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Event Coverage  / Student Life
CAB’s Spring Week 2021 will offer fun events for both on and off campus students
salvetoday Posted On March 10, 2021


Campus Activities Board (CAB) is hosting Spring Week 2021 next week, March 14-21, and it will be a great a time for Salve Regina students on and off campus to celebrate spring and community through a fun week of activities.

The mission of the Campus Activities Board (CAB) is to provide purposeful programming for a diverse and ever-changing school community. Instead of CAB’s traditional events that happen during Spring Week — such as the Spring Concert or the Spring Carnival — Spring Week 2021 is going to be as unique as the times through which the campus is living.

For Spring Week 2021, some events will be virtual and some in person. The week will culminate with a Lawn G event, which is a pandemic-friendly version of what would’ve been the Spring Carnival. All in-person events will be COVID-compliant, and participants must wear a mask and stay socially distanced from others.

“It should be a really fun week of events,” said Megan Caccamo ’22, vice president of programming for CAB. “These events will provide students an opportunity to get together and be more involved on campus.”

Sunday, March 14

Virtual CAB Spring Week Scavenger Hunt
Sunday, March 14, 8 a.m. through Sunday, March 21, 8 a.m.

Using the app Goosechase, anyone can participate in this week-long scavenger hunt that CAB has produced. Prior to the start of the scavenger hunt, CAB will put out a code on its Instagram account for the scavenger hunt. Once someone downloads the Gooschase app, they can put in the code for the scavenger hunt. Both on campus and off campus students can participate.

Haven Brother’s Food Truck
Gerety Hall, 5-7 p.m.

CAB/StageFright Safe Spring Week Improv Show
Bazarsky Lecture Hall, 7 p.m.

This in-person improv show will be put on by StageFright, Salve Regina’s amateur theater group, but a WebEx option will be available for off campus students. Webex link will be sent out soon, so please watch CAB’s Instagram for more information.

For tickets, register here.

Photo from Spring Week 2019.

Monday, March 15

Mac & Cheese/Desserts
Gerety Hall, 8-10 p.m.

The Office of Student Engagement will be offering free mac and cheese, and CAB will be giving out desserts.

Tuesday, March 16

A Mano Food Truck and Hawaiian Jim’s Food Truck
Gerety Lawn, 5-8 p.m.

SGA Field Day
Gerety Lawn, 5-8 p.m.

SGA Field Day will include various fun activities like inflatables, a surf machine, an obstacle course, raffle prizes, and free masks for the first 100 people.

Wednesday, March 17

St. Patrick’s Day Cookies and Crafts with Mashed Potato Bar
Gerety Hall, 4-7 p.m.

During this event, wearing green is encouraged. CAB is handing out free St. Patrick’s Day and Spring Week T-shirts at their Things for Thursday event on March 11, so please stop by and get shirts to wear for St. Patrick’s Day and Spring Week.

Thursday, March 18

Things for Thursday: Sweet B’s Donuts
 Gerety Lawn, 12-4 p.m.

Come get free Sweet B’s Donuts, which is a business run by a Salve Regina alumnae. This event is also in collaboration with Alcohol Screening Day, and the Peer Wellness Educators and Counseling Services will be offering safe drinking education.

Friday, March 19

An Evening of Virtual Comedy with Mike Birbiglia
Virtual, 8 p.m.

Mike Birbiglia is an American stand-up comedian, actor, director, producer and writer. He is a frequent contributor to “This American Life” and “The Moth,” and has released several comedy albums and television specials.

To register for this virtual event, go here.

Championship Melt Food Truck
Gerety Driveway, 9-11 p.m.

Saturday, March 19

Lawn on G
Gerety Lawn, 6-10 p.m.

“Lawn on G” is an event that is inspired by The Lawn On D in Boston, Massachusetts, which is an innovative and dynamic outdoor event space. For Salve Regina’s Lawn on G, Gerety Lawn will be glowing with an After Dark Park, complete with playground equipment like giant light up swings and see saws; an Illumination Station, which is a giant version of Lite Brite board game; and air hockey. There will also be glow in the dark cotton candy, and Rocket Fine Street Food and La Costa food trucks will be present for dinner or snacks. CAB will be providing glow sticks, bubbles and other CAB merchandise.

