The alarm buzzes once, and she hits snooze. Then her Fitbit buzzes, but she turns it off. It’s her everyday routine, and a reminder that Melissa Samoskevich is human.
It may not seem like it, as the Quinnipiac women’s ice hockey freshman already has so many accolades at just 18 years old. Samoskevich led the Under-18 World Championships in goals last year for the United States to win gold over Canada—an opposing team that was coached by Quinnipiac head coach Cassandra Turner. “[Samoskevich] is someone that we wanted to be aware of whenever she was on the ice, and every time the puck touches her stick she looks to be a threat offensively,” Turner said. “She earned that gold medal.” An offensive threat may be an understatement for a player who captained Shattuck St. Mary’s girls’ ice hockey team—a prep school rich in hockey history that can name NHL superstar Sidney Crosby as one of its most notable alumni. When recruiting Samoskevich, Shattuck St. Mary’s head coach Gordie Stafford could not have been more impressed with her talent. Finding Samoskevich as early as seventh grade is something Stafford prides himself and his program on. “If you are trying to create a hockey player, Melissa is what you would want,” Stafford said. One of the qualities you’d want in the ideal hockey player would be a strong work ethic, which is something Samoskevich has in droves. “When you have passion for something, no one ever has to tell you to work hard,” Stafford said. Samoskevich agrees. “Hockey is pretty much my life,” she said. “First thing I think about when I wake up is practice.” Players like Samoskevich are what drive a program to its peak. When highly-touted men’s basketball recruit Anthony Davis went to the University of Kentucky in 2011, and the team won a national championship after one year with him, everyone else wanted to join in. “Not only will [Samoskevich] come in and play at a high level right away, but she is a player that will help attract other strong players to the program,” U18 USA Hockey assistant coach Brent Hill said. “When we look at recruits like [Samoskevich], those are pillars for the future of a program.” When Samoskevich hears words like that, she is honored, but she is also reminded to stay humble and keep working. Athletes who play at as high of a level as Samoskevich are going to spark national attention. Samoskevich scored six goals at the U18 World Championships, and that does not go unnoticed as she has impressed at national camps, at the senior level. “The path she is heading in right now, in terms of what I see in her development, she has a strong chance for contending for the next Olympic roster,” Hill said. “I think she is the type of player that is in the top 40 of the U.S.” Before every game, “Samo” eats a tootsie pop—the kind with the chocolate in the middle— but one of the only things sweeter than her pre-game snack is her stick handling skills and shot. She recalls one of those times she used one of those “sweet” moves. “I toe-dragged it around one player, which usually isn’t my thing … and then I shot it low corner and it went in,” she said. Even when she is referencing her most memorable goal, she still gives credit to her teammates, and her ability to stay humble has not gone unnoticed by her coaches. Samoskevich has an essence about her that she controls the ice anytime she is out there. “When you’re in a tight game and you’re waiting for a player to make something happen you know she is going to do it,” Hill said. “Her ability to take control of the game is her best asset. She is clutch.” When Samoskevich wakes up in the morning, she may still hit the snooze button like everyone else, and get dressed for class just like everyone else, but her potential to don the red, white and blue at the Olympics one day makes her stand out. Article featured in QBSN: The Magazine, Issue 10: http://theqbsn.com/2015/12/01/qbsn-the-magazine-issue-10/ Photo Credit: Rebecca Castagna Being an athlete takes motivation. And Rashawn Dally, a freshman on the men’s soccer team, has it in droves.
