July 22-26 and July 29-Aug. 2, 2013

An engaging opportunity for students who are interested in science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM) fields. We offer high end programming with highly qualified faculty, including professors, engineers, computer programmers and gifted certified teachers.

Soccer Camp

June 2-7 (Girls), June 9-14 (Girls), June 16-21 (Boys), June 23-28 (Girls), July 7-12 (Boys)
For more than 30 years, the Maryville University Saints Soccer Camp has provided an atmosphere where players learn the fundamentals of soccer while receiving instruction from elite-level coaches.

“It was a magnificent experience,” Kravitz said of his November trip, calling Nepal “a paradise for people who want to do trekking in the mountains.” Kravitz refers to his travels as treks, explaining that mountain climbing is a different endeavor. However, his  journey was no small undertaking. He traveled for eight days through and up the mountains to reach Everest Base Camp at an elevation of 17,400 feet, taking two days to rest and adjust to higher altitudes along the way, a standard practice.

He also traveled to Kala Patthar, a mountain known for its views of the Everest summit, reaching a height of 18,200 feet.  He spent another six days making his way back to the town of Lukla, where he flew into and out of Tenzing-Hillary Airport, named in honor of Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, the first to reach the summit of Mount Everest in 1953. Kravitz notes the airport arrival and departure were also part of the challenge _ changing weather and a short, steep airstrip have given this airport a reputation as the most dangerous in the world.

Kravitz retired three years ago from Nestle Purina Pet Care, where he worked on marketing and marketing research related to dog and cat food. He decided to focus on four main areas in his retirement: teaching, fitness and health, travel and giving back to nonprofit organizations.

His Maryville involvements include two of the areas he has devoted time to in retirement. He teaches in the John E. Simon School of Business on marketing and consumer behavior. He’s also a member of the National Leadership Council of Maryville’s Duchesne Society; the council is made up of alumni and community leaders who provide direction and support to an annual donors’ society at the University.

His trip to Everest Base Camp aligned with the other two: fitness and travel. Kravitz, 64, says he stays in shape, but about two months before his trip he began to train specifically for his time in the Himalayas. He went to Creve Coeur Park with his hiking boots, poles and a 20-pound backpack. Four or five days a week, he walked a hill there for two or three hours a day.  “I had a friend who came out with me to walk the hill. Once!” he explains of how arduous the preparation was.

Another friend who had been to Nepal previously linked him up with a business known for providing guides and porters near Everest. Once he arrived in Nepal, he toured Katmandu before heading to Lukla. “Each day was a sensory overload of sights and sounds and smells.”  He explained that on his way to Everest, there are villages every few hours apart. So he’d stay in lodges, get up for breakfast and head out on the trail to the next village, where he met people from all over the world. He’d hike higher during the day, and then come down a distance for shelter to avoid getting sick from the high altitude. “You hike high and sleep low,” he explained, saying he did pass people who had to be taken down the mountain due to such illness.  From his photos, showing him crossing suspension bridges, seeing villagers drying rice outdoors and visiting a Buddhist shrine, it’s clear his trip truly was an adventure.

When Kravitz isn’t off on a mountain adventure, he spends time with his wife, Fran, and two children, 32-year-old Michael and 30-year-old Debbie.

There’s still time for alumni, children, grandchildren and other relatives to register for the Dr. Seuss birthday celebration on Sunday, Feb. 24, from 2 to 4 p.m. in the Donius University Center.

The event includes a variety of activities, including Dr. Seuss-themed crafts, science exploration, a scavenger hunt, snacks and—one of the children’s favorites—story readings from some of Dr. Suess’ best-loved books. (The legendary author’s 109th birthday would have been March 2.) Student volunteers also plan to lead children through a fun Dr. Seuss-themed dance, and photos may be taken with Dr. Seuss characters.

There will be a new addition this year, where guests will have a chance to “Meet the Maryville Authors.” Two alumni who wrote children’s books will be on hand, selling copies of their works with profit from that day’s sales being donated to benefit Maryville’s School of Education.

The two featured books will be Molly Green Likes Worms by Doss Margiotta, ’69 and Easter Bunny’s Amazing Day by Carol Benoist, ’70 and Cathy Gilmore.  Margiotta, a former kindergarten teacher, always tried to help her students “understand that everything on earth has a purpose, and to respect all life.” An avid gardener, she taught her students about the importance of worms and the ways they contribute to healthy soil and gardens. She saw her children’s book, which she worked on with business partner Suzanne Collins of Ladue, as a means to encourage reading and to teach children about science. She was looking forward to having the book play a role at the Dr. Seuss event. “If you can get little children to fall in love with stories and books, you have a reader for life,” she said. Her book was illustrated by Patricia L. Nagy.