Don’t forget that the Virtual CAB Spring Week Scavenger Hunt is all week, ending at 8 a.m. on Sunday, March 21. There are big prizes for students who participate in the most events during Spring Week.

Photo from Spring Week 2019.


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Event Coverage  / News
Pell Center to hold roundtable on living through a year of the pandemic
salvetoday Posted On March 9, 2021


The Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy will host a roundtable discussion about living through the pandemic on Friday, March 12, at 11:45 a.m. on WebEx. Salve Regina staff, faculty and students are invited to participate.

This past year of living through a pandemic has been extraordinary, to say the least. Everyone has changed their way of living – from school and work, to social life and worship. And no matter the individual experiences, the effects have been a challenge to all both physically and emotionally.

So what has this year meant? Join Dr. Jim Ludes, executive director of the Pell, and Dr. Craig Condella, professor of philosophy, for a thoughtful discussion on living through a pandemic, the lessons learned and how the world may have changed.

To register for this event, please email pellcenter@salve.edu. Once confirmed, participants will receive the WebEx login link.

Featured photo by Getty Images/gsmudger


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Health and Wellness  / Student Life
University bolsters support for Salve’s LGBTQ+ community: Amanda Self is appointed to coordinate new initiatives
salvetoday Posted On March 9, 2021


Amanda Self, assistant director at the Center for Student Development, will coordinate University efforts to better serve its LGBTQ+ community through the establishment of new support initiatives, chief among them to address their call for a dedicated space on campus. Self was asked to serve as point person for this work in support of the efforts of the Presidential Commission for Equity and Inclusion.

With her new responsibilities, Self will gather input directly from the Salve Regina community through a series of focus groups, which are listed below. She will research what other institutions of higher education are doing on behalf of LGBTQ+ students as she develops campus proposals – both immediate and long-term – to elevate awareness and support for a long underserved community.

Self was appointed to conduct this important work by J. Malcolm Smith, vice president for student affairs, because of her passion and experience in working with LGBTQ+ students.

“I was honestly pretty honored to be asked to lead this initiative for Salve and am excited that I get to play such a large role with something this important,” Self said. “I see this as a huge responsibility. While supporting LGBTQ+ students is something I have experience with and really enjoy doing, I want to make sure that it is done right for Salve students of all intersectional identities.”

Self said whenever she has conversations with students about what they want to see on campus, it always comes back to having a dedicated space. “Students hear about the resources their friends have on other college campuses and wish that they had something like that here,” she said. “They want a space to gather with people like them, to engage in conversation, to celebrate their identities and to have access to resources specific to their experiences.”

Image by Getty Images/Beli_photos

Establishing such a safe space on campus is “invaluable and necessary to the well-being of our LGBTQ+ and questioning students,” said members of Salve’s Alliance E-Board. Alliance is the official student organization on campus – open to all students – that promotes education, awareness, support and acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community.

“The safe space in particular will allow LGBTQ+ students to connect, grow and learn from their peers,” wrote executive board members Jadyn Scully ’21, Kathleen Joyce ’22, Alyssa Cuomo-Perriello ’22 and Jasper Khambaylarsirikul ’21. “With a place to be fully oneself without judgment, we can lift each other up and connect people with the resources they want and need.”

Senior social work majors Hannah Cedrone ’21 and Rachel Beilgard ’21 are enrolled in a capstone course that has identified LGBTQ+ services as something that is missing on Salve Regina’s campus. They shared a conclusion reached by classmates:

“Having this space on the Salve campus will provide two things. One, a space to educate allies who support individuals in the LBGTQ+ community, specifically on our college campus. And two, create a safe space for individuals of the LBGTQ+ community to go where they know they will be loved, accepted and supported. Unlike more visibly under-represented groups, it is difficult for individuals of the LBGTQ+ community to know who to trust and where they know is a safe space. Other than the Alliance Club, there isn’t a concrete place or an easy method for LBGTQ+ persons to find other people who will support them on the Salve campus.”

