Hawk 10/30/13

FACE TO FACE Up close and personal with some of St. Joe’s most interesting Hawks THE HAWK 10.30.13

2

Editor in Chief Marissa Marzano ’14 MANAGING EDITOR Amanda Murphy ’14 COPY CHIEF Abby Riviello ’14 Business Director Hannah Lynn ’14 Asst Business Director Nick Gianfrancesco ’16 Faculty Advisor Dan Reimold News editor Cat Coyle ’16 ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR Karen Funaro ’16 OPINIONS EDITOR Joseph Cerrone ’14 FEATURES EDITOR Shelby Miller ’14 SPORTS EDITOR Garrett Miley ’15 ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR Frank Flores ’15 LAYOUT EDITOR Weiyi (Dawn) Cai ’15 PHOTO EDITOR Shannon Adams ’16 ONLINE EDITOR Robbie Cusella ’14 SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR Jillian Gardner ’16

Photos by Shannon Adams ’16, Weiyi (Dawn) Cai ’15, Andrew Nguyen ’17 Page designs by Weiyi (Dawn) Cai ’15, Andrew Nguyen ’17, Catherine Miller ’16, Joe Cerrone ’14, Cat Coyle ’16, Amanda Murphy ’14

10 30 13

PROFILE

The Hawk Newspaper

Letter from the Editor

T

his issue looks a lot different from the past issues of The Hawk we’ve published. You may be looking for the breaking news stories, or the sports recaps, or (let’s be honest!) the public safety reports and Sudoku—and you’re wondering why you can’t find them here.

This week, The Hawk is bringing you another kind of news. It’s the kind of news that you walk past every day and don’t realize it’s happening. It’s the inside story on 25 Hawks who are nothing short of extraordinary, but whom you don’t know outside of your finance class.

These are the stories of world records, resilience in difficult times, and some unusual phobias. They’re stories about the Hawks who go against the grain, who get engaged while everyone else is hooking up, or who heal with their hands. They make instruments, write novels, and raise guide dogs.

Though we are covering these stories this week, we are still committed to bringing you the news. Breaking news coverage will be uploaded online at hawkhillnews.com throughout the week, so you don’t miss a moment of what’s happening at our university.

Throughout the course of putting together this special issue of The Hawk, we’ve learned more about our campus than we ever expected. We’ve learned that the story of St. Joe’s is a lot more than just classes and parties and basketball (though you can read about basketball too, on the very last page!). The staff feels these Hawks embody what it means to be a St. Joe’s Hawk, and in that way, we tell the stories of everyone at our university.

We hope going forward we will all continue to look for and celebrate these types of stories in our campus community, instead of the shout out someone got on @StJoesCrushes or who made a fool of themselves last Friday night. The staff believes that by celebrating the integrity, individuality, and sometimes the downright quirkiness of the people on this campus, we will grow stronger as a community.

And in the end, that is what we at The Hawk aim and strive for in every single issue.

– Marissa Marzano, Editor-in-Chief

PROFILE The Hawk Newspaper

3

10 30 13

21

8

20

19

17

9

10

18

Table Of Contents

14

22

4-5

28 12

27

26

6

13

16

15

7

23

25

11

4

10 30 13

PROFILE The Hawk Newspaper

From the Stage to the Altar

PROFILE The Hawk Newspaper

5

10 30 13

Marriage on the horizon for young Hawkmates

Marissa Marzano ‘14 Editor-in-Chief

A

lthough most 20-somethings are planning what bar to hit or which “friend-with-benefits” they’ll be boffing this weekend, Sean Rempel, ’14, and Kelly Curran Slota, ’12, are planning a wedding.

Rempel and Curran Slota got engaged this past July, at just 20 and 22 years old, respectively. They are planning for a spring 2015 wedding, just one year after Rempel’s college graduation.

In a nation where the average age for first marriage of a woman is 27 and the hookup culture is a celebrated part of the early and mid-twenties, Rempel and Curran Slota’s choice for an early engagement and marriage places them in a marked minority. However, they aren’t worrying about that.

“If I had met Kelly when I was 26 or 28, [an engagement] still would’ve happened,” Rempel explained. “I feel like we knew so early—I feel it was so inevitable.”

Rempel and Curran Slota met in 2010, early in Rempel’s freshman year and Curran Slota’s junior year.

“We met in SJU Theatre Company’s production of ‘Hair,’” Rempel explained. “We both played the youngest members of the [hippie] tribe, spent a lot of time together, and somehow just became best friends.”

Despite suspicions among the rest of the cast and crew that the two were dating, Curran Slota and Rempel kept their relationship under wraps until November 2010, which they consider their official anniversary.

However, it didn’t take long for the couple to realize that their

relationship was evolving into more than a short-lived college fling. “It started feeling kind of silly saying ‘boyfriend’ and ‘girlfriend,’ because we knew we were going to be together forever,” Rempel explained. “A few years ago, it was kind of the norm to get engaged [young]. My parents and grandparents got engaged at this time, so it just made sense.”

“I think we knew about a year into our relationship that eventually we’d like to move [towards an engagement],” Curran Slota added. “[But] I kind of predicted that Sean might propose in the second semester of the year [spring 2014].”

But Rempel had other plans. “[In July] he surprised me with a massage appointment,” Curran Slota explained. “When I came out from my massage, he handed me a folder and inside there was an appointment confirmation to get my hair done and a confirmation for a dinner reservation at [the restaurant] 19 at the Bellevue, where we had gone on our one year anniversary.”

But before dinner there were more

stops to make, including getting her nails done, picking out a new dress, and an all-important stop at Bluett Theatre, where Rempel popped the question on the stage where the two first met.

“People who knew us well as a couple…they were all really excited about it,” Curran Slota explained. “One or two people were like, ‘Oh my gosh, you’re crazy!’ because we’re young and we don’t have a lot of things figured out for our lives.”

The surprise and excitement extended to Rempel as well.

“A lot of my extended family was surprised too,” Rempel added. “A few of them haven’t even met Kelly yet, so they were like, ‘Wait, what! You’re 20, what’s happening?’”

“I still can’t believe [we’re engaged] half the time,” Curran Slota said.

Despite their engagement, the couple is currently focused on establishing themselves in their careers.

“Sean is in the middle of applying to law schools,” Curran Slota explained.

“So we don’t know where that’s going to take us, and I’m working in education right now.”

Rempel is looking at local universities, such as the University of Pennsylvania and Villanova University, while Curran Slota works as a childcare aide and coordinates after-school programs. Curran Slota lives with her family and Rempel is the head resident assistant in the on-campus Lancaster Courts apartments. The couple does not plan to move in together until they are married.

“Everything that goes into the life that we will have in 10 years, 15 years, 20 years, all of that is going to be completely built together, from Sean applying to grad school to me getting my first real job out of college … From the very beginning, [we’ll] be starting everything together as partners and I think that’s the best thing about it,” Curran Slota said.

“When you find that person and you know it’s right and you’re best friends, you want to be together [and] you want it to start as soon as possible,” Curran Slota continued.

“There’s no point in us waiting … we could [wait] until we have things more figured out in other aspects of our lives, but we’re ready to start that part now!”

6

PROFILE The Hawk Newspaper

10 30 13

Bottled memories

Smedley saves sentiments in jars Emily Bowers ’16 Special to The Hawk

F

Emily Smedley

or Emily Smedley, ’16, a jar is always more than just a jar.

“You can see everything inside of [the jars],” said Smedley, “but at the same time hide some things.”

For her, it’s not just the jars that she loves, but what the jars hold—the memory of love.

Smedley currently has 23 jars of various shapes and sizes. She has been collecting and filling jars since Jan. 28, 2012, the day she started dating her boyfriend, John Dougherty, a sophomore at Drexel University.

“We started the first jar when we went to the zoo for my birthday,” said Smedley. “I saved a little tag from a red panda stuffed animal he bought for me, because he always said I am like a red panda.”

Smedley collects the jars as a way to keep her memories with Dougherty. Whether it is a napkin from a restaurant, a train ticket from a visit, or a seashell from their trip to the beach, each memento has value.

“They’re pretty much a compilation of eclectic items—scraps of paper, pebbles, beer caps, wine corks, odd pieces of metal, [etcetera],” she said.

For example, Smedley has a large jar completely filled with shells, driftwood, pinecones, and pebbles from the beach, as well as multiple small jars of miscellaneous that decorate her room.

Most of things that Smedley puts into her jars are never purchased. She collects items that relate to a unique memory she and her boyfriend shared.

“Metaphorically, these jars are worth a lot, but logistically the jars aren’t worth much,” she said.

Dougherty added, “When we go to the beach, I try to remember not to wear the bathing suit with pockets because I know she will want me to hold a ton of seashells.”

Despite not wanting to physically hold all of the memories, Dougherty is still very fond of what the jars hold. “My favorite memory would have to be the candle without a wick,” he said.

For their senior prom, Dougherty wanted to ask Smedley to be his date in a crazy and creative way. He decided to go out and purchase 200 small candles to spell out and the word “prom.” When Smedley arrived at Dougherty’s house, she saw 199 candles lit up in his driveway, as well as a bouquet of flowers. Both Smedley and Dougherty recalled how the smile on Smedley’s face shined brighter than the candles.

The single unlit candle now sits in one of Smedley’s jars. She says that the unlit candle is the happiest memory she holds within any of the jars.

“With a box, people wouldn’t be able to see inside,” remarked Smedley. “I like to share my memories and be able to see in, and remember my memories without having to open up a box.”

