BLACKJACK!
That's 21: the number of consecutive years the Carroll College Talking Saints forensics team (photo right) has now reigned as Northwest Forensics Conference regional champions. The Saints scored their lucky 21st regional title last Sunday, as the Carroll speech and debate team dominated the Western Washington University tournament held January 28-30 in Bellingham, Wash. The team has not lost a regional championship tournament since October 1990. Among the many highlights: Carroll senior Kristina Buchan (photo left) of Idaho Falls, Idaho, received the Coaches' Commemorative Award given to the most valuable speaker in the region for the 2010-2011 season. Sophomore Laramy Ayers of Billings, Mont., won the Orv Iverson Cup recognizing promising young speakers in their first or second year of intercollegiate competition. The Talking Saints defeated 20 other colleges from nine states at the Western Washington tournament, where Carroll earned designation as a Gold Medal Program, given to the best forensics programs in the region. Read all the talk at: https://www.carroll.edu/about/pressreleases.php?id=14462 SPAGALICIOUS This Saturday, February 5, Carroll College's Campus Ministry will host its annual Headlights Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser to gather donations for student service journeys during spring break this March. The annual deluxe spaghetti feast takes place at St. Mary's Catholic Community, 1700 Missoula Ave. in Helena, from 5 to 8 p.m. There is no fee for admission, but donations will be accepted. During spring break, 12 Carroll students will journey to Kansas City while an equal number will head to Rochester, NY, with both groups performing volunteer work at a variety of schools and nonprofits serving the poor. The Headlights Spaghetti Dinner helps with travel expenses to make these trips possible, since Headlights student volunteers are responsible for paying their own way. At the dinner, raffle tickets will be sold at a cost of $1 each, with prizes including gift cards to the Silver Star, Firetower, The Brewhouse and the local cinema. All raffle ticket sales will go toward the Headlights student service journeys. (Photo left: Headlights in Guatemala) This year's Kansas City trip will see Carroll students helping the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth, and the Rochester students will assist the Sisters of St. Joseph of Rochester. According to Headlights Director Colleen Dunne, Carroll's Headlights program has been volunteering with the Sisters of St. Joseph for nearly a decade. The Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth have a long history of connection with Carroll and the Diocese of Helena. At least twice yearly over the past 13 years, Carroll's Campus Ministry's Headlights program has sent students on journeys to Montana Indian reservations and inner-city impoverished areas around the nation. On these trips, led by Carroll Campus Ministry staff, students serve in soup kitchens, tutor at-risk school children, care for senior citizens and assist at homeless shelters and foster homes. Headlights has also sent two student groups to the Diocese of Helena's mission school and clinic in Guatemala. OUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK This past Wednesday, February 2, the NAIA National Champion Fighting Saints regaled the Montana Legislature at the Montana state capitol building with cheers, a rousing speech by Coach Mike Van Diest in both chambers, two renditions of The Saints Go Marching In, shameless display of the championship trophy and the team flag, and plenty of fellowship with our elected officials in the House and Senate. Afterward, the victors valiant, their coaches and Carroll President Tom Trebon met with Gov. Brian Schweitzer for a private Q and A session, with the press in tow (photo right). Full coverage of the champions' charge into a sea of politicians and lobbyists-and living to tell the tale-is online here: http://helenair.com/news/article_f834ce3c-2f66-11e0-abfe-001cc4c002e0.html Instant replay of the local TV coverage is online at: http://www.kxlh.com/news/saints-day-proclaimed-in-montana-legislature/ SURVIVING THE SHOAH This Monday, February 7, Holocaust survivor Noémi Ban will offer her first-hand account of her World War II experiences and her message of tolerance, hope and love of life, in the Campus Center starting at 7 p.m. In this free, public talk, Ban will recount the loss of her mother, grandmother, thirteen-year-old sister and 6-month-old baby brother and of the suffering she survived while in Auschwitz-Birkenau. In addition to her story of perseverance, Ban will stress the dangers of bigotry, hate and teasing and the value of family and friends in the healing process-lessons still relevant and yet to be fully appreciated even today. Ban is part of a dying breed, with few left to tell the first-hand tale, so don't miss this opportunity. Monday night's event is brought to us by the Helena Education Foundation. For more information, call 443-2545 or visit the Helena Education Foundation web page at http://www.hefmt.org (Photo left: Carroll's 2005 study abroad students walk