Love from Mr. Labes: Valentine's Day

And on this Valentines Day, I'd like to share this delightful little tune from my multi-talented friend Philip Labes.

Labes is an emerging actor and musician who is currently a junior studying at USC.

In this Valentines day debut, Labes is joined by Natalie Angiuli and their smooth vocals combine for a sweet surprise.

Want to hear more from Philip? Check out his Website!

"I Like To Cut" and other ways to dance

photo by Spenser Dugal

Meet Jacqui.

I should include a brief disclaimer here; Jacqui is one of my best friends. In high school it was basically like this; if you knew me, you knew Jacqui.

But the fact that we've always been close hasn't blinded me to her talent, nor does it nullify my belief in her talent.

I'll give you an example.

Jacqui came to visit me several weeks ago, and proudly displayed her newly developed YouTube channel with a single video on it. It was of an assignment she had for dance class, a "text solo" in which she had to choreograph a dance while simultaneously speaking a monologue about a childhood memory.
Jacqui chose to do her solo based upon a time when she was five years old and cut all of her brother's hair off because "all her Barbies were bald."

Jacqui slipped on her first pair of ballet slippers at the wee age of three. I went to many of Jacqui's

Jacqui starting dancing when
she was 3 years old.

dance recitals over the years. I remember sleeping over her house during recital time; carving out a space to sleep among the costumes, makeup boxes and the seemingly never ending pairs of tights. 

I always knew she was a good dancer. But I didn't realize HOW good. After watching her text solo, I was beyond impressed with my best friend; with how she used voice, facial expressions, and movement to communicate a childhood memory.

I was really proud. And I know Jacqui was too, even if she's not the type to openly boast about how freakin' awesome it was.

Through middle and high school, Jacqui always danced. But as a student at a performing arts school, instead of pointe shoes, she carried around camera equipment. Storyboards in place of leotards. Excel spreadsheets stuffed into her backpack where you might have expected to find bobby pins. Jacqui majored in communications, specializing in film, graphic design, and was a vital member of our yearbook staff.

But moving onto college, despite her skill in all of these areas, she knew her passion lay in dance. Her decision to pursue it, however, wasn't without it's challenges. Jacqui feels there's a lot of misconception about dancers, especially that dancers aren't as smart as engineering or psychology majors. In reality, however, she claims that belief is far from the truth. She thinks many dancers have plenty of other interests and capabilities in other areas, but simply choose dance instead.

"I had many career path options to take out of high school. Business. Medical. I wanted to be in marketing for a while, then I wanted to be a forensic pathologist and go into criminology," she said. 
"I chose dance because I couldn't live without it. Dancers have so much awareness of their own body, mind, the world around them, cause and effect, professionalism, and understanding of the way people function on an anatomical level and a mental level. I feel like dance has taught me so many things about myself and this world that would have taken me decades to figure out by another medium."

She now attends the University of South Florida in Tampa where she majors in dance studies.

photo by leanna scachetti

 Right now, Jacqui is preparing to dance in two pieces in USF's spring dance concert; a contemporary pointe piece by faculty member Paula Nunez. She's also re-staging a professional piece called "Lucifer's Prance" by choreographer Robert Moses.
 "That piece was an amazing opportunity and crazy awesome experience to work with Robert Moses for a couple days," said Jacqui.

Jacqui will also be competing in the American College Dance Festival in March in Georgia. Judges there will then decide which dances will perform in the final gala, and which will continue to the national division. On top of all that, Jacqui is rehearsing for two student choreographed works to the Student Dance Production on campus. She also teaches dance at a local studio. On her own, she is working on projects for her choreography class, which, hearkening back to her high school days, is a way for Jacqui to incorporate two loves of hers; dance and film.

Jacqui displays an arabesque at the Empire
State Building in NYC.

"Dance on film is interesting too because you control what the audience sees and doesn't see based on the frame of the camera as well as the use of editing, which can enhance a work to a whole different dimension. I'm just starting to dive into that kind of work and I have a few ideas I want to play with on my spare time." 

