Brian Kozera never set out to be a role model.
But that is exactly what the Norristown Police Corporal and long-time instructor with the Temple University Municipal Police Academy at Temple Ambler became.
"If my story can help others, then I'm more than happy to share it," said Kozera in an interview in July 2021 after having beaten Stage 4 lymphocyte-depleted Hodgkin's lymphoma five years prior. "The most important thing to me is to help others not just become cancer survivors but cancer thrivers. That's what I feel I am — I am thriving because I survived cancer."...
Words by Stephen OrbanekPhotography by Ryan S. BrandenbergShorthand Design by Brent BaumView the story with images at: https://news.temple.edu/2022-08-31/weathering-storm Winter ran a little long last year in southeastern Pennsylvania. In late April, Philadelphia even recorded its latest official freeze in 34 years.For Kathy Salisbury and all of the students, faculty and staff members at Temple University's Ambler Campus, winter felt even longer. The community there was still recovering from when a EF2-level tornado, spawned from the remnants of Hurricane Ida, passed through...
What is it that spurs students to pursue careers in landscape architecture today?According to Torey Carter-Conneen, Chief Executive Officer of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), students "continue to be inspired by design.""As travel has opened up, I have had the opportunity to visit a number of landscape architecture programs and I always ask students this very question. Their answers vary, but there are a few that I hear more often," said Carter-Conneen, who recently visited Temple University Ambler and the Landscape Architecture program offered by the Tyler...
Throughout her life, Ambler Arboretum volunteer Monica Hamill has surrounded herself with plants and flowers and the people that love them.
"My father was a wonderful gardener. I grew up truly appreciating nature and flowers and the outdoors," said Hamill, an Upper Dublin resident who has been volunteering with the Ambler Arboretum for three years. "I've always enjoyed and been involved in gardening but I think I've improved a lot since I'm been at the Arboretum. I have several close friends who are master gardeners, who also provide a great deal of inspiration."
Hamill...
It wouldn't be hyperbole to say that Dr. Steve Sassaman, Assistant Director of Recreation Services and Outdoor Experiential Education at Temple University Ambler, is a veritable Swiss Army Knife when it comes to outdoor skills.Camping, backpacking, hiking, canoeing, whitewater rafting, adventure climbing, high and low ropes challenge courses. He has done it all and taught it all. Sassaman is now bringing those skills to Temple University Ambler with the goal of sharing them with others in outdoor experiences that promote leadership skills, teamwork, mental and physical health...
Tyler School of Art and Architecture student Emely Fernandez has always been a do-it-yourselfer.
"My journey to Architecture has been a long one. When I was younger, my parents had just immigrated to the U.S. from the Dominican Republic; we didn't have the money to buy things like Barbie dream houses at the time," said Fernandez. "So, I made my own out of cardboard boxes and I just kept doing that. During my teenage years and once I was in high school, I created my own wire sculptures that were exhibited and auctioned. Now I'm here at Temple and I'm seeing how all of these...
For centuries, lavender and other shades of purple have carried significant meaning in the LGBTQ community. However, early references in film and radio often poked fun at men and women who broke gender norms and carried a "streak of lavender." The "Lavender Menace" feminist collective bravely fought back and reclaimed what was once an insult into a rallying cry for representation. Today, the legacy of lavender in the LGBTQ community continues through events like lavender conventions and lavender graduation. — Taken from "The Lavender Menace" educational display, part of the...
Students participating in the Temple Ambler Field Station Research Internship program aren't just involved in hands-on research, they are leading it.
"You don't have to wait to complete your degree to start making valuable contributions to science," said Dr. Mariana Bonfim, Research Assistant Professor with the Temple Ambler Field Station and the Department of Biology. "My personal goal for our interns is for them to see that they are scientists already."
Often people think of scientists "as that person in some faraway lab that doesn't talk to anyone," said Bonfim....
There is something about the Ambler Arboretum of Temple University that recent graduate Sam Emory loves that other people might not readily think about.
"I love labels on trees — I'm always curious about what I'm looking at — they are a genius invention. The way that the landscape on campus has been shaped to tell ecological stories — the wetland garden, the healing garden, the winter garden, the native plant garden — there is so much care put into creating and maintaining these learning spaces," said Emory, 30, (RA | Student ASLA | LEED AP BD+C), who graduated with a Master...
Temple University recent graduate Gabrielle Widjaja never expected to be involved in the type of research she has undertaken with the Temple Ambler Field Station."Certainly, no one expected a tornado to hit the Ambler Campus. I think what is amazing is that the Field Station has taken this extremely difficult circumstance and opened up entirely new research opportunities," said Widjaja, who graduated from Temple with a degree in Biochemistry, a major offer by Temple's College of Science and Technology. "You have to adapt to what you are given. Even in the lab, most experiments...
