Cincinnati students
Cincinnati Students Learn About Volunteerism In Summer Program
“What I learned about myself this week was that I love people and care about people. It’s a great feeling from helping people and that I’m not too small of a person to make a big difference.”
“What I learned about myself this week was to not judge others and to look deeper than what is on the surface. Everyone has their own stories and is going through various things, so even things like smiling can change someone’s day.”
“What I learned about myself this week was that conversations can serve a larger purpose in breaking down cultural barriers. I can be someone who initiates that conversation in the future.”
These are just some of the many reflections Cincinnati area students have expressed after a week this summer immersed in helping others through the Mayerson High School Service Learning Program. Seventy teens from Mt. Dotre Dame, Moeller, Aiken, Withrow, Reading, Dater and Finneytown High Schools, as well as Starfire University participated.
Through my work with area nonprofits I get to see so many generous acts of young people, and so many incredible programs aimed at instilling in them these powerful character values. I don’t remember having those opportunities when I was a teen and I think it is a beautiful gift. The lessons these students are learning will impact the rest of their lives, and will 
no doubt lead them on a path of lifelong philanthropy.
The Mayerson Foundation’s program is year round and includes high schools from throughout Northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati. In the summer urban immersion learning week, students volunteered at 30 area nonprofits and invested $1000 in one of those organizations each week through a grant review process.
Clare Blankemeyer, coordinator for the program, told me there was a strong emphasis on story telling because ‘stories make us human.’ One group interviewed students at the Drop Inn Center. “What the students learned is that many people experiencing homelessness have jobs, are hard working and came upon difficult times,” she said.
Mayerson particpants painted a symbol representing the life and stories of each guest. Those symbols were shared with the Drop Inn guests, and will be incorporated into a greeting card collage that will be sold to offset costs of the Center’s meal program.
Other participants worked alongside Homeless Coalition Streetvibes Distributors and City Gospel Mission’s Exodus Program members to explore their community through photography in the New Voices Program. Some of those pictures will be chosen for a calendar benefitting the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless.
Great work by great people making a great impact. That’s what I call a Good Thing!
Cincinnati Ursuline Academy Students Visit Paris
What an unbelievable experience for these Ursuline Academy students – going to Paris! It was part of a pilot Academic Exchange Program with St. Josèph Lycèe in Reims. Seniors Jessie Ewen of Loveland and Brooke Kurkjian of Mason and juniors Julie Ivers of Symmes Township, Katie Polson of Mason, Zenab Saeed of Indian Hill, and Catherine Strietmann of Mount Lookout, were accompanied by Ursuline world languages teacher Lynda Hoffman-Jeep and guidance teacher Katy Zwolinski.
“The French Exchange Trip was an experience that truly changed my life. I learned that traveling abroad gives you a learning experience that you can never receive through a classroom or in a textbook. It is something totally unique that you cannot understand until you visit the country,” Catherine Strietmann said.
The students spent time with their French host families, whose daughters are part of the pilot academic exchange program and visited Ursuline Academy this past spring. While in Reims they attended classes at St. Josèph Lycèe, and some of them even stayed in the school dorms. The Lycèe attracts two-thirds of its students from Paris and the surrounding countryside, and is a boarding school as well as a day school, Hoffman-Jeep said.
Ursuline will host another group of female students from St. Josèph’s next spring.
Congratulations to Anthony Muñoz Foundation Straight ‘A’ Students!
More than congratulations…I want to say WAY to GO for these Cincinnati area students who are excelling in and out of the classroom.
Each year the Anthony Muñoz Foundation holds the Straight “A” Scholarship to award deserving young students who are:
- Pursuing Academic excellence as well as Athletic achievement
- Actively serving the community
- Possessing a strong Ambition
- Maintaining a winning Attitude
- Having the ability to overcome Adversity
The nomination process ran until February 25. After all nominations were submitted, the pool of candidates was narrowed to 18 senior finalists. One male and one female senior finalist received a $5,000 grant towards their continuing education. The remaining senior finalists received a $2,000 grant. All 18 finalists celebrated their all-around achievements in April, 2013.
The 18 finalists: received $2,000 college scholarship
DeNesha Bell, Dolores Clark ,Jamie Daley, Lindsay Darkins, Allison Glatt, Rachel Hall, Emily Kroger, Sarah LaCombe, Cerryia Lindberg, Ryan Burton, Shannon Chambers, Zachariah Class, Tom Cropper, Kyle Damen, Jacob Havran, Ben Linnabary, Adam Steele, and Matt Toerner.
The Male Senior finalist: received additional $3,000 scholarship
Shannon Chambers-Aiken HS; University of Cincinnati
The Female Senior finalist: received additional $3,000 scholarship
Rachel Hall-Saint Ursula; College Undecided
Anthony Munoz Foundation Is Accepting Applications For Scholarships
The Anthony Muñoz Foundation is offering high school seniors the opportunity to be awarded $20,000 in scholarship money through the Anthony Muñoz Scholarship Fund. The deadline for the Scholarship Fund is April 30th, which means 
there is a little more than a month left to apply.
The Anthony Muñoz Scholarship Fund is awarded to students who demonstrate a desire to overcome adversity, have financial need, excel academically, and fulfill a leadership role in the community. Up to six $20,000 scholarships will be awarded. Eligibility requirements and the scholarship application can be found on the Foundation’s website www.munozfoundation.org.
The recipients of the award will be recognized on June 9th, 2013 at the Hall of Fame Dinner in Mason, Ohio.
Art From Cincinnati Students And Artists On Display
photo credit: Pete Bender
The talents of Cincinnati artists and young students will be on display at an exhibit at University of Cincinnati Blue Ash College through the end of March.
The annual Festival in the Woods is open to the public. It runs through March 29 in Muntz Hall on the UC Blue Ash campus, 9555 Plainfield Road. (Monday – Friday, 10 a.m.to 8 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m.)
Started in 1989, Festival in the Woods features more than 1,500 original works of art this year.Several local and private schools will be represented. They include Loveland, Deer Park, Indian Hill, Loveland, Madeira, Mariemont and Sycamore.
Featured artists
• Marcie May: author of “The Adventures of Penny and Tubs,” selling and signing books.
• Valerie Woebkenberg: author of “The Story the Little Christmas Tree Told,” selling and signing books and she has notecards.
• Trudy Roesch: Watercolor artist-paints a variety of winter scenes, flowers, herbs, and will have pictures and cards for sale.
• Gary Overmann: a collector of children’s’ books especially those by Beatrix Potter, Tasha Tudor. He will sell books.
• John Kraimer: director of disability services, artist, musician.
Visitors are encouraged to support a project incorporating the love of art and reading. Through the Festival in the Woods event, UC Blue Ash is partnering with the national First Book organization to provide handmade bookmarks to give to children in need. The bookmarks will be distributed with their new books.
For more information about the Festival in the Woods, visit the UC Blue Ash website at www.ucblueash.edu/performingarts/festival/festival or call (513) 936-1573.
