Orlando Sentinel's new editor visits the students of Valencia

ORLANDO Fla. - The Orlando Sentinel newspaper has hired a new editor. Mark Russell, who has been working at the Sentinel since 2004, took time out of his schedule to talk to the journalism students at Valencia Community College's west campus about his experiences, the Orlando Sentinel, and what it takes to be a journalist.

The University of Missouri alumni told the attendees about the start of his career in 1984 with a job at the Wall Street Journal through his current position as the new editor of the Orlando Sentinel.  

Russell explained to the students on Tuesday that the news industry is changing with the advancement of technology and explained the positives of having a paper online as well as a printed paper. “When a story breaks it is immediately online,” Russell said.  “We are now able to post a story online when it breaks and then update it as the story goes on.”

While he thinks that a digital newspaper is an excellent tool, he does not think that the paper will stop printing and go entirely digital any time soon. With a healthy circulation base of two-hundred and twenty thousand, there is no need to have an exclusively digital newspaper as of yet.

Russell told the students that he hopes to bring more community journalism to the Sentinel. He explained that people want to read about other people. Since the Orlando Sentinel is a local paper, Russell makes sure that every article in the paper is written by the Sentinel staff and has significance to the local readers.

Russell told the students to not let others discourage them from their dreams. He explains that it has not been a simple road to get to his position. “Lots of people will tell you what you can’t do,” Russell said. He never let any of this discourage him from his dream.

Russell calls him self a naturally nosey person, explaining how he loves when a big story breaks and he is able to have a hand in how a story is told.

He also stated his opinion on social media such as Twitter and Facebook. He believes that is very helpful in getting a story out. A person is able to follow there favorite reporters and receive up to the minute updates on news stories that are breaking. 

To follow up on Russell and his work with the Orlando Sentinel, you can receive a subscription to the paper as well as checking in out online at http://www.orlandosentinel.com/

Abigail Suzahns

ORLANDO, Fla. – At the age of 30, Abigail Suzahns has been through a lot of trying times. She was brought up in a Latin home where there was an unspoken belief that what happens at home stays in the home. Suzahns documented her struggle and decision to seek professional counseling in a journal that has now turned into a book entitled “Living a Lifetime in 625 Days.”

On Saturday, Suzahns was at the Orlando Public Library discussing her book and the struggle she went through when losing her job, her husband and moving to a new state all in a matter of months. “I started keeping a journal to make sense of the changes going on in my life,” Suzahns said.

Suzahns tells the attendees that women of color are three times less likely to seek professional help than others. She hopes that her book will help these women of color see that it is okay to get the help that they need.

She read the small group of people in attendance some excerpts from her book. “She has been through a lot and has turned her life around,” said audience member Marilyn Ridley. “I will defiantly read her book.”

“It was my faith that lead me to seek outside counseling,” Suzahns said. “My hope is that my book will help other women through their struggles.”

Her book not only talks about her struggles through this hard time in her life but the need for women of color to stop worrying about what others will say and get the help that they need. She stresses that people can not think of getting professional help as a bad thing.

Audience member Georgia Hastow agrees. “I went through something similar with my first husband and I agree that getting professional help is something that shouldn’t be frowned upon,” Hastow said. “It really helped me.”

Suzahns said that while she sometimes struggled through her counseling, she would not be here today with out it.

For more information or to order the book go to www.asbooks.net. The book is also available on amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com.

Matt Glowacki: Diversity According to South Park

ORLANDO, Fla. - Matt Glowacki is a business man, a diversity speaker, and the number 1 most booked speaker on college campuses. He also happens to have been born with out legs. When people ask what the right name to call him is, he simply responds “call me Matt.”

Glowacki grew up watching shows such as South Park and Family Guy. He realized that these shows have important lessons rooted into each episode.

Using his knowledge of diversity and his love of these shows, he decided to take them on the road to educate college students. He shared his knowledge and unique way of teaching with the students of Valencia on Wednesday night at the East campus.  

Glowacki has different circumstances than many people, but he also has a different definition of diversity. “Diversity is taking time to learn from people different than yourself," Glowacki said.

Glowacki enthusiastically shared his own experiences as well as using clips from shows such as Family Guy and South Park to illustrate three major diversity issues - lookism, ableism, and racism. “I think it is hard to motivate people about anything so I am building on something that they already know,” He said.

Lookism is to discriminate against people because of how they look. Glowacki showed a clip from the Family Guy episode “He’s Too Sexy for His Fat,” which portrayed getting plastic surgery to look more desirable and consequently he becomes intolerable to those around him.

Natalie Shoauy, a Valencia student, said “he definitely did a great job connecting the shows to important issues in society today.”

To portray ableism, which is to discriminate against someone’s disability, Glowacki showed another clip of Family guy. The episode “Ready, Willing, Disabled” deals with the issue of being in a wheel chair and how just because someone is disabled doesn’t mean things are impossible for them.

Discriminating against someone’s race is the issue that people are most familiar with. Glowacki focused on the use of words such as the “N word,” and explained that it is content and intent that makes a word have a hurtful meaning.

Glowacki made an impact on the students in attendance. “I think that he got his point across,” said Valencia student, Andrew Hoffman. “He made a lot of bold statements that you don’t usually hear.”

Glowacki is currently traveling the United States, talking to many different college campuses about diversity. If you missed his presentation or just want more information, visit his website at www.MattGlowacki.com.

Adrienne Zolondick performance

ORLANDO, Fla. – The doors of Natura’s coffee and tea are constantly opening and closing from people coming and going. There are people doing homework, talking with friends, and just enjoying the relaxed, down to earth scene.

None of this seems to distract Adrienne, a singer/songwriter who was performing that Tuesday night. She was too busy playing the soulful songs that she had written from her own personal experiences as she accompanied herself on the acoustic guitar.  

Adrienne, whose full name is Adrienne Zolondick, has been playing music for over 20 years. “Some people see an acoustic guitar and would think that my music type is folk but I would describe it as more pop, rock, alternative, or contemporary rock,” Zolondick said.

Zolondick, a native of the Florida key’s, captured the laid back style of her hometown while performing at Natura’s for the first time that night.   

It was a small gathering of about 15 to 20 people, most of who were college students.

One of those people in attendance is Christina Kuhlman. “I actually liked it a lot. I was impressed and I’m not usually impressed by the acts they have here,” Kuhlman said.  

In between each of her songs, Zolondick shared a story of what inspired her to write it. “I loved how she made it a personal performance by talking about the songs,” concert attendee Caitlin Sandberg said. “It made me like her as a person as well as a performer.”

“Some of my musical influences are James Taylor, Sarah McLachlan, Genesis, and Kate Bush,” Zolondick said. She uses those influences to write music for her 5 CD’s that she has released and sells for ten dollars each.

Zolondick looks like she is genuinely enjoying herself onstage. For more information on Zolondick, check out her websites at Adriennemusic.com or facebook.com/adriennemuz