Winona State Universities, Hannah McGlone, is on track to play in more games for WSU Women’s Basketball, then anyone who has ever played for the team.
When Hannah McGlone steps on to the floor at McCown Gymnasium, Feb. 18 she will tie Natalie Gigler, 2007-11, for most games played, at 119.
McGlone needs to play one game in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference tournament to take the record.
Fortunately for McGlone every team in the NSIC qualifies for the tournament, barring injury she will hold the record when her collegiate basketball career comes to an end this spring.
McGlone said that, playing in 100 games and other career milestone like 900 points, 800 rebounds and 70 steals are all just meaningless stats, if they didn’t help the team win.
McGlone, the lone senior for the Warriors this season, will leave a mark on the Winona State campus not only for her play on the court but also her efforts off-court.
“I’m a hard worker and competitor,” McGlone said. “At the end of the day there is more to life than basketball. Being a good friend, family member and person off the court is what matters most.”
Hannah McGlone leads her team in a 59-51 win over The University of Sioux Falls Cougars
McGlone’s personality when she isn’t playing basketball dates to her humbling roots growing up in what she said is an average family.
Spending her childhood in the middle-class neighborhood of Streamwood, Illinois, McGlone said she never realized her full potential in basketball, until high school where she played on the varsity team for four years.
McGlone’s father always had supported her in everything she did and had high hopes for her future, however he didn’t always expect Hannah to become the basketball player she is today.
“She always had the size, but struggled with catching the ball when she was young.” joked Greg McGlone. “She had what we called blocks for hands.”
Hannah McGlone says that family is everything to her and the reason that she plays basketball.
Both Greg and Peggy McGlone coached their daughters, Hannah and Megan, while they were growing up.
McGlone was the captain of her high school team in Streamwood, Illinois
McGlone claims her parents and uncle are the reason she has become the basketball player she is today.
Everything from coaching to practicing in the driveway, her family was the most important part of her growth as basketball player, said Mcglone.
McGlone said she has no immediate plans for her future but knows basketball will no doubt be a part of it.
“If I get the opportunity to continue my basketball career on the court, it will be hard to pass.” McGlone said. “I know for a fact that I want to coach at some point.”
On track to earn a teaching degree this spring, McGlone wants to eventually work her way into an athletic director or coaching job at the collegiate or professional level.
Exactly 200 years ago, in 1818, Mary Shelly’s iconic Promethean creature was brought to life when her novel was first published.
In celebration of the 200 anniversary of “Frankenstein” being published, Winona State University is hosting a variety of events throughout January and February.
The events began Jan. 24 at 8 a.m. in WSU’s Science Laboratory Center atrium with a live reading of the entire 1818 edition of the novel.
The nearly eight-hour event hosted a constant influx of audience members, ranging from none to double digits at different times.
According to Dunbar, althogether there were an estimated 75 to 100 attendees.
The live reading was the brainchild of Ann-Marie Dunbar, an associate professor of the English department and director of the events.
“The bicentenary of Frankenstein’s publication gives us a great opportunity to celebrate one of the most original and fascinating novels written in English,” Dunbar said. “A novel that is just as relevant today as it was in 1818.”
The reading featured most of the University’s English department faculty, including Paul Johnson, an English and Film Studies professor.
Paul Johnson, WSU’s Film Studies director reads From Mary Shelly’s “Frankenstein” in character.
Johnson performed the first few chapters of volume two with enthusiasm, creating voices for the characters, making the event that much more noticeable for the students passing through the atrium, many of whom stopped for a moment to listen.
Johnson is the planner of the film series that is a part of the “Frankenstein celebration” at WSU.
The film series began off on Monday, Jan. 29 at 7 p.m. in the Miller Auditorium at WSU with a double feature of the 1931 film “Frankenstein” and it’s 1935 sequel “The Bride of Frankenstein.”
Robert Pack, WSU Film Studies student, hosts a showing of the film “The Bride of Frankenstein.”
“For those of us who love the novel and love the tale and love Mary Shelly’s composition of it,” Johnson said, “simply being able to bring that to life for a day is a really rich source of enjoyment for us.”
The film series is the most expensive of the events, costing between $1,600 -$1,800 for public performance rights according to Johnson.
According to Dunbar, the English, Art, Mass Communication, and the University Theme committee are all sponsors working for and donating to the project.
The double feature began with an audience of about 75, most of which were students attending for class.
After an intermission between the films the audience decreased to about 25.
Audience waits for the double feature of “Frankenstein” and “The Bride of Frankenstein” to begin at WSU
Brittney Bluhm, an English and Film student at the university attended both features having read the book recently but never seeing the films.
Bluhm said that she liked the venue, but especially enjoyed watching the films together.
“I think that we could have had the five-minute intermission quicker. It was more like a 10 to 15-minute intermission,” Bluhm said.
Zachary Zaboj, an independent studies student who attended for class said he was surprised at how much was changed from the book to the films.
Johnson said he thought the first few events went well, the audience sizes being more than satisfactory.
