RECIPE: Traditional Syrian Baklava

Recipe by Dalel Khalil

There is no better way to immerse yourself in another culture than through its food! Learn to make Traditional Syrian-style Baklava (pronounced Baklawa) that crunchy yet heavenly sweet pastry of buttered flakes and flavored nuts.

TRADITIONAL SYRIAN BAKLAVA (Pronounced Baklawa)

(Serves 50 - 75)

INGREDIENTS:

(For Baklava)

• 2 lbs. phyllo dough (for a 17x13 tray)
• 3 cups melted rendered butter
• (For Filling)
• 2 lbs. shelled walnuts
• 3⁄4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons rose water (usually found in Middle Eastern markets)

(For Syrup)

• 2 1⁄2 cups sugar
• 1 1⁄2 cups water
• 1⁄2 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon rose water

DIRECTIONS

- Butter baking pans thoroughly.
- Place 1 lb. of dough in pan, brushing butter between each sheet. (Keep phyllo dough covered preferably with a damp towel so that it does not dry out. It is very fragile.) Do not butter top sheet.
- Combine ingredients for nut filling and spread evenly on last layer.
- Place the other 1 lb. dough over nut filling, brushing each layer with butter between each sheet. Same way as above.
- Cut into diamond shapes.
- Pour remaining butter over top.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.
- Then reduce heat to 325 degrees for 45 minutes.

 SYRUP (Made Separately)

- Mix sugar and water and boil over medium hear for 15-20 minutes
- Add lemon juice and rose water before removing from heat.
- Let syrup stand for 10 minutes before pouring over cold Baklawa.

              Enjoy!

***

P.S. If you liked this post, you might enjoy our newsletter. Receive each new post delivered right to your inbox, plus some can’t-miss news and program updates from Luminari. Sign up here.

Camp Delicious Recipes

Don't know what to make for dinner - here are five easy, yummy recipes featured durigng our 2016 summer camp for teens. This collection of recipes by our guest chefs features foods that teens can make by themselves including quesadillas, pasta and even dessert.

CAMP DELICIOUS! ALUMNS: SHARE YOUR RECIPES

Do you have a favorite teen recipe to share? Tell us about your recipe and include a short bio about yourself. If you have an awesome recipe, please share it with the Luminari community. Tell us how you came up with your recipe and share a picture to have your recipe featured in our bi-monthly newsletter “LUMOS!”

GUACAMOLE 
(Recipe courtesy Leah Lizarondo)
Ripe Avocados {2}
Red onion {¼ small, chopped finely}
Garlic {½ clove, minced}
Lime juice {a splash}
Salt and pepper to taste

Pit avocados and spoon the flesh into a bowl. Add onion, garlic, a splash of lime juice and salt and pepper to taste. Serve alongside quesadillas OR with tortilla chips

FRESH SALSA 
(Recipe courtesy Leah Lizarondo)
3 large tomatoes {chopped}
1 green onion {finely chopped}
Cilantro {chopped to taste}
Lime juice {a splash}
Salt and pepper to taste

Chop tomatoes, place in a large bowl, add onion, cilantro, lime juice, salt, pepper and mix well.

QUESADILLAS 
(Recipe courtesy Leah Lizarondo)
Corn and flour tortillas {small}
Shredded cheese
Refried beans
Vegetables of choice:
Spinach
Olives
Zucchini
Peppers

Chop vegetables. Set aside. Spread a thin layer of refried beans on a tortilla, add vegetables and sprinkle on cheese. Place in a skillet and cook about 4 minutes on each side until cheese melts. Serve with guacamole and salsa.

***

GOURMET S’MORES
(Recipe courtesy Joe Triebsch)
Graham crackers: regular, cinnamon, or chocolate
Or:
Chocolate chip, lemon or oatmeal cookies; snickerdoodles
Milk or dark chocolate
Caramels
Peanut butter, almond butter, nutella
Marshmallows
Bananas
Strawberries
Raspberry jam

Toast marshmallows and select cookie of choice, add chocolate, add nut butter if desired, top with jam , sprinkles

***

MAC & CHEESE 101
(Recipe courtesy Chef Joey Hilty)
Cheese sauce
2 ¼ cups milk
3 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. flour
1 Tsp. salt
Pinch of nutmeg
1 Cup grated cheese, more to
   taste (choose your favorite)

Place milk in a medium saucepan and bring to faint simmer over medium heat. In another medium saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Add in flour and whisk until smooth. Cook for 2-3 minutes, whisking constantly, making sure mixture does not turn darker brown. Add heated milk to butter mixture one cup at a time, whisking constantly, until smooth. Continue to cook sauce until thickened slightly, about 5-10 minutes, stirring frequently.  Remove from heat; stir in salt and nutmeg.