PROFILE The Hawk Newspaper

7

10 30 13

T The Bear Necessity

Maggie & Sarah Kayla Soders ’15 Special to The Hawk

attered, faded, and stained, Sarah “Teddy” O’Connell has only been washed once in her lifetime.

Sarah is a stuffed teddy bear belonging to Maggie O’Connell, ’14. O’Connell received the bear from her grandmother on the day she was born, and it has traveled with her ever since, 21 years and counting.

“I washed her once when I was four because my mom made me—and a sliver of her nose broke off,” O’Connell said. “I vouched never to wash her again so she would never be hurt.”

This is not the only mishap Sarah has been involved in. The bear also went missing many years before.

O’Connell’s family had just moved into a new house around Thanksgiving when she was in kindergarten. Boxes and bags were piled around the house, including large, full trash bags kept in the garage to be thrown away. As Christmas Eve approached, O’Connell remembers being unable to fall asleep no matter how hard she tried. The only thing she wanted was her teddy back.

Days passed and there was still no luck finding Sarah. O’Connell’s grandmother even tried to buy her a new teddy bear, but it did nothing to replace the empty space in O’Connell’s heart.

O’Connell’s mother, Emy, eventually found the bear, but it was not an easy task.

“I finally think, ‘Oh my God, maybe Teddy got thrown into a trash bag by mistake Christmas morning.’ And worse still, ‘What if that trash bag has already been picked up on trash day!’” she said. “So I go out to the garage, and I am shaking, asking God out loud to help me find that bear. I open a trash bag and I say, out loud, by myself in the garage, ‘Please God, let me put my hand on Teddy when I search through this bag.’ And I put my hand in the bag and I put my hand on Teddy. I started sobbing, crying, thanking God. It was a miracle right in our garage.”

O’Connell added, “Ever since that night I always make sure Sarah is safe and sound in my bed. I can’t sleep without her. I literally have nightmares when I don’t have her with me.”

O’Connell even sniffs her teddy.

“It relieves stress and anxiety and sometimes makes me lightheaded from sniffing too much,” she said. “I associate the smell with calming myself down. I can’t really describe the smell other than kind of nostalgic, I guess.”

Sarah also has her own Facebook account, which has 20 Facebook friends and lists her birthdate as being the same as O’Connell’s: March 15. Sarah is even in a relationship with another teddy bear, Teddo Ashton.

“Basically, her social life is better than mine,” O’Connell said with a laugh.

Sarah met Teddo through O’Connell’s freshman year roommate at Quinnipiac University, where O’Connell spent her freshman year before transfering to St. Joe’s. Interestingly, Teddo’s owner also received her teddy bear the day she was born and sniffs her bear.

“We literally built some of our friendship around our bears,” said Ashton.

In a similar vein, O’Connell doesn’t see Sarah leaving her bedside at any point in the near future.

“Every guy I’ve ever been with always knows about Teddy,” she said.

Future friends or romantic partners will just have to continue to bear with her.

PROFILE

8

10 30 13

The Hawk Newspaper

EIGHT CUPS OF TEA, THREE CUPS OF COFFEE, AND ONE ENERGY DRINK EQUAL ONE DAY

Jess Falkenstein

Alex Zerpa ’15 Special to The Hawk The 8.4 oz chilled can of Red Bull hissed and fizzled as she brought it to her lips and took a generous gulp. “For the late night homework grind in Club Lib,” explained Jess Falkenstein, ’15.

Falkenstein has been severely addicted to caffeine for the majority of her time spent at Saint Joseph’s University. On a normal day, the bubbly, petite Falkenstein relies on eight glasses of tea, at least three cups of coffee, and one type of energy drink. That daily intake adds up to roughly 760 grams of caffeine.

“That’s just me on a typical day,” she said. “You should see me during midterm week.”

Her addiction started when a group of friends decided to enter the Red Bull Flugtag event at Penn’s Landing waterfront last year.

The group, dubbed Team Hawkward, earned a sponsorship from Red Bull Energy Drinks, giving them limitless free Red Bull.

Throughout the day of the event, Falkenstein drank seven cans of Red Bull, the equivalent of 189 grams of sugar. Typically, a person’s daily recommended sugar intake should be around 25 grams, or six teaspoons.

“It was just at-hand, so I figured, why not

take them?” said Falkenstein. “I’ve basically tried every flavor of Red Bull: zero-calorie, sugar free, regular, cranberry, lime, and blueberry.”

After the event, free shipments were regularly delivered to Team Hawkward, further fueling Falkenstein’s addiction.

“She would always pester us for some Red Bull as soon as she got word more shipments had come in,” said Kyle Smith, ’15, another Team Hawkward member. “She would take as much as she could fit in her backpack and then carry some herself. It soon got to the point where enough was enough and we had to cut her off.”

As charming and approachable as she can be while on her daily dosage, people speak warily about a caffeine-less Falkenstein.

“Irritability is definitely a side effect when I’m off it,” she admitted. Her addiction has also led her to suffer sharp headaches and mood swings when void of the stimulant.

Last year, in what appeared to be her ultimate form of self-sacrifice, she gave up caffeine during the liturgical season of Lent. Within the first week, she experienced excruciating migraines and snippets of snappy behavior. She coped with this simply by downgrading to decaffeinated tea and coffee.

She is proud to say, however, that she made it through all 40 days without a drop of caffeine, something many thought would be impossible.

By now, Falkenstein’s parents are familiar with the more-than-decent amount of caffeine their daughter ingests on a daily basis. “They definitely know I drink a lot of it, but I still don’t think they realize how much I drink coffee and tea and all stuff too,” she said.

Falkenstein’s father, Ed, endearingly nicknamed by her as “The Falk,” regularly reminds his daughter that too much caffeine and energy drinks are unhealthy. Yet, her addiction persists. She has even admitted sneaking away to the library bathrooms and shotgunning multiple cans of Red Bull for a more immediate effect to help her study.

Despite having an unorthodox sleep schedule, Falkenstein can be regularly seen with a smile on her face or a funny story to tell. She rarely appears tired or sleep-deprived, despite going to bed around 3 a.m. and waking up around 7:15 a.m. Her friends agree she is one of the more alert and peppy people they know.

“I know caffeine is not necessarily good for me,” she said, “but it’s gotten to the point where I don’t just want it—I need it.”

PROFILE The Hawk Newspaper

9

10 30 13

A SONG TO REMEMBER

Ryan Fox honors those around him with music

Lexie Guistwhite ’15 Hawk Staff

R

yan Fox, ’14, is known by many at Saint Joseph’s University to be an excellent performer, but few know the inspiration behind his musical inclination—his late father.

“

listening to Bruce Springsteen throughout the house with his father, his mother Karen, and sister Devyn.

Shortly after his father’s death, Fox took a break from singing and writing music. It wasn’t until four years later, at his mother’s second wedding, that he got his moment to shine.

The wedding was in late June 2010 in Jamaica and was attended by 40 close family members and friends. Fox treated the wedding guests to a special performance—a song for his mother.

“I just wanted to do something nice for her to make her happy on her special day,” said Fox. “I sang ‘Daughters’ by John Mayer because she loves that song. I know I messed up one part in the first couple lines. But, being in that moment, singing the father-daughter dance for my mom and my grandfather, I got to share that moment and facilitate it. It was a really special aspect of the wedding for me.”

“That was probably one of the most emotional moments of my life,” said Karen Fox-Noonan. “I always knew I had the two best kids in the world.”

After Fox sang live at the wedding, he regained his confidence and performed on his Appalachian Experience trip in March 2011.

“People complimented me on my voice,” he said, “so I decided I would sing at Orientation

Being in that moment, singing the father-daughter dance for my mom and my grandfather, I got to share that moment and facilitate it.”

Fox sings, writes, and records his own music. Although he never learned to play an instrument and got kicked out of band on purpose in fourth grade for never participating, Fox knew at a young age he loved to sing.

Fox’s passion for singing continued throughout middle school and high school, starting in the shower and leading to original lyrics and recorded songs.

However, when Fox was in eighth grade, his father died from injuries sustained in a car accident, changing both Fox’s life and perception of music forever. Suddenly, music became more than something Fox listened to and occasionally sang. It became a memory.

Fox’s father, Thomas, always loved to listen to music in the house. During his childhood, Fox recounted countless weekends

that summer too.”

Fox is known not only for performing popular songs like “Wonderwall” and “Wagon Wheel,” but also for his own free-style rap.

“I’ve heard him create free-style and rap,” said Fox-Noonan. “I find that whole thing just completely bizarre that he can do that. He’s always been a quick thinker. Ryan really has no modesty when it comes to that.”

Fox has also written songs about his dad. “I wrote a song called ‘Snow,’” he said.

“It’s about my dad. I wrote around the chorus that I came up with, and then came up with a song about him passing away. Basically, [it’s about] him still being here but being gone ... It’s definitely one of my favorites that I wrote.”

A portion of “Snow” goes: “And I don’t know where you went / But you were sure as hell heaven sent / God, I miss you, and I wish you were here.”

His mother said that Fox grew up quickly after the death of his father. “He stepped up to the plate and wore many hats in the household,” said Fox-Noonan. “He took care of his sister when I couldn’t always be there.”

Although many people are not aware of Fox’s true singing talent, he promised that if he had the chance, he would perform for everyone.

“If I could put together original music that had an impact on people the way I feel the artists I’ve seen have impacted me, and make people feel something, that would be incredible,” said Fox. “I don’t know how realistic it is, but it would be incredible.”

