Arches Mount Mary University spring 2016

Arches Mount Mary University

Spring 2016

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The Art of Multitasking

CONTENTS | SPRING 2016 MOUNT MARY UNIVERSITY

GRADUATE PROGRAMS Did you know that 525 Mount Mary students are enrolled in master’s or doctoral programs?

Continue your Mount Mary education and advance your career by enrolling in one of our graduate programs. Each of our graduate programs educate students who are committed to being critical and creative scholars, ethical and just human beings with a global perspective, and leaders who put knowledge into transforming action.

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• Professional Doctorate of Art Therapy • Post- Professional Doctorate of Occupational Therapy • Master of Arts in Education • Master of Arts in English • Master of Business Administration • Master of Science in Art Therapy • Master of Science in Counseling • Master of Science in Dietetics • Master of Science in Occupational Therapy You’re invited to attend an upcoming Open House or stop by the Office of Graduate Admissions. We’d love to talk with you about your educational and career goals.

Or, explore our programs online at mtmary.edu/grad

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Mount Mary Graduate Programs

Campus

Reviews

More Than a Game: Soccer Balls for Syrian Refugees

Brunching at Blue’s Egg

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20 22

Gospel Choir Hitting All the High Notes

YOU’RE the BOSS

10

Creative Works

F@#!nism: Not a Dirty Word

Features 14

Read This While You... Multitask

18

Smart Recycling

24

Perspectives 27

From Class to Cubicle

30

Horsin’ Around: Encounters of the First Kind

31

A Native Voice: Remembering Our Sisters

Spring 2016 | Arches

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CONTENTS | SPRING 2016 MOUNT MARY UNIVERSITY

GRADUATE PROGRAMS Did you know that 525 Mount Mary students are enrolled in master’s or doctoral programs?

Continue your Mount Mary education and advance your career by enrolling in one of our graduate programs. Each of our graduate programs educate students who are committed to being critical and creative scholars, ethical and just human beings with a global perspective, and leaders who put knowledge into transforming action.

4

• Professional Doctorate of Art Therapy • Post- Professional Doctorate of Occupational Therapy • Master of Arts in Education • Master of Arts in English • Master of Business Administration • Master of Science in Art Therapy • Master of Science in Counseling • Master of Science in Dietetics • Master of Science in Occupational Therapy You’re invited to attend an upcoming Open House or stop by the Office of Graduate Admissions. We’d love to talk with you about your educational and career goals.

Or, explore our programs online at mtmary.edu/grad

14

24

Mount Mary Graduate Programs

Campus

Reviews

More Than a Game: Soccer Balls for Syrian Refugees

Brunching at Blue’s Egg

4 8

20 22

Gospel Choir Hitting All the High Notes

YOU’RE the BOSS

10

Creative Works

F@#!nism: Not a Dirty Word

Features 14

Read This While You... Multitask

18

Smart Recycling

24

Perspectives 27

From Class to Cubicle

30

Horsin’ Around: Encounters of the First Kind

31

A Native Voice: Remembering Our Sisters

Spring 2016 | Arches

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LETTER FROM THE EDITORS

STAFF

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Nhung Nguyen

We

are the millennial generation. The multitasking generation. The generation that was told “we can do anything.” The generation that not only lives on social media but also fights for social change.

In the cover story, “Read This While You …

Multitask” on page 14, we challenge you to do two things at once. As millennial students, we fall victim to thinking doing more equates to accomplishing more. Learn the art of multitasking the right way – take a breath and embrace this moment to read.

Millennials are often described as overly optimistic, so it can be difficult to learn that what we expect sometimes doesn’t measure up to reality.

The life we envisioned at the beginning of our academic career does not always match where we will end up post-graduation. In “From Class to Cubicle” on page 27, reporter Erica Chang reflects on this phenomenon based on her experiences in

the workforce and talking to colleagues.

With the upcoming election fast approaching, we take this time to acknowledge the women who fought for our rights to vote at the start of the feminism movement. What does feminism look like today? This question is examined in reporter Termeria Taper’s article, “F@#!nism: Not a Dirty Word” on page 10. Taper explores the waves of feminism through the ages, from bra-burning to rethinking gender identity.

In “You’re the Boss” on page 22, reporter Brenda Reasby reviews Niya Brown Matthews’ book, “The Boss in You.” As millennials, we strive for success in our academics, working lives, social lives and personal lives, but we must keep our sanity while doing so (sounds like multitasking, doesn’t it?). Brown reminds us that no matter how hectic life gets, we have the ability to say “no” – we are the bosses (or bossettes) of our lives.

As the semester comes to an end, we come to the realization that some of the classmates we have spent all these years with will be moving on. Not only will they move forward to the career world, but some will also move on from our student publication. Congratulations to the graduating class of 2016 and the following Arches staff members: Sophie Beck, Brittany Seemuth, Megan Ivanyos, Brynn Herbert, Brenda Reasby and Dalas Xiong.

We would like to say thank you and good luck. No matter where life takes you, take a moment to appreciate the outside world, make the right choices and be the boss ladies we believe you can be.

Arches

Editor-in-Chief nguyenn@mtmary.edu

Managing Editor venegass@mtmary.edu

Mount Mary University

Spring 2016

Really, how?

She doesn’t graduate until May.

Hey did you hear?

Sally joined the MMU Alumnae Association!

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The Art of Multitasking

MANAGING EDITOR Shannon Venegas

ART DIRECTOR Sophie Beck

WEBSITE MANAGER Megan Ivanyos

BUSINESS MANAGER Nhung Nguyen

SECTION EDITORS Erica Chang Brittany Seemuth Brynn Herbert Termeria Taper WRITERS Erica Chang Brittany Seemuth Amanda Cibulka Suzie Skalmoski Brynn Herbert Sandrea Smith Brenda Reasby Termeria Taper DESIGNERS

Sophie Beck Emily Chapman Emily Gaggioli Liza Goetter

Denisse Hernandez Lisa Perow Shannon Venegas

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Sophie Beck Nhung Nguyen

Suzie Skalmoski

FACULTY ADVISERS Linda Barrington Laura Otto Arches is written and edited by the students of Mount Mary University, who are solely responsible for its editorial content.

Arches is a member of the Associated Collegiate Press.

Contact Arches at Arches, Mount Mary University 2900 N. Menomonee River Pkwy.

Milwaukee, WI 53222 414-930-3027 Email: mmu-arches@mtmary.edu Stay updated at www.archesnews.com

To get connected, follow the Alumnae Association on Facebook, LinkedIn or email us at mmu-alumnae@mtmary.edu

Yeah, I heard they have a great

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network of alums and fun ways

with them now!

to stay involved at MMU after graduation!

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COVER LAYOUT BY SOPHIE BECK COVER ILLUSTRATION BY DENISSE HERNANDEZ

FOLLOW US! @MountMaryArches

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THE WOMEN BEHIND THE MAGAZINE

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Nhung Nguyen

Shannon Venegas

Sophie Beck

Megan Ivanyos

Erica Chang

Brynn Herbert

Brittany Seemuth

Termeria Taper

Amanda Cibulka

Suzie Skalmoski

Sandrea Smith

Brenda Reasby

Emily Chapman

Lisa Perow

Denisse Hernandez

Liza Goetter

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More Game than a

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Soccer brings joy to child refugees Words Brynn Herbert | Design Shannon Venegas

O Dr. Tarif Bakdash (far left) plays soccer with Syrian refugees in Jordan.

Bakdash, a member of the Syrian American Medical Society, delivered soccer balls and other related gear that Mount Mary students donated for the refugee cause.