Carol Benoist, ’70, said she had been telling the story from Easter Bunny’s Amazing Day for about a decade before turning it into a written book, illustrated by Jonathan Sundy. The work tells a story intended to share the religious meaning of Easter. “Someone said as an author the joy isn’t in having it published, and it’s not in making the money, but it’s the joy of having people enjoy the book. That has been absolutely heartwarming,” she said. Benoist is a psychotherapist who works with corporations and runs wellness classes as co-owner of Life Change presents Prescription for Wellness in a Stressed Out World.

The Dr. Seuss Birthday Bash this year is again chaired by Moira Kelly Steuterman, ’73 and Addie Dorsey Tomber, ’68. The volunteers, faculty and students who organize the event work on it well in advance. Last year, about 250 people total attended the gathering. Organizers anticipate another fun-filled event this year.

A grant from the Missouri National Education Association written by the University’s Education Club members helps support this event and a Dr. Seuss website with curriculum and ideas for teachers.

Register at http://alumni.maryville.edu/DrSeuss or call 314.529.6867.  For more information visit http://blogs.maryville.edu/doctorseuss or contact Peggy Michelson at pmichelson@maryville.edu. Please register by noon on Friday, Feb. 22, for this event.

Maryville University’s signature author series includes exciting books and authors this spring, and the series had just added tickets for a new on-campus lunch with author Daniel H. Pink.

Author Daniel H. Pink – To Sell is Human: The Surprising Truth about Moving Others

Wednesday, March 6 at 7 p.m.

Maryville University Auditorium

Whether it’s employees pitching colleagues on a new idea, entrepreneurs seeking investors, or parents encouraging children to study, people spend their days trying to move others. To Sell Is Human offers a fresh look at the art and science of selling. The result is a perceptive and practical book that offers fresh perspective and ultimately may transform what readers do at work, at school and at home. Daniel H. Pink,  who served as chief speechwriter to Vice President Al Gore from 1995 to 1997, is known for his books on the modern work environment. This event is free and open to the public, but a separate, special luncheon opportunity with Pink is available on March 7.

Maryville Talks Books Luncheon with Daniel H. Pink

Thursday, March 7

Please join us for a luncheon and lecture with best-selling author Daniel H. Pink. Pink will speak about how to move others while looking at the art and science of selling – something we all do.
Ticket packages are available for the luncheon. Lunch tickets including a copy of his latest book To Sell is Human can be purchased for $45 with an additional handling fee. Lunch tickets can also be purchased without a copy of the book for $20 each with an additional handling fee. Additional books will be available from Left Bank Books at the event.
Luncheon parking will be provided in lots 4 & 5. Click on the register button for a complete list of menu and pricing options: http://danpink.brownpapertickets.com/

Elizabeth Strout – The Burgess Boys

Friday, April 12 at 7 p.m.

Maryville University Library

Elizabeth Strout “animates the ordinary with astonishing force” according to The New Yorker her Pulitzer Prize-winning Olive Kitteridge.  Tender, tough-minded, loving, and deeply illuminating about the ties that bind us to family and home, The Burgess Boys follows brothers Jim and Bob Burgess, who escaped from their Maine hometown as soon as they possibly could after their father’s death… until Susan–the Burgess sibling who stayed behind–urgently calls them home to help with her troubled teenage son.

Michael Pollan – Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation

Thursday, May 9 at 7 p.m.

This is a ticketed event

http://cooked.brownpapertickets.com/  Ticket admits one person and includes one copy of Cooked. $35.00 ($37.22 w/service fees).

Chaminade College Preparatory School, Skip Viragh Center for the Arts, 425 S. Lindbergh

In Cooked, Michael Pollan explores the enduring power of the four classical elements _fire, water, air, and earth _to transform the stuff of nature into delicious things to eat and drink. Apprenticing himself to a succession of culinary masters, Pollan learns how to grill with fire, cook with liquid, bake with bread and ferment everything from cheese to beer. In the course of his journey, he discovers that the cook stands squarely between nature and culture. Both realms are transformed by cooking, and so, in the process, is the cook. Ticket packages are available at brownpapertickets.com.

Pollan is the author of four New York Times bestsellers: Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual; In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto; The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals and The Botany of Desire: A Plant’s-Eye View of the World. The Omnivore’s Dilemma was named one of the ten best books of 2006 by both The New York Times and The Washington Post.

Contact Information for the events:

Chris Hollenbeck, Special Events Coordinator, 314-529-6854 (office), chollenbeck@maryville.edu Maryville Talks Books is a collaboration between Maryville University, Left Bank Books, HEC-TV and St. Louis Public Radio.

Maryville University alumni and friends are invited to one or both of our Spring Break events in Florida. From 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, March 6, a reception with President Mark Lombardi will be held at the Ritz-Carlton in Naples. Space is limited for this complimentary event, so please respond soon.

