Touchstones

E n g l i s h D e p a r t m e n t

M a r y w o o d U n i v e r s i t y

If you have questions

or comments about

Touchstones, please

send them to us:

Touchstones@marywood.edu.

Centennial question:

What occupied the site of

the Liberal Arts Center

before the building’s con-

struction? (See page 6 for

the answer.)

Inside this issue:

Alumni News

2

Scholastic Writing Awards

2

Student/faculty meeting 3

Faculty Doings 4

Bayleaf reading

5

Centennial Quiz 6

Fall 2016 Courses

6

Volume 3, Issue 2 March 1, 2016

Interning: Just Do It

Riley Covaleski (‘16)

Before my senior year, if anyone had even whispered the word “internship,”

I would have blocked my ears and run in the opposite direction. Of course

that didn’t really happen, but the fact remains: the real world is a scary

thought to a college student. Even if you know exactly what you want to do,

being released from the cushy comfort of university life is jarring. Just the

idea of meandering outside the bubble for a semester may seem intimidat-

ing, but I’m here to tell you that it’s not as bad as you think and that it’s

okay not to have a plan.

In the course of my Marywood studies, I’ve taken on internships at two dif-

ferent companies. My first was in the fall semester of my senior year at

Northeast Editing, an educational publisher in Pittston. I always said that I

wanted to go into editing and publishing as a career path, so Northeast Edit-

ing looked like a good place to test the waters.

At Northeast Editing, I wrote a lot and contributed to their production for

various clients. It was an enlightening experience because I didn’t do grunt

work for the company; I contributed to real projects and was recognized for

it. Unlike I might have at some bigger-name companies that have interns

running around to grab coffee, at Northeast Editing I had a worthwhile ex-

perience in researching, writing, and learning the ways of an educational

publisher.

Please see Internships, page 3

Touchstones Page 2

Alumni News

Kelsey Healey (‘13)

works as a Marketing

and Communications

Specialist at Munley

Law, Scranton.

Kelsey was recently

profiled in NEPA Busi-

ness Journal as part of

its “20 under 40” list:

http://biz570.com/20-

under-40-kelsey-healey

-1.1978509

Noelle Kozak (‘13),

who works at Pittston

Library, recently start-

ed Fangirls Fan Club

for Teens, a way for

those interested in, say,

Harry Potter or Lord of

the Rings to get togeth-

er.

Justine Carmine Bar-

on (‘09) owns Happy

Hippy Catering, a vege-

tarian food service busi-

ness in Philadelphia.

Happy Hippy’s mission

statement: “fun, fresh,

and fuel.”

Catherine Owens (’13) is pursing English/

Secondary Education

certification at Mary-

wood.

Send us your news: Touchstones@marywood.edu

Scholastic Writing Awards

This was the first year that Marywood University was the Northeast Pennsylvania Affiliate for the Scho-

lastic Writing Awards. Students grades 7-12 from across 13 counties were invited to submit their writing

in several genres, including poetry, journalism, short fiction, and the personal essay. The 98 entries that

were submitted were adjudicated at the local level, and the writers who earned Honorable Mention, the

Silver Key Award, or the Gold Key Award were honored at a campus gathering on January 31.

Coordinated by Dr. Laurie McMillan, the event was combined with the Scholastic Art Awards, and

three of the gold key winners read passages from their work to an audience of 500. All six of the entries

receiving the Gold Key Award will be judged nationally, competing against Gold Key Award winners

from other regions.

We expect the number of submissions to grow as we continue to adjudicate and host the regional awards.

Spread the word to teachers and students in grades 7-12 who enjoy writing! See www.artandwriting.org.

Page 3 Volume 3, Issue 2

Since I had metaphorically signed myself away to editing and publishing, I

wasn’t sure about applying for my second internship, at the Pittston Library. I

decided to apply mainly because I’ve enjoyed libraries since childhood. What

was there to lose? I’m in my second month there, and I will come right out and

say I love it. I love being switched between areas of the library to get the full

experience, and I’m really learning about the ins-and-outs of the public library

system. In the past month I’ve assisted in children’s “Story Time” programs,

designed book displays, and reorganized whole sections of the library as part of

a larger effort to get all of the books on the main floor. Although I sat at my

computer for five hours and wrote at Northeast Editing, at the library I move

around, which gets me interacting with patrons, which leads me to remember

why I loved libraries so much as a child.