Beilgard said that for many students, herself included, college is a time for truly finding out who we are as individuals. “We form relationships with peers with whom we can put all our trust,” she said. “LBGTQ+ students need a place on campus where they can form these relationships and know that others in this space will help them to feel safe, accepted and seen.”

It’s the kind of recognition and support that Alliance members have been fighting for, both on campus and in the Newport community, for years.

“We represent an underprivileged and underrepresented group of individuals, far more at risk than the average person for mental health issues, harassment, discrimination and homelessness,” the executive board members wrote. “In a world where being different is a crime in over 70 countries, a firm foundation built at these pivotal years of our lives is essential, making an LGBTQ+ support program a must for every 21st-century school. The steps that Salve is currently taking are vital and will allow LGBTQ+ students to feel far more accepted for who they are.”

Upcoming LGBTQ+ Focus Groups

To participate in one of the following open focus groups, email: amanda.self@salve.edu.

  • Undergraduate students: Tuesday, March 16, 1-2:30 p.m.
  • Graduate students: Thursday, March 18, 4-5:30 p.m.
  • Faculty and staff: Friday, March 19, 2-3:30 p.m.
  • Alumni: Monday, March 29, 6-7:30 p.m

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Arts and Humanities  / Event Coverage  / News
Virtual Hunger Concert to raise money for local food pantry
salvetoday Posted On March 9, 2021


Because of the pandemic, the need for food assistance has increased dramatically. With this in mind, the music students at Salve Regina will present their annual concert for hunger relief virtually on Friday, March 12, at 7:00 p.m. To attend this event via Zoom, go here.

The Hunger Concert has been an annual event of the Department of Music, Theatre and Dance for over thirty years. The concert has provided Salve Regina students and their families with an opportunity to come together to help in the relief of hunger, and the importance is this cannot be understated with so many families struggling during a pandemic.

The program will mostly be made up of individual performances, but several of the University’s ensembles will also be featured — including Madrigals, University Chorus, A Cappella groups and Jazz Combo. The program will feature talented students in a variety of music styles, including both popular and classical songs, folk songs, Jazz standards and more.

A photo from a past concert in 2018. 

Beyond treating listeners to a fun night of fine performances, the  concert hopes to inspires concert attendees to donate to community food assistance. A link to donate to the food pantry at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center will be provided at the time of the concert.

“Through monetary donations to a local food pantry, we hope to support efforts that are making a difference in our community,” said Dr. Don St. Jean, associate professor of music and the choral director. “Year after year, family and friends of the performers are so impressed by the number of talented students we have here at Salve. I suspect that this performance will be even more impressive.”

To attend this event on Friday, March 12, at 7:00 p.m., go here.

Featured photo by Getty Images/Andrey Rykov


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Mercy Mission  / News
Mercy Mondays: Updates from the Center for Community Engagement and Service
salvetoday Posted On March 5, 2021


The Center for Community Engagement and Service has some updates for the month of March — including a new blog, a social justice retreat and some service opportunities. Read below to find out more information.

Social Justice Retreat 

Undergraduate students can apply to go on a Social Justice Retreat on the weekend of March 19-20. During this retreat, Salve Regina student volunteers will spend a weekend expanding their understanding of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Newport Chapter. Volunteers will explore the organization, learn about the mission and interact with significant board members in one of the most important social movements of the nation’s time.

The Social Justice Retreat will be co-sponsored by Center for Community Engagement and Service and the Mercy Center for Spiritual Life. It will dive deeper into building up the local NAACP Newport Chapter with social media outlets, website and updating of policies and procedures. A deep commitment to social justice issues will be expanded on as students learn more about the critical concerns of Mercy.

To apply for this retreat, go here.

Announcing the Salve Serves blog 

The Center of Community Service and Engagement has launched a blog called Salve Serves, where it will be highlighting a new blog post each week. They will be sharing blogs written by current students, alumni and community partners.

