Professor Foster - 5 Potential topics for Feature Writing stories

Professor Foster - 5 potential topics for stories:

1. How a local couple in my church is helping kids in Haiti recover from the earthquake.
2. The benefits of Twitter and how people are using it in a myriad of ways.
3. An interview of Donna Kasuska about her arts academy, Sara Rose Academy of the Arts. Discuss what her mission is for working with kids, what her academy offers, and what impact she has made on the Delaware Valley.
4. Chester County Women's Services; exploring what their services offer to the community, interview girls who have been helped, interview the owner and director, etc.
5. Growing up in a Little League household; the benefits of organized sports for kids.

Profile on Meg Kerr

Feature Writing/Magazine Journalism

19 January 2010

Megan Kerr: Millersville visits South Africa

Some individuals are born with the drive to succeed and make things happen. This is just the case for Megan Kerr, a senior PR major and biology minor at Millersville University. A transfer student from Chestnut Hill college, Megan has made the most of her time at Millersville by doing whatever it takes to make her credits count and cause every opportunity that Millersville offers to become available to her.

Spring semester of her junior year, Megan boarded the long flight to study for a semester in South Africa. “I was the only student to go from Millersville, so I went all alone. It was kinda scary, but I was so excited!” comments Megan. Suitcase and passport in hand, Megan braved the unknown and jumped full-force into the South African culture.

(Megan poses with a small child she met in South Africa.)

When asked what her most memorable South African experience was, Megan immediately replied, “Great White Shark cage diving!” Dressed in a wet suit, she and several other students took a boat out into an area famous for attracting visits by Great White’s called "Shark Alley." Megan explained that blood and meat is dumped into the water, while everyone sits and waits until the sharks arrive. As soon as the sharks swam into the area, Megan was lowered into a cage and was able to use a snorkel mask to peer down into the ocean. Unfortunately though, this did not go as smoothly as it should have. Upon entering the water, Megan realized that she had too many weights on her body and her wetsuit had a rip in the leg, exposing her flesh to the Great White's. Realizing both of these things, she panicked. Quickly, Megan tore the weights off and threw them into the boat. Finally, she able to calm down and enjoy watching the three different beautiful Great White Sharks swim beneath her. Despite the rocky start to her adventure, watching these beautiful, powerful creatures in their natural habitat made the entire experience more than worth it for Megan.

Megan comments that, "visiting South Africa was one of the most incredible things I've ever done and ever will do. I feel like the entire experience was so awesome, I can never do anything that will be better than that!" She learned about people, experienced a foreign culture, made new memories, and helped make a difference in other peoples’ lives. Its incredibly fitting that Megan's name in the South African native language is Khumbula, which means “Remember.” Without a doubt, Megan certainly will remember her amazing six months spent in South Africa.

FYI to my readers, I'll be posting school assignments on my blog this semester, as its a requirement for my Feature Writing & Magazine Journalism class.

I love listening to librarians help confused students. Someday I'm going to do that, and when I'm in my sixties, I'm going to be a librarian who hosts story hour every Thursday morning. We'll read books like Peter Pan, Where the Wild Things Are, and Go Dog Go. We'll have a snack of Goldfish in plastic dixie cups and drink Juicy Juice out of those cute miniature juice boxes. It'll be fantastic.

A favorite pastime (probably not the best word to use but it'll work) is dragging my feet through the leaves as I walk across campus. Perhaps it's unlady like to drag your feet, but hearing the crunch is so worth it.

I really hate the way the Millersville Subway makes you smell like onions. Have you guys ever heard of Febreeze? Or maybe Glade Plug-Ins?

The accepted abbreviation for chicken parmesan is chicken parm, is it not? Apparently my friend John finds it offensive. If I tell him to deal is that too harsh?

I sat in the SMC computer lab for ten minutes re-typing my log-in over and over and over until I realized that the error messages I kept receiving weren't my problem; the SMC servers were down.

My ear itches. Sorry if that grosses you out, its a statement of fact.

A new personal goal is to strive to love God more passionately and for Him to play a greater role in my daily thoughts. I've always had this goal, and worked towards achieving it - but today marks a new resolve to do so.

there is a boy in Yankees attire in the computer lab. he struts with an attitude that could give A-Rod a run for his money. is it bad that i kind-of hate him?

strawberry PopTarts have a way of making a crappy morning a little better.

yesterday was rough. today has been a challenge. not sure what God's trying to teach me, but i want to learn. maybe He's just trying to kick some of my selfish tendencies out of me. i could use that.

oh, life.

oooh, somethin's coming. somethin' gooooood.

happiness is so many things.

i am experiencing many of them.

:)