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.

The Right Thing: A Personal Essay

THANK YOU to everyone who entered the Share Your Story: Writing Contest in March. We received many outstanding essays, short stories and memoirs and regret that there can be only one winner. However, our next contest begins April 1: so remember to Share Your Story for a chance to win!

The Right Thing:  A Personal Essay
by Alex Barndollar




All I’d been doing was minding my own business, reading a book in Barnes & Noble when an older man sat down next to me. He was black, mid-sixties. Bundled up from the cold, he carried a cane in one hand. Reaching over to shake my hand, he introduced himself as Joe. A minute of silence had gone by when he started crying.

When someone starts crying, you’re going to ask if they’re all right. He launched into a tale of how his elderly mother had died the night before, and that he had been on his way to claim the body in West Virginia when his car had broken down outside the mall.

“I used up the money I had in my wallet getting the car towed to a garage, and my credit card is at home. All I need is some help.” The way he told his story was so genuine that I couldn’t help but feel bad. When he asked if I had any money on me, I gave him the twenty dollar bill I had in my wallet.

It would have been too easy to just direct him to mall security for help, wouldn’t it? But he was so genuine that I panicked.

And that’s when he asked me for a ride. Not immediately agreeing, I asked where he needed to go. He listed the name of the garage and it was familiar. Tears were still pouring down his face, and I knew that if I refused a ride I’d feel guilty about it for at least a year.

Next thing I knew, we were walking across the parking lot towards my car. Just to be safe, I pulled out my phone and dialed 911, ready to make a call should anything turn south.

I was an idiot for getting into this situation. The proper response would, again, have been to direct him to mall security for help. For all I knew, he could have had a gun under his coat. And the fact that I had the forethought to dial 911 should have been the kick in the ass I needed to realize I shouldn’t be doing this.

But it was just a ride to the garage, less than twenty minutes away. Right?

The trip to this garage soon took me down roads I’d never been on. All the while, he talked to me: asked where I went to school, what my major was. While the talk was friendly, my mind was going into overdrive. I could stop this and ask him to get out, but what if he had a weapon? And if he didn’t, would I just leave this old man out in the cold on a random street?

He was normal in appearance, with a friendly personality. But what if it was all an act? It would be easy to have me deliver him to a spot where his friends could be waiting to rob me, or worse. Would I be the cautionary tale they told to kids in elementary school about how talking to strangers can lead to horrible things?

What would my parents do if I didn’t come home that night? Would I see them again? What about my friends? Each of their faces flashed into my mind. I’ve always had a creative imagination, but in this case it wasn’t doing me any favors. My parents crying in a press conference flashed before my eyes with imaginary headlines, and the “doink doink” sound from (ital) Law & Order(end ital) kept going off in my head.

He thanked me as we reached a township 45 minutes away, not a place I would choose to visit. All he had to do was kill me when we got to our destination and he would have himself a new Honda Civic. Nobody would know to look for me there.

“Turn into that alley up there.” This was it. I was dead. “That alley between the buildings, with the DirecTV dish on the wall.” At this point, one hand had dug into my coat pocket and turned my phone on, ready to call the number. He reached into his coat as we pulled to a stop at a garage door. My heart was beating crazily, as if it knew that it was about to be silenced for good.

I was expecting a knife or a gun, but he pulled out a receipt and a pen and asked for my phone number. He promised he would pay me back, and got out of the car. Reaching back in, he shook my hand and told me he appreciated my help, and blessed me. As soon as the door shut, I locked it and backed out of that alley as fast as I could. Relief coursed through me, along with the urge to punch myself for being the world’s biggest idiot.

All I could do was drive. Twenty minutes afterward, my heart still racing, my phone rang. Pulling it out, I saw it was my best friend Peter. Pulling off to the side of the road, I answered it and immediately broke down in tears as I told him what had happened. He’d simply wanted to know if I wanted to order a pizza with him that night, so I’m sure he was confused by me bawling my eyes out when he asked if I wanted green peppers or not.

