Amazing Women

Wally makes it one (giant leap) further...for womankind

Wally Funk, our intrepid soon-to-be space traveler, joined the crowd of 600 space fans who gathered in Las Cruces, New Mexico, last week for the dedication of the SpacePort American Runway (that's a picture of her with the founder of the project,  Sir Richard Branson; New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson; and former astronaut Buzz Aldrin.)

Branson, millionaire entrepeneur and founder of Virgin Galactic, a commercial space-flight company, expects to begin taking passengers into space as early as next spring.  Ticket price?  $200,000.  Length of trip?  About an hour, give or take.

Here's how TIme magazine describes it:

The Virgin Galactic experience will start with a couple of days light preparation: medical tests, safety training and some time for the space travelers and pilots to get to know each other. The aircraft will set off attached to a mother ship, which will climb to 50,000 feet before detaching. Then the Enterprise's rocket motors will ignite, accelerating the ship to three times the speed of sound, taking it up over the Earth's atmosphere. At that point, the engines will shut off, leaving passengers weightless, able to somersault freely, and, most importantly, see Earth from space. "That's the point when the switch flicks," says Attenborough. "You get an understanding of the fragility of life and the beauty of the planet." After four or five minutes gravity will begin to drag the Enterprise back down to earth. The whole trip is over in less than an hour." (Read more: http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,2027613,00.html#ixzz13yzlLXCk)

For Wally, it will be the hour she's been waiting for since she was an aviation student at Stephens College.  

And we'll be rooting for her, every magic moment.

We win the Champions of Character Five Star Award..... OUR Stephens Stars!

Read it and be proud that you, too, are a Stephens woman!

COLUMBIA — When it comes to advancing character-driven intercollegiate athletics, NAIA members are making the grade, according to results of the 2009-10 NAIA Champions of Character Scorecard released by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Stephens College has been selected for the prestigious honor.

The Association, which boasts a proud reputation as an arena that promotes competitive athletics, academic excellence and character values simultaneously, will recognize 204 colleges and universities and 20 conferences with the Champions of Character Five Star Award. To receive the award members scored 60 or more points on the NAIA Champions of Character Scorecard and conferences named to the list had at least 60% of its member schools making the grade with 60 or more points.

“Stephens College is very proud of our student athletes and coaches, as well as the responsibility they take for being Champions of Character,” Stephens College Athletic Director Deb Duren said. “Someday, when the game is over, the individual participants will take away fond memories and good attitudes toward life after athletics.”

The scorecard was crafted to convert the NAIA’s vision and strategy into measurable goals and to monitor progress towards advancing character-driven intercollegiate athletics. The initiative supports performance-driven athletics while defining expectations and standards that drive successful teams and athletics departments.

Institutions were measured based on a demonstrated commitment to Champions of Character and earned points in each of the following categories: character training, conduct in competition, academic focus, character recognition and character promotion. Institutions earned points based on exceptional student-athlete grade point averages and by obtaining zero ejections during competition throughout the course of the academic year.

Over 70% of member institutions and 77% of member conferences were named to the Five Star list. The top five schools include Cornerstone ( Mich. ) University, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Cum- berland ( Tenn. ) University, Southwestern ( Kan. ) College and Westmont ( Calif. ) College. Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference and TranSouth Athletic Conference landed in the top spot with 100% of its member schools making the grade.

Five Star Award recipients will be recognized on the NAIA Champions of Character website, and receive a special web banner and certificate noting the honor. Presidents, athletics directors and conference commissioners at award winning colleges, universities or conferences also will be recognized at the 70th Annual NAIA National Convention in April.

The Scorecard process is based on the NAIA’s flagship program Champions of Character, which empha- sizes the five core values of integrity, respect, responsibility, sportsmanship and servant leadership.

 

So I married a bed retailer.....(Virgin Mattress and other modern fables....)

This just in from our very own Stephens (amazing) women:

The Virgin Mattress!

The Virgin Mattress is a web series produced by Erika Adair, Chelsea Turner, Jen Huemmer, Krissey Galli, Jen Tolle, Rikki Takeyama and Rachel McNeal (Stephens women!), who have worked on the project for Pure, a local strategic communications firm.  

