RAPPers at the University Recognition Cermony

 Many RAPPers current and former graced the stage to be recognized as top student leaders at the 2013 University Recognition Ceremony.  Congratulations to these Bearcats on their accomplishments!

Lane Hart (XXV), 2013 Mr. Bearcat, was recognized with the Presidential Leadership Medal of Excellence and the Spirit of Community Award for College of Business.

Lauren Fink (XXV) was endorsed by UC for the distinguished Marshall Scholarship.

Alyssa Roberts (XXV) was recognized nationally by Who's Who Among Students at American Colleges & Universities.

 

Nloh Masango-Dibo (XXIV) was recognized with the Marjorie B. Parham  Award.

 

Nick Herrmann (XXVI) was recognized as RA of the Year for his residence hall.

 

Long-time RAPP supporters Dr. Mitchel Livingston and Cody Clark received the Just Community Award, presented by Dr. Bleuzette Marshall (VI)

A Look Back at UC in 2012 - A Message from President Ono

Message from President Ono

As 2012 comes to a close, the University of Cincinnati can look back on the past year with a deep sense of pride. UC just keeps getting better and better, and I want to thank all of you for the hard work and tremendous support that makes our rise possible. With UC’s unique capacity to be innovative and creative, I know that the coming year promises even greater strides. Please have a safe and joyous holiday and a very Happy New Year! 

Welcome Our "New" RAPPORT Facilitator - Jojo Azevedo!

Over the last several years, we tried many staff structures to support and sustain the growth of RAPP's programming through its work in intensives, RAPPORT, and outreach.  For 2012-13, we're harnessing the talent of outstanding student leaders by having three student workers - Brice Mickey and Jamieson Williams have been introduced as the first two-thirds of these.

Beginning this January, Jamieson will be transitioning to the Accelerating Racial Justice (ARJ) student worker and Jojo Azevedo will be coming on board to work with reshaping RAPPORT.

Jojo is a familiar face in RAPP!  He is a senior in Communication and just returned from a semester-long study abroad in Japan.  He is an alum of RAPP XXIV, Peer Leader with RAPP XXVI, student Facilitator with RAPP XXVII, worked on the committee that created ARJ and its curricula, served as student Facilitator for the pilot run of ARJ 2012, and has been in the Social Justice League since it began in 2010.  Not to mention his work as a recruitment leader, his commercial  and other creative videos for RAPP, his volunteering at the 25 Year Reunion, his emphasis on community building, and general work to keep the RAPP Office open and accessible have greatly benefited RAPP.

In other words, his contributions to RAPP are great and he is an ideal person to help reshape our impact through RAPPORT!  Welcome back, Jojo!

Jojo smiling in the RAPP Office!

Recognizing Participation: RAPP XXVIII Stays Strong a Whole Semester!

As the first RAPP group to come together under semesters, RAPP XXVIII had an even larger challenge for attendance in that they had more meetings under the timeline of a semester than a quarter.  Whereas previous groups in recent years had four meetings and one retreat each quarter, this group had six meetings, one retreat, and an orientation in its first semester (they have six meetings, two retreats, and a banquet ahead for spring semester).

With that in mind, there were many chances for "life happens" to make it impossible for a member to make it to a meeting.  Given the time demands The RAPP Commitment makes on already full schedules of students, I think it's important to take time to recognize the folks who were able to uphold it this time around.

Here are the folks currently in RAPP XXVIII who have had perfect attendance all fall semester 2012:

Abbey Falcone
Aditi Naik
Anthony Foster
Bridget Parhman
Gabby Russell
Kahvah Yisrael
Kalilah Montgomery
Leah Baccus
Lindy Zeff
Marq White
Maya Whyte
Monique Walker
Nathaniel Bell
Oge Okoh
Owen Riley
Rebekah Clinger
Sabria Berry
Sarah Seiger
Shawnee Haslon
Thia Jackson

Our Peer Leaders make a lesser time commitment in terms of meetings, but all three have exceeded this commitment (in so many ways beyond the time!).  Many thanks to Farooq Alkhateeb, Kristin Myers-Young, and Tina Lu for their great work!  Our student Facilitator, Brice Mickey, has also well exceeded his expected commitment - countless thanks are due!