10

PROFILE

10 30 13

The Hawk Newspaper

Hand saws and washtubs and twine, oh my!

Patrick Maloney makes musical instruments with what you’d throw in the trash Vinny Giella ’14

Special to The Hawk

P

atrick Maloney,’16, creates his own musical instruments out of old household objects and antique items.

Finding material to make these unique instruments is always a spontaneous and fun activity. Maloney will have a vision for what various instruments will look like, and when he stumbles across the right pieces, he puts them all together.

“I never really know when or where I’m going to find the right parts,” Maloney said.

For example, Maloney first constructed a handsaw violin, called “The Singing Saw,” by piecing together twine across the length of a dusty handsaw he found buried in his garage. He next went to work on a bass after he stumbled across an old-fashioned washtub in the woods.

Maloney flipped it upside down, cut a hole in the bottom, and put some strings together to finish this classicalsounding bass.

Maloney is always trying to invent a new and innovative sound for his folk-punk band, Somewhat Uncommon. For the band, Maloney and his friend Matthew Morgan, a sophomore at Raritan Valley Community College,

blend traditional punk music with a taste of distinctly crafted folk instruments, like those he makes himself.

According to Maloney, the secret is coming up with a new beat and approach, not only in music but also in life.

He looks to mirror his creative spirit in how he conducts himself day-to-day.

He can be found on weekends and days off wandering the streets of Center City Philadelphia, searching for new people, places, and of course, music to inspire him.

“It seems like kids [at Saint Joseph’s University] don’t want to leave campus,” he said. “No one really takes advantage of being in the middle of a great city like Philly.”

Maloney said he sometimes attempts to find spots that have musical ties, but is mostly simply searching for something unexpected and is open to anything that comes his way.

His bandmate Morgan said their music-making and performing illustrates a similar independent spirit.

“Most of the time, we get a general set list together and then play it by ear and play the songs that we think the energy of the crowd will enjoy,” Morgan said. “And when we play, Pat gets into the music. It all depends on the vibes he

gets from the crowd. When it is a rowdy bunch, he tends to get more intense and when it is laid back he is calmer ... We always have a great time, and he is always having fun and finding joy in whatever is thrown our way.”

The two have been playing in the band together for several years and enjoy the sound they create. Most of that is attributed to Maloney’s vision for new ideas and his ability to build instruments from the ground up. Since the creation of the buzz saw violin and the washtub bass, he has altered them to make them sound louder and clearer.

Maloney also made his own “melodica,” which is a tube that is blown into and connected to a keyboard so that it makes a sound similar to a harmonica or kazoo.

He has also concocted several other new instruments, including a foot drum, which can be played while strumming a banjo or guitar.

Maloney has several of his smaller instruments with him at school, but said his “more valuable” pieces stay in his music room at his home in Frenchtown, N.J. “There is no such thing as a final product,” said Maloney. “You just have to take something little and make the most out of it.”

PROFILE The Hawk Newspaper

11

10 30 13

Beat it: From Chris to DJ Ch!ll

student dj mixes music

Chris Chille

Matt Buddle ’16 Special to The Hawk

C

hris Chille, ’16, has produced his own music and is an accomplished and copyrighted DJ. Chille’s musical talents began when he was seven years old, growing up in Hammonton, N.J. His parents bought him a CB starter drum set and lessons. Those lessons lasted seven long years, enabling Chille to become the master drummer he is today.

At the conclusion of the lessons and the purchase of a set of DW drums at age 15, Chille also acquired his first piece of recording equipment—an MR8 8-track. Soon after, he began to make his own music.

“My brother played trumpet at the time, so we would do jazz and stuff,” he said. “From the 8-track, I could move all the music onto my computer and then manipulate it and mix it however I wanted.”

Chille was fairly familiar with the beats aspect of music at that point in his life. He also wanted to become well-versed in the melodies and harmonics of how a song works.

“I taught myself how to play piano,” he said. “I had a crappy electric piano—it was a Memorex.” With a new and growing appreciation for how to construct different elements of music, he started to produce various beats.

Chille, a food marketing co-op major, also researched record labels to see if they offered programs for individuals like himself. He found and was accepted to the Associate Producer’s Program, which aims to introduce young adults to the world of music production. He was required to send in two separate beats he had created in addition to proof that he had created them.

After being accepted into the program, Chille was granted early access to music from various artists under a specific record label. He was also able to send his music to other record labels that may have had an interest in his productions.

One particular beat he sent out found its way to Timbaland.

The major producer, songwriter, and performer liked what he was hearing. “Timbaland reached out to me in an email,” Chille said. “And he was talking about trying to use my beats ... I sent him one of my beats,

an unfinished product.”

The particular beat Chille produced, under the working title “Slow Piano Clap,” was never used

by Timbaland or his label, the Mosely Music Group. However, they always have access to Chille’s work because the song was produced before he became copyrighted. As a result, if Timbaland ever used the beat, Chille would be unable to receive royalties.

This run-in with the cutthroat culture of music production opened Chille’s eyes. For his 17th birthday, his father Joe bought him a copyright for $35. It states that any and all music produced under the name “DJ Ch!ll” would be legally owned by him, and no other labels or artists would have access to it without Chille’s consent.

“Chris has an intense passion for all of his endeavors,” said his father Joe Chille. “[The situation with Timbaland was] quite a blow for an aspiring talent, especially when he had the support of all of his friends, but not the company that was claiming to want to help develop him ... I believe we can all learn from this situation and remember the lesson for the future.”

After the Timbaland experience, Chille decided to leave the music production business, but he did not stop making music. Chille soon grew more familiar with DJing and mixing music from famous artists with beats of his own. He became something of a local celebrity in his town and high school.

“Whenever there was a party… whatever music Chris played, we all got set off of it,” said Mike Andreini, one of Chille’s good friends from high school. “If Chris wasn’t DJing, it was a shitty night.”

12

PROFILE The Hawk Newspaper

10 30 13

CHEESE WIZ

St. Joe’s professor specializes in cheese writing, blogging Amanda Murphy ’14 Managing Editor Karen Funaro ’16 Assistant News Editor

F

or the Saint Joseph’s University community, Tenaya Darlington, M.F.A., associate professor of English, is known as an eccentric writing professor. However to the blogosphere, she is known as Madame Fromage, “cheese courtesan,” and one of the few niche writers of this topic.

For the past four years Darlington has been blogging about cheese on her website, Madamefromageblog.com. A native of Wisconsin, Darlington came to Philadelphia without knowing anyone, but was equipped with one address: DiBruno Bros., a gourmet grocery in the Italian Market in Center City. It was here that she began her journey to discover and share stories of local, artisan, and handmade cheeses.

“My way of making friends around here was to take cheese boards to houses when I got invited to dinner, or bringing it to work,” said Darlington. “My students were eating cheese with me because I had the idea [that] food is a social thing.”

“Over time, I made friends,” she continued. “At some point, someone said, ‘You always bring these great cheeses, but we can never know what they are. If you could do a blog, then we can look them up.’”

Initially, Darlington was apprehensive about blogging because she came from a journalistic background where she was paid to write. But eventually she decided to give it a chance after receiving advice to start a blog from multiple people.

“As a joke I decided to call it ‘Madame Fromage’ … I kind of like the idea of having this persona and thought of a cheese board as a stage, so I like the theater of it all,” said Darlington.

In the beginning, she decided to write a few cheese maker profiles, feature stories on local farm markets, and started a “Cheese of the Month” column. Eventually, cheese blogging brought her back into journalism, something she had missed after moving to Philadelphia.

“The blog was a way for me to marry two things that I love, which is writing about food and media and also teaching,” said Darlington.

Darlington’s cheese expertise is extensive; she is often meeting with various cheese makers and distributors to taste their cheeses, experiment with pairings, and share her experiences with her blog followers.

“Because I don’t work in the industry as a [cheese]monger [someone who sells cheese], I don’t

own a cheese shop … people seek out advice from someone who is in no way invested in the economics [of cheese],” said Darlington.

Fruit, cheese, bread, and nuts make a perfect balanced dinner, according to Darlington. She said that most evenings she eats a cheese plate for dinner, which might include apples, olives, and crackers. Her refrigerator is always stocked so she is always ready for a cheese tasting party, just in case.

When asked about her current favorite cheese pairing, she responded, “Right now, a real fresh goat cheese with a sencha green tea. Sencha green tea is like really grassy when you brew it—it just has this beautiful grass green color, it’s really light [and] really mellow. You can have it with a little goat cheese, which is also grassy and light, and it’s just like drinking a little Zen garden … I love certain blue cheeses that have a lot of pepperiness with dark chocolate. [It] sounds like it wouldn’t work but it really does.”

While Darlington does not eat cheese every day, she does have a large stock of it, which tends to get overwhelming every once in a while.

“I sometimes panic if there’s too much cheese in the house,” said Darlington. “I’m not sure how it’s going to get eaten. Like right now I have five pounds [of] this giant tub of crumb fresh [cheese] someone sent me.”

Darlington’s cheese endeavors have expanded, taking her to another cheese ‘realm’ with a book, “DiBruno Bros. House of Cheese: A Guide to Wedges, Recipes and Pairings.” Between book signing, teaching, grading, tweeting, Facebooking, writing, and blogging, Darlington somehow juggles both personalities of her life: Madame Fromage and Professor Darlington.

“I don’t really balance it [both parts of her life] …

I really love teaching. I feel like St. Joe’s is a bubble.

