Amazing Women

Eight days and counting: Citizen Jane returns (in style) to Stephens.....

This just in from Kerri Yost, director extraordinaire and co-founder of the Citizen Jane Film Festival (check out the part about Stephens folks getting into the film for FREE!):

Hello all,
We're kicking off the Citizen Jane Film Series and festival with our first screening of the documentary film Handmade Nation on Sept. 8th at 5:15pm at Ragtag.  Handmade Nation explores the growing DIY arts & crafts movement across the nation, visiting artists in all corners of our country to learn more about what inspires this handmade movement.  There will be a Q&A with director Faythe Levine following the film.  It is FREE for Stephens students, faculty and staff with an ID at the ticket booth at Ragtag.  You might want to come a little earlier to assure yourself a seat.  You will also receive academic leadership points for attending.

After the screening there will be a kick-off celebration of the upcoming Citizen Jane Film Festival, which is Oct. 15-17.  We will be creating homemade crafts on the patio of Ragtag (no experience necessary, come craft away!)  and unveiling our film schedule.  There is still time to sign up if you are interested in volunteering for the festival this year.  Simply go to the website and select "Volunteer".  You don't have to know much about film to have a talent we can use, and in return you get a very cute t-shirt as well as a free pass to the festival.
http://www.citizenjanefilm.org/

We hope to see you Sept. 8th and please let me know if you have any questions!

Kerri Yost

 

PS I hope to see you there, too!

Faces: The vision of a Stephens woman....

Strangers are exciting, their mystery never ends. But there's nothing like looking at your own history in the faces of your friends.

That's a line from an Ani DiFranco song.

And it describes the heart and soul of the work of another woman I respect and admire: Stephens woman Joyce McClure, whose new book, Faces, is now available at Blurb.com.

It's a collection of fabulous images, each capturing a moment, an expression, an idea, an emotion -- reflected in the faces of those around us.

It's a work of art.  And humanity.

Take a look:

Today's here....Today!

You might have seen them on campus already:  a Today Show reporter and a camera crew, making their way from Windsor Aud to Doggie Daycare, capturing the story of Stephens' Pet Central program. 

They're talking to students, faculty, and staff about what it's like to have an entire residence hall full of pets of all kinds -- and why allowing our students to bring their pets to campus is just another way that Stephens focuses first on you, and how we can make your college experience as successful, supportive and intellectually engaging as we possibly can.

In an hour, they're interviewing Murphy, our Irish Wolfhound Puppy: 

 

wearing his new Stephens t-shirt (Tiff is going to help me dress him up...should be interesting):

There's no place like Stephens -- to be a puppy dog, an amazing woman, or a happy Prez!

You've been here 15 minutes, and Columbia loves you already! (We are so proud....)

Stephens students volunteer at the Mid-Missouri Assistance League

This just in from Jan Beckett of the Mid-Missouri Assistance League, where a group of our new students helped pack 'Kaboodle Kits,' which contain shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrush, deodorant, comb, brush, soap and a washcloth.  Stephens freshmen volunteered at nonprofit agencies all over the city on Friday as part of our service project during orientation:

Dear Dianne,

I want to tell you about your wonderful freshmen volunteers.  Yesterday, Assistance League of Mid-Missouri was honored by 25 of your students as they came to our office and helped us assemble over 1300 hygiene Kaboodle Kits.  These kits are distributed by the Voluntary Action Center, True North, and the nurses of the Columbia Public Schools.  We also give them to each one of the over 1250 elementary students who receive new clothes during our Operation School Bell distribution in September and October.  The AL members who participated in the work day yesterday loved working with your enthusiastic young people.   They were fabulous representatives for Stephens College and we could not have accomplished so much without their help.  I know they will all go far in life with such a wonderful work ethic and a degree from Stephens College.
 
Thank you so much for sharing your students with us.  We truly appreciate them!
 
Jan Beckett
 

We truly appreciate you, too.

And the winners are.....Stephens women, of course!

It's the Sunday before the Tuesday, and they're all here: More than 230 brand new Stephens women (and a few good men) who arrived on Friday and have devoted the weekend to settling in and gearing up for college life (and what a life it's going to be!)

This afternoon, they scavenged across campus in search of everything from Sersum to scholarship -- and yes, they came looking for red shoes and chocolate.

We were ready for them when they arrived.  My daughter Annie, our puppy Murphy and I got to campus about 2:30, just in time to fill up the chocolate stash and line up the bottles of cold water (that treasure hunt thing is hot work!):

Annie and Murphy (he's four months old, 55 pounds....a great BIG baby.....)

At about 3:10, we heard their voices down the hallway:  It was the first team...

(So (So, OK, my iPhone is a better game platform and emailer than it is a camera....)


Followed by Group 2........

Group 3...........

Group 4...........

Group 5...........

\

And (last but never least), Group 6......

It was an afternoon to remember....and remember it, they will.  I am sure of it.

As for tonight, I hope they're feeling lucky:  Casino Night starts in 45 minutes....see you there!