Aaron Thomas is the definition of a self made man.As a younger man growing up in extremely difficult circumstances, he saw the wrong side of the juvenile justice system but he never let that define him or his future."When I was 14, I was arrested for the first time. I knew that there was a very high likelihood that jail was in my near future — or death — if something didn't change; there were so many blind spots," said Thomas. "In 2008, I saw a job description for a 'Youth Support Partner;' they were looking for individuals who were in the system as a juvenile and I...
Temple University Ambler Horticulture senior Russell Galanti has spent the past few years honing his craft on campus and well beyond.His talents and dedication to horticulture were recently recognized by the Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture. The society presented Galanti, a Philadelphia resident, with the Fred Winter Memorial Award for Excellence in Horticulture for 2015 during special ceremonies held at the Union League in November.The $1,000 award is part of the Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture's scholarship program and is made possible by the...
By Anna Lynn JohnsonMarketing and Public Relations InternKate Axelson Benisek is a storyteller.While most traditional tales live in the ink on a page, Axelson Benisek's are told through the landscape architecture design processes involved with creating the built environment in tandem with the natural world.She pays careful attention to a location's past and how shifts in culture and perspective have changed standing structures and the landscape over time, as well as the relationships people have with their environment."My initial interest in cities had to do with studying the...
Dr. Heather Goldsworthy has spent her career helping people and organizations perform at their very best. As the new director of Temple University Harrisburg's NEST (Nonprofit Evaluation Services and Training) program, she will be guiding organizations in doing the same to improve the lives of the people and communities they serve."I've always been fascinated with how people define problems and come up with solutions to them," said Goldsworthy, whose experiences and expertise range from environmental and social development policy to university-level instruction. "When I moved...
When thinking about American soldiers fighting and serving in Afghanistan and Iraq, it's understandable to envision sweltering heat and dessert terrains.For Temple University Municipal Police Academy cadet Ryan Berk, his memory of Afghanistan is decidedly different."We were in a small outpost in a mountainous region right on the border of Pakistan conducting regional patrols, raids and humanitarian aid patrols in local villages," said Berk, 27, a United States Army Sergeant who served with the 101st Airborne Division during Operation Enduring Freedom. "In addition to separation...
The southwest neighborhoods of Philadelphia bear the scars of a long history of industrial use. From old oil refineries to shut down and underutilized manufacturing plants, it is a region ripe for redevelopment.It is also an area dense with brownfields, old industrial properties, which developers often avoid fearing potential leftover hazards and lengthy, costly clean-up processes.During the spring 2015 semester, Department of Community and Regional Planning graduate students completed a comprehensive report entitled "Addressing Brownfields, An Inventory and Redevelopment Plan...
Why do people dance?Some dance for the sheer joy of it. Some for exercise. Some simply because it's been a good day.Temple Owls dance for the best possible reason — to help children.More than 1,000 students and alumni are expected to participate in HootaThon this year. While this will not be the first year Temple University Ambler students have taken part, 2015 will be the first time Ambler Campus will have a team of participants giving their all to support patients and their families at CHOP (Children's Hospital of Philadelphia)."I had heard about HootaThon last year...
By Anna Lynn JohnsonMarketing and Public Relations InternGrowing up in the city, Dr. Nicholas Klein observed the inequalities in transportation around him early in life."Seeing the problems with the transportation system in Philadelphia, I became aware of the challenges associated with the current system. Disadvantaged people are dependent on using the bus, and often times that bus system isn't great," he said. "More affluent individuals have the choice to drive, but many people don't have that option. It makes things difficult for them."Klein has focused his research on those...
Recent Community and Regional Planning master's program graduate Jason Hachadorian is heading to Washington.
Like many who land in the nation's capital, he wants to use his talents to affect positive change, particularly in urban centers.
"Cities right now are enjoying a real resurgence. After decades of people leaving urban centers, people are moving back to cities," said Hachadorian, 26, of Collegeville, who graduated with an M.S. in Community and Regional Planning from Temple in May. "The focus now needs to be on how to handle this influx of people and apply sound...
Bonnie Frumer knows a little bit about online registration.Of course when she started at Temple, it meant something a little different."Everything was done in person. Online registration meant you went to the campus and you waited on line until it was your turn to talk to an advisor and register," said Frumer, Assistant Dean for Curriculum at Temple University Ambler. "At Ambler, the advising office was on the third floor of the Administration Building; we had people waiting in line going down a couple flights of steps! People weren't used to getting everything immediately then...