MACARONI (Recipe courtesy Chef Joey Hilty)
1 ½  cups macaroni
2 Tbsp. salt
Boiling water

Fill small-medium pot ¾ water. Bring to a boil. When water is boiling add salt, to taste. Cook macaroni for 4 minutes, until tender. Drain.

To Serve: Put cheese sauce in pot, gently warm. Add cooked macaroni, stir to combine. Transfer to bowl, top with bread crumbs, green onion, caramelized onion, or any garnish of your choice.

***

CORN SOUP (Recipe courtesy Chef Trevett Hooper) 
4 Tbs butter
1 ¼ lbs corn kernels (from about 12 ears of corn), cobs reserved
6 Oz onions
1 Clove garlic
Pinch tumeric
1 Batch corn cob stock (below)
½  Cup heavy cream
1 ½  Tsp sea salt

Slowly sauté onions in butter with salt until soft. Add garlic and turmeric and cook for 2 minutes. Add corn and cook another 10 minutes until kernels are soft, being very carefully not to let corn brown too much. Cover with corn stock by 1” (you may not need all the stock). Cook for 25 minutes. Puree soup in a blender and pass through a sturdy strainer to remove solids. Add cream and season to taste. Adjust the soup’s consistency with leftover corn stock, if needed.

CORN STOCK (Recipe courtesy Chef Trevett Hooper) 
12 Leftover corncobs, cut in half
1 Onion, thinly sliced
1 Small bunch thyme
2 Garlic cloves, crushed
1 Bay leaf
2 Qt water

Put all ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil. Turn down to a simmer for about 45 minutes. Strain through a fine strainer.

***

HOMEMADE PASTA 
(Recipe courtesy Chef Kevin Watson)
2 Tbsp olive oil
3 Eggs
½ cup semolina

Put into a food processor, blend together and with the machine running slowly add in 1.5 cups flour
Mix until a ball of dough forms. If too dry, add a little water.

Take out of the food processor, knead ten times, cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 30 minutes. Use a pasta machine, or rolling pin to roll the dough out and make the noodles.

Sprinkle the noodles with a little semolina flour to prevent sticking. Put in boiling water for 4 minutes. After cooking the noodles, drain and add a little olive oil

FRESH MOZZARELLA CHEESE (Recipe courtesy Chef Kevin Watson)
Start with fresh mozzarella cheese curd (available at Pennsylvania Macaroni in the Strip District)

Tear into small pieces, like string cheese.
Pour hot water over the curd pieces, stir for 1 minute and let rest for 1 minute and then drain. Form the cheese curd into a ball using the ice water to cool your hands. Let  the cheese ball sit in the ice water for about 20 minutes to cool.
Then slice and enjoy!

Enjoy as is OR with tomatoes and basil
Mixed into pasta with fresh tomatoes, basil, garlic OR add sautéed vegetables, fresh mozzarella, basil and grated parmesan for a delicious meal.

***

CRISPY EGGPLANT (Recipe courtesy Randita’s Café/Randitas.com)
Eggplant cut into ½ inch circles
Soy milk
1 cup bread crumbs
1 Tsp salt
1 Tsp pPepper
1 Tsp garlic powder
Oil for browning (or bake in oven on a
   lightly oiled cookie sheet 425 for 10 min.)

Sprinkle sliced eggplant with salt and let drain for 30 minutes. Mix salt, pepper and garlic with bread crumbs. Dip eggplant in milk then in bread crumbs. Set aside until all eggplant is coated. Heat skillet over medium  high heat.  Brown eggplant on both sides.  Drain on paper towels.