Then, on Thursday, March 7, join Maryville when the St. Louis Cardinals take on the New York Yankees at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Fla. For the game, gates open at 11:30 a.m., with lunch at noon and a game time of 1:05 p.m. Costs for this event are $46 per person, which includes a ticket and a pre-game lunch. If you already have tickets to the game, you can attend the pre-game lunch for $17. Please RSVP by Friday, Feb. 27.

Please register online at alumni.maryville.edu/springtraining13

For more information, contact Chris Hollenbeck in Maryville Institutional Advancement at 314.529.6854 or 314.529.9918 or at chollenbeck@maryville.edu

Here’s a look at a few upcoming events on campus that are free and open to the public:

YUVAL RON ENSEMBLE

Sunday, Feb. 17: Workshop/Lecture at 3 p.m. in the Huttig Chapel; Concert at 8 p.m. in the Maryville  University  Auditorium 

The Yuval Ron Ensemble endeavors to alleviate national, racial, religious and cultural divides by uniting the music and dance of the people of the Middle East into a spiritual and inspiring musical celebration. The ensemble includes Jewish, Christian and Muslim artists who have been actively involved in creating musical bridges between people of various faiths and ethnic groups worldwide. http://yuvalronmusic.com/index.html

A workshop and lecture will be held at 3 p.m. in Hutting Chapel. The ancient use of music as therapy in the East and the recent brain and music therapy research that confirms some of these ancient applications of music for healing physical and mental conditions.

A concert will be held at 8 p.m. in the Maryville University Auditorium. For more information on this event, contact Steve Di Salvo at sdisalvo@maryville.edu

STL POVERTY FORUM

Tuesday, Feb. 19: 1:40 p.m. to 2:55 p.m. in Buder Family Student Commons

The presence of poverty is a real and growing issue in the St. Louis area. Community leaders, including President and CEO of MERS/Missouri Goodwill Industries Lew Chartock, Ph.D., Roderick Jones of Grace Hill Settlement House, and Senior Director of Health at St. Patrick Center Ann Rotermund will present on their first-hand experiences with poverty in our area. This engaging forum will address how severe this issue is and what needs to be done to address it.

MISSOURI POETS LAUREATE

Friday, March 15: 7:30 p.m. in the Maryville University Auditorium

The Medart Lecture Series of Maryville University, with the participation of St. Louis Poetry Center and St. Louis Writers’ Guild, welcome Missouri Poets Laureate Walter Bargen, David Clewell and the state’s most recently selected Poet Laureate William Trowbridge. Their readings, followed by a reception and book signing, are free and open to the public.  Come out for an extraordinary evening of poetry!

The St. Louis Poetry Center, with more than 65 years of serving those who love and write poetry, is the oldest center of its kind west of the Mississippi River. The St. Louis Writers’ Guild celebrates its 93rd year as the local chapter of the Missouri Writers Guild.  Both literary organizations are delighted to participate in Maryville University’s 2013 Medart Lecture Series. For further information contact: director@stlouispoetrycenter.org;  slwgpresident@gmail.com; or gmurray@maryville.edu.

A new exhibition of ceramic sculpture and digital art opens Feb. 27 in the Morton J. May Gallery located inside the Maryville University Library called Truths, Tales, Myths and Outright Barefaced Lies… by René Michele-Trapága.

Memories of tales told around nightly fires, kerosene lamp lit bedrooms and the religious fervor of a parish house upbringing: these all combine to give René Michel-Trapága a solid foundation in the magic realism that permeates the work in his new exhibition titled Truths, Tales, Myths and Outright Barefaced Lies…

The exhibition runs from Feb. 27 to March 28. The exhibition is free and open to the public.

To participate, sponsor families will be expected to attend Community Connections sessions in September 2013 and in February 2014. They should remain respectful of the culture, religion and political beliefs of the student. They’ll be asked to maintain contact with their student at least once a month; to meet with their student at least twice a semester; to provide transportation, if needed, for students.  “Most importantly, sponsor families should be willing to show our students that they care,” Knaust explained.

She said students want social connections and interaction from the program. Both international and out-of-state students want opportunities to learn about St. Louis culture and traditions. The goal is that the program will provide them with a sense of security and support, and an advocate—a link to someone who is willing to look out for the student’s best interests.

A current exchange student from Japan, 20-year-old Hitomi Yamazaki, has formed a relationship with an area resident, Margaret Walker, and her family through a group called International Students Inc. She attends religious service with the family, has lunch and has seen some of the sights in the region with them. Yamazaki, a student at Toyo University, said, “When people come to the United States by themselves, they’re nervous. To have another family encourage us, it’s a very good experience.” She said one of the daughters in the Walker family is studying Japanese, so she helps her practice her conversational skills in that language, while also speaking English with the family. She said she believes other students will benefit from a similar program at Maryville.

To become a sponsor family, complete the online application form at:  http://blogs.maryville.edu/communityconnections/. Those with questions or seeking more information may contact Deborah Knaust at dknaust@maryville.edu or 314.529.6843.