LGBTQ+ panel explores role of religion

From fundamentalist sects, to their mainstream counterparts, to non-Christian religions, the lack acceptance of LGBTQ-plus persons in places of worship continues to plague the global community. Working as assistant to Coordinator of Multicultural Programs and Services Fatima Rodriguez Johnson, Pride Alliance member senior Enisha Cray arranged a panel of three members of the LGBTQ-plus community to come and speak. The panel was inspired by a sociology project she did last spring surveying people on their religion and sexuality.

“I just feel like religion is so down on the gay community,” Cray said. But she also points out that “there are a lot of people in the community who identify as religious.”

Panel members included Presbyterian Ralph Carter, Presbyterian Karen Anne Bills and former Muslim and Wicca Laine DeLaney, who is now a member of a Gaelic church.

The panelists each provided a summary of their coming out story and how it affected their faith and relationship with their church and family. One particularly profound moment was when Carter explained his sister’s fear that he would go to Hell due to his sexuality. A friend told Carter’s sister that it was not her job to judge, but God’s.

Bills, who used to be a member of a charitable motorcycle gang, agreed with Carter’s sentiment, saying, “As a Christian, God loves me just the way I am.”

The third panelist DeLaney explained how she grew up Irish-Episcopalian, but her mom married an Egyptian, converted to Islam and moved the family to Saudi Arabia.

“I lived an oppressive, theocratic environment for most of my childhood,” DeLaney said. DeLaney left the Islamic community for a Wicca congregation, leaving again for a different group where she is now in the clergy.

All panelists displayed comfort in their sexuality and their religion, proving to attendees that a happy balance can eventually be made between the two.

“People often view the two communities as being at odds,” Cray said. She expressed her hope that this panel discussion would dispel some of those stereotypes.

The panel also discussed the societal implications behind LGBTQ-plus exclusions in the church and how they are changing in recent years due to new laws and acceptance preached by Pope Francis.

“I think he sees us as perfect, worthy and righteous,” Bills said.

“I don’t think it’s a matter of faith,” DeLaney said. “I think it really comes down to a matter of culture.”

The panelists also emphasized that over 60 Rochester congregations are open to members of the LGBTQ-plus community, and that the list can be found on www.gayalliance.org.

The panel discussion created a safe space for religious members of the LGBTQ-plus community to learn about resources and options they have while opening the eyes of allies to the struggles the LGBTQ-plus community goes through to find acceptance in a religious atmosphere.

Like DeLaney said, “No matter how ill-fitting you think you are, remember, ‘There’s a place for the platypus, there’s a place for me.’”

Gamma president attributes personal growth to time at Geneseo

You might not know it, but chances are you’ve seen “cool guy” senior Stephen Young on campus at some point, whether it was a Gamma Chi Epsilon event, a trip to Starbucks or just walking to class. Young was born in Pleasantville, New York in Westchester County––a city that, according Young, was actually named “the second best smelling city in the world” by GQ. Young began his career at Geneseo by chance, when financial problems prevented him from attending the University of Miami. His first time on campus was at his orientation and he came in with “no expectations.”

Geneseo, however, proved perfect for him. He immediately befriended his roommate—they remain close friends to this day—and met a lot of “wonderful people” who made him feel at home and interested in the world.

“This was the place for me,” Young said.

After filling a general requirement with a geography course, Young found his true passion and major.

“I am really interested in how things work across spaces,” Young said. “Geography is, in and of itself, spatial studies.”

Young is also the president of the co-ed fraternity Gamma Chi Epsilon. He pledged the second semester of his freshman year and said that he enjoys it due to its open-minded and accepting values.

“I’ve definitely become more open to meeting people and less likely to judge someone by their appearance,” Young said. “It’s about making more time to get to know someone before making a decision.”

An older member encouraged him to run due to his natural ability to understand interpersonal communication and how people interact with each other within an organization. Now, as president, he hopes to expand on the fraternity’s principles of acceptance.