into Auschwitz-Birkenau) WALK LIKE AN EGYPTIAN Next Thursday, February 10, delve into the current turmoil thundering through Egypt with unique perspectives from Carroll faculty members, who will present a panel discussion at 7:30 p.m. in the lower level of the Campus Center. The panel event is free and open to the public. Drs. Jeanette Fregulia (history professor and leader of Carroll's spring 2011 Middle East study abroad experience), Zachary Callen (political science professor), Jeff Morris (winner of a 2005 Fulbright scholarship to Egypt) and Barry Ferst (philosophy professor and faculty leader of Carroll's Islam studies) will discuss the Egyptian turmoil, its political, historical and cultural underpinnings, and how its repercussions are being felt in Syria, Jordan and the Gaza Strip. Dr. Gillian Glaes of the Carroll History Department will moderate. This summer, Dr. Ferst will release a book entitled, Islam: A Semester Study, a textbook for collegiate courses. He has brought Islamic, Jewish and Christian scholars and leaders to campus for public events consistently since 9/11 to foster interfaith dialog and understanding. Both Drs. Ferst and Fregulia have traveled, lived and worked extensively in the Middle East. On his 2005 Fulbright experience in Egypt, Professor Morris spent a summer studying modern Egyptian literature, developing his understanding of Egyptian politics, culture and perceptions of the U.S., and enhancing his knowledge of Islam and Christian-Muslim relations. In August 2010, Callen received the 2010 William Anderson Award for the best doctoral dissertation in the field of state and local politics, federalism and intergovernmental relations. QUILL YOU BE THERE? To complement our spectacular St. John's Bible exhibit on display in the Carroll Art Gallery (St. Charles Hall), Fine Arts Professor Ralph Esposito is bringing to campus a weekend lecture and workshop, offering laypeople a chance to create bible-quality calligraphy in the classical monk tradition. First, on Friday, February 11, everyone is welcome to a free lecture and slide show, "Lindisfarne Gospel Legacy," at 7:30 p.m. in room 034 St. Charles Hall, with the guest speaker, calligrapher Theresa Leland. In her talk, Leland will explain the historical, social and calligraphic traditions that produced one of the world's greatest manuscripts, The Lindisfarne Gospels, written about 720 AD and considered one of the jeweled masterpieces of sacred calligraphy. A professional calligraphy teacher for 25 years, Leland was one of twelve in her profession invited to participate in a Calligraphic Study Tour focusing on the Lindisfarne manuscript. Several of her teachers are part of the calligraphic team producing The Saint John's Bible, which follows in the Lindisfarne calligraphic manuscript tradition. Then it's time to create calligraphy masterpieces of our own: On Saturday and Sunday, February 12 and February 13, Leland will lead a Decorated Letter Workshop in the Carroll Art Gallery (room 034 St. Charles Hall). Times are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Sunday. For a fee of $80 covering all materials and supplies and attendance for both days, participants can learn how to craft beautiful decorated letters and illustrations used in the legendary handwritten biblical manuscripts. Participants can expect to create a simple hand-bound book of their work, with the calligraphy skills they learn transferable to other tasks, including decorating handmade greeting cards, scrapbooks and journals. No prior calligraphy experience is necessary to master this class, which is recommended for teens through adults. Spaces are still open in the workshop: to register, contact Professor Ralph Esposito at resposit@carroll.edu and call 406-447-4302. CARROLL TV The St. John's Bible exhibit and the workshops were the featured topic on this past week's Helena Civic Television Saints and Scholars show, with guest Professor Ralph Esposito (photo left). Saints and Scholars aired Wednesday night in its usual 8 p.m. slot on channel 11 in Helena, but encore presentations are aired throughout the week. Check the HCTV schedule for details at: http://helenacivictv.org/ (click on the link for "What's on Channel 11" and look for the daily schedule) Next week, tune into Saints and Scholars on February 9 for an update on the IMPACT Spring Business Campaign. The following week on February 16, you'll hear all about Carroll's upcoming production of Tartuffe: Born Again. ARMS WIDE OPEN This Saturday, another fun Arms Around McLain fundraising event to benefit eight-year-old McLain Thornquist, the daughter of Carroll Director of Admission and Enrollment Services Cynthia Thornquist (together in photo right), will take place at the Painted Pot, 411 N. Last Chance Gulch in Helena. From 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., the ceramic art studio (open to the public of all ages and experience levels) will donate a portion of all sales to help the Thornquist family in its battle against McLain's cancer. FOOD FOR THOUGHT Carroll College's partnership school Broadwater Elementary has 45% of its students eligible for free and reduced