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Sports Writing

Born to Run

Brockport Football Defeated at Their First Night Game

Cortland Defeats One SUNYAC Rival and Looks Toward the Next One

Kendall Boys Varsity Soccer Remains Undefeated

#all sports writing

News Stories

“Earth Week” at The College at Brockport

#all news stories

Feature Stories

Born to Run

DJ Chris Debbins

The Trouble With Bone Marrow Donations

#all feature stories

Design Work

Corythosaurus (Zoo Symbol) Book

Victor Moscoso Book Cover

Woodstock Program

#all design

(Created in May 2014 by Melanie Gemerek)

A contemporary design of a program for the 1969 Woodstock Festival.

I used Adobe InDesign to create this program.

#design

(Created in May 2014 by Melanie Gemerek)

My task was to select an extinct creature and design a symbol of that creature that would fit into Lance Wyman's National Zoo symbol system. I then created a booklet with information on symbols, Lance Wyman, Corythosaurus, and my design process.

I used Adobe Illustrator to create my symbol and Adobe InDesign to create my booklet.

#design

(Created in April 2014 by Melanie Gemerek)

My task was to give a presentation about a graphic designer as well as create a book cover in that designer's artistic style.

I used Adobe Photoshop and Adobe InDesign to create my book cover.

#design

DJ Chris Debbins

(Written in April 2014 by Melanie Gemerek)

If you attend The College at Brockport or listen to its radio station, 89.1 The Point WBSU, you may have heard of Chris Debbins. His conversational manner of speaking makes it seem like he is in the room speaking to you and not in a studio in Seymour College Union. He has the sort of voice that makes you stop flipping through the radio stations to listen to what he has to say.

But what is Debbins like behind the scenes? Is he actually this captivating or is it just a show he puts on for the radio?

No, Debbins really is just that charismatic. But the college senior has had years of working at The Point to develop his broadcasting skills.

Debbins’ time at The Point started in September of 2011, his sophomore year.

“When I first joined here (The Point) I joined the music department, but I wasn’t very involved,” Debbins said. “I was just writing music reviews, which is the main thing you have to do for music. That’s something you can do from home, so at that point I didn’t really get to know people here.”

To remedy his lack of personal involvement, Debbins joined the news department of The Point just before election night in November 2011. Elections are a big night for the radio station; not only does The Point report those elected in Brockport, they also inform their listeners of people elected in surrounding towns and villages.

Debbins had to work with other reporters from The Point, and in doing so he got to know them and became more involved with the station.

Debbins also learned how to DJ that November. He says between the time he started DJing and now he does everything differently.

“When I first started my content was mainly about artists and music and just facts…and then you eventually realize what do people really care about?,” Debbins said. “Not always that. You can look that stuff up online. I like to [talk about] stuff that I find interesting because it helps it come across as more interesting.”

Aside from talking about topics that he finds interest in, Debbins has another ability for coming across so conversational on the air.

“Sometimes when I’m on air…if I’m by myself I pretend like I have a co-host,” Debbins said.

But Debbins would rather be on air with a co-host than by himself, which is perfect for his new job. He recently accepted a job with Entercom Communications working as a producer for 98PXY’s morning show. His job duties include finding content for the show as well as appearing on air with the morning show’s hosts, Scott Spezzano and Sandy Waters.

Alyssa Weingart, another DJ at The Point, has nothing but praise for Debbins and his skills.

“He has a great personality, and being a DJ you need to have a great personality,” Weingart said. “He definitely has that.”

Weingart also notices how hard Debbins works

“He records himself all the time, he listens to himself, he rates himself on what he did good [and] what he did bad, so he’s always working hard at it and you can tell his hard work is paying off,” Weingart said.

Debbins’ work ethic can only continue to make him a stronger DJ and a better communicator.

“I’m still evolving … and trying to get better,” Debbins said. “You know, no one’s ever perfect.”

Even if Debbins doesn’t think he’s perfect, when you listen to him on air it’s obvious that he enjoys his work and is talented at what he does.

#feature stories

The Trouble with Bone Marrow Donations

(Written in May 2014 by Melanie Gemerek)

Thousands of people worldwide suffer from leukemia, lymphoma, sickle cell anemia and other life-threatening diseases and require a bone marrow or cord blood transplant to save their lives. This means that a donor is required to provide the marrow or cord blood. Some patients are lucky enough to have family members that are willing to donate and are suitable matches. However, for 70 percent of patients, a match cannot be found in their family.

A bone marrow requires taking a donor’s healthy blood-forming cells and putting them into the patient’s bloodstream. Once in the patient’s bloodstream, the cells grow and make healthy red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets.

Patients require high doses of chemotherapy to prepare them for the transplant. Chemotherapy weakens the patient’s own immune system so that the donor’s cells can easily settle into the marrow and start making new cells. If the patient is suffering from cancer, chemotherapy also helps to kill any remaining cancer cells.

During the transplant, the patient receives the donated cells in a process similar to getting blood or medicine through an intravenous catheter.

Finding a match for a bone marrow transplant is often difficult. Doctors determine whether or not a donor is a match based on the similarity of their human leukocyte antigen, or HLA, to the patients’. HLA are proteins, or markers, found on most cells in the body and are used by the immune system to recognize which cells belong in the body and which do not. Half of the body’s HLA are inherited from the mother, and the other half are from the father.

A donor must match a minimum of the patient’s six HLA markers, although a closer match is required in many instances. Some HLA types are more common and some are found more often in certain racial and ethnic groups. This can make finding a match for a patient even more difficult.

HLA is important in a transplant because these proteins promote the growth and development of new healthy blood cells, and a good match reduces the risk of graft-versus-host disease.

A donor’s HLA is usually determined when they join a donation registry. The registry organization takes a sample of DNA by swabbing the individual’s cheek. This swab is then tested for the HLA markers. If a doctor finds a donor that matches at least six of their patient’s HLA markers, the donor will be asked to have additional cheek swabs or blood tests done. This helps the doctor determine which individual is the best match for their patient.

If a donor agrees to donate and signs a consent form, the patient then receives an allogeneic transplant. This means that the cells come from someone other than the patient themselves, which is called an autologous transplant. Patients can also receive blood from an umbilical cord after a baby is born. But this is assuming that a patient can find a match from a limited pool of donors.

Many people are deterred from joining a bone marrow donation registry because they fear that the experience will be too physically painful for them to handle. The process of donating bone marrow requires a doctor using a needle to withdraw liquid marrow from both sides of a donor’s pelvic bone. Donors are given anesthesia so that their pain will be lessened or nonexistent.

After the donations, donors usually feel pain in their lower backs for at least a few days and are fully recovered within 21 days. For some people, 21 possible days of back pain even after spending time in the hospital to donate is not something that can fit into their lives.

Bone marrow registry employees believe that the emotional and mental impact of donating outweighs the physical pain.

Kathryn Branstad is a donor quality coordinator at the C.W. Bill Young Department of Defense Marrow Donor Program in Maryland. This program works to provide marrow and stem cell donations for military personnel and their dependents. Although Branstad has never donated herself, her time as a donor quality coordinator has put her in contact with donors who have been impacted by their experiences.

“The emotional impact of donation can be very long-lasting,” Branstad said. “Some donors seem to find real meaning in their lives through this action. Others are moved by the cards, letters and drawings sent by recipients or their families after-the-fact. And some donors are understandably emotional if their recipient passes away despite these best efforts.”

Blair Foy, project coordinator for the bone marrow transplant organization Be The Match®, agrees that donors’ lives, along with patients’, are often changed after their experiences.

“The impact on a donor’s life and a patient’s life after transplant is quite profound. A donor is giving a patient the life-saving transplant they need.”

Despite the rewarding feelings someone can have from donating bone marrow, registries still face the challenges of finding donor matches for patients.

“As long as there are still patients’ needs unfulfilled, then we remain unsatisfied,” Branstad said.”

To learn more about bone marrow donations or join a registry visit http://bethematch.org/ or https://www.salutetolife.org/.

#feature stories

“Earth Week” at The College at Brockport

(Written in May 2014 by Melanie Gemerek)

“Earth Week” at The College at Brockport was six days of sustainability and environmental awareness thanks to the Brockport Auxiliary Service Corporation and the Environmentally Conscious Organization for Society.

The college’s “Earth Week” lasted from April 21 to April 26 and included several different activities sponsored by BASC and ECOS for students, faculty, staff and visitors to participate in.

BASC is a non-profit corporation located at and contracted by The College at Brockport. The corporation provides services including dining, catering, laundry, parking and transportation. BASC worked with ECOS, a student government-funded organization at the college, to sponsor events that made the public more aware of the environment and how to protect it.

“Earth Week” began on April 21 with ECOS-sponsored recycling. ECOS members were at the campus mall collecting bottles, cans and electronic waste to be recycled. Anyone who brought bottles or cans received 5 cents. Students with college identification received 6 cents for each item.

Wednesday, April 23 included the college’s “Earth Hour,” in which individuals were urged to turn off unnecessary lighting and electrons between noon and 1 p.m.

ECOS also sponsored hour-long tours of the college’s new Liberal Arts Building on April 23. The building has several sustainable components incorporated into its design including water use reduction, optimized energy performance and outdoor air delivery monitoring.

On April 24 BASC sponsored demonstrations at the bicycle fix-it station located at the Albert W. Brown building on the college campus. The station allows bicyclists to repair and tune up their bicycles.

ECOS also gave away 200 bare root conifer trees for free on April 24. The trees were donated to ECOS by Meadowview Nursery located in Naples, New York. The tree giveaway was ECOS President Dave Holland’s favorite “Earth Week” event.

“It’s really simple and I love doing it,” Holland said. “I feel like it has the most impact, the most effect on not only the campus but the world.”

ECOS Secretary Kristen Mooney felt that the tree giveaway was the organization’s most popular “Earth Week” event.

“I think people really enjoyed this event,” Mooney said. “We were able to educate students on the importance of trees and their effect on the environment.”

Throughout the school week, each residence hall on campus had bins located on their first floors for students to recycle unwanted plastic bags in.

“Earth Week” ended on April 26 with the event “Clean up the Port.” The college’s end of the year event, “Portopia,” was the night of April 25. The event included a carnival and concert held in the field house at the college’s Special Events Recreation Center. ECOS and Brockport Student Government recruited volunteers to clean up any garbage that had been left behind on campus from “Portopia.” Forty-seven volunteers showed up and were treated to a free meal from local restaurant Jimmy Z’s.

The impact of “Earth Week” has spread not only on-campus, but to the surrounding community as well.

“I think that Brockport’s ‘Earth Week’ was a great idea,” said AJ Gminski, a resident of Holley and applicant to The College at Brockport. “The environment isn’t something that college kids always care about, but this was a good way to get them involved.”

To learn more about the Environmentally Conscious Organization for Society visit https://my.brockport.edu/organization/ecos. To learn more about the Brockport Auxiliary Service Corporation visit http://basc1.org/.

#news stories

Born to Run

(Written in November 2013 by Melanie Gemerek)

If you drive through the small town of Holley, New York on Christmas morning, you probably won’t see traffic. You won’t see people out walking their dogs. You won’t see much of anything. But you might see one person out running. Then you’ll think to yourself, “Who in their right mind would choose to go for a jog on Christmas?” For Kristina Martin, the answer is easy: “To stay in shape.”

Kristina decided that she would run every single day after her modified basketball season ended in 2006 just so that she could stay in shape when she wasn’t playing junior varsity soccer for Holley High School. She continued to run individually and play soccer until she decided to join Holley’s track and field team during her freshmen year, where she found success: Kristina made it all the way to the Section V State Qualifier during just her second track and field season, where she placed second in the 1,500-meter run and ran a season best time of 5 minutes, 03.5 seconds.

The following fall, Kristina decided to stop playing soccer and run cross-country instead. “I enjoyed soccer, but it got to a point where I think I realized I had more fun running,” Kristina said. “I ran road races during the summer here and there, and I knew that I would be able to run a 5K, I just didn’t know how I would fare in high school cross-country against people who had been doing it for so much longer.”

Despite Kristina’s uncertainty, she had an excellent first season as a cross-country runner: she placed first at the Wildcat Invitational, placed fourth at the 44th McQuaid Invitational, set her season personal record of 20:11.06 at the Section V Livingston County Championships where she also placed sixth, placed first at the Section V Championships, and ran at the New York State Championships, where she placed 21st.