“We’re doing a lot of work to make it more visibly accepting of, say, gender identity and we are actively against things like misogyny, racism and homophobia,” Young said. “We want to create a safe and comfortable place on campus for people who may not fit the ‘regular’ Greek society.”

Young’s other main extracurricular is his job at Starbucks, which he said he enjoys due to the opportunities for meeting people and impacting their day. “I like seeing people and making things special for people … making the interaction more than just getting coffee,” Young explained.

His appreciation for other people and their ideas is apparent, especially regarding what he said he appreciates about his time at Geneseo.

“I think in my four years here, I’ve matured more than I have at any other point in my life,” Young said. He credits this transformation to the range of people he has met.

In his free time, Young enjoys doing “a lot of nerdy shit,” as he puts it. He loves Super Smash Bros. and going to concerts. His favorite concert was Neutral Milk Hotel and local band Comfy.

After graduation, Young noted that he plans to keep his options open. He knows without a doubt that he does want “to move somewhere.” As for his dream job, Young said he would like to own a deli one day, complete with regulars to converse with who can order “the usual.”

French Week explores cuisine, history

Geneseo’s 15th annual French Week ran from Nov. 5 to Tuesday Nov. 11, celebrating a different aspect of worldwide French culture every day. While some events were educational, such as speakers and movies, the most interactive and casual was this year’s French Cooking Night which took place at French Club president senior Nathalie Grogan’s house on Thursday Nov. 6.

“Food is always a community thing,” professor of French and western humanities Beverly Evans said. Evans helped plan the event as part of the language department.

“Everybody likes food and everybody has this idea of French food as very gourmet and fashionable,” Grogan added.

Attendees rotated in and out of the kitchen so everyone got a chance to help hands-on in creating dishes from various French regions. The main dish was ratatouille, a vegetarian French classic made with roasted vegetables as spices. The other main dish was poutine, a classic Quebecois meal of French fries and gravy. For appetizers and desserts, people made simple crepes with Nutella and baguettes with cheese.

Attendees ranged from students and faculty to Geneseo residents, including a French family and their two young children. “We were able to meet people and get to know them,” Grogan said.

In addition to this cooking night, which featured what Evans called “the comfort food of various regions,” French Club collaborated with the foreign language department to invite various speakers and a movie director to campus to teach students about French culture.

“We did a lot of new activities we haven’t done in the past … we had different speakers and turnout was very good,” Grogan said. The focus this year was Caribbean with a focus on the immigrant experience and diaspora, with the intention of teaching students that French culture is not concentrated in Europe.

This year’s speakers were Bronx Community College assistant professor of French and Creole Wedsly Guerrier, who spoke about Haiti and film director Arzouma Aime Kompaore, who held a question-answer session and discussion after a screening of his film Hawa.

French Week is not only “an opportunity to have fun at the beginning of November,” as Evans said, but also a practical experience where students can network with alumni who have jobs in French-related professions.

It’s also an opportunity to bring French classes and French Club to the forefront of Geneseo conversations. Many “floating” French Club members who are too busy or have other commitments during general meetings come to French Week events, as well as other interested students such as French speakers and majors.

Grogan said that she loves the opportunity that French week provides to change the stereotype of French Club. Attendees can speak to members and learn that French Club does not require the language, and that it is more than people sitting in a room speaking French together.

According to Evans, this year’s week had the goal of “promoting diversity.” Its variety of speakers and events––especially Cooking Night––brought students together to learn about a club and culture they knew little about before.

Suite survival: A guide to conflict resolution

No matter how well you get along with your roommate or suitemates, cabin fever might be setting in now that the 10th week of school is upon us. After all, cohabiting a space the size of a garden shed can be far from easy, even if it is with your closest friends. By avoiding these common space-sharing mistakes, you can make it out of the semester without any major fights. The most important thing to realize is that the person you are living with is not a mind-reader. If all you do is text your friends about your grievances and roll your eyes when they aren’t looking, nothing will ever be solved. Chances are, they have no idea they are doing anything wrong.

