Cassandra Berardi is a perfect example of "life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."An Adult and Organizational Development major who has just days to go until she graduates from Temple, it's still not difficult for Berardi's thoughts to travel back to a fall 2014 study abroad adventure in Rome."I had the opportunity to finish a number of my elective at the Rome Campus. My boyfriend, Jason Domingues, was studying Landscape Architecture at Temple and was also heading to Italy to study abroad for the fall," said Berardi, 29, of Ambler. "It was actually...
Brad Vassallo came to Temple with a specific goal — "to have a tangible effect on communities.""Growing up, I watched my dad working in a high stress office job. I decided I wanted to make a social focus my primary focus from the very beginning," said Vassallo, 22, of Quakertown, who will graduate with a B.S. in Community Development. "I want to be able to help people in a meaningful way. Temple was the only schools I applied to — I wanted the experiences and hands-on opportunities that the city environment would provide."Nearing the finish line of his four-year...
Teachers are invited to get hands-on in developing outdoor classrooms for their students at Temple University Ambler this summer.
The Office of Non-Credit and Continuing Education will be offering a one-week Education for Sustainability (EFS) workshop that provides K through 12 educators with the tools to integrate the environment into their existing curriculum.
"One of the goals of this new program is to provide another venue for children to connect to the planet. There is a lot of evidence supporting how using the environment as an integrating context for the curriculum...
Amelija Sorg-Taylor is not one to approach important tasks at a leisurely pace. Temple's planning program certainly played to her strengths.In just five years at Temple, Sorg-Taylor has been able to complete not one, but two degree programs as part of the Department of Planning and Community Development's "4+1" program."I come from a family of civic minded people. I've been passionate about helping people and communities for a long time," she said. "Planning is a tangible way to make some sort of difference in a creative way."As a Community Development undergraduate, Sorg-...
Kelly Tascarella runs toward dangers that, rightfully, would send others fleeing in the opposite direction.At just 22, Tascarella already has nearly six years under her belt as a volunteer firefighter with the Fort Washington Fire Company."You have to be confident in your abilities, in your training and your team. Responding to an emergency call — and you treat every call as if it is definitely a fire — it's a feeling that I can't really describe," said Tascarella, who will graduate in May with a degree in Criminal Justice. "The firefighters are my family; they are...
John Hesdon is unique among his fellow Temple owls.Not only is he a Film and Media Arts major — certainly not unusual at Temple — he's also a member of the ProRanger Philadelphia program, a partnership between Temple University and the National Park Service to train park rangers. That combination is a first."When I was in high school, I really wasn't sure of my career path. I took a media class, which fostered my interest in film. Temple has a great film program and is affordable, so my next step was clear," said Hesdon, 22. "My goal at the time was to move to LA...
Javon Johnson is Temple Made through and through. Her family is a veritable parliament of owls in their own right!Javon won't be the first in her family to graduate from Temple when she receives her bachelor's degree in Adult and Organizational Development on May 6 and she won't be the last.Her older sisters Jalene and Jaslyn Johnson (collectively known as the JJs with Javon when they were growing up) are recent Temple graduates. Her brother Joshua Johnson is a freshman. Her father Jerome Johnson worked at Temple University Hospital (her mom, Dorothea Wescott, did too 20 years...
Liam Cleary wants to set the record straight. Being in a country that is predominantly desert, doesn't mean it's always hot.He knows this from experience. Cleary, 34, of Lederach, served for seven years with the United States Army 82nd Airborne, achieving the rank of sergeant. His time in the Army included being part of the support service response and relief efforts for Hurricane Katrina, a 16-month tour in Afghanistan and a year in Egypt."In Afghanistan, the war occurs in the mountains. When you are 7,000 feet up, it can get to be -20 degrees at night," said Cleary, who will...
A dedicated group of scientists is hard at work seeking viable solutions to water contamination removal and oil spill containment and remediation — vital environmental issues that impact everything from potable drinking water to animal habitats to the fishing industry.What makes this particular group of scientists stand out is that they happen to be 10th and 11th grade chemistry students at Central High School in Philadelphia."Our students have been working in small groups conducting on-going chemical/water quality research to gain a better understanding of pollutants in...
Think of it as a tale of two canines…or tail if you prefer.Temple University Campus Safety Services and the National Park Service have more in common than protecting the individuals who study, work and visit the various locations that they serve.They also both have law enforcement officers of the four-legged variety.On Friday, April 15 and Wednesday, April 20, from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Temple University students, faculty and staff are invited to learn more about the ProRanger Philadelphia Program — a partnership between Temple University and the National Park...