After she dons the cap and gown, Jacqui wants to work her way up to join a contemporary ballet or modern company. She counts the Spellbound Contemporary Ballet in Italy, Celli Contemporary Ballet in Italy,  and Robert Moses Kin in California as among her dream companies.

But if it doesn't work like she's planned in the time she's planned it to, Jacqui has ideas of using her other skills to continue working in the dance field, just not on the stage.

"I have said that if auditioning for companies I like doesn't work out right away that I could intern with the company's business side, using those skills to get me in. Then I could take classes with the company, get to know them, and work my way in as a dancer."

Dancing isn't always a brisé. Jacqui points out that dance is about overcoming challenges and problem solving every day. For her, the biggest challenge is to keep pushing through, even in the times of frustration and exhaustion, both mentally and physically. But it's the pursuit of improvement that keeps her going.

"Having the sense that something is just working out beautifully, and feeling that step that I always struggle with work out perfectly for the first time is always an amazing feeling." 

Jacqui (far left) poses while rehearsing a student
choreographed dance by Vanessa Vargas.

Despite being a versatile dancer with experience in ballet, tap, jazz, modern, and hip-hop, Jacqui doesn't think that's what sets her apart.

"I approach each class, rehearsal, and performance with a certain mindset that I've noticed lots of other dancers, and people, don't have. Positivity and an open mind are so important, especially when working with dance because negative thoughts bring you and the whole group down and an open mind leaves so much room for creativity," she said. "Leave the judgment at the door, enter with an open mind ready to learn, create and explore."

photo by leanna scachetti

She sums it up by saying it's not perfection she's seeking. Which would seem odd from someone whose career seems to be based upon the achievement of perfection (cue Black Swan.) But for Jacqui, being "perfect" isn't the end goal. 

"Perfect means I've reached the end. I always want to continue growing and learning, improving, and creating."


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Student Veterans : From Soldier to Student

photo courtesy of Wilson

            Monique Wilson spends a lot of her weekends with a book in hand, taking notes, and concentrating on earning her law degree. While Wilson’s peers throughout the University of Florida stress over exams and pending grades, Wilson says she can deal with it.

“I always say that I have such a low set point,” Wilson explains. “Even with law school, where everyone’s super stressed. But I always say ‘today is not one of my top 20 worst days’. So anything I do, I’ve had something that I’ve done that’s way worse.”

Schoolwork makes up a typical day for Wilson now, but it wasn’t like that a few years ago. She is a U.S. Army veteran after having served for 5 years. Wilson deployed twice, each time for a full year, working in legal services for the army.

Monique says deployment is like a state of stasis. She remembers how things were when she left the United States, and coming back home after her tour, she found herself struggling to adjust to a country that seemed fast-forwarded a year.

“When I came back they told me that Arnold Schwarzenegger was governor,” she said. “I thought they were joking. When you’re so far away from everything else you can’t see things as they’re progressing.”

Now, she’s returned to civilian life, and student life. After her second tour, Wilson’s parents allowed her to spend 6 month to relax at home and decompress; something she says helped her transition back to civilian life tremendously. From there, however, it was back to school. Wilson worked her way through another undergraduate degree before making it to UF’s law school.

Schools across the country are working to adapt to the influx of student veterans like Wilson. In April, UF created the Collegiate Veterans Success Center, which houses valuable resources for these student veterans, including help understanding their benefits.

Other organizations are working to partner with student veterans. The Counseling and Wellness Center offers resources for veterans who are working to adapt to their new environment.

“(We help with) stress management, transitioning, family stuff,” says UF Counseling and Wellness Counselor Amanda Ross. “Just whatever we can do to support them in that.”

The CWC is currently working to understand what university faculty and staff know, and feel, about student veterans. Ross says the center is working to implement a training plan for faculty to help make the campus more veteran-friendly.

Wilson says people ask insensitive questions about her deployment all the time.