That night, Joe called me and intended to pay me back, asking if we could meet the next day. I refused, telling him not to worry and that I had to get back to school. He asked if I was sure, to which I said yes. Would he have paid me back? Maybe. Would he have asked for more money? Maybe. All in all, I was done with the whole thing.

AUTHOR'S BIO:

I'm a Corporate Communications major at Robert Morris University with an interest in writing and film. I hope to someday work in entertainment and successfully see one of my screenplays put to film.

***

SHARE YOUR STORY WRITING CONTEST

The winning writer receives a $50 gift card and reusable
tote bag sponsored by Pittsburgh Psychotherapy Associates

We are excited to team up with Pittsburgh Psychotherapy Associates to offer the Share Your Story Writing Contest to coincide with our bi-monthly publication – LUMOS! We challenge you to write and share stories that inspire, entertain, educate or inform.

Stories and topics for submissions can include (but are not limited to) current events, diplomacy, economics, politics, journalism, cooking, recipes with a great story to tell, creative writing, fiction, comics or environmental issues. This is your opportunity to let your writing skills shine. Share Your Story today!

Each period, a winner will be selected from all of the submissions eligible to receive a $50 Target gift card, sponsored by Pittsburgh Psych, and have his or her entry featured in LUMOS!

And to make sure you don’t miss future news, you can sign up for our newsletter by clicking here, or follow us on Facebook and Twitter for conversations, updates and inspiration.

What's That Sound? The Sistrum

by Beth Dolinar

We at Luminari love music of all kinds: folk, symphony, hip hop, jazz, blues, country, marches, gospel, rock and roll—we enjoy all of it.

Because our mission is to broaden minds and promote innovation, we think it’s important—and fun—to open our minds to the possibilities of the world beyond our own doorstep.  And what better way to do that than to learn about the music of other lands.

In each issue of LUMOS!, we offer a regular series about the unique and unusual (and sometimes downright strange) instruments we’ve never heard. And since we can’t really understand an instrument until we’ve heard it being played, we’ll offer links to sites where you can hear and see a performance.

And so we offer our second in a series of unusual instruments: the sistrum.

Do you remember that box of rhythm instruments you played in grade school music class? If you had been an ancient Egyptian grade schooler, you would have found a sistrum in that box.

***

If a tambourine and an abacus were to procreate, the offspring might look like the sistrum.

The sistrum is a musical instrument dating back to the ancient Egyptians. As with much of what was built or invented during those times, the sistrum was meant to placate a diety—in this case, Hathor, the horned cow-goddess of love. Hieroglyphs from that time often depict women holding sistrums.

The instrument is typically made of wood or metal, shaped in an oval and spanned by thin bars on which slide thin metal discs. When shaken the sistrum creates a soft jangling that resembles breeze blowing through papyrus reeds, a sound which, apparently, the cow-goddess enjoyed.

The closest cousin to a sistrum would be the modern tambourine, whose noisemakers orbit a skin drum. The sistrum has no such drum, and therefore the player does not strike it.

To play the sistrum correctly, you hold it upright and shake it in a forward-back motion. Centuries ago, the sistrum was played at fertility rituals. Today, you might hear it played in a Berlioz opera or, more likely, in worship music at an Ethiopian Orthodox Church. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sistrum

Here is a link to a group of Ethopian men playing sistrums in worship music:

***

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.

Meet the 2016 Luminari Award Winners

Luminari is excited to announce the winners of its fifth annual Luminari Award: Emily Smith, an 8^th grader at Propel/Mckeesport School, and Hao Nguyen, an 11^th grader at Sto-Rox High School . Hao is the winner of the English as a Second Language award.

The competition was open to all schools in the Pittsburgh region. Emily and Hao will each receive a merit scholarship to attend the I Want to be an Ambassador!, a seven-day camp to master the skills of everyday diplomacy this summer. The scholarship has a value of over $1200.

***

Meet Hao “Brock” Nguyen

Brock, with his little bro, believes the I Want to
be an Ambassador! camp will be a stepping stone
to “meet new people and prepare for college.”