Cheese is a bubble. I like to jump between bubbles and not be like stuck in one place.”

Darlingtion continued, “I’ve always been someone who’s wanted mostly an interesting life … I want to travel, I want to change jobs. I tell my grad students I might be driving a truck in five years because I might get sick of this. So I’m a big believer of just [living] toward the thing that speaks to you [and going] through doorways when they present themselves.”

PROFILE The Hawk Newspaper

13

10 30 13

B

iology Online defines the fingernail as a “horny scale of plate of epidermis at the end of the fingers and toes of man and many apes.” But to Kelcey Morrill, ’15, fingernails are 10 canvases that happen to be attached to the body.

Morrill creates miniature masterpieces on her fingernails. Her passion for nail design has not only inspired to her to maintain a blog (kelceydoesnails. tumblr.com), but has also gained her recognition in Seventeen magazine.

Morrill’s passion for nail art began when she was 16. She started to frequent a local beauty shop, Best Buy Beauty Supply. “There’s this little beauty store by my house,” she said. “It’s really, really tiny, and everything is discounted because it’s kind of sketchy.” The woman behind the counter noticed how often Morrill was coming in and began showing her beauticians’ magazines.

From there, Morrill started practicing on her own fingernails, a process which involved sitting for one to two hours at a time, depending on the intricateness of the design.

on nail designs.

She has completed a number of interesting and eccentric designs, including those inspired by various holidays, the Super Bowl, Minnie Mouse, Spider-Man, and the musical “RENT.” Gel nail polish, which stays on longer and is more resistant to chipping, has enabled Morrill to do her nails less frequently than she had in the past.

These new products have allowed her to downsized the number of products she has at school with her.

At the end of the last school year, Morrill went home with a bag of nail polish that weighed, in her estimation, 15 pounds. This fall, Morrill has reduced her stock of nail polish to a large jewelry case that hangs in her closet. She still has her arsenal of tools, which includes various clippers, paint brushes, and two miniature UV lights that reduce the drying time of her nails to 30 seconds.

Morrill also helps classmates with their nails. As a freshman, Morrill lived in Saint Mary’s House. There she charged $5 for manicures, saving her housemates a trip to the nail salon and about $20.

She has used her talents for more than just monetary gain, however. Morrill’s younger sister, Sarah, suffers from epidermolysis bullosa, a disease that hinders the development of teeth and fingernails and causes blistering of the skin. When it was time for Sarah to attend her prom, Morrill said her sister wanted “the perfect prom date, the perfect dress ... she wanted to wear make-up for the first time. So I said, ‘OK, I’ll paint your nails.’ She had a pink dress, so I did her nails with pink polish with glitter to match her dress. And it made it look like she had fingernails.

And people noticed.”

TEN TINY canvases

Kelcey Morrill’s nails are a work of art John Rheiner ’15 Special to The Hawk

As her skills increased, Morrill saw that Seventeen magazine accepted beauty tips from their readers. With encouragement from friends, Morrill sent in a few pictures. The magazine then emailed her asking for more. This led to a half-page article giving tips to readers and explaining her creative process.

Encouraged by her friends and the reception of Seventeen magazine, Morrill began her blog. “It was

right after the article came out,” she said.

“Everybody kept telling me that I should blog about it.” Her blog, hosted Tumblr, features her finished

14

PROFILE The Hawk Newspaper

10 30 13

Patrick McCluskey

63,855 WORDS IN Crista Dockary ’15 Special to The Hawk

B

etween studying both biology and Spanish at Saint Joseph’s University and performing duties as an Drexel University Army ROTC candidate, Patrick McCluskey, ’15, is writing a fantasy novel.

His novel writing began when he was 14 years old and working as a counselor at a summer camp in his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio. He was required to write a poem for his English class, but from it developed a storyline, character descriptions, and a plot. McCluskey wrote around 10 pages of ideas at the time. Now six to seven years later, the book is 108 pages and 63,855 words.

“Now with reading more and more books, my writing style has gotten better and better,” he said. “So I’ll go back and read what I had before and be absolutely embarrassed by how cliché it is.”

The as-yet-untitled novel centers on the life of a 20-year-old boy named Zahn who lives within the Realm of Order, a world fairly similar to our own. There is, however, also the Realm of Chaos, another dimension filled with monsters.

In the book, Zahn realizes he is somehow prophetically connected to this realm and has a unique control of its monsters. He subsequently begins to understand his true abilities, as he deals with the betrayals of the people surrounding him and journeys on his quest to learn his true identity and purpose in life.

“I’m a huge nerd and I love sci-fi and fantasy books,” McCluskey said. His love for the genre began when he read the “His Dark Materials” series by Phillip Pullman in grade school, and recently has evolved to more in-depth novels like “The Sword of Truth Series” by Terry Goodkind.

McCluskey said he cannot take much from

his everyday life, since what he writes about is not physically possible in our world. At this point, only a limited number of people in the world have read his work in progress. Among them is Christine Pienoski, one of his good friends whom he met at the camp where the novel began.

Pienoski has read around 40 pages of the novel and helps with grammar mistakes, giving McCluskey honest feedback on his ideas.

“I’m harsh on the grammar when I need to be,” she said, “but otherwise the critiquing ends with me looking at him and saying, ‘More.’”

She is very proud of McCluskey for what he has completed so far and said she will be first in line should it ever be published.

“Pat’s book is different from all of them,” Pienoski said. “His concept is new, original, and exciting.”

McCluskey said he feels most inspired to write in his apartment or at his dining room table at home after watching moving, theatrical performances.

“There is always a moment in a play where you are like ‘Wow’ and you get shivers ... I wanna do that. I just want to portray this level of awesome, like you’re delivering a message and it’s so powerful,” he said.

He is now enmeshed in the “main chunk of the story” and is hoping to get up to 250 pages before publication. He does not think it will be part of a series, but he has many other ideas for books to write in the future.

“I’m always thinking about it,” McCluskey said. “I never stop thinking about it. The real reason I want to write a novel is because I can do anything I want with it. The sheer fact that I am creating an entire world and I am in complete control of that is the real reason why I love it so much. I am sort of the god of this creation … I can do anything I want with it. It’s awesome in all the sense of the word.”

PROFILE The Hawk Newspaper

15

10 30 13

Sylvia DeSantis The energy of healing Samantha Puleo ’16 Speical to The Hawk

I

t was nearly 20 years ago when Sylvia DeSantis took part in her first Reiki session. Now a master teacher of the ancient healing art, DeSantis said the unexpected emotional drama of the first massage changed her life.

“You don’t usually expect to have an entire room of 15 women hysterically sobbing, but we were,” she said. “And it all started when I got on the table.”

DeSantis, the director of Saint Joseph’s University’s online graduate criminal justice program, spends more than 15 hours each week practicing holistic therapy. Her practice is centered at Seven Sacred Breaths, an integrative healing business she owns and operates in Narberth, just five minutes from campus.

Reiki is based on the belief that channeling the universal energy ‘reiki’ through the palms can bring healing to people.

With the hands of two women at both her head and feet, DeSantis’ first Reiki session began. The healing energy flowed through their hands to DeSantis, creating a connection among all the women in the room. DeSantis recalled feeling weighed down and unable to move as she heard the women’s cries.

After the energy cord was cut, DeSantis wrapped herself in a quilt and attempted to calm down.

“I couldn’t stop shaking, and I had a realization then,” she said. “I realized that I’d forgotten I used to shake like that when my dad would flip out.”

Not quite ready to face the memories of her father’s abusive presence and her sister’s painful absence, DeSantis avoided alternative healing for two years. After that, she found herself more drawn into the world of holistic body therapy. For two decades now, she has practiced and mastered Reiki, as well as Shiatsu and Reflexology.

The methods through which DeSantis helps people differ depending on her clients’ needs, as she is trained in multiple healing arts. She is able to perform the laying on of hands in Reiki. She is also certified in soft tissue manipulation, which is done in Reflexology, a holistic approach that applies pressure to certain points on the hands and feet to aid other organs in the body. She is also trained in Shiatsu, which is similar to acupuncture, except it uses fingers and pressure, rather than needles, on different meridians of the body in order to achieve balance.

“My friend and I call it ‘woojy work,’” DeSantis said, acknowledging the skepticism some feel concerning holistic work.

Beyond this, she devotes her time to teaching classes and running an e-learning program, training novice Reiki practitioners, writing and editing her young adult book series, and brushing up on her drumming skills.

At the root of her perpetually active lifestyle is DeSantis’ compassionate nature. Teaching, writing, and performing holistic therapy are the ways in which she reaches out, sometimes literally, in hopes of helping others.

“It doesn’t feel like a job,” DeSantis said of her time spent acting as a “gateway” to wellness. “And it helps me help people.”

However, DeSantis’ mother was not initially supportive of her daughter’s career path. “She would say things like ... ‘Oh, you’ve found another guinea pig,’ because she thought it was really ridiculous,” DeSantis recalled.

Her mother’s opinion changed, however, when she began receiving weekly Shiatsu sessions that enabled her to walk without the aid of her cane some days.

DeSantis’ work is being implemented in pre-op and post-op surgeries by numerous surgeons, including Dr. Oz. Either way, DeSantis is not fazed by clients’ reservations, as she is sure of her abilities as a conduit of healing energy.

“I’ve learned that I am able and I have something to offer,” said DeSantis. “I have a voice. And I don’t have to be defined by my tragedies. Screw that.”

Photo courtesy of Sylvia DeSantis

Paid Advertisement

The Haverford Avenue Shops City Ave at Haverford Ave (1 Mile South of Campus)

Restaurant/Take-Out

Est.