Photo provided

by Dr. Tarif Bakdash

n March 30, Dr. Tarif Bakdash began a 13-hour flight to Amman, Jordan. In one of his checked luggage bags were 25 deflated soccer balls donated by Mount Mary University students.

These students wanted to help Bakdash in his mission to aid Syrian refugees. Jennifer Laske, professor of theology, developed the idea for the soccer ball campaign that involved several campus organizations, including the theology club, international club, social work honor society and athletic department.

Laske realized how important the game of soccer is to the rest of the world, including the Middle East. The purpose of the campaign was to collect soccer equipment that would be donated to Syrian refugees.

“These children have nothing,” Laske said.

“They’ll play (soccer) with bottle caps, cans … anything they can get their hands on.”

The theology and international clubs asked Mount Mary students and staff to donate soccer balls and other gear.

Michelle Hawkins, a senior majoring in international studies and minoring in theology, has a special connection to Bakdash. Hawkins met him through the Milwaukee Muslim Women’s Coalition where she was impressed by his postfilm discussion on the documentary “Return to Homs” that focused on the Syrian Civil War and refugee crisis.

Hawkins, student coordinator of the theology club and president of the international club, worked to bring the documentary and Bakdash

to Mount Mary. Her goal was to raise awareness and spark discussion on the war in Syria and the resulting refugee crisis.

“When I became the president of the international club and student coordinator of the theology club this fall, I knew I had to respond to the unfortunate media blitzes against Islam and Muslims in America,” Hawkins said.

Last November, Hawkins collaborated with Laske and philosophy professor Joan Braune to bring Bakdash into both professors' classes.

As a guest speaker in Laske’s theology class and Braune’s philosophy class, Bakdash enlightened students about his religion.

“I thought it’d be neat to have someone who’s Muslim come in and do a little Catholic-Islam dialogue,” Laske said. “The students loved him.”

Laske invited him back to another one of her classes for the spring semester. Every Thursday morning during Laske’s course, Introduction to Islam, Bakdash would lead discussions with students about his Muslim faith and raise awareness of the Syrian refugee crisis. He did this until his departure to Jordan in March, and resumed speaking to the class after his return in early April.

Bakdash Makes a Difference Bakdash, a notable pediatric neurologist, was born in 1956 in Syria, where he personally experienced the violence within the Middle East.

He lived there until he graduated from medical school in 1988.

After graduation, Bakdash left Syria for the

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CAMPUS United States, where he made a successful medical ca- medical services inside and outside of the country for reer for himself. He practiced in various cities and states Syrian refugees. across the United States, including Detroit, Houston, “With 100 hospitals inside of Syria, SAMS has treatCleveland, Chicago, Montana, Missouri and even held ed 2.6 million patients to date,” Bakdash said. a fellowship at Harvard Medical School.

He traveled to Al Zaatari camp in 2015 by himself to Most recently, Bakdash was help SAMS. This camp, located inside an associate professor of neurolJordan, has 85,000 refugees, according ogy at the Medical College of to Bakdash.

Wisconsin and a pediatric neuCompelled by his experience last rologist at Children’s Hospital year in Jordan, Bakdash decided to of Wisconsin. put a hold on his professional career With the Syrian refugee criand left his positions at the Medical sis expanding into various counCollege of Wisconsin and Children’s tries in the Middle East, BakHospital of Wisconsin to travel to dash looked for a way that he the Middle East and focus on helping could help refugees by using his Syrian refugees. medical knowledge and backAccompanying Bakdash to Jordan - Jennifer Laske, professor of theology ground. He eventually became a is Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist member of a nonprofit humaniMark Johnson from the Milwaukee tarian organization known as Journal Sentinel and several other the Syrian American Medical Society. medical staff who are volunteering as well.

According to Bakdash, SAMS provides most of the Along with discussions about Islam during his time

“These children have

nothing. They’ll play (soccer) with bottle caps, cans … anything they can get their hands on.”

Michelle Hawkins, a senior majoring in international studies and minoring in theology, fills suitcases with deflated soccer balls for Syrian refugeses in Jordan. Hawkins was instrumental in bringing Dr. Tarif Bakdash and his documentary about the refugee crisis to Mount Mary Unversity.

Photo provided by Mount Mary marketing department

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Did You Know?

• There are 4,841,806 Syrian refugees as of April 19, 2016.

• Of that number, 51.7 percent of them are 17 years old or younger.

• Starting in mid-2014, the Syrian Arab Republic replaced Afghanistan as the main source country of refugees worldwide, a rank Afghanistan had previously held for more than three decades.

• By mid-2015, the Americas were home to 752,900 refugees.

Information from UNHCR and the government of Turkey

Syrian children play in a refugee camp in Suruc, Turkey, in April 2015. They are refugees from Kobane, Syria, who escaped Islamic State attacks.

with the students in Laske’s and Braune’s classes, Bakdash shared his stories about growing up in Syria. He enlightened students about the Syrian refugee crisis, his experience traveling to Jordan last year and his plans to return in March.

Why Soccer Balls?

According to Hawkins, the goal of the campaign is to bring joy to children who have suffered in the last five years.

“Soccer is the world’s game,” Hawkins said. “It is what brings people together. We want to bring awareness to the biggest refugee crisis since World War II in an effort to incite people to stand up and say that this conflict needs to end.”

Bakdash knows first-hand that the donated soccer balls will provide the children some momentary relief from their hardships.

“It will make many children happy since they do not have soccer balls to play with,” Bakdash said.

According to Jonathon Gulrajani, athletic facilities coordinator for Mount Mary, with the help of the soccer program, cleats, jerseys and over 25 soccer balls have been donated to Bakdash, who took them with him on his trip to Jordan this March.

“Soccer is a global game,” Gulrajani said, “We are proud that our small soccer program at Mount Mary University can make an impact on kids on the other side of the globe.”

Bakdash and his team returned from Jordan on April 1,

and Bakdash is already planning a second trip to the Middle East in May, this time focusing on refugees in Turkey.

The campaign will continue on campus indefinitely. The upcoming focus for donations is to provide Bakdash with even more soccer equipment for his trip in May. A bin marked “Soccer for Syria” will be in the Bloechl Center for students and staff to donate soccer balls and other equipment.

Even though the campaign has been successful so far, and soccer materials have been donated to refugees, Hawkins knows that more can be done.

“These soccer balls are a mere Band-Aid for these children,” Hawkins said. “The Syrian people need the world to stand up and stop the fighting. They need real, lasting peace.”

More Information To get involved with the Soccer for Syria campaign or to make a donation, contact Michelle Hawkins at hawkinsm@ mtmary.edu, or Jennifer Laske at laskej@mtmary.edu.

Read more about Dr. Tarif Bakdash and his work in his book, “Inside Syria — A Physician’s Memoir,” available at the campus bookstore or online.

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Hitting All the High Notes A Decade as Director of MMU Gospel Choir Words Suzanne Skalmoski | Photos Suzanne Skalmoski | Design Lisa Perow

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s soon as the weather is warm enough to allow for open windows, a beautiful combination of voices swirls out from the chapel of Mount Mary University and down to the students passing under the arches or hurrying into class.

Leading this sweet-sounding gospel choir is Debra Duff, who, due to her lifelong passion for gospel music, became the director of the Mount Mary gospel choir in 1993.

“I actually started playing gospel music in the second grade,” Duff said. “I came from a very musical family.”

Then in 2001, a student approached Duff and asked if she could resurrect the choir. Duff felt confident that she would be able to direct the choir, and she wanted to get it going again.

The choir initially started with about 15 students, but as more members joined, it evolved from a club to a credit-based class in 2010, creating another fine arts option for students.

Duff would love to expand the choir. She recognizes that if she had a larger choir, it would allow for sound enrichment, and the choir could perform for other organizations more frequently.

