The first breeze of fall signaled the beginning of an awaited event by many pre-law students. 72 hopeful individuals voluntarily woke up early on a Saturday morning and made their way to campus to take the dreaded Mock LSAT.
Each semester, the LEAP Center hosts a Mock LSAT for students interested in applying to law school.
The LSAT, an acronym for Law School Admissions Test, is a challenging exam that tests students reading comprehension, logical thinking, and critical thinking skills. This semester, Princeton Review proctored the exam for the LEAP Center’s record breaking number of attendees. Our hope is to provide the means for students to get a realistic viewpoint on how they can expect to perform during the real LSAT and then plan accordingly.
Additionally, students learned about Princeton’s LSAT Prep Course and the services they offer to help prepare for the rigorous exam. Although taking a test on a breezy Saturday morning may not be the most fun, it proved to be helpful for many students! Many thanks to Ms. Michelle Bell, for being a wonderful proctor!
In the cinematic world, many have heard of famous silent film comedians such as Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. A less-well known comedian–but equally great–is Harold Lloyd. The LEAP Ambassadors got their first exposure to this comedian’s works before hitting the road to Austin’s Texas Tribune Festival.
We had this wonderful opportunity thanks to Professor Grant Weidenfeld, who teaches in the Mass Communications department and also shows classic films in the Old Town Theater a couple of times a semester.
We started the evening by joining Professor Weidenfeld in welcoming guests…
…and directing them to their seats. Once everyone was seated, we sat in anticipation while Professor Yawn offered an introduction to the film. Soon after, the projector started rolling, the screen glimmered with black and white, and an hour of continuous laughter roared through the theatre.
The scenes of great comedic accomplishment were appreciated by all guests. Whether it was his double-punch gags (a gag, followed quickly by an extension of that gag), or the amazing stunts, Lloyd showed comedic brilliance.
Some of the stunts were truly dangerous. Without the strict safety codes in today’s film making, the actors were doing things that put themselves in great jeopardy. And, of course, no CGI was available at that time. In other words, when you see Harold Lloyd hanging from a clock, that’s really Harold Lloyd hanging from a clock.
After the last scene ended, we all had a chance to share our thoughts on the great comedy.
For some of the guests, this was their first time viewing a silent film. And even though we could have stayed in the theatre all night long talking about films, we decide to sadly take our leave and hit the road to Austin.
On a glorious Saturday morning, the LEAP Ambassadors gladly spent their day at the John Henry Rather Park in Huntsville, helping to beautify their community. It all began with the Main Street Director, Ms. Debbie Charbonneau who, as part of the Main Street program, helps restore and promote downtown Huntsville.
Main Street hosts numerous events throughout the year, such as Fair on the Square, Scare on the Square, Downtown Farmers Market and more, all to attract tourists to historic downtown.
With all hands on deck, the LEAP Ambassadors assisted in the maintenance needed to be done to preserve and improve these areas. With a few materials–buckets, rags, spray paint, and eight Ambassadors–the park’s dusty and worn planters were given a new life.
Undoubtedly, the team work and the lovely temperature in the low 80 degrees expedited the process;
while some Ambassadors wiped clean the dusty and flaky surfaces, others tackled the painting process.
Not to mention that with the help and support of both Ms. Debbie Charbonneau and Mrs. Linda McKenzie, our team were able to help the planters turn over a new leaf.
Although the project was small, it certainly created a big impact and the downtown streets never looked better with their new additions.
After our work was completed, we stopped by the local restaurant, Farm House Sweets & Eats. There, we chit-chatted and enjoyed our delicious handcrafted meals and, of course, ordered some mouthwatering fried pie for dessert!
Although SHSU is closed until September 5, the LEAP Ambassadors are hard at work, preparing for what is perhaps their busiest semester. With some forty events planned, and others sure to develop, the Ambassadors worked on organizing offices, marketing events, and planning activities–while also taking time to pose for a photograph or two.
A list of fall highlights is included below.
September 6: Ice-Cream Mixer (4-6pm, Come & Go, Holcombe Room) September 6: Pre-Law Meeting (6:00-7:30pm) September 9: Downtown Cleanup (9:30am-1:30pm—Main Street) September 16: HEARTS Garage Sale September 18: Mock City Council (6:00pm, City Hall) Sept 21-24: Texas Tribune Festival September 30: Mock LSAT (9am-1:30pm, CHSS) October 2: LEAP Hosts Author James Reston on Campus (9:30am) October 2: LEAP Hosts Author James Reston at Brazos Bookstore (7:00pm) October 3: First heART of Huntsville (6:00-9:00pm) October 4: LEAP Ambassadors Present to SHSU Retired Faculty and Staff October 7: LEAP Ambassadors Volunteer at Fair on the Square October 9: LEAP Ambassadors Host Authors Frankel and Rollyson @SHSU October 10: heART of Huntsville, Week 2 October 11: LEAP Film Screening: High Noon—introduced by Frankel & Rollyson October 14: LEAP Ambassadors Present to Colonial Dames October 17: heART of Huntsville, Week 3 October 19-21: LEAP’s Moot Court Team competes at TAMU October 20-25: LEAP Ambassadors in Washington DC for Statue Unveiling October 28: Scare on the Square November 2-5: LEAP Ambassadors at Caddo Lake with Mark Burns November 9: LEAP Ambassadors volunteer at Art Department’s Gala November 11: LEAP Ambassadors volunteer at HEARTS Veterans Gala November 28: LEAP Ambassadors participate in Tree-Lighting December 2: LEAP Ambassadors volunteer at Christmas Fair
When the Wynne Home Arts Center and the LEAP Ambassadors join forces, good things happen. And Saturday was no exception, as the two collaborated on a “Huntsville Luau,” a Hawaiian-themed event on the grounds of the historic home.
Norma Vazquez and her daughter, Mia, at the Wynne Home Luau
The event had plentiful opportunities for children to have fun. Children had the opportunity do a ring toss on a shark nose…
…or to play limbo…
…to do “seahorse races.”
HEBuddy, the mascot for one of the generous sponsors of the event, even got in on the action.
The hula hoop contest was also popular, with one very clear expert among the bunch…
One of the major hightlights, though, was Ballet Folklorico de Huntsville, starring Mia, Sarah, Gloria, Diana, Iveth, Itzel.
Eros, a local resident from Samoa, also performed solo dances, turning in excellent performances.
It was a fun day.
And for the LEAP Ambassadors, it became more fun, when they had a chance to partake in the many activities. Brian, who earlier in the day, contented himself with beating little kids at games…
…had the satisfaction of beating Professor Yawn.
The Ambassadors also had the chance to compete at Limbo…
…a contest that Staci Antu won, the last girl standing.
Kaitlin, however, was the best at LEAP hula hooping…
This was definitely not Brian’s forte, as this photo from approximately two seconds into the contest depicts…
He did redeem himself by winning his third horse race of the day…
As we noted, it was a fun day, commemorated by an end-of-day selfie.
This past Saturday, the LEAP Ambassadors were called on to do some very special volunteer at the Wynne Home.
Recently, the Wynne Home found boxes of special material. These special items required proper preservation and cataloging. Most of these artifacts belonged to the Wynne family, and the combination of volunteerism and education made us happy to help.
We began our beautiful Saturday morning with coffee and pastries, courtesy of Dr. Ralph Pease. This breakfast was accompanied by pleasant conversations before getting started with a tour of the Wynne Home, one led by Victoria Mcclendon-Leggett. Victoria is a former intern and frequent volunteer for the Wynne Home. She proved her knowledge with interesting facts about special items around the home, as well as fascinating background on the Wynne family that proved helpful during our archiving.
Next, we moved to the fun work. Brian, as the current Wynne Home intern, explained our duties at each different station.
Each station had specific tasks: (1) cataloguing letters dating back to the 1800s; (2) sleeving nitrate film that was potentially explosive;
(3) and protecting newspaper articles, many of them featuring the work of Samuella Palmer; and
(4) foamboarding labels for the home’s many artifacts.
