30-Minute "Evergreen" Christmas Tree Project

30-Minute, 5-Foot "Evergreen"

Christmas Tree Project

In 30 minutes, you can create this five-foot tall artificial "evergreen" Christmas tree from materials that are readily available in many households. Here's how:

STEP 1. Select one regular-sized garden tomato cage that you retired for the winter. Turn the cage upside down and bind the sharp "bottom" tines with string, forming the top of the tree.

STEP 2. Take a strand of artificial garland and wrap the wire end around the circular base of the cage, where it intersects with a vertical support.








STEP 3. Wrap garland around the cage, taking care to avoid gaps in the garland. Tie ends of the garland to cage.




STEP 4. At the top of the tree, form the end of the garland into the "tip" of the tree.






STEP 5. Finish by hanging lights, ornaments, and other decorations. Set inside a round decorative planter to anchor the tree. Use the tree inside or out.

You can also use the tree as a winter cover for delicate plants or deer protection. Merry Christmas!

Courtesy of Mark A. Van Dyke, markavandyke@yahoo.com

Marist Seeks Spring '13 Communication Intern

Marist College's School of Communication and the Arts has announced that it is seeking applications from qualified candidates for its spring 2013 integrated communication intern position. The candidate selected for this position will earn three academic credits for the semester-long internship. The intern will work from the Lowell Thomas Communication Center on Marist's main campus, providing direct support to the school's dean. Click here to download the position description and application instructions for this communication internship.

Qualifications: Minimum of 2.5 GPA; completion of 60 college credits and prerequisite course in employment practicum. Highly motivated with proficiency in online media and social networks. Excellent writing and communication skills; keen attention to detail; outstanding management and organizational skills. Desire to learn and take initiative while working independently. Must be available to work 10 to 15 hours a week (3 academic credits).

Description: The School of Communication & the Arts houses the largest undergraduate program at Marist College and offers degree programs in art and art history, communication, fashion, media arts and music. The intern will assist with management of public relations, advertising, marketing and other strategic communication functions that help manage relationships among the school its key internal and external audiences. The intern will report directly to a designated member of the staff or faculty for supervision purposes; however, the intern will provide direct support to the school’s dean, various members of the faculty and staff, and contract employees. Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

•  Design, publish, manage material (text, images, videos, links, etc.) for school’s Web site(s).
•  Assist as necessary with media relations.
•  Write, upload, and update material and membership databases on professional networks (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter etc.).
•  Create content, distribute, and monitor social media content (Twitter, blogs, etc.).
•  Act as liaison with student communication groups (PRSSA, Advertising Club, etc.)
•  Conduct research and evaluation as needed.
•  Manage a social media strategy for COA (rules, limits, regulations)
•  Write, edit, and distribute public relations, advertising, and marketing materials (press releases, fact sheets, backgrounders, video releases, pitches, etc.) about accomplishments of students and faculty, significant events, and other newsworthy items.

Application: Send electronic cover letter, resume, with list of three references.

Deadline: Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Contact: LoriBeth Greenan, Visiting Professional Lecturer; 845-575-3000, ext. 2608; LoriBeth.Greenan@marist.edu

Marist Featured In Fox News "Helping Heroes Work"

Marist College is featured prominently in a new Fox News video, "From Combat to the Classroom," that promotes its Helping Heroes Work campaign. The Fox News program is designed to help military veterans find educational opportunities and resources as they make their transition from military service to civilian life. 

Marist Student Veteran Shawn George,
Fox News photo

The video is narrated by television host Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North (U.S. Marine Corps, Retired). Marist student veterans Shawn George and Nicholas Castellane, Dean of Graduate and Adult Enrollment Sean-Michael Green (who served as a U.S. Marine), and various parts of the Marist campus appear throughout the five-minute and 34-second video.

Sean-Michael Green with Marist student
veterans, Fox News photo

Fox News selected Marist for the video project because of its “Military Friendly School” designation by G.I. Jobs (GIJobs.com). Green, who is also head of Marist's Veteran’s Liaison Office and Student Veteran’s Organization said, about veterans at Marist, "I think culturally they need to know that  there are people like them there. I think that they need to know that they have a support system and that there are other veterans [at Marist]. They are just not isolated; they are not alone."

Marist Red Fox Company Campaign Coin,
Fox News photo

To make veteran's feel welcome, Marist has adopted certain cultures and traditions that are familiar to military veterans. For instance, Marist has created a unique Fox Company "campaign coin," which recognizes student veterans for outstanding performance or service. Military campaign (or challenge) coins traditionally represent the challenges faced by unit members in a military campaign or operation, and are awarded to unit members for special achievement.

You can read more about Marist's participation in this video series on the Marist College "News From Public Affairs" website at http://www.marist.edu/publicaffairs/foxnewsvets.html. 

Watch the entire promotional video "From Combat to the Classroom" on the Fox News Helping Heroes Work website. Follow this site to watch for the release of a second video, “The Mission: Staying in School,” which will feature other members of the Marist community.

Twitter Goes Papal!

Image Courtesy The Vatican

Well, I guess Twitter has been blessed in a way. One of its newest members happens to be the head of the Catholic Church on Earth. The Vatican announced on Monday, Dec. 3, that Pope Benedict XVI just signed up for his Twitter account under the handle @pontifex, which means bridge builder in Latin.

Pope Benedict is expected to publish his first tweet on Wednesday, Dec. 12, which will respond to questions he is now accepting at #askpontifex, his official Twitter hashtag.

According to the Vatican, as reported by The New York Times ("Twitter Has a New User: The Pope," Dec. 3), a tweet from the pope tweet should be be considered a "papal teaching,” or a message from the pope that is simply "entrusted to a new technology.”

Pope Benedict using an iPad. Photo: Gaia Pianigini,
Rachel Donadio, The New York Times, Dec. 3, 2012

The pope's venture into Twitter is just one more sign of the Catholic Church's growing use of social media. Before signing up for Twitter, Pope Benedict created his own Facebook and YouTube accounts. The pope also has his own social media website, http://www.pope2you.net, and the Vatican has its own downloadable mobile phone application (app).

Vatican's YouTube Twitter Announcement

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has acknowledged that bishops around the world face an "urgent call" by the Vatican to use social media to "evangelize the new 'digital continent' of social media." The Church's use of social media is intended to engage its 1.2 billion followers, especially young people. 

In 2010, USCCB Communications Committee member Bishop Ronald Herzog (Alexandria, La.) told fellow bishops, "If the Church is not on their mobile device, it doesn't exist. The Church does not have to change its teachings to reach young people, but we must deliver it to the them in a new way."

Courtesy of The Vatican

In announcing Pope Benedict's new Twitter account, the Vatican affirmed, “The pope’s presence on Twitter can be seen as the ‘tip of the iceberg’ that is the church’s presence in the world of new media.”




Stay tuned, and consider following the pope. Do you think if I follow him, he will follow me? Hmmm.

Key words: Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI, Vatican, social media, mobile phone