Seventeen year-old HAO NGUYEN was nominated by his teacher Jan Pressman to receive the Luminari Award for English as a Second Language (ESL) students. Hao and his family immigrated to the United States from Vietnam. While a student and athlete in Kansas, Hao got the nickname “Brock” from his wrestling coach and it just stuck “all my friends call me Brock,” he said. Sports are a passion because he loves to be active and outdoors, this year he started playing football for his new school Sto-Rox adding, “next year I will try hard to make the varsity team.”

What are your expectations for the 2016 “I Want to be an Ambassador! Camp?

My expectation for the 2016 “I want to be an Ambassador Camp” is that it will be fun and that I will learn a lot of skills that I can apply to my own life. I am really looking forward to meeting all these amazing people at camp.

What does “diplomacy” mean to you?

Diplomacy to me is when someone always tries to help people, compromises and strives to bring peace. Also, a person must be very brave and smart to follow the rules and choose to do what is right. One who leads the people beside him/her to success.

What does 2016 have in store for you (your future plans or career goals?)

 I think 2016 has something really special for me, but I have to work hard to get to it. My plan for next year is to graduate high school, do well on the SAT, and get accepted to Penn State. I want to study computer programming, but I will need a scholarship.

What/who inspires you and why?

My parents are an inspiration to me. They got me where I am today. They sacrifice way too much for my brother and me. I promised myself that I would work really hard so I can pay them back.

Tell us something others may not know about you?

I am a pretty quiet guy so people don’t know much about me. I can be really funny once I feel confident around you. I really love wrestling. I wrestled in 9^th grade, and I’m in love with the game.

What are you currently reading?

I’m reading “The Samurai Never Fear Death”

What is your favorite movie?

My Favorite movie is “Dead Pool” 2016

What is your favorite hobby?

My hobby is hiking and being outdoors.

What are your top 3 food picks in Pittsburgh?

Top three foods in Pittsburgh that I like are The Northern Hamburger, Pho, and last but not least is Blowfish BBQ.

What are you looking forward to this summer?

I’m looking forward to summer because I love the hot weather so I can be outside more. This year I will attend the “I want to be Ambassador!” camp, which I am really looking forward to.

What is one thing you can’t live without?

The thing I cannot live without is my car. The car is like my best friend. It is also my transportation that takes me to my destination.

What is the quality you most value in a friend?

The quality I most value in a friend is loyalty.

What is the quality you most value in yourself?

The qualities I most value in myself is kindness and hard work.

Do you have a favorite quote?

The quote I live by is “Never give up on something that makes you who you are today” –Me.

What is your biggest pet peeve?

My biggest pet peeve is when I talk to someone and they don’t respond.

What is the most significant lesson you’ve learned?

The most significant lesson I learned is never take a short cut. Do what is right to be successful.

What project are you energized by?

I’m energized by wrestling.

My 6-word autobiography is:

Kind, Careful, Calm, Motivate, Hard-Worker, and last but not least Active

***

Meet Emily Smith

Emily hopes the I Want to be an Ambassador! camp will help her
“to become a role model for other young women.”

EMILY SMITH was nominated by educators Erik Bard, Americorp Member, and Amy Burrows, Assistant Director of Afterschool Programs, Propel McKeesport because she “is constantly demonstrating the ‘Life Habits Towards Greatness’ that represent our school’s culture. She models what a star student should look like each and every day.  She is a well read student who enjoys literature,” said Mr. Bard. 

“In fact, she always has a book on her to read during down time.  We feel that Emily cares about her education and doing her best. We know that she will learn many important life skills at the Luminari I Want to be an Ambassador Camp. We believe that she will utilize those skills in her daily routines and grow as a role model for others,” added Ms. Burrows.

Fourteen year old, Emily is involved in her local youth group and STEM program. Her favorite subjects are History and Science, and she is currently participating in a grade-wide business plan competition. After high school, Emily plans to major in human services in college.

What are your expectations for the 2016 I Want to be an Ambassador! Camp?

I would like to meet new people and have new and exciting experiences.

What are you currently reading?

I am reading “Half Bad” by Sally Green

What is your favorite movie?