Frankenfest will continued Feb. 19 with the next film in the series, “Young Frankenstein,” at 7 p.m. in WSU’s Miller Auditorium.
Community members in and around Winona, Minnesota, will be able to view a variety of interesting news articles on the newly updated Winona360 web site.
The site is a function of the Winona State University Mass Communication department and is populated with articles, photographs and video stories created primarily by upper division journalism students.
Students in the Spring 2018 semester’s senior journalism capstone class, Publication Practicum, are researching, interviewing, photographing, video recording and editing articles. They will upload their articles to the site and then hope to hear feedback from site viewers.
Winona State University’s Art and Design Department hosted a video installation exhibit by Chicago based artist, Yugo Zhou, called In the Shape of a City, on Oct. 16 through Nov. 6. The exhibit featured two video pieces, Midtown Flutter and Underground Circuit, which were filmed on the streets of New York City as well as the subways.
Art Gallery Coordinator, Roger Boulay, oversaw the exhibit.
“Yugo Zhou exhibited at Winona State last year,” Boulay said. “I saw it and I loved it, and I decided to invite her to exhibit here, and she accepted.”
Boulay said it was interesting to bring two pieces that were investigating urban spaces to Winona.
“Since Winona is located in such a rural environment, to have two pieces about a big city, is a nice change of pace,” Boulay said. “It might make many of our students, many of which come from rural backgrounds, think about the city in new ways, and maybe disrupt preconceived notions about the city.”
Rachel Hollcraft, of Crookston, Minn., and a sophomore and WSU, viewed the exhibit with her classmates.
“The different people, especially in the piece on the floor, gives a sense of individuality to every person caught on tape, and in a way that makes New York City seem smaller,” Hollcraft said.
“I really appreciated the detail put into timing people with the stop light, in the piece on the wall,” Hollcraft said. “The piece on the floor was my favorite, because the amount of time put into filming, and then creating a loop of different people entering and exiting from each square is incredible, and shows the hard work of Zhou.”
Boulay said there were over 300 layer of video in Underground Circuit, and Zhou listened to entire television series during the video editing process.
Boulay said Zhou received an $800 stipend, and stayed at the WSU Alumni House during her stay in Winona. The exhibit was supported by WSU and by a grant from the WSU Foundation.
The Shape of a City exhibit allowed viewer to interact with the pieces. Viewers could walk on Underground, if they took off their shoes. Viewers could also look behind Midtown Flutter to see how the piece was made and look at its various dimensions.
Watkins Gallery hosts six exhibits by visiting artists each year and six by current WSU students. The next exhibit called, CHASTUSHKI, by Amy Toscani, will be on display from Nov. 13 through Dec. 8.
by Elizabeth Pulanco, featured photo by Taylor Nyman
With the spring season underway, flowers and outdoor projects are in bloom.
At Winona State University, the process of creating a community garden has taken root with the construction of a raised soil bed on April 15.
The Winona State SEED Garden is located on West 8th Street across from academic buildings on the Winona State Campus.
The SEED (sustainable, edible, educational, discovery) Garden has been in development for several years. Sophomore Jackson Ramsland has been the most recent student to take on the task.
Ramsland said his involvement with the garden began during spring semester of 2016 when friend of his, Allison Bettin asked if he wanted to take over the planning.
“Being very interested in gardening, I said ‘yes’ and took on the project,” Ramsland said.
Ramsland said his interest in gardening is connected to his time spent in the many gardens at his childhood home and summer jobs working at tree nurseries and organic farms.
“When I was growing up, my family had a pretty big plot of land so we had a lot of gardens,” Ramsland said. “We had a flower garden in the front yard and in the backyard, we had a couple of raised bed food gardens and we would always grow tomatoes and zucchinis.”
Ramsland said he had weekly meetings with faculty members, members of the university’s arboretum committee and the health and wellness department.
From the beginning, Ramsland said the creation of the garden has been a group effort.
“I have established some very important relationships with faculty members, student groups that are interested in working outside,” Ramsland said.
Jonathon Mauser, a chemistry professor and member of Winona State’s arboretum committee was also interested in the project and worked with Ramsland to find resources and funds to move the project forward.
Chemistry professor Jonathon Mauser fills a wheelbarrow with the gravel used to build the wall holding the raised soil bed together. The construction of the raised soil bed is expected to be finished by April 24.
Mauser said he had previous experiences working with community gardens and helped build the garden for his alma mater, the University of Portland in Oregon.
“I was an undergrad, so at this point I was on the student side of it and it is kind of fun to be on the other side of it now and kind of come full circle,” Mauser said.
According to Mauser, Winona State’s SEED Garden is being funded by the university’s Green Fee.
“The Green Fee is a payment that every student pays starting this term It is a part of their tuition fees,” Mauser said. “The Green Fee has gone to support this community garden and has also supported the spread of recycling bins on campus, which is going to be happening soon.”
The Green Fee also paid for reusable water bottles given to first-year students when they arrive on campus.
According to Mauser, the mission for this project is an accumulation of different elements and involves different aspects of the university community.