lunches, but it recently came to light that the students are running low on snacks, an essential brain food to sustain them during the school day. Well-nourished kids have higher test scores, better attendance and fewer behavior problems. Many Broadwater kids come from struggling homes, and Carroll staff invites the campus community to help them out with a Valentine's month "Have a Heart for Hunger" snack drive. Welcome for donation are healthy eats like low-sugar dry cereal, crackers, string cheese, granola bars, fruit snacks, veggies, pretzels, cut apples, yogurt, juice boxes, peanut butter and crackers and such. Donations can be dropped off to Financial Aid Advisor Tina Wagner in Carroll's Financial Aid Office (O'Connell Hall upstairs), and you can contact her for a drop-off at twagner@carroll.edu She will collect and deliver donations through the end of February. FROM ST. PATRICK TO SAINT JOHN PAUL II The annual St. Andrew School Emerald Isle Auction is February 26, with a raffle of an all-expense paid trip for two to Ireland (second prize is a $1,000 gas card and third prize is $500 cash). You need not be present at the drawing to win. Ireland raffle tickets are just $5 each, or 5 tickets for $20. Proceeds from raffle ticket sales benefit St. Andrew, a K-through-12 classical school in the Catholic tradition located in Helena. Raffle tickets are available here on campus by contacting Annette Walstad in Academic Advising (awalstad@carroll.edu; 447-5434) Dr. Mark Smillie of the Philosophy Department (msmillie@carroll.edu; 447-5416) or Ashley Oliverio in Public Relations (news@carroll.edu; 447-5415). You can also purchase raffle tickets from St. Andrew families selling them at all remaining Carroll home basketball games in the PE Center. In the 15 years of St. Andrew's existence, it has graduated 59 students, with 13 of them going on to attend Carroll. One-quarter of the current full-time faculty at St. Andrew are Carroll grads, and 9 St. Andrew students are taking Carroll classes now through Carroll's ACE program. Buying raffle tickets is a superb way to support Catholic education and foster a new generation of Carroll students and graduates. At the February 26 auction, hundreds of spectacular items will be up for bid, including art, jewelry, gourmet dinners, vacations and a journey to Rome for the beatification of Pope John Paul II. For auction dinner reservations (which cost $35 each and includes a traditional Irish feast), call 449-3201. STUDENT NEWS Events The annual Carroll student Super Bowl Extravaganza, sponsored by College Christian Fellowship, is this Sunday, February 6, starting at 4 p.m. in the Campus Center, with the big game on the big screen. Plenty of door prizes-$500 worth-will be up for grabs, including a Kindle, plus free snacks. The Carroll Adventure and Mountaineering Program (CAMP) is teaming up with Wild Things Unlimited, Defenders of Wildlife, Winter Wildlands Alliance and the Montana Wilderness Association to offer a free two-day Backcountry Scientist Project on the wolverine, lynx and fisher and how to track carnivores in winter. The program will be held February 11-12, with day one presentations and training at Carroll and day two on MacDonald Pass for a field workshop. Participants will learn about the rare carnivores of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, hear case studies from the Helena and Gallatin National Forests, and undertake the art and science of snow tracking. This free, innovative program is aimed at training and engaging snowshoers and backcountry and Nordic skiers to become volunteer citizen scientists and activists in the conservation of rare carnivores. To participate, contact Bradly Maddock at bmaddockjr@carroll.edu In the News Carroll College Business Department senior Mary Currin (photo left) was selected to attend the Sigma Beta Delta Inaugural Leadership Academy in San Diego, Calif., on January 20-23, 2011. Carroll College's chapter of Sigma Beta Delta was established during spring semester 2009. Sigma Beta Delta invited each of its 265 chapters nationwide to select one nominee for consideration, from which 25 would be chosen to serve as an academy participant. At the academy, Currin and the other students selected were asked to design a project that would use the potential of the Sigma Beta Delta network to positively impact humanity. Currin says her project entailed her working with four other students from around the nation to develop a plan for an organ donor registration project. Currin plans to complete a bachelor's degree in accounting with minors in business administration and English writing in May 2012. For more, read: https://www.carroll.edu/about/pressreleases.php?id=14471 The Carroll Outreach Team's recent donation of funds to fight cholera in Haiti is already reaping benefits. Pastor Nicolas of the church in Jérémie, Haiti, reports that his faith community has already used the COT funds to provide cholera-defense kits to 500 families. Kits contain bleach, soap, water-sterilization tablets, oral rehydration remedies and educational posters on how to prevent the disease from spreading. ALUMNI NEWS Events Carroll