Here’s an example:

Gaining Experience Through Giving to Others

“For the past three years, Katelyn Hewett ’22 has been serving the community as a service advocate at Child and Family in Middletown, Rhode Island, but her work with children began even earlier. Prior to attending Salve, Hewett worked as a camp counselor and in other childcare roles at her local YMCA. She wanted to continue working with children while in college, and volunteering at Child and Family was a perfect opportunity to do so….”

Read the rest of the story here.

Service opportunities 

Monday, March 8: St. Paul’s Church Handout Meals

Volunteers who are reliable and have their own cars are needed to pick up food bags from the Mercy Center Kitchen at 4:30 p.m. Volunteers will then load the food bags into their own cars and transport the bags to St. Paul’s Church in Newport.

Wednesdays on March 10, 17, 24, 31: Potter League for Animals Bunny Play Group

Reliable and responsible volunteers who enjoy being around animals are needed to help at Potter League For Animals in Middletown, Rhode Island, with their Bunny Play Group from 12:30-1:30 p.m. Transportation is provided, and participants will be picked up at Miley Hall at noon. They will be returned at 1:30 p.m.

For more information on service opportunities, go to the center’s website.

This post is part of an ongoing series called Mercy Mondays that highlights Salve Regina’s dedication to its Mercy Mission. Search the tag Mercy Mission for more updates on the Mercy branches of Salve Regina.


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Event Coverage  / News
Celebrate Women’s History Month with a month-long lineup of events focused on gender equality
salvetoday Posted On March 5, 2021


March is Women’s History Month. Salve Regina is celebrating the entire month, as well as International Women’s Day on Monday, March 8, by offering with the following opportunities during the month.

Because one of the critical concerns of the Sisters of Mercy is women, each event this month will help educate the University community about gender equality issues facing the world today. 

Radical Women Banner Display

The Radical Women display will be featured in McKillop Library for the entire month of March. It features banners highlighting women’s activism and civic engagement in Rhode Island on issues such as women’s suffrage and prison reform, along with contemporary activism around the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements.

This display is sponsored by the Providence-based Women’s Fund of Rhode Island.

To see a PDF of the display, click here.

Mercy Center for Spiritual Life events

During the month of March, the Mercy Center for Spiritual Life has invited women from across campus to reflect on their connection to the critical concern of women. Most will be held during Sunday masses, but one event will be on a Wednesday evening. Each event will be held at Our Lady of Mercy Chapel.

Our Lady of Mercy Chapel

  • Sunday, March 7, 5 p.m. – Dr. Jody Mooradian, athletic director
  • Sunday, March 14, 5 p.m. – President Kelli J. Armstrong
  • Sunday, March 14, 7 p.m. – Julia Morisi ’17, adjunct faculty of religious and theological studies
  • Sunday, March 21, 5 p.m. – Mary Edwards, director of constituent communications and design
  • Sunday, March 21, 7 p.m. – Rose Albert, assistant director of the Office of Multicultural Programs and Retention
  • Wednesday, March 24, at 5:30 p.m. – Exploring Faith: Aida Neary, assistant director of International Students and Exchange Partner Programs

Documentary: Online Screening of “The True Cost”
Monday, March 8, 7 p.m.

Watch the documentary “The True Cost,” which explores the human and environmental costs of fast fashion. It was filmed in countries all over the world, and it featured interviews with the world’s leading influencers — including Stella McCartney, Livia Firth and Vandana Shiva.

“The True Cost” is an unprecedented project that invites each person viewing on an eye opening journey around the world and into the lives of the many people and places behind clothes.

This event is sponsored by the women, gender and sexuality studies minor, as well as the cultural environmental and global studies major.

To register for the documentary, go here.

Virtual Faculty Lecture Series: Dr. Oyenike Balogun-Mwangi, Assistant Professor of Psychology

Thursday, March 11, 4 p.m.

Dr. Balogun-Mwangi

In this online lecture, entitled ” ‘Pretty Like Us?’: Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Body Image,” Dr. Balogun-Mwangi applies cross-cultural comparative methodology to understanding body image among Black African women. Comparative methodology rests in accepting that cultural factors explain the differential expression of behavior while acknowledging the presence of psychological universals.