Ramsland said produce from the garden will be donated to the Warrior Cupboard, which is a food shelf that will be located in Winona State’s Integrated Wellness Center. Ramsland said this produce will be used to help combat food inequity and insecurity.
“About 56 percent of Winona State students qualify as being food insecure,” Ramsland said. “One of the biggest things with food insecurity is that most people aren’t getting adequate amounts of fruit and vegetables, so if students start using the garden, we hope that it will become very popular and that students will be getting the food that they need.”
Along with giving food to the Warrior Cupboard, Ramsland said hewould like to find a mobile way to distribute the produce from the garden around campus.
“I would love to set up a farm cart or something and drive around campus and give students produce. I think that it could be something that could become a very cool staple of Winona State,” Ramsland said. “I can’t think of a lot of campuses that I have visited that have had a garden of this size for this purpose.”
At the moment, volunteers for the garden are working on the raised soil bed which will hold most of the produce. Ramsland said the plan is to have the soil bed finished by the week of April 24 and start putting plants into the ground by May 1.
The raised soil bed at the SEED Garden will contain different fruits and vegetables that will be sent to the Warrior Cupboard Food Shelf in the Integrated Wellness Complex on Winona State University’s campus.
Michael Krug has never received the flu vaccination because he is skeptical about the efficacy of the drug itself.
For Johnna Miller, vaccinating against the flu is one of her priorities when flu season begins.
Krug and Miller, graduate students at Winona State University, have contrasting ideas about vaccinations. No matter if they decided to vaccinate against the flu this year, they both had to show proof of certain vaccinations in order to be enrolled at the university.
According to the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, vaccination requirements changed over time and continued to be updated as new vaccines were developed for more diseases. Since the 1940s, some vaccines have been added while others have been removed or replaced.
Polio immunization was recommended in the 1950s, and tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis, polio, measles, mumps and rubella appeared in the 1970s. A vaccine for hepatitis B was added in the mid-1990s.
The College of Physicians of Philadelphia also stated by the 1990s, all 50 states required students to receive certain immunizations in order to attend classes.
Mitzi Girtler, a licensed school nurse and the coordinator of health services at Winona Public Schools, said vaccination recommendations are not the same in every country.
In the U.S., she said, school immunizations laws are not imposed by the federal government, but by the individual states. For instance, the state of Minnesota has different requirements than the state of Wisconsin.
According to the Minnesota Department of Health, the law requires all children seven years of age and older to show proof of vaccinations against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, mmr (measles, mumps and rubella), hepatitis B, varicella and meningococcal.
According to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, children entering kindergarten through fifth grade, and sixth through 12 must have received a specific amount of doses of polio, hepatitis B, mmr (measles, mumps and rubella) and varicella vaccines depending on the age group.
Students who enroll in college have to show proof they have been vaccinated against measles, mumps, rubella, tetanus and diphteria, according to the Minnesota Department of Health. Any student who fails to show proof of vaccinations within the first 45 days after first enrollment cannot remain enrolled.
Despite the requirements, not every individual is in favor of vaccinations.
Girtler said some people and communities object to school immunizations because they disagree with the mandates and have religious or personal beliefs that are in disagreement with vaccinations.
Other factors imply a lack of confidence, uncertainty toward the effectiveness of the vaccine and increased perceived risk of side effects of the vaccine, Girtler said.
Individuals who do not want to immunize their children, she said, can request an exemption to address their concerns.
In Minnesota, the Department of Health may allow exemptions from immunizations if a statement signed by a physician is submitted to the administrator, or in case of conscientiously held beliefs of the parents.
Depending on each state, some communities of people, she said, will not follow the state requirements. For instance, she said home school families typically are against vaccinations.
Vaccine hesitancy refers to those parents who show concerns about the decision to vaccinate one’s self or one’s children, according to Daniel Salmon, author of an article in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
The article specifies the number of parents who claim non-medical exemptions to school immunization requirements has been increasing over the past decade. Other causes of vaccine hesitancy may include the fear of allergic reactions, the inability of parents to control the risks of adverse reactions, and the possibility the child’s immune system might be weakened.
The influenza vaccination is one of the immunizations parents are skeptical about, Girtler said.
In terms of influenza vaccination, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention recently reported on the national early-season flu vaccination coverage with findings showing approximately 40 percent of all persons and 37 percent of children were vaccinated by early November 2016.
The graph shows vaccinations among children were higher at the end of the season compared to all persons.
The late flu season vaccination report from 2013 to 2016 showed 45 percent of all persons and almost 60 percent of children were vaccinated against the flu.
The CDC noted efforts are needed to increase the percentage of the population vaccinated during the next few months in order to reduce the burden of flu.
The CDC showed the percentage of vaccinations in Minnesota is higher compared to other states, with a coverage in 2010-11 through 2015-2016 of 49.7 percent of all persons that is compared to a 42.7 percentage in Wisconsin.
Winona Senior High School, Girtler said, is an example of schools in Minnesota where vaccination trends are high.
Girtler said the school claims a high percentage of the required vaccinations needed to be registered, with over 96 percent of the students being fully vaccinated.
