UMary Communications students meet with EWTN President
Communication students from the University of Mary recently visited with the President of EWTN during the University’s Vocations Jamboree.
Summary: Communication students from the University of Mary recently visited with the President of EWTN during the University’s Vocations Jamboree.
The staff of the Encounter, the school paper, pose for a picture with Montse Alvarado, President of EWTN News, March 14, 2024 in the lower level of the Lumen Vitae Center.
Montse Alvardo, the President of EWTN News and Lumen Gentium medal recipient, met with five Communication majors at the University of Mary for breakfast on March 14.
There’s a need more than ever to seek truth, said Alvardo, citing the heated response to the Israel-Hamas War on college campuses across the country.
The University treated attendees to a classic American breakfast including scrambled eggs, bacon and hashbrowns.
During the breakfast, Alvardo highlighted the need to adapt to the changing media landscape. “It seems like no one goes to websites anymore,” she said. “Everything is all on Instagram or social media.”
Later, Alvardo noted that EWTN creates Instagram Reels in order to promote their content and a “Catholic Netflix” will launch soon.
Going around the table, the students shared their interests and plans after college. “Our best hire was an editor,” said Alvarado. “She works fast and reworked our entire catalogue for streaming.”
Based out of Washington D.C., the EWTN News offices sit near Capitol Hill. “People don’t realize that our outside shots are from outside the window of our offices,” said Alvarado. “They think they were taken on the roof.”
EWTN News also has a news bureau in Rome covering the Vatican along with correspondents based in Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East, she said.
Toward the end of the breakfast, Autumn Kotrba, a student in journalism class, handed Alvarado a copy of the Encounter, which is the newspaper that the class launched this spring.
“This might be a shameless plug,” said Kotrba, “but we wanted to give you a copy of our school paper.” Reaching into her backpack, Kotrba handed Alvarado a stack of copies of the Encounter which Alvarado happily accepted.
To read stories from the Encounter online, please visit the Encounter’s Instagram page.
Bismarck temperatures plunge after beating record
Despite a drastic change in temperature from the morning to the evening, February 26th, 2024 became the warmest recorded February 26th in Bismarck history.
Summary: Despite a drastic change in temperature from the morning to the evening, February 26th, 2024 became the warmest recorded February 26th in Bismarck history.
The snowy scene outside the Gary Tharaldson School of Business at the University of Mary, Feb. 26, 2024 in Bismarck, North Dakota.
It almost felt like spring came early on Monday, Feb. 26 as temperatures reached a high of 64 degrees Fahrenheit in Bismarck, North Dakota, but they later dropped to a low of 19 degrees according to data from the National Weather Service.
This 64 degree weather day became the hottest Feb. 26 ever, narrowly breaking the previous record of 62 degrees on Feb. 26, 2016, according to the Bismarck Tribune.
“Mother nature just be throwing out temperatures like Power Ball numbers…66, 40, 29, 58, 24 and 13,” said Sara Bade Deschene, a University of Mary education graduate, who shared a meme on Facebook.
Bismarck temperatures have averaged about 29 degrees in February since 1954 based upon National Weather Service data.
Feb. 26’s temperature spike came close to the highest recorded February temperature in North Dakota: 73 degrees in Bismarck on Feb. 27, 2016, according to the Weather Channel.
Danielle Aberle, a communication sciences and disorders major, jokingly argued that a 60 degree temperature swing within one day should be outlawed. “You shouldn’t have to wear a winter coat,” said Aberle, “and then it’s spring the next day.”
Other times temperatures in Bismarck rose above 60 degrees include Feb. 29, 1992, with a high of 69 degrees; Feb. 25, 1958, with a 68 degree high; and Feb. 8, 2000, with a high of 61 degrees according to NWS data.
According to KFYR-TV’s Jacob Morse, the weather phenomenon called El Niño, with a hotter Pacific Ocean, caused warmer temperatures in most of North Dakota. Morse also noted that the chance of higher temperatures will likely decrease once spring approaches.
