Starring Stephens

I know I’m always going on and on about our creative campus, but I’m not the only one who thinks so.

The judges for the national Design-A-Throw Competitionsponsored by Denali Home Collection (a division of the fleece manufacturer Monterey Mills) think so, too.

Junior Melinda Thiedig just found out she won second place for her Army boot and flag-themed design! She will receive a $500 cash prize and definitely some bragging rights: More than 200 college students from across the country entered the competition.

Check out her amazing design:

Melinda will take her creativity to New York this summer where she will conduct an internship with a fashion designer.

I’ve officially been at Stephens for two months and people are just now starting to ask whether I miss working at the Columbia Tribune.

Some have admitted they were scared to ask earlier; scared I would, I suppose, fall apart with regret.

Of course, if you read this blog, you know that’s not going to happen.

But I’m not going to lie, the Tribune is a great place to work mostly because of the awesome team there.

Managing Editor Jim Robertson was so great to work for. Any time I got stuck, I could go into his office, explain my dilemma, talk it out and figure out a way to move forward.

Lora Wegman, the city editor (who sometimes reads this blog!) is super talented. Not only does she keep up with everything happening in Columbia and around, she was so good about editing my stories and checking my facts, which were sometimes a little off. (I could always tell when someone else edited my stories: I’d often have to run “Second Thoughts” the next day. Lora made sure she caught them first.)

Then there were my super-brainy colleagues, Justin Willett and Joe Shultz, who helped me navigate all things technology.

And I miss working with designer Jason Tyler, who would take my hair-brained ideas for the Perspectives page on Sunday and turn them into reality.

Turns out, in my story specialist/strategist gig, I still need all of those people filling those roles.

And, fortunately, at Stephens, I have them.

Rebecca Kline is our marketing manager, and she’s great about seeing the big picture. I still get stuck on projects, and I still have someone to talk to who will bring me back to reality and help me move forward.

And I still make plenty of mistakes and typos. Fortunately, Sarah Berghorn, our communications coordinator, has a great eye for editing.

These days, when I get hair-brained ideas, I can take them to Jennifer Cropp, our designer, and Corey Ransberg, our photographer and videographer, who help turn them into reality.

And then there’s Stacey Franks, our digital manager, who is seriously talented in technology. She knows all about content management and platforms and apps and whatever else goes on behind my computer screen. She’s also good about not over thinking problems, which helps when dealing with me. Yesterday when I lost all telephone and Internet connection, Stacey figured out I’d simply re-plugged my phone jacks into the wrong outlets.

So, yes, I miss the folks I worked with at the Tribune.

Thankfully, I have an equally great group of colleagues here.

When Stephens President Dianne Lynch called a snow day last Thursday, I kinda got excited.

I haven’t had a “snow day” since high school. Granted, when Old Man Winter dumped 15 inches on us in 2006 and 20-plus on us in 2011, I called in and worked from home–but not without guilt gnawing at me all day. Not only because other reporters walked/hitched rides on snow plows/etc. to work but because my hubby, who did have a legit snow day, did not understand why I could not join him in front of the TV rather than working on my computer.

I actually used to really enjoy writing weather-related stories but then one day my editor (hi Lora [not that she’s reading this]) told me I couldn’t use cutesy phrases like “Old Man Winter dumped snow” or “Gee, Mother Nature was sure in a bad mood today.”

My snow day didn’t go as planned. I spent most of the afternoon worrying about how my husband was going to get home and attempting an egg-free cookie recipe (that went really, really badly).

So Friday, when Jack Frost was still causing all sorts of problems and Stephens took another snow day, I wasn’t all that excited. I appreciate being safe and off the roads, but frankly, I’d rather be at Stephens.

While I was stuck watching bad TV and gaining weight, some of our extremely talented Stephens students were in New York City entertaining audiences at the Jazz Standard.

I don’t know if I’ve told you about the Velvetones, but these ladies are amazing. I had a chance to hear the a cappella group perform at a MLK Day event on campus and at the Queen of Hearts concert. (I also sent my hubby a Velvetone valentine via e-mail but unfortunately he didn’t forward it to me like I asked.)

Anyway, it’s hard to describe how talented they are, so listen for yourself. (I thought “Winter Wonderland” would be appropriate):

 
In the meantime, keep your fingers crossed that Mother Nature cheers up a little this week.

It’s hard to explain to outsiders just how awesome Stephens is. I wish I had considered it during my own college search a gazillion years ago.

Actually, I’m not sure I did much of a college search. I decided to stay home my first year, so I went to what was then UMR in Rolla. When that didn’t work out, I had one college brochure left—to what was then Northeast Missouri State—so that’s where I went.

Truman was a great school but I really should have put more thought into that decision.

Anyway, I was telling my mom (hi Mom!) this weekend that Stephens is really a college for uber-creative women. The creativity on this campus—from our graphic design to fashion to theatre and dance and marketing—is nothing short of amazing.

Today is Junior Day at Stephens, where young women much smarter than I was at that age are exploring their campus options (I can’t imagine anyone visiting Stephens and not wanting to go here!).

Anyway, our visitors are seeing first hand just how creative our campus is.

See? “Creativity” is even stamped on our sidewalk!

So yesterday I called my friend, Heather, a mom of three girls, to tell her more about Stephens. Her daughters are all amazing, and the oldest, Olivia, is such a talented artist.

The conversation went something like this:

Me: I’m not telling you how to raise your kid, but Olivia should really consider Stephens College.

Heather: She’s in seventh gr…

Me: Stephens is for really creative women and we have such a great graphic design program! Olivia is so creative and would be a great fit!

Heather: Ummmm. She’s 13.

Me: Oh…

But, seriously, it’s not too early to start thinking about it!

My Grandma Gilbert was a classy lady. Tall. Thin. Perfect posture.

And she knew how to dress, too. Structured jackets, turtlenecks, broaches.

So when Monica McMurry, dean of the School of Fashion and Design, explained the new Historic Costume Gallery exhibit to me, I couldn’t help but smile and think of Grandma.

McMurry’s concept for the latest show was the evolving wardrobe of a socialite between 1947 and around 1977, although there is one dress in the collection from 1990. When pulling pieces from Stephens Costume Museum & Research Library for the exhibit, she envisioned how the woman likely chose quality, tailored, classic pieces for her wardrobe that would not go out of style. The collection will include a couple of oddities; McMurry imagined that many women likely experimented with trends over the decades (especially in the 1960s).

The new exhibit, Emergence, opens Feb. 22 and runs through May 5. A cool twist: At the end of March, some of the winter pieces will be swapped out for spring items. (Because, of course, a woman would have to make room in her closet for her seasonal wardrobes!)

Grandma was anything but the socialite McMurry & Co. were envisioning when they were pulling pieces for the collection. She lived in the small town of Newburg most of her life and was the type of woman who could kill a snake with a shovel without breaking a nail. She lived alone in her older years and continued to raise a garden, keep an immaculate house and still dress like a million bucks way past her prime.

She might not have gone for some of the dresses in the Emergence exhibit (Although, Mom, you’ll love this one…

But Grandma would have loved some of the pieces. I can totally picture her wearing this…