It is the original “Ring” made in Japan

What is your favorite hobby?

I enjoy reading, and I participated in the Battle of the Books competition.

My 6-word autobiography is:

Energetic, Lovable, Sensitive, Mature, Kind, and Expressive.

Meet Susan Brozek Scott, 2016 Ambassador Camp Director

2016 I Want to be an Ambassador!
Camp Director, Susan Brozek Scott

by Beth Dolinar

It would be difficult to watch a parade marching by without seeing the work of Susan Brozek Scott. In her roles as producer, organizer and, yes, marcher, Susan has left her mark on parade routes all around the Pittsburgh area.

Susan, who will serve as Director of Luminari’s I Want to be an Ambassador! Camp for summer 2016, has a rich background of experience working with young people and the community. For much of her career, Susan was a reporter and producer for television stations in Pittsburgh and other cities. Eventually she landed at Pittsburgh’s WPXI-TV where, for 13 years, she produced the broadcast of the annual “Celebrate the Seasons” parade. If you’ve ever watched the festivities, you were seeing Susan’s keen talent for painting vivid stories for television.

It’s no surprise, then, that her next endeavor would lead to parade routes, too. In 2008, Susan began “Afterschool Buddy, Inc.,” a children’s multimedia programming and production corporation. The cornerstone of the company is a children’s performance group—a colorful troupe of costumed characters and talented kids—which performs songs, dances and skits at community events and, yes, parades around the area. The smiling character in the ridiculous hat? That’s Aunt Junk, the character played by none other than Susan herself. That hat is big, and in summer it’s hot, but it’s all part of Susan’s effort to connect with the kids.

“I don’t have my own children,” said Susan. “I felt that this was a way to pay it forward. I think we can teach them things by telling stories in entertaining ways.”

Afterschool Buddy Mascots

The mission of “Afterschool Buddy” is multi-faceted, and aims to broaden the perspectives of teens and pre-teens.

One teenager who has been with Susan since the start of the company is Jason Starr, 17, a junior at Mars High School. He has been a member of The Rainbow Kids, the “Aftershool Buddy” performing group, and now works to help youngsters, both in and out of the performing group, navigate the challenges of life. He credits his leader with preparing him for that role.

“Susan is very patient,” said Jason. “She helped me to grow as a teenager and as an individual.”

“We want to teach them life skills, like goal setting, discipline and responsibility,” Susan said. “And teamwork, too. All the kids want to be a star (in the performance group), and I’m old school in that you have to have a firm foundation for your life, and learn that you need others to accomplish your goals.”

WPXI Holiday Parade in November 2015. Afterschool
Buddy and La Roche College partnered on the float.

In that way, Susan’s mission for her company aligns perfectly with Luminari’s mission of mind broadening, innovation and cultural understanding. Her new role will allow her to extend her teaching work beyond younger children to teenagers of middle and high school age.

“I’ve always been interested in connecting the dots for people. I love the diplomacy of helping the kids appreciate the diversity of our community.”

Susan is a Pittsburgher, through and through. A native of Springdale, she earned a degree in Communications and Rhetoric from the University of Pittsburgh. She’s married to the police chief of Cheswick, Pa.

Susan will preside over the Ambassador camp, to be held June 14-22, 2016, part of which includes a trip to Washington, D.C. to meet with leaders in the diplomatic community.

Her goal for the camp is to help the teens understand that a lot of divisions in our society can be bridged if people are willing to go outside their comfort zone.

“People tend to live in their own space,” Susan said. “They’re not always willing to venture outside of that. But teens are at a very impressionable age. They are very open to influences, and I want to help them move outside their comfort zones.”

At the Ambassador camp, the goals will be for the teenage students to learn about the lives and perspectives of people from other worlds and other cultures. As she prepares the invigorating slate of activities for the Ambassador camp, Susan finds herself becoming more and more excited about the possibilities the students will face.

“I’ll enjoy seeing the kids learn and be exposed to all the different cultures and lives and ideas of the people they’ll meet,” she said. “I love diplomacy.”

***

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.