Marq, Rachel, Emma, Iman, & Aditi show part of the RAPP XXVIII handsign!

Accelerating Racial Justice 2012!

We did it!  RAPP successfully premiered a new intensive: Accelerating Racial Justice!

Sixteen UC students participated in the inaugural run, diving wholeheartedly into the challenges of racial justice and inclusive leadership.  Nine students and staff led the experience as ARJ staff.

Check us out below!

Our official group photo for the RAPP Office.  We're excited to be displayed as the first in what will hopefully soon grow into a wall of ARJ photos!

Participants spent sessions in a variety of groupings:  solo work, pair work, trios, small groups, half groups, racial groupings, and the large group.  Each day, people also spent time with their Small Group - 6-7 people with whom they built intentional relationship as well as worked with to give feedback on the day.  Each group was facilitated by a Peer Leader.

Jalisa's Small Group: Peggy Shannon-Baker, Kara Mate, Maesa Idries, Taylor Turnbull, Brian Barney, and Jalisa Holifield

Laura's Small Group: Sally Amkoa, Greg Gamble, Naila Merchant, Ryan Fox, Vicky Nguyen, Laura Perez, and Ben Kitchen

Matt's Small Group: Kate Khazanova, Jazmyn Battie, Kenzie Austin, Kenny Day, Matt Miller, and Amanda Pancioli

ARJ 2012 Staff: Rebecca Lehman, Laura Perez, Jalisa Holifield, Melissa Meyer, Ani Naik, Jojo Azevedo, Matthew Woodruff, Matt Miller, and Shyamal Ruparel

Many thanks to the outstanding, creative, and hard-working committee of folks who helped make ARJ a possibility!

Recognizing Commitment in RAPP XXVII

Winter quarter is known in the RAPP community for being a hard one.  On top of the usual challenges of balancing school, work, family, life, and other things, it's winter.  It's cold.  Traffic can be unpredictable.  It's dark before the RAPP meeting even starts.


With that in mind, we want to continue recognizing folks who were able to uphold their commitment to be present in mind and body in RAPP.


The following 25 RAPPers participated in all meetings and the retreat for winter quarter:


Adam Voegele*
Adrian Vance
Allison Siemer*
Ana Montalvan
Angelo Cruz*
Becky Kollstedt*
Brendon Richey
Carrie Callahan*
Chris Foster*
Danny Lin*
Emily Rath*
Erin Walden
Farooq Alkhateeb*
Gregor McCord
Isa Shakir
Jalisa Holifield*
Jamieson Williams*

JayChrist Christopher*
Jessica Nelson

Keshar Smith*
Laura Perez*
Mary Singer*
Megan Kreaps*
Nick Herrmann*
Sean Buchanan*


*Have participated in all meetings & retreats this entire RAPP year


Our Peer Leaders sign on to a slightly smaller commitment in terms of attending the RAPP XXVII meetings/retreats (though they put in time elsewhere with meetings & trainings).  All of our Peer Leaders are on track fulfilling their commitment, so many thanks to Matthew, Mieshia, Tyler, and Wil!

Many thanks also to our RAPP interns and Public Ally this year!  They have all gone above and beyond their intern contracts in time commitment to our groups!

Three Wednesday RAPPers - Jamieson, Becky, and Keshar - showing the range of emotions experienced in RAPP this quarter.  ;)

RAPP Community Connections

It's been a quiet week here on the RAPP blog, but not for lack of activity on campus.  Rather, RAPP and its staff/blog team have been a busy bunch.  As a chance to highlight some of the work we do, here's an overview of the community connections we've been involved in this week:

• Monday & Wednesday morning through early afternoon, RAPP partnered with the LGBTQ Center to provide campus diversity workshops to first year students in the Carl H. Lindner College of Business. Social Justice League member Bobby Filbin, LGBTQ Center graduate assistant B Carbonara, and Rebecca connected with almost 350 students in eight fifty-minute workshops.
• Monday evening, RAPP Public Ally Marjorie Bledsoe and RAPPORT Intern DeVorah YisraEL facilitated a RAPPORT workshop on multiple intelligences & planning inclusive learning experiences.  A dozen people came out to explore our ways of learning and sharing knowledge as well as how to include all learners in educational experiences.
• On Tuesday, Rebecca connected with one of the nearly one hundred First Year Experience Learning Communities for an outreach session.  Each year we work with at least a dozen first year learning communities, exploring campus diversity, self-awareness, and intercultural communication.
• Tuesday evening, we hosted one of our newer activities for RAPP XXVII Tuesday - between session conference calls.  The group asked to try phone check-ins between meetings, so we've set up multiple conference call sessions this quarter.
• In exploration of expanding our partnership with Emerging Ethnic Leaders, Rebecca worked with the advisor for EEL to begin sketching out a formal relationship between our programs for some exciting developments RAPP has in the works (stay tuned here for how to be involved in that!).
• International Education Week is a university-wide program spearheaded by UC International.  SALD participates annually in this great series of events that help our students build global citizenship.  RAPP staff and other SALD staff participated in the kick-off planning meeting for the fall 2012 program.
• As a Student Life staff member and UC alumna herself, Rebecca commits time to supporting some of our major undergraduate scholarships.  This week involved much work with the selection process for the Darwin T. Turner Scholars Program as well as preparing and presenting a Student Life session for competitors in the Cincinnatus Scholarship Program.  The latter program involved highlighting Student Life's countless connections with the University Honors Program.  RAPP XXV member Alyssa Roberts helped present about her leadership journey, including RAPP's contribution to it.
• Our campus community has experienced several racial incidents lately, some public and some not.  While RAPP no longer coordinates the Racial Incident Team (which we did in the late 1980s through mid-1990s), our staff do provide listening ears and responsive educational programming.  Work in this area has been underway this week, as well.

All of this came directly after Rebecca's return from the Social Justice Training Institute 2 & Celebration in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and Marjorie's return from 2012 Tri-State Diversity Conference: Diverse Communities - Common Unity in the Cincinnati Airport Marriot.

Thanks to all the folks who keep RAPP hopping and deeply connected with our community in this way!

Social Justice League member Bobby Filbin helped present to nearly 350 College of Business students this week!

RAPP Participates in Cincinnati Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Activities

As is now our annual tradition, RAPP encouraged the UC community to participate in the city-wide events recognizing Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

Here are some snapshots from Monday's rally, march, and commemorative celebration:

RAPPers representing RAPPs XXII-XXVII (and other organizations) paused for a snapshot before the march!

The growing crowd at the Freedom Center before the march kick-off.

Marching from Fountain Square to Music Hall, singing songs and talking about the day.

Many RAPPers and friends stayed for the 37th Annual Commemorative Celebration at Music Hall organized by the Martin Luther King, Jr. Coalition.

Many thanks to all the UC community members who joined us on Monday!

RAPP Office Updates - Check Us Out!

RAPP's on-campus home for the past half-dozen years has been in 669 Steger Student Life Center. 

The office was originally Diversity Education's.  When RAPP became its own independent functional area in Student Activities & Leadership Development (SALD) in 2008 with the financial support of the Diversity Council, we began sharing the office.  Beginning in 2010, Diversity Education was no longer a coordinated area of SALD with a dedicated Program Coordinator - instead the concept of it was shared under several programs coordinated throughout SALD.

With that change, the office became solely RAPP's.  It also began to be open much more throughout the week since our RAPP Public Ally and interns worked primarily out of the space.  It is now kept open nearly all day Monday through Thursday and Friday afternoons by our great team of Public Ally and interns.

We took a lot of things down for last spring's 25 Year Reunion and have been slowly reorganizing the office since then.  I'm happy to say that we've got some great things finally finished that I encourage everyone to come check out!

New RAPP Sign

Our previous Public Ally Kinsey started a project involving several RAPPers to create some art for our office.  Our current Public Ally Marjorie finished the main painting over the break and we hung it for all to see! Check it out below (my camera-phone doesn't do it justice).