The choir originally only lasted one year; after Duff had a son, she could not take on any extra commitments or responsibilities, so the choir stopped completely.

Members of MMU’s gospel choir

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“Growing up around music, it

kind of gives you a passion for it. This is just what I did and who I was.”

- Debra Duff learn the history behind gospel music.

Debra Duff, director of MMU’s gospel choir

EARLY STAGES OF MUSIC Duff recalls her father’s passion for gospel music when she was growing up. She acknowledges him as the inspiration for her love of music.

“One song that was a favorite of my father’s was ‘I Won’t Complain,’” Duff said.

“I actually sang the song at his funeral, and it has become a song that is very special to me.”

Duff enjoyed singing all her life but did not appreciate her gift until she was 18 years old. She pursued a career in music after earning a degree in business and fashion merchandising.

Duff encourages her students to appreciate the history behind gospel music in addition to having the opportunity to sing in a gospel choir. According to Duff, students learn much more when they have the opportunity to take the history class and take initiative in the choir itself. They understand why gospel music is so important to history and why it should be sung today.

“A lot of students don’t realize the origin or the history of gospel music,” Duff said.

“It really helps to know the background and the history of where the songs came from and how they grew out of spirituals.”

Duff wants others to feel a spiritual connection when listening to the choir. It’s important to her that the audience is engaged and inspired by listening to the music.

“At different times you go through different things,” Duff said. “I listen to music that is catering to what I am going through at the time.”

PASSION FOR MUSIC TO PASSION FOR TEACHING

In the Gospel Choir class, students organize various aspects of the concert, such as choosing the music, choreographing and performing a praise dance, designing the advertising and creating the atmosphere.

She teaches her students to take initiative and be proud of their work.

Once Gospel Choir became a class instead of a club, Duff split it into two parts.

The first part is a performance choir, in which students work to sing in front of an audience, and the second part of the class is a theory portion, in which the students

“When we sang at the Mother House (a facility in Elm Grove operated by the

“Growing up around music, it kind of gives you a passion for it,” Duff said. “This is just what I did and who I was.”

During performances, Duff chooses songs that help the audience, as well as the choir, connect to the music in a personal and communal way.

School Sisters of Notre Dame), we sang more traditional songs,” Duff said. “When we sang at the Mass of the Holy Spirit, we tried to find songs that fit a group of people … and songs that are going to minister to the heart.”

Some students in previous classes have said that their lives have changed because of the gospel choir. They have become more confident in taking initiative and performing in front of a group of people.

Students involved in this semester’s class agree. Whether or not they have been in a gospel choir before, students appreciate the class because the music and the history give them a chance to express themselves and their love for God in a different way.

“We come together to praise God through song,” said Michelle Domanski, a freshman majoring in theology. As a member of the gospel choir, she looks forward to meeting every Tuesday and performing whenever possible.

Aiko Satake, a sophomore and foreign exchange student from Japan who is studying communications, took Gospel Choir as an elective this spring.

“I like singing, and expressing my feelings when I sing is also important,” Satake said.

Andrea Bauman, a post-baccalaureate art therapy student, is exploring her artistic side while taking Gospel Choir this spring.

“I joined gospel choir because I love singing great songs with great people and getting to know others as I returned to Mount Mary,” Bauman said.

Find Duff and the entire gospel choir at the Spring Concert on Wednesday, May 4, at noon in the Notre Dame chapel.

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FNo*t #a Dirty Word pe rmeria Ta Words Te

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Lisa Pero

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hen Aley Schiessl, a freshman double majoring in English literature and writing for new media, was asked if she identified as a feminist, Schiessl responded without hesitation: “I do.”

Schiessl is able to wear the label as a feminist. Her embrace of the crusade is rooted in the belief of promoting the advancement of women, but she thinks the movement still has a long way to go.

“I’ve always been about female empowerment, and I think that we as women have come a very far way, but there’s a lot of work we can still do, not just for people who identify as a woman, but people who are of different cultures, backgrounds and orientations,” Schiessl said. “Feminism does a lot for that and for those people who have faced oppression.”

Dr. Lynne Woehrle, professor of sociology and coordinator of the Peace Building Certificate at Mount Mary University, views feminism as a development conducive to progression within humanity.

“I see feminism as a body of theory and a body of policy and a social movement that is active for change in society,” Woehrle said. “I look at the feminist project as aimed at searching for a way to make society such that people are experiencing social equity, which is different from equality. Equity is fairness; equity includes justice. Equality can be construed to mean ‘sameness,’ and that’s not really the work of a feminist.”

FEMINISM THROUGH THE AGES The feminist movement is generally discussed in terms of three stages, with each phase focused on a particular issue. The first stage, which occurred within the late 19th and early 20th centuries, focused on giving women more opportunities by acquiring the ability to own property and vote.

“We have now, for the most part in the world, completed what people would call the first wave – access to voting rights and legal participation,” Woehrle said. “Although, that’s still a little new in some parts of the world.”

The second wave of feminism began in the 1960s and continued into the '90s, where the focus mostly revolved around sexuality, women’s reproductive rights and the fight for equal rights in areas such as salary and opportunities in the workplace.

“The second wave brings in the discussions around daily life, culture, relationships in the household, relationships in businesses –- and I mean relationships not being intimate, but I mean sort of social relations,” Woerhle said. “How do people get along, and what does that look like?”

The mid-90s continued to concentrate on issues seen within the second wave. However, it also saw an increase in women bringing light to gender-based violence, breaking down gender role expectations and being more inclusive to people of different backgrounds.

“The third wave sort of says ‘Okay, we’ve had these conversations, now we’re going to move to a place where we assume that we are diverse,’” Woehrle said. “We assume that we are living multi-culturally in feminism, and we’re not going to have a big conversation about anymore, but we assume it in our analysis.”

“A lot of it is historical. From my recollection, this came about in the '60s and '70s and more recently, where feminists are being viewed as very angry and being man haters,” Schiessl said. “The burning your bra kind of thing has gotten a very negative association. I think people are also very surface-level (and) think, ‘Oh well, we’ve gotten the right to vote and to have whatever job we want, and to run for political office so we don’t need feminism.’

But just because those big goals have been accomplished, doesn’t mean that it isn’t necessary.”

Dr. Marmy Clason, associate professor and department chair of communications at Mount Mary, believes the answer to why many are so wary of embracing feminism is complex.

“There are a lot of negative connotations surrounding (feminism) when I hear people talk about it in the media,” Clason said.

“There have been high-profile people who have used the phrase ‘feminazi’ such as Rush Limbaugh, and when something like that catches on in the mainstream, then the juxtaposition of those two words together just obviously creates this negative connotation.”

Clason noted that even though there are people who generally hold ideals associated with feminism, many are hesitant to be labeled as a feminist.

“I did a paper in graduate school, and it was a replication of other work that I had seen where I interviewed young women about their beliefs about feminism,” Clason said. “I didn’t say it was about feminism. A lot of it was about ‘Should men and women be paid equally?’ or ‘should they have equal opportunities?’ and then the last question was ‘Would you call yourself a feminist?’ and a lot of them said ‘No.’ Yet most of their thinking, and most of their values that they had socially were mainstream feminist concepts. So the idea that we’ve created the word ‘feminist’ to be pejorative is really sad.”

Do You Identify As a Feminist?

“No, I don’t identify as a feminist, just because of the connotation against all feminists. I know there is probably just an extreme side, but I’ll stand up for the rights for women in general, but I don’t consider myself a feminist.”