While volunteerism is part of the LEAP Center mission, education is, too. And the day was nothing if not educational. We learned about the history of Huntsville, but we learned it through a unique perspective: the view from two leading families in the community. John Thomason III married Ruth Wynne, and their letters to their family (and to each other) offered a unique take on community happenings.
The learning also involved the news of the day on a more global level. When the Thomasons went to India, for example, Mr. Thomason interviewed Ghandi. Knowing that, we searched the photos we were cataloging for photos of the meeting. Despite a fruitless search for that, we did find much else of interest in the photos.
Finally, we are group that visits many museums and historic homes, but we typically see the artifacts on display–not behind the scenes. Today’s volunteerism allowed us to see the work that goes into such venues, while also learning of the special care that artifacts need to be preserved.
And, of course, it was an opportunity for our group to come together in the summer–when our get togethers are more rare–and to visit with the Peases, who joined us for lunch. It was a day of good company and education, with much accomplished!
By Brian Aldaco (Photographs by LEAP Center students unless otherwise noted)
Acclaimed photographer, Mark Burns, unveiled his National Parks Photography Project in 2016, displaying his black-and-white photographs at the Bush Presidential Library. After accomplishing this feat, Burns became the only photographer to capture all 59 national parks in black-and-white.
Photograph by Craig Robbins
Akin to Ansel Adams, Burns is drawn to the wilderness throughout his quest to capture the perfect image. After having portrayed the magnificence of sites across the United States, this Houston-based photographer was called back home to the beauty of his own state. Mark Burns has now begun his newest project: to photograph Caddo Lake in Uncertain, Texas.
Given its proximity to SHSU and the relationship that the LEAP Center has forged with Burns, the LEAP Ambassadors decided to initiate a documentary on Burns and his work. Commissioning two MCOM students–including Sierra Dolch, who accompanied us on this trip–the Ambassadors, Dolch, and Burns set out for Caddo Lake.
This trip was primarily a scouting trip, a chance to find the most photogenic spots on the lake. Later, we’ll return in the fall to exploit the season’s vivid colors and exploit our knowledge of the lake.
The excursion began on Friday, July 14, with thunderstorms hovering over us and lighting cracking through the heavy showers. But as we arrived in the small town of Uncertain, TX (population 94), the skies cleared just enough to avoid rain, while still providing us with a nice photographic backdrop.
Among the Spanish moss-covered cypress trees, we discovered Blue Herons…
salvinia, drifting water lilies, turtles, and egrets.
Everyone was captivated by the lake’s fauna and flora as we glided over the serene water. The looming trees contrasting against the glistening water made for an endless vista that had us all amazed.
Yet, Mark’s ever-searching gaze never wavered. While we floated down the river, there were moments when he asked our boat’s captain, Wes Holland, to stop his vessel. Focused on the scene that had captured his attention, he set his camera, reflected, and shot.
Whether it was the creeping rays of a setting sun, the shine off the water lilies, or the glow of a sky at golden-hour, Mr. Burns knew what would look best through the lens of his cameras.
All the while, Sierra Dolch did her best to capture the environment in which Mark was observing and working…
Eventually, the sun’s last rays were nothing but vanishing purple and red streaks across the darkening sky…
…which made for a pretty soon, but soon led to decreased visibility, and we turned back for the shore.
The boat tour was made all the more pleasurable with the guidance of Captain Wes Holland…
…who kept us on time, on track, filled in some interesting facts about the lake, and even let Brian steer!
But our learning experiences were not over! In the hotel, we were joined by a second crew of LEAP Ambassadors who got a late start because of work. When they arrived at the hotel, we gathered in a hotel room to learn about using film from a 4X5 camera, which Burns will use on this trip (and other trips).
With Sierra providing instruction to Brian, the camera was set, and we were ready for our group tutorial. The film has to be kept in a cool environment, so Burns transports it in a cooler. He then has to ready the film for use, which has to be done without exposing it…
…which is accomplished with a film-changing tent. This device allows the photographer to position the film in sleeves without exposing it.
