Marisa Kathleen Whitaker, at your service.

Greetings to the professional journalistic world for taking the time to come to Marisa Whitaker’s blogfolio.

Currently, I’m in Cincinnati getting ready to graduate in April. I’ve solidified my journalism education in magazine writing, photojournalism and copy editing. I intern with UC Magazine as a writer, am helping the Yellowbook magazine get off the ground and work off and on with The News Record in the entertainment, college living, and photojournalism. I also contributed to Verge Magazine (thevergemagazine.org) Autumn semester 2012. (And I’m now using a Nikon D7000.)

I’ve come to realize that I want to write for local publications. I want to know about the city I live in and tell the inhabitants of the cool activities and events going on around their area. I loved working in North Carolina with Rapid River Magazine to get to know the area around Asheville, NC, and I hope my experience with UC Magazine will get me more involved and more knowledgeable about campus and the people who make it go. This is what I want to do for the next publication I work for, and every one after that. Local is in. Loving where you live is in. Big dreams to be the next Annie Lebovitz, Mike Taibbi, or Peter Travers still power who I am today, but when I come home knowing a little bit more about the place I call home (big or little), it feels good. It feels good to call attention to a place, person, or event that others might overlook for the rest of their lives. I’m the one who wrote that article or took those pictures, and now the viewer’s world is a bit wider simply because of me.

Check out these examples. Question what’s unclear, criticize shortcomings, push to do better, sprinkle compliments where compliments are due, and never, ever forget a journalistic mind.

“Ballin’ For Abilities” to Benefit SaraSpins – The News Record

Event preview for “Ballin’ For Abilties.” TNR, Published Jan. 17, 2013. Click here.

The University of Cincinnati and the Undergraduate Student Government wants to help certain individuals pay for wheelchairs.

SG will host “Ballin’ For Abilities,” a wheelchair basketball tournament, open to disabled and non-disabled students Sunday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Campus Recreation Center.

Bryan Scheck, director of disability services, and Sara Whitestone, a first-year biomedical sciences student, created the event to raise money for Sara Spins, an organization that provides students with disabilities tools to pursue a higher education.

The organization helps individuals balance college tuition and financing for wheelchairs.

“Also, because this event is located in the Rec, there will most likely be students overhearing us and making their way down to the courts,” Scheck said.

Scheck believes the diversity exposure will be a positive move for UC’s campus and hopes for five to 10 teams to participate.

“Having events that allow students to understand peers more as well as having a learning experience that they can take with them the rest of their lives is an important aspect of this event,” he said.

Whitestone, president of Sara Spins, created the organization with a friend during the summer of 2012.

“Events like Ballin’ For Abilities highlights that we are truly an accessible, equal and inclusive campus,” Whitestone said. “It’ll be great to see my peers take a ‘spin in my wheels’ so to speak.”

Teams of five to seven can register for $50 online at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/WYF3RQJ. All of the proceeds collected will benefit Sara Spins.

Playdate with the Bearcats – UC Magazine

The third annual Playdate with the Bearcats will be held Sunday, Feb. 10, 2013, from 2pm to 5pm in UC’s Campus Recreation Center.

Co-hosted by Mitch’s Mission and the UC football team, this event allows kids and their parents to get to know members of the football team, along with other varsity althetes, the Bearcat mascot and Mitch Stone, a brain cancer survivor and “little brother” to the football team.

It’s been more than three years since Mitch Stone was adopted by the University of Cincinnati’s football team following his brain cancer diagnosis. Now 15 and a freshman in high school, he’s cancer-free, runs track and cross-country, volunteers at Stepping Stones and sits on the Patient Advisory Council at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.
Read feature article about Mitch’s season with the 2009 undefeated Bearcats
Event details
At the event, kids will get to enjoy playing basketball, cornhole, “minute to win it” and carnival-style activities. Families will have access to a food court, silent auction, and full access to the pools, a rock-climbing wall and basketball courts inside the Rec.

Mitch’s Mission, an organization run by his mother, Dee Stone, raises money for children with cancer or blood diseases to go to summer camp at Camp Joy in Clarksville, Ohio.