HORSERADISH DIPPING SAUCE/DRESSING
(Recipe courtesy Randita’s Café/Randitas.com)
¼ cup mayo
2 Tbsp ketchup
2 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp dijon mustard
3-4 Tsp prepared horseradish
½ Tsp oregano
1 Tsp agave (sweetener)
½ Tsp salt
¼ Tsp pepper

Mix all ingredients together and whisk until smooth. Store in refridgerator.

CUCUMBERS in SOUR CREAM DRESSING
(Recipe courtesy Randita’s Café/Randitas.com)

½ cup sour cream

3 Tbsp apple cider or white vinegar

1 Tbsp sugar

½ Tsp pepper

½ Tsp salt

4 medium cucumbers thinly sliced

1 small sweet onion thinly sliced  

   and separated into rings

Slice cucumbers and onions and place in bowl. Mix all the other ingredients together and pour over the cucumbers and onions.

Refrigerate for 3-4 hours. Serve with a slotted spoon.

***

Coffee Talks

By Beth Dolinar

They used to be called “coffee klatches”, those informal meetings of several individuals (usually women), who would drink coffee and chat. What comes to mind for me are those 1960s sitcoms in which women would just walk through their neighbors’ back doors and sit at the kitchen table for a visit.

We’ve gotten away from that sort of thing, just as most of us no longer vacuum in aprons and pearls. But we love our coffee more than ever. We just tend to call it other things (double breve macchiato, anyone?), and we don’t drink it at our next-door neighbor’s kitchen table.

I bring this up because it’s recruiting season for the Luminari camps. Although we’re not long past the fun and success of our 2016 camps (including our new public speaking camp, Speak and Tell), it’s time to look ahead to next summer, when we will once again offer a slate of innovative and exciting programs.

And here’s where the coffee comes in.  During the coming months, I will be hosting a series of “coffee talks” to spread the word about our camps. I will invite the parent of a recent camper to then invite several other parents—as few as 2 or 3 or as many as 6 or 7; we will meet at a coffee shop or someone’s home, to talk about our camps and how they can enrich the lives of teenagers.

The idea is to work face-to-face, taking a personal approach to telling parents about our four camps. The informal setting will allow the alumni parents to share their own children’s experience, and will allow me to answer questions.

We at Luminari begin our recruitment each fall to give families the opportunity to consider their summer plans and to confirm their registrations well before the “spring crunch.”

As coordinator for Luminari, I enjoy getting to know our teen campers as well as their parents. These coffee talks will allow me to do more of that.

If you are the parent of a camper and would like to put together a group for one of our talks, please call or e-mail bdolinar@luminari.org.

And if you’re just learning about Luminari, I’d love to meet with you and your friends, too. These coffee talks are for everyone—parents of teens and friends of teens. Teachers, too.

I’ll be happy to meet all of you.  And the coffee’s on me.

***

Luminari Coordinator, Beth Dolinar brings her talents and experience as a writer, Emmy-award producer, public speaker and deadline driven multi-tasker to our team. She writes a popular column for the Washington "Observer-Reporter." She is a contributing producer of documentary length programming for WQED-TV on a wide range of topics and currently teaches as an adjunct faculty member at Robert Morris University. Beth has a son and a daughter. She is an avid yoga devotee, cyclist and reader. Beth says she types like lightning but reads slowly -- because she likes a really good sentence.

The Colors of Diplomacy

By Beth Dolinar

        When I reflect back on the three days Luminari’s “I Want to be an Ambassador” camp spent in Washington, D.C. , I see colors—the bright colors of culture and diplomacy and learning and fun.

    It was a busy three days in June for our 14 young ambassadors. While in the nation’s capital, we enjoyed a whirlwind of activities designed to broaden our minds, encourage innovation and understand how the world of diplomacy works.

    The colors were vibrant in the lobby of the State Department that first day. Dozens of flags hung above our heads, announcing the many nations of the world and reflecting their bright hues on the polished marble floor. Our young ambassadors played an impressive game of “Guess the Country.” Peru, anyone? And is that the Cuban flag?

     In a conference room down the hall, we met with Peter Selfridge, the Ambassador for Protocol for President Obama. His is a job of details—of paving the way for productive, respectful meetings between the President, the Secretary of State and other U.S. diplomats, and representatives from other countries.

