After a long, hard day of competition, many athletes competing
at the Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy, like to unwind
with a drink.
And it may be Robert Campbell who is serving them.
Campbell, dining services manager at CrossRoads Marketplace,
is one of four bartenders working for Culinary Expressions
International (CEI), a company hired by the United States
Olympic Committee (USOC) to provide meals and beverages
for the athletes, major sponsors and families of the athletes.
He has been in Torino since Feb. 2 and will return Feb.
24.
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Campbell |
"I am extremely honored to be one of four bartenders of
the CEI staff. My job entails providing beverages
to the athletes, major sponsors and families after a long
day of competing," Campbell explained. "I also am
a part of Budweiser's biggest promotion, called Bud Club,
in Europe. A team of four bartenders, including myself,
called 'mixologists,'
are responsible for making several cocktails with Budweiser
beer for the VIPs. It might not sound good, but
it is tasty."
And Campbell has mixed with more than just athletes. Try
First Lady Laura Bush.
"This year, I had the privilege of entertaining and accommodating
the First Lady, Laura Bush, during her visit to the USA
house," Campbell said. "This moment has become what I consider
an all-time favorite Olympic moment."
And there have been many such moments as this is Campbell's
third Olympics. He also worked in food and hospitality
at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, and the
2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah.
He said watching the USA take home gold medals is exciting,
but also expected. However, his experience with CEI has
been more than he expected.
"I am a big believer in making things simple, but elegant.
Culinary Expressions International (CEI) solidifies my
beliefs," he said. "A caterer does not need to spend a
lot of money to make an event look spectacular. This
company knows how to make and keep things simple and, still,
graciously makes our clients and customers happy."
Leena Karsan, an Eastern
Michigan University student, is getting a taste
of success and the flavor is strawberry lime and bohemian
raspberry.
Karsan, a junior from Grand Blanc, recently found out
that two of her photos are appearing on the labels of bottles
of Jones Soda.
"I never thought it would happen. I did it for fun," said
Karsan, a communications major who has never taken a photography
class. "I submitted them last summer and forgot about it.
Then, my mom handed me an envelope from Jones at Christmas."
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Karsan |
The letter inside let Karsan know that she had two
pictures selected from the popular label contest. She submitted
16 pictures.
"They had said that they only accept about 1 percent of
the photos that are submitted," said Karsan.
Currently, there are more than 440,000 photos online at
www.jonessoda.com waiting
to be chosen to be labels.
Karsan's winning entries were a photo of a flower that
she took on a family vacation to Niagara Falls and one
of EMU student Tromondae Feaster, who didn't want his photo
taken and tried to block the camera.
As for fame and fortune, Karsan doesn't get any money
or free pop for her photos, "but my name is on the
label," she said.
Aside from her hobby of photography, Karsan is actively
involved on campus. She is a member of the Honors College
at EMU and is actively involved with orientation, the First-Year
Mentor Program and will spend her spring break at the Cherokee
Nation in Oklahoma helping Head Start students.
Andrea Manson, an
EMU senior majoring in business, was awarded the Newsmaker
of the Year Scholarship by Crain's Detroit Business at
a ceremony Feb. 8. The scholarship is worth $4,000,
with Crain's providing $2,000 and Al Long Ford providing
$2,000.
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Manson |
It marked the second consecutive year that an Eastern
Michigan University College of Business student has won
the award.
The scholarship is given to an outstanding business student
with a high grade point average, an excellent work ethic
and who is involved on campus. Manson, from Pittsfield
Twp., was chosen from about 40 nominees.
"I am working very hard to get a good job, but it feels
very good to be recognized outside of that," said Manson,
36.
Manson, who is working on her undergraduate and master's
degree simultaneously in the 150-hour accounting program,
said the scholarship would help a great deal.
"I work full time, go to school and have three sons," she
said. "So, any help is greatly appreciated."
Manson also is actively involved in community service
and just started an internship in the finance department
at Pfizer.
"It is an honor to have one of our students recognized
by Crain's. We are especially proud that this is
the second year in a row that this has occurred. It
is a tribute to the quality of our students and the teaching
excellence of our faculty," said David Mielke, dean of
EMU's College of Business.
The scholarship award application process required submission
of an essay, an extensive questionnaire, two letters of
reference and a letter of reference from the dean's office.
"I always wanted to go to school. I didn't start college
until I was 31. I am finally doing what I always wanted
to do and make my mom proud," Manson said.
Crain's Detroit Business is metro Detroit's leading business
publication. First published in 1985, Crain's Detroit Business
provides late-breaking news covering industries such as
manufacturing, technology, real estate, health care and
financial services.
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Harless |
Peggy Harless, assistant
director for community service and leadership, and VISION
coordinator, was honored with the Michigan Campus Compact
(MCC) Faculty/Staff Community Service-Learning Award Feb.
16.
This annual award is the highest MCC bestows on faculty
and staff in the state of Michigan. The award recognizes
the influence on or engagement of students to be involved
in community service or service learning through modeling,
instruction and/or special projects.
Michigan Campus
Compact is a state-level, non-profit organization that
promotes the education and commitment of Michigan college
students to be civically engaged citizens, through creating
and expanding academic, co-curricular and campus-wide
opportunities for community service, service-learning and
civic engagement.