Before college, every household is held to different standards. Maybe your roommate has no idea that you hate when she cleans both sides of the room because at home, her siblings don’t mind if their stuff has been organized for them. Maybe it’s your roommate’s first time sharing space, and she just doesn’t know leaving open containers of cheese puffs next to the Xbox just isn’t okay.

The biggest problem with roommates and suites is that in the name of friendship, most people let things go in the beginning of the year. But by November, if you’re still pulling hair out of the shower drain, some long-term resentment might start to come to the surface.

In situations like this, the best thing to do is text the person or casually suggest they put their hair in the trash, stop leaving their shoes in front of the door or unplug the panini maker when they’re done with it––whatever your specific problem may be. Small discrepancies like this do not require a suite-wide intervention or even a scheduled meeting.

The absolute worst thing to do in situations like this, especially in a suite setting, is complain to other suitemates or mutual friends about it. Passive aggressiveness is painfully obvious in close quarters. Suitemates are generally friends and chances are, whatever is said will be spread to the rest of the group. Now, six to eight people feel awkward instead of just two.

Some things people do, however, just cannot and should not be changed. A roommate leaving used tissues around the room is an understandable reason for a discussion. But if you think the way they sneeze is annoying, keep it to yourself––not to your subtweets or your group message. When spending copious amounts of time with the same person or people, you will be introduced to their “ticks,” or small actions that aggravate you. You have to deal with it maturely and know when to distance yourself.

That being said, as the saying goes, “The best neighbors have fences.” The best way to guarantee a fight with a roommate or suitemate is to spend all of your time there or with them. Even married couples need space, so you and your suitemates do too.

The most important takeaway here is that staying honest, patient and open-minded is the best way to ensure comfortable cohabitation. If you keep that in mind, the last five weeks of the semester should stay socially stress-free.

Starbucks supervisor brings laughs, lattes to students

Gina Ronci is not your average clock-watching Starbucks employee—the on-campus supervisor of Starbucks has a passion for customer service that students notice. “I guess it’s just self-gratification through others,” Ronci said. She explained that she enjoys her job with Campus Auxiliary Services. “I feel sometimes like I’m the campus mom.”

Brought up in Orange County, New York, Ronci’s life drastically changed at 16 when her family relocated to Palm Beach, Florida. She moved back to New York after getting married but said that she misses the “blue skies” and tries to vacation there twice a year.

Now a Dansville resident with her husband and two teenage children, Ronci has been with Starbucks at CAS since January 2014. This is not where she imagined her career would lead, however.

“When I went into the workforce, I was in the banking industry and what I call the ‘cube world,’” Ronci said. She did customer service work at a desk, but loved baking for fun in her free time.

She eventually switched from office work to food services, saying, “I went into the food thing because what better way to please somebody than to keep them fed?” Ronci worked for CAS at Starbucks, Uncle Vito’s and the Chowhound.

“In a ‘cube world,’ you have customer service, but not that face-to-face [interaction],” Ronci explained about her shift to CAS. “It was a huge change, but I got into it.”

After graduating from Genesee Community College with an associate degree in hospitality and tourism and business administration, she took a break from CAS and decided to try a foray into small business ownership, opening a bakery called Tasty Too.

“I just started baking and fell in love with it,” Ronci said. The bakery did not last, but she still gets questions about it around town. Ronci said she has no regrets looking back at the experience because of the people she got to work with along the way.

“Everything happens for a reason and you have to enjoy where you’re at now,” she said.

In her free time, Ronci is a self-proclaimed “bookworm,” who loves reading both novels and magazines. She is also an animal lover—the proud owner of four cats and fish—and an amazing chef; matzo ball chicken soup is her specialty.