The school does not provide the vaccine but encourages students and families to go to their health care provider.
Because immunizations are a state law requirement, Girtler said the high school acts as a gatekeeper, and keeps track of them through school attendance.
The district’s immunization plan includes three groups of students: incoming kindergarteners, seventh graders, and new students coming in from another state or district.
With kindergarteners and seventh-graders, the district makes sure to contact the families months before the beginning of school, letting them know about the state requirements. Parents of the incoming students will individually meet with school officials.
The school officials send alerts to parents of sixth graders, similar to a phone system of advertising, she said. Girtler said the school encourages vaccinations in an effort to protect students who cannot be vaccinated due to health reasons or allergies.
Students who do not have the proper vaccinations at the beginning of the school year will usually get the shot right after they have been notified. The district, she said, occasionally has to turn away a student or two due to a lack of immunization.
“We provide them resources and try to find funding or transportation if needed,” she said.
In the Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau school district in Wisconsin, Registered Nurse Barbara Hogden said almost every student in the school is vaccinated. Only 37 out of 1,392 students have personal waivers, exempting them to immunize, she said.
Hogden said 103 students decided to get the influenza vaccination at the school, and the other children had the choice to get it through their health care provider.
This year, Hogden said there were only three cases of influenza at the school because most of the students are vaccinated. The few who decide not to vaccinate usually do not believe in the vaccines, or they do not have enough information about them, she said.
For those parents who are in contradiction with the vaccines, Hogden said she encourages them to gather information from reliable online sources and to talk to their health care provider.
“Parents should always weigh both sides and do their research,” Hogden said. “There is a lot of information out there; they just need to look for it.”
While parents determine children’s necessity of receiving a flu vaccination, college students like Krug and Miller, can decide whether to vaccinate on their own.
Krug said he is skeptical about flu shots because he read online the vaccine protects against three types of the virus only, though there are more; and the virus constantly changes.
“I have always trusted that with good hygiene and proper nourishment, I can stay healthy for the most part,” Krug said.
On the other side of the spectrum, Miller takes advantage of the flu shot every year.
Miller said she is glad the flu vaccine is so easily accessible for students, especially in a college environment where germs are passed easily. The flu, she said, can spread quickly, and have a large impact on a population.
Vaccination requirements, Miller said, should be recommended but not mandatory because people need to have a say in what they receive in their bodies. She said she thought it is important to get vaccinated not only for a person’s health, but for the health of a whole community.
“When different things are forced or required, they can have negative connotations associated with them,” Miller said.
Winona State University Registered Nurse Joyce Peckover said the Health and Wellness Services on campus administered about 350 flu shot vaccinations this academic year.
The Health and Wellness Services is able to administer immunizations for several diseases, and the flu shots are available at the clinic for $25 billed to a student’s insurance. Peckover said the shot is covered by most students’ health insurance under preventable care.
According to Peckover, the amount of flu shots the university administers depends on whether there has been a bad outbreak of influenza across the U.S. In that case, she said, the following year people are more willing to vaccinate against the flu because they are afraid they might get sick again. This year, influenza started later than usual, with a peak in January, she said.
When students walk into the Health and Wellness Services for an appointment, Peckover said the registered nurses try to encourage the flu shots. Sometimes, students decide not to be vaccinated because they do not believe in the vaccine, or they have never taken it before.
Peckover is in charge of the Ask-A-Nurse line, and said she often receives calls from parents who want to keep track of their son’s or daughter’s health and ask if they have received the shot. Other times, the students purposely will not get vaccinated because of their parents’ decision.
Until the flu shots expire in June, Peckover said she will keep administering flu shots. Health and Wellness Services collaborate with the health promotion center to encourage flu shots via online and across the university through informative posters.
“We are always looking for new ways to encourage it,” Peckover said. “As much as we market the flu shot, it’s never enough.”
Peckover said the registered nurses work together with nursing students every fall, and set up a flu shot clinic to make it more convenient for students to stop by the booth during their lunch break.
Peckover said it is important to educate on flu shots because they can prevent serious illnesses and doctors’ visits. At the academic level, she said students who get influenza might be absent from classes for a few days, and lower their performance.
According to the CDC, an annual seasonal flu vaccine can keep people from getting sick with influenza, reduce the risk of flu-associated hospitalization, and protect people with chronic health conditions who are more vulnerable to flu illnesses.
No matter if individuals have had a flu shot or not, in order to prevent influenza and the spread of germs, Peckover said getting good nutrition and resting helps to keep the immune system built up.
The CDC recommends avoiding contact with sick people, covering the nose and mouth with a tissue when coughing or sneezing, cleaning and disinfecting surfaces and objects that may be contaminated with germs like the flu and others.
“Everything comes down to prevention,” Peckover said. “Our goal is to provide education and prevent diseases to stay healthy.”
Despite the high percentages of student vaccinations in the Winona area public schools, in some cases, Girtler said students could be sent home from school because they do not have the proper vaccinations, or proof of exemptions from them. Kindergarten is the time they can first be blocked from schools, she said.