Contact

Best Cake Bakery

1960

215-878-1127

New York Bagels

1964

215-878-8080

City Line Delicatessen

1964

215-473-6952

Shalom Pizza

1993

215-878-1500

#1 China Take-Out

1995

215-878-8983

City Bar & Grill

2012

267-634-6190

Big Daddy’s BBQ

2012

215-477-4014

Papa John’s Pizza

*Now Open*

215-486-4202

Welcome St. Joe’s Students WE HAVE PASSED THE TEST OF TIME!

16

PROFILE The Hawk Newspaper

10 30 13

“

My Kids are the only Kids in the world that say, ‘dear God, not another triP to the zoo.’”

Katryna Perera ’16 Special to The Hawk

M

EVERY DAY IS A DAY AT THE ZOO

Jeffrey Hyson

ost people do not discover their professional passion while traveling down the west coast, but that is exactly what happened to Jeffrey Hyson, Ph.D., professor of history. An expert in the cultural development of American zoos, Hyson was fascinated by the diversity between eastern and western zoos and dedicated his graduate and doctoral studies to this unique subject.

“I knew I wanted to do something different,” said Hyson. “The holy grail of graduate work or any kind of research is finding something that hasn’t been done, so I really latched on to that.”

His wife, Juliette, was happy her husband discovered a topic he was truly passionate about.

“I thought it was perfect for him, given the research interests he developed in college and graduate school,” she said. “Jeff has always felt it’s important to show that history is relevant, and not dry and distant.”

Hyson said the biggest difference he noticed between zoos on the east and west coasts was the style of the animal enclosures. For example, hidden moats and more natural habitats were the first adopted by the San Diego Zoo. “Our traditional image of zoos is that, up until very recently, it was all bars and cages,” he said. “And then somehow in the 1970s we all came to our senses, thanks to the environmental movement, and started creating these fake naturalistic designs that were more … keeping with the animal’s natural homes.”

The development of “natural” animal enclosures became a major focus of Hyson’s studies. He wanted to show people that the story they knew, or thought they knew, about the zoo was actually much more complicated.

One area that fascinated him most was the constant pull between the entertainment and educational responsibilities of the modern zoo. He explained how the “natural habitat” designs have to be somewhat limited because if the enclosure is filled with trees, bushes, and rocks, the animals would hide behind them and visitors would subsequently not be able to see them.

“If people aren’t entertained, they won’t come back,” Hyson said.

He confirmed the “huge historical importance” of the Philadelphia Zoo, which was the first zoo established in the United States. Hyson said the zoo has often struggled with funding and design issues and even fell off the map at one point as a prominent national zoo. But in recent years, it has reestablished its position as a leading American zoological establishment.

Given his personal and professional interests, Hyson has visited approximately 30 zoos.

“My kids are the only kids in the world that say, ‘Dear God, not another trip to the zoo,’” he said.

Due to his research, Hyson has pushed his children and others to think about why zoos exist and the reasoning behind the animals’ confinement. His children appreciate his insight and have gained a unique perspective by visiting zoos with their father.

“They enjoy the fact that their father is interested in a topic that they find fun and which they can be involved,” said Juliette Hyson. “[Also,] almost wherever we travel as a family, we visit the local zoo.”

When asked if he had a favorite animal, Hyson immediately answered the red panda.

“It looks like a combination of a fox and a raccoon, with gorgeous coloring and the sweetest face you’ve ever seen,” he said. “I could watch them for hours.”

As a child, Hyson did not visit the zoo more than the average child, but said it was always a family excursion he looked forward to.

Nevertheless, he does not think this was a major influence on his later research focus.

“I think some of it may have been great memories,” he said. “But I think a lot of it was more [that] this was a cultural institution that hadn’t been explored much and that fascinated me.”

Photo courtesy of Jeffrey Hyson

PROFILE The Hawk Newspaper

10 30 13

Brendan Robert ’15 Special the The Hawk

T

he walls of her bedroom are neatly lined with row upon row of meticulously arranged books. At one point during the interview, she took one of her newly added fictional works from its position on the shelf and stroked its binding.

Katie Daubert, ’15, an English literature and religious studies major, owns more than 400 books in a carefully organized personal library at her house in Pine Grove, Pa. Daubert reached for a noticeably aging book and explained how important this particular book was to both her and her family. An old Hebrew-Germanic Bible published in 1901, this Daubert family legacy has been passed down from generation to generation.

This literary treasure holds extra significance for Daubert; it represents the start of her “quirky obsession,” one that has come to define her.

“I always loved reading books as a kid, and now it is an integral part of my major,” she said. “My idea of the perfect Saturday afternoon is going from flea market to flea market, striking up deals on old book sets. I usually can get them for quite cheap, often less than $5 a book.”

This frugal mentality has allowed her to collect more than 400 books so far. But not of all her aspirations are for bargains.

The book she wants most for her collection is an original copy of the first publication of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby.” After some investigating, she concluded she would have to pay no less than $2,500 to get her hands on a copy.

“The original copies are works of art,” she said, “[A] beautiful representation of early 20th century American literature.”

Even without the coveted addition of “Gatsby,” her fiction collection still boasts many late 19th and early 20th century American literary classics. Among her more well-known titles: Walt Whitman’s “Leaves of Grass,” Mark Twain’s “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” and Ernest Hemingway’s “For Whom the Bell Tolls.” No book in her library exceeded a $30 price tag, and many were either donated or bought for nickels. Of all the books she owns, the most common ones her friends borrow are from the “Harry Potter” series.

Daubert explained that implementing a Dewey Decimal System would be practical when lending books out to family and friends. It is common for her friends to check out books for pleasure reading or school assignments and the system helps keep her library organized.

“Katie is truly obsessed with her books,” said Arantxa Rosario, ’15, a close friend of Daubert. “She has asked me on numerous occasions if she could have my books and textbooks at the end of the semester.”

As a librarian who owns a working library, Daubert feels responsible for consistently organizing and updating her set to provide the best experience for potential readers.

Yet even with her love of reading and collecting books, Daubert estimates she has only actually read between 10 to 15 percent of the titles she owns. Most are there just for the aesthetics.

When asked if she had plans to eventually read them all, she responded with a resounding: “No way!

With all the reading I have to do for school, I have no time to catch up on my collection.”

Katie Daubert Four hundred books make a passion

17

18

PROFILE

10 30 13

The Hawk Newspaper

A “mama” away from home

Zina “Mama Z” Knight welcomes students and lays down the law in Villiger Hall Sean West ’15 Special to The Hawk

I

f you asked a Saint Joseph’s University student who Zina Knight is, chances are they would not know. Ask them who Mama Z is, however, and they would direct you to Villiger Hall, where she mans the front desk.

They are the same person, with different names.

Knight, who is endearingly known as “Mama Z” across campus, grew up in West Philadelphia. Now, she can be spotted on weekdays in the first-floor lobby of Villiger, sitting straight up with her hair in a tight bun, hands folded across the desk, a huge smile on her face.

She always has a book nearby, her current favorite being “50 Shades of Grey.” Knight, who enjoys speed-reading. She attributes her love of reading to her mother and aunt, who would often trade interesting novels with each other and make recommendations.

When she’s not reading, Knight loves to talk with students and get to know them personally.

“The fact that people call her Mama Z says a lot about her,” said Ray Akers, ’17, who lives in Villiger Hall.

“It’s always fun to see her when I walk in and out of the building.”

Knight greets each of the incoming students with a bright smile, asking them questions about their days.

The nickname began during her second year on campus, when she told students she was their second mother away from home. “They all know me as that [Mama Z],” said Knight. “It doesn’t matter whether they come as freshmen or if they’re graduating now.”.

Part of being the “mama away from home” means laying down the law.

“As far as discipline, you have to set the rules early, especially [for] freshmen,” she said. “You set the rules early—what they can do, what they can’t do.”

For example, Knight said she does her best to keep students from bringing alcohol into the building

by regularly checking students’ bags. “I have to do my job,” she explained.

“We all knew not to mess with Mama Z,” said John Westermann, ’15, a resident of Ashwood Hall last year, where Knight worked. “Mama Z is a really nice lady, but she can see trouble from a mile away.”

Knight has been working at the university for seven years. She has worked in every dorm building and dealt with students of all grade levels. Her favorite building to work in so far has been Lannon Hall, where she served three years ago.

She is enjoying this year’s freshmen, though. “I got good freshmen this year,” said Knight. “They’re more mature than the other years … these kids act like they’re in college, so this was a good year for me.”

“If you treat them with respect, they’ll treat you with respect,” Knight continued. “If you treat them mean, they’re going to treat you mean.”

During a good year, Mama Z doesn’t have to worry about too many problems and can spend more time knocking books off her list. As she said, “One of the books I definitely have to finish would be the ‘Harry Potter’ series.”

“

The fact that people call her Mama Z says a lot about her. It’s always fun to see her when I walk in and out of the building.”

PROFILE The Hawk Newspaper

19

10 30 13

Jessica Heymann fears tHe fungus among us

J

Katie Tronco ’15 Special to The Hawk

essica Heymann, ’14, can never eat sautéed mushrooms. Not because she’s allergic, but because she is afraid. Heymann has mycophobia: the fear of mushrooms, a real condition.

Her fear started at a young age. “I don’t know when or why it started,” said her mother, Karen Heymann, “But even as a very young child, Jess would freak out over the idea of eating or touching mushrooms.”