   “I never thought I would be in charge of so many details,” Selfridge said. Those details include understanding the customs of other cultures, knowing what gifts the President should bring on his visits—and what gifts not to bring. He explained that his staff is in charge of rolling out the red carpet, literally, for President Obama when he visits a foreign country, and of rolling it out when foreign dignitaries visit here.

   The small details can mean the difference between a productive diplomatic meeting and one that is less so, he said.

     The trip brought other bursts of color, from the ornate décor at the Royal Thai Embassy, to the plates of chicken tagine, hummus and paella we shared at our Moroccan dinner.

     We had lunch at Martin’s Tavern in Georgetown, a favorite haunt of presidents, senators, congressmen and Supreme Court justices. Four of our ambassadors ate hamburgers in the exact booth where then-Senator John F. Kennedy proposed marriage to Jacqueline Bouvier.

   At the German Embassy, a military diplomat talked about how much he and his young family love living in the United States. The meeting was just days before voters in Great Britain voted to leave the European Union, a development the diplomat was hoping would not happen. He shared little bags of authentic German gummi bear candies, which we gobbled happily, feeling we deserved them. The meeting was on the 7^th floor, and we did not take an elevator to get there.

     As we said goodbye, we paused to look at the piece of the Berlin Wall on display. The bit of stone was covered in a riot of colorful graffiti, a reminder of a historically remarkable victory of diplomacy.

   And yes, that was the blue, white and red flag of Cuba hanging at the State Department. It was another reminder of the importance of diplomacy, both on the large scale and for the rest of us in our everyday lives. 

***

Luminari Coordinator, Beth Dolinar brings her talents and experience as a writer, Emmy-award producer, public speaker and deadline driven multi-tasker to our team. She writes a popular column for the Washington "Observer-Reporter." She is a contributing producer of documentary length programming for WQED-TV on a wide range of topics and currently teaches as an adjunct faculty member at Robert Morris University. Beth has a son and a daughter. She is an avid yoga devotee, cyclist and reader. Beth says she types like lightning but reads slowly -- because she likes a really good sentence.

Speak & Tell: Boredom is Good

This is the text of the speech Max presented at the closing ceremony for the "Speak & Tell!" Camp on July 8, 2016.

By Max Rosen

I think boredom is pretty cool.

When you are bored your brain tries to find things to fill that mental gap. It boosts your creativity and causes you to think outside the box.

I get bored very easily, and this actually led to me discovering many of my hobbies and interests. One of these is poetry, which has become very important in my life, especially this past year as I made it the focus of my long-term project. I discovered poetry during an English class where we had to write a structured essay, and I wasn't finding it very interesting. I grew bored and my mind wandered to how I would write about the topic if it wasn’t structured. So I began writing poems and it has become a big form of expression for me since then.

Everybody gets bored at some point in the day, whether it's at school, or a meeting or even during this speech.

And these moments are very important.

What do you think about when you’re bored?

Generally, you think about what could happen or what or what could be accomplished. You don’t usually think about what has happened in the past or how you could have done it differently. I find this very interesting and think it’s just another reason why boredom is so great. It makes you think about the future and problems you can solve. It raises questions that may not be answered yet and makes you wonder what those answers might be. Boredom causes a creative impulse that drives us forward as people. This creativity allows for humanity to continue to break down its barriers.

So I ask you, what are those questions? And can you answer them?

Thank you

***

Max Rosen, 15, is a rising sophomore at Taylor Allderdice High School.

How to Write an Exceptional Essay for College Applications

How to Write an Exceptional Essay for College Applications

by Gina Catanzarite

As the end of another school year approaches, kids’ thoughts turn to a summer of sleeping in and lazy days spent lounging by a pool . . . unless you’re finishing your Junior year of high school, in which case your stress level is rising like mercury on a sunny day because (insert ominous music here) IT’S TIME TO THINK ABOUT APPLYING TO COLLEGES!!!

Without a doubt, one of the most stressful parts of the college admissions application is completing the essay. (More ominous music. . .) Essays have become extremely popular as an educational tool in our country, and young people frequently need to write them for applications for college or for scholarships and other competitions.

