality. Equality for people of different races, sexes, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status and age.”

The transition from federally funded to non-profit was not difficult for Benson because she needed a job and had prior experience. “As unglamorous as it sounds, I work for this particular nonprofit because I was laid off and needed a job, but I love it. It has been an odd transition to working with cats and dogs instead of people. I moved to Pitt County because my husband wanted to go to ECU. The job I had before coming to HSEC was a state funded program. It was my experience that it was about how much the company could bill the state and not about helping people, and I was desperate to get back in the nonprofit sector.” The transition from people to animals has proven beneficial. “On the other hand, cats and dogs don’t disappoint you; they don’t try to scam the organization. It’s easier to believe in what I’m doing and feel like I’m making a difference.”

The Humane Society has a number of obstacles. Working with there has provided Benson the opportunity to overcome one of her personal obstacles. There are a lot of obstacles in working with the Humane Society! The most personal is that I am afraid of dogs. Ironically, three times a week I take care of the “behavior dogs” – the dogs who are in quarantine either for aggressively attacking a person or another dog. I’ve come a long way in my fear of dogs, but I still get nervous around unfamiliar dogs. The other obstacles are ones common to nonprofits. “We don’t have enough funding to meet our needs. Working on a shoestring budget. Working way too many hours for very little pay.”

The Humane Society has emotional side effects for the workers but instant gratification is the biggest reward and motivation. Benson says, “The rewards are pretty immediate, so it’s easy to stay motivated. It is wonderful to see an animal be adopted and go to its forever home. It is also wonderful to bring an animal to the facility and know that you saved it from neglect or euthanasia.”

One of the most difficult things working with animals is that they cannot all be saved. Benson says that this is one of the most difficulty aspects of the job. “HSEC is almost always full and works off of a waiting list. It’s hard telling someone that you can’t take in their animal right away. It’s especially hard to tell them that when you know they’re going to turn around and go straight to the animal shelter with that animal. It’s been hard for me to learn that you can’t save every animal.”

The most effective ways the HSEC brings attention or promote action to its non-profit initiatives is by having adoption stands or fundraisers in the community highlights the need to adopt, not buy from breeders. On two different TV stations, we have a weekly pet of the week spot to promote our animals. We also have a weekly pet of the week spot in the local newspaper.

There are parts of this job that make you really believe in the decency of people. We have volunteers who will gladly open up their homes to foster animals. We have volunteers who come faithfully no matter the weather. We have volunteers who come in on holidays to walk dogs.

Animals are often times the forgotten population. Owners forget that pets should be treated as part of the family not as a toy. Benson explains some extreme cases of owner neglect. There are owners that take care of their animals and than there are people who abuse and neglect their animals. [There are] people who throw cats over the fence onto our property. One tied a dog to the lamp post. Another owner threw a dog from their moving vehicle onto our property. She survived a few days until we decided she was too sick and too injured and humanely euthanized her. There are owner who leave puppies in a bucket in the rain, who put a cat in box, punch holes in it, and leave the cat by our door when it’s below freezing, etc. For this reason, the Humane Society has an intense adoption process but some slip through the cracks.

Volunteers are an invaluable factor in no-profits. They too have to be treated well and feel as if they belong. Benson is responsible for the volunteers and hopes that they stay committed even after she is no longer working at the Humane Society. “The volunteer program was basically nonexistent when I started, so I hope to have a large, sustainable volunteer program. I hope to increase the number of volunteers such that there is less of a need for paid staff, so more money can go directly towards the care of the animals and the facility instead of towards pay roll. I hope to increase the foster program so we are able to get animals out of bad situations faster and into our program. I hope to start a kids program that pairs kids with puppies and dog training. I hope to have an impact on our fundraising so that HSEC has more money coming in.”

I absolutely love my job. I can’t wait to get to work everyday and I have trouble tearing myself away. At this time, I can’t say that I’ll always remain in the animal care field. I make my career choices more on how I can use my skills to make an impact on my community. I like working with the community and working in the nonprofit sector.

Benson advises others who wish to work in a non-profit organization to understand that money isn’t everything. It is the love of the job and the willingness to serve those in need. “Working for a nonprofit means that you will be a nonprofit! But nonprofits generally have better hours, better benefits and much better job satisfaction. Nonprofits like to hire from within, so I would recommend someone volunteer for an organization for which they would like to work.”

The Communications 2320 course at East Carolina University focuses on basic reporting. This includes the fundamentals of journalism, whether through print or the multimedia. The course is taught by Bernard Timberg and his evolution of the course has seen community benefit through service-learning and the development of students’ self-awareness and community awareness through personal and professional reporting.

Service Learning

The service learning portion of the Basic Reporting class has evolved and progressed over the last six semesters. In the early stages of the project, service learning was a suggested topic amongst many others dealing with personal interest, the East Carolina University community and the Greenville community as a whole. Through the semesters, the service learning aspect has gained a head of steam leading up to the present semester where each student is working with Jessica Cloutier, ECU’s service-learning coordinator, in an effort to better an organization in need of volunteers.

In the fall of 2006, the class was in its infancy under the direction of Bernard Timberg. Timberg taught several talented writers, some of whom were published for various stories concerning music, sports, and opinion. The students were asked to report on a relevant community issue and it was suggested that it should be of some gain to both the writer and those about which the story was written. Several students chose to concern their writing with issues that are closely-related to being a college student and preparing one’s self for life’s next step. Some of the stories featured on the class website, http://www.freewebs.com/comm2320, include learning to find strength in personal abilities, relationships, and life after college. Some of the more powerful and effective articles, however, concerned pieces that would be of consequence to readers who are not current students.

Scott Spragins wrote an article about East Carolina’s ROTC program. He consulted with several reserves of the corps as well as their officers to highlight the impact they will have upon completing their education and how they may affect the area and the world through their military obligations. It is an organization who impacts the lives of those they proudly serve. The article shares the experiences had and commitments made by members of our community.

Spragins also told the story of a local artist by the name of Steve Chilingirian. Chilingirian is a metal artist who, along with the town of Grifton, opened “The Art of Steeling and The Grifton Gallery of Fine Art.” The gallery is a public destination that showcases dozens of local pieces of art in its 10,000-square foot building located a half-hour from Greenville. This article details a local gallery in which many residents of Eastern North Carolina, and even visitors from other areas, would be interested.

The article from this semester which put the most emphasis on service learning was written by Tricia Ben-Davies. Ben-Davies chronicled the Gulu Walk of Greenville. The walk, which is one of many of its kind, raised nearly four-thousand dollars for the children of Uganda and garnered community-wide interest for the Gulu children. Ben-Davies attended the event and interviewed several people, including ECU students, to gauge their thoughts on the event. It was not a proactive piece in the sense that she made people aware of the event prior to it taking place, but she did allude to future Gulu Walks in Greenville and set the ball in motion for the service-learning portion of the Basic Reporting class.

The spring 2007 edition of Basic Reporting continued to put a strong emphasis on the ECU community and directed many of its articles to students and peers. Several articles dealt with typical, and fairly overused, college topics. There were the usual pieces dealing with Greek organizations on college campuses, underage drinking, and sex. However, there were also a few that were more time-specific and of note for the current semester.

On a national level, Allison Query reported on the tainted peanut butter that made national news because of a salmonella outbreak. She localized her article by speaking of ECU students who had found one of the recalled Peter Pan brand peanut butter jars. Her article referenced workers at the Pitt County Memorial Hospital and advised everyone to be cognizant of the products they buy and consume.

There were also several articles dealing with the East Carolina community. One article, written by Stephen Lupton, told of the identity theft scare through East Carolina’s OneStop website in the early weeks of January 2007. His article expressed the concerns surrounding students’ personal information being exposed and how the university was dealing with the situation. Another article dealt with both East Carolina University and the state of North Carolina following a dorm fire in March of 2007. Anna Sawyer provided personal accounts of the blaze, statistics surrounding the extent of the damage, and plans for future renovations imposed by state law. Through her research, she was able to describe a new law and a university plan that would require sprinklers for all dorms on the East Carolina campus by 2014.

While this semester did not focus as much on service learning, its students’ articles were of service to its readers by enlightening them to the dangers of consumerism and important events across the university’s campus.

The class returned to its focus on service learning during the fall semester of 2007. It also got a new look for its publication of the articles by beginning to use a new website, http://www.comm2320.com, hosted by WordPress. The web site was designed by Steven Maguire, an advanced student who was a professional web designer, and hosted his own server. In Fall 2007, there were still community-based articles dealing with East Carolina University and its surrounding towns. Such articles included the renovation of Mendenhall on the campus of ECU, the closing of Washington Street in Greenville, and the Currituck Bridge Project. However, two journalistic pieces that encompassed the movement towards service learning concerned service organizations in the form of fraternities and sororities.

Lauren Tsoilkas submitted her reporting through a PowerPoint presentation detailing the benefits of social fraternities and sororities. While articles in previous semesters presented opinions on the benefits or disadvantages of being a member of Greek life, Tsoilkas showed the service aspects of ECU’s Greek organizations and the way they impacted the community. Tsoilkas highlighted several organizations in particular and told of the groups they affect and how individuals, outside of the fraternities or sororities mentioned, can get involved. Tsoilkas referred to Sigma Alpha Epsilon’s Bounce-A-Thon which raised over two-thousand dollars. She also explained Delta Zeta’s Jump-A-Thon for the hearing and speech impaired, Sigma Phi Epsilon’s time spent contributing to Brain Cancer Research, and Zeta Tau Alpha’s efforts put forth for breast cancer awareness and research. Another student, Joel Banjo-Johnson, spoke to Charla Hodges of the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority and their efforts with the March of Dimes.

Both articles helped shift the focus of the course back to service-learning. Through their exposure of non-profit organizations and the good that they do for the community, these articles helped spark interest in volunteer work for those reading or viewing the reports.

Once again, two articles stood above the rest on the web site in spring 2008.

Katrissa Bennett reported on the Kasey E. Frye Memorial Benefit Ride. Frye was fatally injured in a motorcycle accident in February 2008. Bennett reported on the Benefit Ride that was sponsored in Frye’s honor, an event hosted by local motor sports dealer, Ron Ayers. The report called attention to local news coverage as well as publicity and donations provided to the community by local businesses and those who took part in the ride.

Along the lines of community service, John Vaughn reported on the new trend of going green in an effort to preserve our environment. While he did not directly deal with a service organization, he was able to highlight the importance of maintaining a healthy environment for our community and how his student audience could do just that. Through attending to its environment, Vaughn explained how the community as a whole may prosper.

In an ever so dynamic course, the students in the fall 2008 semester were once again asked to focus on their local community as well as the national community as one of the most important elections in United States history rapidly approached. The semester began with a focus on the elections and their impact on communities on local, state, and national levels. Students reported on candidates, the issues at hand, how the media presented race, and culminated with a look at a reaction to the elections seen on ECU’s campus and Greenville as a whole.

Through reporting on the issues surrounding the election, students were able to showcase what their interviewees knew and dispel some myths regarding each candidate. Reports on how the media was portraying each candidate provided a glimpse into underlying themes and trends surrounding the election and the public’s perception of it. Furthermore, there were reports regarding new ways in which the media was attempting to attract their audience. The report made it clear that the internet was a huge factor in the amount of knowledge that individuals had received about the candidates and the election. While not working with specific organizations, the service to the local community helped engage the readers and students in an effort to generate interest and educate community members on such an important event. The web site provided a service to the community by generating interest and helping educate community members on the importance and states involved in the national elections.

A major change occurred in spring 2009. During this current spring 2009 semester, the class is completely geared towards service learning and working with local community organizations. Through the help of Jessica Cloutier, ECU’s service-learning coordinator, all of the students in the class—working in groups of three or four—have contacted and begun working with and reporting on local organizations that volunteered as community partners.

At the beginning of the semester, several ambitious students volunteered to be liaisons to community partners as well as editors of the web site. The community partners included the Pamlico Tar River Foundation, the Humane Society of Eastern North Carolina, Greenville Community Shelter, Communities in Schools of Pitt County, and Gates County Citizens Against OLF. Early in the semester, the representatives from each group came to the class in order to explain the goals and functions of their non-profit organizations.

The student liaisons generally developed a more in-depth and personal relationship to their community partner and its representative, and played a leadership role in the group’s work. The website is seen and visited by students across the East Carolina campus and the world. Many of the subjects for presentations and reports were actual ECU students and professors. Students, faculty, and general readers all benefitted through the reports of the COMM 2320 class.

Shifting from Personal to Professional Reporting

One of the main lessons taught during the class is how to transition from personal to professional reporting. At the beginning of each semester, students are asked to produce classmate profiles in which they briefly detail the life of a classmate they had not previously known. The information used in this article is based on a personal account of the student’s life. It is given through a one-on-one interview and then compiled into a succinct biography.

Once that is complete and the author has learned about their classmate, there is a slight transition regarding how the information is gathered. The author, now with background information on their subject, contacts at least three people who have impacted their subject’s life. It is common for students to choose a family member, friend, and a significant other in the form of a boyfriend or girlfriend. The knowledge acquired through the personal interview helps model the ensuing interviews. After all of the interviews are complete, another article about the same subject is written. However, there is an extenuating premise. The information that the author learned through the original interview with his/her subject should not be used during the newer article. The resulting article should only include bits of information that were given by the three acquaintances of the subject. It is a longer article and requires more proactive thinking. The reporter must generate enough questions to fill an article and be sure to ask the correct questions so that his interviewee may provide open, detailed responses. The reporter must then collaborate the interviews in such a fashion that they will appear to flow and provide a vivid image of the subject and their life.

The writing is then critiqued by the course’s professor, Dr. Timberg. He meets with each student in an effort to further teach the idea of column space and journalistic writing. This is also a way in which the student and professor can personally discuss issues that may have risen during the interviewing or reporting process. This meeting serves multiple purposes. It allows for further direction and teaching, a forum for questions, and a preparation for the second half of the course.

Most of the articles show the writer how much their family and personal lives have affected them as individuals. This helps define a path and direction to pursue as a writer and shapes the way a writer may approach professional reporting.

The second half of the course strictly deals with professional reporting. It has been shown through the service-learning articles, community involvement articles, national election presentations, and articles concerning East Carolina University and its students.

Professional reporting has been exhibited through several mediums. There have been students such as John Bosco, Kellen Holtzman, and Akela Yarn who have had their written reports published in school newspapers as well as the website. This form of print journalism has been the more common form of reporting shown by students spanning the semesters but it has certainly not been the only outlet. As the semesters have gone by, there has been a shift towards multimedia productions in the form of MP3 files and PowerPoint presentations. The vast majority of the reports on the November 2008 elections were in the form of slide shows, using Microsoft’s PowerPoint, that were organized by groups of students rather than individuals. The group aspect of reporting allows for the class members to recognize new and creative ways to report and acquire information that they may have otherwise not known. One of the more inventive ways of reporting shown by a COMM 2320 student was the photojournalistic efforts of Carlton Purvis from the fall 2008 semester. He chronicled the events leading up to the election as well as the events surrounding election night on the campus of East Carolina University.

The transition from personal reporting to professional reporting is neither a quick nor easy skill to learn. However by bridging the gap using skills learned by interviewing individuals, and de-emphasizing grades in a manner of treating students as professionals in the making, the course is designed to help the student succeed.

How Students View Themselves

The opening project for each semester of the course has been a self-introduction. This introduction is a personal reflection of the individual. The students prepare a thirty second monologue, titled “30 Seconds of Me,” which explains as much as they can in the given time period. The report is filmed while the students speak into a microphone. This project fulfills multiple agendas. First and foremost, it allows the student to introduce themselves to the class and bring the group of young reporters closer together through the knowledge gained. Secondly, it prepares the student by helping teach how long thirty seconds of air time is and how much information may be given in that time frame. Finally, it allows the student to begin the course by reporting on something that is comfortable and familiar.

In addition to the students presenting their stories, they must show and explain a prop that is pertinent to their report and their life. The vast array of props have been charted throughout the semester and broken into four categories. Those categories include anything related to sports, friends, family, or the all-encompassing “other” category. They have also been divided into subgroups based on gender.

The most even category in terms of male and female participation was the “other” category. However, this was the most convoluted category as well. There were dozens of different types of props and reasoning behind them but there were not many common themes and few subgroups into which it could be split. Examples of props falling under this category include pillows, MP3 players, jewelry, and clothing. One possible theme could be that of intended professions. This was a trend among six females, but just three males. Of those six females, four used fashion magazines because they planned on being fashion journalists upon completing their graduation requirements. One male who focused on work was a student from spring 2007 who told of his aspirations to become an architect like his father by showing a project on which his father had worked. Other male students focusing on careers brought in a movie script, from an aspiring script-writer, and media credentials, from a student focusing on a career in sports journalism. Another possible theme could be that of religion. A few students showed their faith by presenting cross necklaces or a bible. The most common item in this category was the MP3 player comprising nearly ten percent of the entries in this category.

There was a common thread holding together the personal categories of friends and family. More than eighty-five percent of the students who brought in a prop dealing with their friends or family were females. The majority of the props in this category were photographs. However, within the “friends” category, sorority symbols such as pins, paddles, and lavalieres were included. While the “other” category was fairly proportionate to the male-female ratio, the friends and family categories were dominated by the female population. It is interesting to speculate as to why that may have happened. It is possible that they hold the relationships in their life dearer or it is also possible that the males wanted to seem more masculine and independent by defining themselves with sports or personal belongings.

The sports category was swayed in the completely opposite direction from the friends and family categories. While males have made up less than forty percent of the student population in the COMM 2320 courses, they make up over seventy-five percent of the sports representatives. Students have shown jerseys, equipment, and newspaper clippings as ways of describing themselves in their “30 Seconds of Me” introductions.

Conclusion

The COMM 2320 course, taught by Bernard Timberg, at East Carolina University has merit in its dealings with several levels of community and the way it allows reporters to progress in their acquisition of journalistic skills and tendencies. The students are able to introduce themselves to their classmates and then begin personal reporting. This involves getting to know fellow students and reporting on what they learn. It transitions from personal reporting to professional reporting with a segue involving outside interviews related to the original personal report. Henceforth, the course focuses on professional reporting and community. In the context of the course, community may be defined as East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, or even the United States of America. As the course has advanced, it has moved from community-focused to service-focused. It has always incorporated service into some aspects of the journalism. But, as the development of the course has continued, the shift towards service-learning is catamount to the overall foundation of the class. Through helping the community and each other, service organizations will benefit and the students may become better journalists.

One interesting note was how we learn knights respected women and especially damsels in distress. They were always fair and kindhearted to these unlucky women. However, if a knight came upon another knight with a lady in his care, he could challenge him to a duel for rights to the lady. If he won, he could do whatever he wanted to the lady with no damage to his chivalrous reputation. It is essential to point out that by anything, I mean anything. Before this documentary, I never would have thought a knight would rape a stranded woman because he won her.

Christina aspires to one day own a private film company that specializes in independent documentaries. However, her ultimate dream is to be a famous documentarist who travels the world rock climbing.

Christina grew up in Pasadena, California. She has two siblings, an older sister named Charlette, 25, and a younger brother named Jordan, 8. Her sister currently lives in Ohio, and her brother, Jordan, lives with their mother, Candice, in Charlotte, NC.

As for the basics, Christina loves the color yellow. Her favorite music and movie change weekly. This week’s choices being “5th Generation” for favorite band and “Sex and the City” for favorite movie. She lives off campus in the Pirates Place complex, and when she is not busy with friends or traveling in her Jeep Liberty, she clocks in at Chili’s restaurant as a waitress. She works there on average 30 hours a week.

Music is a must for Christina, whether it is live or through the headphones of her Ipod. She also enjoys traveling and trying new things. Her favorite time of the year is summer: “I hate clothes,” she said.

As for dislikes, Christina loathes promptness, unnecessary lying, and loud obnoxious people.

In my quest to learn more about Christina, I contacted three major people in her life: her sister Charlette, her mother Candice, and her friend Wendi.

Charlette had much to say about her little sister, and I could hear the smile in her voice. “Christina is a handful, but in a good way,” she laughed. “We used to always call her riot.” Charlette informed me that Christina is a free spirit, and one who is caring and absolutely loves animals.

Her love for animals began as a child, and her sister was constantly cleaning up behind guinea pigs, rabbits, dogs, and cats. Christina still loves animals; currently she has a beautiful grey tabby cat named Topanga. “Christina will try anything once, and I love her to death,” finished Charlette.

Wendi Adams, a close friend of Christina, also had a lot to say. In her words, “Christina is selfish, in a good way, because she likes for things to be about her all the time. If she’s not the center of attention, she soon puts herself there.”

“If you’re not on Christina’s time, you’re out of luck,” she said “She could be picking you up, and if she is late or you’re not ready, then that’s it.”

She also told me that Christina is very spontaneous and ready to do anything. Christina loves the mall and volunteering at animal shelters. “ She’s very busy, always on the go,” said Wendi “You either hate her or you love her, can’t be both.”

When asked about moving to North Carolina from California, Christina had much to say; “It was different at first, but I enjoy it now,” said Christina. She also said many activities in the South were slower paced such as speaking and walking. Another one of Christina’s observations was that Southerners seem to be more wasteful.

Christina’s mother Candice spoke proudly of her daughter. She explained how they had moved all over the United States. Christina was born in Pittsburgh, PA, moved to Florida, then to California, and now lives in North Carolina.

Her mother elaborated on their time in California, where Christina had a slight acting career. She had appearances in “Bad Boys II,” a Lil’ Romeo music video, and many commercials. “Christina doesn’t like to boast about her acting career,” her mother said.
Christina’s mother said her best friend once saw an episode of “Strong medicine” on the lifetime channel, and noticed Christina in the show. Surprised, she called Christina, and the appearance was confirmed.

Christina expressed she doesn’t like to talk about her short acting career because she doesn’t like to feel that she failed at anything.

Her mother emphasized that love holds her family together. When speaking about Christina and her little brother, she said, “Christina loves Jordan to death.”

When speaking with Christina, one cannot help but notice her quiet wisdom and knowledge of the world. She has a caring vibe and always smiles. For an amazing girl that gives her all, I hope life gives back as much as she put in.

The Greenville Community Shelter

A homeless person is defined as a someone who lacks a “fixed, regular, and adequate night-time residence” according to PBS’ “Homeless Facts and Figures” article written in 2007.

The number of homeless in the U.S. is difficult to calculate because the numbers are constantly changing. According to a study done by the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty estimates that between 2.3 and 3.5 million people experience homelessness annually. Another study completed by the National Alliance to End Homelessness stated that an estimated 744,313 people experienced homelessness on one night in January of 2005. 56 percent of them were living in shelters and transitional housing and 44 percent were unsheltered.

The states with the highest number of homeless in America include Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington State, and Washington, D.C. according to a study released in 2007 by The National Alliance to End Homelessness. Homelessness continues to be a largely urban issue. An astounding 71 percent of homeless live in central cities, while 21 percent live in suburbs, and 9 percent live in rural areas according to PBS’ “Homeless Facts and Figures” article.

In 2007, the National Alliance to End Homelessness conducted a survey of 98,452 homeless families. 59 percent of those surveyed were single adults, while 41 percent were people living in families. Another estimate comes from the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness completed in 1996. Although this data is over ten years old, it states that while most homeless are single adults, the number of homeless families is growing. This study also states that 66 percent of homeless are single adults of which three quarters are men. There are more homeless men than there are women because typically family members are more likely to take in women then they are men.

PBS’ “Homeless Facts and Figures” article states that the greatest causes of homelessness are lack of healthcare, domestic violence, mental illness, and substance abuse. In 2004, the U.S. Census Bureau stated that nearly one third of people living in poverty had no healthcare of any kind. The U.S. Conference of Mayors stated in 2005 that 50 percent of cities surveyed identified domestic violence as a main cause of homelessness. According to the same study, 22 percent of homeless suffer from some type of severe mental illness. Poor people who abuse substances are more likely to experience homelessness than poor people who are sober.

41 percent of homeless are Caucasian, while 40 percent are African American, 11 percent are Hispanic, and 8 percent are Native American. These statistics contrast with the stereotype that most homeless people are African American. These figures also come from the PBS “Homeless Facts and Figures” article.