alumni are invited to take part in the Carroll Saints versus Montana Tech Orediggers basketball double-header on Friday, February 25, in Butte. The women tip off at 5:30 p.m., the men at 7:30. Tickets can be bought at the gate, and alums attending are welcome between the games to gather in the HPER (athletic center) racquetball courts for Pork Chop John's sandwiches, salads and dessert, all provided free of charge! RSVP is required: contact Alumni Director Kathy Ramirez at 406-447-5185 or alumni@carroll.edu by February 22. Call For Alums Carroll wants to hear from all Honor Scholars alumni! To help shape the future of Carroll's Honors Scholars Program, please take the online Honors Scholars 2011 Survey at: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/F25CZXR You can also access the survey on the Honor Scholars Program webpage at: http://www.carroll.edu/academics/honors/ (look for the link on the left side of the screen). Please send in your responses by February 14-we look forward to your input! For more information on the program, contact Dr. Christopher Fuller, Honors Scholars interim director, at cfuller@carroll.edu or at 406-447-4335. In the News Ray Messer (photo right), class of 1969, and his engineering firm of Walter P Moore and Associates has won an Outstanding Project Award for Excellence in Structural Engineering conferred by the NCSEA (National Council of Structural Engineers Associations) 13th Annual Awards Program. The award is for the design of the new Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, where the Super Bowl XLV will be played this Sunday. Messer is president and CEO of Walter P Moore and Associates and chairman of Carroll's Board of Trustees. You can see the full story on the firm's award in the December 2010 Structure magazine at http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/dceecf6a#/dceecf6a/28. Medical oncologist Justin Thomas, M.D., Carroll class of 2001, will join St. Peter's Cancer Treatment Center in Helena in July 2011. He moves to Helena from Salt Lake City, where he is completing a fellowship at the Huntsman Cancer Institute. After earning his biology degree from Carroll, where he was a member of the Fighting Saints football team, he went on to graduate from the University of Washington School of Medicine. He completed an internship and residency in internal medicine at the University of Utah and Affiliated Hospitals. A blast from the past: back when he was just a Carroll undergrad, Dr. Thomas' dreams of becoming a physician were highlighted in a 2002 Helena Independent Record story, entitled "Football Physicians." Read it here: http://helenair.com/news/article_f690c17e-da13-581e-95b6-62cab7ed877d.html (Photo left, from 2002 story by IR Staff Photographer Jon Ebelt: Justin Thomas, left, and classmate Brian Blackwood, class of 2002) Producer, director and writer Bryan Ferriter, class of 2010, heads up Iron Cloud Studios in Helena, which is busy filming a vampire movie in the capital city. According to Ferriter, Vampire is a film he conceptualized while studying at Carroll and includes spiritual, racial and dramatic themes. Sink your teeth into more details at: http://www.kxlh.com/news/vampire-production-being-filmed-in-helena/ (Photo right: Ferriter, standing, as the lead in last spring's Carroll Theatre production of Dracula) In Memoriam Sister Mary Agnes Koenig, OP, nursing class of 1953, died on October 10, 2010. Professed in 1948, she served at St. Joseph Hospital in Chewelah, Wash., as nurse, administrator, and in pastoral care; as administrator at Holy Family Home and Holy Family Hospital which are both in Spokane, Wash.; at St. Martin Hospital in Tonasket, Wash., as a nurse; as associate director at Immaculate Heart Retreat Center in Spokane; and in pastoral care at St. Michael Parish in Conrad, Mont. Sr. Mary Agnes served in congregation leadership for the Spokane Dominicans, who had a long association with Carroll College. The Dominican sisters who arrived at Carroll from Speyer, Germany, for the first time in 1925, would go on to establish schools and hospitals throughout Washington and Montana, in addition to serving as cooks, janitors, teachers and humble service role models at Carroll for 36 years. FACULTY AND STAFF NEWS Last Saturday, Carroll Music Professors Dr. Robert Psurny, a tenor, and Dr. Lynn Petersen, pianist and composer, presented Schubert's compelling song cycle Winterreise at Montana State University's Reynolds Recital Hall. More on the story is online at: http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/arts_and_entertainment/sounds/article_b6f0b4ac-2a68-11e0-8eb3-001cc4c03286.html Michelle Lewis (photo left, with camels), the director of Carroll's International Programs and TESOL program, reports that in January she led two webinars for EducationUSA advisers and students from around the world. EducationUSA is a US Department of State-funded network of over 400 advisers located in 170 countries whose purpose is to promote higher education study in the US. On January 18, Lewis presented Looking beyond the coasts (encouraging students to think beyond the East and West coasts of the US) and on January 