Kristina’s teammates believed she was a great asset to their team. Kristina’s friend and former cross-country and track teammate Amanda Montgomery said that Kristina, “…Not only placed well in races and ran hard, she taught us how to stay determined and push through things… She encouraged me by showing me that she never gave up and she trained hard and she reached goals that seemed impossible.”

Kristina’s triumphs continued throughout her high school years. During the track season of her junior year, she placed first in both the 3,000 meter run and the 2,000 meter steeplechase at the Section V Class Championship, also setting a season personal record for both events. That same season, she ran at the Section V State Qualifier, placing sixth in the 3,000 meter run and eighth in the 2,000 meter steeplechase. Kristina set two personal records during her senior year of cross-country: she ran 19:35.14 in the Three Mile Run at the McQuaid Invitational, and ran 20:32.00 in the 5,000 Meter Run at the Section V/GCC Pre-Sectionals. During her senior year of track and field, Kristina placed first in the 1,500 meter run, the 2,000 meter steeplechase, and the 3,000 meter run at the Genesee Region Championships. She placed first in the 3,000 meter run and the 2,000 meter steeplechase at the Section V Class CC & D Championships; she also had season best times in both of these events. Finally, Kristina ran in the 2,000 meter steeplechase at the Section V State Qualifier, where she placed third.

Kristina decided to continue her education and her athletic career at Allegheny College. “I was also considering Hobart & William Smith Colleges, but they didn’t have a track program,” Kristina said. “Nazareth was my second choice, but ultimately I decided it was too close to home for me.” Kristina was confident that her athletic skills would continue throughout her college years. “I had a successful career in high school, and I believed that I possessed the talent to be competitive in college. My goal coming into Allegheny as a freshman was to try and score for our [cross-country] team, which meant finishing in the top five [of her teammates].”

Not surprisingly, Kristina was able to accomplish this goal. “I was the second Allegheny finisher in almost all of my races freshmen year, and the first finisher for most races the past 3 years,” she said.

Allegheny men’s and women’s cross country and track and field head coach Brent Wilkerson’s first impression of Kristina was a good one. “Coming out of high school I knew that she was eager to be in a program that would push her to the next level,” he said. “She cared deeply about becoming a better athlete and was willing to put in the hard work. She seemed serious, mature, but a great sense of humor. She had everything it took to become a great athlete.”

In Kristina’s first cross-country season at Allegheny, she placed fourth at the North Coast Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships with a time of 23:19.5 and her team placed second. Kristina also earned First Team-All Conference honors and had the fifth fastest rookie time at the NCAA Mid East Region Championships and earned All-Region honors.

In her first track season as an Allegheny Gator, Kristina achieved personal records in both the 5,000 meter run and the 3,000 meter steeplechase, placed sixth in the 3,000 meter run at the NCAC Indoor Track and Field Championships and placed second in the 3,000 meter steeplechase at the NCAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

Kristina continued to place well and set personal records throughout her college years. She has been a captain of the cross-country team for the past two years, and was a captain for the track team this past season. Kristina was also named the cross-country team’s Most Valuable Athlete in 2011 and 2012. She has achieved All Region honors for cross-country consistently since her freshmen year. Kristina’s fastest 6k to date was achieved on October 19th, 2013 at the Inter-Regional Rumble, where she ran a time of 22:09.3. She has also been named Allegheny’s Athlete of the Week several times.

Looking towards the future, Kristina and her coach are both hoping she will have a great track season. “Kristina has just had her best cross country season ever so I am hoping for her best track season to follow,” Wilkerson said. “I hope that she qualifies to the national championship in either the 5000m or 3000m steeple chase. Or both!”

Kristina plans to continue running after graduating from Allegheny in May 2014. “I can definitely see myself belonging to a semi-professional running club,” she said. “If I end up in Rochester after graduation, I would try to run with the Genesee Valley Harriers. It seems like the logical next step, and I love competing, so I would love to be a part of another serious team.”

No matter if Kristina joins another running club, continues to run road races, or simply runs on her own, she is sure to continue improving, especially if she continues her daily running regimen.