So far, Mitch’s Mission has raised more than $30,000 to send kids to Camp Joy through individual donations and Playdate with the Bearcats.

Preregister online at mitchsmission.com or buy your tickets at the door. Cost is $15 per individual or $50 for a family of 5. Bring extra money to partake in the raffle or buy raffle tickets in advance through the website.

Marisa Whitaker is a student intern with UC Magazine.

Click here.

Alpha Sigma Phi Commemorate Founding

Alpha Sigma Phi “Black Lantern Processional” for The News Record. Published Dec. 12, 2012. Click here.

Alpha Sigma Phi’s Beta Sigma chapter is commemorating its founding for the first time at the University of Cincinnati since 2010.

The fraternity hosted its Black Lantern Processional Thursday to honor deceased brothers as members dressed in black robes and carried lanterns from Sigma Sigma Commons to McMicken Commons.

The national organization of Alpha Sigma Phi was founded Dec. 6, 1845 at Yale University and in 1937 at UC. The fraternity closed at UC in 1981 due to low membership, but reopened in 2010.

Alpha Sigma Phi President Danny Dressler was excited to have the Black Lantern Processional on UC’s campus. Dressler has been a part of the brotherhood for two years.

“A lot of [the ceremony] hit home for me,” Dressler said. “It is pretty cool as a re-founding father since we were off of the university for a little bit and came back.”

Nearly 100 chapters from across the nation participate in the annual Black Lantern Processional. UC’s chapter hopes to host the event every year.

“It is cool to have a connection with people back in 1937 that started it all up,” Dressler said.

Nathan Fliger, the chapter’s vice president, served as director of rituals during the ceremony. Instead of wearing a black robe, the director of rituals wears white and leads the procession through the campus.

The white robe symbolizes purity and “the light that leads the way,” Fliger said.

Fliger read names of deceased members dating back to the first roster number of UC Alpha Sigma Phi brothers in the ’30s. Those who have been members and have died are said to pass on to the Omega Chapter.

“We do not and will never have an active chapter that has the Omega symbol,” Fliger said. “Omega means ‘the end.’”

The lanterns are carried and burn small candles to commemorate the brothers that have passed on.

“We were a little scared and anxious [about the processional],” Fliger said. “[We hope that] after completion it will inspire a lot of the brothers and take the meaning of our brotherhood and fraternity to another level.”

The Beta Sigma chapter is chartering to become a recognized chapter in April 2013.

Dehi, Cincinnati Haunted House

Review on Dungeons of Delhi for The News Record. Published Oct. 23, 2012. Click here.

Those who appreciate a good scary movie will have a screaming good time living out the experience of one at the Dungeons of Delhi haunted house.

Open for 19 years, nine-year director Mark Mateikat concocts new ways to scare each group of guests that goes through the attraction — for a good cause. All proceeds from the haunted house go to Delhi Township Police Explorers, a group of young adults training to be police officers.

Just because proceeds go to charity doesn’t mean the haunted house isn’t quality — some of the best actors around lurk within the Dungeons of Delhi’s dimly lit passages. Half-faced monsters, blood-spattered body bags hanging from the ceiling and a cylinder tunnel will send chills down anyone’s spine who tries to brave the 15-minute trip through Freddy-Krueger haven.

The dungeons provide plenty of twists and turns, strobe and black lights, bloody monsters and dismembered body parts.

While the strobe lights muddle visitors’ vision, bloodcurdling creatures come up from the floors and push guests into hanging bodies. Be prepared to snake around tight corners, push past monsters and be stalked by a girl with black hair draped in front of her face. Committed actors jump in front, behind and even overhead of its visitors.

These actors bring some of the most famous scary movies to life: Doctors with a fetish for prodding, puppet-masters looking for their next puppets and, of course, a chainsaw man out to terrify his visitors.

The haunted house proved to be a heart-stopping, hair-raising adventure — sure to leave guests in need of a cigarette. Anyone who enjoys suffering minor fear-induced heart attacks during Halloween season will thoroughly enjoy the Dungeons of Delhi, which is open on the weekends until the end of October.

Stars Give Elegant Performance

Stars concert review for The News Record. Published Oct. 9, 2012. Click here.

