Nienke's blog

Stuart Scott: ‘So, live. Live! Fight like hell!’, Jimmy V Perseverance Award, ESPY’s

Last night, Stuart Scott, an ESPN sportscaster, gave a heartwarming speech when he received the Jimmy V Perseverance Award.

Stuart Orlando Scott is a famous sportscaster who extensively worked for ESPN. Along with some serious sports knowledge, he incorporated hip hop style and numerous catch phrases in his commentary which made his style very unique. In 2007, Scott was diagnosed with cancer and so his battle with the disease began.

The Jimmy V Perseverance awaits is awarded as the ESPYs to “a deserving member of the sporting world who has overcome great obstacles through perseverance and determination.” Because of Scott’s battle against cancer, he received this award at the ESPYs and then gave his speech.

When Scott heard that he was going to be honored with this reward, he was speechless. He had presented this award before and he’s watched different great people receive this award. And even though he is a public figure, with a public job, and battling cancer, he never thought that he belonged with those other great people that received this award.

In his speech, Scott mentioned multiple times to not give up. All those great people that received this award didn’t and know that he has received it, he has the responsibility to also not ever give up. He said that that’s why all of this is happening, why all of them we’re there last night, and that’s why it’s so important.

During his battle with cancer, Scott was saying that he’s not losing, he’s still here, he’s fighting, and that he’s not losing “When you die, that does not mean that you lose to cancer. You beat cancer by how you live, why you live and in the manner in which you live.” Scott said.

https://www.sportingnews.com/us/other-sports/news/jimmy-v-award-espys-jim-valvano/flhnujm9xgj1ae6kdkytjmgt

https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/stuart-scott-49535.php

https://speakola.com/sports/stuart-scott-espys-2014

A Russian fighter jet crashes into a home in Siberia, killing the two pilots

The crash in Irkutsk was the second of a Russian warplane in a residential area within a week.

The Russian fighter jet smashed into a home in the Siberian city of Irkutsk during a test flight on Sunday. This was the second crash of a Russian warplane in a residential area within a week.

When the plane crashed, it set off a fire, but there were nu civilian casualties.

The previous crash from a Russian warplane happened on Monday and left 14 people dead. These crashes were caused by the fact that Russia’s military is under major pressure in its war in Ukraine.

The Russian Investigative Committee, the country’s main investigation agency, sent forensic specialists to the scene in Irkutsk to investigate, according to the RIA-Novosti state news agency.

In the crash that occurred last week, the plane slammed into the courtyard of a large apartment building in Yeysk, a port and resort town across the Sea of Azov from the Ukrainian city of Mariupol. One of its engines had caught fire during a training mission.

In my opinion, this article is newsworthy and well written. When I looked at it at first, I thought it was a really short article and I was wondering if it would be well written and would everything that was important about the event. However, considering that the event only happened earlier today, and there is not a lot that can be said with certainty, I think the article explains clearly what is known so far. There is no speculation about what might have caused it or what might have been possible. The article only talks about the facts and what is certain so far, which makes it a well written, easy to read article.

International Students and How They Experience Moving Across the World

An athlete’s greatest wish is to keep being able to grow in their skills and to keep learning and getting better. Sometimes that means taking things to the next level, like moving to a different country to become a student-athlete in college or university.

Being a student-athlete teaches people that if you want to be successful, you must know what it means to be part of a team. College athletics helps people grow as a person, which then also helps them grow as an athlete.

Diversity is a great strength when it comes to playing sports. A team with a broad range of backgrounds has a unique chance to attain a variety of skills and perspectives to enrich the team environment, the educational experience, and their development as a team. 

Morningside University represents numerous international student-athletes who are all involved in different sports. As of right now the students of Morningside represent 27 different countries from all over the world. But how do these international students experience the switch from playing in their home country to participating in sports at Morningside? What are some of the differences and how big are these differences for them?

Ferdinando Vinti (18), Roselynn Bosman (19), and Julie Raffel (20) are three of Morningside University’s international student-athletes. They have moved across the world to keep being able to play their sport while still going to school. They talked about their experiences during the move and adjusting to the US student-athlete life. 

Ferdinando Vinti is an 18-year-old freshman from Italy who came to Morningside University to be a part of the Men’s Volleyball team. Volleyball has been a passion of his for the past seven years, and Ferdi was not ready to give up volleyball just yet. 

“Back in Italy, it’s really really difficult to study in a university and continue playing sports,” Ferdinando said. So, when he found out that he could become a student-athlete in the US and combine University and sports, he was certain that this was something that he wanted to do. 