According, to the 1996 data completed by Samhsha’s National Mental Health Information Center, 38 percent of homeless report having alcohol problems. 26 percent report other drug use problems. 39 percent report some form of mental health problems, of which 20-25 percent meet the criteria for serious mental illness. These statistics show that substance abuse problems and mental health issues greatly contributes to the number of homeless in the U.S.

The Greenville Community Shelter is constantly at full capacity. Every night between the hours of six and nine, homeless come from across eastern North Carolina hoping to be admitted into the shelter. Surprisingly, some of the residents have college degrees and some attend classes at Pitt Community College.

According to Christy Shaw, the Housing Services Coordinator at the Greenville Community Shelter, most of the residents do not look like they are homeless at all. They look just like everyone else. Shaw also stated there are a number of residents who have mental health issues.

The Greenville Community Shelter has strict rules against substance abuse. Residents must complete regular breathalyzer and drug tests in order to stay in the shelter. If they are caught twice with substances in their system then they are terminated from the shelter. The shelter also provides Narcotics Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous meetings to residents to help them quit their addictions.

Homelessness is an issue in every city across the U.S. and the current state of the economy certainly is not helping numbers decline. The Greenville Community Shelter, as well as other shelters nationwide, are doing their best to get homeless off the streets and help them pick up their lives and get on the right track.

For many, when they think of the homeless they think of an older male with an overgrown beard and scraggly clothes. This man would be on a street corner holding a bottle of beer and a sign that reads, “Homeless, Need money. Hungry. God Bless.” Most of the population would read the sign and assume he was a lazy bum just trying to get another drink or drug fix. But, for so many that is just not true.

Many of the homeless are only that way because of a series of unfortunate events. It’s difficult to grasp that some of these homeless recently graduated from college or were earning over $50,000 yearly prior to their current situation.

One saying the homeless point out is, “We are all two to three paychecks away from being homeless.”

Stereotypes are made for a reason, and some homeless do resemble the homeless stereotype. It’s interesting to note that many of these homeless grew up with difficult home lives, and their addiction was influenced by the addiction of their parents.

The homeless are certainly not as lazy as they are perceived to be. It would be interesting to see how people with stable homes handle being put out on the streets for a few days. Many homeless do have jobs. Unfortunately, they are usually not paid enough to be able to sustain a house or apartment. Some homeless even choose to work two jobs and attend college while within shelter walls.

It is also interesting to see the headlines after a homeless assaults someone. These headlines will state “Homeless attacks person.” But how often do we see “Homed man attacks person?” Statistically, the homeless have the same violent tendencies as regular people with homes. Because of the stereotype, they are thought of as wild animals rather than people.

I personally visited a homeless shelter and was pleasantly surprised. The sleeping areas were well organized and the guests made up all of the beds. I was informed that many of them are working some kind of job and trying to leave the shelter when they save up enough money.

I asked an employee at the shelter what she thought of the stereotype and she replied, “I think it’s dead wrong.”

She also emphasized that the long beards on some homeless were there because they liked them. “I think they’d still have their beards if they had a million dollars,” she said.

My brother, a campus minister at NCSU, has done much work with the homeless. He regularly holds food drives and visits the shelters monthly. During these visits, he and other NCSU students will cook for the homeless with meals ranging from pancake breakfasts to spaghetti dinners.

I asked him what he thought of the stereotype. “I think it’s wrong. A lot of these people have been through hard times, and need help getting out. They need a little generosity, a smile, and a prayer goes a long way too.”

In visiting the shelter, I was immediately made aware of the problem of homelessness many Americans are facing today, especially as the economy continues to ail. This problem is exacerbated to an even greater degree when the homeless have a mental illness.

The presence of any kind of illness can make one’s daily routine difficult. But, when you consider the effects of a mental illness, going about life’s normal activities is impaired that much more.

The main problem associated with people who have some sort of mental illness and being homeless is that it complicates their situation. Most people are not born into homelessness, rather they face some financial hardship that forces them to make crucial sacrifices that ultimately leave them poverty stricken and at a greater risk of becoming homeless. This is the case for several residents at the Greenville Shelter. Their lives before being homeless were already at a high risk for homelessness because of the added financial burden of adhering to a mental disorder. This draws attention to the continued need and more investment in community based programs to help aide the transition to homelessness and back to independent living.

In talking with Christy Shaw, director of housing for the Greenville Shelter, she informed me that the Greenville Shelter itself works overtime to combat the hardships lived by so many residents. “The shelter works with several community agencies to reduce the effects of mental disorders and homelessness in general. Such programs include life skills training, financial management, and employment skills and education level upgrading. Anything we can do to help give them an edge and lift them up is very valuable for someone in this situation,” said Shaw. The availability of these resources is crucial to the future of the residents at the shelter. Their access to these programs determines their success in obtaining independent living or remaining homeless.

Homelessness itself is an ill-suited place for anyone to find themselves. However, when you add something as inhibiting as a schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, helping to guide someone towards rehabilitation is extremely difficult. Persons with mental disorders require on-going mental health treatment, assessments, and rehabilitation services to lessen the impairment of the mental illness on their daily lives. This is where the Greenville Community Shelter steps in to help.

As is required with any shelter in the United States, persons requesting help from the shelter must fill out paperwork. This paperwork goes through a series of questions requiring the person to tell any history they have had with mental disorders and prescription medicine used for the illness. After this screening process, persons are then assigned a case manager or social worker who assesses their living, physical, and mental health situation. The Greenville Shelter then determines if the client is in need of psychological help. If it is agreed upon, the client is then provided access to an accredited organization or professional. The shelter networks with Mental Health services and Public Health services to aide in the rehabilitation of those with mental disorders. The client must show compliance with the mental health assessment for up to 90 days to be considered for further help from the shelter.

The presence of mental disorders in shelter residents casts a shadow that interferes with their ability to obtain and take up the same opportunities for which social justice makes way. Their ability to reach their full potential is blocked by a mental restraint that they could not control if it were not for the help of organizations such as the Greenville Community Shelter.

This article should call attention to both the national issue of homelessness, the stigmas and stereotypes associated with those who are homeless and mentally ill, and the need to take an expedient stand to help serve these citizens. The continued investments put into such organizations benefit the homeless themselves, in allowing them to regain control of their mental capabilities as well as their independent lives. These programs also benefit society because they rehabilitate citizens who are trained mentally and physically to play an effective role in society, ready to achieve.

There is no group in society that is more elusive or difficult to help than the nation’s homeless. They are often loners who avoid public contact and shun assistance from others. Most are in dire need of food, shelter, health care and other basic necessities. One of the major issues of assisting the homeless is government funding and structured recovery programs.

Maintaining a beautiful and developed city is imperative to the economic stability of Pitt County as a whole. But, Greenville has a large number of improvised families and substance abusers.
For a city that will give government funding to the pavement of the downtown 4th street parking lot, it has fallen short of funds to contribute to the homeless shelter and their redeveloping programs. The shelter is forced to run on business donations, grants, and community contributions. Every program that is run by the homeless shelter is volunteer based.

The shelter works closely with their residents in order to provide a safe and constructive environment that will pave the way to a healthier life style. The Greenville Community Homeless Shelter aims to “assist individual adult men and women ages 18 and older, and families, in setting and meeting lifestyle management goals that will allow them to become more self-reliant.” (Greenville Community Shelter, Inc.)

One of the programs that aims toward developmental progress is the Alcohol Anonymous course. This course is based on the 12 step program to sobriety.

Often Alcoholism is overlooked as an addiction. This off sighting is one of most common addictions found within the homeless community. In order to prevent the abuse of alcohol, the shelter has its residents sign a contract agreeing to sobriety upon their entrance. But, for extra security, the residents are asked to submit to a breathalyzer test before entering for the night.

Not only does the shelter have programs for alcohol abusers, they also offer free HIV testing to all of their residents. If positive for the virus the resident is placed on a treatment plan in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

However, one might wonder how the shelter can afford treatment for their residents. The Shelter has a hidden jewel within its facility that is often overlooked. They have a medical clinic that is connected to East Carolina University’s Brody School of Medicine. It is a volunteer based program that allows the students to come in with the assistance of a physician to treat the patients. The clinic is volunteer based so it is often hard to maintain consistency. Nonetheless, the clinic still provides health care to those in need. Providing health care and recovery programs to the recovering addicts and the mentally ill will continuously present an issue to the shelter. Many of their residents have a history with substance abuse. So, maintaining a safe place where they are able to retain the proper treatment is a daily challenge.

Lending the hand that will lift up hundreds, the shelter is often the last resort. Working with their resources the shelter provides many with a new vision of life. Greenville might not see the diamond in the rough, but one day it will shine.

I learned something from that article (283 of us arrested, including ministers and civil rights leader William Sloane Coffin), and it complemented my own experience in the demonstration.

But though I was part of a movement, an historical occurrence, something that can be recalled with statistics, names, and in a broader context, I didn’t experience it that way.

What I remember is a powerful, visceral experience that stays with me to this day, that will stay with me as long as I have memories and dreams, and that shaped me.

Later this story became one I told my son when he, or I (depending on how tiring the day had been) was falling asleep.

Mine is an “oral” (and now I guess written) history. complements the record of print and photograph.

I think there is a place for it.

Up to that time the civil rights group I had belonged to an activist group (Washington, DC CORE: the Congress of Racial Equality) but had never been allowed to participate in a full-scale action of civil disobedience. I was too young.

Even by 1963, when I did participate in the Gwynn Oaks demonstration, I was still a “minor” in the eyes of the law. That complicated things for the lawyers.

I had “tested” restaurants in Northern, Virginia. We went in well-dressed, orderly groups. Suit and ties for the men. Lady-like dresses for the women. We would ask for service and when refused, quietly take notes and move on. The later sit-inners then knew exactly what places to hit..

And I had picketed the Woolworths stores in Washington that would now serve African Americans at lunch counters, but not let them work up front with the customers.

But it wasn’t the same. It wasn’t what the people who had most inspired us were doing—the cutting edge of the civil rights movement we all knew were the kind of students who were sitting in at lunch counters, getting arrested, risking their safety and sometimes their lives.

Ingrained in my mind was the picture of those four students from North Carolina A and T who sat down at a lunch counter—on their own and in frustration I later learned, not part of any organized group—on February 1, 1960.

I was fourteen and a half years old at the time. I was galvanized.

The SNCC field workers in the Deep South had become my heros.

In organizing to go to Gwynn Oaks we had been well trained.

We had been instructed, and then practiced ourselves, going limp.

When we were to lie down on the ground at the Amusement Park we were to let all our limbs and every muscle in our body go limp. Think of yourselves as large, loosely packed sack of flour our civil disobedience trainer had said. (Young kids know this truck–when they don’t want to go somewhere and the parent has to drag or carry them.)

But, as much as I might have seen it in newsreels or on TV, I hadn’t been prepared for what was to come. You don’t know what true unleashed anger, hate, spit, violence, rocks—and fear of injury and death—are, until you experience it yourself.

You really don’t know what a “mob” is.

It was brought back briefly, and in a few words, when I read the Time magazine report.

This is what happened.

After the chief of police read us our rights. He announced that if we stayed in the Amusement Park, barred to blacks on that July 4th, and every day, including “All Nations Day,” we would be arrested.

The joke was, and the independent “Negro” newspaper of Baltimore, The Baltimore African American actually tested it out, that if “Negroes” dressed up in robes and pretended to be African or some other kind of dark-skinned foreign diplomats, they would be admitted.

And then all of us, all 283 of us, refused to leave this “public” amusement park.

We were dragged and hauled, limp and making it as difficult as possible all the way, to a series of yellow school district busses. The authorities had to improvise to arrest this many people in Baltimore County.

And then the mood changed.

Scores of whites gathered around the busses. The school busses turned out to be both fortress and prison.

Around my bus I saw it, as if in a nightmare—not myself, someone else maybe—surrounded by faces contorted in hate, violence, rage, rocks and bottles thrown hard and beginning to dent the bus, a window shattered. The bus started rock as the mob pushed against it.

Where were the police? What was going on? Had they forgotten about us?

I don’t know how long that moment went on. It was a long moment.

I was as afraid at that moment as I have ever been. I was looking into the eyes of men and women who expressed a kind of rage I had never seen before, and had images of course already in my mind of could mobs that burned busses, beat and injured and sometimes killed civil rights workers in the Deep South.

Eventually the police did return, pushed the crowd back. We were taken and booked at the County Jail.

They took all of our possessions, everything out of our pockets, booked us and put us in cells – over a dozen of us in my cell.

They put me, as “juvenile,” in a cell with other under-age protesters.

And this is when the fear, and t hen the strange numbness of bureaucratic incarceration, turned, turned to exhilaration. No, not exhilaration, exaltation. It happened when we were then together, and it happened through song.

One of the kids was the son of a minister, and he knew all the songs:: “This Little Light of Mine,” “We Shall Not Be Moved,” “Woke Up This Morning With My Mind…Set on Freedom,” “We Shall Overcome.”

“We Shall Overcome” had become the anthem by that point. It moved me then. It moved me now. When I hear Bernice Reagan and the Freedom Singers sing those songs (in the old film and television images or now) it goes directly to the center of that experience. I can’t help it; every time.

But until that night I had never sung those songs that way. I had never understood them as I understood them that night.

Now I felt I was truly part of the “movement,” my body and soul and spirit merging with the others as we sung our way through the night, the jailers passing by, leaving us alone, like ghosts that night, as I remember.

The next day we were released.

We didn’t face what the civil rights workers in the South faced in their “jail/no bail” encounters. As minors, we didn’t even have to go to follow-up court appearances. They just didn’t want to mess with us. We were filling up the courts as it was.

In the longer story Gwynn Oaks Amusement Park was integrated, and went out of business by the late 1960s.

As I write this, I am very conscious of speaking to students who are about the age now I was then.

What does the civil rights movement look like to them? What relation does it have to what is going on today in the United States, and the world, five days after Martin Luther King’s birthday and on the day of the Obama Inaugural in Washington, DC, echoing in many ways the “I Have a Dream” gathering on the Lincoln Memorial almost five decades and two generations earlier?

Since this is going in the “Special Contributions” section of the COMM 2320 web site (when it is posted), I would like to hear back in the response box from students who read this.

STRIVE stands for “Support Training Results In Valuable Employees.” It is a non-profit, grant-funded organization whose mission is to help the difficult-to-employ through training, education and personal development.

Joyce Jones, the executive director of the STRIVE office in Greenville, feels their programs address several reasons people may be unemployed. “Participants are deemed ‘hardest to employ’ for various reasons; it is hard for them to get a job and keep a job for various reasons including a criminal record, lack of skills, attitude problems, substance abuse, lack of education, a sporadic or no work history, etc.” Jones said.

Their program consists of four components: intake, job training, job search and job placement. But, “we are more a job-readiness training program, not an employment agency,” Jones said. There is also a two-year follow-up to ensure success. During this period STRIVE is in regular contact with the graduates to make sure the participant was a success and to encourage and support graduates who may not have found employment yet.

Jones considers the STRIVE program a “tough love approach to job-readiness,” which is centered on attitude and lifestyle adjustments. While enrolled, participants learn personal skills including how to be a team player, how to problem solve, conflict resolution, ethics, how to manage their appearance and dress in a work environment and how to sell themselves. They often need to learn “how to deal with baggage,” she said.

STRIVE sees the potential in people who often don’t see the potential in themselves. “Many have a history of abuse and neglect and they need to learn how not to bring that into their job,” Jones said. Sometimes participants have to stop their training to get counseling to deal with personal issues before they can continue.

In order to increase the likelihood of STRIVE graduates becoming employed, STRIVE employees research what employers are looking for. They often meet with employers to know what skill sets they are looking for and to inquire about job openings. They routinely follow-up with employers to make sure the program is working effectively.

STRIVE is a non-profit organization that is funded solely through grants. In addition to getting the word out about STRIVE, Jones also participates in fundraising, and “there is no fun in fund-raising,” she said. Funds are hard to come by which means a large staff is impossible to have. The STRIVE office of Greenville is run by only four full time staff members, three part-time staff members, and interns.

It may be hard to raise funds for STRIVE, but it is easy to see the benefits. The social return on the investment is undeniable. According to financial calculations provided by Jones from September 2007, “the allocated cost of the Greenville program in 2004 was $194,391. There were 120 graduates so the cost per graduate is $1,620.”

Graduates who were placed in jobs went on to earn an average hourly wage of about $6.50 and an average annual salary of about $11,500. The direct monetary benefits include “increased income taxes, decreased TANF payments, decreased food stamp allocations, and decreased Medicaid payments,” and in short, “The social return on investment of the STRIVE program is 125%. The program pays for itself in the first year and just keeps on giving,” Jones said, “but it is important to note that their salaries are still below the poverty line.”

Many of the graduates go on to be very successful. Some are even teachers and social workers that give back to the community that gave them a chance to prove they had what it took to succeed.

PowerPoint Link Below:
STRIVE: PowerPoint

Already the largest of its kind in the world, PCS plans to expand its phosphate mine 11,000 more acres, including 4,000 acres of wetlands and over five miles of streams. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, this expansion “will result in substantial and unacceptable adverse impacts to aquatic resources of national importance.”

PTPF has fought this permit since its initial proposal in 2000. But this foundation should not be classified as some radical environmental Nazi. They strive only to advocate the least damaging mining practices, not to put companies like PCS Phosphate out of business.

If this permit were to be granted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, it would ensure the “largest permanent destruction of wetlands in North Carolina state history” as expressed by PTRF’s Riverkeeper Heather Jacobs.

Destruction of this precious commodity would surely be an irresponsible move by PCS as well as the Corps, especially given that other economical alternatives have been identified. Under the law, the Corps can only permit practicable alternatives that are least damaging to the environment.

That fact should put the river in Beaufort County in the clear. But in September 2008, PCS asked that the public get U.S. Senators Elizabeth Dole and Richard Burr as well as U.S. Representatives G.K. Butterfield and Walter Jones in the mix to push legislation in favor of allowing the company to continue with its plans.

This is upsetting to Jacobs and other PTRF members. She stated in PTRF’s fall 2008 newsletter “PCS’s proposed mining plan would have long-term, adverse environmental impacts on the Pamlico River; we believe the concerns about these impacts have been expressed by these expert agencies should be addressed by the company, not overridden by political pressure.”

If existing laws protecting North Carolina’s natural habitat were to be overruled by new legislation for this mining project, how long will it be before there is no longer any environment left to protect?

PowerPoint link below:
pamlico-tar-river-foundation powerpoint

Profiles were done on the people, administrators behind the community organizations. The spring, Basic Reporting classes worked with this eight community partners this semester. One part of the profile is on their personal journey in their respective organizations. The other part is the connection between social justice and civil rights and service learning.

Profiles include:
* Shawn Moore, Community Partner Coordinator at East Carolina University
* Jessica Gagne, Cloutier, Service-learning coordinator at East Carolina University
* Christy Shaw, Housing Services Coordinator for the Greenville Community Shelter
* Laura Dickerson, Voice and activist for “Citizens against an OLF”
* Heather Rhodes, Executive Director of Communities in Schools of Pitt County
* Heather Jacobs Deck, Pamlico Tar Riverkeeper
* Gus Benson, Volunteer Development and Nutrition Services Coordinator
* Katie Benson Assistant Facility Manager and Volunteer Coordinator/Fundraising

PowerPoint Link is Below:
community-partner-profile-summay1

Women of childbearing age, pregnant women, nursing mothers and children under 15 years old should not eat more than two meals of fish that have low levels of mercury a week. They should never eat a meal with fish that have high levels of mercury. Everyone else should not eat more than four meals a week with fish that have low levels of mercury. They should never eat more than one meal of fish that have high levels of mercury a week. Freshwater fish that could be found in the Tar River with high levels include: Blackfish, Black crappie, Catfish, Jack fish, Largemouth bass, Warmouth, and Yellow perch.

The biggest cause of airborne mercury in the United States are the coal burning power plants that spew roughly 50 tons of mercury each year, poisoning bodies of water like the Tar River. Mercury can be carried long distances through the air affecting the bodies of water in far away power plants.
Most of the mercury found in the Tar River comes from coal burning power plants west of the Tar River. Only a small percentage happens naturally or is directly dumped into the river.

When the mercury gets into the water it collects on the algae and other plants at the bottom. Plant eating fish then eat the algae and intake mercury in the process. Even though these fish are eating mercury they are the fish that have low levels of mercury. Fish with high levels of mercury are the fish that eat other fish.

In a poor economy where many are looking to save money, a restriction on how many times someone can fish in a week is only hurting those who like to fish and eat what they catch.

Power point link below:
pamlico tar river foundation powerpoint

Danny is majoring in broadcast journalism and aspires to be a sportswriter when he grows up. Danny grew up a huge Giants fan, so writing for them would be a dream job for him. Anything else that has to do with sports he would love to do, whether it be with a big company like ESPN or staring small with a minor league baseball team. Football and baseball are the two main sports he would like to focus on his sports writing.

Some of his favorite activities are snowboarding, riding atv’s, and hunting white tail deer. Being from Mountainside, N.J., snow is something easy to come by. Snowboarding is something Danny has done and enjoyed since he was about eight. Danny also plays lacrosse and is currently playing for the East Carolina club team. Before joining the club team, Danny had only played one previous season of lacrosse. He plays defense and loves being able to take people out and hit anybody on the field.
To better to get know him, I have interviewed with a few of his close relatives and a friend. His mother, Antonia Demola, described Danny as always being energetic and how his energy tends to rub off on people he’s around. Antonia remembered making Danny’s favorite food which was Mac n’ Cheese, but it has now evolved to spaghetti and meatballs. Fitting since Danny is Italian. One of her favorite memories was watching him play with Lincoln logs. He would play with them all the time building anything he could. Danny always has been a hard worker and takes tasks head on. He has a big heart and much love and support.

Danny’s younger sister, Stephanie, was another source I interviewed about Danny. Stephanie described Danny as being a very caring older brother and that they have always been close. Only being two years apart, some of their friends were friends so it brought them together even more. Stephanie is very forgiving, because when Danny was about 6, he hit a golf ball at her and hit her directly in the head. Luckily they are both ok (Danny from his apparent punishment.) Stephanie and Danny’s closeness has influenced her enough to come here next year for college. Danny has been supportive of Stephanie as much as she’s supported him.

Danny’s best friend, Sal, sounded like he knew Danny like a brother, not just a friend. Although twice Sal and Danny have gotten into fist fights, they were nothing too serious and they laugh about it now. He described Danny as very confident in everything that he does, and that it makes the people around him feel more confident as well. A very good feeling in a friend to have.
Danny looks to his dad as a role model. They have gone hunting numerous times together and spent a lot of quality father son time in their lives. On occasion, Danny and his dad will take their Doberman, Kobi, named after Kobe Bryant, out onto some open land and let her roam free for a while.

One of Danny’s most prized possessions is his car; a black Subaru WRX. Last year, Danny had a silver Jetta that he put rims and a new exhaust on. After a lot of bargaining with his parents and maintaining an above average GPA, he managed to trade the Jetta for the WRX. I think this also showed a lot of Danny’s dedication and hard work. His hard work started when he took on his first job at age 15 at Domino’s. He managed to work his way up to assistant manager at only 17.
Currently, Danny resides at North Campus Crossing apartments. He likes his apartment a lot and plans on living at North Campus against next year. Danny has two roommates whom he met last year as a freshman. They have all stayed very close and have been a great influence in Danny’s college life so far.

Danny has many abilities and a great supporting cast of friends and family to support him along the way. Everybody believes he has the talent and capabilities of achieving his goals, and so does he.

I have spent time researching the Pamlico-Tar River Foundation. One of the key issues that the Pamlico-Tar River faces is climate change and its impact. The mission of this foundation is to protect and improve the environmental quality of the Tar-Pamlico River, its estuary, and watershed. With global warming taking place, this proves difficult.

So you might be wondering, why exactly is climate change taking place? Well, the answer is simple. We are a culture that thrives off the use and practice of cars, trucks, power plants, industrial processes, and deforestation. All of the above relies on the use of carbon dioxide, which traps heat that releases into the air, thus causing temperature to rise.