A brand new park poped up in Doylestown Borough, but it wasn't somewhere off the beaten path. It was right in the heart of town thanks to a collaboration between Temple University Department of Landscape Architecture and Horticulture faculty and students and community volunteers.
Park(ing) for People, a temporary 120-foot, by 12-foot "pop up" park wasopen to the public on September 18 and September 19, taking up a few parking spots right in front of the County Theater, 20 E. State Street, at the main intersection in Doylestown.
This community outreach effort was...
Associate Professor Baldev Lamba is certainly no stranger to Temple. With 26 years at the University, Lamba was present when the foundations of his department were being created.Newly elected Chair of the Department of Landscape Architecture and Horticulture, Lamba will now add to a diverse line of leaders who have guided more than a quarter century of hands-on, ecologically based education."When I first looked out my window on campus in 1989, I thought "This is really good — this is the perfect setting to teach our craft. How fortunate are we that we have this living...
A place of quiet tranquility. A place of healing. A place of research. A place of history.The Ambler Arboretum of Temple University is a living treasure that provides experiences and resources as diverse as the people who study, conduct research, or simply stroll through them.On Saturday, September 10, Temple University Ambler and the Ambler Arboretum of Temple University will celebrate the campus and its gardens at the 11th annual Rhapsody in Bloom. This year's event will also celebrate the founding of the Division of Architecture and Environmental Design in the Tyler School...
Presented by Upper Dublin Parks and Recreation and hosted by Temple University Ambler. All events are free and open to the public.For 13 years, the music played on. In 1968, the Temple University Music Festival and Institute was born at the Ambler Campus.In its heyday, the Music Festival stage was graced by the likes of Ella Fitzgerald, Benny Goodman, and Duke Ellington. The amphitheater placed the spotlight on rising stars such as Dionne Warwick and Johnny Mathis. Area residents, and many well beyond, fondly remember the "42 Evenings of Musical Excellence" that summers at...
Now is the perfect time to start thinking about providing fun, educational outlets for your children's creativity and energy as school lets out for another year!
Temple University Ambler is offering dozens of new and returning Summer Education Camp programs, which provide kids, 'tweens and teens with a broad range of opportunities, from building and programming robots to music and voice production and much more.
Now in its 27th year, the Summer Education Camp program is offered in June, July, and August as a series of one-week camps.
"The camps are a fun-filled...
Dr. Jeffrey Featherstone recently went to one of the most politically and culturally complex regions of the world.In June, Dr. Featherstone, Director of the Center for Sustainable Communities at Temple University, led an international team of city planners to explore and recommend revitalization efforts in the West Bank of the Jordan River. He also provided technical assistance to a second team in the Gaza Strip. The United Nations-approved project was spearheaded by the International Society of City and Regional Planners (ISOCARP) in cooperation with UN-Habitat and the UN...
Before ever setting foot outside of a classroom. Jerome Hinds knows he has the practical experience necessary to make a positive impact on communities large and small."With Temple's programs in general, you gain a ton of practical knowledge. You're rarely involved in projects that are strictly design — for most of them, you are working with a real world 'client' to achieve, or at least suggest, outcomes," said Hinds, who will graduate with a degree in Landscape Architecture. "My Temple experience has been challenging in the best way possible. There is so much to know in...
It's easy to call Nerisa Lyn Rasing's relationship with Temple University Ambler symbiotic. She has given the campus as much dedicated support during her years at Temple as she has received from the campus community."If I were to give my best description of the Temple Ambler campus, I would call it my second home. There's never really been a time that I wasn't an active student — I knew coming in that I wanted to be as involved as I could while balancing those activities with class and work," said Rasing, who will graduate with a degree in Accounting. "Temple's Fox School...
Catie Koruba likely has more experience guiding students that most first year teachers."I always knew that I wanted to be a teacher," said Koruba, Vice President of the Society of Emerging Educators at Temple University Ambler and a member of the Kappa Delta Pi Education Honors Society. "Growing up, I was in Girl Scouts; I volunteered with the Special Olympics; I was a camp counselor. I always wanted to work with kids and help others. There was no other professional path for me."Upon graduation, she'll be returning to College Settlement Camp of Philadelphia as a Teacher...
Katherine Ament thinks a lot about food.More specifically she thinks about, and takes actions toward, ensuring that everyone, everywhere has access to food and healthy food choices."It was in high school where I first really started becoming more environmentally aware and more focused on social justice issues. When I arrived at Temple, it wasn't long before I joined the Temple Community Garden, which really opened my eyes to urban agriculture and food justice in Philadelphia," said Ament, 22, who will graduate with a degree in Environmental Studies. "I never realized how much I...
