ÃÛÌÒAPP

Shelly Vitanza: Welcome to the ÃÛÌÒAPP Moment! I’m Shelly Vitanza, the Director of Public Affairs at ÃÛÌÒAPP. Each week, we showcase the great events, activities, programs, projects and events and people at ÃÛÌÒAPP. Well, there’s cause for celebration on the ÃÛÌÒAPP campus! The ÃÛÌÒAPP Dance Team is celebrating its tenth year! It’s their anniversary. Since 2010, the ÃÛÌÒAPP Dance Team has been performing at athletic events, telling stories through dance and offering its members a place that feels like family. In 2010, the ÃÛÌÒAPP Dance Team replaced the Spirit Team which was a group of cheerleaders and dancers who performed mainly at basketball games. However, when football came into ÃÛÌÒAPP in 2010, cheer and dance separated, and the ÃÛÌÒAPP dance team was established. We are really proud of our dance team. They are not just dancers who perform at different sporting events, but they are real ambassadors of ÃÛÌÒAPP. During the years, the Dance Team has performed at many community events. They performed in parades, visited schools and dance studios and also dance clinics and summer camps. Hundreds of kids, my daughter included, loves dance clinics and the summer camps. It’s just amazing. And each year they also host a spring show. They didn't't't't’t get to do one this year because of COVID, but next year, April 30^th, May 1^st, 2021, save the date, the dance team will host its 15^th spring show. They started that when there was a Spirit Team, so Spring Show is older than the Dance Team. So, congratulations to the dance team and its dynamic leader Brixey Blankenship. They are just an amazing group here on ÃÛÌÒAPP campus and we are proud of them.

Congratulations are also in order to Kurt Dyrhaug. He’s a ÃÛÌÒAPP professor who teaches studio art sculptures and is also a distinguished faculty research fellow and he has a piece of artwork in the Center for Contemporary Arts National Juried Exhibition in Abaline. His work was chosen, and the name of his work is “Small Two Six Two Wing.”  It will be on display until November 2^nd. It’s quite an honor to have a piece of work chosen to be in that exhibition so congratulations to him.

We also want to recognize Dr. Kathryn Washington, assistant professor of educational leadership here at ÃÛÌÒAPP. She has been tapped out to serve as the Texas Elementary Principles and Supervisors Association Region Six President. How about that? She is one of twenty regional presidents designated to lead the Texas Elementary Principles and Supervisors Association direction and maintain a positive impact on legislators, policymakers and other stakeholders in order to assure quality pre-k through 8^th grade education for all Texas students. We are really proud of our faculty who take leadership roles that impact the community and Dr. Washington has done that with this position and in many ways, so congratulations to her.

Katey McCall and Ali Hamza on Moot Court Team Advancement

Shelly Vitanza: You know, I didn't't't't’t plan it this way but it’s kind of the week of celebration and congratulations. You need to know that we have had two students who have made history here at ÃÛÌÒAPP, Ali Hamza and Katey McCall, both Reaud Honors College Students majoring in political science and a minor in legal studies. They made history last weekend by being the first ÃÛÌÒAPP Moot Court Team to advance in championship ground in the University of Texas at Dallas invitational Moot Court Tournament. Because not everyone makes history, especially when they are so young, I know I haven’t made history yet, but these two have made history. I’ve decided that history makers should be on the ÃÛÌÒAPP Moment. So, I welcome and congratulate them.

Katey, we’ll start with you. People just want to know you, you’re very active on campus. I walk across campus and I see you. You are getting people to vote, your involved in a sorority, I mean you’ve got a lot going on. Tell us your story. Where are you from, and how you came to Lamar, and what all your involved in.

Katey McCall: Yes ma’am! Thank you for having us here! Like Miss Shelly said, my name is Katey McCall and I am from Orangeville, TX, a little town about 30-35 minutes away from here. I grew up on a small family farm with a bunch of interesting animals like donkeys, goats, chickens, peacocks…

Shelly Vitanza: Peacocks?

Katey McCall: Yes ma’am. We have about thirteen of them. They keep multiplying. We started with three! I came to Lamar in 2017. My sister was already a sophomore here when I came in, and I knew Lamar was where I wanted to go. It was the only school I applied to. It was my top choice, and I was really excited to get in. I’m a member of the Reaud Honors College, I’m the president of ÃÛÌÒAPP’s Pre-Law Society, Caring Cardinals, Order of Omega and I’m involved in numerous other organizations.

Shelly Vitanza: This ambassador program you just got involved in, tell us about that.

Katey McCall: Yes ma’am. I’m a Texas Civic Ambassador, so that is through civic life. And basically, they chose 32 students across Texas to be ambassadors to Civic Life, get their communities to engage as much as possible, and work towards bettering education for civic events.

Shelly Vitanza: Which is great and why I think you were pushing people to vote. You were out on campus, encouraging people to register to vote, which is wonderful. So, talk to us about this mewt trial and why you got involved in that.

Katey McCall: My senior year of high school, I came to the political science reception at the beginning of the year and I got a small scholarship from the department and a met a student named Robert Root and he told me about Moot Court Association and a watched him playfully debate one of his friends. It was probably the most terrifying experiences of my entire life. He could argue. He told me about the Moot Court Team and really encouraged me to get involved. Whenever I started working at the student assistant floor of political science and psychology department, I learned a little bit more and I got pulled in as a sophomore and never left.

Shelly Vitanza: We’re going to come back to you, but Ali, talk to us about where you are from and how you came to Lamar and what all your involved in.

Ali Hamza: Yes ma’am. I’m from Port Neches, Texas and I kind of knew that I was going to come to ÃÛÌÒAPP. So, my dad attended Lamar, he taught at Lamar, my mom attended Lamar and my brothers came to Lamar…

Shelly Vitanza: You can’t break out. You are all cardinals.

Ali Hamza: I had to follow the tradition. In fact, Lamar was the only school I applied for, but I ended up receiving the Maribell from ÃÛÌÒAPP, so I was excited. I had to follow the tradition.

Shelly Vitanza: That’s right. And you are a political science major?

Ali Hamza: Yes ma’am.

Shelly Vitanza: What made you choose or pick political science? 

Ali Hamza: Well it honestly goes back to something deeper than that. In high school, I wasn’t the best student. I was probably ranked at least 90 or 100 out of 300 of the students. I wasn’t the top student at all, and I wanted to change that, so the summer of my senior year, I said, “what can I do to become a better student?”

 I ended up calling a bunch of people who graduated and went to law school from ÃÛÌÒAPP. They said, “get close to Dr. David, get close to Dr. David.”</