She also greatly values her family and every minute she gets to spend with them, especially her son and daughter who are currently enrolled locally at GCC.

“You want them to go, but you want them to be careful,” she said about her children, ages 18 and 19. Even though they live at home, she jokingly diagnoses herself with “empty nest syndrome.”

Every Sunday, however, Ronci’s family comes together to watch football. Her brother lives six minutes away and brings his preteen children with him for this classic western New York tradition.

“My siblings are both my best friends,” Ronci said. She FaceTimes her younger sister in Palm Beach without fail every Monday.

“They will drive you crazy like no one else, but at the end of the day, there is no one that loves you more than your family,” she said.

Project Pengyou advocates for Chinese cultural awareness

For hundreds of Geneseo students, a quality study abroad experience is key to a well-rounded education. Despite programs on six continents, however, students frequently zero in on European countries. Project Pengyou, a Chinese cultural initiative, is working to change that. Project Pengyou is a national organization that works to increase awareness of Chinese study abroad programs on campuses in almost 30 states. Its goal is to “[create] a network for students who have even an inkling that they want to study in China,” according to junior Christina Lu, one of the founders of the Geneseo chapter.

Lu and senior William Jockers attended a leadership summit at Harvard University over  fall break to meet the other delegates for Project Pengyou and learn the essentials to start and maintain an on-campus organization. Out of about 300 applicants nationwide, about 40 were accepted from 30 states––including Lu and Jockers––to attend this summit.

“The four days of training focused on practical leadership tools; to teach us how to mobilize people and resources as an organizer for constructive United States/China engagement in the Geneseo community,” Lu said.  The summit discussed leadership, communication, networking and identity.

The summit consisted of four days of waking up early to attend workshops, followed by assigned homework and reading. It may sound tedious, but the summit greatly inspired Jockers and Lu.

“Just to be in a room with 50 people and be able to have conversations for hours and hours on end … you’re surrounded by endless possibility,” Jockers said.

The pair is in the process of bringing this possibility to Geneseo. Their executive board will ideally be solidified this week and they are currently on their way to gaining Student Activities approval.

Aside from the overarching goal of U.S./China engagement through study abroad, Pengyou is endorsing an exchange program created by sociology professor Elaine Cleeton. Students on this trip would attend a school near Hong Kong called Sun University.

In addition, the club plans to hold on-campus awareness events such as Project Pengyou Day on Nov. 20. They will a share students’ study abroad stories and pictures, have panel discussions with professors and spread scholarship information. The goal behind these efforts is to make students more comfortable with Chinese culture and increase awareness of the human and cultural side of China.

“We all have firsthand experience in China with the culture, the language and the people,” Lu said. “We understand how that works, so we are going to be sharing our stories, sharing our pictures.”

In light of recent events in Hong Kong, Lu and Jockers also plan on holding some type of rally or walk with Democracy Matters. “We can mobilize on injustice … this is the least that we can do,” Lu said.

China is extremely relevant in today’s society. Project Pengyou hopes to emphasize its importance and encourage students to engage with the culture and people.

“China is one of the most important countries in the world, and it’s not going anywhere anytime soon, and neither is the U.S,” Lu said. “To make that relationship between the two superpowers comes down to the people’s relationships.”

Amy’s Walk encourages community support of domestic abuse victims

Amy’s Walk drew students from their beds on the morning of Saturday Oct. 4, to walk or run a 5K course. The event occurred in honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and all proceeds will go to Chances & Changes, Inc., a local charity that supports battered women and their families.

Individual action and education key to environmental impact

With humans and technology taking over the globe at an alarming rate, the necessity for environmental preservation is at an all-time high. Fifty percent of wildlife has disappeared due to exploitation and habitat degradation since 1970. Associate professor and Chair of the geography department David Robertson and associate professor of geography David Aagesen spoke about the different approaches students can take to reverse this. They agreed that along with education, individual effort is the most effective way to take action.