Rochester public schools recently did not allow 80 students to attend classes in the school building because they did not submit the paperwork before the deadline on March 1.
The district notified the families whose children did not have all the required vaccinations from Jan. 27 through Feb. 20, but they were not successful in providing the documents.
Both Girtler and Hogden said diseases, which used to be common in the U.S., including polio, measles, diphtheria and rubella, can now be prevented with vaccination.
Those parents who are against vaccinations were not alive when polio spread all over the country and are not aware of the number of people who died from it, Hogden said.
Agata Blaszczak-Boxe, author of an article on vaccine refusals, said parents think vaccine-preventable diseases are rare these days, and their memory of these diseases may be fading.
Some of the recent measles outbreaks prove those beliefs wrong. Girtler said California experienced a large, multi-state measles outbreak at Disneyland in 2015 from a traveler who became infected overseas with measles. Other measles cases occured quickly afterwards.
Girtler said in order to encourage more vaccinations in the future, interventions are needed on the individual level. She said health care providers are the best source of information for individuals who are hesitant to immunize their children.
One-on-one conversations usually work best because parents are able to listen closely to an expert’s opinion on the matter, she said.
“We are encouraging vaccinations to protect not only children, but the whole community,” Girtler said. “This is a public concern.”
After the 2016 presidential election, Washington D.C. returned to the spotlight in January. A group of 12 Winona State University students attended an academic seminar hosted by the Washington Center focused on elevating political discourse. Colleges and universities from all over the U.S. participated in the seminar, which was held from Jan. 8 to 21.
In addition to the seminar, students were able to meet alumni living the area, visit the various museums and landmarks and attend the presidential inauguration.
Photo Credit: Grace Johnson While participating in the Washington Center’s Presidential Inauguration Seminar, Winona State University students got the chance to visit important landmarks and buildings, including the United State Supreme Court Building. (back, left to right) Benjamin Reimler and Steven Scheevel (bottom left to right) Christina Melecio, Jack Smyth, Nicole Zimmerman, Christopher Veeder, Grace Johnson, Bobbi Wrona and Max Gonzalez.
The inauguration took place near the end of their time in Washington. According to Winona State senior Grace Johnson and junior Christina Melecio, it was a memorable experience.
Johnson had a mixed response to the inauguration. She said she wanted to attend the Women’s March on following day, but was unable to because her flight was leaving early. She discussed how she wore her pink hat at the inauguration to show support for the movement.
“Pink was the main color for standing up for equality that weekend,” Johnson said. “I got called out and yelled at by other Trump supporters that were there. They yelled at the police to try and get me to leave and harassed me until my friend just told me to take off the hat, because it was not worth my security.”
Even though Johnson experienced conflicts at the inauguration, she said was still able to observe the event and even made a friend.
Johnson mentioned a woman from Texas who was at the inauguration with her husband and grandchildren. According to Johnson, this woman was the only individual who was willing to have a positive conversation with her.
Johnson said. “Any time someone yelled at us or challenged us, she would be like ‘Stop messing with my liberal friends.’ She gave us big hugs at the end when everyone was leaving.”
Similar to Johnson’s experience, Melecio said she was conflicted with what she heard during the inauguration.
“I was surrounded by people who used horrible rhetoric,” Melecio said. “They were saying some very nasty things about Mexicans, which I am, so that was difficult to digest.”
Despite the behavior of some attendees, Melecio said she was still lucky to view a peaceful transition of power.
“Regardless of whether I liked the candidate or not, in the United States we get to vote for someone, and they get picked. And we don’t have a war in response,” Melecio said.
The situation the students faced with the individuals who had opinions that conflicted with their own was the main focus of the Washington Center’s seminar.
Johnson said she believes the information she learned was applicable to her studies as a political science major.
“In our political science program, conversations are pretty much one-sided. There is not a lot of discourse in our conversations,” Johnson said. “Whether in the political science program, or just having discussions about policy, having an idea of what the other side thinks and being willing to play devil’s advocate, will help us when we get into the field.”
Melecio said the seminar caused her to evaluate different perspectives.
“We had assignments every single day where we had to write a single page, single spaced essay about a different perspective that we learned about,” Melecio said.
Winona State junior Adam Thompson, a social studies education major, is planning on using the information he learned while he is teaching, and said finds it beneficial for discussions on campus.
“The ability to host discussions and teach people about your opinions and feelings will be extremely valuable to me as a social studies teacher while also teaching my students how to have these discussions,” Thompson said.
Kara Lindaman, a political science professor who organized the trip, said she believes Winona State students could benefit greatly from the seminar.
“I think why we get into this business is for two core commitments to higher education: educating for personal and social responsibility, and taking note of the perspectives of others,” Lindaman said. “It’s really hard to emulate that in a classroom full of similar majors, minds and backgrounds.”
Sociology professor Jennifer Chernega was a chaperone for the trip and said how the trip to Washington was a useful out -of – classroom experience.
“These types of experiences help students connect their classroom work to the world outside and see that the folks that they read about and see on TV are real people,” Chernega said.