“A lot of times it’s surprising how civilians see people in the military,” Wilson said. “In my class a student gave a presentation on a man, a war veteran, who killed an elderly lady. The student flippantly said ‘You know how those people are. They go to war and you don’t know how they’re going to come back.’ I thought, well I went to war. Do you think I’m going to become violent, too? It’s kind of interesting to see the disconnect.”

However, Wilson credits her family, her patience, and her time to heal after deployment as her way of handling those questions in the hopes that some other veteran won’t have to.

            “I say it’s like picking up rocks. The road is kind of rough so I just pick up rocks so the next person does not have to trip over the rocks,” she said. “That’s kind of my main goal.”

            So as Wilson navigates life as a law student, she also does so as a veteran. She plans to stay active in Success Center, and work to help other student veterans with the transition, hoping to clear the path in the way.

          
To find out more about student veterans at UF, you can visit and listen to my radio story on WUFT.







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This is their story.
What's yours?
Email stories.about.them@gmail.com with your story (or that of someone you know).
Stories About Them are stories about You.
Pass it on.

Dani De Faria : Diving to Victory

photo courtesy of De Faria

Some of the University of Florida's aquatic athletes have become famous for their talent and skill. Swimmers like Ryan Lochte and Elizabeth Beisel have brought the Gators to national headlines. But there's another category of UF swimmers diving into the national spotlight...though they're not trying to race their way to victory.









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What's yours?
Email stories.about.them@gmail.com with your story (or that of someone you know).
Stories About Them are stories about You.
Pass it on.

Cutting the Virtual Grass

School, work, and a bit of travel have definitely captured all of my attention this semester and I haven't had the opportunity to really work on this blog as much as I would like.

But I think it's time I cut the virtual grass and pick the neglected inter-weeds and get back to it.
The semester is finally coming to a close and I've already got a ton planned.

I hope you're excited to meet a synchronized swimmer who has competed nationally and internationally; a student veteran turned lawyer in the making, and a young musician from South Florida who makes lyrics, music, and sandwiches.

All of this coming up very, very soon. Just one more final left. Wish me luck friends...

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This is my story.
What's yours?
Email stories.about.them@gmail.com with your story (or that of someone you know).
Stories About Them are stories about You.
Pass it on.

Okay, mine again

I created this blog with the intention of using it as a platform for the stories of other people, and I feel that so far, I've done that. But I feel as though I'm living in a great moment now-studying abroad in Buenos Aires, and I feel compelled to share my story with you as well.

I started blogging for my university right before my departure, and have been trying to keep it updated weekly, giving readers the inside scoop on my personal experience as well as sharing with them the best of what I find in the city. With that being said, I invite you to read along and keep up with my adventures in this amazing city! Nos vemos. Ciao! :*

http://globalgator.wordpress.com/category/south-america/2013-south-america/leanna-summer-in-buenos-aires/

Martinez : Making it on the Mat. Part 1

Taekwondo competitor Nikki Martinez (right). Photo by Federacion TDK Puerto Rico

Oderint dum metuant. Translation: "Let them hate, so long as they fear."

 When Roman Emperor Caligula delivered Accius' poetic phrase, there was little telling where it might end up, and even less insight into the mouths and minds that would eventually take the phrase for their own. 20 year old Nikki Martinez is one of those minds, and with good reason. She is one to be feared.

Martinez is a young fighter from south Florida, but her parents are from Peru and Puerto Rico. She began training in Taekwondo at the age of four. She recalls her early childhood was not typically "girly" and her family clearly saw her true interests early on. "My mother always says she had never seen a child with more want to fight... I was in ballet for a short time prior, I was told I kicked the instructor. I have been in martial arts ever since." Martinez says she stuck with TKD because she realized she was good at it, and the fighting was what she fell in love with. For Martinez, TKD isn't just a hobby or a weekend pastime. "This is a full time job, a lifestyle, the training is my life." She currently fights for the Puerto Rican National TKD team, thanks to her mother's lineage, and trains in Fort Meyers, Florida.

