UNews - San Francisco

Van Buskirk, Cooper grab awards

trevor.kenney — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 17:27:54 +0000

Amy Van Buskirk and Daryl Cooper are the Subway Athletes of the Week, as announced by Pronghorn Athletics.

Van Buskirk, a fourth-year defenceman with the Horns women's hockey team, was a standout in the Horns' unprecedented sweep of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta Pandas over the weekend.

Friday night, Van Buskirk notched a goal and an assist to give the Pronghorns their first win against the Pandas in 15 years. The Brandon, MB native also netted the shootout winner to end the decade-and-a-half losing streak.

Saturday night, Van Buskirk was at it again, scoring the overtime winner to vault the Horns into sole possession of first place in the Canada West conference. Van Buskirk is currently tied for second in the conference for points by a defenceman.

On the men's side, third-year point guard Daryl Cooper impressed in his first weekend of action with the Horns. Cooper, who hails from San Francisco, Cal. , finished the weekend series against the Winnipeg Wesmen as the Horns' leader in points and assists.

In Friday night's season opener, Cooper scored 11 points and added four assists and four steals in a 74-71 loss to the Wesmen.

The following night, Cooper was a key component to the Horns earning a weekend split with the Wesmen. He dropped 16 points, picked up four rebounds and four assists in the Horns' 69-68 triumph.

Horns men's basketball adds point guard

trevor.kenney — Fri, 20 May 2011 21:21:51 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Pronghorns men's basketball team continues to add talent to its roster for the 2010-11 Canada West basketball season. On Friday, the club announced it will welcome six-foot-one point guard Daryl Cooper to the program.

Cooper comes to the Horns from City College of San Francisco, where he held a prominent role for the CCSF Rams as they won the California Junior College Championship last season.

"He is a great leader and his eye popping 2.95 to 1 assist to turnover ratio will immediately address our deficiencies last season in this area," says Horns head coach Dave Adams. "We are absolutely thrilled to have a quality person and player in Daryl don the blue and gold next season."

Cooper is a San Francisco native and has led championship teams at both the high school and junior college level. Before joining CCSF, he started at point guard during his senior season at Sacred Heart Cathedral High School, leading them to a California State Championship.

Cooper will be joining the already announced signed recruiting class of Logan Reiter, Dallon Martin, Morgan Duce and Dom Coward. The Horns are also expected to announce another signing later next week.

Sopko discovers passion for environment in classroom

trevor.kenney — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 20:47:07 +0000

When Courtnay Sopko was first learning about the origins of Greenpeace and the environmental movement, it ignited in her a passion for environmentalism. Less than a year later she was working for Greenpeace as part of a co-operative study opportunity through the Applied Studies and Co-operative Education office.

"I learned a lot about the origins of the environmental movement in my Introduction to Environmental History class, and how Greenpeace started it all," says Sopko, who then put her passion into practice. "Greenpeace gained widespread attention for environmental issues during the late 1960's and early 1970's. They were one of the first groups to take a stand for the environment and make a difference. It was because of this history class that I knew I had to get that internship."

Courtnay Sopko enjoyed a four-month internship opportunity with Greenpeace.

It wasn't always that clear for Sopko, who came to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ from her Fernie, B.C. home looking to study in a humanities discipline but not really sure where she'd direct her focus.

"History stuck out to me as a major that was challenging and also a subject I could grasp," she says. "But beyond that I had no idea what I was going to do."

Dr. Christopher Burton's environmental history offering would prove to be just the spark Sopko was seeking. By the time she returned to Fernie the following summer, she had signed up for volunteer positions with local non-profit agencies Friends of the Flathead and Wildsight. It was through that work that she found the four-month Greenpeace internship opportunity.

Sopko applied and, after an intensive series of surveys and interviews, was one of 20 interns selected from a pool of more than 100 applicants.

