Stephanie Verni's Blog, page 9

Podcast 4: The Things I Learned as an Older Online Student

Podcast here:

TRANSCRIPT:

In 2009, I went back to school to pursue a Master’s of Fine Arts (MFA) in Creative Writing. I’d already earned one master’s degree in Professional Writing from Towson University, but when I secured a full-time teaching position at Stevenson University after having a career and owning my own consulting firm, I needed a “terminal” degree to help me grow as a faculty member. After investigating several Ph.D. programs in communication, yet always knowing my passion is writing, I chose the terminal degree in Creative Writing. I also had small children and a husband with a demanding career, so the best option for me was an MFA. With my schedule of teaching full-time classes and raising my children, I selected the online program at National University.

It was very appealing as you looked at it from afar. I could still manage my day life of teaching during the day, picking up my children from school, helping them with their homework, getting them to activities, making dinner, and getting them to bed. After all of that, I would hibernate in my office and get to work, often working from 9 p.m. until 1 a.m., when I would then have to get up and do it all again.

For 20 months, I was a teacher, a mother, a wife, a daughter, a chef, a nurse, a taxi driver, and a full-time student. In some ways, I can’t believe I made it through that period of my life, and I honestly wouldn’t have if it were not for my husband. My constant cheerleader, he lifted me up and took over as needed. On the weekends, he took the kids out of the house for one day, while we saved the other day for family time. It was insanity.

But it was also life changing.

I earned that degree in Creative Writing, and it’s pushed me in ways I’d never been pushed before. I loved the program that National University offered. I learned things I never would have learned, and I became super organized with what I needed to accomplish each week. My professors were all knowledgeable and encouraging. I especially loved a course I took in Charles Dickens, and perhaps that course was what pushed me to write From Humbug to Humble, a sort of follow-up book as to what might have happened to Ebenezer Scrooge after he saw the ghosts in A Christmas Carol. You develop things that are close to your heart when you learn as an adult, that’s for sure. I learned how much I love writing and storytelling, and that I can’t imagine not having this outlet in my life.

One of the biggest takeaways for me as a student in the MFA program was that it made me a better teacher. From analyzing other students’ writings, I learned how to be a better evaluator and how to give the best feedback. It fostered stronger critical thinking skills and it exposed me to things I hadn’t been exposed to before. As a teacher now for 29 years, it was fun to be on the other side of it as someone in my 40s. I realized how much fun learning can be as an older person, and how we are the only ones who can put limitations on our ability to learn.

An oldie – Editing the novel I wrote in my MFA Program, Beneath the Mimosa Tree. After 20 years, I finally wrote it during the program and published it in 2012, nine months after completing the program.

The whole process made me a more curious person. I have so many interests, that sometimes I’m frustrated that I can’t participate in them all. I also love reading and writing, and I have to budget my time accordingly to be able to do both. Being in graduate school later in life helps you balance things out.

And finally, here’s the biggest lesson of what I learned as an older online student—learning is what you make of it. If you have the passion and the drive, it will be an incredible journey. I loved the guidance, but also the autonomy of being an online student. I had the discipline to schedule what needed to be accomplished each week, and I loved it. Checking things off my list is so inspiring, and I continue to do that to this day. People often ask me how I accomplish everything I do, and I tell them, it’s easy. It’s all about prioritizing what’s important.

Once you do that, whether it’s an assignment or a task for work, you begin to get accustomed to working in that manner, and you create your own system.

I’m so glad I went back to school for a second master’s degree. I never would have published my first book had I not enrolled in that program. For twenty years I had had a book idea in my head and I never published. But the push from National University to write a novel began a cycle that I continue to do long after I earned the degree.

I think that’s a pretty cool thing to learn.

Stay positive and bright,

Stephanie

Every Once In A While, A Show Captures Your Heart: So It Was For Me & The Chosen

Let’s start at the beginning. I was raised Roman Catholic. My own children went to Catholic school for many years. When I visited Rome and the Vatican, I had a powerful moment of union with my faith as I stood in St. Peter’s and realized that the real St. Peter is buried beneath the altar, the true Rock upon which Jesus built his church. As I stared at Michelangelo’s The Pietà, tears came to my eyes, as they did in the Sistine Chapel. There are moments in our lives that bring us closer to the teachings of Jesus and God. They can be awe-inspiring.

Last year, when my children asked me what I wanted for Christmas, I had one small request. I wanted us to watch Jesus of Nazareth as a family. Franco Zeffirelli’s classic film from the 1970s starring Christopher Powell as Jesus is an incredibly moving and spiritual journey through the life of Christ. It’s wonderfully done, and leaves you feeling as if you’ve “seen” or actually “witnessed” snippets of Jesus’s life.

When I told my friend Elizabeth that we watched Jesus of Nazareth, she said to me, “Have you watched The Chosen?” I didn’t know what this show was. I’m so thankful that she opened the door for me to watch another powerful depiction of Jesus and his disciples.

