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LEAP Center Students in Austin: Day Two

Upon arrival this morning, boot campers were greeted with warm breakfast tacos, fruit, homemade granola, yogurt, and coffee to start the second day of NPF’s Campaign Bootcamp. It was a great start to a fourteen-hour day, filled with learning about all manner of campaign topics.

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Chris Perkins & Polling
The first presentation of the day was centered on polling and how to use it to your advantage within a campaign. The speaker, Chris Perkins, partner at Wilson Perkins Allen Opinion Research and an expert on quantitative and qualitative analysis, presented helpful guidelines to think about when managing a real campaign.

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One of his main points throughout the presentation was the importance of targeting: “targeting the right persuadable voters is key to victory, especially if you cannot afford to reach out to everyone.” His close created a seamless intro for the next session, how to craft a campaign message.

Rindy Miller Media, Crafting a Message

That presentation, crafting a campaign message for earned and paid media, was led by veteran media consultant Cynthia Miller, with her spouse Dean Rindy, also a media consultant.

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They gave us strategies for effective message delivery and great ways to build a campaign message. We learned the four key rules:

  • visualize the message,
  • tell the story,
  • use emotion,
  • and keep it short.

We were also reminded “it’s not what you say, but who you are.” A great way to promote a successful message is by frequency and repetition because it takes the human brain five or more repetitions before it recognizes an important message. After ten repetitions, the human brain has absorbed the message, which is especially applicable for voter contact via mail. All these great tips and strategies will be very useful when strategizing for our campaign presentations tomorrow afternoon.

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Vincent Harris & Social Media

We were then introduced to “The Man Who Invented the Republican Internet,” Vincent Harris. His presentation was filled to the brim with energy and strong delivery.

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Harris, CEO of Harris Media, discussed the power of the digital media and the leverage this medium can bring to a party. Facebook, a large part of the digital media, plays a vital role, as do other smaller social media outlets. Currently working on Rand Paul’s bid for President, Harris believes digital media will be one of the deciding factors of the election. The direction and the ever-changing political climate have indicated that the Internet along with digital media will become king in political campaigns. The capabilities with rapid response will make it especially crucial in the end game parts of elections. Sticking to one or two messages makes getting the word out simple and effective, and it worked for us–as we remained engaged in the midst of a long Saturday.

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Of course, crafting the message is part of the battle—implementing that message is another part.

“The great thing about the NPF, is that you learn so much, from so many people, in such a short time.”–Constance Gabel, LEAP Center VP

Matthew Brownfield, Colleen Loper, and Voter Targeting

After the break we were introduced to Mathew Brownfield, partner at Murphy Nasica & Associates, and Colleen Loper, campaign director at Annie’s List.

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This session focused on teaching us the essentials of targeting, voter contact and voter files, and how to get the most from knocking on doors. Essential information resources for the campaign manager, according to Brownfield and Loper, include the district’s electoral history district census data, and on-the-ground reports. Each mentor then went into specific tools that their party utilizes to narrow their voter targets as quickly and accurately as possible. Loper spoke about the main Democratic tools, which include the Voter Association Network (VAN), DCCC, DND, TDP, Blue Labs and the Analyst’s Institute for research. Brownfield admitted that the Republicans are lacking in this field by only having the GOP data center, but he still gave general research methods such as the state party databases, county party databases and voter files.

The two presenters then explained how important door-to-door campaigning is and how it is much more effective when trying to get out the vote (GOTV), but can be much more time consuming than phone calls. We learned that “knocking on doors” drives turnout and can be an effective method when trying to target moderate voters. Knocking on doors also insulates the campaigns from any change in opinion that the targeted voter might have had. Brownfield also mentioned that block walks during door-to-door campaigning can provide intelligence on the electoral situation of the opposing campaign. The two presenters agreed that the most appealing aspect of door-to-door campaigning is all of the positive media attention that can be earned. We learned that a good strategy when knocking on doors for a campaign is to have the candidate himself or herself knocking on doors as well. The presenters ended by mentioning that the candidate should always show that they are willing to put in work even in the smallest aspects of the campaign and that they can change a targeted voter’s mind easily, especially face-to-face.