Re-Hanging of RAPP Photos

One of my favorite parts of the RAPP Office has always been the display of photos of all the groups.   In 2008, the Diversity Education Program Coordinator and I rehung all the photos around the top of the room because the wall they were on ran out of space for the new photos.  I loved that we were encircled by our history!

When we hung them in 2008, we knew we'd run out of space for photos in 2011.  I already had hopes for the reunion to be that year, so it was an accepted issue.  We took all the photos down for the reunion and they have been stored in the office since waiting for us to find a new way to hang them all.

Over the break, Marjorie laid out a design and she and I put some hanging tools to use!  The photos now encompass the entire east wall of the office and we've made room for them to be hung in this way through RAPP XXXI (which is hopefully when the 30 Year Reunion will be held!).

Though you can see all the photos on our history site, it's amazing to come and see photos of all 26 groups and three reunions in one space.

RAPP XXVII Photo Rosters

I don't know whether this was done in the past, but since RAPP XXIV I've enjoyed putting up photo rosters of the RAPP groups in our office.  My hopes are it helps people learn names, it highlights who is going through the process, and it previews who will be added to the photo wall above.


Marjorie prepped the posters and we got them back over the break.  They're on display in the RAPP Office now so that RAPPers current, former, and future can stop by and see who is doing the great work that is participating in the RAPP process.  Check out our 66 current members and eight leaders below!

Still Ahead

Nothing is ever really finished - there are still different projects ahead in the office.  Keep an eye out the rest of the academic year for:

• An award display that highlights the many ways RAPP has been recognized since 1986.
• A RAPPORT photo section.
• A framed RAPP I sweatshirt, thanks to a generous donation of his sweatshirt by RAPP I member Reed Adler.
• More homemade artwork highlighting RAPP's mission & mottos and possibly more!

This office hopes to continue striving to be small but mighty!  Thanks to the amazing folks over the years that have made it what it is!

-Rebecca

Recognizing Participation: RAPP XXVII Off to a Strong Start!

A word RAPPers hear a lot is commitment.  In recent years we've defined that as "present in body and mind" at as many of our groups' meetings and retreats as possible.  From the moment they first get the RAPP Interest Form through nearly every meeting, we talk about the challenges and expectations of such an intense commitment.

RAPPers are a busy group!  They have busy courseloads, jobs, families, other organizational commitments, and all those other priorities that come with life.  Conflicts come up between our many priorities as well as those unplanned events in life that take us away from our plans, like illness, family emergencies, transportation issues, and more.

With all of that in mind, I like us to take time to recognize the folks who were able to get out to all the meetings/retreats on the schedule each quarter.

Tuesday Group

Allison S

Carrie C

Chris N

Danny L

Darienne J

Daryl H

Ellie R

Emily R

Jasmine W

Jojo M-L

Justin C

Laura P

Nick G

Patrick G

Roran T

Sam R

Sanchit G

Wednesday Group

Adam V

Angelo C

Asuka Y

Becky K

Candice A

Chris F

Christal H

Farooq A

Frances R

Jalisa H

Jamieson W

Jessica N

Keshar S

Mary S

Megan K

Natalie A

Nick H

Randi H

Sarah L

Sean B

Tiffany S

Our Peer Leaders sign on to a slightly smaller commitment in terms of attending the RAPP XXVII meetings/retreats (though they put in time elsewhere with meetings & trainings).  All of our Peer Leaders are on track fulfilling their commitment, so many thanks to Matthew, Mieshia, Tyler, and Wil!

Many thanks also to our RAPP interns and Public Ally this year!  They have all gone above and beyond their intern contracts in time commitment to our groups!

Danny, Chris, Jojo, Deanna, Jessica, and Sanchit of XXVII Tuesday at Fall Retreat!

SALD Welcomes Our Student Staff

The Office of Student Activities & Leadership Development is growing in our engagement of students in developmental work experiences.   Our current full-time staff now work closely with a Public Ally, two Graduate Assistants, three Interns, and one Student Worker.

Yesterday we held a lunch to welcome and thank our student team!  These students have been hard at work all quarter and we wanted to pause to make sure our team knew each other as well as say thanks for the work they're doing.

We welcomed RAPP Public Ally Marjorie Bledsoe, Fraternity & Sorority Life GAs Ashley Townes and Courtney Cox, RAPPORT Intern DeVorah YisraEL, and SALD Student Worker Sabrina Johnson.  Not able to make the lunch but greatly appreciated nonetheless were RAPP Interns Jojo Azevedo and Rachel Berman.

SALD Director Nicole Mayo kicks off an ice-breaker, with Administrative Secretary Patty Speed smiling next to her.

From Left to Right:  Administrative Coordinator Gila Johnson, RAPPORT Intern DeVorah YisraEL, Student Worker Sabrina Johnson, and Assistant Director Dr. Nicole Ausmer.

A post-lunch group shot!

Marjorie shows off her sweet PAC shades from her welcome bag.

Celebrating a RAPP Behind-the-Scenes Leader: Vicki Marsala Calonge

On Thursday, October 17th, Student Activities and Leadership Development bade farewell to a long-term staff member, Vicki Marsala Calonge, with a campus-wide celebration of her work.

Vicki has worked in SALD for nearly a decade, starting as a Graduate Assistant in Fraternity & Sorority Life (FSL), moving to being the full-time Program Coordinator for this area, then spending the last five years as an Assistant Director supervising coordinators of Diversity Education, RAPP, and FSL.

As the Program Coordinator of RAPP, Vicki served as my direct supervisor for my entire tenure so far.  She has been a behind-the-scenes leader, support, and creative sounding board for all the work that has been a part of RAPP's elevation under the Diversity Council.  Her mark on RAPP is profound and I know that we would not have acheived the success we have without her guidance and support.

-Rebecca Lehman

Vicki with Dr. Lisa Newman and Dr. Bleuzette Marshall (VI)

Vicki with Dan Cummins (VIII) and Gila Johnson (SALD)

Vicki with a RAPP gang for our photo for the Just Community award.

RAPP at A Rivercity Homecoming!

This past Friday was the UC Homecoming Parade for A Rivercity Homecoming Bearcat Style.  Though the Friday night timing of the parade was new, the annual tradition that all students are welcome to walk with Student Life stayed alive.

Many thanks to all the RAPPers came out and enjoyed the parade with us!

On our way to queue for the parade, Matthew (XXVI) and Randi (XXVII) stopped with me to pose with the Bearcat!

Angelo (XXVII) promoted Latinos en Accion in the parade!

Wil (XXV) with a colleague from Resident Education & Development!

Randi (XXVII) shows off her candy sharing skills!

Tass the RAPP Dog met the Bearcat with skepticism.

A quick Student Life snapshot before the parade kicked off!

Nicole and Nicole of SALD smile with Dean Bowen!

Sakinah and Stacy (XXVI) smile for a quick snapshot!

We ran into friends along the way! Center is Vicki who supervised the RAPP Program Coordinators for several years!

And more friends!  Dy'Mand (XXV) was all smiles along the parade route!

Welcome RAPP XXVII!

Today was an exciting day in the RAPP Office!  We got to welcome RAPP XXVII members to their groups!

Nearly 200 students connected with RAPP to apply for the 2011-12 class!  We extended invitations to 72 students and have a short waiting list for any spots that open up in the next two weeks.

All the invited members have been called, emailed, and added to the RAPP XXVII listservs and Blackboard page.  We'll meet up for the first times next week on Tuesday, October 11th, and Wednesday, October 12th!

New to the process this year is the Student Activities & Leadership Development Academic Excellence Policy, which requires students to have a 2.3 GPA to participate.  With this initial check and quarterly check-ins, we'll ensure that our students are students first and get connected with the many support services available at UC if they struggle academically.

It took a big team to get the group in place!  We simply wouldn't be able to function without these amazing volunteers.

Many thanks to our recruitment team:  Brice Mickey (XXV), Danielle Thomas (XXV), David Taylor (XXVI), Fatima Thomas (XXV), Jojo Azevedo (XXIV),  Kevin Weber (XXVI), Mika Kousha (XXVI), Rachel Berman (XXV) and Sarah B (XXVI)!