#sports writing #feature stories

Cortland Defeats One SUNYAC Rival and Looks Toward the Next One

(Written in October 2013 by Melanie Gemerek)

The women’s soccer game between SUNYAC rivals Cortland and Brockport on October 19th was a close one. The teams battled evenly and it looked like the game would go into overtime; until Cortland sophomore Jenny Angione scored the game winning goal, and her first of the season, with only 1:14 left to go in the second half. Angione helped her team win with a score of 1-0.

Cortland fell just short to Brockport in shots on goal, but Brockport was not able to capitalize on their shots, leaving Cortland with the lone goal.

Cortland sits only one spot above Brockport in the SUNYAC standings, so the Red Dragons knew it would be a tough game against the Golden Eagles.

“We knew we had been struggling a lot with showing up for games, but we knew this was going to be a tough one,” Cortland captain Samantha Gardner said. “We just dug deep and played with our heart.”

Cortland captain Matison Williams was also uncertain about how the game would end. “We weren’t really sure how it was gonna turn out, to be honest,” she said. “We came mentally prepared for the game, so we just hoped for the best.”

Cortland’s next game is against Oswego, who sits just two places above the Red Dragons in the SUNYAC Conference as of October 20th.

“It certainly is going to be a big game for both teams,” Cortland head coach Heidi Woodcock said. “It’s just a matter of this time of the year staying healthy and mentally prepping for the game.”

“Mentally we’re going to prepare a lot more than we have been in the past, because we know Oswego’s going to be a hard team for us,” Williams added.

Cortland will play Oswego on October 26th. Brockport’s next game is at Plattsburgh on October 25th.

#sports writing

Brockport Football Defeated at Their First Night Game

(Written in September 2013 by Melanie Gemerek)

Despite the jubilant post-game fireworks, there were many disappointed faces following the Alfred University’s football team’s win over the Brockport Golden Eagles, especially considering this was Brockport’s homecoming game, as well as the team’s first ever night game at home.

Brockport gave up a 28-0 lead to lose 34-26.

Brockport dominated the first half with three touchdown runs by junior Tyrone Nichols, and one touchdown pass caught by senior Jake Spalik.

The Eagles’ offensive strength ended after halftime. Alfred scored 14 points in the third quarter, and tied the game 28-28 in the fourth with help from a two-point conversion. There was hope for Brockport at the end of the fourth quarter when Alfred’s Thomas Gioia missed a 22-yard field goal attempt and the game remained at 28-28. Brockport was not able to score in overtime after winning the coin toss, and Alfred’s Jonathan Ruffin caught the game-winning touchdown pass.

“Amazing,” was all that Alfred’s Kevin Cox had to say about the team’s comeback.

The displeasure of the Golden Eagle team was evident. When asked for a comment, Brockport senior Jesse Galvin had nothing to say.

Brockport hopes to regain momentum next Saturday when the team takes on Rowan University.

#sports writing

Kendall Boys Varsity Soccer Remains Undefeated

(Written in October 2013 by Melanie Gemerek)

Kendall improved its overall record to 11-0-0 with a win over Holley’s Boys Varsity Soccer team at Holley’s homecoming.

The game went into overtime with the score at 1-1. Kendall’s Riley Iqbal scored the game-winning goal off a direct free kick almost two and a half minutes into the extra session.

Despite Kendall’s undefeated record going up against Holley’s 4-3-2 record, Holley’s Assistant Coach Sal DeLuca was confident heading into the game.

DeLuca was, “not at all,” nervous, and he knew that it was going to be a close game. “I honestly thought that we could beat them; I think we had many opportunities to do so.”

Kendall got on the board first about ten minutes into the first half with a goal by senior Alex Sutphen, his eleventh of the season. Holley tied up the game twelve minutes later with a goal by Flint DiLella off a corner kick from teammate Ryan Camacho.

There was plenty of excitement in the second half even without either team scoring another goal. Thirteen minutes into the half, Holley’s Tyler Chmylak received a yellow card; seven minutes later, teammate Ryan Camacho also received a yellow card. Some Holley players believed these incidents may have been the game changer.

“It pumps up the other team,” said Holley junior Jon Bower. “It puts us out of our game.”

“It’s all about momentum,” added Camacho.

Kendall’s next game is against Batavia, who they defeated 4-0 in early September. Genesee League rivals Kendall and Holley will face off again on October 15th.

#sports writing

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