Maegan Stephens and Communication

Finishing up the day of informative sessions, the energetic communication specialist, Maegan Stephens, focused on political pitches and presentations.

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She began by engaging the students in a quick icebreaker, allowing them to move around and tune in.

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Throughout this session, Ms. Stephens covered the content, delivery, slide deck, and questions and answers section of a successful presentation as well as the tools to create a political pitch. More specifically, she discussed the three parts of the content: the introduction, strategy, and the conclusion. She also emphasized the importance of delivering a presentation, being conscious of the presenter’s non-verbal and vocal communication. With her help we gained knowledge and confidence beneficial to our upcoming presentations.

Luke Marchant, Matt Glazer, Drew Gallaway, Coda

Luke Merchant and Matt Glazer, boot camp mentors, wrapped up the day with last-minute details and Q&A regarding the project and presentation…

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…followed by a brief overview of tomorrow’s agenda by Drew Galloway who, prior to working for the Annette Strauss Institute, worked for the White House.

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While  listening and learning occupied students through most of the day, the evening hours were spent creating mock campaigns…

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…from real data and hypothetical candidates from House District 117 in San Antonio.

Mitchell Sanchez and Luke Marchant
Mitchell Sanchez and Luke Marchant

We once again practiced the “working dinner” concept and vigorously tried to get as much as possible done in our teams, with the help of our mentors, Mr. Merchant, Mr. Glazer, Ms. Holden, and Ms. Moore.

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Balancing different topics such as budgeting and polling, LEAP Center students tried to recall as much as possible from the previous sessions to create campaigns that would make the mentors proud.

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Finally, with work still left to do, we left the campus for the hotel around 10:00pm, for an evening of blogging, research, and presentation practice. Hopefully, some sleep will follow this evening while we look forward to a packed day of presentations tomorrow.

Unknown's avatarAuthor mikeyawnPosted on May 31, 2015May 31, 2015Categories Civic Engagement, Law, Politics, TravelTags Annette Strauss Institute, Drew Galloway, LEAP Center, Luke Marchant, Matt Glazer, New Politics Forum, NPF, SHSULeave a comment on LEAP Center Students in Austin: Day Two

LEAP Center Students in Austin: Day One

The LEAP Center Student Advisory Board (and some fellows SHSU students) embarked to Austin this week to attend the New Politics Forum’s “Campaign Bootcamp.”  But in the true multi-disciplinary spirit of the organization, we had a few other things to tackle first…

Salado Creek

To begin of our first full day in Austin, LEAP students headed to Salado, TX to explore a tiny, tourist town full of southern hospitality. Upon our arrival, we visited Salado Creek with hopes to see Tabletop Rock, where wagons crossed the creek bed during the nineteenth century. The group took the opportunity to take selfies with the overflowing creek.

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Salado College

In the nineteenth century, Salado was also home to Salado College, which had 300 students at peak registration. Unfortunately, in 1901 the college burned down leaving ruins which have since been converted into a public park. The ruins made for an exciting photo opportunity!

Following our visit to the Salado College ruins, LEAP students eagerly enjoyed browsing about in local shops. We encountered many different types of art, jewelry, and homemade goods. Helping to boost our energy, the group stopped at Salado Mercantile, a gift shop, which offered a variety of unique bottled sodas and their specially seasoned crackers.

The Legend of Sirena

Regaining a bit of jump in our step, the LEAP Center students headed to the statue of Sirena, by Troy Kelley. According to mythology, Sirena, an Indian woman, wished to marry a brave man who did not feel the same passion for her. Drawn by her pain of unrequited love, a magic wielding catfish found her and promised her marriage with the warrior if she swam as a mermaid with him each full moon for a year. She married her brave man, knowing that no human could see her in her mermaid state, lest she be mermaid forever. The last full moon of her penance, Sirena’s husband saw her swimming in the river, sealing her mermaid fate. She now lives as a bronze sculpture, forever in anguish on the bank of Salado Creek.