26 she headed Understanding the liberal arts (a concept which is not widely understood around the world, but which students and their families embrace when they learn about it). The Institute of International Education (IIE) asked Lewis to develop and lead the two events, which drew a combined group of 60 prospective students from Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, Oceania, Asia and Europe. According to Lewis, the webinars tie perfectly with Carroll's overall international student recruitment plan, which is in its third year and has focused on travel to American and international high schools in Asia and Europe as well as networking with Fulbright offices, US embassies and consulates and independent high school counselors around the world. "Results are paying off, as applications are coming in as a result of this relationship building, which is critical for success in international student recruitment and retention," Lewis adds. ATHLETICS In the News Carroll College seniors Bubba Bartlett (photo right) and Gary Wagner (photo left) will be playing in separate all-star games this coming weekend. Two-time All-American Bartlett is the third player in Carroll history to play in the NFLPA Texas vs. Nation game, with kickoff at noon Mountain Time this Saturday, February 5, in San Antonio's Alamodome. (The other two former Saints previously selected for the Texas showdown were Casey Fitzsimons, class of 2003, and Tyler Emmert, class of 2006.) The Texas vs. The Nation game will be televised live on CBS College Sports. For more information, go to http://www.nflpagame.com/. Meanwhile, Carroll quarterback Gary Wagner was selected to play in this Saturday's Dixie Gridiron Classic in St. George Utah. The game aims to provide the best quality-graduating seniors a chance to showcase their talents in front of professional scouts, and the two teams will consist of 90 of the West's best players. Kickoff is at noon Mountain Time February 5. More information is available at http://dixiegridironclassic.com Carroll's Athletic Director Bruce Parker and Sports Information Director Brock Veltri were featured in a recent Helena Independent Record story on the changing roles of sports media professionals. The quote from Veltri that says it all: "In the end, somehow the long hours, low pay and crisis moments still seem worthwhile." Get the news here: http://helenair.com/sports/article_a49e7452-2dd7-11e0-b065-001cc4c03286.html Upcoming Events The Saints Athletic Association presents its Shindig Reverse Raffle on Friday, February 18, in the Carroll Campus Center. Social begins at 6 p.m., with dinner at 7. Tickets are $25 for the dinner and $100 for a ball, which will be plunked in a hopper for a prize drawing . Each 10th ball extracted will entitle the holder to $100 cash, and ball number 70 gets $200. The take goes up with the final balls drawn, and all-told the grand prize increases depending on how many balls are entered. You need not be present to win, and all proceeds of this spherical game of chance go to support Saints athletic scholarships and programs. For more information, contact Renee Wall at 406-447-5413 or rwall@carroll.edu Home Schedule All Carroll teams are away this weekend. Check out the full Athletics schedule and all the latest news, photos and video at www.carroll.edu/athletics COMING EVENTS Ongoing to February 25: The Carroll Art Gallery in St. Charles Hall presents a print and book exhibition of The Saint Johns Bible, the first handwritten, illuminated Bible commissioned by a Benedictine Abbey in over 500 years. The gallery is open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekdays, closed weekends and college holidays. Free admission. More about The Saint John's Bible is online here: http://www.saintjohnsbible.org/?gclid=CJHfnvK0y6UCFVVi2godq3I-lw February 13: Carroll Associate Professor of Languages and Literature Loren Graham (photo left), author of two poetry books including The Ring Scar released this fall, and Assistant Professor of English and Creative Writing Kevin Stewart (photo right), author of the award-winning The Way Things Always Happen Here, will offer readings and signings of their books at the Holter Museum of Art, 12 East Lawrence Street in Helena, starting at 2 p.m. Free and open to the public. February 15: IMPACT Business Campaign Kickoff Breakfast. To support IMPACT or join the volunteers for this spring's Business Campaign, contact Gayle Agostinelli, Director of Annual Giving (406) 447-4492 or gagostinelli@carroll.edu February 17-20, 24-27: Carroll College Theatre Department presents Tartuffe: Born Again, translated and adapted by Freyda Thomas from the original French by Moliere. Directed by Chuck Driscoll. A modern treatment of the classic comedy by the French Renaissance master, where Tartuffe is posing as a televangelist. In the Carroll College Performing Arts Center, Old North, St. Charles Hall. Curtain time is 7 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday Evenings. Sunday matinees are at 2 p.m. General admission is $10, students/seniors are $8. For more information, call 406-447-4304. For much more, read the full press release at: