Published writing samples:
Indoor Playground Offers Winter Oasis
by Carissa Collins Published by The Boston Globe here and here Published by the Salem News here Published by the Beverly Citizen here BEVERLY, MA- Last fall, Charae D’Ambra had a Eureka moment as she drove past the property at 81 Bridge Street. Ever since trading her career in pediatrics for the full-time job of parenting, D’Ambra had searched for a place where children could play in safety and warmth all year round.Her search came up empty—that is, until D’Ambra drove down Bridge Street and realized she could build it herself. “There was nowhere to go that was warm, safe and enjoyable for parents [to take their kids],” she said. So when D’Ambra had the idea for an indoor playground and cafe, her husband encouraged her to, “Go for it, honey!” Today, D’Ambra’s dream—The Children’s Piazza—sits near the corner of Elliott and Bridge streets; its grand opening was celebrated on Feb. 7. The timing was perfect for parents of toddlers and infants as Massachusetts experiences one of its heaviest winters. The indoor play area offers two large cedar playscapes inside the soft, sage-painted space. Moms and dads can relax at café tables and socialize while watching their children.Toddlers are free to run and explore the Piazza, including smaller rooms housing play kitchens, train tables and a miniature ball pit. A quieter, enclosed area lies on the far side of the Piazza, filled with soft toys and climbing spaces for infants. “Once I stopped being a pediatrician and became a stay-at-home mom, I felt like I had free space in my head,” said D’Ambra.She wanted to continue helping children and their families on the North Shore; thus, the Piazza was born. The Piazza is a collage of local flavor and support. The walls of the play area are covered with photography from Salem artist Julie Freitas. The cedar playscapes are special-ordered from Maine. And 10 percent of the Piazza’s profits go to local non-profits like Beverly Bootstraps and Amirah Boston, a non-profit offering care for women coming out of human trafficking. Through the process of growing as a business, The Children’s Piazza seems to have found its spot in the Beverly community. Its mission has certainly struck a cord with locals. “A parent said to me the other day, ‘Is this a mirage or is this real life?’” D’Ambra said. “The reception has been incredible.” Jill Settles, a 12-year resident of Beverly who lives around the corner from the Piazza, agrees. Settles brought her 3-year-old daughter, Mia, to the first play session for the Piazza’s grand opening and has returned often. “This is a clean, warm and cozy place,” Settles said. “Winters here are long. This is a great chance for the families of Rial Side to get out of the house.” Mia added that she especially loves the ball pit. The Children’s Piazza, located at 81 Bridge St., Beverly, provides open play passes at $9 per child, with discounts available for 10-visits or 30-day passes. Call 978-712-0284 or visit TheChildrensPiazza.com for more information. Homegrown Originality
By Carissa Collins WENHAM, MA- On top of a dresser, in the laundry room of a house on Hall Street, is a miniature garden. Complete with a water pump, lighting and heating, Terry Charek of Wenham grows deep green basil in the middle of the Massachusetts winter. Charek’s interests go beyond his green thumb. Eating healthy is a part of his family’s lifestyle. But as the 80 pounds of grass-fed beef in his freezer can prove, conventional health is not his aim. Dean of Student Life at Gordon College, Charek, 59, follows a diet similar to the Paleo Diet: the number one Googled diet of 2013. It’s founded on the idea that we should be eating the foods eaten several thousand years ago: fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, eggs and pasture-raised meats. Paleo followers eschew sugar, grains and most dairy. A day in the life of Charek starts with rising in a room darkened with thick, roller curtains to create a black-out effect. This is because, according to Charek, “your sleep will be disrupted if you’re in an environment that has light.” For breakfast, he has a piece of fruit and two raw eggs. A salad usually follows for lunch. Dinner could range from quiche to a grass-fed meat dish with steamed veggies. Finally, Charek tops it all off with “bakers chocolate”: a chocolate bar that is pure cocoa. Tinkering with his diet began during college. Caught between late nights and early classes, Charek found himself drinking heavily sugared coffee into the night. With his “mind in a fog,” he couldn’t concentrate. A friend lent him the book “Sugar Blues” by William Dufty. “That was the catalyst for change,” said Charek. “That book was the thing that caused me to start questioning every dietary practice I had, or was culturally prevalent.” Charek, father of three young adults, didn’t let his health tinkering end there. Today, students may remember Charek as the man who speaks at the annual health convocation each spring semester. How could students forget the image of Charek cracking an egg into a glass and drinking? “It always seems to be the thing that people remember,” he said. While some of Charek’s co-workers in the Center for Student Development have come to take his ideas with a grain of salt- “You should ask Barry Loy what he thinks of my health stuff. He’ll probably just laugh”- some things do stick. For example, more and more people are becoming aware of Vitamin D. For Charek, it makes sense that flu season is October to April. “We have a deficit of Vitamin D from the sun,” said Charek. “I take Vitamin D regularly. I haven’t had the flu in years.” As the resident “oddball,” Charek finds that Gordon is a safe place to practice non-conformity. For him, college is an environment of inquiry. “To get students coming in talking about health is encouraging to me. To talk about the simplicity of eating unprocessed foods,” said Charek. “The word is out there. I love talking about it.” Even so, there are times when going against the flow is difficult. Sometimes the cuisine below his office seems to call his name. “I can’t stay away from the bourbon steak pizza in Lane!” said Charek. But whatever Charek may be doing, whether it’s making homemade bleu cheese from raw milk or talking the steps two at a time around campus, he is blazing his own trail. No wonder he has posted a quote by journalist H. L. Menken in his office: “The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out for himself.” And as he mows his lawn, sending up an aroma of grass and mint (the plant which somehow escaped his herb garden and took over the yard), it would be a crime to say that Charek didn’t do just that. Published by the Gordon College Tartan here |
5 Ways to Stand Out Among Millennials
by Carissa Collins Originally published on InternMatch.com on April 8, 2014. (+1,000 page views) 1. Respond early. If you’re a Millennial (age 14-34), you are acquainted with procrastination. If you search “#procrastinate” on Tumblr, you’ll see memes that go something like this:“Procrastinator? No. I save all of my homework until the last minute because the I’ll be older, therefore more wise.” We know we’re procrastinators and we’re not ashamed. But the thing is that employers don’t appreciate procrastination. Submitting your job application the day of the deadline is not applauded. Responding to an email five days later doesn’t get you any brownie points. The reason is because procrastination is not efficient. And employers are looking for initiative and efficiency. If you’re the very first applicant, your application will get the freshest look-over. It’s as simple as that. Also, get InternMatch job alerts. If you register at InternMatch, you’ll get recent job listings. These are prefect for applying early and showing your initiative. This is great small step if you’re a known procrastinator. 2. Write well. Spell right. Grammar may be something you learned once upon a time in fourth grade and promptly forgot. But did you know that having proper grammar could be a factor in your future salary and job position? And take note of job descriptions. Even if you’re not an English major, many jobs require “excellent written and oral communication skills.” Guess what? This includes grammar! Here are some great online guides if you need help dusting off your grammar knowledge. 3. After you interview, send a follow up email AND a handwritten thank-you card. This is your one-two punch when you want to clinch a job. First, send your interviewer a thank-you email right after the interview. This email will show that you appreciate him or her taking the time to give you an interview. It’s timely and shows gratitude. Then send your handwritten thank-you card. I know what you’re thinking. “That’s old fashioned. No one uses snail mail anymore except for my grandparents when they send out birthday cards.” But believe it or not, writing a thank-you card will set you apart from your peers. This is becauseeveryone else is thinking it’s outdated. Also, people like receiving mail. So when your card arrives, it will be hard your interviewer not to smile (or at least consider your candidacy more seriously). 4. Squeaky clean social media. This is a deal-breaker for employers. In fact, 43% of hiring managers have rejected applicantsbecause of inappropriate material found on social media profiles. Here’s a good trick to use before you post something on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. Ask yourself, “Would my grandmother be happy to see this picture?” If the answer is no, then you should skip it. Why let one night of partying ruin an entire career path? And if you can’t help but post party pics, make sure your privacy settings are ironclad. Who knows, your hiring manager may be your high school friend’s aunt. Adjust your settings so that even friends-of-friends can’t see your photos. 