Many thanks also to the many people who helped conduct interviews:  Adam Lambert (XXV), Bianca Ruffin (XXVI), Brice Mickey (XXV), DeVorah YisraEL (XXIV), Jojo Azevedo (XXIV), Kevin Weber (XXVI), Krystal Smith (XXIV), Maggy Fogler (RED Assistant Director), Marjorie Bledsoe (XXV), Matthew Woodruff (XXVI), and Sara Sadat-Hossieny (XXVI)!

A Funny Photo

Last spring, RAPP was notified that we'd received a Just Community Award.  We were recognized for our 25 years of work and our strong commitment to building a just and caring community.

As a part of the process, we needed to have a photo to represent the group.  Our "brilliant idea #1" was shot down:  Put our logo in the awards ceremony book.

We had to take a photo.  "Brilliant idea #2" soon took shape.

Much of our recent success was built by a team of leaders.  I invited those in the area (and current RAPPers, who keep us going!) to come for the picture.

Three key leaders in RAPP elevation weren't in the area, though:

• Un Kyong Ho was the Diversity Education Program Coordinator who not only ran RAPP for several years but was the person who got RAPP funded by the Diversity Council.  This funding was critical to RAPP's recent growth, as it created a full-time staff position solely dedicated to RAPP.
  
• Sarvani Prasad was the Diversity Education and RAPP graduate assistant who was instrumental in several ways.  As the Diversity Education GA, she researched and wrote the Diversity Council proposal.  She then remained on staff as a facilitator of RAPPs XXIV and XXV.
  
• Steve Succop was a RAPP facilitator who saw RAPP through the transition.  With Sarvani and Rebecca, he researched and co-wrote the current RAPP curriculum.  He facilitated RAPPs XXII, XXIII, and XXIV.

How to include such key team members when they're far away?  Print their pictures and hold them in the shot!

It didn't turn out perfectly (Sarvani's peeking out over a shoulder, Steve lost a foot in height, and Un's body is clearly missing), but it worked well enough!

Here's a shot of the picture in the soon to be available Just Community brochure for 2011-12:

Left to right:
Vicki Marsala Calonge - Assistant Director in SALD supervising Diversity Education and RAPP
Sarvani Prasad (peeking over shoulder)
Matthew Woodruff - RAPP XXVI
Charlene Monroe - RAPP XXVI, 2011 Terence L Jones Award Winner
Steve Succop
Rebecca Leham - RAPP XXII, current RAPP Program Coordinator
Kimberly McGinnis - RAPP VIII, former RAPP Program Coordinator
Shy Ruparel - RAPP XXVI
Amber Easterling - RAPP XXV, Peer Leader & Social Justice League 2010-11
Un Kyong Ho

RAPP XXVII Recruitment Going Strong!

Today was an exciting time in the RAPP Office:  We had our first interview for RAPP XXVII!

Summer is a busy time readying for and finding the next group.  We're still actively seeking applicants for RAPP XXVII, the 2011-12 class of our 9-month program.

Our recruitment team is growing and getting projects together.  Interest is steadily growing.  More and more applications are coming in each day.

Thanks to all our volunteers today, the exciting day of the first official interview!  Thanks to Sara S-H (XXVI) for helping prepare interview folders and conducting the interview.  Thanks to Brice (XXV) for conducting the interview and staffing the info table.  Thanks to Jojo (XXIV) for staffing the interview table even though he was on his way to a job interview!

If you know someone interested in joining RAPP, please send them to our website!  There they can find information, the 2011-12 schedule, and my contact information for any questions they may have.

RAPP Reunion Photos: Highlighting Speakers

In order to give as much time as possible for mingling and reminiscing, the RAPP 25 Year Reunion planning committee determined to keep the formal program brief.  We fit several speakers and a group activity into a thirty-minute program.

The program kicked off with an official welcome from UC Vice President of Student Affairs & Services and Chief Diversity Officer Dr. Mitchel Livingston - a long-time RAPP supporter and co-chair of the UC Diversity Council that made RAPP's recent elevation possible.