What do you think college admissions officers want to learn about you from that essay? Proper grammar? Proof that you can write a thesis statement? How intelligent you are?

Nope!

Take a look at some of these actual essay questions from college applications:

“Describe yourself as fully and accurately as possible in 140 characters.”

“Anna Quindlen says that she ‘majored in unafraid’ at Barnard. Tell us about a time when you majored in unafraid.”

Don DeLillo, Libra, said, “This is what history consists of. It’s the sum total of all the things they aren’t telling us.” What is history, who are “they,” and what aren’t they telling us?

The essay questions are prompts to help you reveal your personal philosophies and personality. They are meant to showcase your critical and your creative thinking skills, as well as your ability to make abstract connections. They require a deeply personal tone with a theme that unfolds largely through personal observations, recollections, and reflections on the writer’s life and experience.

Unfortunately, that rarely happens when so many people “help” the college applicant polish an essay before submitting it.

These people who try to help are well-intentioned to be sure, but what happens is that the student writes a very academic-sounding term paper—thesis, body, conclusion. Parents read it, guidance counselors read it, English teachers read it—and everyone makes comments and edits until it gets distilled, even duller and more generic than it was to begin with!

According to the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC), their number one tip for writing effective college admissions essays is to be yourself. You can achieve that by following these guidelines, used in Luminari’s popular Teen Writer! camps:

TIPS TO WRITE BETTER COLLEGE ADMISSIONS ESSAYS:

·       Relate it to a deeply personal and significant experience and the life lesson you learned.

·       Explore the value of the life lesson you learned. How did/will it change your future?

·       Use precise details and descriptive writing to paint a vivid picture in the readers’ mind.

·       Include research or data to support your opinions.

·       Consider using the “YOU” voice to engage the reader more personally in the essay, e.g. Everyone probably has a clear memory that involved the school bully, and I do, too. VS. You probably have a clear memory about the bully from your high school. So do I.

Most importantly, let the answer grow out of what you want to say, not what you think someone else may want to read. When you write from your soul, the essay will be meaningful, personal, and a reflection of someone with the maturity and self-awareness who is ready to embark on the next phase of life... as a successful college student!

Looking for more tips to create more great writing? Check out Luminari’s 2016 Teen Writer! Fantastic Fiction camp running from June 27 – 30. Learn more about Teen Writer! camp activities and scholarships we offer for reduced tuition!

AND. . . read even more unusual college essay questions here:

Buzzfeed | 22 of the most creative college essay questions

Washington Post | Unusual College Essay Questions

***

Gina Catanzarite, owner/operator of Arania Productions, and an award-winning television producer, author, media consultant and teacher who has worked both nationally and locally in her fields since 1987.

Gina is the instructor of Luminari’s Teen Writer! camps, being offered June 27 – 30, 2016, in Pittsburgh, PA.

Where Are They Now: Ambassador Alum Zach Kiehn

2013 I Want to be an Ambassador! camp
alumnus Zach Kiehn

by Beth Dolinar

Zachary Kiehn is that rare student who mapped out his career path while still in high school. A graduate of Fox Chapel High School, Zach decided early on that he would serve in the United States Navy.

But that is down the road a bit. Zach will first study nuclear engineering—his major at Penn State University. He’s enrolled in Naval ROTC there, with an eye toward following his father and his brothers into the military—dad in the Navy and brother in the Army.

When Zach considers his career choices, he acknowledges how his participation in the Luminari organization played a role.

In 2013, Zach attended the “I Want to be an Ambassador” camp. Although much has happened in his life in the three years since then, he has fond memories of the camp, and recalls how the activities helped to shape his worldview.

“The camp opened my eyes to the different ways people approach life,” he said. “It helped me to understand why people make the decisions they make.”

A highlight of the Ambassador camp is a trip to Washington, D.C., where students meet and interact with real-life diplomats. Zach’s camp visited the Royal Thai, South African and New Zealand embassies.

“It was really cool,” Zack said. “We talked with the interim ambassador for New Zealand. We learned how the work of diplomacy related to us.”

