Video

Twenty-three years of brotherhood

Since the fall of 1997 when Bob Weisenburger and others decided to build the hockey rink in the Isabella County Events (ICE) Arena, a group of men from the area have been playing in a drop in hockey league. The league meets every Friday at 6 a.m. to play a pick up game. Membership rises and falls, but the majority of the original team continues to play 23 years later.

Members of the league said this is a way to connect with the community. The friendships and connections they’ve made in Isabella County have been through playing hockey at 6 a.m. each Friday and other leagues they are a part of.

The exercise and team atmosphere is what keeps the league alive. Many of the men have been playing hockey their whole lives, and this is a way to stay in shape and keep up with the sport they love.

“There was one winter I didn’t play hockey and it was the longest winter of my life,” Jeff Angera, CMU faculty member and member of the drop-in league, said.

Here for the children

The following video was produced for Central Michigan University's College of Education and Human Services.

The Child Development Learning Lab at Central Michigan University gives students studying to be teachers the opportunity to get more experience working with children prior to graduation. These hours working in the preschool as a part of their Early Childhood Development and Learning major allow student teachers to observe children and develop their teaching skills.

Each student teacher comes with a unique background, but for Will Sheahan Stahl and Jomontae Wheeler, the fact that they are men in this program is what sets them apart.

Sheahan Stahl is a recent graduate of CMU, graduating in May 2018. He originally left Central to work for a different company, but after a few months there, he came back to the CDLL to work as a lead teacher.

Wheeler is a senior at CMU and hopes to continue working in the preschool after graduation. He has experience working in a second grade classroom as a part of his student teaching but prefers to work with younger children.

In this semester, Spring 2019, five teachers are male, one of the largest groups of men that the CDLL has seen in any given semester.

Sheahan Stahl and Wheeler describe their experiences working in the CDLL.

One out of every six

Trigger warning: the following story contains details of sexual assault.

First she was a victim, now she’s a survivor.

Brin Forlenza was a freshman in college on Halloween weekend when she experienced what one out of every six women will experience in her lifetime: sexual assault.

The Central Michigan University junior is still coping with her sexual assault two and a half years later and struggles with PTSD from the early morning of Oct. 30, 2016. She continues to struggle with the memories of this day, but has found ways to cope.

Forlenza plans to help other victims in her future by going into victim advocacy as a career following graduation next May. A victim advocate helps victims of sexual assault through the entire legal process of prosecuting their assaulter, giving them the support they need through the difficult process.

Radio Broadcasting

The following feature stories were broadcasted on WCMU Public Radio from May to August 2019.

Gold standard in the green industry: Emmet County’s recycling program considered best in the region

Michigan’s recycling rate is the lowest of the Great Lakes region with only 15 percent of all recyclable materials actually making it to the recycling bin, but Emmet county has more than doubled that number with 40 percent of all recyclables being recycled. Listen to the story here.

Take This Job and Love It: Creel Clerk

“This gets to be my office from April to October and I get to meet so many cool people and I’ve learned so much,” Kendra Kozlauskos said looking out from the Charlevoix pier over Lake Michigan. Kozlauskos is a fisheries assistant, or more informally, a creel clerk. For the past seven years, she’s been collecting data for the Department of Natural Resources from recreational anglers in the Petoskey, Bay Harbor and Charlevoix areas. Listen to the story here.

Rural Survival: The struggle to find housing in the tip of the mitt

Residents of Northwest Michigan are still feeling the effects of the 2008 housing crisis, but they are facing a new housing crisis - lack of affordable housing. When Meghan Mitchell moved back to Northern Michigan after living in Toledo for a few years, she didn’t expect housing to be as expensive as it was. So expensive that she’s choosing to live temporarily homeless.

“This summer, I’m living in a camper at my parents, so that I can not pay rent and I can save up money to have a down payment.”

Listen to the story here.