Cable - The College of St. Scholastica

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How long have you been working at
CSS?
14 years
Where did you attend college and what
was your major?
I completed my undergraduate education
at The University of Wisconsin,
majoring in Social Work. I later completed
a Master of Social Work degree at
UMD.
What is your job title? Where would a
student find you?
I am The Assistant Director of The
Student Center for Health and Well-being.
You can find me in Counseling Services,
Tower 2150. Primarily, my role is
providing individual counseling to students,
but I also get out of my office and
work with student groups, talk in classrooms,
and offer workshops on topics of
health and well-being.
What do you enjoy about your job?
Every day I talk to students about
what matters most in their lives. What
matters is different for everybody, but essentially
counseling is figuring out that
troubling question swirling around inside
your head that won’t go away. What
do I want for my future? How do I handle
all this stress? How can I stop worrying?
Should I end this relationship?
Why can’t I get better grades? What if I
don’t get into my major? Why do I feel so
down sometimes? What if I’m making a
mistake?
Counseling is a good way to go about
Photo Credit: Zaynab Alwan
Co m m u n iT y
FaC u lT y/
sTa F F
Pr o F i l e s:
Th e r e s a
al d a c h
Roxanne Backowski
Contributing Writer
figuring that stuff out. Students come to
counseling, because despite their best efforts,
they just haven’t been able to find
a solution to that question, whatever it
may be. With support, they find answers
that work for their lives.
What are your hobbies?
Some of my favorite conversations
with students stem from this question.
I don’t like the word “hobbies” because
it trivializes what this means. It’s about
finding daily activities that create inspiration,
feed curiosity, develop intellect,
and ensure we experience the moment
in the day-to-dayness of life.
In addition to loving my job, I find
particular inspiration in two activities:
music and running.
I listen to hours and hours and hours
of music every week. Eventually I had to
figure out a way to channel all that energy,
and became a public radio DJ at
KUMD hosting a show featuring local
music (Tune in every other Wed from
5-7pm with DJ Teejay – that’s ME!).
I started running about two years
ago. My goal is to run Grandma’s Marathon
this spring. Running long distances
is fantastic fun!
What is your best memory from college?
I had terrific service learning experiences.
Those opportunities were transformational,
and prompted my decision
to pursue social work. My favorite service
learning assignment was volunteering
as a reading mentor with children
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from the Hmong community. The experience informed my knowledge of the history
of Laos, the challenges of immigration, the impact of war. My perspective of the
world transformed, and deepened my understanding of the complexities of social
justice.
What activities, lectures, or sporting events do you enjoy attending on campus?
I am an enthusiastic fan of the following: Rief Run, Stockfest, Music Department
Performances, The Freshwater Review, Speak Up!, CSS Theatre Program, Wellness
Center Fitness Classes, CSS Women’s Hockey, Well U.
What is one thing each student should do before leaving CSS?
Take a class in something outside your comfort zone, outside your required
course or major, that you suspect might be cool - just because you want to! It might
be art, music, drama, history, French, philosophy, gender studies, political science,
math, poetry. I enjoyed my social work courses, but one of my favorite college courses
was a literature course. Taking a course for the purpose of exploring a curiosity is
one of the best ways to experience love of learning.
P l a y re V i e w : A n d Th e n Th e r e We r e no n e
Barbara Patten
Contributing Writer
The opening performance of And
Then There Were None by the CSS Theater
on February 11 was fabulous.
This murder mystery, based on
the novel of the same name by Agatha
Christie, and directed by Merry Renn
Vaughan, had humor, suspense, suavity
and plenty of dead bodies
The characters, Englishmen and
women from a range of social classes, are
trapped together on an island by a mysterious
Mr. and Mrs. Owen. Their flirting,
bantering, and scolding is brought to
a halt when a record is played of a voice
accusing them all of crimes for which
they have not yet been punished.
Some characters have more of a
guilty conscious than others, and the
actors differentiate each other well. The
interplay between the tight-lipped prude
Emily Brent, played by Maxey Mitchell,
and the softer, modern Vera Claythorne,
played by Amanda Imberg, is one of
many highlights of the performance.
The sound effects and lighting add to
the sinister mood, and some very crafty
staging keeps the audience in suspense
until the very end. “I got chills,” one
woman said as she left the theater, which
was packed for the performance.
The show’s final performance dates
are 2/18, 2/19 and 2/20. Tickets, if any
are still left, will be available for sale at
the door the nights of performances.
Photo Credit: Bruce Ojard, Anne Woster