Thompson did not attend the inauguration, but did view the several museums in Washington like the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
“As an African American, seeing that history is extremely important. You immediately think of political discourse when you see things on the civil rights movement and the fight for abolition,” Thompson said. “At the Holocaust Museum, there were two survivors from Auschwitz and Dachau that we got the opportunity to speak to, which was an experience that will stick with me for a while.”
Along with the museums, walked through the Senate Office Buildings. While in these buildings, they met their local representatives and Minnesota State Senators Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken.
The students went to the Brazilian Embassy and discussed climate change and the status of Brazil in a new presidential administration with research ambassador Frank Neto.
Besides meeting different representatives and political figures, some of the students had the chance to make friends. According to the Washington Center, 60 universities and 320 students participated in the seminar.
“Meeting new people was one of my favorite parts of the trip,” Melecio said. “I have new friends from Connecticut, Florida, Arkansas and New York.”
Students said they felt that traveling to Washington not only gave them a different perspective on their nation’s capitol, but it also gave them a chance to think about their future.
“I think we kind of get stuck in this hopeless feeling of being in college forever, and going to D.C. showed us that there is more we can do,” Johnson said. “We had the opportunity to talk with people from different kinds of fields of work in D.C. The opportunities we got there are not usually found here in Winona.”
Many of the students who traveled to Washington are a part of the political science program or are members of Winona State’s Student Senate, and taking this trip reignited their passion for public service, especially for Melecio
“We went to learn, and I think we learned a lot about elevating political discourse, but we also learned a lot about ourselves,” Melecio said.” I think people started seeing different career paths or futures for themselves while being there. It was a once and a lifetime kind of opportunity.”
A college student grips their backpack tightly as they approach the doors of the local Caribou Coffee. Meanwhile, a man makes a morning stop at the drive thru on his way to work. A mom in yoga pants holds her kid’s hand as they walk through the door. At Caribou, there’s something for everyone, from the hurried student to the kid who isn’t quite kindergarten age.
“Hello, welcome to Caribou Coffee, are you a perks member today?” a team member wearing a brown Caribou apron greets customers as they come inside.
Koch points out menu items to a customer.
Someone who is in a rush to get their morning caffeine fix may not think about the behind-the-scenes aspect of their coffee stop, and it begins early. The general store manager, Deanna Kaiser, arrives at 5 a.m. on weekdays and 5:30 a.m. on Sunday. Another employee comes in to help her, and together they make the morning espresso and open the register.
Kaiser’s black and neon, handwritten nametag stands out from her brown apron that reads “Caribou Coffee.” Her blonde hair is pulled up into a half pony tail under her drive thru headset, and she is wearing jeans and slip resistant shoes.
Getting up in the morning can be difficult, but you get used to it, one of the team members, Lo Koch, said. She wears a matching apron, nametag, drive thru headset and jeans.
“I’ll go to bed within 7 to 10 p.m. every night,” Kaiser said.
The team members have some time to wake themselves up before the store gets busier.
5:30 a.m. is usually a pretty quiet time, according to Kaiser, the store starts to get busy at 6 a.m. Caribou will have some of its regulars stop in weekday mornings before work.
We have at least 20-25 regulars, maybe more, Kaiser said.
On a snowy Wednesday morning, it is quiet, with a few customers sitting with laptops at tables, sipping their drinks; as the drive thru is more popular. The usual busy time is 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., Kaiser said.
On the weekends, Caribou is usually bustling. The drive thru can wrap around the building, and the in-house line can be almost to the door. There are usually three or four employees working at a time on busy days. There are four positions the team members can be assigned to; barista, drive thru, greeter, and floater. Normally there are two people working, one person is the barista, whose job is to make drinks, and the other is doing drive thru and the in-house guests. There can be two greeters and two baristas, but normally there are one of each. The floater is the superglue person, helping out when needed, Kaiser said.
“10 a.m. to 3 p.m. is our busiest time on Sunday. It is a busy day for students, a lot come for an hour, do their homework and leave. Also Friday there are a lot of students, since the [Winona State] library closes at 5 p.m.,” Koch said.
There’s room for about 50 people in-house, Kaiser said, there are about 42 chairs. Customers have a choice in seating, from comfy upholstered seating by the front windows around a fireplace, or the six seats at a bar area, or standard tables on the other side of the fireplace.
Left to right: Kaiser heats up food in the oven while Koch serves a drive thru customer.
In between creating coffees, teas, and smoothies, the team members keep up with stocking the floor and cleaning.
“It can be hard to restock when it’s busy,” Koch said. “Crap, got to run to the back to get chocolate!”
There are three screens that list the current orders, and once the order has been completed, the person who made it taps the touch screen and it disappears. One of the screens is by the drive thru window, one by the cold drink station and the other by the hot drink station.
Kaiser spreads caramel on the Zebra Mocha Cooler with a smile, in her opinion, it is the hardest drink to make.
A problem the team can face is two team members making the same drink on accident, so communicating on who is making what is essential. Double made drinks get tossed out, according to Kaiser.
