Kaplan honored by CF Foundation
The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation has selected North Central resident Jennifer Kaplan, co-founder and owner of PRIME 3, LLC, as the 2009 recipient of the Bronze Sierra Award for her commitment and dedication to the Foundation.
Kaplan has been involved with the local chapter of Cystic Fibrosis Foundation for the past five years on a variety of levels. She was selected as an AZ’s Finest Honoree in 2005 and since has chaired the AZ’s Finest event two years in a row. She currently is serving as the vice president of the Arizona Executive Board for the Foundation.
The Bronze Sierra is awarded to individuals, organizations or businesses who have shown an outstanding commitment to finding a cure for cystic fibrosis.
“I thoroughly enjoy working with Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and believe that with the continued support and dedication of the community we will find a cure for cystic fibrosis,” Kaplan said.
Beaulieu’s book helps find ‘authentic self’
North Central resident Andrea Beaulieu has released her book, “Finding Your Authentic Voice: Seven Practices to Free the Real You and Experience Love, Happiness and Fulfillment.”
“We each have an internal guide that leads us to our greatest happiness, fulfillment and success, because it leads us to our authentic self, the real you,” says Beaulieu. “It is the source of your highest level of creativity, your voice of compassion that points you to your truth, and following it will lead you to live your best life. It will lead you to the ideal opportunities for you in whatever area you desire.”
Beaulieu also conducts workshops and coaches people in finding and listening to that authentic voice whether for their personal or business lives. She has begun a “Conspiracy of Love” blog at www.ConspiracyOfLove.net, which she calls “an acknowledgment of the force of love in the universe and in the world that is always present … a place to look at the world through eyes of love.”
Based on her first book, “Ah Ha! 100 Flashes of Insight and Inspiration from Your Authentic Voice,” Beaulieu also sends a daily e-mail to help people experience those “ah ha” moments in their lives; and she writes a monthly “Ah Ha” newsletter. Sign up for both at www.YourAuthenticVoice.com.
“Finding Your Authentic Voice” is available at www.FindingYour AuthenticVoice-theBook.com.
Conforti honored with ‘Hero’ award
Bayada Nurses, a leader in home health care, has named North Central Phoenix resident Steven Conforti, MS, PT, as its Physical Therapist “Hero of the Year.” As part of the company’s Heroes on the Home Front Program, Conforti was recognized for his dedication to excellence and commitment to serving the clients with whom he works. The award was presented during Bayada Nurses’ annual Awards Weekend, held in Washington, D.C., June 5-7.
Bayada Nurses presents the “Hero of the Year” Awards to recognize its nurses, aides, and therapists who unselfishly exceed the organization’s expectations for excellence. To qualify, a nominee must embody the fundamental values of compassion, excellence, and reliability.
“Steve is a strong patient advocate, and he does everything in his power to help his clients gain maximum independence and reach their fullest potential,” said Sonia Gupta, the recruiter in Bayada Nurses’ Phoenix office who hired Conforti in 2005. “His clients call regularly to praise his professionalism, expertise, and excellence in patient care.”
Mary Heath, director of the Bayada Nurses Phoenix office, believes Conforti is well deserving of his award. “Steve is definitely a ‘hero’ to his clients, and to us at Bayada Nurses as well,” she said. “He is an excellent therapist who also takes a personal interest in his clients and improves their lives. We all love Steve, and I’m thrilled that he is getting the recognition he deserves.”
Founded in 1975 by J. Mark Baiada, Bayada Nurses is an independently owned home health care agency that provides skilled, rehabilitative, therapeutic, and personal care services to children, adults, and seniors at home. For more information, call 602-870-6364 or visit www.bayada.com.
Local ASU senior earns writing award
Andrew Marks, a senior at Arizona State University, recently received the Swarthout Writing Award, established in 1962.
Administered by the English Department in Tempe, six prizes are awarded in both poetry and fiction. This award has grown and is now ranked among the top five awards financially for undergraduate and graduate writing programs given annually at any college and university in America.
There are eight awards given annually, known as the “Glendon and Kathryn Swarthout Awards in Writing.” Marks, who attended Madison Simis, Madison Meadows, Brophy College Prep and Sunnyslope High School, won third place in the Fiction Category and received a scholarship of $1,000. He plans on getting his MFA in Brooklyn next year.