Spending time with lobbyists in D.C.
I had the chance to travel out to Washington D.C. and advocate for people with rare diseases during July of 2023.
Summary: I had the chance to travel out to Washington D.C. and advocate for people with rare diseases during July of 2023.
My mother and Emily Grimm, from the interest group Voters for Cures, walk down Constitution Avenue near Capitol Hill, Wednesday, July 12, 2023 in Washington, D.C.
“Get her!” said Jai Jackson, a lobbyist, as we stood outside the office of Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., last summer.
Moments earlier, we had finished a meeting with one of Smith’s staff members and Smith came out of a secret door accompanied by security.
My mother and I ran through the halls of the Hart Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C., and managed to catch Smith waiting for an elevator.
“Senator Smith,” said my mother, Alisa May, “we’re one of your constituents. We’re with Voters for Cures.”
We were hanging out with lobbyists in Washington as part of a trip organized by Voters for Cures, an interest group representing people with rare diseases. On July 12, 2023, we met with lawmakers on Capitol Hill to share our experiences and discuss policy solutions.
“I just flagged down Tina Smith,” my mother joked.
Our Family’s Story
At birth, I was diagnosed with Adrenoleukodystrophy, a rare genetic disease.
According to ALD Connect, the disease gets passed onto the X chromosome and harms the white matter of the nerves. ALD has no cure and can impact the adrenal gland, spinal cord, or the brain.
For 15 years of my life, my mother enrolled me in an experimental study which meant eating a low-fat diet and drinking Lorenzo’s Oil, a liquid intended to break down fatty acids that damage nerves. In 2018, the FDA removed the drug from suppliers’ shelves in the United States, arguing that it’s ineffective. Lorenzo’s Oil could still be imported from the United Kingdom, but the high cost deterred us from buying the drug
Every year, I visit the University of Minnesota for an MRI and get blood draws monthly in order to monitor my health.
Arlen May, my grandfather, passed on the ALD gene to my mother. My mother passed the disease on to me through the X chromosome.
The most common variant of ALD, Adrenomyeloneuropathy, harms the adrenal gland, responsible for producing adrenaline, and may restrict sufferers to a wheelchair according to the United Leukodystrophy Foundation.
“Why are you even going to D.C.?” said my cousin Olivia May, who has two boys diagnosed with ALD. “They’re not going to listen to you anyways.”
“You have to lay it all out on the field,” said my mother. “At the end of the day, we made an effort.”
Sitting Here on Capitol Hill
Stepping out of our hotel off of Pennsylvania Avenue, large black SUVs arrived as if Voters for Cures organized transportation with the Secret Service.
Eventually, we met Jackson, a lobbyist paired with us for our first meeting. He said to just relax and tell our story.
Throughout the meeting, Smith’s representative repeatedly assured us that “Tina Smith cares about her constituents.”
Trying to build rapport, my mom asked Smith’s staff member if she watched “Lorenzo’s Oil,” a movie centered around ALD. To my mother’s delight, Smith’s representative said yes.
Later, Emily Grimm, a Voters for Cures employee, escorted us across Capitol Hill through a tunnel used by members of Congress. Our trip ended in the office of Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn.
The final meeting took place with Liz Stinebaugh, an Emmer representative from Orono, Minnesota, a city located close to my hometown.
“The doctors told me ‘By the time Justin is 18, there will be a cure for ALD,’” said my mother. “He’s 20 now and still no cure.”
Stinebaugh noted Emmer’s opposition to the Inflation Reduction Act, which Voters for Cures describes as doing “more harm than good” with its price-setting policies.
In the end, my mother said to the lobbyists: “Once there’s a cure, I’m inviting all of you over to my house for a party.”
To increase awareness for those living with rare illnesses, Rare Disease Day is celebrated on Feb. 29. To learn more about ALD and Voters for Cures, one can visit this website.