Even though her parents realized she was afraid of mushrooms, they did not fully believe that her fear was legitimate until she was older. “My mom just thought I was making it up or being dramatic, but now she knows it’s a real thing,” Heymann said.

Heymann said that her condition usually does not inhibit her social interactions, but is still extremely uncomfortable around the fungus.

“If people around me are eating mushrooms right now it would gross me out, but I would be fine,” she said.

“I know the mushrooms are not going to touch me, and I am not going to be

eating them. But if I get close to one or I don’t notice the mushroom until I get close to it, I will get anxious.”

When Heymann comes into contact with a mushroom, she experiences a number of symptoms, including extreme anxiety, an accelerated heart rate, and rapid breathing.

“I will get nervous and my heart will start racing. I get nervous that something is going to happen,” said Heymann. “Obviously, rationally I know that the mushroom is not going to get up and walk and not going to do anything to me.”

The only accidental experience Heymann has had eating mushrooms came at the hands of a disbelieving family member. “My aunt thought I was ridiculous as a child, and she made ravioli one night and didn’t tell me that she added mushrooms in the middle,” Heymann said. “And when I bit into it, I tasted it and I knew. I started gagging and I went and spit it out.”

But how does Heymann deal with mushroom-related things in popular culture, like the video game Mario Kart, which features a heavy dosage of mushrooms? Heymann said the use of

mushrooms in the game does not stop her from playing.

“It doesn’t bother me,” she said. “Like the character Toad from Mario Kart ... to me it doesn’t even look like a mushroom.

It has a face.”

Although video game mushrooms do not bother her, seeing pictures of real mushrooms does make her uncomfortable and at times can freak her out. “Mushrooms are not natural,” Heymann said.

She has grown accustomed to always asking waiters if mushrooms are used in any part of the dishes she orders. She recalled once, while eating in an upscale Italian restaurant in New York City, feeling forced to ask about every single pasta dish on the menu to make sure they were truly mushroom free.

Heymann has visited numerous websites and blogs about people who experience this same unnatural fear of the fungi.

“I am telling you there is a whole community out there, and it’s underestimated,” Heymann said. “Many people don’t believe us or don’t take us seriously, but it is a real phobia.”

20

PROFILE The Hawk Newspaper

10 30 13

RYAN STULL: survivor of

“

rare blood disorder

Ryan’s illness doesn’t define him.

If anything...he’s more positive because of it.”

R

Christina McCabe ’15 Special to The Hawk

yan Stull, ’15, considers himself very lucky after a brief brush with death 10 years ago.

When he was in third grade, Stull spent close to four months in Overlook Hospital in Summit, N.J., battling a rare blood disorder called ITP. ITP, or Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura, is a temporary autoimmune disease. Antibodies form to attack platelets in the blood, taking away the ability for blood to clot properly.

Stull’s condition began with what was thought to be an easily treatable case of pneumonia. After a typical school day, Stull told his mother he felt congestion in his chest. They saw a doctor, who told them it was just Stull’s asthma acting up.

“But my mom didn’t think it was asthma,” Stull said.

“She’s a healthcare worker and she was trying to tell him what she thought, but he didn’t listen.”

Not satisfied with the diagnosis, Stull’s mother took him to two more doctors who said exactly the same

thing.

Stull had the same congestion in his chest for another week before developing a fever of 104 degrees.

His mother took him to see a family friend who was a pulmonologist, or lung doctor, who immediately diagnosed pneumonia and started Stull on antibiotics. He was too crippled by the infection to do anything by himself for a week, needing help walking across a room and spending most of his time sleeping.

The night before Stull was supposed to return to school, his mother touched his arm before bed. A bruise immediately came to the surface of his skin. She tried to hide the panic from him as she hurried him into the car and took off for the hospital. Once there, according to Stull, staffers took “about ten vials of blood,” and then admitted him for the night.

“My platelet count was only 10,000,” said Stull. According to the Mayo Clinic, the normal platelet count for men is about 150,000. Stull’s blood was not able to clot properly, which meant bruises would form easily. And if he had been cut badly enough, he could have bled to death.

Fortunately, several treatment options were available.

The easier and cheaper option at the time was an intravenous medication, but it failed to cure Stull’s ITP twice. He finally had a multi-donor platelet transfusion that took an entire day to complete. Even though the transfusion was tedious, it was effective and enabled Stull’s platelet count to begin rising the next day.

After his release from the hospital, his platelet counts continued to rise. Stull said the most annoying part for him was not the hospital, but going home after he was released. He had been on the hospital’s pediatric ward, which had games and other things to entertain child patients.

After his release, however, he was confined to his house. He was not allowed to play outside, ride his bike, or do anything else the average 8-year-old would do.

Stull, who is healthy today, is still not sure why he developed ITP. “There is a connection between ITP and pneumonia,” he said. “It’s rare, though.”

“Ryan’s illness doesn’t define him,” said Dara Driscoll, ’15, a close friend of Stull. “If anything…he’s more positive because of it.”

PROFILE The Hawk Newspaper

10 30 13

21

‘My ADHD will never hold me back’ Coleman Church works past disorder to success

C

Tina Cifferello ’15 Special to The Hawk

oleman Church, ’15, refuses to let his condition run his life.

Living with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) since his diagnosis at age 12, Church has struggled to focus on a daily basis for a number of years.

“I would be the last to finish every test, [I] just couldn’t keep my mind from wandering into space,” Church said.

Church’s condition went untreated until his seventh grade teacher approached his parents. “My teacher would always call me out for distracting the other students,” he said.

Church subsequently met with a doctor and experimented with treatments. He tried using various ADHD medications until his junior year of high school, when he found one that worked best for him. He has been prescribed Vyvanse ever since.

Compared to the other medications he tried, Church said, “Vyvanse has the least amount of side effects and lasts all day, which I need.” Since starting to use Vyvanse, Church said that his grades have significantly improved and he is more confident in his work.

“I used to hate going to school,” he said. “I would feel dumb because I could never keep up with the rest of the class.”

While Vyvanse has significantly helped Church with his schoolwork, the medication has also brought some unwanted side effects.

Steve Janton, ’15, is Church’s roommate of two years and his best friend. “I can tell if Cole has taken his medicine.” Janton said, “He can get a bit moody. It makes him irritated and angry sometimes and he takes it out on his friends.”

Church admitted that sometimes his medication can cause him to become

Paid Advertisement

aggravated. “It’s something I’m working on,” he said.

Another side effect of Vyvanse is a decrease in appetite, making Church have to proactively work to maintain a healthy diet. Due to the medicine’s possible side effects, Church said, “It’s not something I take every day, unless I know I have a deadline and have to focus.” But Church said that he ultimately feels that Vyvanse allows him to be like every other college student.

One of Church’s passions is golf, but in the past he has struggled with the sport due to his disorder. “I’ve always been extremely into sports,” he said.

“Growing up I spent most of my time outside practicing my golf swing. Golf requires a lot of patience. That’s not something you have with ADHD.” Church played on his high school golf team all four years and served as captain his junior and senior years. He said that he strongly believes in doing what he loves, even if it takes extra effort. “It is a burden,” he said, “but I accept the challenge.”

Church also does not let his ADHD affect his schoolwork. He is a double major in entrepreneurship and food marketing, and one day aspires to own his own franchise. “I would love to start my own food chain with organic, allnatural food,” he said.

The freedom college allows when choosing class schedules has made it easier for him to balance his medicine.

“Cole is honestly a better student than I am, and I have no condition,” Janton said.

“He’s kind of an overachiever with the double major and all. You can’t tell Cole he can’t do something. He will prove you wrong.”

Church strongly stated that he would not let his disorder define him.

“My ADHD will never hold me back from doing what I want in life,” said Church.

22

10 30 13

ZOE HAVELES

“

It takes a while to come to terms with because it’s a very deep bond between dog and owner, but at the end of the day, it makes you a better person,”

Guiding the way

F

Rachel Bruce ’16 Special to The Hawk

our big paws, a wet nose, and two shining, intelligent eyes were all that stood between Zoe Haveles, ’17, and her selfproclaimed goal: “I will not get attached.”

Haveles, a seventh-grader at the time, had signed up with the nonprofit organization Guiding Eyes for the Blind to raise a puppy and train it to be a guide dog. Now a student at Saint Joseph’s University, Haveles said that she realized her mission of detachment failed the moment she laid eyes on an eight-week-old black Labrador Retriever named Pammy.

Before Pammy, Haveles and her mother had raised and trained a black Lab named Ed as their first puppy from Guiding Eyes. However, due to the dog’s severe allergies, he was released from the guide dog program and became their family pet. Pammy was the first puppy they raised and had to give back to the program once she came of age.

Haveles’ schedule quickly became defined by Pammy’s needs. She had to be walked, taken to training classes, socialized in public places, and let out for bathroom breaks at sunrise.

Improving Pammy’s skills and behaviors, like teaching her to “get busy” (or go to the bathroom on command), took precedence over pre-algebra homework.

At six months old, Pammy received her jacket, which legally allowed her to be in public places for working and socialization. Haveles’ weekends at the mall were spent introducing Pammy to chaotic situations, rather than shopping for new clothes or hanging out with friends. Haveles and Pammy also attended weekly and biweekly classes as part of the training curriculum for Pammy’s first 14-16 months. There she learned the necessary behavioral skills to be a companion for a blind person.

After almost two years of patience, devotion, and hard work, it was time to say goodbye.