“It’s about changing our own consumption patterns and thinking about how much energy we use,” Robertson said.

When done collectively, even the smallest actions can create a large impact on the environment. For instance, consider buying one less notebook every semester and then imagine if every college student in America did as well. Millions of sheets of paper, entire trees and potentially forests could be saved.

Geneseo students generally know the basics of environmental health, but often think they are taking more action than they actually are. Thanks to the multitude of available bins, recycling is prominent on campus. We know basics such as turning off lights to save energy. There is much more that can be done, however.

“When it comes to something like water use, recognize the value of fresh water and its rarity and stop wasting so much of it,” Robertson said.

While it feels like an endless resource for us—it comes out of the tap whenever you turn it on—water is actually in dwindling supply and is consumed at shocking rates. Simple acts such as taking shorter showers or saving laundry and dishes for when you have a full load can add up over time.

Material consumption in general should be taken into account. Students should be asking themselves, “How much energy do I use every day? How much water and paper?” One easy way to reduce this is to actually fill notebooks before buying new ones, something most students choose not to do when supply shopping for new semesters.

Aagesen mentioned a project that students in certain environmental classes used to have: they would track everything they did in 24 hours that had environmental impact, such as their food intake, what they threw out, water usage and electricity usage. It could be beneficial for all students to monitor themselves in this fashion; we tend to consume more than we realize.

Aagesen pointed out that our society has a habit of throwing things out before “the item ends its life cycle.” In other words, we replace things before we have to because it’s cheaper. Consider mending clothes and resoling shoes instead of disposing of them or buying objects that are less disposable. Small ways to decrease trash are to buy less packaged foods, use reusable containers and reuse or donate old clothes.

It is crucial to know where your resources come from. If you don’t know where your electricity and water come from or where your waste goes, research it. The environmental studies minor is the most interdisciplinary minor offered at this school, with a class offered for all majors and interests.

“I think it’s very important that students recognize that individuals do matter, that when many people make individual decisions they add up to big change,” said Robertson. “You can make a difference.”

Geneseo Pre-Vet Club brings furry, scaly friends to campus

On Wednesday Oct. 8, the Wildlife Educators Coalition visited Geneseo with a miniature menagerie including bunnies, snakes, turtles and an alligator. They were invited to campus by Geneseo’s Pre-Vet club.

Students got an up-close look (and feel) at these animals, which included some endangered or previously endangered species.

The attending members of WEC said they treat their exotic animals like household pets, and gave attending students facts about their needs and characteristics.

Food Truck Festival draws crowd with eccentric eats

Geneseo’s first annual Food Truck Festival took place on Wednesday Oct. 1 and drew huge crowds of students, faculty and staff to the College Green looking to sample these unique treats. Nine food trucks were present at the festival, selling a variety of food including Asian cuisine, grilled cheese, macaroni and cheese and smoothies. Tom Wahl’s cooked up cheeseburgers on an open grill and sold them with signature root beer. Bento Box made Thai fried rice to order and Smoothies Plus blended fresh fruit right in the back of their truck.

“Each of the trucks brings a whole other menu,” executive chef of Campus Auxiliary Services Jonna Anne said.

CAS is excited to bring this “food truck culture” to campus and was partially inspired by its own food truck, the Chowhound.

“We were so excited to bring [Chowhound] to campus a few years ago … but when you have a gathering of them it puts them in a whole new light,” CAS Marketing Coordinator Rebecca Stewart said.

CAS sent information to food trucks around western New York, inviting them to apply to attend this festival. All trucks had to do was meet health and safety regulations––the myriad food choices was a pure coincidence.

“We try to always share different dining experiences in whatever we do and this was just another way to do that,” Stewart said.

Trucks came from all over western New York, including some from Rochester and the Finger Lakes region. The Chowhound and Cheesed and Confused dually represented Geneseo as the two local trucks in attendance.