Months of hard work by Temple University Ambler and Tyler School of Art students, faculty and staff paid off with a nearly unprecedented seven top honors for Temple's 2016 Flower Show Exhibit, After the Blast: Recollecting Roots and Resources at Hopewell Furnace.After the Blast was presented with a unique honor, the National Park System Director's Award, presented to the exhibit with the best interpretation of a national park in the 2016 Flower Show. The 2016 show theme is "Explore America: 100 Year of the National Park Service" — only one "Best In Show" Director's Award...
The Fairmount Park system may not be the park you think you know.It is not just the Water Works, where the roots of the park system run deep; or the Philadelphia Zoo, the nation's first zoo; or the preserved 18th century villas; or Boathouse Row; or the many hiking trails along the Wissahickon Creek; or the Ben Franklin Parkway. It is all of these things and much more."The whole Fairmount Park system began as an effort to protect the growing city's water supply. It started as a small landscaped park surrounding the first pumping station, part of the first public water system in...
A 19th century rural iron plantation where the furnace fires once burned hot enough to melt iron might not readily evoke images of flowering blooms and massive forests.The students and faculty in Temple University Ambler's Department of Landscape Architecture would beg to differ. Their 2016 Flower Show exhibit — "After the Blast: Recollecting Roots and Resources at Hopewell Furnace" — includes more than 1,500 plants from 100 species representing a rich tapestry of old growth and remnant forests, a green roof bursting with vegetables and herbs and even the fiery...
The awe-inspiring vistas of Yosemite. The epic, craggy maze of the Grand Canyon.Mention "national parks" to anyone and these are the images that likely come to mind. Preserving the natural heritage of the United States is critically important. Protecting our historical and cultural heritage is equally critical.The 848-acre Hopewell Furnace National Historical Site, encircled by the 73,000-acre Hopewell Big Woods in Elverson, Pennsylvania, is a time capsule of the region's industrial history. Students and faculty from Temple University will reignite the fires of Hopewell Furnace...
The awe-inspiring vistas of Yosemite. The epic, craggy maze of the Grand Canyon.
Mention "national parks" to anyone and these are the images that likely come to mind. Preserving the natural heritage of the United States is critically important. Protecting our historical and cultural heritage is equally critical.
The 848-acre Hopewell Furnace National Historical Site, encircled by the 73,000-acre Hopewell Big Woods in Elverson, Pennsylvania, is a time capsule of the region's industrial history. Students and faculty from Temple University's Department of Landscape...
There are few people that haven't enjoyed the rich, varied majesty of the country's national parks at some point in their lives. In 2016, the National Park Service will celebrate its centennial year.It is a history that Michael LoFurno, adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Horticulture, has examined, a history that mirrors dramatic growth and change within the country."When I was in school, we studied the history of landscape architecture and, getting ready for this centennial year, I remembered that so many landscape architects played a...
Lu Ann Cahn remembers January 1, 2010, with crystal clarity. Running headlong into the frigid Atlantic Ocean for a Polar Bear Plunge has a way of doing that."I realized as I ran screaming out of the water that I needed this," said the eight-time Emmy Award-winning journalist, who departed a 40-year career in broadcast news in December 2014 to become the Director of Career Services for Temple University's School of Media and Communication. "That was the start of my year of challenging myself to do something new every day. It was my way to refresh and reboot my life."Cahn, a...
There is an essential commonality between Temple's departments of Architecture, Community and Regional Planning, Landscape Architecture and Horticulture, and the Center for Sustainable Communities.Through hands-on, real-world education and research, each are dedicated to ensuring that the built environment and natural environment work together as a harmonious whole, building a sustainable future for communities in the region, the nation and the world.Recognizing the important connections between the units, the Temple University Board of Trustees approved the transition of the...
Mari Radford would like nothing more than to have her job no longer be necessary.As a Lead Community Planner for the Federal Emergency Management Agency's floodplain management and insurance branch, Radford, a 2009 graduate of Temple's Community and Regional Planning master's program, knows all too well the devastation and loss caused by flooding in the United States."It might sound funny, but our goal is to put ourselves out of business. Our mission is to help communities make the best decisions on where and how to build," said Radford, who became part of FEMA's Region III...
Temple University wants to help you take charge of your life and power your future.
"Women typically work to make sure others are taken care of, often at the expense of taking care of themselves. Women are natural caregivers — if you want a job done well, give it to a busy woman because they know how to multitask and manage many problems all at once," said Cassandra Doyle, Manager of Off-Campus Programs and Training at Temple University. "But if you first focus on yourself, it's going to result in a more positive experience for everyone around you, from family to coworkers...