Sirena_LEAP_Center_Students

To suppress our mid-morning sweet tooth, we made our way to a special treat that included sampling a delicious assortment of fudge at Salado’s Mud Pies Pottery. In the end, the group favorites were the crème brûlée, red velvet, and salted caramel fudge. Inside, we also eyed with want the wonderful ceramics masterpieces by local artist, Titia Arledge.

Salado’s Sculpture Garden

One of the unique parts of Salado proved to be the Salado Sculpture Walk. Consisting of a single pathway and a small creek, the sculpture walk was an unexpected surprise. Students enjoyed observing the unique pieces of art such as Troy Kelley’s “Handicapped Mask” and another by La Paso named Starburst for its kinetic motion.

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Bringing the adventure of Salado to an end, LEAP students had the opportunity to watch one of Salado’s glass blowing artists, Aaron Gist, in action as he created hand blown pieces for a Chihully-like chandelier masterpiece. Watching in amazement, LEAP students observed the art of making glasswork in one of the many local shops that exhibits the importance of art to Salado’s community.

Georgetown’s Monument Cafe

On the way back to Austin, LEAP students made a speedy stop for lunch at the Monument Café in Georgetown.

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The Cafe specializes in breakfasts (served all day) and lunches.  We opted for the lunch fare, with our group enjoying home cooked biscuits, club sandwiches, burgers, and delightful fried blueberry pies with frozen custard.  The food was good, the service was friendly and quick, and we left satisfied and in a hurry to get to the  New Politics Forum Campaign Bootcamp.

New Politics Forum

Our Salado adventures were so intriguing that we arrived late to the University of Texas campus and managed to walk straight into the beginning presentation. Luke Marchant, the director at Mammoth Marketing Group, who has successfully managed state and federal political campaigns for people such as U.S Senator Marco Rubio, was our first Republican mentor along with Democrat Matt Glazer. Matt Glazer is currently the executive director of the Austin Young Chamber of Commerce and is also a seasoned NPF democratic mentor. The two mentors opened up by discussing the types of campaigns and highlighted the different areas of them. We learned that using previous polling data would help us decide to simply mobilize the voters or persuade new voters. Marchant and Glazer also spoke to us about the elements of a campaign and some of those elements include knowing the reason why are you running, the issues that matter, the goal and the message that you want your campaign to portray. Asking yourself why you are running is one of the most important questions of campaigning.

After a short break, we were introduced to Rob Johnson and J.D. Gins. Rob Johnson is the former campaign manager for Rick Perry for President and J.D. Gins is the executive director of Travis County Democratic Party. Like the first two speakers, Gins and Johnson are men of opposing parties to fulfill the nonpartisanship ideals of the program. Both speakers agreed that running a campaign involves “blocking and tackling”, meaning that following the steps to create a successful campaign is key. Rob Johnson pointed out that the Digital Director is one of the most important persons in a campaign and that adapting to society is crucial to produce a win.

Johnson and Gins at NPF
Johnson and Gins at NPF

When Gins and Johnson are determining if they want to run the campaign of a candidate, they ask a few important questions, including whether they have enough money, whether there’s an open position, and most importantly whether a candidate WANTS to run and put in the effort that it takes to win. As Gins said, “When you walk in, do the work in front of you” meaning that not even the candidate is above the smallest job that needs to be done.  Before closing their presentation and going to a break, the two men let the students know that they look for people who take direction well, work hard, are willing to challenge the senior staff, while being humble enough to ask for help.

When we returned from our break, Pasha Moore spoke to us about fundraising. She informed us of the reasons individuals give to campaigns and the components of a finance plan. There are many reasons that people give, such as friendships, habit, to change or affect policy, but Moore let us know that the main reason that people give to campaigns is simply because they are asked. She also emphasized “the ask”. There are different ways of asking and you should always be confident and straight forward when asking people to donate money. Finally, she closed by reminding us to always thank the donors.

Seeing as the afternoon was turning into evening, we finished the last session to emulate a real campaign scenario with a “working dinner” of pizza and salad, while being able to meet and interact with our teams for the first time.

Mitchell_Group

The weekend of campaign bootcamp consists of long days of training, finishing with presentations from each team on Sunday. Ironically enough, most of the LEAP Center students, Republicans at heart, were placed on Democratic teams. This might stem some interesting debate among peers.