This affects eastern North Carolina in the following ways: The forests, dunes, rivers and estuaries in eastern North Carolina make up an extraordinary natural system. Ditches that were dug to drain farmland now channel salt water inland, which harms vegetation and threatens natural diversity. Global warming is causing sea level to rise, and in turn high tides and storm surges only continually worsen the problem. As peat mixes with salt water, a chemical reaction releases carbon dioxide and other heat trapping gases.

There are things that can be done to lessen the problem. Landowners of eastern North Carolina have been asked to convert land back to forests and restore oyster reefs, marshes, and other natural buffers. With proper control, more of the peat will remain intact and in turn, fewer heat trapping gases will be released. If this problem could be eliminated, then climate change would be less of a threat to the unique ecosystem of eastern, North Carolina.

The Tar-Pamlico River is our watershed and it is our life. We rely on it for nourishment and recreation. We must anticipate and plan for the impact of climate change, because it directly threatens the ecosystem of our river that relies on a steady climate. It is also affects the quality of our water.
As a society, we can all start out with simple things, such as walking or riding a bike instead of driving our cars short distances. It may be inevitable that climate change is taking place, but if everyone takes a little part in working to restore our world, then the problem will be less of a threat.

PowerPoint link below:
pamlico tar river foundation powerpoint

Laura Dickerson is a wife and mother of three small children. A woman with these responsibilities may be the last person one would think of as the voice of the people but she is.

As soon as she heard of the plans for an OLF, she started activating the community. Within a week, 800 Gates County residents were informed, came to the first meeting and ready to fight the Navy’s plans. Many people who work in non-profit explain how they fall into the job or how a job chose them. Dickerson has a similar story to tell.

“After meeting the many families that would be affected, I couldn’t be silent. I also did a great deal of research on the history of the OLF process and met with many of the people down in Washington County. I was shocked to learn how much money was being wasted on this project, when the Navy already had an OLF they could use. I think availability is the biggest responsibility. You have to be willing to meet with people in your community, in Raleigh, in DC, wherever, so that you can keep fighting, learning, and making connections.”

Anytime an organization is fighting for the rights of others one can think back to the protests and initiative of the civil rights movement. Even within the civil rights movement, the goal was social justice and equality for all. The ideal is still alive for Dickerson and “Citizens Against an OLF.”

“Fair and equal rights for all…those words are related to the fight against an OLF greatly. One of the huge issues in the OLF battle is that the wealthy areas in Virginia Beach are trying to dump noise and pollution on poor, rural areas so they can continue to develop the land and make more money. That certainly isn’t fair or equal - to make the rich richer, and the poor poorer.”

The United States Declaration of Independence also plays a large role in the fight of the citizens against an OLF. The rights of the members must be analyzed and questioned.

“We are fighting for the rights of everyone in our community. Many veterans moved here to be able to enjoy the peace and quiet, but still be close to the benefits they worked hard to earn, like the Veterans’ Hospital. We are fighting for the rights of each of us to enjoy “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, ” she said. “We are fighting for property owners: to be able to keep their land and not be forced off through eminent domain. We are fighting for everyone’s taxpayer money. Building another OLF would be such a waste when the Navy already has facilities it can use. Public taxpayer money, both federal and state bought the Chowan Swamp Game lands and protects the Chowan River both [are] a part of the Sandbanks OLF. To place an OLF on these treasures, where people hike, fish, water-ski, watch birds, etc. - would irrevocably ruin these lands. We are fighting for our children’s health and future - many of us moved here to give our children a clean, safe, environmentally friendly and healthy childhood.”

No community organization be in state or federally funded or non-profit is without its obstacles. The biggest obstacle thus far in fighting the Navy has been communication.

“Gates County is one of five counties in the state with the least Internet access. We have no radio or TV stations, no daily newspaper delivery, and only one local paper, which is published just one day of the week.”

With obstacles come lessons and benefits. The citizens in Gates County have used their obstacles resources as a learning opportunity. One that will keep the better united in the years to come not matter what the outcome.

“I think we’ve already learned and benefitted greatly from this process. We’ve learned how to organize, learned more about how our government works, and learned more about our own community and what a treasure it is. I think the legacy of Citizens Against OLF is a community working hard to improve itself, take care of each other, seek responsible, green development, and nurture and care for our environment and natural resources.

The most effective way Citizens Against an OLF has brought attention to its fight is through personal contacts. Dickerson reemphasizes the importance of personal connections with who may be able to help with higher authority. All too often people get lost in technology and forget that a personal contact will make more of an impact than a telephone call or an email. “Face to face meetings with decision makers [is important]. Also, continuing to show up. Bringing large crowds to events lets people know we are concerned, motivated, persistent.”

It is a community effort that has effects on everyone in the current community and the future community. As a mother, it is natural to protect the rights and lifestyles of their children. Dickerson combines her maternal instinct with the love for her community.

“My children and the community members that stand to lose everything [is my strength and motivation for continuing the fight].”

Dickerson’s advice to those who wish to take on bigger organizations, such as the Navy, is “You can do it.”

“The people in Washington County were up against insurmountable odds and they did it. Organize. Learn the talents of your community members and use those talents. Communicate with your elected officials and let them know how you feel.”

Laura Dickerson is the voice of the organization because of her action and personal connections. Her maternal instinct of her children and communities future makes her even more effective. The goal of Citizens against an OLF is clear. Their opposition is firm and the community is in the fight to the end.

Storm water runoff occurs when precipitation from rain or snowmelt flows over the ground. Driveways, sidewalks and streets are good surfaces to prevent water from naturally soaking into the ground.

Storm water can pick up debris, chemicals, dirt, and other pollutants and flow directly to a lake, stream, river, wetland, or coastal water; in this case it would be the Tar River. In the past years with construction and development, 60 percent of streams in the Tar have been under heavy distress. This is affecting the drinking water to many homes by sediments carrying pollutants into the water affecting the availability of water supplies.

Swimming areas would also be affected; sediments carrying pollutants into swim holes that have massive amounts of bacteria. This could have detrimental effects on the community’s health.
The fishing industry had also been severely devastated by this problem. These sediments are depleting the fish population in these waters, which is affecting the billion-dollar fish industry that is stocking your local food markets. In result of this, fish will cost more money because of the scarcity due to this problem.

If you would like to learn more or even become more actively involved visit www.ptrf.org.

PowerPoint link below:
pamlico tar river foundation powerpoint

Project Center Stage works with students in middle school and tries to give them a broad range of knowledge: goal setting, organization, study tips, they use the model of 7 Habits of highly effective teens. Children become participants in Project Center Stage by means of behavioral problems that have resulted in them having to make a choice between suspension and entering the program or by being in “the fast track,” meaning they have failed a grade at some point in their past and are now trying to skip a grade in order to be in their “correct” grade. During a regular school day, a member of STRIVE will come and take their assigned student out of class to give instruction. Shannon has the children do small service learning projects once a month that teach them about caring about people in general, not just people they know. Evaluation of the measure of success is in a drop in suspension, a drop in absences, and higher grades

Similarities between the adult and youth program:
* Project Center Stage teaches the young individuals the same kinds of things, but earlier, when it is easier for them to change their lifestyle if they are willing. They are taught about taking responsibility, social skills, how to love and respect yourself, “when you love and respect yourself, everything else follows”, about eating properly, relaxation, sleep, personal hygiene and how to be a more productive person.

Differences:
* Project Center Stage is less rigid in their rules. Although there are consequences, they are softer. Shannon is hesitant to send the kids away to in-school-suspension because “keeping them in the class is the only way I can teach them.” However in the case of verbal aggression, particularly in male students, removing them from the room before the situation is escalated is necessary, but in most cases a rule-breaker is simply moved to a different area of the room away from the particular situation that is causing problems, often to work one-on-one with a different instructor.

The power point that you are about to download discusses the history of the social networking giants: Facebook and Myspace. The study breaks down the way both companies were formed, their global statistics and even compares surveyed data gathered from the Comm2320 class to be compared with other research data available on the web. The presentation also introduces you to a fictional story revolving around a social networking mystery. The story epitomizes some of the potential dangers of social networking as well as delivering a humorous look on what a person could go through if their social network profile were somehow sabotaged.

-Zachary Karamalegos

Dominique is one of the 2,000 individuals that successfully graduate from the STRIVE program annually. STRIVE represents, Support Training Results in Valuable Employee. STRIVE is a non-profit, grant funded organization whose mission is to help the difficult-to-employ through training, education, and personal development.

STRIVE originated in East Harlem New York in 1984 and has been successful in securing jobs for the chronically unemployed, supporting them in taking the first steps towards achieving self-reliance. The program is a high impact 3-4 week training workshop in a realistic work environment.
Greenville native, Dominique, is a STRIVE success story. Two months after graduating the program she was employed at Food Lion. Dominique has been a Food Lion employee for five years. “I never thought I’d keep a job this long. STRIVE has taught me a lot of valuable skills.”

The program teaches communication skills and confidence. STRIVE builds a better understanding of the work environment. Participants are trained to dress and speak appropriately, with emphasis placed on professional smiles and handshakes. Participants are expected to come to class dressed professionally and on time. If a participant fails to do this they cannot graduate from the program. When asked how STRIVE helps build social skills, Dominique replied , “I was never able to get up and talk in front of a group of people but in class I had to, and it was for my benefit.”

STRIVE makes the work environment come to life in the classroom. The objectives are to prepare, train, place and support the “hardest to employ” individuals in securing long-term employment. Participants take part in role-playing and task performance in a simulated work environment. These are fundamentals of the program, where participants learn how to take personal initiative, follow instructions, accept criticism, and function as team members.

The STRIVE program is committed to working with the communities and populations that can benefit most from job training approach. Dominique is a prime example of a STRIVE success story.

On the journey of discovering the secrets of Benjamin I contacted two important people in his life; Joe Blanchard, his brother, and his girlfriend Chandler. They both had nothing but positive things to say. Joe gave me a slight look from when they were growing up to where he sees him in ten years. He expresses his enthusiasm in his future and upholds high hopes for his little brother. Chandler explored more of his social and day to day activities. But whichever picture they painted, they both radiated such love towards the idea of this amazing young man.

Benjamin is very close to his mother, father, older brother, and the family’s toy puddle. He also has a love in his live that he has been faithfully devoted to for four years. So I asked, who is the young lady that puts a sparkle in his eye? Benjamin slightly sits up and releases a slight smile, “her name is Chandler, and she is a freshman here at ECU.” Not having to ask any more questions– his face told it all.

Standing 6’0 tall, Benjamin is far from intimidating. In fact, he is a shy, mellow, with a dash of mystic personality. He forces you to lean in just so you can hear his low voice, but do not get him misunderstood, Benjamin is just as fascinating as the celebrity in the next room. In fact, he has experienced some slight publicity himself. This intellectual young man has a poem published in a Christian magazine. His brother states, “He has a deep conviction of this world’s most divine truths and expresses them through poetry that blows my mind every time I read it.” Having the pleasure of reading his poem, his talent was evident through his unspoken talent. He writes, “A new meaning I’ve become a different person, for his renowned, I dedicate my life and talents, a full recovery from the past life.” Benjamin draws upon his understanding of his surroundings and connects them with his growing spirituality. So do not let this shy guy fool you, because his thoughts exceed beyond his vocal expressions.

Benjamin’s grasp on reality has made him wiser beyond his years. He does not engage in drinking or partying, but he still finds other ways to have fun. Known for his impressions of a character named Radio Benjamin, he always manages to put a smile on the faces surrounding him. Benjamin’s sense of humor is enough excitement to fill his cup.

Although, Benjamin has a funny bone there are still things that will push him over the edge. He does not stand for ignorance or obnoxious disturbances such as repetitive tapping. But this smooth guy has no problem with kicking back and relaxing while taking in his surroundings.

Born and raised in a small town called Rose Hill located in the western part of the Carolina’s with a population roughly of 1,400 people, Benjamin still finds ways to entertain himself by playing Xbox, skateboarding, and listening to his iPod.

In modern society electronics are essential in every youth’s life. Benjamin has found the usage of his Xbox to be a daily ritual. So I asked, on average how many hours do you spend playing your Xbox? Benjamin responds, “Depends on the day, but on average maybe 1-2hours a day.” In the opening line in an email that Benjamin’s girlfriend wrote she stated, “BJ, loves playing video games on his Xbox and computer.” Although, it is challenging to fight all the Japanese Ninjas and to make it to the twenty fourth level in video games Benjamin also has other hobbies to keep his mind stimulated.

The enjoyments of his material items are not the only things that put a smile on this young man’s face. He enjoys the holidays such as Christmas because he is able to share them with his family. Talking to Benjamin he expressed a hidden love for soup. Strange love, but he finds himself soup sipping Cambles Chicken Noodle. The beach also somehow works its way into Benjamin’s summer plans every year. “We go to the beach every summer and he wakeboards all the time”, expresses Chandler. Benjamin surely does not come off as your typical skateboarding goo-goo, but from the looks of it he can really shred.

Upon communicating with Chandler she also had extra energy behind her words about Benjamin. Reading between the lines one could sense the love through every word she wrote. Their love and connection for one another is something that cannot be broken.

This soup sipping, sink your toes in the sand, Christmas loving guy that has so much to accomplish. Although, his favorite color is red he does not wait for the red light to give him his queue. Signing out Mr. Steamy Buzeemy we all look forward to hearing from you in the future.

The regiment consisted of 1,250 men mainly composed of cowboys, Native Americans, and African Americans. According to our family legend, the sword was by his side during battle. My grandfather James Cole kept the sword locked in his gun case where it remains today. Although, he passed a little over a year ago the entire case was inherited by the oldest male in our family which was my cousin Harold Cole. This is an important part of my family history and we all cherish it.

Gates County is a rural community located in the northeastern part of the state at the Chowan River. Gates County has one stop light, limited cable access and limited resources. In 2002, their population was recorded at 10,720.

In 2008, the Navy chose five potential cites for an Outlying Landing field (OLF). The two in North Carolina could be either Sandbanks in Gates County or Hale’s Lake in Camden and Currituck counties. The other three are in the state of Virginia. An OLF is a concrete landing strip where the naval pilots practice touch-and-goes. This means the planes never land, they just practice landing and immediate take offs. The Navy wants their pilots to learn how to land and start from aircraft carriers. They will practice 24/7. Rural areas, such as Gates County, are so attractive to the Navy because of the dark skies.

This is not the first battle over an OLF in Eastern North Carolina. In 2008, site C in Washington and Beaufort Counties was removed from the list. The communities in Washington and Beaufort Counties had been fighting the Navy for about seven years. The site was taken off after many trips to Raleigh by the community organizers, many public hearings, and hard campaigning by the grass roots group of North Carolinians opposed to an Outlying Landing Field (NOOLF). NOOLF was able to generate national and international support from groups such as “Ducks Unlimited” and the “Autobahn Society”, to name just two. A Raleigh based law firm worked for NOOLF pro bono. Even D.C. Lobbyists helped the local farmers in the fight for their land. Duke and UNC law students supported the law firm. The main reason why it was decided to take site C off the list was the fact that migratory birds such as Tundra swans and Snow geese spend the winter near by at Pettigrew State Park and Lake Matamuskeet. The tundra swans can weigh up to nine pounds and if a plane was to collide with a flock of birds, it would most likely crash. Since this site would pose a danger to the pilots, it was dropped.

Once site C was removed, the Navy had to look for new sites. The decision to put an OLF into Gates County came as a surprise to the people living in Gates County since the Navy denied the site in 2003. In September 2007, the community learned about the navy’s plan of putting an OLF site into the nature reserve at Sandbanks. “Our children were crying when my husband Dave told me what this would mean that the animals would die.” Remembers Laura Dickerson, a representative of “Citizens Against an OLF”. “Citizens Against OLF” a grass roots organization that was formed to fight the Navy’s plan to build an Outlying Landing field in Gates and Hertford County known as the Sandbanks OLF site.

The announcement of a planned OLF in the area, alone led to the drop in property values. The proposed OLF in Gates County means that about 95-100 families could loose their homes. The navy would purchase 30,000 acres of land. About 166 landowners living in the area could be forced to move from the land their families owned for generations. Eminent Domain could be used to achieve this goal. According to Wikipedia, the laws were originally created to “seize a citizen’s private property, expropriate property, or seize a citizen’s rights in property with due monetary compensation, but without the owner’s consent. The property is taken either for government use or by delegation to third parties who will devote it to public or civic use or, in some cases, economic development.” Families living close to the OLF could either be forced to move or could receive a noise and pollution compensation, however, the lives of the people in Gates County would change forever.

Pollution is of the biggest concerns to all living near an OLF. The noise levels in the contour are difficult to judge, since the Navy has not released yet any flight patterns. The Navy states that the noise is not to exceed 110db but this number represents only the average noise level. The actual noise level will be more likely to be twice as high. Although an exact decibel has not been assigned to F18 Hornets, it has been reported that they are loud enough to shake foundations. F18s also make hearing and conversations impossible while flying overhead.

The noise impact would destroy the quiet way of life in this community. Furthermore, removing thousands of acres of land from the county’s tax base would cause taxes to rise. The property values in the county would decrease. Noise is an obvious pollutant but an OLF will bring both land and air pollution.

The citizens in Gates County are fighting not only for themselves, but also for the preservation of their community. According to Gates County history, it was once home to Nansemond Chesapeake, Chowanoc/Chowanoke, Meherrin and the Nottoway Indians. Although many of the tribes moved away, many of the deceased members are buried in the cemeteries. Gates County is also home to century home farms, homes, churches and history dating back to 1779. The Stony Branch Missionary Baptist Church is only 200ft away from the proposed landing strip. It may be demolished and would not be able to serve the community any more. The church is of historical value. Freed slaves in the area founded it. There are at least 100 cemeteries in the Sandbanks that are threatened by the planned OLF.

An OLF in Gates would cause more harm than good especially financially. For a community that already suffers from limited financial resources. The OLF will not bring jobs to Gates County, but jobs will be lost especially in the farming industry. The Navy will not bring a base with its Outlying Landing Field. Naval Bases bring opportunities such as jobs and health care. The Navy would restrict what farmers in and around the contour could grow. For example, farmers may not be allowed to farm small grains because those attract migratory birds, which pose a danger to the planes. Jet noise would cause stress for the animals causing low productivity especially for poultry houses. Furthermore, Rev. Dr. William Barber II, NAACP NC president pointed out at a “Citizens Against an OLF” meeting in February 2009, that the area produces for Gerber. He said, “What do you think Gerber will do if they found out about this?” He referred to the fact that the planes have to dump their fuel in case of emergencies and pollute the crops when they do so. This could cause the County and state to loose a contract with a major food company.

Citizens Against an OLF have not fought this battle alone. Anita Earls from the Southern Coalition for Social Justice has been their legal representation. Duke university is doing a “Citizen’s EIS” to ensure that the Navy’s study is accurate. “Citizens Against an OLF” have been given advice form Bunny Sanders, the Mayor of Roper, North Carolina. Sanders emphasizes the importance of everyone in this journey, “it’s everybody’s fight.” She says that the only way to fight the Navy is united. They are not just fighting for the community, they are setting an example and sending the message that small communities can take on a big corporation for the sake of their community.

Below is the link to the powerpoint:
No OLF Presentation

This film was very informative in the fact that I would have never imagined food production in this manner, but it is also very hard to watch. The majority of the film is silent, with only the sounds of the machinery in the background. The images are also shown for amounts of time that give the impression of overkill. This film was 92 minutes and probably could have been cut down to thirty, with use of an appropriate narration.

Many people would already be turned off by the horrific reality of the images, and the lack of verbiage would probably be an even further deflection. This film may show the truths of what helps us to survive, but it could have been constructed in a method that could reach more people.

“Similar programs have been implemented in other states and it makes sense,” McNamara said. The Council on Aging is trying to develop a task force with sub-committees that target the many issues associated with providing the aging population with safe and accessible communities. The council has projected plans for a senior friendly community. The goal is to provide older people with affordable and accessible housing. Some other considerations are physical environmental factors, health, safety, security, and social factors. These are broken up into even more detail. For example, the physical environment takes into account air and water quality, recreation facilities, transportation, lighting, and parking.

“Facilities here are outrageously priced and not realistic for most people, especially seniors.” She went on to explain how some of the senior living facilities in the area want $250,000 down.

It is still in the works and faces a number of obstacles. Along with the complexity of the plan, it takes a lot of time, money and resources to accomplish the goals they are developing for the Senior Friendly Community Initiative. In this economy, money isn’t being allocated toward projects like these. In fact, the state run agency that provides funds for senior living centers and other senior associated projects has had its budget cut four times since December.

The Council on Aging heads the Meals on Wheels program in Pitt County. There has always been a waiting list but now it has grown even more since the United Way has had to start cutting funding for these programs. United Way cut the council on Aging over a year ago, which caused a little bit of a problem, but they have rebound from that. With the economy and state budget cuts, they are going back into a budget problem for their services. However, Meals on Wheels will not necessarily be cut but in the future; some services may need to be cut. McNamara says they are doing their best to find other solutions to help the people in need.

Although, money is a huge factor in their plans, McNamara just wants to see something begin. “We really should have started yesterday!” The projected growth of people 65 and older is estimated to be over 2.5 million by 2030. “We’re about to really really get it and we aren’t ready.”

“I’m not saying that Greenville is senior unfriendly,” says McNamara, “but there is room for improvement.”

She used the example of road rage against elderly drivers. One simple solution McNamara suggests is to educate the public about older people. The Council on Aging has already begun seminars at ECU to educate students on the daily hurdles elderly people face. One part of the training has students put on a pair of glasses that has one side of the left eye blacked out, representing an individual who has had a stroke. Stereotypically, older people who are more prone to strokes are also considered poor drivers but underlying health conditions may attribute to this. Society should be more apathetic toward older people.

“Decrease in manual dexterity happens no matter who you are.” In the training, students are instructed to put on rubber gloves and dig around in a change purse to pull out a penny. McNamara explains that understanding and patience will help to make the community a friendlier place for senior citizens.

Recently she has been getting more and more calls about people retiring in Eastern North Carolina than Florida. “Climate, crime and cost of living are huge factors to why people are reconsidering Florida retirement.” McNamara says North Carolina’s climate is appealing and it has a diverse landscape. “The baby boomers are looking for college towns.”

The initiative is at its earliest stages. The Council on Aging may host a Senior Friendly Seminar to promote their ideas to key figures in the government.

“Mayors and managers of different towns in Pitt County each have different needs. Greenville is very strong in health, while another town may have other strengths and weaknesses. We want to work together to develop a task force to accomplish a common goal.”

In 2005 in North Carolina alone, over 38,000 students dropped out before their graduation date. This is a problem both for the individual who decided to quit and their surrounding community.

The individual will most likely face difficulty entering the work force and making a decent living because they never earned their high school diploma. The surrounding community also faces a devastating loss because the taxes they paid for public school spending are wasted on children who ended early. The taxes paid, and lost, minimally average an astounding $169 million a year.

Almost 50% of the inmates in the prisons of North Carolina were school drop- outs, and with the dropout rate steadily increasing, both numbers should follow the trend and rise.

Other rising trends include students who qualify for free and reduced lunch. To qualify for this program the government must recognize that there is a financial need for the school to provide lunch free-of-charge or at a cheaper rate for particular students.

The State of North Carolina is the sixth most need-based state for free and reduced lunch. Nearly half of a million children accept free and reduced lunch at school, and it is left up to the imagination to wonder how well they are fed outside of school.

Another aspect that affects the success of North Carolina students is the teen pregnancy rate. While every state, country, and district is impacted by teen pregnancies, North Carolina has a larger percentage than desired.

In 2006 the ratio of teenage pregnancies was 63.1: 1000. If this rate could decrease, even a little, more young mothers would be able to take advantage of the opportunity to finish school. Kay Phillips, the executive director of the Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Coalition of North Carolina, stresses that “we need to work together to build upon programs that are working, develop new interventions, and expand into more communities.”

Expanding into more communities to build programs is exactly what the local chapter of Communities In Schools hopes to achieve. The CIS of Pitt County has a mission to champion the connection of needed resources with schools, to help young people stay in school, successfully learn, and prepare for life.

Organizations with goals like CIS are the remedy for the odds that face our local students everyday. With a committed staff and appropriate funding, these programs can make all the difference in our youth.