What's That Sound? The Valiha

by Beth Dolinar


We at Luminari love music of all kinds: folk, symphony, hip hop, jazz, blues, country, marches, gospel, rock and roll—we enjoy all of it.

Because our mission is to broaden minds and promote innovation, we think it’s important—and fun—to open our minds to the possibilities of the world beyond our own doorstep.  And what better way to do that than to learn about the music of other lands.

Starting in this edition of Lumos, we will be offering regular features about the unique and unusual (and sometimes downright strange) instruments we’ve never heard. And since we can’t really understand an instrument until we’ve heard it being played, we’ll offer links to sites where you can hear and see a performance.

We’ll step off into our musical venture with the story of the valiha, the national instrument of Madagascar.

Does it strike anyone else as interesting that this instrument is made from bicycle parts?

***

At first glance, the man looks like he’s holding a bassoon. The valiha is a long, thick tube the player holds vertically.

Valiha

But look again and you see there’s no mouthpiece. The valiha is not a wind instrument, but a kind of zither.  The sound comes from plucking and stroking the strings.

The valiha is ancient, and long considered the national instrument of Madagascar. For centuries, the valiha was played solely for ritual performances, and only by men. In recent decades, the valiha has entered the realm of popular music, and women now play it.

The valiha is a long tube, usually made of bamboo or a light wood. There are 21 to 24 strings, which in modern times have been fashioned from bicycle brake cords. When the cables no longer stop your bike, they move on to their next lives in the arts.

For centuries, the valiha was played to summon kind spirits to the Madagascar island. Now, the valiha is played for equally life-affirming reasons—to make lovely music.

Listen for yourself:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHTnIC-BYcI

***

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.

Resolutions

by Gina Catanzarite

Quite by accident, as I was doing research for a work project, I stumbled upon two quotes that set the tone for my 2016 New Year’s resolution.

Quote Number 1 is by Saleem Sharma:

“A thousand moments lost because you took them for granted, just because you expected a thousand more.”

Quote Number 2 is an excerpt from the book Belles on Their Toes by Ernestine Gilbreth Carey:

“In a person’s lifetime, there may be not more than a half a dozen occasions that he can look back to in the certain knowledge that right then, at that moment, there was room for nothing but happiness in his heart.”

At first, they may seem unrelated but the more I contemplated them, the more I saw that the first quote does connect very certainly to the second one.

I take so many moments for granted. We probably all do, so focused are we on engineering our futures. After all, that’s what New Year’s resolutions are about, right: Resolving to change, to correct the wrongs and live with greater intention. And we naturally expect that we will be granted “a thousand moments more” to accomplish these resolutions.

Humans are funny that way, assuming we have all the time in the world, assuming we have unlimited chances to make our lives happy and complete sometime in the future.

So how does this all relate to Quote Number 2? I realized that I spend a lot of time— far too much time – thinking about what I’ll do to make myself happier in the future. But this second quote startled me into examining my past for moments when “there was room for nothing but happiness in my heart.”

Some are momentous, obvious. . . like the moment a beaming Russian orphanage worker plunked two little babies into my arms and told me, in careful English, “Now you are a mama.”

But some sneak into your heart, extraordinary because they are so pure and unplanned and uncomplicated . . . like the time my friend and I sneaked away for a day at the beach and a bold seagull swooped down and stole an entire donut right out of her hand, just as she was about to bite into it.

And the spontaneous road trip with co-workers, when we belted out the John Denver song Country Roads while driving, hopelessly lost, through the hills of West Virginia.

There are probably more and they’d come to me if I gave it some thought. And that’s the problem: We don’t stop to appreciate the miraculous “little moments.” We live so quickly nowadays that moments flash by with all the staying power of a pithy tweet or Facebook status, forgotten as soon as the next post pops into the digital feed.

And so my resolution is this: I will stop expecting a thousand moments more. And in doing so, I will be present to appreciate the little moment I’m in. If I am paying attention, I may just realize that it has all the capacity to be miraculous and happy, too, if only I have the patience, and the gratitude, to name it.

***

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.