Leona Edmund never had to look very far to find the endless well of inspiration that she needed to return to the classroom to complete her Temple degree in the Bachelor of General Studies (BGS) program."My driving force was my children. I really needed to exemplify what I was talking about with them — I give great speeches and they hear it all the time about the importance of their education," said Edmund, 49, who will share her experiences with her classmates and their families as one of the student speakers at the first Bachelor of General Studies Graduation Ceremony...
Paige Levan, 27, always knew she was destined to be Temple Owl."I was always drawn to Temple honestly. Ever since high school, it was my first pick — I've always loved how diverse Temple is," said Levan, who is graduating with her degree in Psychology from Temple's College of Liberal Arts. "I love the history, that it was founded to be a school that was affordable for everyone. "I'm a first-generation college student who for a time didn't think I had the financial background to make it through a bachelor's degree, but after putting in the work, here I am."Levan began her...
In March 2021, Temple's new Bachelor of General Studies degree was still nearly half a year away from its official launch during the fall 2021 semester. Fast forward to May 2022 and the first Bachelor of General Studies graduates are about to cross the finish line on a journey that for many of them was years in the making. "The Bachelor of General Studies (BGS) offered by University College was developed specifically for adult learners, giving them the perfect opportunity to complete their degree," said Dr. Vicki Lewis McGarvey, Vice Provost for University College and Director...
Antywane Robinson — soon to be one of the first graduates of Temple University's Bachelor of General Studies program — knows a little something about the dedication and determination it takes to be a champion.During his senior year at Oak Hill Academy in Virginia, his team won a national championship in basketball. Over two years, his record was 65-1, and the one loss, according to Robinson, only came when the other team cheated."(LA Laker) Carmelo Anthony was my teammate in my senior year. That year we had nine Division I athletes on a high school team, which is...
Ambler Arboretum Director Kathy Salisbury has received the 2022 Garden Club of America Hope Goddard Iselin Fellowship in Public Horticulture, which will support her doctoral study — Investigating the Role a Public Garden can Play in Adult Environmental Education after a Natural Disaster. Kathy is currently a candidate for a Doctorate of Education (DEd) in Adult Education and Lifelong Learning, Penn State Harrisburg. The purpose of the Fellowship in Public Horticulture is to further the study of public horticulture through experiential learning that takes place at a...
Biodiversity (noun): The variety of life in the world or in a particular habitat or ecosystem.
Biodiversity is all around us. In fact, it includes us.
Biodiversity refers to the variety of living species on Earth, including plants, animals, bacteria, and fungi. Biodiversity provides functioning ecosystems that supply oxygen, clean air and water, pollinate plants, control pests, treat wastewater and every other essential ecological service. Biodiversity is necessary for the planet to function.
During the month of May, the Temple Ambler Field Station will be...
Some of the trees in the Ambler Arboretum lost their tops in the September 1, 2021 tornado.
According to Ambler Arboretum Director Kathy Salisbury, after the storm, "it looked like little Christmas trees had been scattered around the Arboretum."
"They were actually many of the tops of our large conifers," she said. "Besides looking funny for a while, many people might wonder what we expect from our topless trees."
The top, called a terminal leader, gives the conifers "the pyramidal shape we have come to expect from our needled friends," Salisbury said....
The Temple University Ambler Library Building didn't escape the wrath of the EF2 tornado that ravaged campus on September 1, 2021. Ferocious winds and debris tore holes in the building's roof and blew out most of the large windows, threatening the collection of 130,000 books, periodicals, research material and historical archives inside.
"Our first concern was the care of the materials. That was paramount in our thinking — how to save what we had because we knew there was major damage to a number of books," said Sandi Thompson, Head of the Ambler Campus Library. "We focused...
Temple University Horticulture sophomore Grace Lenart doesn't remember a time when she wasn't outside exploring the world around her.
"As a child, I was always outside, always exploring in the bogs near my house and the swamps and the forest. I feel like in school you are often told 'These are the specific jobs you can have' and you start wondering how you're supposed to fit into this whole outline of how life is supposed to work," said Lenart, who entered the Horticulture program offered by the Tyler School of Art and Architecture after transferring from Bucks County...
Envisioning the future. Planning a career. Achieving personal goals.
These are heavy topics for any student just starting out or making a return to the classroom.
As the newly appointed Assistant Director of Advising and Student Success at Temple University Ambler, Maria Sarmiento wants to help students navigate these important questions while making their decision to come to the Ambler Campus to pursue their dreams.
"I think I embody a lot of the different types of students at Temple. I'm an immigrant; I'm a first-generation student; a person of color," said...