The idea was inspired by “food truck rodeos” that happen in towns across the state, particularly Rochester and Avon, New York.

“Food trucks are all over,” Anne said. “Food trucks are so popular and cool and ‘the thing to do.’ We wanted to have something fun.”

The festival was attended by a dense crowd of all ages, some waiting in lines upward of 50 ft. long.

“We’re trying to make this a community event with faculty, staff, students––anyone from the community,” Anne said.

The festival also included free sunglasses, Frisbees and picnic tables set up on the College Green. These were given out to encourage students to really enjoy themselves and make the event feel like a true fair or festival. The goal was for students to spend time eating and having fun, instead of grabbing their food and leaving.

Anne and Stewart see the event expanding in the future: bringing in more trucks, more students and even a wider variety of entertainment options.

Delicious food, however, was not the only perk of this event. October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and since the event took place on the first day, CAS wanted to do something special. Instead of registration fees, each truck gave a donation to Roswell Park Cancer Institute or a cancer research institute of their choosing. CAS plans on following this up with other awareness events, such as employees being allowed to sub out their black attire with pink.

The day before the event Stewart said, “We hope it’s successful and trucks find value in being here.”

With an impressive turnout and long lines in front of every truck, both buyers and sellers benefitted from this event.

Local Wegmans cafe among the first to sell wine, beer

As of early September, Wegmans Café now sells beer and wine along with its submarine sandwiches. The change occurred exclusively in two franchises: our own and the local Canandaigua, New York store. Danny Wegman himself conceived the idea, when he visited the Geneseo Wegmans a few years ago. Manager Charles Hasty agreed with Wegman, and now the dream is a reality.

“As a team we thought it would be a great idea,” service area manager Terri Mason explained.

“It’s a scary venture, to go out and do something new and we’re piloting it for the company,” Mason said.

Now, with their newly acquired license, employees in the Wegmans sub shop can sell single servings of beer and wine to customers. They were legally trained by the sheriff’s office, and also received hospitality training and learned how to recommend different drinks for different meals.

“We wanted to offer our customers the opportunity to enhance their meal,” Mason said. She hopes this will be an opportunity to “differentiate [Wegmans] from other restaurants.”

Mason added, however, that Wegmans has no intention of opening a bar or anything of that variety. She maintains that despite the sale of alcohol, the café is catered to families.

“It’s meant for the family that would maybe go to Applebee’s,” Mason said. The concept they aimed for was a family coming in to eat, and a parent having the option of choosing an alcoholic beverage to complement his or her meal.

“We already offer great food, we want great choices to go with that as well,” Mason said, who places a heavy emphasis on the pairing opportunities this menu change creates.

The beer and wine options are intended for the sole purpose of giving a meal more dimensions and options. Wegmans currently stocks about 20 kinds of beer, including premium and craft beers, and eight wine varieties, including a sparkling wine. They hope to introduce seasonal beers in the future and are open to swapping less popular menu items out in lieu of different varieties.

The drink menu is very reasonably priced, with beers running between $4-$4.50 and wine going for $4 a glass. Customers must purchase a menu item to purchase alcohol, however.

“It’s not about making money,” Mason said. Rather, it’s about pleasing the customer and ensuring the best culinary experience for them.

Since this development, the sub shop has not seen larger crowds of people, but as Mason said, that was not the intention of the menu change. The main demographic it seems to attract is families and couples, especially on weekends.

In the future, Wegmans hopes to host events at the sub shop to draw in more customers. The ideas range from entertainment events, such as music performances, to food tasting and pairing events featuring food provided by the Wegmans supermarket.

Since the store is testing the success of this development by quality of the customer experience rather than the amount of beverages sold, success is rated uniquely. The café section features a “front of the house” employee who acts as host, interacts with customers, makes suggestions and listens to their feedback.