"The internship gave me the experience necessary to run, organize and support environmental campaigns," says Sopko. "It felt great to work with Greenpeace. I was able to take what I'd learned in my history, geography, and environmental science classes and put it into action through a work experience."

From Sept. to Dec. 2009 Sopko worked for Greenpeace in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Japan. Her background as a history student served her well as she came to the job with a solid skill set of communications and writing experience. Being on the frontlines of the Greenpeace movement, especially when working as part of the International Day for Climate Change team, her knowledge was put to the test.

"We trained for months and had lots of information briefings so that we could answer all the questions that people might have about any campaign we were running," says Sopko. "Now I feel like I can talk to anyone. I am comfortable facing opposition views, and I know I can still get my message through."

She values the liberal arts background she gained by studying at the U of L.

"I got some pretty strange looks when I said I was a history major, because typically I was working with people who had environmental science backgrounds," she says. "I now know that any degree with a focus on communication and writing is very valuable in the work world. After all, a critical part of what we were doing with Greenpeace required effective communication skills.
"The U of L helped me develop a well rounded point-of-view for the different arguments within environmentalism. I can look at things from a historical perspective as well as a more traditional scientific background. It's a product of taking different classes from different fields and looking for ways to gain practical experience."

She's quick to add that she took advantage of the opportunities available to her and recommends students become engaged and take control of their educational experience.

"Take a diverse selection of courses," advises Sopko. "Volunteer and experience different things. Make sure that co-operative education and applied studies are a part of your ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ experience too, because you never know what you are passionate about until you actually do it."

GET THE FACTS

• Sopko, in her fourth year of studies, is set to graduate in June.

• Friends of the Flathead, with whom Sopko volunteered, works to protect and save the Flathead River Valley in British Columbia. Wildsight works to protect the Columbia and Rocky Mountain eco-regions in southern British Columbia.

• Sopko is looking to continue working with Greenpeace upon graduation. She is also seeking out new internship and fellowship opportunities.

For a look at the Legend in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Global Drums preparing for exotic event

trevor.kenney — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 17:57:53 +0000

Join Global Drums for another thrilling world tour and sample the exotic rhythms of Africa, Brazil, Japan and Latin America.

Global Drums and their special guests take to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Theatre stage Apr. 1-2 at 8 p.m. nightly for a program of hard-hitting rhythms and unique cultural collaborations.

"Our concert has something for everyone," says Adam Mason, director. "Audiences can expect a fantastic night of entertainment featuring works from our Steel Drum Ensemble, African Drums, Taiko Ensemble, Brazilian and Samba Ensemble."

Joining Global Drums this year is a notable roster of guests. The Brazilian Samba Band welcomes world-renowned Brazilian Samba drumming artist, Jimmy Biala.

"Biala is from San Francisco and teaches Samba percussion worldwide. We're very excited to have him lead our Samba Band during the concert," says Mason.

Another highlight of the program is an inspired twist on Rhapsody in Blue, featuring pianist Glen Montgomery. Composed for piano and orchestra, the U of L Percussion Ensemble collaborates with Montgomery on this unique rendition of Gershwin's classic.

"We are also performing a fast and furious arrangement of Hopak, featuring the Troyanda Ukrainian Dance Club and saxophonist Ian Burleigh," adds Mason.

Consisting of more than 40 performers, Global Drums boasts the largest post-secondary percussion ensemble in the country.

"Our steel drum band proudly represented Canada at the 17th Annual Cultural Festival in Honolulu this March," says Mason.

With support from provincial funding and the Lethbridge Twinning Society, U of L students took to the stage along with ensembles from Korea, Japan and Tahiti.

To experience the electricity of Global Drums, tickets are available from the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Box Office, weekdays from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. or by calling 403-329-2616. Tickets are $15 regular and $10 senior/student.

For a look at the March issue of the Legend in a flipbook format, follow this link.

UNews - San Francisco

Van Buskirk, Cooper grab awards

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