JOCELYN GONZALEZ | SENIOR | CHEMISTRY–HEALTH SCIENCES MAJOR

“Yes. I’m all for equality and women’s rights … I know that there are plenty of negative connotations against being a feminist. By calling myself that, I’m already preparing to go against what the stigma is or the status quo …I ’m all about getting equality for both (men and women).”

ZAHREA HILL | SOPHOMORE | BIOLOGY–HEALTH SCIENCES MAJOR

“In some ways I definitely think I do, and in others I’m not so sure.”

BRIANNA RADY | FRESHMAN | OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY MAJOR

“I do, because I care about equality between the sexes.”

IYANA TURNER | JUNIOR | PSYCHOLOGY MAJOR

THE RELUCTANCE AROUND FEMINISM

Schiessl believes that sometimes there is uncertainty when it comes to accepting the feminist label because of attitudes from the past.

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LOOKING TOWARD THE FUTURE Woehrle questions whether or not we’re locating a fourth wave in the feminist movement.

“There are debates about that, but I think what is interesting about feminism is that it has developed over a number of generations, which makes it an interesting social movement,” Woehrle said. “We have a pretty good agreement of first, second and third; but third has started pretty long ago, so it’s most likely that we are in a fourth wave, but that’s really probably up to people in the body, especially the activists because theorists tend to follow a little bit behind what activism is doing. So, to call it a fourth wave, there needs to be some sense of a differing in characteristic from the third wave.”

Dr. Jennifer Hockenbery, professor and department chair of philosophy, believes the next wave of feminism will incorporate queer theory.

“It’s this idea that in order to advocate for women, we have to understand what we mean by ‘women,’ and we don’t,” she said.

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“We don’t understand because many of the ideas that we have about what it means to be a woman simply aren’t adequate for the way people are, especially the way people are today.”

Hockenbery further explained that as a society, we are starting to realize that we aren’t as neatly categorized within the gender binary as we once thought.

“Trying to help all people have equality means that we all have to think more deeply and complexly about the whole idea of what a man and a woman is,” she said.

Woehrle had similar thoughts concerning the fluidity of gender identity. She believes that gender isn’t just confined to male or female, but can vary depending on an individual’s experiences.

“I don’t think that male and female are the only categories that are out there and that they are exclusive,” Woehrle said. “I don’t really engage in what is called the gender binary, I think that we are much more of a continuum.”

In the fall of 2015, Schiessl initiated Spectrum, a student organization at Mount

Mary that focuses on advocating and being inclusive to issues within the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community. The members, many of whom identify as feminist, incorporate feminism in their activism for the LGBTQ community, according to Schiessl.

“A lot of it is about education and teaching people so that we are all on the same playing ground because people have different understandings of feminism and people have different understandings of gender identity and sexual orientation,” Schiessl said.

LEARNING MORE For people who may be interested in delving deeper into the feminist movement, Woehrle advised that they find an issue that piques their interest, because feminism can address many issues in society.

According to Woehrle, examining the world through a feminist lens helps you ask important questions and better understand whether someone’s gender category makes a difference in how they experience a situation.

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“If it does make a difference, does that difference matter?” Woehrle asked. “Is it a difference that we are comfortable with in a place of diversity that is acceptable, or is it a difference that limits opportunity and shapes behaviors in unfair ways?”

Clason suggested that those who are uncertain about being labeled as a feminist should have an open conversation about how the word “feminist” is perceived.

“Usually the fi rst thing I ask people is ‘What is your perception of that word?

Why are you resisting?’” Clason said. “Then I try to dialogue with them since there’s such a broad array of different types and different thoughts of feminism that it’s likely they are somewhere in that mix, but they don’t realize it. … While the word has become sort of derogatory, its values and concepts are ones that a lot of people adhere to.”

Schiessl’s advice for someone who is struggling with the idea of being a feminist is to remember that it can mean different things to different people.

“The way I look at it and approach it might be different from the way you look at it and approach it or the way somebody down the hall looks at it and approaches it,” Schiessl said. “There’s not necessarily one right way to be a feminist; it’s mostly about acceptance.”

Further Reading on Feminism FEMINIST THEORY: FROM MARGIN TO CENTER | BELL HOOKS | 1984 Hooks explores how feminism must recognize the multilayered experiences of women from diverse backgrounds to bring an end to women’s oppression.

FEMINIST RHETORICAL THEORIES | KAREN A. FOSS, SONJA K. FOSS, CINDY L. GRIFFIN | 2006 This book includes the diverse insights of nine feminists and their viewpoints of feminism.

THE FEMINIST STANDPOINT REVISITED AND OTHER ESSAYS | NANCY HARTSOCK | 1999 A collection of Hartsock’s most essential essays that assess political and feminist theory.

RACE, CLASS, & GENDER | 9TH EDITION | MARGARET L. ANDERSEN | 2016 Using intersectionality as a lens, Andersen investigates how aspects such as race, gender and class molds a person’s experience as an individual.

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Words and Photos Nhung Nguyen | Illustrations Denisse Hernandez | Design Sophie Beck

It’s 6 a.m.,

the alarm goes off and Mount Mary student Jazmin Rodriguez is already checking her email before she steps out of bed. Raising two children, working full-time and going to school means she has her hands full.

Rodriguez, a senior majoring in business and behavioral science for health care, has worked in the health care field for the past 20 years, where she had to learn how to multitask in an effective manner.

As an administrative assistant, Rodriguez is accustomed to multitasking almost every day. She cannot imagine herself in a position that does not require her to switch gears, working on numerous things at once.

“I’m so used to fast-paced multitasking that I think I would be too bored and wouldn’t find it interesting,” she said. “I feed off of that adrenaline rush of ‘Oh my gosh, I have to get this done.’”

According to Rodriguez, multitasking is having the ability to handle large volumes of work and duties.

She believes this is a genetic trait that most women possess naturally.

“We have to (multitask) because women have way more pressures than men do,” Rodriguez said.

Nowadays, women have the pressure of becoming a professional.”

Most companies expect employees to have the

14

ability to perform several tasks simultaneously, she said. This eliminates other positions in the company while forcing more responsibilities onto one person.

“At least in health care, and I’m sure it’s probably the same way in other fields, usually one person is doing a three-person job,” Rodriguez said. “That’s happened to me a lot.”

Sometimes employees are not as efficient in the workplace when performing multiple duties at the same time, she said.

One way she has learned to multitask efficiently is to take shortcuts.

“It’s beneficial for the employer that you’re willing to cut corners and do things faster,” Rodriguez said. “Depending on what duty you are doing, you might learn to master it.”

To Rodriguez, multitasking gets easier over time, and it is just a part of the learning curve in her field. After a number of years at her company, she was able to adapt to the fast-paced environment and work efficiently.

Her advice is to just do your best.

“It’s a learned experience,” Rodriguez said. “It took me a long time to function this way. It took me years of multitasking, and the first couple of years were the most difficult, until finally, you get your groove.”

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Did you know?

<

Students weigh in

Brianna Bradley senior majoring in psychology

“Studies show that we have a hard time recalling or focusing when trying to multitask. It takes 15 minutes to focus back on a task after being on social media.”

Kirsten Kaat senior majoring in art therapy

“People generally think they are better at multitasking than they really are.”

< Kim Xiong sophomore majoring in marketing and international studies

“Cooking is probably the only thing I can multitask in. Everything else like work or studying has to have my complete undivided attention so I thoroughly understand.”

Gianna Deloney sophomore majoring in Spanish and Communication

“Multitasking can be effective when quantity is valued over quality.”

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FEATURES

“We have only so many

minutes a day, and we can’t expand those by multitasking.”

- Sister Joanne Poehlman

The Art of Multitasking

Tamara Sanchez, a junior majoring in fashion design, is a supervisor at a finance office and stresses the importance of multitasking in her line of work.

