Area students and teachers featured on national radio
July 19, 2000
KALAMAZOO -- The work and voices of 17 students and five teachers (listed below) from southwest Michigan are featured in a special radio program recently released by the National Writing Project to stations around the country.
"Rural Voices Radio: Writing about the Places We Call Home" features six, half-hour programs of students and teachers from six states reading their original poems and essays about life in rural communities. One of those segments, "Digging in the Root Cellar: Uncovering the Stories of Southwestern Michigan," focuses exclusively on writings by students and teachers from southwest Michigan.
This segment will be aired locally by WMUK -FM (102.1) on Wednesday, July 26, at 4:15 p.m. WMUK has scheduled the other segments to air on previous and subsequent Wednesdays at the same time.
"Rural Voices Radio" is the culminating project of the NWP's Rural Voices Country Schools initiative. Funded by the Annenberg Rural School & Community Trust, the initiative began in 1997 and charged writing teachers at six NWP sites to creatively document life in rural communities through their classroom activities. Those six sites include one each in Arizona, Louisiana, Nebraska, Pennsylvania and Washington as well as the Third Coast Writing Project, which is based at Western Michigan University.
The following students and teachers are featured in "Digging in the Root Cellar: Uncovering the Stories of Southwestern Michigan."
Participants listed alphabetically by community
Benton Harbor
Pen Campbell of 1315 Seneca Road read her work titled "Skamania." Campbell, who is a team member for the Rural Voices Country Schools project, also interviewed student Sarah Skibbe for the program. Campbell teaches English, speech and drama to ninth and 12th graders at Lake Michigan Catholic High School.
Stephanie Herzog of 376 August Road read her work titled "Please Photograph." A 1999 graduate of Lake Michigan Catholic High School and a sophomore at Central Michigan University, she is the daughter of Joseph and Jill Herzog.
Sarah Skibbe of 960 Roslin Road read her work titled "All in a Day's Work." A 1999 graduate of Lake Michigan Catholic High School and a sophomore at Lake Michigan College, she is the daughter of Ross and Deb Skibbe.
Megan Vescolani of 282 Higman Park Road read her work titled "Summers Were Long Then." A 2000 graduate of Lake Michigan Catholic High School, she is the daughter of Bill and Claudia Vescolani.
Edwardsburg
Tom Anderson of 55776 Rooster Lane, Osceola, Ind., read his work titled "Noon Whistle." Anderson, who is a team member for the Rural Voices Country Schools project, is an English teacher at Edwardsburg High School.
Jason Black of 26991 Main St. read his work titled "Confusion." A freshman at Edwardsburg High School, he is the son of Greg and Michele Black.
Mitch Parsons of 69058 Country Trace read his work titled "Big Bass." A seventh grader at Edwardsburg Middle School, he is the son of Daniel Parsons.
Scott Ramm of 68440 Morton Dr. read his work titled "Colors of the Sea." A seventh grader at Edwardsburg Middle School, he is the son of Sandra Ramm.
Chris Swaim of 25076 Kenneth Ave. read his work titled "I am from an Old Blue Truck." A ninth grader at Edwardsburg High School, he is the son of Michael and Pamela Swaim.
Fennville
Kimberley Bale of 6462 118th Ave. read her work titled "Fennville's Guide for Tourists." A freshman at Fennville High School, she is the daughter of Edwin and Laura Bale.
Gobles
Meredith Adams of 32408 23rd Ave. read her work titled "Glass Jars." A senior at Gobles High School, she is the daughter of Lonnie and Barb Adams.
Corey L. Harbaugh of 537 Campbell Ave., Kalamazoo, read his work titled "Root Cellar." Harbaugh, who is a project team member for the Rural Voices Country Schools project, also interviewed student Meredith Adams about her work. He is an English teacher at Gobles High School.
Jennifer Stanton of 32750 28th Ave., performed music for the recording. A 2000 graduate of Gobles High School, she is the daughter of Harold and Linda Stanton.
Paradise
Sherrie Britton-Greary read her work titled "Lake Superior, Late Fall 1998." She is a team member for the Rural Voices Country Schools project, and is a seventh and eighth grade teacher at Whitefish Township School.
Richland
Renee Callies of 5729 Sandalwood Court #2B, Kalamazoo, read her work titled "Initials." Callies, who is a team member for the Rural Voices Country Schools project, also interviewed student Ashley Hite about her work and described the writing project undertaken by her students. She teaches seventh grade language arts at Gull Lake Middle School.
Ashley Hite of 7358 N. 30th St. read her work titled "Common Joe." A freshman at Gull Lake High School, she is the daughter of David and Karen Hite.
St. Joseph
Mark Closson of 2281 S. Cleveland, read his work titled "2281 S. Cleveland." A 1999 graduate of St. Joseph High School, he is the son of Timothy Closson and Gloria Pollack.
Becky Kosick of 2155 Derfla Drive read the work "My Mother Conquers Her Writers' Block," written by fellow student Krisha Novak. A 1999 graduate of St. Joseph High School, Kosick is the daughter of Judy and Peter Kosick.
Krisha Novak of 926 Lewis Ave., had her work titled "My Mother Conquers Her Writers' Block" read by fellow student Becky Kosick. A 1999 graduate of St. Joseph High School, Novak is the daughter of Joan and Chris Novak.
Mike Reese of 2281 Autumn Ridge had his work titled "November Storm" read by fellow student Sarah Wurz. A 1999 graduate of St. Joseph High School, he is the son of Dennis and Barbara Reese.
Martha Thieneman of 1417 Newberry Hills Lane read her work titled "Where I'm From." A 1999 graduate of Lake Michigan Catholic High School and a sophomore at St. Mary's College, she is the daughter of Mike and Cathy Thieneman.
Sarah Wurz of 824 Ansley Drive read a work titled "November Storm" written by fellow student Mike Reese. A 1999 graduate of St. Joseph High School, she is the daughter of Kevin and Jo-Ann Wurz.
Media contact: Marie Lee, 616 387-8400, marie.lee@wmich.edu