5. Press on! Don’t take things too personally. Part of our struggle as Millennials is that we have high self-esteem. While this might be good for confidence, it’s hard when it comes to criticism and rejection. The truth is that you may be rejected many times before you find the right job or internship. But your friends and parents will still love you, no matter if you got “that job” or not. Take rejection as a learning experience. You’ll be that much more wise, and ready for the right job. - Pocket-sized history on display at House of Seven Gables
by Carissa Collins SALEM, MA- Some people think of The House of the Seven Gables as the home base for all things Nathaniel Hawthorne. Troops of elementary school students may remember the historic house as a quaint destination where they climbed up the secret staircase. This month, guests of The House of the Seven Gables can experience a very different aspect of history: an exhibit of antique, high-society handbags. The exhibit, run by Karen Barter, the Gables’ director of development, includes more than 50 pocketbooks dating from the early 20th century throughout the historic home. It opened this week and runs until March 17. “These bags are little treasures,” Barter said. “If you got one of these for Christmas, you knew your husband loved you.” Because the bags come from various eras and countries, each bag is unique. Several will be staged with backgrounds, like a grand piano, alongside other historical pieces like clothing and opera glasses. The pocketbook used in the “wedding” stage is covered in pearls, created by iconic French designer Paul Poriet. Predating Poriet’s pouch-style bag are others, including one made entirely of metal mesh. These laboriously crafted mesh pocketbooks were posh during the 1930s. The unique accessories are a combination of two collections, one owned by Mary Lou Ferriero, and the other by Marion Powers, an art teacher at Manchester Essex Regional High School who owns about 100 such pocketbooks. “I have always loved art and history,” Powers said. “I see the pocketbooks as beautiful works of art, like small sculptures.” Barter saw the pocketbook exhibit as a great opportunity to build on the Gables’ twofold mission, which began more than a hundred years ago when then-owner Caroline Emmerton opened the historic house to tourists to help fund a settlement house where new immigrants could learn useful skills, including English. Besides historical education and preservation, Barter said, “our other mission has always been to serve immigrant kids and families.” Today, that service continues most notably through their Caribbean Connection program. Funded through a grant from the Essex National Heritage Foundation and sponsored by PBS documentarian Ken Burns, Caribbean Connection helps kids of Caribbean descent discover how their ancestors helped contribute to Salem today. Children do their own research, attend classes at the Gables and go on field trips, learning about how the trade triangle of the 17th and 18th centuries — in which all types of goods were exchanged between the Caribbean, Salem and England — makes them a part of Salem’s history. “Two different immigrant mothers told me that they didn’t feel connected with Salem. They didn’t even want to go to parent-teacher conferences,” Barter said. “But this program is a fabulous connection for those families. It builds self-esteem.” And that’s part of the reason Powers decided to bring her collection of handbags to Hawthorne’s house. “Aside from the beauty of the buildings and its history, I appreciate what the Gables stands for,” she said. And like the Caribbean Connection, Powers believes these pocketbooks also build bridges between the past and the present. In fact, as she prepared for the exhibit, Powers brought pocketbooks into the classroom for her students to draw. Even though the bags are from the time of their great-great grandparents, the children can experience their legacy and understand how such symbols can transcend cultures. “I see these historical artifacts as inspiration for new creations,” Powers said. The antique pocketbooks exhibit is on display until March 17. The Gables is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. except Wednesdays. Admission is $7 for adults, $3 for children under 12, members free. Information at 978-744-0991 or visit www.7gables.org. Published by the Salem News here Published by Boston.com here |