“Self-motivated describes Rashawn well,” head coach Eric Da Costa said. “He’s quietly motivated, and there is a steely determination inside of him.” Dally discovered his love for soccer at a young age—as a 5-year-old boy growing up in Jamaica. The game was simply “kicking the ball in the streets,” and it wasn’t until he came to America at age 12 that he started playing organized soccer. When Dally was young, his father, Victor, was a well-known Jamaican soccer player. Victor’s teammates called him “Rulla,” because as Dally describes, “he ruled the ball.” All of Victor’s friends used to watch his son play, so the nickname just rubbed off on Dally as “Rulla Junior.” Once Dally moved to America, he became a soccer star in his own right. He played two years of varsity soccer at Bloomfield High School and led his team to a Class S State Championship. Dally earned All-Conference honors in 2012 at Bloomfield, and was also named Bloomfield High Warhawk of the Year for the 2012-13 season. During Dally’s sophomore year he met a fellow Jamaican, Johann Smith, who became a family friend. Smith suggested Dally transfer to Watkinson School, where Smith had gone to high school and ended up playing for the Bolton Wanderers of England’s Premier League and then the United States U-20 team, scoring four goals. Smith became a mentor to Dally. He thought Watkinson would give Dally a better education and a better chance at playing the game in college. Dally took the advice and transferred to Watkinson School. “His family put him in the position to have every opportunity academically, not only athletically, and to make sure he had those opportunities to thrive,” Da Costa said. Dally’s soccer career once again took off as he was named Watkinson soccer’s Most Valuable Player for the 2013 season, and the Offensive MVP in the 2014 season. When Dally was 15, he was invited to the Jamaica U17 National Team Camp. “It was a great honor to be there,” said Dally, who has long dreamt of representing the United States or Jamaica on a national team. In the summer of 2014, “Rulla Junior” met Quinnipiac head coach Eric Da Costa and played for him with the Connecticut Football Club. That year, Da Costa and Dally won the National Premier League Championship. Dally scored a hat trick and the game-winning goal in the semi-finals–a game he calls one of the most memorable of his career. At the finals, his team won 2-1 and Dally notched an assist. By the next year, his team had won back-to-back Connecticut State Championships. Dally also earned recognition on the Connecticut All-State team for the 2013 and 2014 seasons. That is why Dally followed his coach to Quinnipiac. “I’ve seen a big change in my game since I’ve started to work with [Da Costa],” Dally said. Dally put trust in Da Costa and his coaching staff, and is now seeing his hard work pay off. “My parents and I believe they are great people,” he said. Two games into his first season playing at the Division I level, Dally scored the Bobcats’ first goal of the season. “It was a feeling I couldn’t describe,” Dally said. “I remember going at the goalkeeper; I felt like I was in a different world.” Da Costa appreciates having a player who stays grounded despite his successes. “It’s refreshing as a coach to have someone that humble, who’s willing to put in that much work to achieve the goals he sets for himself, or the ones his coaches set for him,” Da Costa said. Dally often hashtags “self-motivated” on Twitter because he thinks it is one of the best traits a person can have, and it’s how he continues to reach these goals. “You don’t need anybody to work hard,” Dally said. “That’s something you can always do on your own.” It is this belief that keeps helping him make it to the next level. Can also be seen on: http://theqbsn.com/2015/10/09/the-next-level/ Article featured in QBSN: The Magazine, Issue 9: http://theqbsn.com/2015/10/09/qbsn-the-magazine-issue-9/ Photo Daily Mail Article:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3348199/Have-greenhouse-gases-peaked-politicians-battle-reach-deal-Paris-climate-talks-CO2-levels-falling.html Bangor Daily News Article: https://bangordailynews.com/2015/12/06/environment/tough-decisions-ahead-as-paris-climate-talks-enter-next-phase/ During these blog posts I like to compare articles from different countries, because I believe it shows a bigger contrast. For the discussion of Paris climate talks, I have chosen to compare the Daily Mail from the United Kingdom to the Bangor Daily News from the great state of Maine. In these two articles you will notice that one of them uses no forms of multimedia, so immediately I have to assume that this was just in the newspaper, and not designed to be on the Internet. Then you recognize that two people wrote the article from the Bangor Daily News. Why couldn’t one of them work on multimedia or developing charts using statistics rather than just helping the other write the article? Now if you take a look at the Daily Mail’s article you will notice only one person wrote the article, and it is filled with multimedia, and this article was also engaging journalism. The first chart shows the rise in CO2 emissions in France over the past 50 years. The chart also goes all the way to 2050 to try show that CO2 emissions that have hit their peak, and that France is aiming to lower CO2 emissions. The Bangor Daily News maybe has a better-written thought out document, but the battle of which would a person rather read than the Daily Mail takes the cake. The Daily Mail has also chosen to include a 43 second video of David Cameron, a former British Prime Minister, delivering a speech at the Paris summit. Along with that they included an interesting graphic on the right side that reads, “Arnold Schwarzenegger joins climate change talks in Paris.” Then they explain why he is there, and a couple of insightful quotes from the former governor of California. A governor I like to call, “The Governator,” just a small joke… Then the Daily Mail does something awesome at the end of the article. They include a blue box that reads, “Key points of the COP21 climate change conference in Paris.” This is brilliant to anyone that reads the article, and has the question well what does this all mean? It lets the reader know who is at the conference, what the summit is trying to achieve, what the success rate is, and then finally miscellaneous information from the conference that everyone should know. I cannot stress enough how awesome this last part of the article is, this blue box is perfect for anyone that may not have the time to read the entire original article. I believe it is really creative to put something like this in the article. One part of the blue box I believed to be very interesting was the fact that 183 of 195 nations have issued long-term plans for tackling climate change. They are using those other nations as building blocks for Paris’ new plan. No Al Gore at this event though, so maybe the writers of South Park are correct and he’s out there looking for a mystical creature named man-bear-pig. http://wtnh.com/2015/09/27/pope-francis-joins-hundreds-of-thousands-for-mass/
I attached the link to the article I read for this blog post. There is so much journalistic value with the use of periscope. The best part, I believe, is that journalists can up their personal brand rather than their companies. When you’re getting live footage you’re not really getting it from CNN or radio companies. Obviously, those brands do put out periscopes, but they’re not the best examples. |