Surrounded by a spacey disco ball glare and a mass of bodies, an airy male-female duet backed by synth and percussion gave a performance like no other.

The indie-pop band Stars performed at 20th Century Theater Wednesday, taking the audience on an otherworldly ride through their new album, “The North.”

Supported by some old tracks, Stars played a tremendous show filled with life and love, a quality that has come to symbolize the essence of its ensemble.

Fans from Cincinnati weren’t the only ones to show their appreciation for Stars, as some Concertgoers traveled from as far as Chicago to see the band perform.

The songs sounded just like studio recordings, and if Stars did decide to tweak things during the performance, the band did it in a classy fashion.

During “Your Ex-Lover Is Dead,” the audience sang a cappella with the band, and eventually by itself before the percussion boomed back to life. Although no cellos or violins accompanying the song, it still enamored the crowd.

The lighting was quite elegant, too, and the hues contrasted gorgeously with the mood of the songs — during “Dead Hearts” the lights changed to an eerie glow with floating orbs moving around the stage and into the audience.

Stars love to utilize the suspense of sudden silence, followed by a deep breath, and the energy of every instrument coming together again.

Singer-guitarist Amy Millan danced around in heels and absolutely adored the love from the fans. The whole band clearly enjoyed the Cincinnati crowd.

Singer Torquil Campbell even spoke about his childhood acting history, which brought him to Cincinnati when he was 10. Millan described the movie in question, “Golden Seal,” as “‘Free Willy’ with seals” — much to the chagrin of Campbell.

Stars’ last song ended with each performer leaving until only the drummer was left to say goodbye. Then, to everyone’s elation, the band came back for a two-song encore to finish an already excellent show.

UC International Student Population Grows

News on UC international student population for TNR, published Sept. 5, 2012. Click here.

The University of Cincinnati’s international student population is on the rise and in line with statewide numbers.

With a current population of five percent — or approximately 2,600 students — UC has the second largest population of international students in Ohio, said Jonathan Weller, director of UC International Admissions.

“About 60 percent of our international students are from Asia, but we try to enroll a very diverse population,” Weller said. “UC is currently home to students from China, India, Vietnam, Iraq, and we’re exploring Brazil and Turkey.”

There are a multitude of factors making UC an attractive choice for international students, Weller said.

“One of the big draws for undergraduates is the co-op program,” Weller said. “It’s a big opportunity for students that other schools don’t have. When we start talking to students about Cincinnati’s opportunities, medium sized city, low cost of living, family values and diversity – students really like that.”

One of the goals of the UC2019 Strategic Plan is to increase the number of international students to eight percent — the university is currently on track to meet that goal, Weller said.

“This goal is in line with more prestigious universities across the country because those universities already have an international population of eight percent,” Weller said.

The growth in international student enrollment at UC is part of a statewide trend at Ohio institutions of higher learning.

Ohio had the greatest percentage increase of international students in 2010-2011 — the most recent year that such data is available for — with 10.5 percent, according to the Open Doors report published by the Institute of International Education. Ohio is ranked eighth in the United States for enrollment of international students.

“Universities are being proactive about enrollment level and surviving financially,” Weller said. “The next large market is international students.”

Ohio State University has the most international students in Ohio with more than 5,500, according to their Office of International Affairs website.

Kent State University has approximately 2,000, according to its admissions website.

“Ohio has a large number of excellent public and private universities, and families abroad are interested in the lifestyle of the American Midwest where we enjoy academic quality and four beautiful seasons,” said David J. Keitges, director of international education at Miami University (MU).

At MU, five percent of the 20,780 undergraduates and 10 percent of the 2,459 students are international students, Keitges said.

“One of the strongest reasons for recruiting international students is that we feel as a university, we need to prepare our students for the 21st century global economy,” Weller said.

Mountain View Appliance Service

Interview and photo shoot with owner Mark Atkinson of Mountain View Appliance Service for Rapid River Magazine. To be published September 2012.

Mountain View Appliance Service, partnered by Mark Atkinson and Elva Woody and fairly new to the Clyde area, specializes in parts and repair on larger home appliances. Mark Atkinson talks to Rapid River Magazine about his business in fixing up broken machines and lifting spirits at his church next door.