The supply to make their drinks and the food they serve comes twice a week, Monday and Thursday. Anyone can unpack the shipment, but the team tries to stick to management doing the job. The unpacker must check to make sure everything was received, so the store doesn’t get charged for an item they didn’t receive.
“There’s a warehouse order for cups, syrups, smoothie mix, tea drinks and similar items. There is a dairy order, a gourmet order for sandwich and bakery, and ready to eat bakery case foods, and we get to order how much we think we need,” Kaiser said.
The most common product they run out of are syrups and beans. If this happens, one of the employees has to head to La Crosse or Rochester to another Caribou location to pick up more product.
“We can’t order too much product, because we don’t want it to expire,” Kaiser said.
The backroom at Caribou, where extra stock is stored.
Caribou’s Winona building is fairly new. It opened in January of 2015, the team has the luxury of many storage places. The backroom is filled to the ceiling with stock. Freezers house frozen sandwiches, while the next day’s sandwiches are thawing in the fridge next to it. Silver bags of espresso are stacked to the left, with a tub of chocolate covered espresso beans, juice, cups, toppings and more to the left of the espresso bags.
“We go through at least 14 bags of espresso a week,” Kaiser said, “we are one of the leading stores for espresso sales.”
Each bag is five pounds, and one pound serves 10 small cups, roughly 50 people if everyone orders smalls, according to Kaiser.
After a full day of caffeinating the citizens of Winona, Caribou Coffee closes for the night. On Monday through Thursday, the store closes at 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday is 10 p.m., and 8 p.m. on Sunday.
The closers stock everything, put loose things away, sweep the floors, mop, vacuum, and close the register. They will stay 30-45 minutes after close to do so, Kaiser said, then they lock up and leave.
At the end of the day, Koch and Kaiser they enjoy their jobs.
“I’m a coffee snob,” she laughed. “My favorite part is making drinks. It’s like working at a bar, but coffee.”
(L to R): Sophomore Stephanie Trypuc looks at Junior Becca Borchardt’s cellphone as they figure out which workshops they want to attend for the week at KCACTF.
(L to R): Sophomore Stephanie Trypuc looks at Junior Becca Borchardt’s cellphone as they figure out which workshops they want to attend for the week at KCACTF.
(L to R): Senior nominee Kayla Nelson rehearses an Irene Ryan scene from the play “This Flight Tonight” with her partner Junior Becca Borchardt on the second floor of the Marriott Hotel in Des Moines, Iowa as part of the activities on Monday Jan 23. for KCACTF.
(L to R): Senior Adam Calcagno, Sophomore Stephanie Trypuc, Junior Becca Borchardt and Senior Bekah Bailey practice a clapping cheer during the Tech Team showdown final round to support the Warrior Wombats with school pride in the Stoner Black Box Theatre in Des Moines Iowa.
Winona State tech team Warrior Wombat Andy Glischinski (left) sophomore quick dresses Lance Urbick into dress pants during the Tech Team Showcase final round on Monday Jan 23. in the Stoner Black Box Theatre in Des Moines, Iowa during KCACTF. Glischinski was surprised to make it into the final round since their team placed 7th the previous year. Glischinski explained that if Warrior Wombats place first he would be excited and said, “It would be the cherry on top of the ice cream at this point.” Glischinski and the other Warrior Wombats had to wait till Wednesday night to receive the results.
Becca Borchardt junior performs in a student written 10 minute play called “Truth or Dare” during a KCACTF event at Temple Theatre in Des Moines, Iowa.
Irene Ryan nominee Senior Cody Anderson performs a scene from the play “Little Details” in the final round of the Irene Ryans at Hoyt Theatre in Des Moines, Iowa on Friday evening during KCACTFs closing ceremony. Cody has participated in four KCACTF festivals, once as a partner and the other three times he was a nominee. Cody said, “ I honestly didn’t think we would make it that far and when we did, the nerves were pretty much gone, because at that point, it was all about going out there and having fun.”
Winona State Theatre Professors Jim Williams and Heather Williams-Williams pose for a photo with Sam Scherrer and Bekah Bailey as they hold their awards for Bekah as best stage manager and Sam as best supporting actor during the Irene Ryan Final round at Hoyt Theatre in Des Moines, Iowa on Friday during the KCACTF closing ceremony.
Winona State University students participated in the annual Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Region 5 for a week in January. Winona State has been a part of the festival for 17 years. This year, 17 WSU students traveled to Des Moines, Iowa, to attend workshops, compete for scholarships and submit their talents for feedback.
KCACTF is an opportunity for networking in the theatre community with six surrounding states, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota. Winona State Theatre Professors Jim Williams and Heather Williams-Williams selected students to participate in festival activities.
Musical Theatre Intensive participant Kayla Williams-Schwarze has been attending the festival for the past three years. Kayla said KCACTF is a place to get to know the people from the department. Kayla auditioned for the category Musical Theatre Intensive and made it into the final round with a song called “Nothing Short of Wonderful” from the musical “Dogfight.”