“Our customers are very open to giving us feedback good and bad, and we are open to hearing them so we can do a better job,” Mason said.

Gala in the Valley continues to grow, attains record sponsorship

On Saturday Sept. 20, Livingston County’s elites gathered under a pristine white tent at the Wadsworth Homestead to celebrate the third annual Gala in the Valley. This event, chiefly sponsored by Wegmans, collects funds for Livingston County United Way, an umbrella organization that donates money to various smaller charities and programs across the county such as Literacy Volunteers of Livingston County and Girl Scouts of Western New York, Inc.

The Gala has grown every year, with a record of 206 attendees this past weekend.

“It’s the most people we’ve ever had, the most sponsors we’ve ever had,” Gala committee chairman Matt Cole said.

About half of the attendees arrived with the more expensive VIP tickets, allowing them exclusive access to the upper level of the Homestead. They were entertained by Wadsworth resident and event host Louise Wadsworth as they enjoyed their exclusive look at the historic treasures its dozens of rooms hold. This added feature was one of many since last year’s event. The prior Gala had self-serve “stations” where guests picked their dinner plates, while this year the gala featured a more formal four-course meal.

Guests also enjoyed live entertainment by emcee Rich Caniglia, a Rochester meteorologist, and local band Ebb Tide, who played after dinner on an open dance floor.

The night began with a cocktail hour, where guests roamed the spacious and historic mansion in floor-sweeping gowns and pristine tuxes.

“We thought it would be nice to have an event to raise money for United Way, and a black tie event for Livingston County,” Cole said. “It’s fun for everyone to get dressed up and do something special.”

The event had an airy atmosphere due to its predominantly outdoor setting. While guests were free to roam the house, many chose to socialize on the back porch, where they had a clear view of men in garb from the War of 1812 shooting guns from that era.

Between the ticket sales and donations from local businesses, the net amount fundraised for United Way was $20,000. Additional money was raised from a silent auction, for which individuals and businesses both contributed items.

Wegmans raised $10,000 of the $20,000 total, having helped to plan and sponsor the event every year since its conception.

“It’s our commitment to United Way and to Livingston County,” Geneseo Wegmans manager Charlie Hasty said.

Hasty added that he enjoys the community this event fosters and credits its participation to the strong relationship Wegmans has with Livingston County.

“It keeps us current in the community, and it’s the right thing to do,” Hasty said. “It’s a nice way to reward the community.”

While the Gala is only in its third year, the event isn’t dying out anytime soon. “Every year it just keeps growing,” Hasty said.

GOLD Workshop provides vital internship information

Our parents’ days of good grades in college coupled with a few minimum-wage jobs are over and the era of the unpaid internships is upon us. According to the Geneseo Opportunities for Leadership Development website, “The number one criteria employers seek in recent hires is prior internship experience.” Enter Associate Director of Internship Opportunities Robert DiCarlo, the creator of the GOLD workshop “Finding an Internship.” Along with junior Skye Cardona and senior Carissa Gagliardi, this workshop gives students advice and resources to find and successfully apply for internships.

Utilizing DiCarlo’s experience as a mentor along with Cardona and Gagliardi’s advice as students and peers, the workshop gives a comprehensive analysis of exactly what students can do independently to get the internship experience they need.

DiCarlo created this workshop last fall after being overwhelmed with student appointments, all with similar questions and concerns. He originally created separate workshops for different career fields such as health services or psychology, but chose to whittle it down to a “nuts and bolts” workshop that applied to all students.

“It basically focuses in on how to find an internship, what are the resources that are available and how we can support the students so that they’re successful in finding an internship,” DiCarlo said.

Finding and working multiple internships is key to eventually landing a job you love. This workshop tackles the obvious and constantly avoided first step: taking the initiative to start looking for an internship.

The workshop is set up as a round table discussion led by DiCarlo, who walks students through seemingly endless web resources that can be used to find internships.

