UNews - ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Bookstore

Cookbook to benefit SU Food Bank

trevor.kenney — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 21:51:46 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Bookstore has embarked on a fundraiser for the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Students' Union Food Bank.

The bookstore is putting together a cookbook, which will feature a collection of U of L staff and faculty recipes. The cookbook will be published on campus and all proceeds from the sales of the book will go to the Students' Union Food Bank.

The SU Food Bank helps hundreds of students each year deal with food insecurity issues, allowing them to focus on their academic priorities. The Students' Union understands the financial constraints involved with earning a university education and has implemented this service so that students do not go hungry.

Food hampers are available in both single and family sizes, and are designed to last about a week. Students, staff and faculty are all eligible to receive food hampers. An individual is able to obtain a food hamper once every two weeks, limited to a total of 10 hampers throughout their entire academic career.

The food bank is a limited resource because it is a not-for-profit, volunteer run organization that depends entirely on donations to operate.

"The food bank has proven to be an essential service to U of L Students and we are always so grateful for the continued support from the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ community, as well as the Lethbridge community, in order to continue to meet students' needs," says Armin Escher, ULSU president.

Any staff or faculty member who would like to contribute to the cookbook can submit their favourite recipes to the bookstore via e-mail (bookstore@uleth.ca) by June 20.

"We, at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Bookstore, are very excited about the launch of our new fundraising initiative for our Students' Union Food Bank," says Rebecca Colbeck, U of L Bookstore. "This campus is a community, and it is important that we all work together and support one another. The cookbook will give faculty, staff and students the opportunity to share some great family recipes and really make a different to those in our community."

The cookbook will be available to faculty, staff, students and the general public to purchase in the Fall 2012 at the U of L Bookstore.

Scandinavian tour an eye opener for Horns

trevor.kenney — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 21:43:27 +0000

Scandinavia Tour 2011 – call it an applied study course for the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Pronghorns women's soccer program.

The Horns just recently returned from a 10-day trip through Denmark and Sweden, an invaluable experience of exhibition matches, training opportunities and sight-seeing trips that they expect will reap dividends once the ball is again kicked closer to home this fall.

"It was phenomenal," says Horns head coach Ilsa Wong. "We had the opportunity to see some top level professional women's soccer in Sweden, and for our girls to watch that level of play, I think it was a real wow moment for them. It was great for me to see their response to that incredible level of soccer."

Kathy Curtis, left, Janelle Groten, middle, and Jaclyn Groten atop the Spire on a cathedral in Denmark.

The tour offered the Horns three exhibition matches. They won the first, 5-1, over a 2nd division Swedish professional team, and lost the next two, including a 6-0 shutout at the hands of the Danish national U18 champions and a 3-1 decision to a Danish professional team's scout squad.

"It was a much better experience than the tour we had three years ago in England," says Wong. "It was a good level of soccer for them and nothing really outside of the level they'd participate in here in Canada. They were definitely challenged, especially against the youth squad. It's funny, to see them
before the game, they are just these skinny little blond girls and then they get on the field and all of a sudden they are these tough, fast amazing players. It was a very good experience."

That, in essence, was the goal of the trip, to give the Horns an experience they couldn't find here in Canada. It opened their minds to new ideas and new possibilities.

"It was quite eye opening to see the way they coach versus the way we're coached here," says Horns captain Kathy Curtis, who also took part in the English tour. "Then playing against the junior national team, some of them were 14 years old and they were so good. It was really neat to see that level of play in such a young team. These girls probably could have taken down any team in CIS."

Wong says that many of the girls came away with a new appreciation for their sport, and it raises the bar on their expectation level for what can be achieved.

"Seeing how other countries play your sport and the passion they have for it is invaluable," she says. "I think sometimes we can get complacent in thinking that post-secondary sport is something you just do as an activity. If we can show some of these student athletes that it's a way of life for some people, it raises the standard for them."

The Horns planned and fundraised for the excursion for the last two-plus years. They served as bleacher cleaners at Pronghorns home basketball games, provided the labour for the Books on Beds program offered by the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Bookstore, sold scarves, ran booster club events and participated in Operation Red Nose.

For Curtis, a defender, she says the experience pushed her to a new level and she could see the rest of the team raise its play simply by virtue of trying to keep up to the competition.

"Playing the whole 90 minutes against a team the calibre of the junior national team really pushes you, but that's good. I always find my best games are when you're playing the best teams. I could see in the rest of the girls, that was like a light bulb that went off."

The only downside to the trip is that it couldn't be scheduled before the start of the Canada West season.

"We'd really love to bring a lot of that back and use it for next year but it's hard because now we have a break and we're not back again until the fall," says Curtis. "It'd be nice to go on that trip in July, get that experience and then go right into the season."

GET THE FACTS

• The tour took the club through Copenhagen and Kolding in Denmark, as well as Malmo, Sweden. The team visited castles and was able to dip their toes in the water at the Skagen Odde, where the Kattegat and the Skagerak seas meet.

• The Horns were able to train at the FCN Academy in Copenhagen. The professional men's team boasts Canadian star Patrice Bernier.

• Wong says the program offers an international trip every three years, something that serves as a strong recruiting tool. "The fact we do it every three years means players will get an opportunity to participate at least once if not more, and in a way it sort of shows them where some of their fundraising dollars go."

• A total of 26 people were on the trip, including some parents. Soon, they will begin planning their next excursion in 2014.