By presenting findings on the role of skin color hue, hair texture, and body shape in appraisals of body image among Black populations of women, Dr. Balogun-Mwangi demonstrates the altogether unique experiences of Black African women while highlighting how these may be understood as shared oppressions of womanhood.

To register for this event, go here.

Inclusive Reading Club: Stop Telling Women to Smile
Thursday, March 18, 4 p.m.

Join the Inclusive Reading Club (IRC) with special guest facilitator Dr. Laura O’Toole, professor of cultural, environmental and global studies. The club will be exploring the culture of street harassment behavior, and how women are working to expose the pervasiveness of harassment and find a cathartic reckoning.

The IRC will be reading excerpts from the book “Stop Telling Women to Smile: Stories of Street Harassment and How We’re Taking Back Our Power” by Tatyana Fazlalizadeh.

IRC will also read the essay “Everything from ‘Beautiful’ to ‘Bitch’ ” by Melinda Mills, which is from the anthology “Gender Violence: Interdisciplinary Perspectives.” This anthology was co-edited by Dr. O’Toole herself, along with Jessica R. Schiffman and Rosemary Sullivan.

Readings for the IRC are posted on the library’s website under Course Reserves. To register for the event, go here.

Women’s History Month has been sponsored by the McKillop Library and the Department of Cultural, Environment and Global Studies.


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Graduate News  / Salve Spotlights  / Student Life
MFA student Leah DeCesare is a model for writers who aspire to be published
salvetoday Posted On March 4, 2021


Leah DeCesare is currently a graduate student in Salve Regina’s Newport MFA in creative writing program, but she is already an accomplished author and a model for other writers who aspire to be published.

DeCesare is the author of the “Naked Parenting” book series, which gives parents advice on how to raise confident children, and her debut novel “Forks, Knives and Spoons” won nine awards during the first two years of its publication.

Starting a blog, writing a book in a weekend

DeCesare graduated from Syracuse University in 1992 with majors in advertising, communications and marketing, and French. After college, she worked in event planning and as a parenting educator in hospitals. She began her writing career by starting a blog for the parents she advised in the hospital, after fielding many of the same questions.

The inspiration to turn her blog into a book series came from an e-book on how to write a book in a weekend. Her parenting blog served as the outline for her idea, and the concept of “Naked Parenting” came from her parenting style of stripped down, open and direct communication. DeCesare’s ideals apply to kids at any age and any stage, and the theme is cultivating confidence in both kids and parents.

“By the way, I did write it in a weekend,” DeCesare said. She started her first book on a Friday morning and finished the first draft on Saturday night. By Sunday afternoon, she completed a first revision of “Naked Parenting: 7 Keys to Raising Kids With Confidence.” She self-published the book and went on to self-publish “Naked Parenting: Guiding Kids in a Digital World.”

Diving into the writing process was a great way for DeCesare to learn about publishing while gaining the knowledge and confidence she needed to begin working on her debut novel. Because deep down, she had always wanted to write fiction.

Publishing a debut novel through the Newport MFA

“I always had it in the back of my mind to get a master’s degree and an MFA,” DeCesare said. “When I was little and I thought of myself as being a writer, it was novels.”

As DeCesare found herself in her forties raising children without having accomplished that lifelong dream, she felt she should regret it if she didn’t write a novel. She knew Ann Hood, founder of the Newport MFA, from being a writer in the local community, and a friend told her about Salve Regina’s program.

“I went home that day, I looked it up and I applied,” DeCesare said. “I literally didn’t look anywhere else.”

While the program was both rewarding and intense, she’s loved every bit of the two years she spent studying with Hood. In fact, Hood wrote the blurb for “Forks, Knives and Spoons.”

A romantic, witty story about college girls growing up to find out what love really means, the novel is described as “a light-hearted, thought-provoking coming of age story that takes readers on a nostalgic journey back to the 1980s and 1990s.” The book has won nine awards, including the 2019 ScreenCraft Cinematic Book Award semifinalist and the 2018 International Book Awards winner in fiction, general.