When Ferdinando was asked about some of the biggest differences between playing sports in the US and in Italy, he immediately said the practices at 5:00 in the morning. The men’s volleyball team at Morningside practices at that time, five times a week. But even though the early mornings are tough, he does think that this can help him with his mindset. “It’s so hard to get up at 4 am, but if you have a goal, you can do it.” This is a valuable lesson that he can use in more aspects of his life. 

Ferdinando said that he doesn’t have any troubles adjusting to all the differences in the US as compared to what he was used to in Italy. He said that the differences enable him to develop new skills. “Everything is an opportunity to grow, to get better.” Ferdinando said. The way that he sees things now, being here in the US, are different from how he saw them in Italy. He’s seeing things from a different perspective.

Roselynn Bosman is a 19-year-old sophomore from the Netherlands. All her life, she has had a passion for playing soccer and she had a wish to travel the world and see new places. 

Roselynn originally wanted to take a gap year after high school to travel around the world, but covid-19 made this impossible. But, she didn’t give up and still found a solution to see and experience something new: she was going to go attend a university, and keep playing soccer as a bonus, in a different country. Roselynn said that she chose the US specifically because women’s soccer is played at a high level here. 

One of the biggest differences that Roselynn experienced when she came here was the high level of intensity when it comes to playing sports and how physical all the players are here. In the Netherlands, soccer is more technical and less physical, she said. Roselynn does like this way of playing soccer, with practice every day, lifting twice a week, and having two games a week. “In the Netherlands, we only had practice twice a week and a game on the weekend,” she said. 

Julie Raffel is a 20-year-old sophomore form Denmark. She is a part of both the soccer and the tennis team here at Morningside. Both sports have been a big part of her life since she was younger. 

Initially, it was soccer that brought Julie to the US. But also, to try something new she said. In Denmark, Julie felt like she lived in a small bubble. Everything in her life was close to home, her school, her sports clubs, and after high school she was ready to get out of there and try something different. So, she decided to come to the US to be able to keep playing sports while still attending a university. 

So, initially it was soccer that brought Julie all the way from Denmark here to Morningside. However, during her time at Morningside, Julie found out that soccer was only a fall sport. “So, what am I going to do in Spring?”, Julie thought. And then she found out that tennis is a spring sport in the US. So, for the fun of being part of something else than soccer and because of her love for tennis, she decided to try out for the team, and she made it. 

When asked about some of the biggest differences between playing tennis back home and in the US, Julie said that when she played tennis in Denmark, it was more for fun. During practices they would teach her the basics of tennis, but here they already expect her to know all of that. Julie said that the coaches at Morningside don’t really coach her on the specific basic skills of tennis, but more on doing the drill as you’re supposed to. 

Julie said that this different coaching style makes it harder for her to adjust to playing on the tennis team at Morningside. “I am more inexperienced than the others and sometimes I feel kind of frustrated when I know that I have to play on a team with someone who is way better than me.” Julie said. She said that it’s so frustrating because she does do her best, but she just has to work a little harder to the others to catch up. 

Ferdinando, Roselynn, and Julie are only a small fraction of the number of international students who attend Morningside. The experience of moving to a completely different country and being a student-athlete is different for everyone, but these shared experiences offer insight into the rewards and challenges that international students face. 

Going to the United States as an International Student-Athlete

Studying abroad as an international student-athlete is a big adventure and an exciting and informative experience for young students. However, moving to a whole different country can be a lot to take in and it will take some adjusting. 

An athlete’s greatest wish is to keep being able to grow in their skills and to keep learning and getting better. Sometimes that means taking things to the next level, like moving to a different country to become a student-athlete in college or university. Being a student-athlete teaches people that if you want to be successful, you must know what it means to be part of a team. College athletics helps people grow as a person, which then also helps them grow as an athlete.

Diversity is a great strength when it comes to playing sports. A team with a broad range of backgrounds has a unique chance to attain a variety of skills and perspectives to enrich the team environment, the educational experience, and their development as a team. Having an international student-athlete on your team or being an international student-athlete on a team is a unique and exciting experience. But how does the international student experience the switch from playing in their home country to participating in college sports in the United States? What are some of the differences and how big are these differences for them?

I am going to interview (at least 3) student-athletes from different countries and sports to see how they have experienced the switch from their home country to the US. 