According to Sanchez, people who lack the skills needed to switch between tasks do not have the capability to advance in their field.

From a managerial standpoint, she expects her staff to accomplish more than one task at a time. This expectation also prevents employees from “milking the clock.”

“You have some people who will do something, then sit there and stare around and wait for a few minutes to pass and they’ll do something else,” Sanchez said. “We don’t have time for that where I work because it’s moving so fast.”

Sanchez has been with her company for 17 years and landed the position due to her ability to multitask on the spot.

During the application process, Sanchez was filling out paperwork when the owner started conversing with her. Without missing a beat, she continued writing while maintaining that conversation.

Because she had the ability to divide her attention between activities and performing them well, the owner hired her immediately.

Not only does Sanchez’s job require her to divide her attention between several tasks, it

also requires her to perform each task effectively with this divided attention.

For Sanchez, there is no room for error in her position.

“I guess the gravity of the situations are really, really heavy in the place that I work,” she said.

To prevent error, Sanchez said she is always going to perform her tasks with care – no matter what she is doing. She maintains this principle by triple-checking her work.

“As far as quality goes, that’s where I maintain my quality control because I don’t get to the point where I’m so arrogant that just because I’ve been doing things for so long I don’t check myself,” Sanchez said.

Sanchez advocates a strong work ethic, not only on the job but also at school. This begins in the planning process – building strategies to work smarter.

The most important stage is planning, she added. Thinking ahead and strategizing will give a greater overall end result.

In fashion design, this same concept can be applied. Simply put, she executes the five Ps: Proper Planning Prevents Poor Product.

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Tamara Sanchez multitasks while she fits Sarah Christensen for the upcoming CREO fashion show.

“With sewing, it’s measure twice, cut once always,” Sanchez said. “I just bought a whole hide of leather; I can’t play around with leather. Automatically, I had to plan.”

For Sanchez, there is an art to multitasking effectively.

Dividing Your Attention

Dr. Laurel End, professor and chair of the psychology department, has studied the effectiveness of multitasking involving the brain’s capacity.

According to End, we can only devote our attention to a limited number of things and do them well. Depending on what the job may be, focusing on more than one thing can have a negative impact on performance.

“When we are multitasking, we’re not monitoring those tasks simultaneously,” End said. “We’re switching our attention back and forth between them rapidly. So, we do miss things, and we think we don’t because we fill in the missing gaps.”

End said when tasks are simpler or wellpracticed, like chewing gum and walking, we have the ability to perform those two at once because it does not require all of our attention or processing capacity.

To End, part of multitasking is a societal pressure to do more in less time. In most cases, there’s not enough hours in the day to complete everything that is on the to-do list.

End noticed this phenomenon in her classroom with the amount of information that people are bombarded with, especially from the use of cellphones or other electronic devices.

When cellphones or laptops were used during lecture in class, she noticed the performance from these students decreased.

“You don’t want to divide your attention up,” End said. “But it’s so hard because we have so many interruptions. And people are used to things changing quickly and focusing on something right away. There’s not a lot of delay of gratification.”

Her advice is to make better use of time by disregarding distractions and focusing on the task at hand.

“With only 2.5 percent of people being able to perform these complex tasks simultaneously and still do them well, I would hope the other 97.5 percent of us would say, ‘I’m not one of those supertaskers, and I really just need to focus on one thing at a time,’” End said.

Dr. Elizabeth Traynor, neurologist at St. Luke’s Hospital in Milwaukee, advocates a message similar to End. The effectiveness of multitasking depends on the difficulty of each specific activity.

“There is some kind of multitasking that is definitely occurring, but when it’s extremely important stuff, like typing as a stenographer in court, you couldn’t possibly (multitask) – or texting and driving.”

According to Traynor, there are some fields that require multitasking, but there are also some that do not. It is up to the individual to choose the environment that is best suited for him or her.

“I do think, to be on call for stroke at St. Luke’s, if you cannot multitask, you couldn’t do that job,” Traynor said.

Relish the Moment

Tucked away on the third floor of Fidelis Hall lies a quiet place. Sister Joanne Poehlman, associate professor of anthropology, embraces the calm energy in her office as she maps out her tasks on a small index card.

The first task she crosses off is breathing.

Sister Poehlman takes each day moment by moment to appreciate what she just did.

Index cards help her estimate how much

time she will have to complete each task.

Unfortunately, very few students have the same experience. Poehlman believes students often underestimate how much time they really have.

“We have only so many minutes a day, and we can’t expand those by multitasking,” Poehlman said. “We have this minute. What kind of minute do I want it to be? Maybe we even have an hour or two.

What kind of hour do I want it to be?”

Poehlman sympathizes with today’s students because many of them have several responsibilities while in school, from maintaining their academic education to working to managing their home and social lives.

Poehlman is worried about our students and the future of our society. While some students manage to get all these tasks done, in the end they are unable to live their lives to their full potential.

Time is our construction, she added, and tasks are our cultural construction.

“Unless we do something to help us all claim the time that is ours, our culture will just grind us into the ground,” Poehlman said. “Because it isn’t culture – we are the ones to create culture.”

She advises us to make time to pay attention to the outside world.

“The last task of multitasking will be to contribute to the collapse of our culture,” Poehlman said. “Then it will crumble and we will say ‘How did we get here?’ And we won’t remember, because we didn’t take time to remember as we did it.”

Words of Wisdom from Sister Poehlman

• Stop in between tasks to BREATHE • Make the task that you’re doing quality (if it requires quality) • Know what you’re good at and what you can handle • Estimate how much time something will take • Allow time to complete a task in sections – gives you control!

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FEATURES

smart recycling: do it right Words Amanda Cibulka | Design Liza Goetter

If you have ever paused to wonder whether you should pour out that last half-inch of soda before recycling the can, or whether it is really okay to toss a dead battery in the trash, you know that the rules of recycling can sometimes be confusing.

things to keep in mind when recycling: PLASTIC BOTTLE CAPS: Unattached

caps are too small to be sorted by the machinery at a Materials Recovery Facility â&#x20AC;&#x201C; they fall through the screens. Next time, crush up the empty bottle and replace the cap before throwing it in the bin.

Source: Lynn Morgan

PAPER WITH PAPERCLIPS or

staples attached is recyclable. The same goes for sticky notes, envelopes with plastic windows and the glossy paper used in flyers and magazines.

Source: earth911.com

E-WASTE: This includes TVs, computers, phones and batteries. In Wisconsin, you cannot throw these items out with the rest of your trash.

Drop-off sites include self-help centers in North and South Milwaukee as well as various Goodwill and Best Buy locations. See the Wisconsin DNR website (dnr.wi.gov) for a searchable list. There is also a used-battery collection point on campus â&#x20AC;&#x201C; look for the gray bucket behind the switchboard.

Sources: Wisconsin DNR (dnr.wi.gov), Sister Georgeann Krzyzanowski

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“It’s important to take a moment to find out about

PLASTIC BAGS: Keep them separate from other recyclables. Single-stream facilities cannot process them, and they can jam up machinery. Many stores collect clean, dry bags and non-food plastic film for recycling, including Pick ’n Save, Walmart and Target locations.

these things, and just build them into your daily habits, so you know you’re getting the right thing in the right place.

If we get a product that we can’t recycle, like a plastic bag, because it gets dirty in the process and the markets won’t take it, that’s not what the recycler wants, it’s not what we want, it’s not what anybody wants.”

Source: PlasticFilmRecycling.org

- Lynn Morgan (public affairs manager at waste management)

PLASTIC POUCHES: Multilayer plastic pouches are a growing trend in packaging, used for products ranging from laundry detergent to applesauce. At present, most facilities cannot recycle these items, which combine multiple layers of plastics and foil. Throw empty pouches in the trash.