Rapid River Magazine: How did you get started in the appliance business?
Mark Atkinson: I worked for Century Appliance for about eight and a half years and that’s how a lot of people came to know me, so we just decided to go ahead and open up our own business. We opened about the middle of October 2011.

RRM: Tell me about the church next door? I see you’re the pastor.
MA: I used to pastor Camp Branch for about six and a half years, then I went down to another church and helped them for just a few months and everyone said, “Let’s just open up our own.” So we turned the Laundromat next door into a church in three days. I’ve been preaching for a total of twenty-four years. The church is only three weeks old; we’ve got a following of about fifty, thirty-five official members. We just bought a piano and a drum set last week. I play the guitar, the bass, I sing, and I’m taking piano lessons right now. We’re hoping within a year, year and a half, we can buy ourselves a church. Some of the customers started coming to the church once they find out it’s there.

RRM: So when did you start learning how to fix appliances (before Century and MVA)?
MA: I used to own my own automotive shop. I worked on cars, painted them, and restored old cars. I still do that just on the side right now. I was told that if I was good at fixing up cars, I’d be great at appliances so I closed my shop down. Six months later I was out on my own with appliances.

RRM: What do you like best about your job?
MA: I get to meet a whole lot of great people and got to keep some of the old customers I had. I have customers right now who won’t call anyone else. I had a woman who’s dryer was broken and she calls up Century asking for me. She was looking for me and two days later she finds me. Stuff like that says a lot. When people wait to find me, that’s impressive. I have a very loyal customer base, not even a year into it (the business).

RRM: So, when someone needs help, what are the steps?
MA: I do five counties, Haywood, Jackson, Swaine, Buncombe, and Henderson. Sometimes I’ll go out to Transylvania. For the “main” counties, Haywood, Jackson Swaine, and Buncombe, my service rate is $50. Then around Henderson, Transylvania, Jackson area, I go up $15. Labor is $25 for the first hour. If it goes into the second hour and I’m still working rates go up to $30, plus the price of parts on that. Average cost when I fix something it ends up around $75 plus the parts. If I go out and don’t fix, just the service call fee is required.

RRM: Do you deal with used appliances?
MA: Yes, I’ll buy used appliances and fix them up for resale. I’m a bit low right now, but once we had a full house and it was gone in a matter of days. I just take my chances and try to figure out what’s wrong. If I can’t, I’ll just take out the parts and use those when I can. I also sell the parts.

Mark Atkinson, owner of Mountain View Appliance Service and pastor of the non-denominational church right next door, is here to help. Whether it’s a fridge or a heart, Mark’s an all-around guy. He even keeps up a 24-hour emergency line. Call his office at (828)-565-0371, the emergency number at (828)-646-7422, email mntviewappl@hotmail.com, or stop by 93 Jones Cove Road, Clyde, NC 28721. The office opens at 8am Monday – Friday and closes when the work is done.

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Link to official published work here. (p.26, right)

Interview with Elizabeth Lasley

Interview with professional artist Elizabeth Lasley for Rapid River Magazine. To be published September 2012.

In a brick-walled room in Warehouse Studios, Elizabeth Lasley can be found painting her famous landscapes. Paintings hang from the walls of her current works and some of her previous mixed media artistry. Lasley’s work is currently on display at VanDyke Jewelry and Fine Craft in downtown Asheville and she took at moment with Rapid River Magazine to talk about life with her art.

Rapid River Magazine: How did you start painting?
Elizabeth Lasley: I come from a family of artists. My mother painted and took me to all of her exhibits, my brothers are sculptors. I was always really exposed to art at a younger age but I didn’t do a whole lot until later. Going to my mother’s exhibits got me into it. I went to the Fine Art League of the Carolina’s in 2006 for three years to learn traditional art. I’ve been doing my painting for two years now and I’m working professionally.

RRM: How did you develop your style?
EL: I started out with mixed media. If I had to say something about my art, I’d call it somewhat environmental. It led me to just painting sky and, land and, horizon line. I wanted to give the feel of openness and space. I wanted to present an appreciation of that, and call to attention that we’re losing that. It’s all straight acrylic paint. It dries quickly and I paint pretty fast. I scaled down my mixed media into peaceful landscapes.