For
the fourth consecutive year, the Eastern
Michigan University chapter of the Society of Physics
Students (SPS) has been named
an Outstanding SPS Chapter.
EMU's chapter was one of only two selected from 70 schools
in its region (Zone 7) of the national SPS, which includes
Ohio, lower Michigan, western Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
The other winner was the University of Michigan's chapter.
Less than 10 percent of SPS chapters nationwide are honored,
usually one per zone, according to SPS, a professional
organization that was formed in 1925 to promote an understanding
of physics among students. Each outstanding chapter was
presented with a certificate.
Chapters were evaluated on the level of outreach activities
in local schools; the number of students presenting talks
at professional meetings; physics tutoring programs; participation
in zone meetings; and the number of activities and meetings
in each chapter.
"Our chapter gives back to the University by providing
9-12 hours of free tutoring each semester, with each student
giving one hour a week," said Diane Jacobs, chapter adviser
and professor of physics and astronomy at EMU. "Our
students develop physics games to teach younger children
and participate in summer research."
The EMU chapter, which currently has 12 members, was formed
in 1984.
There is a high success rate among students active with
SPS, said Jacobs.
"Our students go on to graduate school and may eventually
teach at a university," she said. "Others become scientists
and engineers, work in the auto industry or go into the
military. For example, some are doing science-related work
for the Navy."
Tatiana Grant,
a December 2005 EMU graduate (Farmington Hills) with a
major in public relations, received one of two Donald P.
Durocher Memorial Scholarships offered by the Public Relations
Society of America (PRSA)-Detroit chapter.
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DUROCHER DUO: Tatiana Grant (above, right),
a December 2005 EMU graduate, was one of
two winners
of the Donald P. Durocher
Memorial Scholarships
offered by the Public
Relations Society of America-Detroit
chapter.
Grant is pictured with the other scholarship
winner, Amanda Bechtol, of Michigan State
University,
and Shaun Wilson, of Wilson
Public Relations, at
PRSA's 2005 annual
meeting. |
The $2,000 scholarship, made available through the chapter's
Education Fund, is a competitive award that is open to
all public relations, communications and journalism majors
at universities throughout Michigan. To compete for the
scholarships, students must respond to a series of questions
in essay form and be available for a possible interview
by the scholarship committee judges.
"I was quite pleased to be a recipient of the Donald P.
Durocher Memorial Scholarship," Grant said. "PRSA has many
wonderful members and sponsors that give their time and
money to assist future public relations professionals,
such as myself. Not only is it encouraging to be rewarded
for excelling in college, but also makes me look forward
to be able to provide the same opportunities to college
students."
While the scholarship was awarded the same month that
she graduated, Grant said the $2,000 was applied to her
fall 2005 semester account.
I am proud to say I no longer have any past due balances," she
said.
Established in 1992, the Education Fund supports students
in their pursuit of public relations, education and professional
development. The scholarship was named in honor of the
late Donald P. Durocher, who was an active PRSA Detroit
member, past East Central District chair and National PRSA
Board member.
Four EMU public relations students have received the scholarship
since 1999, according to Melissa Motschall, professor of
English language and literature.
Robert Winning,
a professor of biology, recently received a $179,053 grant
from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to investigate
the Eph class receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs), a cell
surface protein, in early frog embryos.
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Winning |
The project represents further progress toward understanding
the mechanism of what is called XephA4 signaling and how
it regulates cell and tissue interactions.
"We will illuminate some of the molecular processes that
affect the transmission of signals from other cells, through
these proteins, and to the cells to which they are attached," said
Winning, who said such processes are poorly understood
at the present time.
Beyond increasing understanding of an important developmental
process, the project will have a significant effect on
research in general and, in particular, upon the education
of EMU students, he said.
"Students will be influenced in several ways: through
training student researchers in our laboratory; through
outreach programs to local and regional high schools; and
through presenting research results to undergraduates,
thereby exposing them to the use of the scientific method
in a real-world setting," Winning said.
Alice Jo Rainville,
professor of nutrition, was recently quoted in an Indianapolis
Star story about school lunches. The debate
is waging over whether the school lunch program or a lunchbox
provides more nutrition for students. The national school
lunch program outperforms the average lunchbox, a 1998 study of 570 students
found. Tray lunches had three times as many dairy products, twice as much fruit
and seven times as many vegetables, said Rainville, who authored the study.
"It's just harder to pack a lunch that's going to meet
all of the nutritional requirements for children," Rainville
said.
Mansoor Moaddel, professor
of political science, spoke before the Iran policy Committee
on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., Feb. 15.
Vic Chiasson,
assistant professor of recreation and management, is taking
the lead on trying to help Ypsilanti and Washtenaw County
deal with its lack of money to support recreation. Chiasson
recently led a recreation summit to find long-term answers
for the issue. The summit was applauded in a Feb. 1 editorial
in the Ann Arbor News.
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Peoples |
University Ombudsman Greg
Peoples recently accepted the 2005 Community
Partner Award from the Washtenaw County Employment Training
Community Service Agency (ETCS), on behalf of EMU in
appreciation of EMU's major contribution to the ETCS
Hurricane Katrina Rush to Relief Partnership. EMU worked
with the agency in collecting durable goods for Hurricane
Katrina victims.
Tana Bridge,
professor of social work, recently received a contract
from the Michigan Family Independence Agency to provide
field supervision for master's of social work (MSW) students
in field placements.