Source: Lynn Morgan

What Happens to the Materials We Recycle?

Mount Mary’s trash and recyclables collection is handled by Waste Management, while the City of Milwaukee performs curbside collection for households. Both use a single-stream or singlesort recycling system, which means that recyclables do not have to be sorted before they are thrown in the bin. Paper, cardboard, and empty cans and bottles are all collected together.

After the recyclables are collected, they go to a Materials Recovery Facility, where they are sorted.

Materials are loaded onto a conveyor belt that runs through the plant. After workers check for non-recyclable items, everything passes over a series of rollers, separating large, flat pieces of cardboard from smaller items, which fall through.

“What we’re doing is one-by-one pulling these materials away from the other recyclables using some specific characteristic or quality,” said Lynn Morgan, public affairs manager at Waste Management.

Further screens and manual sorting remove paper. Glass is crushed into small pieces that drop away from the metal and plastic. Magnets pull out steel cans and a magnetic current pushes aluminum away from the plastic.

An optical sorter identifies each type of plastic and uses a jet of air to separate them.

According to Morgan, on average, an item passes through the MRF in fewer than five minutes.

Sorted cardboard, paper, metal and plastic are compressed into bales and glass is ground into “cullet.” These raw materials are shipped to manufacturers to make new products, starting the whole cycle over again.

Ideally, that is what happens to the things you throw in the recycling bin. But certain items can’t be recycled by an MRF, and still end up in the trash or even get stuck in the machinery. Food and liquids can contaminate other materials, turning whole loads of recyclables into trash.

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REVIEW

brunching at Blue’s Egg what you need to know before you go Words Brittany Seemuth | Photo Sophie Beck | Design Emily Gaggioli

It was midday during a torrential hail storm in Milwaukee. Pellets of frozen rain whipped down, striking every tangible surface from all four cardinal directions.

Cars spun out on the slushy mess that was once a road.

Blue’s Egg, located at 317 N. 76th Street, was on a 10minute wait.

A myriad of 25 tables were crammed with people in the main seating area, and were placed three inches apart from one another. It was like having breakfast food with complete strangers, yet we were more alike than we initially thought: We were all hungry and des-

perate enough to trudge through a hail storm for hash browns. What was wrong with us?

The atmosphere, cramped seating aside, was a little eccentric. The restaurant is in a strip mall (say what?!).

The decor is what some would call art deco-y and has an awesome Milwaukee-themed mural on the northern wall of the restaurant that I wanted to steal for my living room. It wouldn’t fit in my purse.

Despite the vastness of the menu, I ordered enough food for a small village, so here’s what you should get and what you shouldn’t.

For the sweet tooth: The monkey bread was TO-DIE-FOR. Order the bread “crunked,” and the chef will give you caramel whiskey sauce. The bread is doughy and soft and I wanted to sleep on it, but I ate it instead. The sauce was salty, sweet, and punched with whiskey, a metaphor for life itself, really.

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For the adventurous eater: There’s nothing cooked about the smoked salmon crepe. Raw salmon, raw red onions, cream cheese, capers – all wrapped in a crepe. It’s like the Jewish delight lox, but French. It would have been better served with a garlic aioli or light gravy. Also, ask for light onions!

For those who have eyes bigger than everything: The three-egg sandwich was huge and hard to eat because the chef probably took a Texas-size loaf of bread, cut it in half, stuffed toppings in between and served it to me. I’d skip ordering this one if you have Celiac’s disease, or hate getting a poor bite ratio of bread to everything else.

For everyone (except vegetarians): The chicken chorizo “Very Stuffed Browns” is a godsend. It came out looking like a pile of chili dog hash browns, so I was initially suspicious. Beware of the slight kick-in-your-tush spice that surfaces mid-bite, but this was the highlight of the whole meal/hail storm. Get this. Do it now.

Blue’s Egg is exactly 10 minutes from Mount Mary’s campus via Menomonee River Parkway. Pricing is affordable for a college student’s budget, ranging from $3-$12. Plus, the restaurant walks the farm-to-table talk by requiring that all of the eggs served are cage-free and locally sourced from family farms. If it’s worth going in a hail storm, it’s worth everything.

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REVIEW

YOU’RE the BOSS Review of ‘The Boss in You’ Words Brenda Reasby | Design Emily Chapman

Celebrities and motivational speakers faithfully release book after book that teach us how to gain financial success, improve our love lives or find the perfect career in an unsure world.

Niya Brown Matthews, author of “The Boss in You,” published in 2015 by T&J Publishers, gives an entirely new meaning to what it truly takes to be a boss chick (or man). If you’ve always wanted to advance your boss mentality, this motivational guide breaks it down chapter by chapter.

As a real estate agent, businesswoman, humanitarian, author, mother and wife, Matthews has been through trials and tribulations in her life.

Growing up in a small town in North Carolina, Matthews decided to jet to Atlanta after the passing of her father and a bad divorce. She wanted to be where the money was and surround herself with people who were doing big things in the business world.

These bosses and bossettes would become close friends – or so she thought. They drove around in the best foreign cars, lived in luxury houses, wore red-bottomed heels and carried nice bags. (If you have these things, you must be doing something right! Right?)

However, Matthews realized all those material things didn’t matter when she was diagnosed with cancer.

During her illness, Matthews ended up losing her job, her so-called friends and the

Photo by Arroser

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nice things she had worked for.

It pushed her to embrace the more important things in life she hadn’t valued before.

During that critical time, her mother described a dream: Matthews was wearing all white and gracing a stage, speaking over a crowd of hundreds of people.

Matthews knew motivating other women was her calling.

And this book certainly motivated me. It inspired me to keep chasing my dreams, but to do it while keeping my sanity.

Reading Matthews’ book felt like talking to a girlfriend of mine. Instead of getting tea or sharing the juiciest gossip, she gave me words of wisdom and empowerment. Her tone of writing was down-to-earth and conversational.

She sits you down and gives you the real, whether you like it

or not.

In one chapter called “Superwoman Doesn’t Exist,” Matthews shares a story about one day when she was running backto-back errands, getting her kids off to school and scheduling meetings for work. Caught up in the hectic day, Matthews was unaware that she had walked into the office with her house slippers on. In the midst of an embarrassing moment, she realized it was time to stop, take a breath and take time out for herself.

I loved this chapter because as a student trying to make it career-wise and stay afloat with work and classes, I was relieved to know that sometimes it doesn’t hurt to say no.

Trying to be ambitious, taking on a million-and-one tasks, and striving for beauty at the same time can bog you down mentally and physically. Sometimes your sanity is far more vital, even if it means refusing to do a favor for a family or friend.

Each morning, Matthews

repeats this mantra to herself in the mirror and encourages her readers to do the same: “It’s not my fault nor is it my responsibility to be someone else’s source of strength and happiness.”

Niya Brown Matthews and Brenda Reasby at Matthews’ book signing on April 20. Photo provided by N-Vision Marketing Inc.

What makes Matthews so relatable are the testimonials she shares throughout the book.

She encourages you to face your fears and embrace your flaws. Be ready to think of these things because they could help you overcome the hurdles you may be facing as you try to reach your goals.

Using writing exercises at the end of each chapter, Matthews helps readers discover things about themselves they may have

Win a signed copy of “The Boss In You” Matthews visited Mount Mary’s campus on April 20 for a book signing, where she discussed her inspiration for the book and her next move career-wise. Check out video footage of the event on http:// www.archesnews.com. Comment on the story to be entered into a contest to win an autographed copy of the book!

never known.