The Chosen is the first multi-season series based on the life of Jesus of Nazareth. Two seasons have already been made, with a total of seven seasons planned. What’s truly amazing about the show is the way the story is told; it is told through the eyes of those who met Him. Additionally, this is one of the top crowd-funded TV series/films of all time. It is free to watch, and viewers are asked to “pay it forward” simply by donating to the project whatever sum of money they can. As of 2021, $40 million had been contributed to fund the production. This makes The Chosen the most successful crowdfunding project ever. If you are interested in watching it, you can view it on Amazon Prime Video, Peacock, or through the fee app you can download to your device.

American filmmaker Dallas Jenkins is the creator, co-writer, and director of The Chosen. You can listen to interviews with Dallas and the actors and crew through the app, as well.

Now on to why I love it so much and highly recommend it.

Jonathan Roumie, a Roman Catholic himself, portrays Jesus in a way that is refreshing and personable. With warmth, humanity, humor, and sweetness, Roumie gives us a caring and charismatic Jesus—one that we all would love to know better. The beauty of a well-rounded cast of disciples and others who meet Jesus along the way, help us see Him through a different lens, one that is perhaps less intimidating. In a particular scene recorded by John (John 3:16) between Jesus and Nicodemus—a scene I have watched over and over because it’s intoxicating to watch these actors work their magic—it’s difficult not to get caught up in the reason for Jesus’s brief time with us on Earth. He tells Nicodemus, a Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin, that He is here for the forgiveness of sins and to open the doors to the Kingdom of Heaven. Nicodemus sits in wonder. Both Roumie and Erik Avari, who plays Nicodemus, are fascinating in this scene. As a viewer, it left me almost as breathless as Jesus leaves Nicodemus.

One of my favorite episodes is Episode 1 of Season 2. It begins with John sitting in a candlelit room in the dark after the death of Jesus, writing what ultimately turned into The Gospel of John. He is sitting with Mary, Jesus’s mother, as they recount His life, the two of them missing him dearly. John is trying to interview Mary to get her first-hand account on paper. Mary asks John why he feels the need to write all of this, and John tells her it’s because we have to remember Him, and what He taught. This entire episode is primarily from John’s perspective, and I love that we get to see what it must have been like for those who knew Him and who had to carry on his work, whether it was by writing scripture or preaching the Word of God.

Another wonderful scene in which Roumie works his magic is the episode in Season 1 about Jesus and the children. My words won’t do Roumie’s acting skills justice, so instead, just watch the clip below and see for yourself how brilliantly Roumie portrays Jesus relating to the children, who are drawn to Him and are just getting to know Him.

In his directing, Jenkins does a tremendous job of capturing the spirit of those times, the people, and the places. As Jenkins said in an interview, this show is not meant to replace scripture; it is meant to help show that people are people, and that though time has marched on since Jesus was with us on Earth, people have changed little. They still want love, understanding, forgiveness, community, and something to believe in.

Trust me when I tell you that this show is worth your time, especially if you are someone of faith, or even if you’ve lost your way a bit. From believers to non-believers, The Chosen has touched the hearts of many. With two 8-episode seasons already under their belt, and five more on the way, you will enjoy Roumie’s wonderfully authentic and warm portrayal of Jesus of Nazareth, because at one time, He was, indeed, here with us spreading good news.

Every Once In A While, A Show Captures Your Heart: So it was for me and The Chosen

Let’s start at the beginning. I was raised Roman Catholic. My own children went to Catholic school for many years. When I visited Rome and the Vatican, I had a powerful moment of union with my faith as I stood in St. Peter’s and realized that the real St. Peter is buried beneath the altar, the true Rock upon which Jesus built his church. As I stared at Michelangelo’s The Pietà, tears came to my eyes, as they did in the Sistine Chapel. There are moments in our lives that bring us closer to the teachings of Jesus and God. They can be awe-inspiring.

Last year, when my children asked me what I wanted for Christmas, I had one small request. I wanted us to watch Jesus of Nazareth as a family. Franco Zeffirelli’s classic film from the 1970s starring Christopher Powell as Jesus is an incredibly moving and spiritual journey through the life of Christ. It’s wonderfully done, and leaves you feeling as if you’ve “seen” or actually “witnessed” snippets of Jesus’s life.

When I told my friend Elizabeth that we watched Jesus of Nazareth, she said to me, “Have you watched The Chosen?” I didn’t know what this show was. I’m so thankful that she opened the door for me to watch another powerful depiction of Jesus and his disciples.

The Chosen is the first multi-season series based on the life of Jesus of Nazareth. Two seasons have already been made, with a total of seven seasons planned. What’s truly amazing about the show is the way the story is told; it is told through the eyes of those who met Him. Additionally, this is one of the top crowd-funded TV series/films of all time. It is free to watch, and viewers are asked to “pay it forward” simply by donating to the project whatever sum of money they can. As of 2021, $40 million had been contributed to fund the production. This makes The Chosen the most successful crowdfunding project ever. If you are interested in watching it, you can view it on Amazon Prime Video, Peacock, or through the fee app you can download to your device.