Our first task as a team was to pick a name. This proved to be a great way to interact with our team for the first time and share ideas. After so much brainstorming we finally came up with our team names and began planning for our presentations. We shared our ideas on different political views, which should prove helpful in order to strategize for our campaign plans.

After our “working dinner” it was time to get back to our next presentation on volunteering. Executive director of the Dallas County Democratic Party, Taylor Holden, presented how volunteers are the building blocks to a campaign. We learned about recruiting, training, and rewarding volunteers. Volunteers will authenticate and build momentum for a political campaign. We learned the cardinal sins and commandments of volunteering such as never lie or skip training and building relationships with volunteers. Seen by most as the most important building block of a campaign, we sat with bated breath while taking in all of the complexities that volunteering entails.

Exhausted, we ended our first day of campaign bootcamp and headed back to the hotel. On our way back to the hotel we made a quick stop at the Capitol building for a goodnight selfie.

Capitol_Groupie

Excited about our day tomorrow full of training, we headed to bed ready to learn and soak up all that boot camp has to offer.

 

Unknown's avatarAuthor mikeyawnPosted on May 30, 2015May 30, 2015Categories Art, Civic Engagement, Politics, TravelTags LEAP Center, Luke Marchant, Matt Glazer, NPF, Rob Johnson, Salado, SHSU, Texas CapitolLeave a comment on LEAP Center Students in Austin: Day One

LEAP Center Preps for Campaign Bootcamp!

Six LEAP Center students started preparation for the New Politics Forum Bootcamp in the last twenty-four hours.  Preparation included the drive to Austin, a fine meal at Shiraz Shish Kabob, and a morning of site-seeing around the Austin Area.

The meal at Shiraz Shish Kabob was entertaining, primarily because half of the students had actually never eaten Mediterranean food!  After some Hummus, Tzatziki, Chicken Kabob, Lamb Kabob, Gyros, and Baklava, at least two of those three will probably go back for more.

After plans to kayak on Lady Bird Lake fell through because of the potential for bad weather and unsafe lake conditions, we decided to head north to Salado, a small tourist community that offered a morning full of fun!  This included Salado Mercantile, Salado Glassworks, the Salado Sculpture Walk, the Salado’s Mud Pies Pottery and, of course, Salado Creek–which was quite full.

Salado_Creek_Groupie_Web

More to come following our first day at the Bootcamp!

Unknown's avatarAuthor mikeyawnPosted on May 29, 2015May 29, 2015Categories Art, Civic Engagement, Jobs, Politics, TravelTags LEAP Center, New Politics Forum, NPF, Salado, Salda Glassworks, Shiraz Shish Kabob, SHSULeave a comment on LEAP Center Preps for Campaign Bootcamp!

An Evening with Michael Morton

During the 82nd Texas legislative session, Senate Bill 1611, also known as the Michael Morton Act, passed with a unanimous vote in both the Texas House and Senate. The SB 1611 requires the state prosecution to offer defense attorneys any evidence that is relevant to their case. In 1987, Michael Morton was wrongly convicted of murdering his wife.  It took 25 years, but Morton was exonerated in 2011 after DNA evidence proved his innocence. With the help of the Political Science Department, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Department and the College of Criminal Justice, and the Student Legal & Mediation Services, The LEAP Center brought Michael Morton to SHSU to talk about his experience of wrongful conviction and his life imprisonment for nearly 25 years.

Books

LEAP Center students were privileged to meet with Morton’s prior to his general speech.

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It was a great chance to ask questions and get some insight into his nightmare.  In this small group discussion, Morton stressed the importance of his faith and how everyone experiences difficult trials throughout their life. One of Morton’s main points conveyed to students that we are stronger than we think we are and that we will come out of the hard times. Looking back, we will realize we needed trial to shape who we are supposed become.

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Morton’s humility and gratitude for (almost) everyone who has been a part of his journey is inspiring. Students were thankful for the opportunity to converse with Michael Morton on a variety of topics relevant to both Michael Morton’s experiences and students’ lives. Ending the student small group session, Morton signed copies of his book, Getting Life, for those in attendance.