North Central students garner academic honors
Amherst College junior Leigh Harris, a chemistry major from Sunnyslope, was one of 278 sophomore and junior undergraduates from across the United States to receive a Barry M. Goldwater scholarship for the 2009-10 academic year.
Harris, a Xavier College Prep graduate, aspires to pursue a Ph.D. in biochemistry with an emphasis on structural biology and conduct research and teach as a professor at a university. During her college career, she also worked in Goutte’s lab, served as an academic peer mentor and teaching assistant in both biology and chemistry, sang for the Amherst College Concert Choir and wrote for the Element.
Harris currently is president of the Concert Choir, and plans on staying at Amherst this summer to begin research for her senior honors thesis with chemistry professor Anthony Bishop. She has been awarded Amherst’s Sawyer Prize for biology as well as the chemistry department’s White Prize.
The Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program was authorized by the U.S. Congress in 1986. Awards are made on the basis of academic merit to outstanding sophomores and juniors who plan to pursue careers in science, mathematics or engineering, and the scholarship covers expenses for tuition, fees, books and room and board for as much as $7,500 annually.
Carolyn Bliss, 20, has been elected president of Arizona State University’s 125-member Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority for the academic year 2009-2010. She previously served as vice president and as the sorority’s ASU Panhellenic Delegate.
Majoring in design management with minors in business and interior design history, the 2006 Xavier College Prep graduate was awarded the $5,000 Louise Dierks Alphonsine Memorial Scholarship from ASU alums of Kappa Kappa Gamma, won a $1,000 scholarship from the Phoenix Panhellenic Association in May and was awarded a Kappa Kappa Gamma (national) $600 scholarship also in May.
A Dean’s List honoree, Bliss has a 3.6 grade point average at ASU and has also qualified for a fourth year of ASU’s Provost Scholarship. She is employed as an interior design assistant at Camilla Cavan Design in Scottsdale and is scheduled to graduate in May of next year.
She is the daughter of Tom and Michelle Bliss of North Central Phoenix.
Justin L. White, a Northeastern University student majoring in engineering, was recently named to the University’s dean’s list for the 2009 spring semester, which ended in May 2009.
To achieve the dean’s list distinction, students must carry a full program of at least four courses, have a quality point average of 3.25 or greater out of a possible 4.0 and carry no single grade lower than a C during the course of their college career. Each student receives a letter of commendation and congratulation from their college dean.
In addition to achieving distinction through the dean’s list, White is an honors student, part of a program at Northeastern that offers high caliber-students the chance to further hone their studies and interests, live in special interest on-campus housing, and participate in one or two honors courses each term. Currently, White is among 1,400 students involved in Northeastern’s honors program.
Julie Anne Lafuente was one of the graduates at the commencement ceremonies held May 15-16 at Texas State University-San Marcos. Lafuente received a bachelor’s in Fashion Merchandising.
Texas State is a doctoral granting university located in the Austin-San Antonio corridor on the edge of the Texas Hill Country.
DePaul University student Rachel Loutos has been named to the Dean’s List for the 2009 winter quarter. To receive Dean’s List commendation, full-time students must earn a cumulative grade point average of 3.50 or above on a four-point scale.
Serving more 23,000 students, DePaul University offers programs, many of which are nationally ranked, in the liberal arts and sciences, education, commerce, law, computer technology, music and theater.
Stephanie Worrell received her doctor of medicine degree during Creighton University’s spring commencement ceremonies, held May 16 at Qwest Center Omaha in Omaha, Neb.
Peter Rau has graduated magna cum laude from Boston College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theology from the University’s College of Arts and Sciences.
More than 3,300 undergraduate and graduate students received degrees at the university’s 133rd Commencement Exercises, held on May 18 in Alumni Stadium on the Boston College campus in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
Founded in 1863, Boston College has a coeducational enrollment of approximately 14,500 undergraduate and graduate students drawn from all 50 states and more than 80 countries.
Meredith Anne McClaren recently graduated from the Savannah College of Art and Design. McClaren earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in sequential art.
With more degree programs and specializations than any other art and design university in the United States, the Savannah College of Art and Design offers a choice of degree programs in 42 different majors, plus 52 minors.
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