• Can you introduce yourself? What is your name? Where are you from? How old are you?
• How long have you been playing ….. (their sport)?
• What made you decide to come to the US?
• What are some of the biggest differences you have seen between playing sports in the US versus in your home country?
• Are these differences making/Did these differences make it harder for you to adjust to the American student-athlete life? 
• What was the hardest for you to get adjusted too when you first came here? How do you experience that now?
• What do you wish you would have known before you come to the US to make your transition easier?
• Do you like the sports culture better the way it is here or back home?
• How did the team respond to you when they learned that you were from a different country?
• What have you learned while playing sports here that has really impacted you?

New Study Strengthens the Link Between Exercise and Memory

Experts have known for a long time that fitness is good for the human brain. A recent paper, however, connects different types of workouts with assorted improvements in memory.

Everyone knows that regular exercise has many benefits for physical, and sometimes even, mental health. But then people started to wonder what kind of an effect it has on specific functions, like memory.

Studies have proven that exercise does have an effect on your memory. Over the years, studies have suggested that a workout can improve recall. Engaging in exercise over the courses of years or decades does not only improve your memory, but it even helps fortify against possible future memory problems.

Marc Roig, a physical and occupational therapy professor who studies the effect of exercise on cognition said, “We know that exercise works, but we don’t know which variables of exercise make the exercise more effective.” In addition he also said that he believes that intensity is one of those factors. Roig was not involved with the original study.

One major challenge with studying the link between regular exercise and memory is that the changes are hard to measure. There are a lot of factors that affect the memory, which complicates measuring the changes. And on top of that, there are also different types of memory.

This article shines a light on the advances that are being made in improving a person’s memory. It talks about how regular exercise can help improve your memory and better your memory in the future. In my opinion, this a newsworthy topic considering it focusses on a common problem among people. There are a lot of people that experience problems with their memory. This is a good way to let people who suffer from memory problems know some ways they can perhaps help their memory. The article is not too long, and it’s written in a way that makes it easy to read. They’re attributing their sources which makes the information given in this article more believable. The lead describes the article well and gives readers a clear idea of what they are going to read about.

In class, we got the opportunity to interview Morningside University’s very own Pastor Andy Nelson, the Director of Campus Ministry and Community Service, who has been campus Chaplin at Morningside since 2017.

After a short introduction of himself, Pastor Andy got asked what exactly it is that he does as campus Chaplin. “My job is to tend to the spiritual life of the Morningside community.” he answered. His priority is helping students, but also staff, faculty, and other community members. He is here to help and support them with the spiritual part of themselves, no matter what faith they have. It means making sure that people have the ability to express and practice their faith as they choose. Pastor Andy explained it as helping with something bigger than yourself.

Pastor Andy has an open-door policy in his office, meaning that students can come in whenever they need to and with whatever they need to. He has a confidentiality policy, so everything that people will discuss with him will be confidential unless given permission to share with other parties.

Then we asked Pastor Andy how he ended up at Morningside or why he chose to come here. He said that he had always been involved in campus ministry. He realized in high school that he wanted to get involved in campus ministry later in his life to help college students. He ended up working at Morningside because of his wife. She was hired as a psychology teacher here at Morningside. Then at one point, the position of campus Chaplin opened up at Morningside and he decided to apply for the job. And now he has been working at this school for 5 years.

When asked about his hobbies, Pastor Andy responded that when he is not working, he likes to read. In particular science fiction and fantasy topics. He will multitask doing dishes driving kids to soccer practice while listening to an audio book. The majority of his free time, however, he spends being involved in family activities. He has four kids from ages 2-14 who he really loves and loves spending time with.

“When I get the chance, I like to garden and fish and go deer hunting with my wife.” Pastor Andy added to the list of his hobbies.

When Pastor Andy was younger, people would ask him if he had ever thought about being a Pastor. He would tell them no, but these questions did make him start thinking about it. In his junior year of high school, he never thought he would be a pastor. But by the time his senior year came around, he had changed his mind completely.

We asked Pastor Andy what he would tell his younger self knowing what he knows now. He then explained that when he was in high school, he thought about taking a gap year to give himself time to disengage from student life a little bit. He was kind of burned out at the time he said. However, he did not end up taking the gap year but regrets this decision.

“I think what I would tell myself is to take advantage of that time to step away and get a different sort of experience and let it be a part of your process of ‘What should I be?’.”

As a final question, Pastor Andy was asked if faith is the most important thing in his life. He answered that it is the most important thing in his life, but then mostly the expression of his faith. He said that his faith shapes his view of the world, his view of other people, and his view of death and the life beyond death. It impacts how he lives his life. Pastor Andy’s understanding of who he is and his relationships with the world and other people flows from his faith.