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More than 300 students and community members then attended Morton’s presentation, making this the largest event LEAP has hosted thus far this year.

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Especially interesting to Huntsville residents, Morton spent more than 11 years at the Wynne Unit where he received his bachelor’s degree in psychology from Sam Houston. Indeed, Morton was taught by Jerry Bruce, whom he had a chance to visit with prior to his presentation.

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Morton also got to meet Walter Bennett, Jr., whose father did more than anyone else in the past 35 years to ensure inmates had access to University education.  Dr. Bennett also taught Morton in the 1990s.

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Later, Morton transferred to the Ramsey Unit in Houston where he earned his master’s degree in English from the University of Houston.

Morton’s story of tragedy is unimaginable and heartbreaking. Morton was imprisoned for nearly 25 years before DNA testing provided by the Innocence Project proved his innocence. One of the most surprising parts of Morton’s story is his forgiveness towards the prosecution who withheld evidence that would have originally proved Morton’s innocence. Overall, Michael Morton’s story is incredible, heart breaking, unimaginable, and inspiring.

 

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Following the presentation, Morton signed books.  Approximately 65 people bought books, making this the largest book sale Barnes and Noble has had in four years.

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After the lengthy book signing, the LEAP Center had a reception in the Holcombe Room, where lawyers and LEAP Center Advisory students, and others congregated and snacked…

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…and discussed law…

Reception_Group_3_Web…the world…

Reception_Group_Weband, of course, took more photographs!

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The LEAP Center is thankful to the College of Criminal Justice, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, the Political Science Department, the Student Legal & Mediation Services, and most importantly Michael Morton for sharing his story with the community.  We are saddened that such a tragedy occurred, thankful for the opportunity to learn from Mr. Morton, and hopeful that because of Michael Morton’s hard work and SB 1611 the unthinkable will never happen to another in Texas.

The LEAP Center would also like to thank Paul Olle and Ashley Norwood for the great photographs they took!

To learn more about Michael Morton’s story, “An Unreal Dream: The Michael Morton Story” is available on Netflix and his book Getting Life is available through Barnes and Noble Bookstore.

Unknown's avatarAuthor mikeyawnPosted on May 7, 2015Categories Civic Engagement, Civil Rights, Law, Literature, VolunteerTags Getting Life, Ken Anderson, LEAP Center, Michael Morton, SHSULeave a comment on An Evening with Michael Morton

LEAP Center Students Present to Walker County Republican Women

The LEAP Center has had many opportunities to travel, volunteer in the community, and attend events showcasing world leaders from across the globe. This past week, though, the advisory board had the chance to share the LEAP Center’s mission and accomplishments with the Walker County Republican Women at their monthly meeting. Although the LEAP Center is non-partisan, we were so fortunate to be invited by the WCRW President (Madilene Loosier) and Vice President (Terry Stivers) to present the goings on of our organization, and we look forward to the opportunity to make similar presentations around the community.

Attending the meeting and presenting were two completely different accomplishments for the LEAP advisory board. In order to be prepared, we started working about a month and a half out. It proved a great researching opportunity as we had the chance to look back and learn about the Junior Fellows and the legacy we strive to continue. Old blogs, pictures, and even scrapbooks gave us plenty of information to create a well-thought out and organized presentation. Once we had the research finalized, we moved on to practicing our speaking skills. We met multiple times to work on delivery and succinctly relaying our message as a Center focused on cultural programs, travels, internships, and volunteer work.

After much research and practice, the day of the meeting arrived and along with it, a few nerves. Although we were a bit anxious about speaking to a large group, the Walker County Republican Women welcomed us with such hospitality that those nerves were quickly quieted. President Loosier and Vice-President Terry Stivers made sure we were taken care of and introduced us to the women, making us feel comfortable.

Stivers_Girls

We had the chance to mingle with various members of the community and even talk to SREC District 5 Representative Nita Davidson, and Senator Schwertner’s District Representative, Hayden Paul.

Finally, after a few unexpected technological challenges, we began our twenty-minute presentation on the LEAP Program and all that it entails. Nerves aside, we became impassioned by our goal to represent the LEAP Center appropriately and eloquently described the mission to enrich academic education through volunteerism, internships, travel, and cultural programs. Finishing up, we had the chance to answer some great questions from those in attendance as well.