“Pammy was the one I raised all by myself and I put my life into her,” said Haveles. “She was the first one we had to give away. It was really hard for everyone. I actually couldn’t fall asleep for weeks because Pammy had always slept in my room and she snored. She would lull me to sleep every night, and all of a sudden, there wasn’t a snore.”

Despite the inevitable heartbreak, Haveles has continued to raise and train guide dogs. “It takes a while to come to terms with because it’s a very deep bond between dog and owner, but at the end of the day it makes you a better person,” she said.

“You realize that it was for a greater purpose.”

The guide dogs, which are worth more

than $20,000 after graduating from the program, are carefully matched up and given to members of the blind community for free.

According to Haveles, hearing news about the dogs and their achievements makes her feel like a proud mother.

At the end of her training, Pammy received a perfect score on her placement test for graduating the guide dog program and was also selected to breed. Two of the Haveles’ other dogs, Albert and Joe, were selected to be bomb-sniffing and drugsniffing dogs.

“The more dogs we’ve had, the more we’ve seen them succeed, so the more we look forward to seeing them succeed,” she said.

Over the past six years, nine dogs have temporarily been a part of the Haveles home—Ginger, Brutus, Ed, Pammy, Windy, Albert, Joe, Zeus, and the most recent addition, Liesl. “We’re all just dog people,” said Haveles. “I’ve never lived without a dog.”

Jay Wadyka,’16, is a friend of the Haveles family. He remembers the Haveles family, dogs and all in tow, showing up to many lacrosse games. “Her dogs are a lot better behaved than mine,” said Wadyka. “They were really well behaved in a crowd of people, especially at sporting events. Training them was definitely an involved process.”

Haveles admits she misses Pammy, but understands how impactful the process of raising guide dogs has been for the blind community and for her personally.

“Pammy taught me how to communicate, how to be truly responsible for another life, and how to let go of something you love,” said Haveles. “I did get attached to her and I don’t regret a minute of it.”

PROFILE The Hawk Newspaper

PROFILE The Hawk Newspaper

10 30 13

23

LeaRning from her students Kinney Scholar Katie Rodgers gains while giving

Katie McLaughlin ’16 Special to The Hawk

A

utism affects one in 150 children and adults, either directly or indirectly. But Katie Rodgers, ’16, is affected by and sees this connection more than the average person.

Rodgers has dedicated much of the past two years to the Kinney Center for Autism Education and Support, Saint Joseph’s University’s autism resource center. While on campus, she often wears Kinney Center apparel, sweatshirts and t-shirts adorned with the autism puzzle ribbon designed in a cursive “K.” Rodgers’s lifelong dream of becoming a teacher intensified during her senior year of high school. While thinking about possible college majors, Rodgers realized that whatever she chose to study had to be an area that consistently made her happy. For Rodgers, this was education.

Throughout high school, Rodgers spent much of her time working

with neurotypical children, or those who are not affected by mental disabilities. She had never had firsthand experience with a child who has special needs when she received an email from the university with information for incoming students about the Kinney Center’s apprenticeship summer program.

Rodgers applied to the program as an incoming education/special education major. “I was extremely nervous and wanted to make sure it was something I could see myself doing for however long I am in the work force,” she said.

During the summer experience, Rodgers fell in love with the program.

She has since risen from apprentice to scholar, working as a teacher for the 12 to 14-year-old age group and as a basketball coach for nine-year-olds.

Additionally, she helps with the college program and works individually with two primary learners.

With her primary learners, she emphasizes teaching four and fivestep directions and sustaining board game play. The latter includes playing

until the game is over, knowing what game is being played, and knowing whose turn it is.

Rodgers is very grateful for her chance to help at the center. “It’s not just a job where the scholars are helping the kids,” she said. “The kids are really helping the scholars learn who we are.”

According to Kinney Center executive director Ryan Hammond, “The students are given the best opportunity to complement their academic work by training in the field and serving families ... Katie was exposed and really fell in love with the mission of what we are doing.”

Rodgers works between 15 and 25 hours each week at the center.

Student staffers aim to gain 2,000 hours of real-world experience with children with autism.

As Rodgers said, “The kids challenge us to look deep within ourselves and see where we might need improvement and where our strengths are.”

24

10 30 13

advertisement

The Hawk Newspaper

Follow The Hawk on Instagram!

Keep up with breaking news and get a behind-thescenes glimpse of The Hawk!

@sjuhawknews Paid Advertisement

Coming up in Hawk Athletics…

SJU Women’s Soccer vs. George Mason Friday, November 1st 7:00pm – Sweeney Field

SJU Women’s Soccer vs. Dayton Sunday, November 3rd 1:00pm – Sweeney Field

PROFILE The Hawk Newspaper

10 30 13

25 2004 Fenway Park Boston, MA (Red Sox) Citizens Bank Park Philadelphia, PA (Phillies) Oriole Park at Camden Yards Baltimore, MD (Orioles) National Baseball Hall of Fame Cooperstown, NY

2005 Great American Ball Park Cincinnati, OH (Reds) Progressive Field Cleveland, OH (Indians) PNC Park Pittsburgh, PA (Pirates)

2006

Rangers Ballpark in Arlington- Arlington, TX (Rangers)

Dodger Stadium Los Angeles, CA (Dodgers) Coors Field- Denver, CO (Rockies)

Angel Stadium of Anaheim Anaheim, CA (Angels) Petco Park San Diego, CA (Padres)

2007 Busch Stadium- St. Louis, MO (Cardinals)

Wrigley Field Chicago, IL (Cubs)

Miller Park- Milwaukee, WI (Brewers)

Out to the ballgame Nick Radigan and father tour the ballparks CJ DeMille ’16 Special to The Hawk

N

ick Radigan, ’16, has walked up to stadium security 30 times after a baseball game to ask for a sample of infield dirt. He completed this negotiation as part of a journey he undertook with his father to watch a game live, in person, at every Major League Baseball ballpark.

“It was really my dad who wanted to do this whole baseball trip; he knew someone else who did it,” said Radigan, while clad in a t-shirt celebrating his hometown Boston Red Sox. “He brought the idea up to me. I loved it. I love baseball and I also love to travel. At the time, I thought it was a fun thing to do, but as I got older it was more of a special kind of thing.”

When Radigan was nine, his father Matt met a man in his basketball league who had just finished the MLB ballpark trip with his two sons. The man gave them the framework about how to do the trip themselves.

“Nick was a baseball guy from the time he could walk,” said his father Matt Radigan. “I was not. The first time we went to Fenway Park together, the year before we started, sealed the deal for me. He appreciated every nuance of the experience, and I was committed to trying to make it happen from there.”

Starting in 2004, the pair took a week every summer to head to at least two parks at a time. One of Radigan’s best memories from the trips was the result

Photos courtesy of Nick Radigan

of two Chicago Cubs fans. “I remember we were watching batting practice and there were two Cubs fans next to me,” he said. “I was trying to get a foul ball in the outfield and they heckled an opposing pitcher to get him to toss me a ball for about 45 minutes and finally he did. It was awesome.”

Radigan said the differences in each ballpark make it a unique experience, especially at the concession stands. While he enjoyed the baseball mainstay of hot dogs, Radigan also tried out different food from each park. “The Tampa Bay Rays have awful food,” he said. “I think I got just a really bad pork sandwich.”

His favorite was the garlic fries at San Francisco’s AT&T Park. Radigan also appreciated the more memorably named food like the Dodger Dog at Dodger Stadium and the Schmitter at Citizens Bank Park, home of the Philadelphia Phillies.

Beyond the food, Radigan concedes that the lessons and experiences outside the ballparks may have been the most important part of the trips. “I’ve learned how important a relationship with a parent is,” he said. “They’re not just a role model but more like a friend, and these trips and experiences taught me that.”

According to Radigan’s father, “…Our entire relationship is rooted in the times we shared traveling and growing together during this experience. I hope he has learned from me half as much as I have learned from him.”

Comerica Park Detroit, MI (Tigers) U.S. Cellular Field Chicago, IL (White Sox)

2008 Tropicana Field Tampa Bay, FL (Rays) Nationals Park Washington, D.C (Nationals) Shea Stadium New York (Queens), NY (Mets) Yankee Stadium New York (Bronx), NY (Yankees)

2009 Kauffman Stadium Kansas City, MO (Royals) Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Minneapolis, MN (Twins) Miller Park Milwaukee, WI (Brewers)

Busch Stadium- St. Louis, MO (Cardinals)

Busch Stadium St. Louis, MO (Cardinals)

2010 Minute Maid Park Houston, TX (Astros) Rangers Ballpark in Arlington Arlington, TX (Rangers) Chase Field Phoenix, AZ (Diamondbacks)

2011 Rogers Centre Toronto, Canada (Blue Jays) Turner Field Atlanta, GA (Braves) Turner Field- Atlanta, GA (Braves)

Sun Life Stadium Miami, FL (Marlins)

2012 AT&T Park San Francisco, CA (Giants) O.co Coliseum Oakland, CA (Athletics) Safeco Field Seattle, WA (Mariners) Coors Field Denver, CO (Rockies)

26

Profile

10 30 13

The Hawk Newspaper

Meet the paper-ripping world record holder

Christian Cippolini (also impersonates walruses and holds board games for records) Mary McCusker ’14 Special to The Hawk Christian Cipollini, ’14, holds four world records.

Three years ago, Cipollini was browsing the Internet and stumbled upon RecordSetter.com, a website that allows anyone to submit videos of themselves creating their own world records or attempting to break existing ones set by others. All records on RecordSetter are monitored and approved by the website’s internal council, a group of people who work for the website.