DeCesare shared her love for writing in a TEDx talk that emphasized the beauty in the lost art of letter writing.

Advice to young writers

When she was younger, DeCesare might not have realized all that writing would pay off eventually. To writers at Salve Regina and beyond, she urges the continuance of practicing and learning the craft.

“Don’t wait to learn it all to write, and don’t write without trying to learn,” she said. DeCesare also urges students to take advantage of free opportunities to learn – whether it be online resources, workshops or great writers and speakers that Salve Regina brings in to talk with students. It’s all about being willing to learn and accept criticism.

When she showed her first draft of “Forks, Knives, and Spoons” to Hood, she helped DeCesare work through many of the things that were bothering her about her writing.

That is why, according to DeCesare, the best advice for young writers is to practice and become educated about the craft of writing. This requires revision, revision, revision. A writer must also accept the reality that their writing will never be perfect, and that a writer is always growing.

“I look back now, and I’m still really proud of my book that won nine awards,” DeCesare said. “But there’s things I listen to and I go, ‘Oh, I would have changed that.’”

After reflecting on her accomplishments, DeCesare has realized that her passion has always been about empowering people. “I love being that cheerleader for other people and encouraging people to stand up for themselves, to be confident, to love themselves,” she said.

DeCesare has been featured in the New York Times and its “Tiny Love Stories” series.Article by student writer Anna Downes ’22


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Event Coverage  / Health and Wellness  / News
Wellness Wednesdays: Join a free guided meditation event to help relax, sleep better
salvetoday Posted On March 3, 2021


Salve Regina’s Counseling Services and the Center for Student Development are hosting an event called “Divine Sleep® Yoga Nidra: Rest, Balance, Restore” with well-known yoga teacher Jennifer Reis on Wednesday, March 10, from 8-9 p.m. Sign up on the Eventbrite page to receive the Zoom link.

Read below for helpful details on the event, how to prepare for a Yoga Nidra, as well as tips for better sleep.

The importance of sleep, Yoga Nidra meditations

Experts in sleep deprivation recommend that young adults, especially college students, need seven to eight hours of sleep every day. With less sleep, the brain is not getting enough rest — which results in difficulty concentrating on work, studies, relationships and mood regulation. There is some evidence that suggests more people are experiencing challenges with sleep with COVID-19 changes.

Relief is here in the form of “Divine Sleep® Yoga Nidra: Rest, Balance, Restore” with Jennifer Reis. During the event, students can give themselves the gift of a one-hour retreat into healing relaxation that has huge sleep benefits.

Yoga Nidra means “yogic sleep,” and it is a guided meditation practice passed down from yogic tradition that can relieve stress and anxiety — providing participants reconnection with the body and an inner calm that can help achieve deep sleep. It has been said that 30 minutes of Yoga Nidra can produce the effects of 2-3 hours of sleep.

There is nothing required except to lie down in a comfortable position and listen enjoy the Yoga Nidra, but scroll below to find some additional tips for maximum comfort. The event is a free, private experience. A person’s camera and microphone are off, and no one can see them unless they type in the chat publicly.

While the event is free, sign up through the Eventbrite page is required to receive the Zoom link. The link of the recording will be available for one week after the event, so register now for this access even of the original time isn’t doable.

Jennifer Reis

Reis is creator of Divine Sleep® Yoga Nidra, a 500-hour yoga teacher (E-RYT-500), a certified yoga therapist (C-IAYT) and teaches at Kripalu Schools of Yoga and Integrative Yoga Therapy. Her yoga teacher trainings have received worldwide attention — with over 2000 graduates in places Toronto, Chicago, San Diego, Manhattan, Boston, Rekjavik, Melbourne AUS, and other locations. Reis also brings her knowledge of bodywork as an LMT licensed massage therapist who practices Shiastu (based in Chinese Medicine) and Ayurveda.

How to prepare for the “Divine Sleep® Yoga Nidra”

Find a comfortable space on a bed, couch or floor with cushions. Wear warm clothing, as the body temperature tends to drop during a yoga nidra — so things like cozy socks, a sweatshirt and sweatpants, and some blankets could be nice. It’s better to have more layers to take off of the body than not enough. An eye mask or washcloth over the eyes is optional to help block out any light, which leads to a deeper relaxation for many people.

