Note: This article was first published on Albany 2 Cents.
I taught my first college course at the age of 23. I remember the first day of class. Check that; I remember the first day before class. I stood in front of my closet for what seemed like hours, staring at my clothing. Will this pink sweater make me look too young? Do people wear stockings in the spring? Should I wear a suit?
Will they take me seriously because of my age?
The question of age has risen recently in the Capital Region with the case of Christina Abele. A 22-year-old graduate of Siena College, Abele was offered the supervisor position at the Saratoga County Animal Shelter. The young woman reportedly volunteered at the shelter for a few years before applying for the position—which she won over 62 other applicants. In addition to a large budget, the person appointed to the supervisor position would oversee a team of staff and volunteers. When it was announced that Abele was the final candidate chosen for the position, a public outcry ensued over — you guessed it — Abele’s age.
Note: This article was originally posted to Albany 2 Cents.
It’s the second event in less than a week to be cancelled at the Washington Avenue Armory, and ticketholders have taken to the venue’s Facebook page to vent.
Excision—a dubstep DJ and music producer from Canada—was booked and set to perform on Thursday, March 12. Reports say that performance was shut down after disputes about security. Another electronic music event called “Electric Safari” was shut down by the city of Albany just hours before doors were supposed to open on Friday, March 8.
After speaking with a promoter involved with the Electric Safari event, I was told that all necessary permits were secured from the city. Regardless, that promoter stated that the event was cancelled because of the fact that it involved DJs rather than bands. In both cases, each event was cancelled on the day of the performance, and after tour busses arrived, electrical equipment was set up, and—most importantly to patrons—tickets were sold.
Note: This article was originally published to Albany 2 Cents.
Maybe it’s because I grew up outside of rural Altamont and suburban Colonie. Maybe it’s because it’s because I truly fear death, or at least, broken bones. Maybe it’s because my kindergarten teacher really drilled the concept of “left, right, left” into my adolescent head.
Whatever the reason, I still fail to understand why people refuse to safely cross Central Avenue.
It’s ten o’clock on a Wednesday night, and I’m finally getting out of work. As I leave the studio, I am tired, and simply cannot wait to climb into my Hyundai Accent, make the fifteen-minute drive home, plop on my couch and watch the latest episode of The Walking Dead. When I get into my car, I fasten my seatbelt. I lock my doors (“just in case,” Mom always said). I check my mirrors. I do not text. I safely pull into traffic and begin driving down Central Avenue in Albany.
Central Avenue is not the most interesting street in the area. Firstly, it’s very straight. It doesn’t curve much. When I lived in Altamont, I remember Route 146 being rather curvy, especially when met by roads leading to a drive to Thatcher Park. When I visit my parents in Delmar, I am subjected to a ridiculous series of three roundabouts which—after I clear each one—I almost expect to be greeted by Mark Summers to award me a trip to Space Camp and new pair of British Knight sneakers, or to have green slime dumped on my head. When I lived in Bethlehem, I remembered drives through Voorheesville, where I needed to be ever-vigilant for Bambi and his mom, who could be stealthily hiding in the shadows, waiting to dart in front of my car and ruin my evening (or, at the very least, my front bumper).
Via Google
“We want to bring in someone who knows about social media. You know… that Facebook thing.”
I remember these words so clearly. They were spoken by a woman not much younger than my mother. When I initially arrived at this particular job interview, I saw her an immediatly convinced myself of how intelligent and well- educated she must be. Having worked at a well- known local law firm for many years, the woman presumably knew everything about things I had never heard of, short of my fascination with the movie Legally Blonde.
When she uttered those words, however, and stared seriously into my eyes, I knew that social media was something that her J.D. did not cover. Now, the woman who had probably seen nearly everything in her decades of experience in the legal world needed me– a 23- year old with a B.A. in Journalism– to take the reigns of what might be one of the most important public relations tools since the creation of the press release.
This was such a fantastic project to be a part of. Thank you to Paul Conti’s class for inviting me to participate. This video can also be seen on the College of Saint Rose website, as well as their HUGE television in front of their new Hearst building!
Update: Since this video was shot, you will be happy to know that I ditched the round-brush-bangs look.
On December 22, my news supervisor at Talk 1300 gave me an interesting assignment: To go to Academy Park and report live from the site of the impending Occupy Albany eviction.
This post will serve as a placeholder for on-going updates on this story.
I have plenty of photos and video that will be added to this post over the weekend. Stay tuned!
Occupy moves to the other side of the street
When I walked up to the site of the Occupy Albany encampment, I quickly noticed that many of the protesters had begun moving their belongings to the sidewalk across the street from Academy Park. After a few moments, many of them began setting up their signs and sitting in chairs, seemingly wishing to continue their message from the public portion of the street.
Consider this my PSA for the day, month, year… Whatever.
We hear people say “check your credit report often” but few of us ever listen. Please let me tell you first-hand that this is good advice. Some organizations say that you should check your credit report at least once a year to ensure that your identity has not been stolen or that credit cards have not been opened in your name.
Personally, I check my credit report at least once every six months, if not more. Two weeks ago, I checked my fiance’s credit report as well as my own. Had I not done this, I would not have found that someone had opened several accounts in my fiance’s name, totaling nearly $38,000.
Luckily, we caught it early enough, and we have been fortunate enough to have the full co-operation of the Colonie Police Department, the three major credit reporting agencies, and each of the credit card companies with whom accounts were opened. We have quite a long road ahead of us, but we remain optimistic that we will get everything worked out.
For more information on credit card fraud and identity theft, check out the Federal Trade Commission’s website.
And I have so many updates to post that.. well.. I don’t have time to post them!
Thanks to Paul Marr for the great article!
To hold you over for the next day or so, check out this article that was written about me from the Albany Business Review.
To get immediate updates on my life, please follow me on Twitter.
xoxo
There are a few milestones in my life that have made me geekily excited:
1. My first Sigmund Freud stress ball (and impending Tickle-Me-Freud purchase).
2. Realizing that I can (as an adult) purchase pink glitter shoes.
3. A perfect score on the MENSA practice test (I really want to take the actual exam).
4. Discovering a cookbook dedicated to pumpkin.
5. Creating my own website.
You have discovered the latter.
This website is a work-in-progress, but being unemployed (cue the “awww”s) is making it easier. In the meantime, requests for writing samples (other than those linked on this site) or any other information can be directed to cristaleigh@gmail.com.
“A rolling stone gathers no moss”.
The Girl Behind the Mic 