North Carolina schools are making strides in the right direction to change the statistics. Although we cannot change the entire make-up of North Carolina Students, we can do our part to participate in the lives of students at the local level.

Communities In Schools offers many volunteer opportunities that can be located via their website, www.cispittcounty.org, that can help change the structure of our local students.

Council On Again Presentation I

When it comes to food, his favorite place to eat is Five Guys. Burgers and fries are their specialties and those are his favorite foods.

He is a sophomore that attends East Carolina University. Like myself, he is a Communication major with a concentration in Broadcast Journalism. When it comes to future goals, he has one that is very interesting, he wants to persue a career with ESPN as a broadcaster.

He also has a few hobbies that he participates in almost every day. Watching sports is a huge one for him and playing X-box with friends. Luckily for me I got a chance to converse with a few of the people that mean the most to him in his life and while growing up.

While talking to his mom, Diana Blanchard, I found out a lot more information that makes Matt who he is. I asked her if she can describe what he was like as a child. She said, “Matt was always a sweet kid. He had a huge smile on his face when we first saw him”. Matt was adopted as an infant. He was born in South Korea. This led to my next question. I asked Mrs. Blanchard where Matt grew up. “We adopted him when he was only five months old”, she said. After Matt was adopted he came over to the states and kick started his life growing up in Fairfax, VA where he has resided until this day.

Matt is the type of person that no matter what someone says to him he has something else in response. Matt’s mom thought that he would be a great lawyer because of this.

I finished up my conversation with Mrs. Blanchard by asking her if there was one memory that she can recall of them, she responded, “throughout Matt’s life, his father and I attended many of his sports games”. She told me that sports were a huge influence in Matt’s life growing up and they wouldn’t know where he would be without them.

Next, I had the chance to get in touch with Matt’s girlfriend Arielle Johnson. Arielle has been a huge influence on Matt’s life. The first thing that I asked her was how long she has known Matt. She responded, “ Matt and I didn’t meet until junior year of high school”. She didn’t know him too well but heard many things about him, which led her to actually be scared when they first started to hang out. After time they ended up really liking each other and led her to find that he was an amazing guy.
I asked Arielle what was her favorite thing to do with Matt when they are together. Since Matt loves to watch sports she told me, “I cannot count how many times he has come to my house or I’ve went to his and we sat there and watched sports”. This is just evidence saying how sports are very important in Matt’s life.

Arielle told me that the best thing about Matt is his personality. “He is the most caring guy you can know”, she said. Like what Arielle said, just from meeting Matt, I have noticed that he seems like a great person.

I have learned a lot more about Matt then I thought I would but I needed one more person to just seal the deal. Finally, I got in touch with one of Matt’s best friends from high school to gather some information that parents would not know of. I talked to Paolo Belita.

I asked him how him and Matt had met. He said, “I first met Matt when we were in sixth grade”. Another question I asked was, what activity did they like to engage in? I discovered that they both loved to eat. They “grubbed” out all the time. Because they both love to eat, this built there friendship believe it or not.

I asked him if Matt has ever gotten into trouble with him. He said, “Matt and I never really got into much trouble, even though we probably should have, we have had a lot of crazy times that we lucked out in”.

This led up to my last question and I thought it would be an appropriate one. If you had to describe Matt, what would you say? He concluded with, “Matt is the kind of guy that you cant be mad at for long”. I myself also learned that one of Matt’s best abilities was to make the people around him feel better by brightening their day.

I learned a lot about Matt and I’m glad I got the chance to talk with these people to help find out who and what Matt was really all about.

I recently watched a two-hour video documentary entitled, “Loose Change.” In this documentary, three college students Dylan Avery, Korey Rowe, and Jason Bermas argue that the U.S. government is to blame for the tragic events that occurred on September 11th. They claim that President Bush constructed a plan to carry out the events that occurred, blaming Osama bin Laden and other Middle Eastern countries in order for America to start a war and gain billions of dollars for our economy.

Some of the theories include that the people who called their families from the airplanes were fake. Another theory claims that Flight 93 was a complete hoax because there were no bodies found at the crash site. The students who created this film also claim that there were explosives set up in the World Trade Center causing it to collapse one story at a time. The last theory was that the Pentagon was not hit by a 747, but by a missile.

The creators of “Loose Change” also theorize that the Pentagon flight landed safely at an airport and that passengers were hidden. To be honest, I think that this documentary is ridiculous. There was no tangible proof or evidence shown, but simply theories supported by college-level computer graphics. It sickens me that people who relish in all the freedom that this country has to offer still find a way to antagonize and offend it. I may not agree with everything that happens in this country, but I do support America. Many people say that our government is only interested in making profit for itself. I’d like to believe that the welfare of its people would go before anything else.

Surely enough, we deserve the right to protest what we are against and we deserve the right to stand up for what we believe in. However, to cause a riot and disturb people only seeking condolence and reasoning behind the loss of a loved one is cruel. After watching this documentary, it seems as if its creators simply wanted to cause a stir and create drama.

In politics, it is so difficult to draw the line. Who is right and who is wrong? What is just? What do we have the right to do? Who do we have the right to be in control of? I believe that there are many problems with our country today, but rather than staying divided, I believe we should come together and support our government in order for us all to benefit.

Council on Aging Presentation II

Kent Hobson has been a part of Bryn’s life from day one he has seen her grow from a little girl into an intelligent and hard working young lady. Being a father of two girls is no easy task, but stated how well manner Bryn has been all her life. Mr. Hobson talked about how Bryn loved sports and her passion for dance. He said she tried out a couple sports but soccer soon became her first love.

Mr. Hobson would try to make it to every game he could to see his youngest play soccer. On the field he stated her face would light up like the day he brought home “Rye” the first family dog. Mr. Hobson called Bryn a “busy body” someone that just hates sitting around all day doing nothing. Through the eyes of Kent Hobson Bryn is not just a wonderful daughter to also a wonderful person.

You never really know someone until you live with them and Leanne Wahl knows Bryn well. Leanne has been roommates with Bryn in their sorority for two years. Leanne enjoys living with Bryn stating that she is very clean ways thinks about others instead of herself. She also talked about Bryn being very involved with the sorority, and the respect other sisters give her when she talked or had any feedback dealing with the sorority. Leanne respects Bryn because she treats her with respect. The top two traits that Leanne loves about Bryn is that she is caring and listening and that is very important when building and long term friendship. Bryn has been known to sit down and listen to troubled sorority sisters during their time of need. Even though Leanne and Bryn being roommates may soon become short lived, Leanne plans on being Bryn friend for the rest of her life.

My last interview was with Bryn older sister Lindsay someone that also knows Bryn very well. She talked about how much she loves Bryn, and how she knows she will be a very successful young lady in the near future. Lindsay said her and Bryn never really had fights or arguments which is rare between two sisters. As they both got older Lindsay stopped viewing Bryn as just a little sister but more so as a great friend to call when she needed to vent. Lindsay also enjoyed soccer but says that Bryn was far more superior player on the field then her. She expressed how upset Bryn was when she first broke her leg. Not being able to come and go as she wanted was the worst part of the injury for Bryn.

Lindsay misses spending more time with her little sister but smiles knowing her has growth up with a good head on her shoulders. Overall, it is clear that Bryn is very charming person with good friends and love ones. She has a bright future and a great support system. Bryn treats people with kindness and respect and only ask for the same in return

Just days before Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday, award-winning journalist and author Charles E. Cobb visited campus yesterday with a message to students and staff alike: The Civil Rights Movement ignited the flame for the election of the nation’s first African-American president, Barack Obama.

Cobb’s visit was sponsored by the Office of Institutional Diversity as a part of a series of events designed to remember Rev. King, and took place in the Science and Tech building on campus at 6 p.m.

Cobb, a one-time member of the Civil Rights Movement in Mississippi, focused his speech on the parallels between the past and present, citing prominent members of the civil rights movement, many from North Carolina.

“North Carolina has been so important to the Civil Rights struggle,” Cobb told the crowd of approximately 200 staff, faculty, students and members of the community. “Though I don’t know if North Carolinians know this. There are figures all through North Carolina that have had a major impact on the Civil Rights Movement.”

One of those civil rights activists was Littleton, N.C. native Ella Baker, who worked with King, Thurgood Marshall, Diane Nash and W.E.B. du Bois throughout her almost five decades of working toward a more equal United States, whom Cobb mentioned several times in his speech.

Cobb mentioned several parallels between the Civil Rights Movement and the ever-nearing Inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama on Jan. 20, citing that much of Obama’s success can be linked to the movement that Cobb was a part of over four decades ago.

“Barack Obama’s political achievement has its roots in that Civil Rights struggle,” Cobb said, saying that the influx of young voters and community involvement in last year’s election is similar to what was going on during the years when Rev. King “had a dream.”

Cobb said that although many people have images of what the movement was like-”a mass movement of protests led by charismatic leaders,” were his words-he says that much of the work was done by regular citizens fighting quietly in the nooks and crannies of the American South.

“Ordinary people that were normally spoken for began speaking for themselves,” he said.

Cobb says that Obama’s use of Facebook and other community organizing tools is a modern-day version of the community involvement that many Southerners took part in during the Civil Rights Movement.

Cobb pointed out that although he might not always agree with Obama legislation, he hopes that the change will come as a result of his presidency, something that the community must ban together to make sure the president-elect is accountable for.

To young people, Cobb says: “Act on your issues. I know from my own experience that at least one of the advantages of being young is being unencumbered to act.”

After Cobb’s speech, a light reception sponsored by the School of Communication was held, along with a book signing by the author.

Cobb is the senior analyst for allAfrica.com, a Web site that contains news and information about Africa and its countries. Cobb is a founding member of the National Association of Black Journalists and has worked for National Geographic magazine, where he was the first black staff writer, and National Public Radio, where he brought the first regular coverage of Africa to the station.

Cobb will be visiting and speaking to students in several classrooms throughout campus today.

Meeting in New York City last month, the general board of the National Council of Churches entered into soul-searching discussion of the role its members should play in the nation’s civil rights struggle. Were pulpit pronouncements enough? Could the Christian conscience be satisfied by mere pious expressions of sympathy for the Negro? One who thought not was the Rev. Dr. Eugene Carson Blake, executive head of the United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A.’s general assembly, former president of the National Council and one of the U.S.’s most respected clergymen (TIME cover, May 26, 1961).

Turning to a fellow board member, Blake said quietly: “Some time or other we are all going to have to stand and be on the receiving end of a fire hose.”

Last week Blake, an old Princeton football guard and a man of enormous energy and determination, put his convictions to the test—and although it did not bring streams from a fire hose, it did lead to a Maryland police station.

The Choice. Blake was one of 283 whites and Negroes, including 26 Protestant, Catholic and Jewish clergymen, arrested in an integration march on the gaudy Gwynn Oak Amusement Park outside Baltimore, which has long barred Negroes from its 64 acres. Arrested with him were Bishop Daniel Corrigan, director of the home department of the national council of the Protestant Episcopal Church; the Rev. Dr. William Sloane Coffin Jr., chaplain of Yale University; Rabbi Morris Lieberman of the Baltimore Hebrew Congregation; and Msgr. Austin J. Healy, who marched as an official representative of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore.

Sponsored by the Congress of Racial Equality, the march against Gwynn Oak was carefully planned. The demonstrators, most of them white, first gathered in Baltimore’s Metropolitan Methodist Church, prayed and sang hymns until an appointed hour, then broke up into several groups and headed for the park.

The first group to arrive included Blake and nine other clergymen. Awaiting them at the park were Baltimore County Police Chief Robert J. Lally and a large contingent of cops. The demonstrators had previously warned the police of their intention to march on Gwynn Oak; the police, in turn, had warned the demonstrators that they would be arrested under Maryland’s trespass law.

Ugly Shouts. Moments after Blake and his group entered the grounds, a park owner stopped them, read the trespass law aloud. The marchers remained silent—but they did not leave the premises. Said Chief Lally: “You can leave or you can be arrested.” Still the group was silent. Police moved in, placed them under arrest, led them politely to a waiting patrol wagon.

So far the proceedings had been almost stately. But then the situation began to get ugly. Wave after wave of demonstrators moved toward the Gwynn Oak entrance. Police arrested most of them peaceably and drove them to district stations in waiting school buses. But some demonstrators sat down on the ground and refused to budge; they were hauled off bodily. The white crowd of some 1,000 inside the park turned mean, and there were shouts of “Dump ‘em in the bay,” “Black nigger, white nigger,” “Castrate ‘em” and “Send ‘em to the zoo.” But the police, in firm control, prevented actual violence.

“I Must Do Something.” Several of the clergymen were immediately freed on $103 bond; seven chose to spend a night in jail, but at week’s end all had been released. Along with the other demonstrators, the clergymen plan to fight the charges, demand jury trial. Explained Bishop Corrigan of the Negroes who demonstrated: “These are my fellow citizens. Being able to go into the park is important to them; therefore it’s important to me. The time has come when it’s not enough just to say this. I must also do something.” In other cities across the country last week, the civil rights struggle spread on.

From Wikipedia (cited 1-19-09):

In the late 1950s and early 1960s Gwynn Oak Park was the subject of picketing for integration as it remained segregated until August 28th, 1963. In 1955 Baltimore City clergy along with local chapters of the civil rights groups, Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) with assistance from the NAACP, demonstrated for integration at Gwynn Oak Park. These protests were held at various times over the years but one huge demonstration occurred at Gwynn Oak Park on July 4, 1963. Demonstrators gathered at Metropolitan Methodist Church in West Baltimore to load buses to Gwynn Oak Park. On that July 4th, racially charged “fireworks” flew as 283 people were arrested and charged with trespassing outside the park. The demonstration remained peaceful as many arrested were clerics from all over the east coast. For Michael Schwerner, a CORE worker, this was his first protest and one of his last. Michael was killed by the Ku Klux Klan in Mississippi just one year later. Two members of the Episcopal Church’s National Council staff, Bishop Daniel Corrigan and Father Daisuke Kitagawa, Executive Secretary of the Division of Domestic Missions, were also among the group arrested.

Girl Power meets once a week for about an hour and a half. They discuss things like drug use and abuse, delaying sexual activity and teenage pregnancy and how to keep a positive self-esteem. By talking about these things to the girls at a younger age they instill ways to build confidence, competence and pride in themselves and overall enhancing their mental wellness. With these weekly meetings girls are provided with messages and materials about the risks and consequences of these concerns.

The program is a great way to keep them on the right track and keep negative statistics down.
Girls are seven times more likely than boys to be depressed and twice as likely to attempt suicide. They are three times more likely than boys to have a negative body image. One in every five females in the U.S. between the ages of 12 and 17 drink alcohol and smoke cigarettes. The ones who develop positive interpersonal and social skills decrease their risk of substance abuse. Those who have an interest and ability in areas such as academics, the arts, sports, and community activities are more likely to develop confidence and may be less likely to use drugs.

On the other hand, this also is a time when girls may make decisions to try risky behaviors, including drinking, smoking, and using drugs. For these reasons, Girl Power provides adult female mentors and pro-social opportunities with peers to help them acquire new information, practice new skills and make healthy choices for their life.

The program is about young girls gaining confidence. Studies have shown that in a single-gendered community, such as Girl Power, girls are more likely to say what they really feel, feel they are more likely to be listened to, more willing to take on more leadership roles and more willing to try new things.

The most important aspect of this program is that it is for girls, about girls and the girls want to be part of it. This is what a few of the girls had to say about it:

-“My dad told me that if I didn’t bring my grades up that I couldn’t come to the program anymore.” She showed her leaders that her grades had all come up to As and Bs that were once Ds and Fs.

-“We get to have fun and do cool things.”

-“I didn’t know that a woman was mayor of Kendallville!”

-“I like it because I meet new friends that I never really talked to before the program.”

They say it all when it comes to the good this program is doing. The participants in Girl Power learn many different things about relative and diverse topics. But the most important thing is they are having fun and treating themselves to a bright future by starting this positive program at such a vital age.

As example of Diane’ early ability to entertain, her mom remembers how she once came up with a tall tell of finding, “a dead snake [that she] took inside” then “cooked it and ate it.”

When Diane was in the 7th grade she saw they were having auditions for “The Sound of Music”. Even though she wasn’t in high school she was still intrigued and decided to try out for the play, she ended up getting the part of Sister Sophia. Her mom believed that the play “was what got her interested in theater and led to her join the drama club.” Once she got to high school she did around ten more plays and was the lead in most of them.

Even though Diane did a lot of acting in plays she decided that she would rather be on radio. Diane wants be apart of a morning radio show and talk about entertainment news.

Her mom believes she would be very successful on the radio because “she has always been a social butterfly and is always very talkative.” Her sister concurs with her mom, but also thinks “She would excel in public relations because she is great with people and has always been the one to host parties.”

Diane is also an athlete. She started to play soccer when she was in kindergarten and was even named co-captain her senior year in high school. When soccer season was over she ran for her schools cross-country team. “She mostly ran to stay in shape for soccer,” her mom remembered “she really enjoyed it at the same time.”

Diane was not only a two-sport athlete for her high school, she also was into extreme sports and likes to surf, skateboard, and snowboard, which she learned how to do all by herself. As another example of this, her sister recalls one summer when they went to the beach and “she decided she was going to learn how to surf during our trip. She did it without any help. It may have taken her a while but it was very impressive.” She used to compete in dance competitions when she was growing up. Diane took tap, ballet, and hip-hop and competed in state competitions.

Traveling and had visiting many parts of the world, Diane loves to go see new places. Her mom would take her and her family on vacations to Disney and various places in the United States. Diane and her family once took a trip through 35 different states in one summer. “We had a blast and Diane just enjoyed seeing all the different ways people lived,” her mom said.

Diane’s friends and her family have described her as a great friend and a loving sister. Though Diane and her sister Hunter are now miles apart they still talk everyday on the phone to keep in touch. Says Hunter “Diane is a great sister. She is my best friend and she is always looking out for me. While we were down there Diane and her friends met some guys and they hung out with them all the time. Even though everyone was older than me, Diane still made sure I never felt left out.”

A kind person who would look out for others, Diane’s childhood friend Courtney describes her as “ very respectful, easy to talk to, and very strong emotionally.” She went on to say “she is just a great friend she always listens to you and is always straight up with you about how she feels.”

Diane Dougherty is a very entertaining person and has all the qualities to make a great radio personality. She is very active whether it’s her traveling, acting in a play or it playing soccer. Diane has entertained and convinced me she would be great on radio.

On paper, Katy’s accomplishments, goals, and experiences definitely exceed those of many other students. In addition to that, her personality can make almost any conversation extremely hard to walk away from.

Born on Dec. 4, 1987, Katy began her life as the younger of two children in a loving family dwelling in Fairfax, Virginia. Now, majoring in public relations, this senior at East Carolina University spends her time playing soccer, exercising, being active on campus, and listening to reggae music.

“Katy’s ability to just put her head down and toughen up when times become difficult will really help her succeed as she continues through life,” says friend Marley Poston. This ability may be the factor, that helps her to continue on through the obstacles one endures throughout the journey to success.

Being Irish, Katy plans to explore her heritage in Ireland this summer, as she recently enrolled in a study abroad program. Katy is an employee of the City of Ayden. She has obtained a respectable job where she is in charge of putting together the weekly newsletters for the city, funding and coordinating city events, and assisting at the city hall. On top of studying, working, and living, she plans on meeting new people and getting an experience most of us can not say we have had.

Aside from all that Katy has going on; she still finds time for her self-interest. She has a love for collecting wine, primarily white wine. She continues this by taking part in a wine club every Friday night. Along with this she also enjoys being active in a “community friendly” sorority. Zeta Tau Alpha holds annual fundraisers, charity events, and they are nationally known for singlehandedly raising breast cancer awareness on campuses nationwide. They are also known to be quite classy and attractive young women. “We care a lot about what’s going on with the community, what we do in college will really build the rest of our lives,” says Zeta Tau Alphas’ own Meredith Warren, a sorority sister and friend.

Katy is the type of girl you love telling your friends about, the girl you bring home to mom, and the girl who really knows where her life is going. She is one of those people who you can laugh with for hours. She is one of those people that makes you feel better as a person.

So what is in store for the future of Katy Conlon? After her exciting trip to Ireland, many stories will be shared and it is definite that she will grow dramatically both as a friend, and a member of the career world. As Katy would put it, “I will hopefully obtain a job where I can help people coordinate, talk to them, and assist them. After that, I’m going to buy a Husky and start my path down a new road tackling new challenges.”

The situation is heartbreaking; the people left behind in Mexico are devastated; they miss their fathers, brothers, and sons, but they need the monetary support from them. One of the men followed in the documentary died during its filming, and every man at the day workers site donated what he could for the man’s family. Even though they need every penny they have, and sometimes don’t even get paid for a day job, they still found a way to support the family of a lost friend.

This documentary did an excellent job of painting a different picture. I think a lot of the intolerance from American citizens comes from not seeing them as people with families and dreams. Instead, people see them as a group invading our country and stealing our jobs, but Los Trabajadores put a different, more human, picture on immigration

According to Moore, Some personal characteristics that are needed to be successful in her job are friendliness, organization, structure, flexibility, multi-tasking –– in addition to being “a great listener/communicator, confident, selfless, driven, and thick skinned.” Two of the biggest obstacles associated with her job are time and funding.

She is not only the community partner coordinator, but an avid volunteer herself. Her unbiased attitude towards the partners helps her to serve.

“Although I have great respect for all of the agencies that I work with, I am most passionate about the American Red Cross Blood Services, Humane Society of Eastern Carolina and some youth programs. Donating blood is the easiest way to save lives, and our community uses a lot of blood, as we are fortunate to have an amazing hospital. I think animals and children are innocence groups that must be protected and nurtured at all costs because they often lack a means of protecting themselves.”

The original civil rights movement of the mid 50’s-late 60’s and its aftermath has made it possible for more to work with and serve people of all backgrounds. “I get to work with people from all racial backgrounds and witness their great works in the community. There are also a number of agencies and programs that assist minority groups that might not have existed prior to the 1950s.”

Moore is a graduate twice over from East Carolina University so the choice of Pitt County over a larger school was not so much of a choice but an opportunity.“ I was an undergraduate and graduate student at ECU who found a work environment and community that I liked.”

Motivation and strength come in many different forms. For Moore interaction with students and the community come as a reward.

“By working in the community I see such great needs and students stepping up to the challenges to doing amazing work, this is what motivates me. The A-ha moments that I have with my students and community partners are the best motivator. I love my student staff and my community partners; they are like an extended family. I sit on the Board of the Humane Society of Eastern Carolina. I volunteer with this organization because I love animals and strongly believe in their mission and the people who work on staff.”

The most effective ways to bring attention or promote action to a social justice/civil rights or non-profit initiative is by “getting people involved in a cause (pulling from personal networks) through projects and activities, speaking about personal experiences with an agency, listening to motivation speakers, good marketing (solid message about cause or initiative).”

What the legacy of the volunteer/service learning program at East Carolina will be once Moore is no longer working for the school is a tough to call but for now, she hopes that the program continues.

“I hope that the Center is well funded and continues to provide quality activities that are meaningful and relevant to both students and community, and that community partners are seen as co-instructors in certain instances. I also hope that students who served while at ECU will continue to serve throughout their lives in whatever community they settle.”

What have you learned about yourself, other people, and society as a whole, while being community partner coordinator? I have learned that passion drives the non-profit world and it works good, no matter how small, are having an important effect.

Her advice to those who wish to work in a non-profit organization is “find an organization that you are passionate about and pace yourself.”

Child abuse is the maltreatment of a child. It can be physical, emotional, and sexual or neglect.
Shaking, hitting, beating, burning or biting are all involved in the physical aspect of child abuse. Can you imagine dreading to come home from school because you know what is waiting for you? Sadly, many children have to deal with this terrible situation head on worrying about what will be done to them next.

Abusing a child emotionally can consist of constantly blaming a child for something that is beyond their control. Excessive yelling and shaming can often make a child feel worthless. Children that are hurt emotionally may feel like they are stupid or can never do anything right. They are more likely to attempt suicide. They feel like what is the point of being alive, and may think they are better off dead so they will not have to deal with the abuse. They feel like their only purpose on earth is to be wounded emotionally by an attacker that should know better.