It can be a cumbersome process, with the photographer using braille type markings to know how to position the film. But Burns was able to prepare about ten frames of film and tutor us in about 15 minutes. It was an interesting coda to an interesting day.
With that lesson fresh in our mind–along with the prospect of a four am wake-up call–we headed off to our rooms, armed with the prospect of another smile-inducing day ahead of us.
There is no better way to spend summer time together than to partake in the City of Huntsville’s July 4th celebration, which they held at Kate Barr Ross Park. In supporting the City, we were also supporting the Parks and Recreation Department, and Lizette Lopez, the department’s summer intern–and our friend.
This year, the City of Huntsville had much to offer as vendors dotted the park landscape. There, we enjoyed the rich smells of fried funnel cakes and the sights of multi-colored shaved ice wetting the parched palates of kids and adults alike. There were also bouncy houses, leather engravings, a rock wall, and–we have mixed feelings about this–karaoke. Everyone wanted to partake in the festivities, including us.
The first activity we decided to watch the watermelon-eating contest. And while slightly disgusting, it also looked like much fun!
Certainly the participants appeared to be enjoying themselves!
And that prompted us to partake. The stakes were high, as was the temperature, as we sat down to compete with other Huntsvillians. The rules were simple: the person who ate the watermelon slice the fastest without using their hands would take home the grand prize. One of the most interesting parts of being a Leap Ambassador is discovering new, hidden talents.
As the contest progressed, we soon discovered that Brian Aldaco’s talent just so happened to be gorging himself on watermelon, alongside a young girl and 14-year old Josiah, who was in Huntsville on vacation from Iowa!
But even in this stiff competition, Brian was able to pull out victory, which he enjoyed wit characteristic modesty….
The female LEAP Ambassadors seemed almost embarrassed at their indulgence…
…
…but this was not true of Brian.
Everyone is good at something! His grand prize included a beach towel (which he sorely needed), a frisbee, and other items that would help him get in shape for the next time he participates in a watermelon-eating contest. Many thanks to Penny Joiner for being the MC and for the prizes!
As we were waiting for the sun to go down and the fireworks to start, we received photography lessons from Professor Yawn. These lessons laid out the basics of photography. We will need this in order to learn more during our Caddo Lake Trip with renowned photographer, Mark Burns. (Stay tuned for a Caddo Lake Blog soon!)
Our first lesson consisted of how to look like a photographer, to carry one’s equipment, and so on.
Our second lesson was how to adjust the aperture and shutter speed in order to control lighting in variously lit areas.
Third, we learned about the composition of an image, which could essentially be called the photographer’s eye. FOurth, we talked about many different ways to capture a photo with the help of instruments such as a tripod or different lenses. There were three different cameras that we used. The lessons applied to all of them, but since every camera worked differently, we had to figure out how to apply what we learned on every one. We worked hard to make sure we took some good shots, but took some time off to take a few old-fashioned selfies for our Instagram page.
…as well as a posed shot…
To further demonstrate our “talents,” we spent some time drawing…
Before we headed down to the soccer fields for the fireworks, courageous Beatriz Martinez decided to go rock climbing. She got into her harness and didn’t hesitate to start.
She did a great job navigating the rocks…
She had a big smile on her face when she reached the top and rang the bell.
The descent was a little harder though, and she ended up doing a couple of crazy maneuvers to get down.
With the pre-fireworks festivities settling down, even intern Lizette had a chance to rock-wall climb, and she showed off her agility and strength in scaling the wall. She’s a real “rock star”!
We were eager to try out what we learned and set up for a photo shoot. What we learned is that it’s difficult to photograph fireworks! The biggest difficulty is that they occur in low-light situations. Irrespective of our struggles with photography, the show itself was phenomenal. Some were bright enough to light up the entire field, while others twinkled against the dark sky like stars.
The Leap Ambassadors were happy to enjoy 4th of July with the Huntsville community and add another memory to their summer.
Center for Law, Engagement, and Politics 