Martinez defeats Mexico's Guadalupe Ruiz at the 2011 Pan
American games in Guadalajara.
(AP Photo/Martin Mejia)

Martinez made national headlines in 2011 at the Pan American Games (a major annual sporting event for the Americas) when she won silver in TKD while fighting for Puerto Rico's national team. Martinez says when she won, she was beyond thrilled, but that the emotion didn't come right away. After she won the Bronze she was told that she was Puerto Rico's first medal at these games after almost a week of competition. After her first fight, a sports psychologist came to help her mentally prep for her next fight against Mexico who was favored to win, and on whose turf Martinez also happened to be fighting.

Martinez celebrates her victory as she runs around the arena. Photo by ElNuevoDia

"I was nervous," said Martinez, "but after some meditation exercises and some, for lack of a better term, talking to myself, I realized that I had a medal. The weight of producing something was lifted, now all I needed to do was fight." Martinez admits her Mexican opponent, Guadalupe was a strong fighter, but says her covers and counters were strong that day. "I remember walking out of the tunnel to the ring, everyone booing... I couldn't hear them though, I blanked. I could just see the crowd but nothing really reached me, it was the coolest experience."

Martinez celebrated with her coach after realizing she won the silver. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)

 Despite the hostile crowd, Martinez beat Guadalupe in overtime. "I swear I literally jumped multiple feet in the air. I had actually just beat her. The crowd hated me. For finals with Cuba they were yelling at me. I got scared for my family in the stands a little. I broke my concentration. That's a lot to handle when you're 18 and it seems like the world is literally against you."

Click here for an interview with Martinez after her win 

Martinez ultimately lost to Cuba; a "more experienced, older, bigger" fighter, she says. But the silver medal, her "plata" was still gleaming in anticipation for Martinez to proudly hang around her neck.

Martinez receiving her Silver medal after she defeated Mexico at the 2011 Pan American games in Mexico. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)

"I just stood on that podium thinking 'holy crap, I really just did that?' I know it sounds weird but the best part besides seeing my family freaking out, was when I got back to the athlete villa. Puerto Rico had been assigned the first 5 floors of one of the buildings for the housing of all our athletes. I had been doing press conferences and interviews after medals were given so I didn't think anyone would be up. I walked through the doors and the WHOLE PLACE ERUPTED, the entire islands' athletes were downstairs waiting for me to get back. We passed my medal around for good luck, took pictures, and finally got to eat," she laughs. "I've never felt so appreciated."


With her "plata", she was qualified to compete in the 2011 Pan American Olympic Qualifiers for the 2012 Olympics. Unfortunately, Martinez fell just short of the prize at the Qualifiers. "One more fight, and I would've gone," she recalls. "The funny part about that is, you would think I'd keep the high for Olympic qualifiers. I was training more than I ever had, but due to some political issues and such, my focus was starting to fade. The media is a great source and tool, but when you are constantly reading negative things about yourself, whether you use it to motivate you or drive you, it'll still always be in the back of your mind. To this day some of the comments on me still loom around in my mind."

After the loss, Martinez admits she felt had a different perspective on her art. Her resolve was that people are always going to talk, and says she has to take it with a grain of salt.

Photo by Univision Deportes.

 "You have to realize that what they say about you has no effect on you, your training, your life or your performance when it comes to competition. When they talk it means that they have some sort of a bursary towards you and that's fine to make enemies, you just have to make sure that they don't affect you."

Martinez receiving Puerto Rican Female Athlete of the Year at a ceremony in 2011. Photo courtesy of Martinez.

Martinez, however, faced no lack in admiration for her feats from Puerto Rico. She was soon after dubbed Puerto Rico's Female Athlete of the Year. "Athlete of the year was nice," she said. "I had to get dressed up which is something I rarely ever do. I took lots of pictures, lots of autographs. The kids who were there freaked out. It was just an honor to be selected for that."

Martinez meeting with Puerto Rican kids in school after her win. Photo by ElNuevoDia.

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Stay tuned for Part two of Martinez : Making it on the Mat.