“It helped me find an internship,” Gagliardi said. “The websites we go through in the PowerPoint are what students need to take away from it.”

What many students don’t realize is just how much free information is already available to them. The workshop isn’t necessarily created with the intentions of personally finding every participant a place to work, it’s showing them the tools they have at their fingertips so that they can independently search for and attain internships.

Cardona and Gagliardi, who have both interned at multiple businesses, assisted DiCarlo in the presentation by sharing their own internship experiences to make the session more relevant and relatable.

“We really take the content on the slides and relate it to our own internship experience,” Cardona said. This workshop’s relevance is only growing now that almost every major requires one or more internships to enter the job market. But while getting hired is important, internships address a more personal question as well: can I see myself in this type of career?

“It’s important because a lot of the time you think you’re very interested in something and you go in and an internship either solidifies this interest or deters you from it,” Cardona said.

This workshop occurs almost every Wednesday throughout the semester, and each one can hold up to 25 students. Students can register online on the Geneseo GOLD website.

“It’s an opportunity to take what you learn here at Geneseo and apply it to the rest of the world,” Gagliardi said.

Junior Tyler Sherman: a team player, in hall and on ice

Junior math major Tyler Sherman is not your average residence assistant. A transfer student from Monroe Community College, he began contributing to Geneseo the moment he arrived. Sherman applied to be an RA only two weeks after starting at Geneseo in the spring 2013 semester. Due to his newcomer status, he failed to receive the position and instead “settled” for hall council president.

Since then, he has served on Nassau Hall’s Inter-Residence Council Executive Board as a national communications major. He co-organized delegations to conferences about programming in residence halls and is a member of the National Residence Hall Honorary.

Sherman now works as an RA in Monroe Hall, where he lived his first semester. Sherman’s enthusiasm and hard work fits his new clients: incoming freshmen.

“I’ve been able to bond with them and act as guidance … I feel like I’ve built a pretty strong community with them,” Sherman said. One of his events involved teaching time management through blowing up water bottles with rubber bands, drawing about 50 participants––a huge number by hall activity standards.

“I do this because it’s a good leadership opportunity for me,” Sherman said. “I’m big on personal development and this is hands-on learning.”

Not only is he extremely active in student affairs but Sherman also has an important role as goalie on Geneseo’s club hockey team.

He began playing on a whim his sophomore year when the actual goalie was unable to play and Sherman stepped up.

“I kind of got thrown into it really fast,” Sherman said. Sherman’s stint as a goalie worked out as he helped to bring his team to the championship round.

Sherman’s contributions to the team are clear both on and off the ice as he helps with various public relations and student association duties.

“I know how to put up posters, I signed us up for a table at the Student Expo … I use my connections to kind of manage the team,” he said.

His student affairs expertise will collide with hockey again this semester when he begins working on the Intercollegiate Athletic Advisory Board, which, among other things, budgets and schedules the varsity hockey games. “I’m a big sports guy, so I think it will be cool to see the background behind it,” Sherman said.

He’s not all work and no play, however. Sherman is a member of the infamous Geneseo Blue Crew, the boisterous row of boys sporting shorts, body paint and not much else at Geneseo Ice Knights home games. He tries to arrange his schedule around Ice Knight hockey and estimates he has only missed three or four games in his Geneseo career.

“That was a huge part of me coming here,” Sherman said. “I love hockey, so I love a school that runs around hockey.

When he first enrolled at Geneseo, Sherman planned on majoring in childhood special education and math but now sees himself going to graduate school for student affairs.

“With all the opportunities I’ve had since I’ve been here, I want to be there for freshmen who are still trying to figure it out,” Sherman said. “I’m starting to see how the school functions and that’s what I want to start doing with my life.”

Favorites Favorite hockey team: Buffalo Sabres Favorite superhero: Spiderman Favorite Geneseo activity: broomball Favorite band: Awolnation Favorite season: autumn