Sexual abuse is also a form of child abuse. Incest, forced sexual activity and exposure to sexual stimulation not appropriate for the child’s age are all forms of sexual abuse. Don’t get it twisted. A sexual offender can be male or female. There have been many cases when a child is sexually abused by the father. The child tells the mother what is going on but she does not want to believe the child. In worse scenarios the mother would see the abuse going on and not do anything about it, or would give the father permission to abuse the child just to keep their marriage together.

Neglect is the continued failure to provide for a child’s physical and emotional needs. Examples include; lack of food, clothing, shelter, medical care, affection, attention, and proper supervision.

We can make a difference in a child’s life. There are a few steps that you can learn to help you recognize the symptoms of child abuse. Teachers and daycare workers would more likely be able to recognize symptoms of child abuse because they are around children all the time.

Consider the possibility of child abuse if a child shows sudden changes in behavior or performance in school, has not received help for medical problems brought to the parents’ attention, lacks adult supervision or comes to school early, stays late, and does not want to go home. These are just a few signs of child abuse to look out for.

The STRIVE program lasts for six weeks. The first four weeks students attend class from 9 am to 4 pm and for the other two weeks STRIVE does a job search with each student. During the four week period students are required to treat the program as a job, where they have to wear work attire. “At first I hated having to dress up every day,” said Erica, “but the people at STRIVE do not force us to come, it’s our choice.”

Even though Erica is an intelligent woman with an education, she has learned how to approach people better and how to have a better attitude in the work place. This is one of the many qualities that STRIVE teaches. The first day of Erica’s class consisted of an ice breaker activity where every student has to talk about themselves for five minutes in front of the class and write a poem about themselves. After learning more about her classmates, Erica said that she has learned, “not to judge other people. We are all in the same situation one way or the other regardless of our past.” She also said that although she is not one hundred percent comfortable with public speaking or self confidence yet she is certain that after her four week class time she will get better.

Erica is currently waiting to hear from UC Cellular as well as the Greenville Police Department as to whether or not they will consider her for a new job. She believes that STRIVE is a good program and is hoping it will help her in the long run. She is looking forward to a new positive attitude and has acknowledged the fact that she along with her other classmates have made bad choices in the past but wants to move on.

My great grand mother never really talked to me about her life in Kenya. I only found by going through her boxes. After reading a few letters I noticed at the bottom of the box there was sometime wrapped in an old towel. When I opened it there was a very detailed hand crafted mask. It seemed very creepy at first not knowing if my great grandmother practiced voodoo or anything like that. I first confronted my mother and asked her about the mask she smiled and replied that she remember seeing the mask as a child. 
But could not recall what type of mask it was and what it stood for. 

After doing a little research I found out that the mask was a warrior mask. It was maked to bring strength bravery and good hunting to the family.
This mask showed me a piece of my family history I had no clue about.

My great grandmother brought the mask with her when she moved to the U.S. to give her courage due to the well-known violent, racism that Africa Americans received during the 1960s. My grandmother remarried a white man in 1966 after my first great grand father passed. She would deal with a lot of hardships after that but through faith and the love of her family she made it work. Maybe the mask gave her a little help in the long run.

On August 20, 1988, restaurant owners, Michael and Linda Armellino, were privileged to bring their second child into the world. A blonde hair blue eyed girl they named Alicia Brooks Armellino. Allie’s older brother Micheal is twenty-two and she also has a younger sister, Lauren, who is nineteen. Growing up Alicia was nick-named, Allie, which stuck with her forever.

The term “full- time college student” is used almost too liberally around college campuses. The truth is “full-time college student” can be an almost impossible order to fill. East Carolina University junior Allie Armellino makes the term a complete understatement.

The twenty year old communication major, originally from Fairfax Virginia, is focusing her studies on Public Relations. To jumpstart her career she has been working at 106.7 WJFK, a local radio station. She also is an intern for “The Big O and Duke Show”, in hopes of a future job offer there. When asked her broader career goals Allie says that she one day wants to live in California. She adds, “I want to be famous for being myself.”

As if this isn’t enough she has embraced her college community as her “home away from home,” by building a sisterhood in the sorority she joined Alpha Phi, she has been a member for three years. She prides her organization in giving back to the community by volunteering.
Allie’s sorority sister, Tyler Dillion describes her as outgoing and a one –of-a- kind person. “She would do anything for her friends,” she adds. “She is outgoing, funny, and fun to be around.” This should come as no surprise because throughout high school Allie was very active.
Serving as a peer mentor in high school, Allie also took part in taking care of disabled students by assisting them to class and helping with homework and their class work. At Paul VI Catholic High School she was also the ultimate athlete. She played varsity lacrosse, track, and swimming. She also played competitive soccer all four years of high school and briefly played at East Carolina in 2006 until suffering an injury.

In Allie’s spare time she enjoys listening to different genres of music such as rap, country, hip-hop, and reggae. Her music choice reflects is very diverse which represents her personality. Allie loves to be the center of attention. “I’m kind of a wild child,” she adds. She loves to travel too, she has explored Costa Rica with her father, ran track in Australia, and also visited Japan. Allie hopes to one day add Europe and Hawaii to her list.

As if Allie doesn’t already have a lot on her plate between school and extracurricular activities she finds time for a boyfriend. About six months ago Allie and Garrett met at a party and have been dating for two months. He shyly hesitated as he took a deep breath into the phone as he thought of what it was that attracted him to Allie. In a flirtatious voice he answered, “It’s her personality, she’s amazing. Allie has a way of connecting with people really well.” Garrett describes Allie as being very random and spontaneous. “She is truly beautiful inside and out.”

Only being able to share a portion of her busy life Allie surely deserves the title of being called: full -time college student plus.

Raechel spent the first two years of her life in the Bahamas, but was then raised in Orlando, Fla. She moved to Jacksonville, N.C. after she married a Marine who was stationed there. She has a special connection with each place she has lived and finds the question “where are you from?” difficult to answer.

Raechel has a close relationship with her father, Ed Bradford, a political science professor at the University of Central Florida. He and his wife had Raechel in their late 30s, later in life than many people have children. As a result, “she grew up around older people and the challenge for her was trying not to grow up too fast,” her father said. He also added “Raechel has always been very mature, focused, and responsible, so we focused on giving her choices and as much independence as we could.”

Three years ago Raechel married her husband at the young age of 18, which her father considers her most life-changing event so far, “she’s doing it really well; she’s been supportive and has taken on a lot of responsibilities,” her father said. When her husband was deployed she began volunteering, usually helping other military families with a deployed member. She found staying busy and productive to be a good strategy to help pass the time away from her husband more quickly.

When her husband returned from his deployment, she faced some new challenges with readjusting, but she has been supportive and patient in that as well.

Helping others just seems to be a part of Raechel. “She’s constantly going out of her way to help people,” her father said, “happiness to her is not based on material things; it’s based on relationships. She’s happy when people she loves are doing well.”

Her friend and neighbor, Kate Valles confirmed this, “Raechel always goes out of her way to help people, she’s always cooking for her husband’s friends and even my husband and I for that matter. She’s always the first to open her home to others. She’s always the first to lend a hand.”

Raechel has to balance many things in her life while being enrolled full time at a university that is over an hour from her home. And according to her father she has met the challenge, “academically she’s done very well,” he said, “and she is one of the most organized people I have ever known, which is one of her greatest strengths.”

Raechel’s desire to be organized also has its comical side, “She can’t sit and watch TV without organizing socks or pens or something,” Valles said. And her biggest pet peeve is “either something being unorganized or a messy house.”

When asked if he would like to see any changes in his daughter, Raechel’s father couldn’t think of any, “she’s a special kid; I’m very proud of her.”

Although he wouldn’t change anything, he suspects Raechel tries to be more patient, especially with “bad drivers.” Another challenge to her patience is living on a Marine base in Jacksonville, N.C. Having grown up in a liberal household, Raechel is isolated ideologically in her current location. Her father said she is now around “very conservative thinking; much more than she has been exposed to in our household.”

Raechel has not decided what she wants to do with her degree once she has it, but that is one reason she chose Public Relations as her field of study. She likes its versatility and that she doesn’t have to know exactly what she wants right now.

Her friend and neighbor of over ten years, A.J Nunez, said in the future he sees Raechel “in a position of power. A major money-maker in whatever field she chooses.” It’s possible Raechel will seek a master’s or law degree after graduating from ECU, but whatever path Raechel chooses, her father is confident that “she will be happy and successful in whatever she does.”

Johnson’s life has taken her to many corners of the earth. Some examples include the cities of Western Europe, South Africa, California, and now coastal North Carolina, where she has lived, learned, and had a positive effect on the people and communities.

She is a woman of many passions, whether it be surfing and sailing with friends and family, raising community awareness through organizations such as No OLF and the Golden Leaf Foundation, or working with a group of ECU students to advance environmental and political awareness. Simply put, she is a small town girl doing what she can to look out for neighbors and friends.

Antje’s story begins with her birth in Rostock, Germany, formerly part of East Germany. Her father was a naval radio operator, which caused him to travel frequently. The job struck her interest, igniting a passion in her to travel and learn about the world.

Though she never pursued the job as a radio operator, she did follow her dreams of traveling throughout Europe. She found that her favorite locations were the major cities including London and Barcelona.

But not all of these trips were purely for pleasure, as Antje was constantly pursuing her education along the way. She studied at an American high school in Maine as well as working on a masters degree in South Africa, where she met her future husband Roger.

Roger Johnson was on a surfing trip to South Africa looking to catch waves, but ended up catching a wife along the way. Though he was only there on a short vacation, they immediately developed feelings for each other and kept in contact until Antje decide to join him in North Carolina after finishing her degree.

They currently live in Plymouth, North Carolina where Antje has become very involved in communities throughout the eastern part of the state. Through organizations like the No OLF (outlying landing field) campaign in Beaufort County, NC, and the Golden Leaf foundation, she has worked hard to protect the people and natural environment around her. Close friend, Lucia Laudisio, describes Antje’s passion for helping the community around her with the statement “it is in her nature to want to be involved with [the] community and help it to grow in a prosperous manner while still guarding the traditions and lifestyle that make this area so unique….Being involved is how she lays down her roots.”

Another way that Antje serves the community is through participating in living history days. During these Civil War reenactments she dresses up in an old Victorian style dress, which according to her husband, Roger, is a very large and elaborate piece of clothing, and guides tours through Plymouth to the major landmarks of that time period.

Though this cause is not quite as serious as her work with the other community programs, she enjoys teaching others about the historical significance of their surroundings which she herself has grown to love.

All of the work Johnson does with the community and the pursuit of her second degree at East Carolina University take up much of her time. But Antje sometimes needs to blow off a little steam. One activity that she is particularly fond of is surfing. She and Roger like to drive to the beach on weekends when the surf is good and even go on surfing vacations from time to time.

Once while surfing in South Africa she and a friend encountered a dangerous situation. Roger had left Antje and a friend to surf at another location when the tide suddenly dipped dangerously low, exposing jagged rocks between them and the beach. Her friend was suddenly sucked in, leaving her in a vulnerable position where she could be smashed against the protruding rocks at any minute. Antje swiftly paddled in to help her, putting herself at risk. They were then forced to walk barefoot along the sharp rocks to get back to shore. When Roger returned he was shocked to see the two women battered and bruised, but happy that they had come away relatively unharmed.

This experience has not hindered her love of surfing and is a prime example of the quality of person that Antje really is. Whether it is reaching out to a good cause or a friend in need, Antje is a person who truly cares not only for herself but the world around her.

As an example of Diane’s early ability to entertain, her mom remembers how she once came up with a tall tale of finding, “a dead snake took it inside then she cooked it and ate it.”

When Diane was in the 7th grade, she saw they were having auditions for a high school play: “The Sound of Music”. Even though she wasn’t in high school she was still intrigued and decided to try out for the play, she ended up getting the part of Sister Sophia. Her mom believed that the play “was what got her interested in theater and led to her join the drama club.” Once she got to high school she did around ten more plays and was the lead in most of them.

Even though Diane did a lot of acting in plays she decided that she would rather be on radio. Diane wants to be part of a morning radio show and talk about entertainment news.

Diane’s mom believes she will be very successful on the radio because “she has always been a social butterfly and is always very talkative.” Her sister concurs with her mom, but also thinks “She would excel in public relations because she is great with people and has always been the one to host parties.”
Diane is also an athlete. She started to play soccer when she was in kindergarten and was even named co-captain her senior year in high school.

When soccer season was over she ran for her schools cross-country team. “She mostly ran to stay in shape for soccer,” her mom remembered “she really enjoyed it at the same time.”

Diane was not only a two-sport athlete for her high school, she also was into extreme sports and likes to surf, skateboard, and snowboard, which she learned how to do all by herself. As another example of her athleticism, her sister recalls one summer when they went to the beach and “she decided she was going to learn how to surf during our trip. She did it without any help. It may have taken her a while but it was very impressive.”

Diane used to compete in dance competitions when she was growing up. She took tap, ballet, and hip-hop and competed in state competitions.

Traveling and having visited many parts of the world, Diane loves to go see new places. Her mom would take her and her family on vacations to Disney and various places in the United States. Diane and her family once took a trip through 35 different states in one summer. “We had a blast and Diane just enjoyed seeing all the different ways people lived,” her mom said.

Diane’s friends and her family have described her as a great friend and a loving sister. Though Diane and her sister Hunter are now miles apart, they still talk everyday on the phone to keep in touch. Says Hunter “Diane is a great sister. She is my best friend and she is always looking out for me. While we were down there Diane and her friends met some guys and they hung out with them all the time. Even though everyone was older than me, Diane still made sure I never felt left out.”

A kind person who would look out for others, Diane’s childhood friend Courtney describes her as “ very respectful, easy to talk to, and very strong emotionally.” She went on to say “she is just a great friend she always listens to you and is always straight up with you about how she feels.”

Diane Dougherty is a very entertaining person and has all the qualities to make a great radio personality. She is very active whether it’s her traveling, acting in a play, or playing soccer. Diane has entertained and convinced me she would be great on radio.

Have you ever been in a county that has only one stoplight? Welcome to Gates County, a rural community at the Chowan River. In 2008, the Navy decided to put an Outlying Landing field (OLF) in Gates County. An OLF is a concrete landing strip where the naval pilots practice touch-and-goes. This means the planes never land. They practice landing and immediate takeoff. They will practice this 24/7. If approved, the exact location would be Sandbanks, Gates County.

Rural areas are so attractive to the Navy because of the dark skies. The Navy wants their pilots to learn how to land and start from aircraft carriers.

Furthermore, the Navy is looking at alternative sites:
Cabin Point Site in Surry, Prince George Counties in Virginia,
Dory Site in Southampton and Sussex Counties in Virginia,
Hale’s Lake Site in Currituck and Camden Counties in North Carolina and
Mason Site in Sussex and Southampton Counties.

2. Aftermath of Washington County

The decision to put an OLF into Gates County came as a surprise to the people living in Gates County since the Navy denied the site in 2003.

When site C in Washington and Beaufort Counties was removed from the list in 2008, the Navy had to look for new sites. The communities in Washington and Beaufort Counties had been fighting the Navy for about 7 years. The site was taken off after many trips to Raleigh by the community organizers, many public hearings, and hard campaigning by the grass roots group of North Carolinians Opposed to and Outlying Landing Field (NOOLF). NOOLF was able to generate national and international support from groups such as “Ducks Unlimited” and the “Autobahn Society”, to name just two. A Raleigh based law firm worked for NOOLF pro bono. Even D.C. Lobbyists helped the local farmers in the fight for their land. Duke and UNC law students supported the law firm. The main reason why it was decided to take site C off the list was the fact that migratory birds such as Tundra swans and Snow geese spend the winter at the nearby Pettigrew State Park and Lake Matamuskeet. The tundra swans can weigh up to nine pounds and if a plane was to collide with a flock of birds, it would most likely crash. Since this site would pose a danger to the pilots it was dropped.

3. What does this mean to the community?

This is how Gates County reappeared on the map. “Citizens Against OLF” a grass roots organization was formed to fight the Navy’s plan to build an Outlying Landing field in Gates and Hertford County known as the Sandbanks OLF site.

In September 2007, the community learned about the Navy’s plan of putting an OLF site into the nature reserve at Sandbanks. “Our children were crying when my husband, Dave, told me what this would mean that the animals would die.” Remembers Laura Dickerson, a representative of “Citizens Against an OLF”. As soon as she heard she started activating the community. Within a week 800 Gates County residents were informed, came to the first meeting and were ready to fight the Navy’s plans.

The announcement of a planned OLF in the area, alone led to the drop in property values.

A. Eminent Domain

The proposed OLF in Gates County means that about 95-100 families could lose their homes. The navy would purchase 30,000 acres of land. About 166 landowners living in the area could be forced to move from the land their families had owned for generations. Eminent Domain could be used to achieve this goal. The laws were originally created to “seize a citizen’s private property, expropriate property, or seize a citizen’s rights in property with due monetary compensation, but without the owner’s consent. The property is taken either for government use or by delegation to third parties who will devote it to public or civic use or, in some cases, economic development.” (Wikipedia). Families living close to the OLF could either be forced to move or could receive a noise and pollution compensation; however, the lives of the people in Gates County would change forever. The noise impact would destroy the quiet way of life in this community. Furthermore, removing thousands of acres of land from the county’s tax base would cause taxes to rise. The property values in the county would decrease.

B. Noise Levels in the Contour
The noise levels in the contour are difficult to judge, since the Navy has not yet released any flight patterns. The Navy states that the noise is not to exceed 110db but this number represents only the average noise level. The actual noise level will be more likely to be twice as high.

C. Job loss
The OLF will not bring jobs to Gates County, but jobs will be lost especially in the farming community. The Navy would restrict as to what farmers in and around the contour would be allowed to grow. For example, farmer would probably not be allowed to farm small grains because those attract migratory birds, which pose a danger to the planes. The productivity of poultry houses would be limited because the Jet noise would cause stress for the animals. Furthermore, Rev. Dr. William Barber II, NAACP NC president pointed out at a main “Citizens Against an OLF” meeting in February 2009 that the area produces for Gerber. He said: “What do you think Gerber will do if they found out about this?” He referred to the fact that the planes have to dump their fuel in case of emergencies and pollute the crops when they do so.

D. Loss of Roots

The Stoney Branch Missionary Baptist Church is only 200ft away from the proposed landing strip. It may be demolished and would not be able to serve their community any more. The church is of historical value. Freed slaves in the area founded it. There are at least 100 cemeteries in the Sandbanks that are threatened by the planned OLF.

Sources
www.wikipedia.com
Interview with Laura Dickerson
Info Material provided by “Citizens Against an OLF”

Gina grew up an only child on a tobacco farm with all kinds of animals including dogs, cats, and horses. She said growing up in Henderson wasn’t always exciting. For fun, teenagers went to the movie theatre or Wal Mart to hang out.

Although the town itself wasn’t very large, one thing that stood out was sports. Gina herself was a skilled and avid athlete. In high school, she was an active member of the softball and tennis teams and she was a cheerleader for five years.

Unfortunately, she had to stop playing softball after she tore a tendon in her knee. She also hurt her ankle in tennis. But these injuries did not stop Gina. She still plays sports and her goal is to work for ESPN. Gina is a sophomore at East Carolina University and she is majoring in Broadcast Journalism in order to obtain her goal.

It’s obvious that Gina is very close to her friends and family. Gina’s good friend Sarah Cooper told me that Gina grew up on the same land as her grandparents and maintains a special relationship with them. Sarah said Gina has a warm and welcoming family, which explains why Gina has that personality trait herself.

Sarah describes Gina’s family as “Them good ‘ole Southern folks, they’re wonderful to be around. If you dread having steak, baked potato, and corn while you’re there, you’ll certainly be entertained by their accents. They’ll treat you as they would their own family, that is of course until you cross them. Her grandmother, Gaga is splendid. Gaga always has sweet tea around, and there is likely a fresh batch of some delicious pastry sitting in the center of the kitchen table.”

Gina and Sarah have been close friends since first grade and Sarah describes Gina as a “realistic and honest person who doesn’t worry about sweating the small stuff.” Sarah describes Gina as a funny girl with a positive attitude who can find humor in almost anything. In fact, Sarah said that she’s not sure if she’s even seen Gina cry in all her years of knowing her.

Sarah told me that Gina has a passion for sports and animals and that her perfect day would include drinking sweet tea by the pool. Some of their favorite memories together include jumping on the trampoline after it rained, giving one another hideous makeovers, going to prom, and even getting piercings together. “I couldn’t trade Gina for anything. She holds a very significant piece of my heart and always will. She is her own person and certainly has a mind of her own,” Sarah said. From all of this, it’s apparent that these two share a very close bond.

Gina’s friend and neighbor Blaine Little agrees with everyone I’ve spoken to about Gina’s upbeat personality. “She’s just really fun,” he said. When I asked him what his favorite memory was with Gina, he said it was a movie night in his apartment. “We had a sleepover, made a palette on the floor, made brownies, and even had a pillow fight!” Gina is the type of girl who can make even the simplest night at home fun.

I also interviewed Gina’s mother, Tobbie Edwards. The first thing she told me was that Gina was a genuinely nice girl. It seems that Gina does not have a mean bone in her body. In fact, the only thing negative her mother had to say was that Gina is a very trusting person, sometimes too trusting.

Mrs. Edwards also told me about Gina’s love for animals. Gina works at the Marley Fund helping to care for sick and injured cats. She told me me a story about Gina even at four years old sharing a close bond with her animals. “One time, she took off with her three dogs and went to the back of the farm to see the horses. We were planting tobacco at the time and we were on the plant bed, and no one saw her leave. We looked for what seemed like forever, and when her daddy found her with the dogs and horses, he asked her why she had left without telling anyone. She said that she had secrets to tell the animals.”

It is obvious to any person who meets Gina Edwards that she is an open, caring and talented person. She shows deep compassion in her love for animals and sports and she is a down-to-earth person who loves her friends and her family very much.

In this complicated and rough world, it can be hard to meet genuinely good-hearted people, but it’s safe to say that Gina is one of them. She has touched the lives of those close to her, simply by her bright smile and positive attitude. She has goals and ambitions that she is sure to reach and she knows how to have fun along the way.

McKenzie has an older sister named Whitney and is very close to her. McKenzie grew up playing sports and was involved in many outdoor activities. She played softball and was the catcher for her high school, Surry Central. She was also on the school’s swim team and loved to hunt and ride four-wheelers. The first deer she killed was an eight-pointer when she was 12 years old.

McKenzie graduated from Surry Central in 2007 with the class clown crown. She was quite a joker while in high school and still is today. She decided to attend East Carolina because her sister graduated from the school in 2001.

She is currently a public relations major and resides at the Bellamy apartment complex in Greenville. She is trying to receive her CDL’s in order to work for the ECU transit. She also baby-sits on the side.

During her free time, McKenzie likes to hang out with her friends and have fun. They love to go to parties and watch movies together.

McKenzie loves to go to rodeos and barrel race horses. Barrel racing is when you race around barrels with horses. Whoever has the fastest time wins the event. She has ridden horses since the age of 12. She likes to collect boots and currently owns 15 pairs of boots. She loves to wear them all the time wherever she goes.

McKenzie loves listening to rock, southern rock, and beach music. She likes Lynard Skynard and AC/DC.

However, one of the most interesting facts about her biggest obsession is dip. She likes Copenhagen and wintergreen dip straight from the can. For all the Northerners out there, dip is flavored tobacco that you put into your mouth and suck on like chewing tobacco.

McKenzie’s roommate, Kayla, went to East Surry high school close to Surry Central where McKenzie attended. She met McKenzie through an ex-boyfriend and later became really close when they lived in the Cotton dorms at ECU. They later moved in together at the Bellamy apartment complex.