This story first appeared in the Legend. For a look at the Legend in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Davie a born storyteller

trevor.kenney — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 22:01:18 +0000

It's easy to picture: a canopy of glimmering stars, crickets chirping in the background, rolling waves lapping against the shore as crisp dry wood crackles in the campfire, and the words of award-winning author and storyteller Michael Davie (BMgt '95) mesmerizing friends with a fantastical tale.

"I love the way that words sound, especially words that sound like what they are," says Davie, recent winner of the Alberta Reader's Choice Award. "The sound of words can change a sentence, but I would categorize myself as a storyteller rather than a word-person. I've just always wanted to tell a story, whether it was around the campfire or by putting words on paper."

In May, Davie earned an Alberta Reader's Choice Award for his comedic coming-of-age novel entitled Fishing for Bacon. The lead character, Bacon, is a sheltered young man experiencing sexuality and life in the big city. Davie is excited with the feedback he has received.

"I love reading the critiques. It has been a bit of a rush that, for the most part, has been overwhelmingly positive, but there has been some criticism of it that I find fascinating. I just try to take what everyone says and learn from it," says Davie. "It has been a great confidence boost to write a novel. It sounds so cliché to say that anything is possible, but anything is."

Davie's first storytelling outlet was through cartoons. He had dreams of following in the footsteps of noted comic artist, Charles Shultz.

"My mom used to buy me Peanuts comic books. I was always glued to them," says Davie. "I started to bring my own cartoons to high school and my best friend would laugh at them; hearing that laughter was a drug to do more."

After graduating from high school, Davie took a year off to commune with nature, spending a lot of time camping. In the fall of 1989, Davie entered the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge hoping to fulfill his creative aspirations.

"My original goal was to get to the Alberta College of the Arts but I couldn't connect the dots to form a career path. I decided to go into management. I have a very strong creative drive but I also have a strong analytical drive. To feel fulfilled I need to use both sides of my brain. I discovered a great path to that in marketing," says Davie, who is an ardent believer in the benefits of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's liberal arts philosophy.
"The exposure to liberal arts classes, to different people and different viewpoints and the respectful environment under which we could express or challenge those views, really opened my eyes."

Davie graduated with a bachelor of management degree in marketing in 1995 then worked as a marketing manager in both Waterton and Banff. He also drew political cartoons and created a successful comic strip, The Last Resort, which he continued to do for about four years. In 1997, Davie travelled to Korea with a friend. He stayed for almost a year and a half, backpacking through the country and teaching English.

While in Korea, Davie's creative medium morphed from cartoons to short stories, for which he won several contests including an opportunity to attend a one-week course at the Victoria School of Writing.

"I had been taking some creative writing classes at the U of C and both my professors at the university and the instructors in Victoria told me that my short stories were novellas that I was refusing to allow to grow," recalls Davie. "That is what sparked my novel, Fishing for Bacon, that and the fact that there were so many interesting people and stories I saw when I lived in resort towns that I wanted to convey how it seemed to me."

That encouragement has benefitted us all.

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ bookstore has a fabulous display of Michael Davie's book Fishing for Bacon, prominently featured at the front of the store. As with all of their trade books, there is a 15% discount off the suggested retail price.

Christmas Greetings

trevor.kenney — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 17:44:16 +0000

It is hard to believe our first semester has nearly passed and we are approaching already the Christmas season. I wish Christmas greetings to all students, faculty and staff at this very special time of year.

As I look around campus I am always impressed by the ethnic diversity we have here at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge. We truly are a global community with students from virtually every corner of the planet. What impresses me is the manner by which U of L students embrace the international culture that surrounds them. I know this because of the many stories I hear of our students making an impact on a global level.

We have a number of students who take advantage of study tours to international destinations and many more who volunteer abroad, helping to spread the word that the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ is globally conscious and responsible.

It is hardly surprising then to see U of L grads employed as part of our armed forces, representing both their country and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ in some of the world's most troubled locations. It is wonderful to see these young men fly the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's flag in these far-off lands and I wish upon them a safe return to Canada once their tour of duty has been completed.

Hearty congratulations to the Pronghorns women's rugby team on their third consecutive CIS championship victory. To win a national championship is wonderful but to do it three straight years, and in such a dominant fashion, is truly remarkable. We should be very proud of these young women and all the attention they have brought to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge.

In keeping with Pronghorn Athletics, it is important to remember that our athletes are students as well and that the term "student-athlete" be taken to heart. Therefore it was good to see the Pronghorns qualify 41 of their student-athletes for the Academic All-Canadian team, an increase of six students from the previous year. Special mention should be made of the women's soccer and rugby programs, which led the way with eight Academic All-Canadians apiece.
Congratulations also to Dr. Hans-Joachim Wieden and his iGEM team for their recent gold medal performance at the iGEM competition in Boston, as well as the efforts of Dr. Howard Cheng's computer programming teams that posted the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's best-ever results at the ACM Rocky Mountain Regional Programming Contest.

Finally, kudos to student Scott Lamb of Claresholm who managed to sink a half-court shot and win the Bill's Bomb for Books promotion at a recent Pronghorns men's basketball game. His prowess lightened my wallet and netted him a $500 gift certificate at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Bookstore.

Enjoy the Christmas season, use the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's Operation Red Nose program if you're out enjoying some Christmas cheer and I look forward to seeing everyone renewed and refreshed in the New Year.

UNews - ��Ѹ�����Դ���߿�Ƭ Bookstore

Cookbook to benefit SU Food Bank

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