Zach carried what he learned during the camp back to his school, where he served on student government. The key to being an effective leader, he said, is to understand the perspectives of different people, and to find common ground.

Among his favorite camp activities was the Model United Nations, where the students considered the issues in a simulation of the Cuban Missile Crisis.

“We got an experience that most people don’t get,” he said.

In addition to the real-world diplomacy experience, Zach remembers the friends he made. He still keeps in touch with several other teens from the camp.

Did we mention that Zach is just 19? It’s easy to forget that this articulate and bright young man who approaches the world with such maturity and insight is still a teenager.

But, he is, at heart, a teenager.

“The camp was so much fun,” he said.  “And the food was awesome.”


I Want to be an Ambassador! camp 2016 begins June 14 -22. Learn more or register for one of our fun and unique summer camps for teens at www.luminari.org

***

Luminari Coordinator, Beth Dolinar brings her talents and experience as a writer, Emmy-award producer, public speaker and deadline driven multi-tasker to our team. She writes a popular column for the Washington "Observer-Reporter." She is a contributing producer of documentary length programming for WQED-TV on a wide range of topics and currently teaches as an adjunct faculty member at Robert Morris University. Beth has a son and a daughter. She is an avid yoga devotee, cyclist and reader. Beth says she types like lightning but reads slowly -- because she likes a really good sentence.

Top 5 Reasons to be a Teen Foodie!

Luminari's Camp Delicious! 2016 begins July 11. So we're counting down the TOP 5 Reasons Your Teen should SIGN UP....

WHO? TEENS AGE 12 – 17
When? JULY 11 – 15, 2016 (9 am – 3 pm)
Where? It is a week of many venues – not unlike a recipe with many ingredients! Campers will take field trips to other kitchens, farms, markets and places including GrowPittsburgh.
How much? $295.00

Learn more or register today for one of our fun and unique summer camps for teens at www.luminari.org or call at 412-877-1888.

Top 5 Reasons to be a Teen Ambassador!

I Want to be an Ambassador! camp begins June 14-22, 2016. So we're counting down the TOP 5 Reasons Your Teen should SIGN UP....

Dates: June 14 – June 22, 2016
Time: 9:00 am – 3:30 pm (excluding weekends)
Location: Heinz History Center and various locations in Washington DC
Duration: 7 days
Target Audience: Rising 8th-12th graders
Tuition: $895.00

Learn more or register today for one of our fun and unique summer camps for teens at www.luminari.org or call us at 412-877-1888.

Where are they now? Ambassador Alum Tyler Baum

by Beth Dolinar

2013 Teen Ambassador, Tyler Baum

It may seem like a reach for an 18-year-old man to say he hopes to someday be elected to national political office, but then again, you don’t know Tyler Baum.

Tyler is a cyber-school senior from Lawrence, Pa, an ambitious and somewhat serious young man who has the academic chops to have been granted early acceptance to study geopolitical research at Dartmouth College. When he starts there next fall, he will already have had college experience on his resume; he has been taking classes at Duquesne University while finishing his high school diploma.

His political ambitions are heartfelt but relatively new. Before attending Luminari’s  “I Want to be an Ambassador” camp in summer 2013, Tyler was not sure what he wanted to do with his life—perhaps something in computer science. But the Luminari camp started him on a different path.

“That camp began my interest in politics,” said Tyler. “I really wasn’t all that interested before.”

As part of the camp, Tyler participated in the Mock United Nations, which presented the students with a theoretical crisis for them to solve.

“That made me realize it is great to work with others and compromise,” Tyler said. Later in the camp, the students travelled to Washington, D.C., where they had face-to-face meetings with ambassadors and diplomats.

“That was my first real experience of Washington politics,” he said. “Asking them questions made me more confident in public speaking and more comfortable with sharing my opinions.”

Now active in student government, Tyler says he can attribute his leadership skills directly to those 7 days at Ambassador camp.  The camp’s tradition is for each student to prepare and present a short speech during the closing ceremonies, an exercise Tyler says sparked his love of public speaking.

“It totally changed my comfort with public speaking,” he said.

As Tyler completes his senior year, he looks ahead to the many plans for his life. It is sure to be a big life, full of challenges and triumphs. Senator Baum, maybe? President?