In one chapter called “What Are You Running From?” Matthews asks readers to write down a number of qualities or habits that they want to change about themselves. On the following page, she asks readers to write down a positive affirmation to those very same negative thoughts.

One flaw I wrote down was “I don’t think people see me as an approachable person,” but for a positive affirmation, I wrote, “I’m a relatable and friendly person even though it takes time for me to warm up to others and break out of my shell.”

Since I bought the book for my personal collection, I can always flip back to the notes I jotted down for inspiration.

I purchased “The Boss In You” from Mount Mary’s Barnes and Noble Bookstore for $14. The paperback is an easy read and great guide for women who are looking for positive words of motivation.

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Creative Works Design Shannon Venegas

The Creative Works section is where we feature your work. We accept artwork, photography, poetry and flash fiction. We are giving a voice to the student body of Mount Mary University.

FASHION

JESSIKA J.

has been sewing since high school but dreaming all her life. She describes her work as whimsical. She is a daydreamer, inspired by the fairytales that have been told to her since she was an impressionable young girl.

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1469 S. 14th Street

POE

TRY

Her mother always told her going places alone taunted death; She wished she had listened to that woman.

But when she met him there was no fear, no tears.

She walked into that house.

How calculated was the boy To continue to hand her the bottle.

Her first sight when waking was that bottle.

Her head pounded, she felt like death.

In the bed next to her was the boy.

She couldn’t remember the night that made her a woman, She couldn’t even remember the house.

Stiff and sore she rose, holding back tears.

By the time she reached the porch her vision was full of tears.

Metallic, stiff, and stale her lips remembered the bottle.

At the sudden cresk of the screen door she bolted away from the house, Certain, going back inside meant death of all that was left of her as a woman all that was not taken by the boy.

Flashing lights stopped her, she told them of the boy With this man in uniform she felt safe, recanting through tears He told her she was a strong woman and handed her a clear bottle of water. She had escaped death.

Soon sirens would be at the house.

For days, weeks, years she thought of that house, Of the charming yet cold-eyed boy.

At moments, she felt broken, wishing for death Her physical wounds healed but her spirit fell like her tears Eventually she willingly picked up the bottle One drink after another, she forgot she was a strong woman.

On the floor in a puddle of alcohol lay a woman A man in uniform rushed into the house Only to find her there, still clutching the bottle Sitting next to her was her five-year-old boy Sniffling he looked at her, eyes full of tears The room smelled of death.

The man in uniform checks the woman’s pulse, death Moving the bottle out of the way he picks up the boy Walking out of the house tears streamed down his face.

Heather Briley-Schmidt is from Beaufort, South Carolina.

She is a senior double majoring in English­­– writing for new media and business administration. After she graduates in December 2016, she wants to be a book editor.

ANG ELA MAE PARK ER

was born in Park Ridge, Illinois. Parker has always used art as self-expression ever since she could hold a colored marker. Parker uses a wide array of mediums and tools for her work. She works with concepts that she believes can build a better world and a deeper realization of life.

ART METAL

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CREATIVE WORKS

CHRISTINE SCHMITZ

y h p a togr

Pho

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is from Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, and is double majoring in business administration and marketing. Schmitz works part-time at Willow Creek Learning Center and also is an after-school day care provider. She loves the outdoors and enjoys taking pictures of nature. Schmitz finds it fun to be adventurous, as the world is a beautiful place.

PERSPECTIVES

From Class

to Cubicle

Millennials Reimagine Success Words Erica Chang | Design Emily Chapman

M

aybe I’m too idealistic.

This is what I wonder when I hear friends, colleagues and mid-20-somethings talking at weddings and parties. It’s two years after college graduation, and so few spend their working hours doing something that matters to them.

We graduated with stars in our eyes, confident that the workforce held a place for us, a spot where our passions could come alive and our skills would be well-used. But I have yet to ask college friends, “How’s the new job?” and see their faces light up, thrilled to share about their work.

Instead they say, “It’s okay ... but I’m back on Indeed.com again looking for a new one” or “It’s fine, but I’m hoping to go back for grad school next year” or “I’ll take what I can get, buried under all these student loans.”

Maybe it’s a product of being young and at the bottom of the ladder. Maybe the years right after college aren’t supposed to be full of exciting work and meaningful hours spent using skills on a worthy pursuit.

But it doesn’t seem like millennials – people of the generation born between 1980 and 2000 – are content with that position.

Among the many young professionals I know, there’s a growing discontent. So many graduate from college and, a year or two later, are wrestling with the dissatisfaction of unmet expectations.

My degrees felt too broad, like I could fit in anywhere or nowhere.

The truth is that the subjects we love to study aren’t necessarily the skills that employers will be looking for later on, or the things that will pay a living wage.

Does that mean we should stop expecting that what we love to do is the same thing we get paid to do? I don’t think so. Instead, I think it means millennial graduates should leave college expecting that an even more valuable “education” is still ahead. Perhaps college teaches us to love thinking, and the workforce teaches us to do what we love.

Personal proof: my college internship was probably the most

From Class to Cubicle It’s not always clear in college how a chosen major will play out in the workforce.

After studying nonprofit leadership and communications in college, I struggled to articulate the exact skills I’d developed in undergrad. I could analyze a film for social implications and name all the steps for forming a nonprofit strategic plan, but I didn’t see those listed as “required skills” on any job postings.

Graduates contemplate their futures during the 2015 winter commencement. Photo provided by Mount Mary University marketing department.

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valuable undergrad experience I could point to as an example of the skills I’d developed. Going to class taught me to think about ideas, and having an internship – and subsequent post-graduation job – taught me how those ideas could collide with my passions in a 9-to-5 job.

As an intern, I used my passion for connecting people with meaningful service opportunities, paired with my education in nonprofit organizational structures, to plan events where community members could tour and learn about local nonprofits. I loved it, but my classroom training alone wouldn’t have helped me realize how those two parts of me could come together in the workforce. Having an internship opened my eyes to the practical ways that I could do what I love, use my skills and get paid for it.

Mixed Messages The millennial generation is also the first to grow up hearing all around us, “You can do anything.” We were awarded participation trophies and were told whatever we could dream, we could do.

I don’t want to be told that I “can do anything.” Instead, I’d rather the older, wiser people in my life point out the strengths they see in me. It often takes another person’s observations to identify the areas where we shine, and hearing those messages can be encouraging – and useful – in helping millennials determine a career direction. At the same time, though, I want to hang on to

the optimism inherent in the millennial generation.

“The thing that surprises me most about millennials is how unrelentingly, unfailingly optimistic they are as a generation,” said Shabnam Mogharabi, CEO of media production company SoulPancake.

“This is a generation with nearly $1 trillion in student debt, dealing with one of the worst job markets in recent history, and yet despite this, millennials are extremely positive about their futures,” Mogharabi said.

It’s another lesson in expectation: as millennials, we shouldn’t expect that we really can do anything, despite the mixed messages flooding in from every side. But we can expect that once we learn about ourselves – in college and even more so after graduation – we will be well-equipped to succeed.

For me, that means a new normal of working two part-time jobs that utilize different sides of my skill set, respectively engaging my passions for publishing and academia. It also means taking on side gigs like ACT tutoring that – often unintentionally – help hone in my professional interests.

We should expect that a few years post-graduation, our careers might not look anything like what we thought they would.

Maybe, if we take a fresh look at how we determine our professional direction, our futures could be even better.