See the show (and find out more about it) HERE:

Other series resources are located at the following web addresses:
Series website: http://www.thevirginmattress.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TVMSeries
Twitter: http://twitter.com/TVMSeries
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/VirginMattress

Mila comes to Stephens....all the way from PR!

Keep your eyes on the sky: Wally shows us how.....

 

Citizen Jane ROCKS Columbia: SEE YOU THERE!

I have been away for eight days, out meeting some of our stupendous alumnae in Dallas and New York, but I came home ON TIME, ON PURPOSE, to be here for the opening of the Citizen Jane Film Festival.

Hard to believe it's only three years old.

Ever know a 3-year-old?  They dance into their lives.  They express their emotions absolutely and without filter.  They LOVE (LOVE LOVE LOVE) those who love them back.  And they say all kinds of outrageous things, prompting you to stop, pause and truly LISTEN (and think: REALLY? Is THAT how you're seeing the world?  Very cool.....)

Come to think of it, that sounds exactly like CItizen Jane: Engaged. Embracing of women. Exploratory. Exuberant. And dancing into our lives.

I made the opening reception last night (very cool), and spent most of the afternoon at RagTag: The collection of short films, featuring work of our very own faculty and students, was moving, troubling, and compelling (what else could you hope for?)

I'm off to tonight's presentations of Monica and David, and It's Kind of a Funny Story. 

Tomorrow morning is the filmmakers brunch, The Secret Life of Girls (and I am taking my very own girl to see it) and Winter's Bone.

Three years old.  Already exuberant, extraordinary and celebratory of the vision, talent, passion and commitment of women artists.

It makes me so proud to know that it's the brainchild and passionate work of our own Kerri Yost and her co-director Paula Elias, who have invested more time, energy, and talent than anybody could possibly keep track of.

And that it is supported, staffed, celebrated and informed by our very own Stephens women -- dozens of our students who are living the festival all weekend (not to mention in the weeks that preceded it!) to help ensure that it is a seamless, flawless and exceptional experience for the hundreds of film lovers who are crowding RagTag and other venues.

Our thanks to all of them for an event that makes a difference -- to our community, to our students, to the college's reputation as a women's film program, and to the work of female artists everywhere.

THIS JUST IN FROM "WOMEN IN MEDIA: This Sunday, Oct. 17th, we’re staging a “Watch In” for Christiane Amanpour on ABC's This Week at 10am Eastern. Join us on Facebook and Twitter on Oct 17th with the hashtag “#WMCWatchIn” to discuss Amanpour’s show and celebrate a representative news media! Why? Unfortunately, we’re on the verge of losing two women whose the presence begins to balance the gender representation on prominent shows: Christiane Amanpour and Katie Couri...c. Despite Amanpour and Couric's innumerable accomplishments, expertise, and conscious efforts to have as many women as men on as guests, their shows have experienced poor ratings this summer. And ratings drive decision-making at the networks. Simply put, there’s one way to support these inclusive women anchors: watch their shows! What: Watch ABC's "This Week" with Christiane Amanpour When: Sunday, Oct. 17th at 10am Eastern on ABC How: Join the Facebook event and the Twitter conversation with the hashtag “#WMCWatchIn” to discuss Amanpour’s show and celebrate a representative news media! Spread the word!!

Practicing for FUN: The Ambassadors stage an overnight to get ready for the BIG EVENT

So we're doing the whole Admissions events thing a little differently this year:  Instead of bringing prospective students and their families to campus every weekend, we are planning a great big event November 5 and 6 -- a showcase of everything amazing about Stephens.

This weekend, our Ambassadors -- those extraordinary women who represent the best of our community to our prospective students -- held a practice run in preparation for the big sleep-over event.  They planned, they partied, they played...and they prepared for what is going to be the greatest Admissions event ever!

 

Yippee!  Stephens is ... well, it's Stephens.  What else can we say?