Kayla said, “McKenzie is a very good friend and is a very good friend and is very protective over all her friends.” She went on to tell me that they love to hang out and watch scary movies and take it easy.
Another friend of McKenzie named Lauren Cowin met McKenzie through her other friend, Jessica Poe. Lauren described McKenzie as “loud, easy going, and a funny person to be around.” She said that she is always wearing her boots and Carhart jacket. She went on to say that when they go out McKenzie is very out-spoken and speaks her mind to others. Once a guy came up to one of her friends and started flirting with her. McKenzie was not going to have this and quickly stepped in and told the guy to leave her friend alone. She is also “girly” but can hang with the guys and not be intimidated by them.

The other friend, Jessica Poe, met McKenzie when they stayed in the Garrett building on campus. She described her as being “loud and prissy, but doesn’t mind doing outdoor activities and getting dirty.”
Jessica and McKenzie like to go outdoors and go hunting. They also enjoy riding four-wheelers and partaking in “redneck” activates. She said that McKenzie is very country and will let everybody know it.
Like Kayla, Jessica said that McKenzie is very protective over her girls. She said that guys that try and flirt with her that are jerks will hear it from McKenzie. She is not afraid to tell a guy off and give him a piece of her mind.

An interesting note that Jessica mentioned was when McKenzie was first getting into the communications major, her dream was to be a rodeo announcer.

Overall, McKenzie Moore is obviously a very outgoing person that is a great friend to the ones she cares about the most. She is really protective and will do just about anything for her best girl friends. She loves the outdoors and doing things that most would consider to be guys’ hobbies. She is a small town girl and proud of it.

Her brother, my great-great uncle, Lewis Speight and his nephew Brantley Speight also thought education was important and donated money to East Carolina. The money was used to construct the present day Speight building here on campus.

The program is designed to assist children who may not have meals during the weekend;students receive free or reduced lunch at school, but there are some that need more help and need food for the weekend as well.

The first process in the program is to contact the school to receive the number of students that meet the criteria. The guidance counselors and school administrators help identify these students. However, they want to keep the children’s identity confidential, so they do not issue out the names of the students. The BackPack program receives a list of the number of students which leads to the next step.

The second step is for the organization to look for volunteers and partners to help with the bagging process. They have recently started this program with Sadie Saulter Elementary. They issue out 25 book bags to children that attend the school. Even though the number is 25, the number of students that receive food is actually around 45. The kids that receive the bags may have siblings, so they have to put more food in the book bags for the number of people in the household. The bags have ribbons attached to them to let the volunteers that are bagging them know the number of kids to pack for.

The children receive the book bags on Fridays at the end of school to take home with them over the weekend. Most of the time the older siblings are given the bags that have a younger brother or sister. The students are expected to return the book bags back to school on Monday morning. There is an incentive for the students receiving the meals to go to school. Increased attendance and overall achievements of the students receiving assistance has been on the increase.

Jarvis Memorial church works in partnership with BackPack pals. Their volunteers help the packing of the book bags and by giving monetary and food donations to the organization. Heather Rhodes stated that “The churches play a major role in our program.” There are several churches that have stepped up and asked to play roles in the group. The organization is not solely dependent on churches. Individuals can donate monetary offerings and food to the organization.

Civic organizations have also stepped in and are raising money and collecting food. At the Tipsy Teapot in downtown Greenville, there is a poetry night held by Spoken Serenity. The event is free but guests must bring in a non-perishable food item in to be donated to the BackPack Pal program.

BackPack Pals plans on opening up two more chapters in Pitt County later this fall. G.R. Whitfield and Belvoir Elementary school are next on the agenda. Salem United Methodist church has volunteered to help with Belvoir and Immanuel Baptist has volunteered to help out with G.R. Whitfield.

One project the Humane Society works on is saving the baby seals off the coast of Canada. Every March the best scene off the coast of Canada is the sight of baby seals. The seals are born with beautiful white fur. The baby seals are hunted for that reason. In the mid eighties seal hunting was banned everywhere. Then in the nineties the Canadian government lifted the ban setting certain number of how many seals the hunters could kill a year. The hunters brutally kill these animals just so someone can walk around wearing the fur around their necks. The seals are no more than twelve weeks old when their lives are taken.

Another issue the Humane Society is working on is getting rid of captive hunting ranches. Captive hunting ranches are huge thousand acre pens that hold big game animals such as elk, caribou and bison just to name a few. These ranches are all over the United States. The animals are taken out of their natural habitats and put in the big pen. They are fed and looked after. Some of the animals even become tame and allow people to touch them. Then the hunters spend ridiculous amounts of money to come in and kill the perfect “trophy”. The hunters sit and wait for one of these animals. Then they shoot and kill an animal that has no possible chance of escaping. This is not hunting.

A very controversial issue is that the society does not agree with hunting with hounds. Certain breeds of dogs are breed for the purpose of hunting. Foxhounds do just that. I grew up with foxhounds. My dad hunts with them. I know firsthand it is not as inhumane as the humane society makes it out to be. The society says that the dogs are being treated like slaves as they are sent out to do the hunters job. The dogs enjoy doing this. Some of our dogs would take off for the day and run. We knew that is what they were doing because we could hear then running in the woods. Another thing the humane society disagrees with is the use of tracking collars. They say that the collars control where the dogs go. In some ways they do act in that way. If the dog is headed for the road the hunter can track them down and cut them off before they get hit by a car. By cutting them off, I simply mean catching them before they get to the road. When a dog is walking beside of the road does not automatically mean its hunter gave up on him or left him there. It means that the hunter is tracking the dog to find it to take it home. Hunting is a sport for man and his companion.

There are many more issues that the Humane Society covers. These issues are happening not only nationally but also in Pitt County. There are hound dogs in the shelter here. Were those dogs left to fend for themselves or were they just waiting for their hunters to find them? The Humane Society takes a lot of heat but they do a lot of good.

The adoption numbers since 2006 have slowly been descending and the number of animals being brought in have been escalating. Unfortunately, adoptions have dramatically lessened since 2006 with 593 successful adoptions that year, down to 516 adoptions in 2007 and then to 372 adoptions in 2008. Only being 3 months into 2009, HSEC staff already feels confident that it’s going to be a year of tough decisions. Their facility is currently in a surplus of animals and has a waiting list of animals that are fortunately living in foster homes waiting to move to the shelter.

The organization depends on the adoption of the cats, dogs, kittens and puppies that have been brought to the shelter and cared for by HSEC facilities and staff. Caring for these animals consists of much more than enough food and water and a clean kennel. When any animal is given to the HSEC it is right away spayed or neutered before even being brought out for adoption. The animals also receive a proper examination and vaccinations before leaving the facility’s quarantine room. The puppies that are brought to the shelter are taken special care of because they are highly susceptible to various sicknesses such as Parvo that can ultimately lead to death.

In any case, the adoption process is a very extensive one. HSEC has established very specific policies and they strictly adhere to them. A common policy that has to be enforced around major holidays is gift adoption. The person responsible for the adopted pet must be present to accept and sign the adoption contract. Above all, the HSEC reserves the right to deny the adoption of any animal for temperament issues and the right to deny people to adopt for any reason.

With the onset of rough economic times it is important for people in the community to at the very least do their part and volunteer or donate. The HSEC welcomes any form of help and in return offers any form of help to their new adopted pet owners.

Unfortunately the most common animal cruelty problem is neglect, which is 100 percent preventable. Animal neglect is the denied basic necessities of care such as fresh water, food, shelter, and shade. Owners are constantly overlooking the needs of their pets and that’s where the Humane Society steps in. They work to educate people about the proper care of animals and how to prevent animal cruelty from occurring. If the owner fails to correct the problems they are experiencing, the animal may be removed from that situation by law enforcement and put in a stable environment.

Intentional animal cruelty is when an individual purposely inflicts physical harm to the animal. This act of cruelty shows there may be serious human behavioral issues going on with that individual and raises red flags as a sign that the person might be a threat to their family. People have been arrested countless times for torturing and killing animals but many haven’t been charged within the full degree of the law. Intentional cruelty is a count of a Class 1 misdemeanor or a Class 1 felony for every animal harmed in that case depending on the circumstances. Any individual who willfully abandons an animal without just cause will be guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor.

The following procedure should be taken if you witness or hear of animal cruelty taking place within Pitt County: Contact your local police or sheriff’s department, leave your name and number along with the address where the animal is located and directions to that location.

Any information you wish will be kept confidential and remember to educate younger audiences how to properly provide for their animals and to make any donations to the Humane Society of Eastern Carolina to help support this cause.

Living in his hometown, Harvey dreamed of being a pirate long before the talk of college applications came up. He graduated from J.H. Rose high school and when he finally received his acceptance letter from East Carolina, he did not hesitate to commit. It helped that his father was the men’s soccer coach at ECU around the time of his birth. There was no time for thought to cheer for other colleges. Enjoying every minute of being a pirate, Harvey builds his resume as a Journalism concentration major by working in the Sports section of The East Carolinian. His dream is to eventually write for Rivals as a football-recruiting analyst, but he will settle for any other sports writing career.

Addison likes living in his hometown, and his family appreciates it too.
“I like my brother going to school close to home because growing up, we were very close and it is nice to still be able to talk to him on the regular basis,” says his brother, Warren.

Addison and his brother share interests in sports as well. They often spend hours talking about athletics and Addison usually gives Warren advice for the sports he plays.

When he is not at home, Addison is with his girlfriend, Lauren Williams. Lauren says that Addison is very intense when it comes to sports. “He cares a lot about ECU sports and is always talking about different games. He worries about ECU and Steelers related things.” That’s right; Addison is a huge Steelers fan and was enthralled when they won Super Bowl XLIII (43).

Actually, both Lauren and Addison are avid sports fans. They met through a mutual friend and have known each other for eight years, but have dated for the last 3 years. She says there are numerous things about him that she likes including the fact he is smart, cares about school, have a great family, and is always in a good mood.

Addison’s friends all feel the same way. James Miller describes him as “passionate,” regarding the time and effort he puts into all of his work and interests. His brother, Warren says “reliable” would fit the description because he has always been there for him when he needed help or mentoring. Lauren simply says Addison is “loving,” which is typical coming from a girlfriend. All three think highly of him and feel privileged for the time they spend with him so conjuring up memories is not tough at all; the problem was picking the best one.

Warren recalls the time he and Addison shared a room and would talk about sports and different subjects before he left for college. Lauren’s best memory of Addison was when her family and Addison went to Ocean Isle beach. For a week and they relaxed and got away from what was for them, the hectic city of Greenville.

James’ memory may best describe Addison and his personality. Just after the snow of epic proportions at the beginning of the semester, Addison, James and Lauren went to eat at Cubbie’s and Addison was driving. The stop light turned red and like anyone would do, he stepped on the brakes except they did not work. They were sliding on ice and very calmly and collectedly, Addison informed everyone in the car about the current situation. “We’re not stopping; Oh no, oh no. We’re not stopping.” The car finally came to a stop in the middle of the intersection. James says this is a characteristic of Addison and his ability to remain calm in situations where others may lose their cool.

As for the future, James does not see Addison slowing down in his career field at all in the next five to 10 years. He sees him involved with sports journalism, something he loves and nothing else. Addison is a hard worker who will not give any less than his best. He is passionate about this work and play. The closest to him see nothing but a loyal and dedicated friend.

David’s mother, Joanne, said that David learned to accept responsibility at an early age. He was constantly checking on his younger sisters and doing whatever he could to assist in taking care of them. As he grew older, David noticed the impression he had on his brother and sisters.

David’s leadership ability carried over onto the athletic playing field. He was chosen captain of his high school soccer team three times. He was also the leader of his high school track team. These qualities were definitely the result of wisdom gained at home.

As he has grown older, David’s relationship with his siblings has become more like a friendship.

His sister, Diana, said that she enjoys David’s company because of his open-minded approach to life. This is definitely the result of growing up in a large family. She said that David has helped her and her other siblings with problems they have had in their own lives. David has guided his siblings and helped them realize that they can achieve anything through hard work.

David’s sisters now live in Richmond, Virginia where they work for a financial institution, and sometimes make the trip down to Greenville from Virginia on the weekends to enjoy the nightlife and relax with him.

David’s girlfriend, Chloe, believes that his willingness to accept responsibility has been especially evident during David’s college experience. He has managed to hold a job at Boli’s, a popular restaurant in downtown Greenville, and find time to remain successful in the classroom. Ironically, David sometimes receives academic assistance from his sisters, who both majored in Spanish.

David’s girlfriend and mother each noted his fun-loving nature. They said that he obviously cherishes the relationships he has with his family, and enjoys anything that involves relaxing and spending time with his loved ones.

David’s mother said that his easy-going nature is sometimes hard to predict. She said that upon graduation, she thinks David will look for a job that fits his education in communication and distribution technology. She added that she is confident in David’s ability and knows that he will be successful no matter which avenue he pursues.

Michelle currently lives in the Bellamy apartment complex with three of her friends. Rose is the older of two children. Her brother Carlton is a freshman at Western Carolina University. Despite only having one brother, Rose comes from a very large extended family due to her Irish Catholic heritage.

Rose is very into sports, including softball and basketball. She was brought up as a Boston Red Sox fan. She is so enthusiastic about the baseball team that she would love to live in Boston one day.

Besides sports, Michelle also enjoys listening to music, hanging out with friends, eating and going out. Her favorite color is Red, her favorite movie is “The Break Up” and her favorite food is pizza. Rose has a boyfriend in the United States Marines named Stephyn who she loves very much and dislikes when he gets deployed to Iraq. He has been deployed two times.

In getting to know Michelle a little better I talked with three people close to her. First I talked to her cousin Amanda. She reiterated the fact that they come from a very large family. She says the whole family is really close because they all live around Charlotte and spend a lot of time together. Being only two months apart in age, Amanda said she and Michelle were the closest of all the cousins.

Amanda and Michelle attended the same High School and played on the same softball team together. Apparently Rose was modest about her softball ability in high school. Amanda says Rose was an “amazing softball player,” as she caught for the NC 4A State Champion team two years in a row.

Besides being athletic, Rose was described as being one of her best friends, although “she can have her moments” said Amanda. She described their relationship growing up as “a love hate relationship,” saying Rose could be a little bossy at times, but was sure she wasn’t innocent either. Amanda described her and Rose’s funniest moment together was when their high school softball team got kicked out of Target for “rowdy behavior.”

The next person I talked to was Rose’s mother, Beth. She described Michelle as a very honest person. Saying, “She doesn’t lie very often and is often brutally honest.” Being her first and only daughter Beth said she and Michelle had a very close relationship.

She claimed Michelle’s best characteristic was her personality, saying she is nice and easy to get along with. Her mother also said one her best quality is that she is very caring. “She always wants to help others and do the right thing,” says her mother. Rose actively participates in community service. Michelle’s mother also talked about the large and close family background they have, saying the family as a whole experienced a devastating loss this summer. Her mom said Michelle has been a “trooper” about the terrible loss. She said, “this event has brought the family together even closer than we were before.”

Michelle’s mom said that Rose loves children, saying “I truly think her calling will be something working with young people some day.” Rose already has some experience working with children. She has been a counselor at a children’s camp and has coached girl’s softball.

Last I talked to one of Rose’s closes friends at ECU that friend, Melanie described Rose as “one of the nicest most fun person she had ever met.” She said although she just met Rose this year they have become very good friends. When asked about Rose’s social aspect of life, Melanie said that she “is very good at making friends and has a lot of them.” She said when they party together there is “nonstop laughter and things can get a little crazy.” She claimed there were no stories that she could tell me that Rose wouldn’t “kill her” for telling, leaving us to only guess and imagine what Rose is like at college. Although she assured me it was nothing bad.

From these interviews I learned many new things about Rose that I’m sure I would not have found out from her directly. After learning all these new facts it only makes me like her more than I did before. She is a very kind, caring and friendly young woman.

The documentary “Battle for Tobacco Road” gives an in detail history of this fierce rivalry. I was able to learn so much more than I could have ever imagined from this film. The rivalry goes deeper than just the battle on the hard wood.

In this film, there is multiple interviews from players, coaches, and random people from both schools. One thing I found really interesting in this piece is they focused on Duke representing the north and North Carolina as the south. I had never thought about this and then when I thought about it that classification really fits the student and athlete populations of both schools.

Being from Greenville, I grew up a huge East Carolina University fan and I don’t favor either of the teams from tobacco road. This made the film more interesting for me because I watched it from an unbiased angle. I would recommend this video to anyone who has grown up in North Carolina because it is informational and interesting.

The program provides individuals with one hot meal, five days a week. Prior to receiving meals, citizens are screened to assess their needs. To receive assistance, citizens must be older than 60 and unable to prepare their own meal, and not have anyone to prepare a meal for them. Exceptions are made for those younger than 60, only if the person has a physical disability that prevents them from preparing their own meal. The screening process also includes a home visit by a social worker to determine whether or not the requirements are met. The eligibility requirements are strict but they serve a much larger purpose, and Meals on Wheels provides more than physical sustenance.

Depression is a serious problem among senior citizens. Often, seniors don’t have the mobility or the physical stamina to socialize with others. If a person meets the program’s requirements, they probably do not get a chance to interact with others on a regular basis. Meals on Wheels addresses this issue by providing face-to-face interaction with another person. It gives individuals something to look forward to each day, and ensures the individual has someone to share their feelings. Additionally, the person delivering the meal has a chance to assess the senior’s physical condition and report any issues that might need attention.

Currently, the program receives funding from the United Way, and from the citizens it provides assistance to. The Council on Aging requests a $1 donation for each meal delivered, but the absence of donation does not mean the person will not receive benefits. Referrals for screening can be sent in by anyone. To date, the program serves citizens throughout Pitt county including: Greenville, Farmville, Winterville, Ayden, Grifton, Simpson and Grimesland.

Meals are provided Monday through Friday with the exception of holidays. The meals provided follow the daily recommended dietary allowances and a third of the daily recommeded needs. Volunteering only requires one hour a week, which is not much to serve such a great cause. Council on Aging looks for volunteers who can provide brief friendly visits and report back to them on the participants’ health.

In order for seniors to receive these services, they must be physically or mentally unable to obtain food or prepare meals and have no one to do this for them. Each participant must be referred for service by a physician, family members, other service providers, or themselves. After being referred they then must undergo a screening process.

Meals on Wheels is a thoughtful and caring program that provides elderly with much needed services. Providing these meals daily is a great way to check up on the local seniors and raise their spirits with food and human interaction.

A couple of baby boomers have different approaches to how they are going to live their lives as senior citizens. Jim Williams was born in 1957, a part of the largest births in a single year ever.

Williams works in Wachovia, which is now known as Wells Fargo. Wells Fargo bought out Wachovia as a result of the struggling economy.

Williams makes between $80,000 and $100,000 per year and he is worried about where his money will go if he stops working.

“The economy is definitely struggling right now,” said Williams. “I know that’s not ground breaking news but right now the average age of retirement will probably increase because people will not want to stop making money.”

The United States Census Bureau considers the baby boomer generation to have begun in 1946 and ended in 1964. The oldest of the baby boomers is now approaching the age of 63, and this could be a problem for the struggling United States economy. Once people decide to retire they can collect full social security from the government. However, this luxury may not be available to retired people until 2015.

“I am going to work at this job as long as I can,” said Williams. “I don’t want to stop making the money I make now because I don’t know what I will get in social security when I do retire.”

The average retirement age is defined as the age when people within a certain group retire from employment. The average retirement age is not a consistent number; it varies from generation to generation depending on many factors such as the economy and life expectancy. Currently, the age a person can retire is 62, or in some cases after 30 years of work at a place.

Jan Maclaga is on the different end of the baby boomers generation from Williams, at 62. Maclaga was born in 1947, but he is worried about his funds as well.

“I retired last year from ECU,” said Maclaga. “I retired just to get a break from getting up and working everyday. Now, that the economy has taken a downturn I wish I was still working.”

Some people are working odd jobs after retirement to make some money. Retired people are willing to work as secretaries and grocery store employees. Everyone is looking for a way to save a couple of bucks and make a few more.

“I am planning on getting another job just to make some money because you never know with this economy,” said Maclaga. “I don’t care where it is, I just would like a low stress job that is something I enjoy like Home Depot. In the world we live in today, money is so important and I can’t think of how I would survive without working.”

From 2008 to 2025, a new group of baby boomers will be eligible to receive social security each year. But The problem with that is with the decrease in the number of children that women are having, there is a decrease in tax paying citizens to replace the baby boomers. Since the number of tax payers in America has decreased there is less money going toward social security.

Maclaga came into this group this past year and Williams will be eligible in 10 years if he decides to stop.

As millions of baby boomers start to age closer and closer to that magic number of 62, the surplus of social security money is starting to diminish. Eventually, the older generation will no longer have the luxury of full social security. The government will have to start giving partial social security because of the increasing number of eligible retired people.

“Our generation is just going to have to work longer,” said Williams. “I don’t think it’s a bad thing. I like working and I will be fine with working an extra couple of years so that I will be financially set for the rest of my life because you can’t rely on the government.”

This program exists through the Council on Aging, which has been around since 1975. Title V, or the Senior Community Service Employment Program is a federally funded training implemented to allow those 55 and over to return to the work force. In association with 24 counties, Mid-East sponsors the Council on Aging and their efforts with Title V.

There are requirements for the program that all individuals who are applying must meet. The potential workers must be no younger than the age of 55 and unemployed at the time of application as well as during the process. The individual must also reside in North Carolina and family income may not exceed 125% of the federal poverty levels. After passing all requirements for acceptance, the individual must then be re-certified to determine eligibility for enrollment into the program.

Once one gets past all prerequisites, the potential worker starts his training. Depending on what company requests the service, the training will be generally the same for all. The training consists of different aspects to prepare the worker for possible conditions to encounter.

During the training, the potential employee will face different objectives they will be graded on upon completion.

While performing the certain task specific training, the employee will have an evaluator to check their progress and assess the skill. The first set of assessments consists of general questions about the employee, including whether or not the employee understands the job expectations and if the employee is dependable. They evaluator scores these questions on a scale of one to five, with five being the highest available mark.

The second part of section one for the evaluator consists of questions concerning the employee’s level of performance. The different sub groups in this area are adaptability, attendance, decision-making, planning, and safety. To answer these questions, the evaluator has the ability to give comments and select a preset over a generalized answer to fit the situation.

In the second section, the evaluator points out the employee’s strengths and weaknesses. There is also another place for summary and remarks regarding the training of the employee. This can be helpful when selecting which worker would be best for a specific career.

One example of a Title V employee is Mary Johnson. She applied for an Administrative Assistant job. The position entails maintaining files and databases, assisting with applications and updating files in response to the client changes.

There is also a section of required skills necessary for the position. These may range from computer knowledge to the person’s social ability.

The final places for evaluation are for the working conditions and the working environment. The conditions evaluated include whether the client can stand for an extended amount of time, along with the amount of weight one can lift. The environment evaluation is a summary of what the employee will face while working in that position. Mary Johnson’s administrative assistant job description includes a peaceful and small working area at times, and then there are periodic times of busy customer traffic flow at other times.

The performance evaluations are meant to inform the manager and assistant on how well one has done, based on what they are expected to know.

After the training sessions, the employee will either take their place at the appointed position or return for further training. The company requesting the employee is responsible for any training necessary to hold their requested position.

MidEast is an affiliate who works with the Council on Aging and pays the companies for their training to the employee.

The Title V program is a useful and helpful source attempting to help senior citizens get back into the working world and become a productive person in society.