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IRELAND Winter 2017

FRANCE Paris, Fashion Winter 2017

SPAIN Summer 2016

email Nan Metzger at metzgern@mtmary.edu for more information

We need: •reporters •designers •editors •photographers •website managers •social media specialists

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PERSPECTIVES

Horsin’ Around Encounters of the first kind Words Shannon Venegas | Design Denisse Hernandez When I first met my horse, Johnny Cash (yes, that’s his registered name), it was not love at first sight.

My sister begged and begged for him, even though he was too young and she was too young. We thought he seemed pretty quiet, so my mother gave in.

The thing you have to know about the horse industry, though, is that a lot of people lie.

Horse sellers sometimes drug horses or work them really hard before you come to see them.

Unless you drug test the horses, they appear to be really well-behaved, and because the person we were buying him from was a friend (or so we thought), we never had Johnny drug tested.

Well, it wasn’t long before he was spooking at birds in the field, stopping and spinning in the arena and trying to ditch out of the arena door.

I will never know if he was drugged or if the person who showed him to us was just a really good rider, but after he took off with my sister on him, he became my responsibility. In turn, one of my two horses (the older one) became my sister’s new horse.

I should point out that I did not want Johnny to become my responsibility. We had just purchased my second horse, Hi Phi, and all I wanted to do was spend time with my gentle giant. Instead, I was stuck with this young troublemaker to deal with and not enough knowledge to really work with him.

Eventually, I got so fed up with Johnny baring his teeth at me, charging the fence and picking on the other horses that I put up a for sale sign in the local feed store. One lady came out to look at him, and he was without a doubt the naughtiest he had ever been the day she came. I guess he was trying to tell me that it just wasn’t our time to part ways.

Eventually we sent him to my trainer so she could work with him and give me lessons on him. He was young, and he needed that structure, just like any young child. Phi was getting older and having lameness issues, so Johnny became my new project. We learned together, and I realized that the more I worked with him, the better his attitude became and the more willing he was to work hard for me.

Over the years, Johnny turned into this amazing horse that proved to be a good partner in

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the show ring. While many riders around me struggled with injuries with their horses, Johnny only ever threw some minor problems my way.

And while he can still spook with the best of them and still carries lots of attitude, I have grown very attached.

With Johnny, what you see is what you get.

He doesn’t pretend to love his grooming or enjoy getting hugs and kisses from me because that’s not who he is, but he does try to do his best for me under saddle.

I’ve owned Johnny for 12 years now, and we have learned a lot from each other, but the first and most important thing he taught me is that first impressions do not always stick. Many of us have a habit of judging people we meet based off our first impressions of them.

It happened that way with one of the boarders at a barn where I worked. She was a bit on the demanding side and always asked nitpicky questions or made small complaints. Whenever I saw her walk through the barn door, I always tried to be invisible.

But after spending time with her at the horse shows that summer, I discovered she was a sweet, fun-loving person who really cared about her horses. She just didn’t always have the most eloquent way of stating her wishes for her horse.

Sometimes first impressions go the other way, though. Two people I recently met in the “horse world” jump to mind. They both appeared very kind and helpful upfront, and I thought I had made some new “horsey” friends. Unfortunately, one ended up causing trouble at the barn and was manipulative with the information she communicated to my husband and me. The other, who appeared to be one of the sweetest people I had ever met, had a hidden agenda and lied in order to protect herself from mistakes she had made and placed the blame on others.

It may sound a bit cynical, but I have found it beneficial to always be careful with the ones who are “too sweet.” Some of them really do turn out to be angels sent down from heaven, such as my future sister-in-law, while others use their big smiles to trick people in order to get what they want.

After all, Johnny was never sweet, and he turned out to be one of the most honest horses I have ever owned.

Archesnews.com

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A NATIVE VOICE Remembering Our Sisters

Words Sandrea Smith | Design Denisse Hernandez

According to the American Association of Universities, 47 percent of Native American women who attend the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee have reported being victims of sexual assault. In addition, in the U.S., Native women are murdered at 10 times the national average, according to the Indian Law Resource Center.

These statistics shocked me. As a Native American woman, I am fully aware of the effects that Hollywood and the hypersexualization of the Native American woman have had on our indigenous women of generations past and future.

I was doing research on this topic for my Women, Crime and Justice class at Mount Mary University, and in coming across all the different campaigns, movements and protests in response to this issue, I was inspired to create my own: the Remembering Our Sisters movement.

This movement’s intention is to raise awareness about the gender-based violence that Native American women face today. It asks members to get informed and advocate for missing and murdered indigenous women, Native American women, and survivors and victims of sexual and domestic violence by pledging to wear a pin for a week of their choosing. The campaign is most active in April, which is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, but it will continue year-round.

In creating this movement, I knew there would be intense moments or emotional engagements with pledges and survivors.

There were a lot of humbling messages that made me cry but none like the following from a survivor I have known for more than half my life, Amanda Menore from the Menominee Tribe in Milwaukee.

“I am in,” Lenore said. “I am not afraid anymore. I survived. I’m going to share my story, I will feel more comfortable when I have my pin … I can use it for a security blanket. Thank you for opening up doors and windows for women who been scared to talk about their story … This is one big step to a better, brighter future! It will cleanse us women from this … I will be wearing my pin and finally telling my story to the world.”

Never did I anticipate reactions like this.

My intention was to bring awareness and give a voice to those who have been silenced, but I couldn’t have fathomed the effect it has had. I didn’t anticipate something so small meaning so much.

Raising Awareness On the other side, I also experienced blank stares and eye rolls as I presented my information and solicited pledges. Out of the four classes I attended, only one class pledged in its entirety.

I anticipated this. As I will always talk about my heritage and utilize the teachings from my elders as a foundation to teach others about my people, there will always be some who won’t listen or show no interest.

This is a part of balance, a part of life, a part of cultural differences. This is okay with me.

In these moments, I remember that I am not silenced, especially with this project.

Every time someone sees one of my pins, whether they opt to pledge or not, the purpose of the pin will remain. They will remember our sisters.

Supporting Our Sisters In recent years there have been a number of movements and campaigns

Chantel Bowen

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formed by tribal members to bring attention and create awareness about this epidemic that is affecting Native women: No More Stolen Sisters, Walking With Our Sisters and The Red Dress Project. One of my personal favorites is a traveling art installation,“Walking with Our Sisters.”

This installation is comprised of donated, decorated moccasin vamps. A moccasin vamp is the top portion of the moccasin.

These moccasin tops are a representation of the missing and murdered indigenous women during the last 30 years in Canada. There are currently 1,763 adult-sized vamps and 108 child-sized vamps in the display.

With this floor installation, the vamps are arranged in a winding path on the floor parallel to a piece of fabric that you walk on alongside the moccasin vamps, so you are literally “walking” with our sisters.

The unfinished moccasins are a representation of the lives that were unfinished and cut short, and the child-sized vamps are dedicated to children who never returned home from the residential schools.

The art is a tribute to these lives, a reminder that though these mothers, daughters, grandmothers, sisters, aunts, nieces, granddaughters, wives and partners are deceased or missing, they are loved, missed and will never be forgotten.

If you are interested in getting more information about Remembering Our Sisters Campaign or would like to pledge, contact me at: remembering_our_sisters@yahoo. com, Facebook: Remembering Our Sisters, Twitter Handle: @REMEMBERgetApin and on Instagram: remembering_our_sisters.

A big thank you to all my current and future pledges!

Spring 2016 | Arches

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4/25/16 3:25 PM

Really, how?

She doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t graduate until May.

Hey did you hear?

Sally joined the MMU Alumnae Association!

To get connected, follow the Alumnae Association on Facebook, LinkedIn or email us at mmu-alumnae@mtmary.edu

Yeah, I heard they have a great

Gee whiz, I better get in touch

network of alums and fun ways

with them now!

to stay involved at MMU after graduation!