BIG congrats to our HUNT SEAT competitors (the INTERNATIONAL HUNT SEAT competitors, that is...)

 

This just in from our amazing Equestrian program:

The Stephens College Department of Equestrian Studies has been selected to host an International Hunt Seat competition sponsored by the American Morgan Horse Association (AMHA).

The equestrian invitational, which will be held from Nov. 18-20, 2010, at the Stephens Stables, will place an eight-member Stephens team against a Team Morgan team. Members of the Stephens team were announced October 3:

Freshmen Sarah Bricker (Dallas, TX), Maggie Croy and Libby Enriquez (Columbia, MO), Taryn Kobeski (Barrington, IL) and Brittany Logan (St. Charles, IL);

sophomores Caitlin Schneider (Ludington, MI) and Elsie Vieira (Brooklyn, NY);

and senior Anastasia Dryjanski (Melrose Park, IL).

Team alternates are freshman Shelby Hampton (Rogers, AR) and sophomores Emily Weber (Bellevue, NE) and Vanessa Tuepker (Anderson, CA). 

Both teams will hold practices on Nov. 18-19. The competition, which is free and open to the public, will take place on Nov. 20 from 9 a.m.-noon and 2:30-5 p.m.

This past December, Stephens hosted its first international equestrian event with two South African teams competing in a Saddleseat invitational competition. Stephens received the gold medal in the three- and five-gaited team events.

“The invitational provides an excellent opportunity for our students to connect with the AMHA youth while giving these students insight into what the equestrian college experience is like,” said Sara Linde, instructor of Equestrian Studies at Stephens. “Our riders are looking forward to competing on a national level with riders from all over the country in a team environment.”

The Stephens team members were judged by local equine professionals on equitation and horsemanship.

Team Morgan is an international, multi-discipline competition program for Morgan youth ages 14-21. Past Team Morgan competitions have included saddle seat competitions in South Africa and the Massachusetts Morgan Horse Show, as well as a competition in North Carolina in August 2009.

WOOHOO!  Congratulations, good luck, and we'll be cheering for you every step (and jump) of the way!

You think. You create. You write. Be published.

Stephens Students,

    Harbinger, Stephens College's award-winning literary magazine, would love to feature your work for publication. We are accepting submissions of poetry, fiction, non-fiction and artwork for the 2010-2011 edition.  Submissions can be dropped off in the Harbinger boxes located in Dudley 225, in the Hugh Stephens Library, the Stamper Pit and the lobbies of the residence halls.  Or save a tree and submit online at harbinger@stephens.edu. The deadline is Dec. 1, 2010. See your work in print. Submit to Harbinger today.

Thank you,
Harbinger Staff

Death of the Underdog: Poetry, passion and truth....from one of ours

Stephens woman Jen Woods -- a poet, editor and sage -- has written a call to arms for poets everywhere.  It's called "Death of the Underdog: An Open Letter to Poetry" and it's gone viral in poetry circles online. 

Take the time to read it: you'll be inspired.  And informed.  And proud of your fellow Stephens woman.

I know I am.

(And speaking of fellow Stephens women: Our own Judith Clark is back in the classroom today.  Stephens is back to being Stephens again....)

It's WORKSHOP TIME!

   

This just in from our fabulous faculty in the film department (how's that for alliteration?!):

FALL WORKSHOPS in the Film/Media Department!

Each semester, we will present a series of one-time workshops to help students learn how to use equipment &/ improve on their skills.
PLEASE sign up ASAP so that instructors can be prepared to work with the correct number of students: Sign-up sheets will be posted on the door of the Equipment Room.
All workshops meet in Studio C / Room 27 (in the basement) on the Fridays below.

WORKSHOP #1. Rock Steady: Steadicam Workshop
with Chase & Chad
Friday, October 8, 1:30 - 3 PM

WORKSHOP #2. Sound Off: Getting Great Audio with the H2 and DAT recorders
with Kerri
Friday, October 29, 2:30 - 3 PM

WORKSHOP #3. It Moves: Animation and Handmade Film Workshop
with Polina
Friday, November 12, 1:30 - 3 PM