KCACTF had an attendance of about 400 students across the region. Winona State Theatre Professor Williams-Williams said that this year went better than she expected.
“…students were highly successful in all aspects.” Senior, third time Irene Ryan nominee Cody Anderson presented his scenes for the judges at all three rounds and snatched a seat on the final round list. Heather said, “efforts put forth before the festival were rewarded.”
Heather mentioned that Winona State Theatre department requires students to submit something in order to go to KCACTF. This allows students to be more motivated. Students are required to submit scenes they wish to present at KCACTF before winter break. After winter break students attend strict scene rehearsals with feedback from Jim Williams and Heather Williams-Williams.
Anderson said, “Their dedication to the process is the reason that anyone from WSU ever advances in the Irene Ryan competition.”
Throughout the week Cody Anderson and his scene partner Sam Scherrer worked diligently to perfect their scene for the final round. While Cody waited for the lights to go up on the stage to perform his scene he reflects on his favorite parts of KCACTF. He said, “Making the audience laugh and making our professors, peers, and WSU proud was all the fantastic part of an amazing final KCACTF.” Although WSU did not have an Irene Ryan placed winner, students had a week full of making connections and learning from their peers in their field of study.
Each semester, a select number of students from Winona State embark on an academic journey away from the community of learners they know in order to learn in another culture across the world.
According to publicity materials from the university, the study abroad program at Winona State is open to any student, provided they meet three basic criteria: they are not on disciplinary or academic probation, they have their Warrior Hub account paid in full, and they have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5 or higher.
If a student meets these requirements, the next step is for them to meet with a peer advisor. Peer advising was introduced this year as a way to guide students through the programming, application and preparation process with aid from a student who has already studied abroad. Since the peer advising program is relatively new, there is currently only one peer advisor: Kathreen Smith.
Smith is a senior at Winona State triple-majoring in economics, political science and communication studies. She studied abroad in Muscat, Oman, during spring semester 2015 and said she had a great experience. Smith said she believes everyone should study abroad at some point and hopes to help other students accomplish their dream of studying abroad.
Smith said she mainly helps students narrow their program choices, as this is where students often struggle.
“Some people don’t even know how to look for one, they can search through and read it but they don’t know what exactly they’re looking for,” Smith said.
Students first apply for approval from Winona State to study abroad through an online application. For semester study away programs, once a student is approved by WSU, they can apply to the program of their choice at the respective university abroad they wish to attend. Following this application, students wait to hear back from the institution abroad. If they are accepted the preparation for their semester abroad begins.
Cassandra Pearson, a senior global studies major, said although her experience studying abroad in Shanghai, China, two years ago was good, she dealt with frustrations both before and after the trip. The first, she said, was in regards to paperwork.
“I actually got really confused on the process at first because you need like a lot of paperwork to fill out just to apply at the WSU stage to get approved to study abroad,” Pearson said. “You had to have like two letters of recommendation from professors and then you had to fill out a sheet saying what courses you’d think you’d take over there and how they would come back to WSU.”
The second, Pearson said, was due to slow response from her abroad university when she needed to know if she would actually be allowed to go or not.
“It was very frustrating, especially waiting so long for that paperwork and you know not having signed up for housing here, not having signed up for classes and if this fell through I would just have a semester of nothing,” Pearson said
Lastly, Pearson said the school in Shanghai was awful with communication and as a result, she did not receive her transcripts until nearly a year after completing her semester abroad.
“I had a bad situation leaving in the case of getting my grades to come back and so I went through a phase of really regretting it, but overall I’m really glad I went,” Pearson said.
When Pearson traveled abroad, the peer advising program had not yet been put in place, as a result, she experienced greater difficulty getting some of her personal questions answered.
“This program to this school [was] fairly new,” Pearson said. “I think maybe two or three students had gone before me and I knew one of them personally but he wasn’t the most reliable with answering questions.”
In the time since Pearson’s semester abroad, the application process has been moved online entirely and the peer advising program has been put into place. These changes may rectify some of the issues within the current application process.
Despite the potential frustrations, Smith’s advice to those who wish to study abroad is simple.
“Just do it. Make it work,” Smith said, “There’s always a way to make it work. There’s so many different options out there.”
Short video newscast to accompany this article:
Kathreen Smith talks about who has the most safety concerns for students abroad:
Cassandra Pearson talks about a strange experience she had when registering for classes at the start of her semester abroad in Shanghai:
Kathreen in the middle of the Omani desert.
Kathreen before seeing a show at the Royal Omani Opera House.
Cassandra against the backdrop of the Pudong skyline.
Cassandra poses in front of the zig-zag bridge in Shanghai.
Relevant Links:
WSU Study Abroad Student Resources:http://www.winona.edu/studyabroad/resources.asp
Book an Appointment with a WSU Peer Advisor if you’re considering going abroad:https://my.setmore.com/shortBookingPage/406bc7da-1b59-4cc0-a262-ff8eadba2667
Study Abroad Vs. Travel: Studyhttp://www.winona.edu/studyabroad/about.asp