Then it’s time to be led through a calming and peaceful guided meditation. Within this guided meditation, participants will practice deep, calming breathing, guided imagery and visualization, body scan/body awareness, and other relaxation techniques that can reduce stress and promote deep relaxation. The world will slow down and participants will be able to take a break from everyday concerns. This helps promote an ideal state to fall asleep in, and Yoga Nidras are really good to do right before bed.

While the event is free, sign up through the Eventbrite page is required to receive the Zoom link.

Establishing a sleep ritual

Individuals regularly getting high quality sleep often have a sleep ritual, which is a routine that helps the mind and body wind down at the end of the day in preparation for a good night’s sleep. A sleep ritual can include the following:

  • Maintain a regular bed and wake time schedule, including on the weekends. Sleeping more hours on the weekend can wreak havoc on someone’s circadian rhythms, so a regular wake schedule is important.
  • Establish a regular, relaxing bedtime routine — such as showering and then reading a book or listening to soothing music.
  • Create a sleep-conducive environment that is dark, quiet, comfortable and cool. Consider how to enhance comfort in bed with mattress, pillows and blankets (like weighted blankets).
  • Finish eating at least 2-3 hours before your regular bedtime.
  • Exercise regularly. It is best to complete a workout at least 2 hours before bedtime, as exercising before sleep can leave the body too energized to relax.
  • Limit caffeine, nicotine and alcohol particularly if using too close to bedtime.
  • Incorporate a guided meditation for sleep (like a Yoga Nidra) as one of the last things to do while lying in bed before trying to sleep.

This article is part of a regular series called Wellness Wednesdays on SALVEtoday. Check out more posts related to health and wellness here.

Featured image by Getty Images/primipil


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News
As the Peace Corps celebrates 60th anniversary, Salve Regina members share their stories
salvetoday Posted On March 2, 2021


It was March 1, 1961, when President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps via an executive order. Today, the organization celebrates 60 years of service with a mission to promote world peace and friendship.

Over the years, Salve Regina has supported multiple projects around the globe through its alumni and staff who’ve chosen to serve on the Peace Corps. At last count, over 40 alumni and staff from the University have volunteered with the agency — a fitting legacy for the mercy mission that Salve Regina is so well known for.

Salve Regina community members share their Peace Corps stories

Christine Lalli, prospect research analyst at Salve Regina, volunteered with the Peace Corps back in the 80s. Lalli grew up in northern Minnesota, but during her time in the Peace Corps, she was able to travel the world and serve two years in Yemen during a civil war.

While there, Lalli had two different job assignments. One was working with the Center for Disease Control and the World Bank to help supervise a preschool nutrition survey. She spent her other job working with Catholic Relief Services, where she had the opportunity to meet Mother Theresa.

“I felt like it just opened the door to the world for me,” said Lalli of her time in the Peace Corps. “If anybody wants adventure and to help other people along the way, that’s the way to go.”

Christine Lalli in Yemen during the 80s.

“She’s just like one of those people who have an aura,” described Lalli of meeting Mother Theresa. “She had just a feeling around her. It was very touching to meet her.”

After graduating from Salve Regina, Tarah Waters ’12 served for two years in the Peace Corps as a youth development worker in Morocco. Waters’ responsibilities included teaching English, running spring and summer camps, and organizing clubs to develop young people’s expertise in gender relations, leadership, healthy lifestyles and the environment. Waters also learned a great deal about the Moroccan people and culture while in the Peace Corps.

“I was a representative of the United States and had to hold myself to a certain level of professionalism by respecting the people I met and the new ways of life I encountered,” Waters said. “In turn, I taught my new community about the American way of life in a manner that was not imposing, but rather enlightening — so that a strong cultural exchange could occur.”

Hannah Lussier ’18, worked in Santa Rosa, Ecuador, in the Peace Corps as a TEFL (Teaching English as Foreign Language) teacher. Originally from Massachusetts, Lussier spent her days in South America helping local teachers improve the command of their English language, increasing student participation in English class and encouraging community involvement in the school environment.