He says as he moves forward, he will always remember those days when he first became a young ambassador.

“The camp really moved me into a new stage of maturity and leadership,” he said. “I can draw a line from where I am now directly back to the camp. I have the best memories.”

***

Luminari Coordinator, Beth Dolinar brings her talents and experience as a writer, Emmy-award producer, public speaker and deadline driven multi-tasker to our team. She writes a popular column for the Washington "Observer-Reporter." She is a contributing producer of documentary length programming for WQED-TV on a wide range of topics and currently teaches as an adjunct faculty member at Robert Morris University. Beth has a son and a daughter. She is an avid yoga devotee, cyclist and reader. Beth says she types like lightning but reads slowly -- because she likes a really good sentence.

Every Good Story Needs a Strong Protagonist

   By Beth Dolinar

               Forgive this writing lapse, but let’s begin with a cliché: Gina Catanzarite has a personality as fiery as her red hair. Yes, she has red hair and blue eyes and if I’d written that hackneyed opening phrase in one of her university writing classes she would mark a big red slash through it. And then she would tell me it was a good try anyway.

Luminari Teen Writer! Camp
Director Gina Catanzarite

  And then she would encourage me to keep writing, because words are vibrant and beautiful and, at times, the only true things on this planet.

    If that seems overly dramatic, it’s because Gina finds the drama in her work. As the director of Luminari’s TeenWriter! Fantastic Fiction camp, she coaxes young writers to find the right words. Next summer, Gina will lead the camp for the seventh time, coaxing fresh perspectives from middle and high school students in her writing workshop. Her teaching departs from the typical classroom approach of research, syntax and grammar. She is selling the idea of a sentence as a living, breathing thing.

     “Emily Dickinson said, ‘I know nothing in the world that has as much power as a word. Sometimes I write one, and I look at it, until it begins to shine,’” Gina said, quoting the 19^th century poet.

      ‘When you write from the heart you can see the words shine,” Gina said, adding that it is through finding the gleam in a word that a writer finds his or her own, unique voice.

    Her love of language has filled her career. Her work as a writer and producer for both commercial and public television have earned her eight Emmy awards and countless other accolades. As a contributing producer for WQED-TV, she has tackled topics as widely varied as human trafficking, the gender pay gap and efforts to save Pennsylvania’s bats. She is the author of non-fiction books and has written for newspapers and magazines.

     A graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, Gina has taught journalism and broadcast courses at Robert Morris University and, currently, Point Park University. Her students are simultaneously frightened and awed by her dynamic and inspirational classroom style.

     “We had a hash tag of #wwgcd while we were there,” said Claire Gysegem, a student in Gina’s class at Point Park in 2012. “It meant, What would Gina Catanzarite do? She had a way of making an impression that would stick.”

    Gysegem, now a graduate student in public media at Ohio University, credits Gina with igniting her love of television production and writing. “She is upfront and honest and blunt, but probably the most encouraging person you’ll ever meet.”

     Gina is known for her intense, demanding teaching style—suffering no foolishness, laziness or phonies.

    “She expects you to be authentic and be yourself,” said Gysegem. “She taught us that your voice is your own, and when you write, you have to claim it as your own voice.”

     That conviction is evident in the way Gina leads Luminari’s Teen Writer! camp. Last summer, she took students on a field trip to Phipps Conservatory. It was the hottest week of July, and the students stood perspiring in the humid hothouse jungle.

   “Describe what it feels like!” Gina shouted. “If you’re uncomfortable because it’s hot, find the words to say it.”

     That direct and inspirational style was evident to Danny Allman, another Point Park student who served as Gina’s teaching assistant for the Luminari writing camp in 2009.

    “Those students learn from the best,” said Allman, now a news assignments editor at a TV station in Baltimore. “Gina puts so much energy and exuberance into making sure her students enjoy writing, and that they succeed.”

    Gina says enjoys teaching teenagers, because of how they view the world.

    “The kids that age believe they can do anything, “ she said. “There is a lot of life ahead of them, and they tend to be thrill seeking—they enjoy the exhilarating feeling of putting their thoughts down on paper.”

    Gina likens her role of teacher to that of a mother falcon.