This was followed by a video greeting from Dr. Niloufer Merchant, currently a professor at St. Cloud State University and founding graduate student of the Racial Awareness Pilot Project and RAPPORT.  She sent greetings to the event as well as reflected on how her involvement with RAPP & RAPPORT has affected her personally and professionally.

Next up was Kimberly (McGinnis) Bonner, RAPP VIII member and program coordinator of RAPP for eight years.  She shared reflections on RAPP & RAPPORT's impact and on the power of the reunion.

Dr. Robin Selzer, Program Director in the UC Alumni Association, spoke about the Association and the opportunities it provides.  Robin was a key member of the planning committee and, through her, the Alumni Association made much of the reunion possible!

Dr. Bleuzetter Marshall, RAPP VI member and Development Director in the UC Foundation, spoke briefly about RAPP and the Linda Bates Parker Scholarship Fund.

Rebecca Lehman, RAPP XXII member and current RAPP Program Coordinator, emceed the program as well as gave final reflections on the reunion and led participants in a brief activity connected to taking a group photo.  All participants were asked to take a group photo, after which members of RAPPs I through X were asked to set out and face the group (a photo of this group was also taken).  These member introduced themselves.

During this portion, Robbin Parker and Breland Parker spoke about Linda Bates Parker and her legacy on campus through RAPP and her many other amazing accomplishments.

Many thanks to all who spoke and participated in the program!  It was great to take a brief, structured time to formally reflect on the event amidst all the informal interactions that the night was primarily about.

Dr. Mitchel Livingston kicked off the program with his greeting!

UC Blue Ash student Alyson Montgomery provided ASL translation for the program.

Kimberly Bonner gave reflections on RAPP.

Dr. Bleuzette Marshall spoke on behalf of Linda Bates Parker's latest legacy, her scholarship fund.

Dr. Robin Selzer connected the group with the UC Alumni Association

Rebecca Lehman emceed and led the final group activity.

RAPP Reunion Photos: Highlighting Volunteers

The RAPP 25 Year Reunion, celebrated on May 14th, was made possible through the hard work of a dedicated team of volunteers.

Some served for up to fifteen months on the planning committee, which began working in February 2010.  The committee included:  Kimberly McGinnis Bonner (VIII), Robin Selzer (UC Alumni Association), Mel Davis (XXVI), Bobby Filbin (XXV), Danielle Thomas (XXV), and Stacy Randle (XXVI).  This team worked to connect with all the RAPPers we could find and to put together the evening's activities.

The evening's activities were conducted by a great team of capable, flexible volunteers, some of whom are pictured below.

Jessica Roberts (XXIV) and Dr. Nicole Ausmer (SALD) planned and led the pre-party campus tour.
Terri Hurdle (SALD), Nicole Mayo (SALD), Robin Selzer, and Kaila Noland (XXVI) prepared the room, rearranging furniture and creating & placing decorations.
Catalina Florea (XXVI), Siva Nagi Reddy Inturi (XXVI), Robin Selzer, Matthew Woodruff (XXVI), and Kaila Noland staffed the registration table throughout the evening, getting everyone checked in and distributing gift bags.
Mel Davis (XXVI), Stacy Randle, and Kinsey Brown (XXIII) all staffed the food table, helping set up the food as it was delivered and keep the table organized throughout the night.  Mel also coordinated the ordering of food and labeling system.

Bobby Filbin was our A/V guru - making the playlist and running the sound and video equipment all night long.
David Taylor (XXVI) and Chris Flowers (volunteer) staffed the bar all evening, distributing free non-alcoholic drinks as well as running the cash bar that fund-raised for the Linda Bates Parker Scholarship Fund.

Many thanks to our dedicated team!  Thank you for making it possible for twenty-five years of RAPPers to connect!

Mel & Stacy working hard to get the food ready!

Siva & Catalina smile during a pause in registrations.

Mel checks in with Bobby, our AV superstar!

Jessica taking RAPPers around campus during the pre-party tour.

Nicole giving cheerful instructions during the pre-party campus tour!

David & Chris at the drink station/bar.