“I wanted to take a deeper dive into South America, and I’m interested in sort of following an international involvement career,” said Lussier. “So … on-the-ground experience in a foreign country is super important to that field, because it allows us to learn more about the specific cultural context that we’re making policy for.”

Hannah Lussier in Santa Rosa, Ecuador, in 2019. 

A typical day for Lussier meant waking up at 6 a.m., teaching English in the mornings and early afternoons, and then hanging out in her local community in the evenings. She lived with a host family and knew just a handful of people that are familiar with the U.S. or spoke English.

Launching a new chapter of the Peace Corps

Lussier was sent home when the COVID-19 pandemic began after completing just one full year of her service time. In March 2020, the Peace Corps agency evacuated its global posts due to the pandemic, pausing operations and bringing home more than 6,000 Americans serving in more than 60 countries.

With this in mind, 2021 doesn’t just mark the 60th anniversary for the Peace Corps. It marks a new beginning. The agency is now recruiting and planning for return to service, bringing an extraordinary opportunity for future volunteers to be the start of a completely new chapter for all of Peace Corps.

Finding dynamic volunteers to help support its host country partners is central to its success. Students from Salve Regina are encouraged to explore the many service opportunities the Peace Corps offers and find more information at the agency’s website.

“They have a saying at Peace Corp—’It’s the hardest job you’ll ever love,’” said Lalli. “But it’s wonderful. I recommend it to anybody who wants to try and reach out and help the world, because you gain so much from it as well.”

Feature photo is of Lalli (standing, second from left) in Yemen in the 80s.


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Three Salve Regina grads selected as Fulbright semi-finalists
salvetoday Posted On March 2, 2021


Three Salve Regina alumni have been selected as semi-finalists in the Fulbright U.S. Student competition, which is the most semi-finalists that the University has ever had in a given year.

The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government, and it is designed to forge lasting connections between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.

Since its establishment in 1946, the Fulbright Program has enabled more than 390,000 dedicated and accomplished students, scholars, artists, teachers and professionals of all backgrounds to study, teach and conduct research, all the while exchanging ideas and finding solutions to shared international concerns.

Salve Regina’s Fulbright semi-finalists

Fulbright Open/Study Research Semi-Finalist:
Sophia Bruzik ’20, ’20 (M.S.)

Sophia Bruzik visiting Brugge, Belgium, while studying abroad. 

Bruzik graduated with a degree in biology with minors in chemistry and religious and theological studies, as well as an M.S. in healthcare administration and management. She hopes to study in Cyprus with the proposed project entitled “Gene Variants as Predictors of Disease Severity in Multiple Sclerosis” at the Cyprus Institute of Neurology & Genetics (CING).

Fulbright Open/Study Research Semi-Finalist:
Alex Galvao ‘20, administration of justice

Galvao has been to Venice while abroad in Salzburg, Austria.

Galvao is currently enrolled in Salve Regina’s M.S. program in homeland security with a focus on cybersecurity and intelligence. He has a proposed project called “Sexual Violence in Higher Education with a Concentration on International Victims,” and he hopes to conduct his project in Germany at Phillips University of Marburg, Center for Gender Studies.

Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Semi-Finalist:
Ashley D’Antuono ‘20, secondary education and Spanish major with a minor in economics

D’Antuono studying abroad in Spain.

D’Antuono wants to serve as an English teaching assistant and language instructor in Spain in order to add to the local classroom, share her U.S. culture and build on her Spanish language and culture knowledge. Her ultimate goal is to teach Spanish at the middle or high school level.

Attend a Fulbright informational session

Students interested in learning about Fulbright opportunities and the application process can attend this Fulbright hosted “General Presentation Session” on Monday, April 19, at 4:00 p.m. The session will include a break out room for Salve Regina specific resources and deadlines. To register for this event, go here.

The Fulbright Program is funded through an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations and foundations around the world also provide direct and indirect support to the Program, which operates in more than 160 countries worldwide.


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