I once was married to the idea of editing and publishing, but after my two in-

ternships I’m unsure of a definite career path. This isn’t a bad thing, however.

I’ve discovered a lot about myself by leaving Marywood for ten hours a week

to experience real-world applications of my major. I’m now more outgoing,

more confident in my writing abilities, and less anxious about new experiences,

all because I branched out and seized opportunities. Even though I feel less cer-

tain about my future, I’m not worried about my career. After all, you can never

get too much experience, no matter the field.

So here’s a bit of advice: if you’re thinking about interning, just do it. You’ll

never know what you really want to do until you’ve tried different things. No

matter what, you’ll have an experience to enhance your resume… and your life.

Internships from page one

Student/Faculty Meeting Draws Crowd

On February 17, a double-digit crowd of English majors heard Riley Covaleski ('16), Amanda Thornley

(’16), and Nicole Meshko (’16) discuss their recent internship experiences. Amanda offered details about her

internship at the Scranton Cultural Center. Nicole, who interned with Dr. Erin Sadlack, worked on a digital

Romeo and Juliet project. For the experiences of Riley, see her essay, which begins on page one. Dr. Carol

Gustitus, head of Career Services, offered an overview of the types of internships that are available for English

majors. She encouraged people to explore internship opportunities as soon as possible. Don’t wait, get out

there!

Riley Covaleski, Amanda

Thornley, and Nicole Mesko

Page 4 Touchstones

Save the Date

The spring Book Swap is scheduled for Tuesday, April 12, in the Learning

Commons.

Dr. Agnes Cardoni (via e-mail November 6)

“I am currently on sabbatical, working on an update of the history of my alma

mater, Misericordia University. I was the co-author, with Sister Regina Kelly,

RSM, PhD, of the first history, At the Edge of Centuries: College Misericordia

1924-1999.

“The update will be called Spirit of Place: Misericordia 2000-2014.

“The research strategies are so different this time, but one thing I am doing dif-

ferently is interviewing people for stories about their experience of the PLACE.

I invite students and faculty who don't know the term ‘spirit of place,’ or genius

loci, to Google the term. So much to learn.

“I miss everyone, especially my students.”

Amye Archer recently published the memoir Fat Girl, Skinny (Big Table Pub-

lishing).

Cheryl Kashuba published Scranton, which appeared in the series Images of

Modern America (Arcadia Publishing).

Faculty Doings

Amanda Thornley, Riley Covaleski, and Kathleen

Blasozek at the February 17 English Department stu-

dent/faculty meeting.

Volume 3, Issue 2 Page 5

Bayleaf Holds

Centennial Celebration Reading

As part of the University’s Centennial Celebration, Bayleaf hosted a reading on January 20 in the

Learning Commons.

Riley Covaleski

Amanda Duncklee

Dr. Helen Bittel, Sue Jenkins, Kelsey Van Horn, Amanda Thornley, Riley

Covaleski, and Amanda Duncklee

2300 Adams Avenue

Scranton, PA 18509

Phone: 570-348-6219

E-mail: English@marywood.edu

OUR MISSION

Eng l i sh D epa r tment

Check out the department

website:

http://www.marywood.edu/

english/

Sponsored by the Muses, Touchstones is a limited liability newsletter.

Further support comes from readers like you.

Erin Sadlack

Chair Extraordinaire

English Department

The English Department at Marywood University is a

dynamic learning community dedicated to exploring the

beauty and power of language and literature. We offer

a broad spectrum of courses for literary study, teacher

training, and professional and activist writing. In addition

to a minor in writing, majors in literature, secondary edu-

cation, and writing are available.

ENGL 320: Novella

ENGL 331A: Medicine and Literature

ENGL 334A: Medieval Tolkien

ENGL 330: Children’s Literature

ENGL 356: Rural Literature

ENGL 357A: American Literature I

ENGL 370: Shakespeare

ENGL 400: Linguistics

ENGL 460: Creative Writing

ENGL 470: Business and Technical Writing

ENGL H484: Political Writing and Rhetoric

Fall 2016 Courses Centennial Celebration Quiz

1) Which Marywood president was a mem-

ber of the first graduating class?

2) In what year did Marywood create the

present university seal?

3) In what year was the Liberal Arts Center

dedicated?

4) How many people constituted the original

full-time faculty?

5) How much was tuition and board in 1915?

Answers: 1) Sr. St. Mary Orr; 2) 1949; 3) 1924; 4) ten;

5) $125

Answer to page one question: an orchard