    “She carries her babies up high and then throws them off,” she said. “They learn to fly in the free fall. The magic is in the free fall.” It’s a take on life with which she is well acquainted: Gina and her husband Howard Shapiro are the parents of twin teenage sons.

     Her home life feeds her personal writing. She has journaled every day since she was a child, a habit that has left her home littered with “stacks of notebooks everywhere.” They are the words of a woman whose mind travels many miles a minute. To converse with Gina is to be welcomed into a tornado of smart ideas.

     I chose to write this piece in the first person, because Gina is my friend. Our occasional coffee chats are always the liveliest and most inspirational few hours of whatever week I’m in. When Gina talks, you can see all the wheels turning, the eruption of ideas firing along the synapses, all the shining words rolling out. She is aware of how all that energy affects people. She is a lot.

    “My tombstone will read She Meant Well,” she said, laughing.

     This article about Gina began with a cliché. Do I dare insert another?

     What, I ask, is her philosophy of life and teaching?

    “Like me or dislike me; I’ll at least make enough of an impression that students will react to it, “ she says.

    “Do something to let people know you were here.”

Teen Writer Beware: How to Spot a Scam

by Gina Catanzarite

Thanks to the Internet, young writers have more access than ever before to find exciting writing competitions and scholarship opportunities. Now that school is back in sessions, you can be sure that many of them will be heavily promoted to teens seeking scholarships, prizes, and chances to be published.

Unfortunately, many disreputable organizations prey on eager teen writers-- promoting sham competitions with high entry fees and meaningless "publishing credits" as prizes.

Before entering any teen writing competition, follow these words of advice.  And, see our list below with links to competitions run by reputable organizations.  

Sources for Reputable Teen Writing Competitions

• ALWAYS review contest guidelines and promised prizes very carefully. Have a parent, guardian, or school guidance counselor review the competition rules with you if you are unsure if the contest is reputable.
• Reputable writing competitions rarely charge large entry fees.
  NEVER enter competitions that charge substantial fees.
• Beware of “anthology schemes.”
  In short, these schemes ask you to submit your work for a “competition” and “winners” will be “published” in an anthology. Sometimes they charge entry fees for each piece of writing you submit. If your work is “chosen” as a "winner," it will be “published” -- and then, of course, you can buy a copy of the anthology. This is a money-making scheme! Everyone who submits writing gets “chosen” to be in the anthology. The organizations that run these schemes make their money from submission fees and sale of the "winners" anthology.  These schemes are very common, and no industry professional sees them as credible samples of “published” work. Do not waste your money or your time on these anthology schemes.

Here is a partial list of reputable organizations:

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SECONDARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS

http://www.principals.org/Content/158/2010_Natl_Ad_List_101210.pdf

Continually updated list of approved contests and scholarship opportunities for young people. Almost all require an essay of some kind.

SCHOLASTIC, INC. ALLIANCE FOR YOUNG ARTISTS AND WRITERS AWARD

http://www.scholastic.com/artandwritingawards/enter.htm

This is the SuperBowl of student writing competitions – and you can choose your preferred format, from poetry to fiction to short story. It also has categories for visual arts awards. This is an excellent and respected competition to enter.

SOCIETY OF PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISTS HIGH SCHOOL ESSAY CONTEST    http://www.spj.org/a-hs.asp

NATIONAL FEDERATION OF PRESS WOMEN

http://www.nfpw.org/competitions.htm#highschoolcommunicationscompetition

NATIONAL SCHOLASTIC PRESS ASSOCIATION

http://www.studentpress.org/nspa/contests.html

National Pacemaker Awards are awards for excellence in American student journalism, given annually since 1927. The awards are generally considered to be the highest national honors in their field, and are unofficially known as the “Pulitzer Prizes” of student journalism.

Poetry Out Loud competition – National student recitation competition

http://www.poetryoutloud.org/

RTNDF -- High School Broadcast Journalism Project

http://www.hsbj.org/Announcements/5freedoms/

Journalism Education Association -- Aspiring Young Journalist Award

http://www.jea.org/awards/aspiring.html

Voice of Democracy essay contest

http://www.vfw.org/index.cfm?fa=cmty.leveld&did=150