What is therapy? Therapy is defined as the treatment of disease or disorders, as by some remedial, rehabilitating, or curative process.
Therapy for TEDI Bear patients is extremely important for the child’s road to recovery from sexual abuse. The main purpose of Therapy is to teach the children that they are not damaged and are able to bounce back and live a healthy lifestyle.
Since TEDI Bear is for children, “traditional” therapy is not always the best solution. Most children are embarrassed, ashamed, confused, or scared to tell anyone about a traumatic experience that has happened to them. Therapists usually will engage the children by using techniques like: art therapy, playing dress-up, or playing with toys. Then the therapists watch the children interact with the toys and ask questions to get more answers.
Mrs. Shouse, a TEDI Bear Clinical Therapist, has been working at TEDI Bear for almost two years. Mrs. Shouse attended Indiana University for her BA in Psychology. She went to Pepperdine University in California and obtained her Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis in Marriage and Family Therapy. Mrs. Shouse is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT). Mrs. Shouse works not only with children who have been sexually abused, but also with children who have been physically abused, neglected, or traumatized. Her primary area of interest and expertise was in physical abuse and neglect.
There are many different approaches to therapy. Mrs. Shouse said, “With some children I do Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT). This type of model is more structured and systematic. There are a series of steps you progress through working with both the child and their family member. The goal is to have the child (and their parent) be able to talk about and think about the abuse without re-experiencing the intense feelings they had when they were first traumatized. To work toward this goal in therapy the child and their parent identify their feelings about the abuse, build coping skills to deal with these thoughts and feelings, learn educational information about sexual abuse and trauma, and then the child writes a narrative about their experience and reads it to their parent.” Mrs. Shouse states that this style of therapy is usually beneficial for children ages 8 and up.
For younger children, ages 5 to 8, Mrs. Shouse says, “ I tend to combine non-directive play therapy with directive play therapy. That is I split the time of the session in half and I have the child engage in a structured activity (directive play therapy) that I have pre-chosen and then they get to play with whatever they want (non-directive play therapy). For my activity I try to still use play to teach concepts such as Feelings Bingo, Feelings Egg Hunt, Coping Skills, etc. After doing my activity the child then gets to choose items they want to play with.”
For children ages 3 to 5, Mrs. Shouse says, “ I tend to use more non-directive play therapy. That is the child plays with the therapeutic toys and I reflect to them their play and the themes. I then interpret from their play what issues they are working on and what they seem to be struggling with.”
The toys in the playroom have been selected based on research that has been done showing that various toys help elicit certain responses from children.
For children to make a full recovery, continual therapy sessions are desired. Mrs. Shouse said, “Most kids seem to benefit from approximately 12 to 18 therapy sessions. Some kids I see every week, others every other week, and toward the end of their therapy once a month.”

Testifying in court is very stressful for children. Studies show that children have little to no understanding of the legal process. This intimidating and fast paced environment of a courtroom can have traumatic effects on a child. In order to protect children from the confusing and sometimes abusive process of testifying, and to facilitate an atmosphere for an accurate testimony, special provisions are now being put in place to strengthen the rights of children in the court room.
The primary problem with handling children that have been sexually abused is that so many agencies need to be involved. Therefore, children are subjected to repeated questioning by many different officials prior to a trial. This traumatic pre-trial process has been basically removed due to the establishment of child advocacy centers like TEDIbear.

Following the investigative processes of these centers is the actual court proceedings. Special courtroom provisions have been put in place for children that modify the ordinary rules of courtroom proceedings to accommodate the special needs of young victims.

First, a child victim or witness testifying has the right to understand the oath that is being administered in an appropriate manner. In normal cases when a child is questioned without regard to developmental considerations, young children would often be declared as incompetent to testify. This is just as true for oaths and competency questions, because even very young children can understand the difference between the truth and a lie, or what is “bad”.
Second, out of court statements and closed circuit testimonies may be taken. This allows victims’ previous testimonies to be admitted as evidence due to the fact that a child’s memory tends to blur after incidents and the first testimony is usually the most accurate. Along with this, closed-circuit television is now allowed. This is where a child is asked questions in a separate room while the jury and others view the testimony in the courtroom. This is very effective because it makes the child feel safer, due to the fact that they are not facing the accused and a large room of people.

Third, many states now allow the altering of a courtroom to make it easier for a child to testify. They do this by getting the defendant out of the child’s sight or by allowing the child sit on the floor. Anything is done to make the child feel more comfortable, thereby, increasing the accuracy of the testimony.
Fourth, children are allowed to have support attendants present and a testimonial aid. Having support attendant makes the child feel more comfortable. As to testimonial aids, these also can make it easier for a child to testify. Testimonial aids could be anything from a doll to a blanket that the child may have with them on the stand.

Fifth, the court enforces the right of a child to have special forms of questioning. This right ensures that questions will not be intimidating nor hard for the child to understand. This also helps back the accuracy of a child’s testimony. If a child feels mistreated or confused, their testimony may be skewed or inaccurate. All of these provisions pulled together make it easier and less traumatic for children to testify, while ensuring the accuracy of their testimony.

TEDI BEAR stands for Tender Evaluation, Diagnosis and Intervention for a Better Abuse Response. The facility mainly deals with sexual abuse cases, though they do handle child victims of physical abuse as well. They see between 400 and 500 alleged victims per year.

It is also an accredited child advocacy center and member of the National Children’s Alliance. There are standards for accreditation, such as: a child-friendly facility, multi-disciplinary teams, forensic interviews and therapeutic intervention, according to the NCA’s Web site. The center also provides experts, such as trained pediatricians, to diagnose the children.

The center runs a primary prevention program that strives to educate parents on how to protect their children. In addition to that, the center also seeks to educate parents about the dangers of the Internet, regarding sexual stalkers, especially with the growing popularity of sites such as MySpace.

In April there will be two abuse awareness campaigns. The first one is called “Movies Day for Kids” and will be held Apr. 18 at Hendrix Theater. The second is the “KIDS fest Outreach Event” on Apr. 25 at GCC.

Each member of the team has his or her own specific function. For example, the medical personnel perform the medical exam. They collect what physical evidence; in this case, sexual trauma there may be, if any exists. Examinations and interviews have become more common as an effective way to record circumstances and events in cases such as these.

The forensic interviewer performs a “scientific” interview; that is, an interview that will hold up to court scrutiny should the case go to trial. These interviews are recorded onto DVD, and the rest of the team watches them. This eliminates the need to interview the child multiple times. Finally, the child life specialist’s job is to make the child feel comfortable.

In the future, TEDI BEAR wants to expand inter-agency teamwork with core partner agencies through improved and expanded collaboration of child abuse cases through formal case review teams in 12 counties in eastern North Carolina.

(AP)

COMM 2320 Web Site, Fall 2008 Edition:

For ECU students, school spirit plays an important role in their daily lives. It often gives them something to be proud of and a way to identify with other students. Larger political issues that may effect their lives are often given less attention despite their potential importance. Two sections of the Fall 2008 COMM 2320: Basic Reporting classes set out to examine school spirit —particularly through the school’s football program, and the national election season.

The Fall semester began with a win over top-seeded Virginia Tech, and the return of an ever-stronger ECU football program under coach Skip Holtz.

The national conventions of both the Republican and the Democratic parties took place around the same time and marked rising excitement in news coverage of what promised to be one of the most influential elections in the history of the United States. Senator Barack Obama was the first African American presidential nominee for a major party—with his supporters moving closer each month to their goal of electing the first African American president.

Senator John McCain made history shortly before the Republican Convention in August when he chose Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate. Palin was poised to be the first woman vice presidential candidate for the Republican Party.

A series of “news awareness quizzes” sampled what students knew about the football season versus what they knew about the emerging political campaigns (SEE: National Elections: ‘How Much Do You Really Know About Politics’). Many students knew much more (and cared much more) about the football program than the election.

The sampling of the two classes did not attempt to be a random, scientific sample, but it did reflect basic attitudes and opinions at the university. One section was almost equally divided on which issue they considered more important. The numbers slightly favored football. The other section, more tuned into politics, felt the national elections were more important by a two-to-one ratio.

Liaisons from the web site editing teams of both sections connected, and thought it might be interesting to follow both differences that might exist between the two classes, and how student interest, opinions and attitudes might change during the semester.

The Fall 2008 Edition of this website showcases pieces written on both topics along with special contributions from students in the class.

–Carlton Purvis

The Web Editors from the 8am Class were: Travis Ostrander, Stefanie Wethington, Patrick Jones, Akela Yarn, Carlton Purvis, and Megan McInerney.

The Web Editors from the 2pm Class were: Samantha Baker, Natalie Jurgen, Seth Firquin, Lizz Perle, Bethany Degraff, and Analicia Robinson.

Jones’ job requires that she “Be all things to all people, multi-tasking. My responsibility is to be the face of the organization. To get out and meet with various organizations, various people, to network with workforce development to know what the skill sets are that are going to be needed for the workforce, to be knowledgeable of what that looks like. Also to look at funding opportunities, PR. It’s my responsibility to make sure the integrity of the program is in tact –– that the product which is people that we’re sending out of here are one’s that are representative of the program. Results in valuable employees, Value and what that value looks like. Also, to provide community support to other agencies.”

Jones is a native of Eastern North Carolina and although has very little recollection of the civil rights movement she does remember her first experience with segregation.

“I was born in Martin County on a farm and my parents were one of the first African-Americans in that area. My father was the first African-American in Martin County to buy a farm there. We lived right next door to white families. We never saw any difference. I do recollect one time that we into the town and their was this sign and as being a little naive child that said, “for coloreds only” and of course, I paid it no attention. That was my first encounter of segregation because I really didn’t go into town with my parents that much. The impact during that time I don’t have a lot to recall on that; except for the history that I have read. I think where we’ve come from to now and having programs like this because it’s important for people to know that yes, that’s an era that we’ve been in and had to overcome and as we grow in life, we will continue to have to overcome different types of issues. I’m just very mindful of the fact that discrimination of all kinds is prevalent but it’s your attitude. That’s what I’ve always been taught growing up about our attitude. We did not really see segregation, it happened, but it is not something that my parents condoned.”

Joyce Jones is no stranger to adversity. This adversity and ability to acclimate all kinds of people has made her a great asset to the strive program. “I used to work with vocational rehabilitation as an employment specialist. Several types of persons with disabilities from physical, mental and learning all kinds. Even that for me has been a very rewarding experience and it allowed me to be able to [work with these people]. I never had any types of prejudices. I had a broad scope working with different types of people all my life.”

Jones like many other community partner executives fell into her job but her story is quite different.

“During the time the welfare reform act hit, which was back in ’95, ’96. Our church, Cornerstone church was involved with working with the department of social services and providing daycare for folks on welfare because we had a daycare center. When the welfare reform act hit, our pastor who is very proactive in helping people and our church immediately asks leadership, what can we do as a church? To help with what may be the fall out from this welfare act. As with every act or legislation, you don’t know what’s going to happen until several years later. [The pastor] approached me because ultimately the goal for welfare recipients was for them to go to work it wasn’t going to be an entitlement program. Since I was an employment placement specialist with vocational rehabilitation, he felt that I had some expertise in doing this. What happened is he asked me to explore various programs that may be out there or to think about what the church could maybe develop themselves. Subsequently I was thinking and one Sunday I was watching 60 minutes. Wow, here was this program that dealt with people and their attitude, dress attire and it was a tough love type of approach. From my perspective, it looked like what I wanted our program at that time, vocational rehabilitation, to address but we were a state agency. After I saw that I though wow, this is what we really need even in vocational rehabilitation. I shared that with our pastor and than had an opportunity later on in that year to attend a conference where individuals from STRIVE was at that conference. So I had an opportunity to meet them and then later found out how they started the STRIVE program. I was able to go personally to STRIVE with the help of my church and my current job at the time. I got to see behind the scenes what they did which was phenomenal. What was very impressive to me was here where a group of individuals that literally cared about people. What wasn’t shown on 60 minutes was the caring, behind the scenes, one-on-one attention the social work type of work that was going on. It was a big family. People that didn’t have hope later had hope had hope. People that didn’t have discipline or any type of direction. [At STRIVE] they are literally caring for their whole being. Helping people to look beyond the obvious. How to make a first good impression and how to really see themselves in a position that they may not have seen themselves. People that had criminal records that felt like because they had a criminal record, no one would hire them, no that was not the case.

Rob Carmona the executive director is an ex-felon and he is one of the principle founders of the program. He has a degree in social work. Rather than blaming the system, he accepted responsibilities for his actions came out and wanted to make a difference. To know this is all about choice and how you look at it and it’s not your lack of experience or your criminal record that’s keeping you from getting a job it’s your attitude and how you look at any roadblocks.

Carmona had to prove himself but it still can be done but for him with the education that he had he can do it but what about individuals that didn’t have an education or didn’t have a GED a high school diploma and didn’t have the family support. He had the family support but he took the detour. What about those? So that’s what made the difference. I came back and brought the information back to our church. We then had three community meetings with folks all over the community. One of the things STRIVE emphasized was if you were going to replicate the program you had to have the bye-in of the community. So we convened those three times, we had city and county government, university personnel, community college, the school system, we had human service agencies, employers the chamber, economic development and unanimously they supported this type of program even though we still had employment agencies it was the attitudinal things that others had not dealt with. I was apart of a committee that began working toward replicating and bringing STRIVE. I had no intentions of [being executive director]. They put the job announcement in their was a grant that was written and asked me why I had not submitted my resume and I said well I’m not interested. They were interested in me and I had to do a lot of praying and soul searching for that. I just realized, with much hesitancy, that God kept tugging at my heart and saying no this is where you need to be. You do great work over here with this population but you’ll be able to do a greater work with even some of the same populations but some others that need it. It was a faith-walk. When I accepted this their was only $2,000 in the bank at that time. It was definitely a faith walk and after about two weeks and the grant that was written to start it, actually was received and it was a sigh of relief.”

At times, Jones is unsure of if this is where she needs to be but her faith has not told her otherwise. “Every time I think about, well maybe I need to go back to a state agency, where I don’t have to worry about my salary or anyone else’s salary. God hasn’t told me that’s where I need to be this is where I am.”

STRIVE is committed to serving everyone. “Everyone that comes through our door is allowing them to have an opportunity to be able to access whatever service that are there. Whether it’s Blacks, Whites, or Hispanics. We do that through actual training.”

The support of the community has made this program a success for eastern North Carolina. However, it does have obvious obstacles.

“We have had great community support, out employers have been open and that’s the key is having the community support. We have the support of the chamber, economic development, city and county government. We have great support. One of our biggest challenges is not, as with any non-profit, is not having enough money to meet the needs of the community. There’s a whole lot more that we could be serving especially because we’re in Pitt County. You have in these other towns of Pitt County people that need the services but don’t have the transportation. So transportation is a big challenge for the persons to get here and we don’t have the resources that we can take to those towns in Pitt County. Right now the challenge of the economy. There are employers that still are willing but trying to get skilled jobs for them if they don’t have their GED. Those jobs are being eaten up by persons now with masters with masters and undergrad degrees so the consistent funding has been the challenge and without that funding, we are not able to get the message out but we have been pretty successful. Jones would also like to reach out to the non-English speakers in the community. “I don’t have an interpreter, that’s an area that I really would love to get into because of the different cultures coming into the United States and understanding the culture.”

According to Jones, the graduates by far are the best advocates for the program. “[We] our graduates do the talking. Our graduates tell the best stories.”

Alarming prison rates may keep Jones and the staff at STRIVE busy. “Nearly one million individuals in North Carolina have a criminal record. Right now, there are over 6,000 inmates in prison and they are releasing so many every year. These individuals are dropped off on the doorsteps of the courthouse. When they don’t have a home and if they can’t get a job they reoffend. Just imagine if you can’t eat or if you don’t have a place to sleep your going to try to do something and if no one is willing to give you a chance. There is a study that has just been enacted in North Carolina to study prison re-entry. Out of the prisoners that are in the prison in North Carolina, 40% of those are non-violent offenders and at a rate of $23,000 a year to house an offender.”

Jones advises to be prepared when applying for high profile jobs. The demand is great but so is the reward. “Be prepared to give more than 100% of yourself and that you have got to have a compassion for what you do. I love what I do, I love helping individuals, I love seeing individuals being able to help themselves. I love it when an individual walks in here with no hope and later goes back out and their self-esteem has been improved and they get a job. That’s what satisfies me the most is knowing that. Anyone going in here, they have to sacrifice and they must have a love for people in this particular non-profit and you can’t be soft-skinned. You have to take the bitter with the sweet. You have to be tough but even though you’re tough, you still love that person and they have to be able to see it and feel it. Be able to raise some money, you have to talk and you have to network, long hours. “

Jones understands that she will be no legacy if the program does not continue once she is no longer the executive director.

“I hope I’ll be around for that day that there won’t be a need for programs like us but I think we have a long way to go. I hope that the program will continue. I wouldn’t have a legacy if this program does not continue. As long as there’s a need I hope there is a program here. [I’ve learned that] Individual be given an opportunity and with the right tools that they can succeed. We as a society would understand that if given the proper tools individuals can do better and that we not look at jail as being the first option especially for those non-violent offender. If this program doesn’t continue than I haven’t been a good leader.”

Production and images by Carlton Purvis
Music: “How Nothing Feels” by the Promise Ring
“Elephants Instrumental” by Rachael Yamagata

The documentary film “Man on Wire” is a truly motivational film about a French tight rope walker, Philippe Petit, who accomplishes his dream of walking between the World Trade Center towers in New York City. His dream began as a teenager in France, when he came across an article about plans to build the largest buildings in the world. The sheer size of the World Trade Center buildings is what commanded his interest, as he dreamed of capturing the world’s attention on the largest scale possible. He performed wire walks in France and Australia which got a great deal of publicity in those countries, but his performance in New York was to be his artistic masterpiece. The planning and commitment required for such a performance is nothing short of mind blowing, as it challenges anybody who watches the film to do whatever it takes to conquer their dreams.
This was one of the most moving films that I have ever watched in that it pushed me to think of what I could accomplish in my wildest dreams. I know that I have given up on certain dreams in my life to focus on a surer path to success. But after witnessing Philippe’s incredible story, it makes me wonder if I may have been too quick to leave those fantasies behind. His relentless pursuit of self-gratification was inspirational and has forced me to rethink my direction and goals in life. We only get one life to live, and nobody has lived more than Philippe Petit.

I watched the documentary “Who killed the Electric Car?” by filmmaker Chris Paine. The documentary explores the creation, limited commercialization, and finally the destruction of the electric vehicle EV1. It features interviews with Tom Hanks and Mel Gibson who both had an EV1 and both had only good things to say about them. The car appeared first in 1996 on California’s roads, but by 2004 they had all vanished. GM, the producer of the car decided to crush the cars. The movie further examines how GM did not have an interest in pursuing building the car and was not willing to sell the car to eager buyers. When the California Air Resources Board (CARB) took back the mandate that all car makers who wanted to sell cars in California had to produce at least 10% of cars with 0 emissions, GM decided to take the cars off the road even though there was a demand for these cars.

The movie showed me that the technologies for building 0 emission cars existed already 10 years ago. The biggest argument nowadays against electric cars is the limited battery power, however, these EV 1 had batteries that allowed them to travel 100 miles before having to be recharged and this technology was available over 10 years ago. If the research in this area would have continued who knows where we could be today.

Not only does Anthony see John as a roommate, but he also sees him as a person that he can have insightful conversations with. Anthony said, “I’ve been able to talk to him about problems in my life and he was there to give great advice.”
On a scale from one to 10, Anthony rated his knowledge of John as a seven. Anthony said seven because he admittedly does not know everything about John, but at the same time, he is learning more about John as a roommate.
Anthony does not see John as a reserved or quiet person. Anthony said “I can ask John a question about himself and he would not hesitate to answer it. Most times, John tells me a story about his life before I can even ask it.”

Treatment includes evaluations of children on site, interviews, and free physical and mental healthcare. Clients are then referred to doctors.

Not only are doctors involved in TEDI Bear, the Greenville police department is as well. Along with Greenville police, there are about 29 other county police departments. Some police come as far as from Wake County. Police add help out by coming to do evaluations with children.

TEDI Bear is in the process of launching a program by the name of “Period of Purple Crying.” This program is committed to preventing shaken baby syndrome (SBS).

April is known as child abuse prevention month, so outreach is expected to begin in April. According to Julie Ocker, a five-year employee of TEDI Bear, the center will be sponsoring a free movie day for children and volunteers are welcomed.

When Ocker was questioned about her inspiration to work for TEDI Bear, she said, “I like the community approach.”

Gerard was born and raised in New Bern, NC with his parents and younger sister Danielle, who is 22. Growing up, he and his sister weren’t very close. They didn’t get along and they fought all the time. According to his sister, Gerard “loved to play jokes on people”. Since then, they have gotten close but don’t keep in touch as much since he isn’t in New Bern very often.

Gerard graduated in 2004 from West Craven High School where he continued to play football like he has his whole life. He liked math, but when it came to spelling he required the assistance of his sister. He played all through school and into college and after ranking as high as #9 in the state it is no surprise he has always been recognized as a good player.

After high school he went to Raleigh and attended North Carolina State University. He decided to major in sociology and, more importantly, play football for the Wolfpack. He played there for three years and after questioning the trust he had with his coaches, he transferred to ECU in 2007. After injuring his shoulder, Gerard has been out for a year. He is still hitting the gym, working out, and keeping up his skills in hopes he can step on the field again. He has one more year of eligibility and will most likely red shirt in the fall.

From a young age, it was apparent that he was not only talented on the field, but also off the field. He enjoys drawing and painting, and when asked, his friends say that ever since they can remember he has always been doodling and drawing cartoons and pictures. Once he reached high school his work started to get noticed. He received five awards for his art work. It might just be coincidence, but he also has five tattoos, which may or may not be a product of his artistic nature.

Outside of football and art, his other major hobby has been music. Gerard likes making beats and enjoys all types of music from rap to alternative.

At first impression Gerard might come across as a tough guy who cares about football and not much else, but there is more to him than meets the eye. He hates everything Duke, which may or may not have to do with his NC State background, along with ignorant and dumb people. When it comes to the females he doesn’t discriminate. Gerard loves the ladies and can always find something he likes. Color isn’t something he sees, but woman in general are his type!

Having the baby naturally is said to be an amazing bonding experience between the mother and the child and if drugs, like an epidural, are used it throws off the natural rhythm of labor. At the end of this film, I have decided that to each his own: if the parents think the natural way is what is best, that is fine and if the parents want to be safe and have a conventional birth in a hospital, that is also fine. However, I would prefer to have children in a hospital with doctors and drugs available if I should need them.

Steve and Mandy documented the pregnancy of their first born while on the mission to prove their case that natural birth is much better than birth in a hospital. They hired a midwife who would help them through the pregnancy, but no other doctors were involved. The two of them traveled to different countries, mainly in Europe, to find out how things are done there.

In some countries giving birth at home is covered by insurance and much cheaper than the hospital. Another problem they had with birth in a hospital was claiming doctors are delivering babies around their own schedules. By convincing women they needed to deliver right away, they perform cesarean sections so they can get on with the rest of their day. While it may be true that more babies are delivered by C-sections, this didn’t really have anything to do with their case.

When it came time for the baby to be born, they did follow through and Mandy gave birth at her home. She said it was extremely painful and after noticing the shallow and rapid breathing of their new born daughter, the midwife advised they go to the hospital. She ended up staying in pre-natal ICU for three days. Their daughter is a healthy and happy two-year-old, but if something had happened to Mandy during delivery, they might have wished they were at the hospital.

Majoring in Journalism and minoring in Political Science, Taylor has his hands full, but this is nothing new to him. In high school Taylor was always very involved and took part in theater, band, various clubs, gymnastics, the year book committee and edited his school newspaper. Constantly being pulled in many different directions, Taylor clearly illustrates that he has many layers to his persona. With hopes of being a Lawyer, along with dreams of writing for a gymnastics magazine, Taylor aspires to achieve those goals by staying true to himself and putting in the hard work necessary.

To start at the beginning, Brian was very shy as a child. Brian’s mother described the sport of gymnastics as the major confidence-booster that helped him break through his shell (Linda Taylor).

While gymnastics has made a sizeable impact on his life, Brian emphasizes that his family has been the most influential factor through their supportive qualities and their hand in shaping the person that he is today. The shared influences are mutual in the Taylor family because Brian contributes many aspects himself. Linda Taylor, mentions, “Brian seems to be the voice of reason in the family” and finds it a very honorable quality that at such a young age “he has learned to speak up in certain situations that he needed to let his voice be heard.”

Whether it be family meetings or get-togethers, Taylor knows how to balance his serious side out with particular wit, playing the role of the comedian sometimes. Mrs. Taylor finds this very effective and believes that everyone can learn something from his sense of humor and light-heartedness.

Taylor’s humor and light-heartedness transfer over to the other areas of his life as well, and he is described as someone who is very positive, supportive, and a person who sincerely brightens days with his determination to keep everyone laughing (Paige Ward).

Determination goes a long way in the larger spectrum of life and Taylor fully understands that it is a helpful and necessary characteristic to make it in this society. He is highly devoted to helping people and will go out of his way to compassionately accommodate them, whether he is familiar with them or not (Linda Taylor).