It was an eye-opening experience to be able to present to leaders in the political spectrum of Walker County and see what skills are needed to prepare a speech, as we have seen so often in the past. Following our mission to enrich academic education, we were able to learn something valuable outside of the classroom and gain life experience while doing it. We would like to thank President Loosier, Vice-President Stivers, WCRP Chair Linda McKenzie and all of the Walker County Republican Women who welcomed us so graciously and are such wonderful examples of women in politics today.

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The LEAP Center is non-partisan, consisting of members of Republicans, Democrats, and Independents. 

Unknown's avatarAuthor mikeyawnPosted on May 4, 2015Categories Civic Engagement, PoliticsTags Junior Fellows, LEAP Center, Madilene Loosier, SHSU, Terry Stivers, Walker County Republican WomenLeave a comment on LEAP Center Students Present to Walker County Republican Women

Odds On Fun at the HEARTS Museum’s Casino Night

By Austin Campbell,

Today the Center for Law, Engagement, and Politics took a step back in time to the roaring 20’s, an era where the stakes were high and the wins were well worth the risks. Wearing our best 20’s attire, the LEAP team assisted the H.E.A.R.T.S Veterans Museum  with their fundraising event. There was a full casino, a Bonnie & Clyde getaway V8 Ford car, a live band, great food, and of course the magnificent Marilyn Monroe.  The event also featured many silent raffle drawings, as well as a major raffle drawing at the end of the event for an impressive grill.

Chapa, Perez, Campbell
                     Chapa, Perez, Campbell

The H.E.A.R.T.S Veterans Museum of Texas honors veterans both past and present. The museum serves as a place for former, present, and future veterans to all come together to reflect on and share their experiences serving the country. Just as important, the museum allows all people to see the price that our veterans and those serving today have paid for this country, and the Museum is an inspiration for those of all ages. Having the chance to talk to veterans and hear their experiences directly was amazing, and their true love of the USA was clear.

Of course, the night was about having an enjoyable evening, and that is what we did–all while volunteering!  The event started off with the draw-dropping musical stylings of a convincing Marilyn Monroe  (Jane Maddox).

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It happened to be Rick McFarland’s lucky birthday, earning him the opportunity to be the object of Ms. Monroe’s happy birthday routine.

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Attendees had the chance to enjoy some delicious food offerings from donations of local businesses like McKenzie’s, and even a few sides from generous families themselves. After getting their fill of food and drink, everyone moved on to the casino games, such as bingo, blackjack, poker, and even slot machines.

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The LEAP team did our part in the even as well. Starting with introductions at the door, to the officiating of the silent raffle, LEAP had a thumbprint over many endeavors. At the request of many of the veterans, we took part in some of the casino games, to which there were many laughs, smiles, and of course some sad faces. All in good fun (and not with real money)!

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By the end of the night, after much work and play, it was great to see the smiles on the faces of people that support the H.E.A.R.T.S Veterans Museum. And it was fun to play the part of 20s gangsters while volunteering.

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As our school motto says “A measure of one’s life is in its service,” and LEAP strives to continue on that legacy with every event.

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Many thanks to Letty Clark for inviting us to volunteer and for the chance to join the fun once much of the work was done.

Unknown's avatarAuthor mikeyawnPosted on May 1, 2015Categories Civic Engagement, VolunteerTags Casino Night, HEARTS Museum, Jane Maddox, LEAP Center, Marilyn Monroe impersonator, SHSU, Volunteerism1 Comment on Odds On Fun at the HEARTS Museum’s Casino Night

A Morning with Alberto Gonzales

By Constance Gabel

Imagine overlooking the South Lawn of the White House—the Washington Monument in the distance, honking cars passing on 17th Street. It’s a beautiful day in the Nation’s capitol, made even more magnificent because you are standing on the Truman Balcony of the White House with the President of the United States. This was the life of Alberto Gonzales, who served as White House Counsel and US Attorney General during the Bush Administration. Thanks to Lt. Colonel Yebra at SHSU, General Gonzales made a visit to our University, where LEAP Center and a smattering of other students engaged in an hour and a half discussing with the former Counselor to the President.