Cipollini came across a video of an eight-year-old who held a world record for tearing the most sheets of paper in 10 seconds: 23. “I saw the video and told myself, ‘I can definitely beat this kid,’” he said.

And he did, tearing 39 sheets of paper in the allotted 10 seconds. After posting the video to the website, Cipollini was officially recognized for breaking his first world record.

He didn’t stop there. Cipollini’s other world records include: “Longest time to balance a bottle cap on top of chopsticks while another person wears a Doritos bag on his head and another person holds a keg overhead” (1 minute); “Longest time for three people to balance a board game on their heads” (2 minutes, 43 seconds); and “Longest time for two people to impersonate a walrus using chopsticks while another person sucks his thumb” (2 minutes, 7 seconds).

Cipollini said that he set all three records after a night out with his friends. After coming home, he took a look around their living room and decided it was an ideal time to set some new records.

“We decided to use whatever objects happened to be lying around at the time,” he said, which ended up including two chopsticks, a Doritos bag, a bottle cap, a Seinfeld Monopoly board, and a keg.

According to Cipollini, the key to setting a world record is to be creative and think of an action no one else has attempted or even thought up before. His creativity has paid off, because not a single person has attempted to break any of those records—yet.

However, setting world records has not always been easy. Cipollini once held a fifth world record, “Longest time hanging upside down while playing a ukulele and wearing a hat.” Hanging upside-down off his porch, he strummed his ukulele for 50.6 seconds.

But a challenger recently broke Cipollini’s record by 2 minutes and 9 seconds. Cipollini, who was disheartened at first, turned the defeat into motivation to break even more records. “He may have broken my record,” Cipollini said, “but he didn’t break my spirit.”

For Cipollini, there is nothing quite like the feeling of knowing you are the only person in the world to hold four specific world records. His plans involve continuing to set and break them.

“There’s some in the works,” he said, “but I have to keep them top secret for now.”

Mike O’Leary, ’14, one of Cipollini’s roommates, closest friends, and self-proclaimed “life coach,” has helped him achieve three of his records.

“I’m his biggest fan,” said O’Leary, while nodding toward a framed baby picture of Cipollini on the wall. “Since day one, he’s been destined for greatness.”

A keg A bottle cap

A Seinfeld Monopoly board

A Doritos bag

Two chopsticks Images from RecordSetter.com

Profile

10 30 13

The Hawk Newspaper

Ul(Tully)mate player

“

27

Ultimate Frisbee player Daniel Tully finds a new field Karen Funaro ’16 Assistant News Editor

D

aniel Tully, ’16, is not your average athlete. He does not play baseball, basketball, or football.

He does not have coaches to tell him what to do, nor are there referees to watch over the games. His team practices in the dark.

Tully is part of the Saint Joseph’s University’s Ultimate Frisbee squad.

Tully was not always a Frisbee player. He played rugby and ran track in high school, but when he got to college he wanted to try something new.

“I love the fact that Frisbee is so different,” he said. “That’s why I do it and that’s why it’s fun. It’s not something people do every day … I personally think that it’s a lot more challenging than a lot of other sports because there are no pauses between plays. It’s almost like football, except without a break.”

Tully’s position on the team is the cutter.

Ultimate games are typically played to 13 points and it is the cutter’s job to score points by catching the Frisbee in the end zone. The game is extremely fastpaced. There is only one in-game break at halftime, which occurs when one team scores eight points.

Games can take up to a maximum of two hours.

The team practices this process and many other skills late at night, from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m., sometimes literally in the dark. The field is booked until that time each night, and it is quite common for the lights to already be shut off by the time the players take the field.

“I think the whole game is a lot of fun, but I guess practicing in the dark makes it more entertaining, more of a challenge, and makes for a funny story,” Tully said. “We kind of just have fun with it. So when people say to me ‘You practice till one in the morning,’ I always go, ‘Yeah and in the dark too! Literally without lights!’ But it would be nice if they left the lights on.”

Tully’s lighthearted demeanor is also noticeable off the field. Describing himself as a “very laid-back person who enjoys making people laugh,” Tully considers himself to be a “glorified prankster” who will “go a long way for a good laugh.” For example, he enjoys scaring his roommates on a regular basis just to see their reactions.

“It’s like my own little game where I try scaring my roommates as much as possible by popping out of places,” he said.

Tully’s laid-back personality is helpful when playing Ultimate, especially when it comes to interacting with other teams. Unlike many sports, Ultimate does not have referees, leaving players to settle disputes themselves. If you are not willing to be relaxed, Tully says, there can be issues.

“You have to be laid-back and understanding, especially when it comes to fouls,” he said. “There are no referees, so we are responsible for calling our own fouls. If you are not understanding and laid-back, you won’t have fun and that really takes away from the whole point of the game.”

The team practices this process and many other skills late at night, from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m., sometimes literally in the dark.

The field is booked until that time each night, and it is quite common for the lights to already be shut off by the time the players take the field.”

28

PROFILE The Hawk Newspaper

10 30 13

THWND Photo courtesy of SJU Athletics

Ian Klinger

threw questions at me,” he recalled.

And then came a question that equally baffled and intrigued him: “Are you comfortable with

many appearance requirements with the responsibilities he and manager John O’Brien, ’14, share.

“Most people don’t realize this, but Ian and I are up at 6 a.m.

MORE than just a feathered face Gillian Murphy ’14 Special to The Hawk

W

hen Ian Klinger, ’14, steps into a hand-stitched suit comprised of more than 360,000 black and crimson feathers, he silently sacrifices his identity and morphs into a deeply adored mascot. He becomes our very own Hawk.

Klinger is the 35th mascot in Saint Joseph’s University history.

He is the newest inductee of the “Featherhood,” or the secret society exclusively comprised of past St. Joe’s mascots.

After managing the men’s basketball team for the 2011-12 season, Klinger knew the team’s mascot was graduating and the program would soon be in search of a suitable replacement.

As a former member of the St. Joe’s men’s track and field team, Klinger exudes the athleticoriented mindset, confidence, and spiritedness required of a quality mascot, along with sporting an appropriately powerful six-foot stature.

During his first interview for the position with Athletic Director Don DiJulia, Associate Athletic Director Marie Wozniak, and Director of Basketball Operations Rob Sullivan, Klinger said he held his composure while being kept on his toes. “They went around, round-robin, shotgun style, and

losing your identity?”

Transitioning from an ultraiconic figure to an anonymous student doesn’t really bother Klinger. “It has its ups and downs,” he said. “You know, sometimes you want a little attention—but not all the time. I enjoy the position it puts you in.”

After three rounds of interviews, Klinger was told he was one of the final two candidates. “And the last interview,” he said, “was with the Big Dog.” Head basketball coach Phil Martelli was 30 minutes late to the interview, causing Klinger to “sweat it out.” He described Martelli as “very intimidating at first,” but once the conversation flowed, Klinger realized the interview was “more to feel out someone he wanted to have on the squad ... because technically we’re all extensions of the team.”

Klinger clarified a common misconception about the mascot selection process. “There’s no ‘flap-‘til-you-die’ contest like people think,” he said, though he sometimes enjoys perpetuating the myth. “I tell people that sometimes. I’m like, ‘Yeah, I flapped for hours!’”

As the Hawk, Klinger balances

for practices, just like the players themselves,” O’Brien explained.

Both Klinger and O’Brien attend every practice, game, special event, and team function. They organize uniforms and gear for away trips, vigorously record statistics at games and practices, and even ensure players are awake and on time for their departure prior to games. “I won’t name names,” Klinger said with a grin, “but I’ve definitely made a few emergency wake-up calls before.”

On top of all that, Klinger puts in mandatory appearances at weddings, fundraisers, and other events.

Fully clad in his Hawk attire, Klinger has attended more than 30 weddings—including one the wedding of Martelli’s daughter, Elizabeth, who married a fervent Villanova University fan. Klinger burst through the doors during the cocktail reception and began flapping his wings, in a teasing yet good-humored nod to the rivalry.

The mascot’s time commitments are certainly substantial, albeit well-rewarded, as Klinger does receive a full scholarship, including textbooks.

During the season, Klinger also travels with the team and supports them on the court at every moment—except for games

at Villanova’s home court, The Pavilion. The Hawk is denied access to The Pavilion in an attempt to subdue the tension of the Holy War rivalry. On Dec. 4, Villanova and St. Joe’s will battle once again. “Being at home this year [for the Villanova game] is going to be amazing,” Klinger said.

O’Brien stated that Klinger is the “perfect person” to be the mascot. “At big games, Ian is able to feed on the energy in the room and also create it,” he said. “[The Holy War] will be loudest game in the arena all year—maybe in all [of my] four years.”

Klinger’s worst experience with opposing fans surprisingly occurred at Creighton University in Omaha, Neb, where former university president Timothy Lannon, S.J., is now president. The Bluejays’ fans had not only found Klinger’s name ahead of time, but also the name of his mother.

They subsequently poked fun by creating silly cheers that included both names. “I had to laugh though,” Klinger said. “It was all in good fun.”

Regardless of the circumstances, Klinger remains faithful to St. Joe’s rally cry, “The Hawk Will Never Die!” and continuously flaps throughout the duration of every game. It is a feat he has mastered only after consistent, self-regimented liftand-conditioning sessions, paired with real-time games that build his endurance.

What would happen if he ever stopped flapping his wings?

As Klinger said with a laugh, “That’s something I hope to never find out.”