Balancing classes and working at Olive Garden, along with all of the other demands that go with being a college student, he is quoted as being very hardworking and dependable (Paige Ward). Brian’s best friend, Joseph Yanessa, emphasized that Brian works a tremendous amount but still finds time for his friends, exercise, and schoolwork.

Encompassing characteristics of strong reliability, it is obvious that Taylor has sincere character. Taylor is said to be “stubborn when he believes what he is doing is right, and he will fight for that cause or person (Linda Taylor).” He is also quoted as being one of the sweetest and most honest people that anyone could come across (Paige Ward).

In the future Taylor wishes to further his education by attending either Duke Law School or Charleston Law School. If these two schools happen to fall through, he already has a backup plan to earn a Master’s degree in Journalism.

Taylor’s mother has complete faith that he will be an extremely successful individual through his future endeavors, mentioning that he is “strong-willed and willing to work as hard as it takes to get where he wants; he will not stop until he reaches his goals (Linda Taylor).”

Whether Taylor will be a famous journalist in the Olympic Gymnast magazine or a big-time lawyer, he is patient and continues to work hard to gain the best possible position to reach his goals. With Taylor’s inclination to being a compassionate friend, family-member and civilian, he is spoken of highly. Among familiar faces it is the common understanding that his characteristics and abilities will carry him extremely far in life. With Taylor’s ambition and favorable personality, he portrays the total package of a person who will have a good impact on his surroundings.

Indeed, Pamela has a very close relationship with her family. Instead of teasing her brother Jerry when they were younger, Jones played videogames with him and helped take care of him. Jerry said “She even changed my diapers!”

After her mother passed away on October 20, 1996 from diabetes, Pamela was given a lot of responsibility. She had to stay strong for her family. According to Jones’s father, “This tough life experience made Pamela the strong woman that she is today.”

Jessica Barfield, a friend of Pamela’s, met her one day at church and they instantly became best friends. Barfield describes her friendship with Pamela as sisterly. Jessica enjoys their traditional trips to IHOP in the middle of the day and the hours they spend on Facebook talking to friends and looking at pictures.

“Pamela is a great person to just hang out and laugh with,” said Barfield. Jones is a very dependable, straightforward and strong willed individual, she says. She will always tell you the truth, even if it is not what you want to hear.

If Jessica is having a bad day, Pamela always makes her feel better. Jessica said that “Pamela keeps me motivated and reminds me about the good things that I have.”

When Pamela was in high school her uncle held a job where he did not get off the clock until 1 a.m. Pamela would make sure to set her phone alarm for 12:45 a.m. just in case she fell asleep. Not once did she fail to pick her uncle up from work.

Ever since Pamela’s first day of preschool she has strived to learn. Her father never had to push her to get up in the mornings and go to school. Jones enjoys learning and getting involved with school activities.

In addition to playing the piano, Pamela also likes to play sports like volleyball and tennis. Some find Pamela hard to keep up with because of how busy she is with all her extracurricular activities.
Although Pamela adores school, the transition from high school to college was more of a struggle than anticipated. In order to make the transition easier Pamela decided to attend Wayne Community College to receive her first 2 years of college education. At Wayne Community College Pamela studied the arts in hopes of becoming a music teacher or starting her own choir. However, after several class mix-ups she realized that although she loved music, her career path was not in music, but in broadcast journalism!

In January 2008, Pamela transferred to East Carolina University as a junior. Following her interests in news, she declared herself a Communication Major focusing on broadcast journalism.

Jones currently lives in Fletcher dorm and has lived there for her entire academic career at ECU. She hopes to move into an apartment complex her senior year where she can have her own bathroom. Jones also looks forward to not eating at the dining hall anymore and starting to eat healthier.
This year she became a representative of the Residential Hall Association (RHA). This is an organization where people come together to discuss current issues within the dorms. Together they come up with ways to get residents more involved with each other and the community.

Right now, Jones is working hard with the RHA to raise money to help reduce local hunger.

Jones hopes to get an internship with WITN News in Greenville, North Carolina to gain more experience and knowledge about the news environment. She is still playing the piano for several gospel choirs, one being The East Carolina Gospel Choir.

Pamela recently broke up with her boyfriend to take some time to focus on herself and her own needs. She is known to be, at times, “too nice”, according to her cousin Cheryll, which is why Pamela is looking forward to pursuing her personal goals. She anticipated getting back into tennis, learning how to read music, and traveling between her studies.

Pamela plans to apply for graduate school upon completing her Bachelor’s Degree.

Jones has earned everything she has received and has learned to appreciate good work ethic. Despite all the pressures that were put on Pamela as a young girl, she has been able to rise above them and use those experiences and life lessons as a way to gain self-confidence and become a stronger woman. There is no doubt that Pamela Jones will reach her dream of being a news anchor.

For a few years when he was a toddler, Houser lived in Germany with his family where his father worked. With this experience his family traveled a lot and became very close.

Growing up Houser loved sports. Being from the Washington DC area, he became a die-hard Washington Redskins fan. Throughout his high school career at West Potomac, he swam for the varsity team, and played golf and tennis in his spare time with his dad. His mother, Eileen Houser stated, “Sports was always a bonding thing for Sean and his dad, it was their ‘manly’ bonding time.” He is also the occasional skier, and his favorite ski resort is in Vail.

His first time skiing came at the age of four, when his parents took him to ski school in Austria.

Although Houser was active in many sports his real passion was swimming. He swam at a local pool for the Northern Virginia Swim League as well as for his high school team. In addition, he worked with children and coached a swim team while living at home.

Houser’s love for swimming continued after high school when he attended the small division three school, Lycoming in Pennsylvania, he swam for at the collegiate level as well.

While at Lycoming, Houser decided to earn a Business degree. Lycoming, Pa. is a small town with nothing much in it besides the college. The small town atmosphere was not for Houser.

After two years he decided that he needed a change.

He had friends from home who went to East Carolina University, and all he heard were good things about the university. The warm weather was enticing as well.

So Houser decided to transfer to ECU for the fall semester of his junior year.

According to Houser’s mother, Eileen, “He knew some kids from home so he felt comfortable right away. When you are so far away from home it is nice to have people close by that you know.”

One of the friends that he grew up with who also goes to ECU, Lauren Baumann, sees Houser much more often. “It is nice to see friendly faces from home that I grew up with,” says Baumann, “Sean is a good friend and we always seem to have fun, here at school and back home. We go out a lot downtown and to parties. It’s always a fun time when our friends from home come down and visit as well. It brings us all together again like when we were in high school.”

When Houser got to ECU, he wanted to continue his swimming career at an even higher level, division one. The only setback he had was the rules set by the NCAA. Being a junior meant he needed a certain amount of credits in his major to compete. It ended up that Houser had enough credits in Communications to declare that as a major and not enough to declare Business.

Not only was Houser starting a new swimming career, but his degree path changed as well.

Once at ECU, Sean began earning his degree in Communications and a minor in Business. Houser’s aunt, Marie Hoppel believes, “although Sean isn’t sure what he wants to do with his degree, I’m sure he will be successful in anything that he does. He is and always will be a hard worker.”

Now Houser lives in a one bedroom apartment right outside of campus and plans to live with a couple of his friends at a different place next semester. He enjoys spaghetti and meatballs and the occasional steak. He is currently not working in Greenville but enjoying his life instead all while having fun with friends, going downtown on weekends, and working out in his free time.

When he goes home for breaks and summer vacation he works for a plumbing company.

Houser hopes to earn his degree in Communications and finish up his last two years at East Carolina then hopefully using his education to find a good job, and from what I am told by his friends and family his charisma and determination will get him to his goal.

Will was born in Kernersville, N.C. on Oct 30, 1988. He would move shortly there after at age two to Buena Vista, Va. where he would be raised for the remainder of his childhood. 
One of Will’s trademarks is his crazy hair. Everyone loves his shaggy, long, curly hair. He has a unique hairstyle that I have never seen on anyone else. “He has crazy hair,” his best friend Ashley Keiser said. It definitely makes him stand out from the crowd.


As a child, Will was active in sports. Will participated in football and baseball at the young age of eight. While attending McCluer High School, Will participated in sports such as football, track and field, and wrestling. Will’s favorite NFL team is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Boyce pointed out that Will needed to support a real NFL team that is actually good, not the Buccaneers.

McCluer High School is a tiny school in Buena Vista with a population of 350 students. The small size of his high school gave him the opportunity to stand out from the rest. There was not a person at McCluer High School that did not know Will and his personality.
 


While at McCluer High School, Will met his English 101 teacher Cecelia Hock. Will and Ms. Hock developed a great relationship and they still stay in touch today.
 Will manages to find the up side of things. Ms. Hock said he is able to accept constructive criticism from his friends and teachers. Also, she described him as “optimistic, open minded, he has a willingness to be helpful, and an ability to try new things.” 


One great memory Ms. Hock has of Will was when he served as Santa for the SCA. It was great because no one else really wanted to do it but Will was always willing to help out and he had the perfect personality for it.


One of Will’s main passions is football. He continued to play all the way through high school even though he has tore his ACL three times and had many knee surgeries throughout his athletic career.
Will has managed to stay close to other sports he loves by being an intramural referee for ECU. He refs any sport he can and he loves it. Will refs any sport he can from basketball to flag football. This is just another way that Will is helpful to others.


A daily part of Will’s life is lifting weights and maintaining personal fitness. One of Will’s friends Derrick Boyce said one of the things he and Will do together is lift weights all the time. Boyce said, “He (Will) is health conscious.”


Will doesn’t just help people in school or on the court he also helps at his dorm. Will is a residential advisory at Aycock dorm. Will interacts extremely well with his residents. “He loves to spend time with his residents as a residential advisor he facilitates a positive community on his hall,” said Boyce. “He shows them the results of a life without alcohol and negative influences.” Will is a positive role model for all the students that live in Aycock. 
Aycock dorm coordinator Marcus Silver had nothing but positive things to say about Will and his job he does a residential advisor. “Will is a great leader for not only his residents, but the entire community of Aycock Hall and the ECU community,” said Marcus Silver. 


Ashley Keiser, Will’s best friend, told me some wonderful stories about their relationship as friends. They shared the same babysitter when they were in pre-school and they have a long standing relationship as friends. One of Keiser’s best memories was watching football together all the time even though she doesn’t like football. Keiser didn’t know much about football but she enjoyed the time she spent with Will during the games. 


When Will was at his high school graduation, he was walking out of the auditorium and stopped in the middle of the walkway and lifted up his shirt and flashed everyone. This story was hilarious and it is something I could see him doing. 


The one consistent thing people raved about Will was his great personality. Some things people said was “He is hilarious,” “The kind of person you could talk to forever,” “Energy and Enthusiasm,” “Hard working,” “Girl crazy,” and “Always smiling.” 


Will is a big supporter of breast cancer awareness. He has helped with fundraiser for awareness and he tries to spread the word about breast cancer awareness. He has a pink phone cover and even wore a pink tuxedo to his senior prom. This is another way Will helps others through simple acts of kindness and passion. 


Will Avery is a fun loving, hilarious, kind, hard working, girl crazy, passionate college student who loves being at ECU. He works hard in the classroom and in the weight room. He is a leader for his residents in the dorm and for the entire ECU community. Will is someone who many people aspire to be like and they value every moment they get to spend with him because he is a special person.

Students may have control over many factors relating to their education, but there are a few uncontrollable factors that can heavily impact their success. An issue that affects the focus of many students is their lack of nutritional food.

With parents constantly on the move many children are subjected to dinners of fast food and skipped breakfasts’. Without a healthy jump-start to the day students often lose focus. The constant grumble from the pits of their stomachs causes distractions to be more severe and ultimately can change the outcome of their educational success.

Parents that are always at work, trying to make money to provide for their family, can also inadvertently damage the odds of their children doing well in school. Kids are very easily influenced and without a positive parental figure, they often fall into the grips of juvenile delinquency and drug use.

While students are expected to make good decisions on their own, it is almost unfair to put heavy responsibilities in the hands of impressionable and immature minds.

Students are also influenced by cultural trends, which can delay their progression towards graduation. Movies and music give students ideas about what is cool and popular, and as a result they often end up acting and impersonating these subjects.

A common theme experienced in middle-aged students is the desire to be involved in somewhat of a subculture. Examples of these subcultures include being a thug, punk rocker, skater and prep.

While these subdivides may seem harmless, many kids fall into the sea of keeping an image and fail to resurface. An increasing problem among American Youth is juvenile delinquency and criminal behavior due to the want to be a thug.

The thug life is not normally conducive to having a strong education and students often fail to make it through all twelve years.

Students are also subjected to fads outside of their generation. Smoking and drinking are prime examples that often lead students off of the path to reaching their maximum educational potential.

While there are many odds against students, they should still be held accountable for the factors that they can control. This line, however, is very thin and differs from individual to individual.

Not only is it almost impossible to explain what individual factor affects each student, but it is entirely too time-consuming. Teachers and students are now on a strict time schedule to cram particular information in before the annual “end of grade tests.”

These tests are a factor of the No Child Left Behind act, which in turn leaves children behind. Instead of learning to retain actual information, students are pressured into flying through Text- Books to just pass the test so that their school may receive Government funding.

Many factors contribute to students failing to get the most of their education and it seems to lie mainly in the societal institutions of family and Government.

A particular subgroup, called Girl Power, is an after-school program designed for girls ages 9-14. The purpose of this program is to help young females make appropriate and mindful decisions. Through an array of activities and discussion topics, the program hopes to target issues that affect their individuals and the student population.

Many of these issues are questions of healthy behavior. Substance use, sexual activity, teen pregnancy and nutrition are all items that are addressed at their weekly meetings.

Girl Power devotes a fair amount of time to discussion and also to self-esteem promoting activities. At the Pactolus Elementary branch of Girl Power they are currently working on a Health and Wellness Challenge dealing with pedometers. The girls were given pedometers to calculate their average amount of steps daily and journals to record those numbers and their exercise/eating habits. This activity helped them set realistic goals for themselves and also aided in promoting healthy body consciousness.

Other Health and Wellness challenges include going to fitness centers, learning how to read and interpret nutrition labels, and taking a field trip to the ECU ropes course.

This program promotes a healthy lifestyle, but it is not only designed for the active and outgoing child. Many students are referred to this program because they may need help in other areas.

Visitors, like Miss Teen North Carolina, have come and participated in Girl Power activities to shine light on different aspects of living a healthy lifestyle. One of the Pactolus students exclaimed that, “Miss Teen North Carolina had become my inspiration to be myself, believe that I am beautiful, and to do service.”

Community service is another topic of importance that is stressed. Each year the students organize a community service project of their choice. In the past ideas ranged from care packages for American soldiers to collecting donations to help a local family who lost their house in a fire.

Girl Power really teaches these girls to be all-around exceptional students and strives to give them a strong mental, physical and emotional foundation to build upon.

This organization has very respectable intentions, but just like many other non-profit organizations there is not an abundance of resources. At Pactolus Elementary, around 50 students were interested in the group. With only one advisor and a lack of funding, less than twenty were actually admitted. This ratio can be accredited to budget cuts that the school was forced to make.

While this group is doing everything in it’s power to help better the lives of their students, it is a shame that only a small portion actually have access to it. With more money and advisers, this program could really thrive and make the ultimate difference in the female youth involved.

In my interview with Natalie Pierannunzi I got a small glimpse of who Natalie is and what she’s all about. Natalie comes off a bit quiet at first, but in talking with her more I soon found that she is not only outgoing and talkative, but has a deep passion for her major—public relations and non-profit organizations.
In further interviewing her friends, family and Natalie herself, I became aware that Natalie is compassionate about her major and touching as many lives as possible. Her boyfriend, Ryan, said that she chose a career that perfectly suits her, saying “I see her doing public relations. She can be really talkative and the public relations work she does really reflects her personality and the whole idea of giving back and her love for working with kids.” For example, Natalie was a director of a YMCA teen leadership camp, building teamwork and networking skills in Charlotte city teens.
Not only is Natalie passionate about her career, but she is also compassionate about embracing others and spreading her gifts to others. One question I asked her boyfriend, Ryan Ramsey, is what his first impression of Natalie was. He responded, “Besides her long curly hair, which I thought was cute, I noticed she was always happy and vibrant. Always wanting to do something to help out and help others.” This natural ability to want to help others and to spread positivity is verified by her mother, Kathy Pierannunzi, when she said, “Natalie’s sensitivity to others is one of her greatest strengths. She’s able to read people’s emotions and talk things over. She puts it all on the table, analyzes it, and gets on with life; overcoming what may have been bothering her or bothering a friend.” With these words, Natalie’s mother led me to see that her daughter had honest intentions to help others out whether it is physical or emotional help and support. The same ability to connect with others and be flexible with them is why Natalie’s mother also feels her daughter will be more than successful in her career and major.
Creativity. Natalie has a uniquely creative side. Her mother stated that from an early age Natalie had always been creative. “She loves to sit down and go to work. She never bought birthday cards for her friends, she always sat down and created them and put her own touch on them,” her mother stated. Not only did she go out of her way to tweak a special gift for friends, but she also devoted time to come up with fun things for the family to do for school breaks and summer vacations. Having such a defined creative mind at such an early age gave way to who Natalie is now, drawing her to a very fitting career.
In knowing Natalie had such a creative side, her boyfriend Ryan was and still is compelled to throw in his own creative twists on things. I asked what his fondest memory was of Natalie and he responded, “I don’t have just one fond memory, but mostly anytime we do special little dates that are meaningful, fun and creative. Like when we went to go see the Nutcracker because she used to dance, or when I drove up to ECU and surprised her.” It seems as though Natalie is not only successful in spreading her positive outlook, but also at spreading creativity and in doing so, creating special memories along the way.
After a seemingly endless list of questions and honest, heartfelt answers, I was finally able to figure out who the real Natalie Pierannunzi is. She is more than passionate about her career in public relations and giving back. She holds a natural ability to connect with others and shows her own style and creativity. In finding these things out I also learned of her incredible flexibility with people. It seems fitting and natural that Natalie chose the communications field, let alone public relations.

Cecilia has been a leader from the start. She has done her part to stand out from the rest by earning several leadership roles. She has been a key member of her community in High Point, NC. As an active member of her church community and senior class president of her high school, Cecilia has been taking the right steps to become a strong leader. Cecilia continues her leadership role today by volunteering in her broadcast journalism class as the liaison to the Greenville Community Shelter in North Carolina.

Cecilia, 20, is a sophomore at East Carolina University majoring in public relations with a minor in broadcast journalism. Cecilia’s mother, Deborah, described her daughter as being very friendly and energetic. She is always willing to learn and try new things. Deborah stated “I think that Cecilia learned to be patient and the importance of giving back when her grandfather was sick and she had to stay up at night to take care of him. Cecilia never complained, just did what she could do to help.”

Cecilia is the second youngest child in her family. Growing up, Cecilia was the peacemaker between her five brothers. Her mother said that she was always doing her best to make sure everyone was happy and getting along.

Her four older brothers as well as her grandparents have served as role models for Cecilia to look up to. Deborah thinks that having these strong role models helped her daughter to strengthen her leadership skills and know what was expected of her when she got older. This was reinforced when Cecilia attended several youth and leadership conferences during high school.

Family is a big part of Cecilia’s life. With so many brothers around during her childhood, she always had someone to spend time with. As Lindsay has gotten older, her relationship with both her mother and her brothers has gotten even stronger. Deborah said: “Cecilia and I have lots of the same interests. We both enjoy traveling and going to D.C. together.”

For example, in January, Cecilia and her mother traveled to Washington D.C. for the Inauguration of President Obama. They attended the Inaugural concert as well as Obama’s speech at City Hall. Deborah was glad that she got to experience it with her daughter.

However, some of Deborah’s favorite memories with her daughter are going dress shopping for prom and for the Miss Teen USA Pageant in high school.

Cecilia’s mother stated, “One time when we went to pick out a dress, Cecilia found one that she thought she was going to buy, but then five minutes before the store closed Cecilia changed her mind and picked out a dress that was five sizes too big. She got the store to take it down to size four and it was perfect.” Cecilia always seems to know exactly what she wants and what she needs to do to get it.

Cecilia is close to her older brother, Corin, as well. Corin is an East Carolina graduate and still lives in Greenville, NC. He describes his sister as being funny, outgoing, and very loving. During her freshman year she ran for the president of Tyler hall. She stood outside of resident’s doors and greeted them in order to get their votes,” said Corin. His favorite thing about Cecilia is that she cares a lot. “We were close when we were growing up, but I think now that we’ve matured we’re closer now.”

Cecilia’s roommate, Holly Tugman, loves spending time with Lindsay and says that they always have fun together.

Holly met Cecilia at a party their freshman year. They have a lot of the same friends and spend most of their time hanging out and going down town together. She describes Cecilia as being outgoing, friendly, sociable and blunt. Holly stated that “Cecilia is honest and will tell you what she thinks in a heartbeat.” For example, one time when Cecilia was trying to study in the library she heard a girl singing loudly in a private study room. Other people in the area also heard the girl singing, but Cecilia was the only person that was bold enough to go knock on the door and ask the girl to quiet down. When asked which celebrity best describes Cecilia, Holly said that she was a mix of Beyonce and Michelle Obama.

Cecilia also has a caring and sensitive side. Holly struggled recently with the death of a friend and Cecilia was there for her. “Cecilia doesn’t always let her feelings show, but when my friend died she opened up to me and helped me get through it.”

In the future, Cecilia hopes to work for a large Public Relations firm in the future where she can improve companies through strong advertising. She hopes to live in either Atlanta or Baltimore when she gets older. Both Cecilia’s mother and brother can see her working as an anchor on television. However, her roommate sees her working in event planning or in the fashion industry due to her love of clothes.

Cecilia also enjoys watching football and basketball. She is a Baltimore Ravens and Orioles fan, as well as an ECU pirate fan. Some of Cecilia’s favorite things are music, being outdoors, shopping, and working out. Cecilia is a very well rounded student who loves life. She is very people oriented and wants to do all she can to help others. She was a key member of both her community and her high school and she continues practicing strong leadership today in college. Overall, Cecilia is a team player who has all the essential skills needed to be a strong leader.

The Humane Society of Eastern Carolina has around 200 volunteers annually at this particular shelter. These people do these volunteering activities out of the kindness of their heart. Also, they do it for free, and with the economy going the way it is, it is hard to find people who will come help with these animals that are lacking a stable, caring and loving family or home. Yet, they come out and help make this shelter a great success.

Volunteering for the shelter is very selective and not as easy as it looks. First off, you must attend the volunteer orientation. Once that is completed, the first sets of volunteering activities are open to take place in. These include Cat and Dog Pals, which provides socialization and exercise to the animals, and is a two-hour per month time commitment. Other activities that can be done when you first start doing volunteer hours are Treat Team, Groomers, Handy Helpers and Green Thumbs.

Once you have been volunteering for at least two months and have ten hours logged in, more opportunities open up. Some of these new duties include becoming Shadows to the Kennel staff, or Taxis to help transport the animals to different locations. Other opportunities that become available are TV Spots, to help promote the HSEC, Puppy Pals and Health Technicians.

The next step to volunteering happens after one finishes more than 20 hours of service and been there for at least six months. These duties include Foster Care, Adoption Counselors for Cats, Educational Volunteers and Follow Up Counselors.

The final level one can reach is when they have been volunteering for at least eight months and logged more than 30 hours of service. Jar Program, Behavioral Counselors and Trainers are the new duties that are available to partake in once you have reached this level.

There are other ways one can volunteer besides going to the Humane Society and taking time out with the animals. Someone could make cash donations, as well as non-cash items, that would be truly appreciated. These non-cash items include treats, towels, blankets, animal carriers, food bowls, leashes and collars. Being a non-profitable organization this can be a problem, because it is so hard to get so many donations, and donating any of these items would help out so much.

The Humane Society of Eastern Carolina is always looking for volunteers to help with all these wonderful animals. Every little bit of time or any donations given would be greatly appreciated, and help out tremendously with this amazing and generous organization. So try to get out and help make these animals feel special and loved again by going to your local animal shelter and becoming a great volunteer.