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Born in Humble, Texas, Al Gonzales truly came from humble beginnings. His success, he says, comes from his parents and the attitudes they instilled, despite a lack of material comforts. In fact, he didn’t even have indoor plumbing as a child. As an adult, however, he excelled academically and occupationally. He graduated from Rice with his Bachelor’s Degree; he later graduated from Harvard Law. These accomplishments laid the foundation for becoming the first Hispanic male to make partner at Vinson & Elkins and the first Hispanic US Attorney General.

When asked about life’s turning points, Gonzales couldn’t pinpoint a single event. Instead, he noted that taking opportunities as they come along is a key to success. Nor, he said, did he seek out mentors. In his case, a mentor—George W. Bush—found him, another opportunity that he was quick to take.

Alberto Gonzales with Bush and Sandra Day O'Connor
Alberto Gonzales with Bush and O’Connor

General Gonzales spent little time discussing the controversies surrounding his White House years, but he did describe the job as perhaps the most difficult in the cabinet. While this took a toll on his family, he remains grateful for his time in the White House, and positive about his life in general.

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For students, most of whom weren’t paying attention to politics during the Bush years, it was a positive, career-affirming discussion. LEAP Center member Austin Campbell introduced the former Attorney General, and students asked approximately 20 questions, with Gonzales answering them all patiently and even cheerfully, repeating his refrain to stay positive and take opportunities.

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Speaking of which, we are very grateful to Colonel Yebra for this opportunity, and we plan to implement General Gonzales’s advice!

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Unknown's avatarAuthor mikeyawnPosted on April 24, 2015Categories Civic Engagement, Law, PoliticsTags Alberto Gonzales, Attorney General, David Yebra, LEAP Center, SHSULeave a comment on A Morning with Alberto Gonzales

LEAP Center Students Learn Manners–Career Services Etiquette Dinner Event

An impressive interview can set you up for a life-long career, or it can keep you from the opportunity of a lifetime. Ms. Diane Gottsman, national etiquette expert and owner of The Protocol School of Texas, laid out what one should expect and the tools you will need to impress the recruiters at your interview dinner. Thanks to Career Services at SHSU, LEAP Center students had the opportunity to become experts in the European style of dining. Ms. Gottsman not only explained the correct way to handle silverware, how to stir your tea, and how to properly sit while at the table, and she also made the evening extremely interactive and inviting. Ms. Gottsman answered questions throughout the event and directed individuals as they practiced their etiquette during dinner. She offered many pieces of advice from the importance of the second interview meal to the color of an interview shirt.

Etiquette_Dinner_Crowd

It is not only important to have strong verbal communication with recruiters, it is equally important to know the strength of your wardrobe and how different colors may portray you as a strong, confident individual or easily forgettable. Ms. Gottsman emphasized this topic heavily and suggested we speak with someone we respect to help us discover what clothing will look the most professional. For example, if one was to wear a navy blue suit to their interview dinner, then they should choose a light blue shirt to stand out and show their confidence. A white shirt would suggest the strongest color, while a darker color would present itself as less confident.

Ms. Gottsman spoke of her experience with companies and described how she speaks to the same companies that will be hiring many graduates. She teaches them what to look for from potential hires and in turn teaches students precisely what companies’ look for. It is a win-win for SHSU students and these top US companies. Learning these skills helps students get one step closer to securing their first job.

Diane Gottsman with LEAP Center Students
   Ms. Gottsman with LEAP Center Students

The skills LEAP students learned require constant practice and will be used throughout our careers. Students enjoyed not only getting to interact with Ms. Gottsman, but also having the opportunity to practice their etiquette skills during a delectable three-course meal. LEAP Center students were pleased to enjoy a delicious meal and learn proper etiquette, another step towards the journey to professional careers.

Unknown's avatarAuthor mikeyawnPosted on April 22, 2015Categories Civic Engagement, Food, JobsTags Career Services, Diane Gottsman, LEAP Center, SHSULeave a comment on LEAP Center Students Learn Manners–Career Services Etiquette Dinner Event

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