RRM: Are the landscapes you paint actual depictions of places?
EL: No, I paint from – what you might call – visual memory. It’s a combination of what I’ve seen mixed with what I want to see. I have a couple that show the energy of a tornado, one has rain, and I do a lot of water.

RRM: What awards have you won?
EL: I won awards in 2010. I won “Paperworks,” juried by the Curatorial Department of Painting for the Museum of Modern Art. Then I won first at an exhibition called “Thumbprint.” I won Best in Show at the Elk River Arts Alliance in Minnesota, and First in the Thrivent Traveling Exhibition also in Minnesota. The prize for the Traveling Exhibition was to have my art featured in their traveling show.

RRM: What are you trying to portray to your audience with your paintings?
EL: Openness, space, and peacefulness. There’s no people, no buildings, there’s you and the environment.

RRM: Who would you say has inspired your art?
EL: Probably, George Innes. In the late 1800s, he painted very realistically, but he had softness and feel to his work that I can relate to and that I love. Then overall, I’m inspired by the impressionists. I don’t want to give it all to the viewer but just show a suggestion of the scene.

Elizabeth Lasley’s landscapes are on display at VanDyke Jewelry and Fine Craft. Located at 29 Biltmore Avenue, Asheville NC, 28801. Call them at (828)-281-4044 or stop in from Monday thru Thursday 10am to 6pm, Friday and Saturday 10am to 8pm, or Sunday 1pm to 5pm. Email info@vandykejewelry.com

Link to official publishing here. (p.11)

“Drugs” by J.R. Helton, book review

Book review on “Drugs” by J.R. Helton for Rapid River Magazine. Published September 2012.

The context of J.R. Helton’s newest novel, “Drugs,” is as simple as it’s title. It’s a fiction book about drugs, experiences with drugs, and how one man lives his average life on drugs. Although categorized as a fiction book, “Drugs” reads more like a memoir and has no central plot except that the life depicted in the story is centered on ample drug use. This main character, “Jake,” isn’t some kind of junky or anything. He’s depicted as a man who, on the surface, would just seem like a normal guy trying to get through his work day, get home to his wife, and sit down for a drink. With this “drink” come a couple painkillers, some weed, nitrous oxide, MDMA, cocaine, or mushrooms. Practically every sentence in the entire is filled with mentions of this drug or that drug, thoughts and feelings while under the influence, or the quest to obtaining the desired effect, followed by small asides detailing sex and careers.

“Drugs” doesn’t try to find a deeper meaning in life and it doesn’t try to shock or impress the reader. All J.R. Helton does is describe the ins and outs of being someone in the culture of drugs. Someone who isn’t afraid to alter his conscious despite the crazy or mundane situations that follow. Jake goes from complaining that his doctors won’t help him obtain the “right” painkillers to passing out from too much mushrooms and weed and ruining the evening with his wife. Helton’s book “Drugs” might not hold you at the edge of your seat drooling for the next page, but it is a unique and telling insight into a life of someone who has experiences with substances not many of us would be comfortable trying. He depicts the reactions with intense detail and doesn’t let any sort of “deeper meaning” get in the way of his stories.

Link to official publishing here. (p.13, bottom)

The French Broad Food Co-op

Interview and photo shoot with Kelly Fain, marketing manager at the French Broad Food Co-op, downtown Asheville. To be published September 2012.

Since 1975, the French Broad Food Co-op has been with the Asheville area. From its early beginnings as a buying club between families down by the French Broad River, to its current location on Broadway in downtown Asheville, the co-op is supplied as much as possible by local products and held together by the community. Kelly Fain, the marketing manager, sat down with Rapid River Magazine to tell us more about this unique store.

Rapid River Magazine: What exactly is the French Broad Food Co-op all about?
Kelly Fain: The French Broad Food Co-op is a cooperative, which means we are owned by the community, by people who work here, and shop here. You don’t have to be an owner to shop here, but we welcome people to join and become owners to help support us. Other than that, we’re like any other natural foods grocery store only very, very localized. We’re a member of a larger cooperative that is called the National Cooperative Grocers Association. This allows us to have a greater buying power, so that allows us to keep pricing really competitive. One thing that we focus on is our Triple Bottom Line. We have a fiscal responsibility to keep the co-op going, we strive to stay in business, and being profitable so we can share the profit back with our owners and then we balance this with an extreme concern for the community and environment.

