Belle of Louisville

John P. Sauter

Loreana Armenti wrote this poem addressed to Debra Anne Davis, one of the many women in this world who have been sexually assaulted by a man. Growing up, Debra often shrunk her voice and embodied the role of being a “pleaser.” Her devastating experience made her realize that it’s not always a good thing to be kind to everyone. Loreana’s poem is meant to inspire Debra, along with all the other women out there to never hold themselves back and let their voices be heard.

Shannon Borkowski is a senior in the College of Hospitality. She loves traveling, writing, and dancing. She grew up in many different homes, which gave her the confidence to travel abroad and immerse in different cultures. She believes she wouldn’t be herself without her friends, family, and her pets. In the future, Shannon wants to visit new countries, learn new languages, and write more.

Olivia Cinquino is currently in the academic exploration program at Niagara University. Throughout high school, photography was one of her favorite hobbies. She loves to find unique places in her hometown, Amherst, NY, to photograph.

Liam Cuddy is a senior at Niagara with plans of travel after graduation. He enjoys writing short stories and poetry, and hopes to one day publish a novel.

Sabrina Di Marco M.S.Ed (2020), MBA, BES (Hons.), is a proud member of the Niagara University community and cherishes her connection to the land of the Niagara Escarpment and Golden Horseshoe. Her parents immigrated to Canada from Italy and the Commonwealth of Dominica. She is currently writing both fiction and non-fiction in the field of multiculturalism. Sabrina works as a consultant, realtor, and educator. She lives in the Greater Toronto Area.

Evan Fleming developed a passion for photography and poetry because of his hobbies—hiking, kayaking, biking, travel, and a love of animals. He aims to capture random and rare moments outdoors, often overlooked in the rush to arrive at a destination. Slowing down, observing, shifting perspective, allows the capture of unique and often unexpected images. Evan’s photos reflect the subtleties of the varied landscapes, bodies of water, flora, and fauna of the places where he has lived, visited and explored. His photographs have been displayed as murals for Yahoo Inc.’s data center, selected as art work by publishers Wolsak & Wynn, and featured on the RootsRated hiking website.

Brianna Gauthier is a junior Birth-Gr. 6 education major. Brianna is from Cheektowaga, NY, where she lives with her mother and sister. Brianna spends her free time working with children, spending time with her family, or working at Can Dance Academy, where she has danced for 19 years.

Liam Neaverth is a senior English major at Niagara University. He is a former honors student at Canisius High School where he discovered his passion for writing in an advanced creative writing course. He is pursuing graduate school for technical writing in the near future. This is his first submission to the Aquila.

Morgan Oun is a freshman Gr. 5-12 math education major with a minor in history. Photography has been her hobby for many years because she uses it to capture the beauty around her. Her favorite photos to take are close-ups of flowers because the details on each petal and leaf amaze her. When she’s not taking photos, she can be found studying or listening to music. “Redamancy” was taken at the Cornell Botanical Gardens a few summers ago during a vacation to Ithaca. It is part of a series which includes two other photos of bees pollinating flowers also taken at Cornell.

John T. Overbeck ’75 is a retired Faculty Fellow from NU’s College of Business Administration where he taught marketing, sales leadership, and management. He currently serves as a member of Niagara University’s Board of Trustees focusing on academic affairs and enrollment management. He is also retired from the IBM Corporation where he spent 32 years in sales executive roles. John’s first submission to the Aquila was while an undergraduate at Niagara University in the 1970’s.

Crystal Pierce is a poet and writer. Her poetry and short stories have appeared or will appear in the Aquila, The Bridge Literary Arts Journal, and Olive Trees. A poem, “Fishing Lesson,” took Honorable Mention in the 2019 NY State Fair Poetry Competition. Cris resides in Marcellus, NY. A 1975 graduate of Niagara University, she majored in political science.

Philip J. Sembert II studies English at Niagara University. He enjoys few things more than a good story.

John P. Sauter is the Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs in the College of Arts & Sciences. John rediscovered his love of drawing, pen and ink, and urban sketching several years ago. He is active in Urban Sketchers Buffalo, helped found the Student Affairs Professionals Art (#SAProArt) community, and regularly presents on creativity, art and innovation at regional and international conferences. John teaches sociology of higher education and developed a new course on urban sketching which will be offered this fall.

John Walker is currently studying at Niagara University for his Bachelor’s in accounting. He enjoys writing poetry, playing video games, and listening to rock music in his free time. He has lived in Western New York his entire life but hopes eventually to travel the world.

Claire Wanzer is a senior communications major with a minor in English. When she is not practicing or playing on the women’s basketball team, she’s probably writing. Both her photography and written work can be found on her personal blog: lifeclairified. com.

Edward Yong Jun Millaris the Curator of Folk Arts at the Castellani Art Museum. Originally from Clifton, New Jersey, he previously lived in Singapore, Ireland, and Newfoundland before settling in Niagara County. Edward enjoys photography and is an avid gamer. “New Found Land” (2012) was taken in the small fishing community of Keels, Newfoundland; “Stories” (2019) features a streetscape in Il-Belt Valletta, Malta; and “Hewn Hues” (2019) was taken on a hike near Marsalforn, Gozo, and shows storehouses carved into the cliffside.

Look for our call for submissions in fall 2020!