RRM: What sort of programs allows FBFC to maintain these responsibilities?
KF: All of our utensils at the 100% Organic Salad Bar are compostable. We have a cooking-oil recycling program and the Asheville Recyclery is located in the basement under the store. It helps people get their bikes working for better transportation. We are also big proponents of the non-GMO movement. You’ll notice labels on certified non-GMO products. Finally, one of our newer things is a company called Field Day. It’s only available to co-ops, it’s 65% sourced from the United States, 97% certified GMO-free, and very, very affordable. They make just about everything. It appeals to people on fixed incomes or don’t have a lot to spend but want to eat well. Field Day allows consumers to save money and not shell out $3 for a small can of something.

RRM: So, your supplies? How much is local, how would a shopper know what’s what?
KF: We definitely do as much local as we possibly can. If you walk into our produce room, you can see that everything is marked local that is local. We have a big board that tells what just came in, what farm it’s from. We have a lot of local products throughout the store. For things we can’t source locally, we get from the National Cooperative.

RRM: What is FBFC doing different from other co-ops or natural food stores?
KF: There’s a couple ways we’re different, one ultimately being the localization. Another, is we’re the only cooperatively owned grocery downtown. We have the largest bulk herbs collection in the whole southeast. So if you’re cooking and you need one vanilla bean, you can come here and get one vanilla bean. Or you need one teaspoon of activated charcoal to give to your dog, we have that. The farmer’s market is going on it’s 25th or 26th year now, it’s one of the longest running farmer’s market in Asheville. This year the famer’s market features Pisgah View Peace Gardens and the Bountiful Cities Project.

RRM: What does it take to become an owner and what are some of the benefits?
KF: Most people pay $25 per year, and after you’ve paid $250 you’re considered a lifetime owner and you never have to pay more. Being a lifetime owner allows you to vote in elections for our board members, and you get deals on 200 to 300 items that will mark prices down by 20% to 30%. When you are an owner on any level, you get discounts and a patronage rebate. The patronage rebate is a program that cuts owners a check for being a shopper here based on the profits from the products sold the previous year. When you’re an owner, you’re allowed to volunteer in the store and you get a discount for every hour you work If you order a case of something, there’s a discount. We have discount days. Five percent off on the fifth of every month, and every quarter we have a customer appreciation day with 10% off.

RRM: Describe your role at FBFC and how you started down the co-op path.
KF: Currently, I am the Marketing Manager. I do our advertizing, our newsletter, website, facebook page, and twitter. But in this co-op, lots of different people wear lots of different hats, so, I could very easily be working the register one day. I also go to events and talk about what’s going on at FBFC. Part of my job is to go out and educate the community about what exactly a cooperative is and why it’s important to buy local. On Wednesdays, I help manage the farmer’s market in our parking lot. I started out working as an editor for a local newspaper, but I’ve always been a huge supporter of organic foods. I was a small-scale farmer/grower, myself and just really got passionate about the co-op idea.

RRM: What would you say is your favorite thing about this job?
KF: Gosh, you know, I’ve worked for co-ops for the past ten years and what I love is the business model. I really believe in it. It’s a way to have an active economic participation in my community, but in a way that’s not exploitive of anybody at all. Everything is fair trade or direct trade. It allows me to have a job in food – which I love – and I can really feel good about it. Because we are owned by the community, so much of the money we make goes right back into the community. It goes to our employees, the patronage rebate, the owners, and allows us to keep this area economically viable and keep our farmland, farmland. All that is really important.

The French Broad Food Co-op is a lively place full of people who want to help the average, everyday person live healthy and happy. The members are passionate about what they do and come to know each other on a first-name basis. Reach Kelly Fain at her email marketing@frenchbroadfood.coop or call the store at (828)-255-7650. Hours are from 8am to 9pm Monday through Saturday and 11am to 7pm Sundays.