American filmmaker Dallas Jenkins is the creator, co-writer, and director of The Chosen. You can listen to interviews with Dallas and the actors and crew through the app, as well.

Now on to why I love it so much and highly recommend it.

Jonathan Roumie, a Roman Catholic himself, portrays Jesus in a way that is refreshing and personable. With warmth, humanity, humor, and sweetness, Roumie gives us a caring and charismatic Jesus—one that we all would love to know better. The beauty of a well-rounded cast of disciples and others who meet Jesus along the way, help us see Him through a different lens, one that is perhaps less intimidating. In a particular scene recorded by John (John 3:16) between Jesus and Nicodemus—a scene I have watched over and over because it’s intoxicating to watch these actors work their magic—it’s difficult not to get caught up in the reason for Jesus’s brief time with us on Earth. He tells Nicodemus, a Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin, that He is here for the forgiveness of sins and to open the doors to the Kingdom of Heaven. Nicodemus sits in wonder. Both Roumie and Erik Avari, who plays Nicodemus, are fascinating in this scene. As a viewer, it left me almost as breathless as Jesus leaves Nicodemus.

One of my favorite episodes is Episode 1 of Season 2. It begins with John sitting in a candlelit room in the dark after the death of Jesus, writing what ultimately turned into The Gospel of John. He is sitting with Mary, Jesus’s mother, as they recount His life, the two of them missing him dearly. John is trying to interview Mary to get her first-hand account on paper. Mary asks John why he feels the need to write all of this, and John tells her it’s because we have to remember Him, and what He taught. This entire episode is primarily from John’s perspective, and I love that we get to see what it must have been like for those who knew Him and who had to carry on his work, whether it was by writing scripture or preaching the Word of God.

Another wonderful scene in which Roumie works his magic is the episode in Season 1 about Jesus and the children. My words won’t do Roumie’s acting skills justice, so instead, just watch the clip below and see for yourself how brilliantly Roumie portrays Jesus relating to the children, who are drawn to Him and are just getting to know Him.

In his directing, Jenkins does a tremendous job of capturing the spirit of those times, the people, and the places. As Jenkins said in an interview, this show is not meant to replace scripture; it is meant to help show that people are people, and that though time has marched on since Jesus was with us on Earth, people have changed little. They still want love, understanding, forgiveness, community, and something to believe in.

Trust me when I tell you that this show is worth your time, especially if you are someone of faith, or even if you’ve lost your way a bit. From believers to non-believers, The Chosen has touched the hearts of many. With two 8-episode seasons already under their belt, and five more on the way, you will enjoy Roumie’s wonderfully authentic and warm portrayal of Jesus of Nazareth, because at one time, He was, indeed, here with us spreading good news.

Podcast 3: The Things I’ve Learned From—You Don’t Want to Say “I Could Have Done Better”

Podcast here:

TRANSCRIPT:

As public speaking is the number one fear in America, with the fear of death coming in second, the truth is, most people would rather die than give a speech.

So here’s this week’s lesson learned, and it was said to me by our former university president, Dr. Kevin Manning. When he and I were talking about public speaking, Dr. Manning shared with me that he used to get nervous when speaking in public, but he quickly got over it when he realized he never wanted to sit down after making a speech and say, “I could have done better.” I had the same philosophy, and I’m going to share it with you by walking through one of my best teaching moments.

Years ago when I first started teaching, I taught part-time at a local community college. My full-time job at the Baltimore Orioles kept me incredibly busy, but my boss was kind enough to allow me to teach evening courses at the college. With locations around the area, I was scheduled to teach a course in public speaking at Fort Meade, an army base in Maryland where satellite courses were taught. I was young—in my twenties—and I’d only been teaching for a couple of years. I fell in love with teaching rather quickly, and now I’ve been teaching for 29 years, which includes my part-time teaching career, as well as my full-time teaching career at Stevenson University since 2008.

So, back to this particular public speaking course. We have to start at the beginning, with me as a student at Towson University in a course where I was required to give a speech. For this particular speech, we were given topics to cover. Mine was “speech anxiety,” something theorists in communication have studied and researched. I spent hours at the library researching this topic, and I think everything that followed was psychosomatic. I was never a comfortable public speaker in my younger days. It always gave me anxiety. My hands would shake, my heart would race, and I’d feel flushed. I was very, very nervous whenever I had to speak in front of people. In fact, my middle school chorus teacher told me once that she was very disappointed that I had not auditioned for the school play, and when she asked me why I didn’t, I told her it was because I had stage fright. In my head, I was petrified. On the day I had to make my college speech on the topic of speech anxiety, everything came to a head. It was a perfect storm of irony. While giving a speech on “speech anxiety,” my hands shook, my heart raced, and I felt like I was going to pass out. After requesting a short pause to get a drink of water, I came back to the podium and, in one of the biggest humiliations and failures of my life, I said out loud to a class of thirty students and my teacher, that I could not finish the speech. I was that affected and riddled with speech anxiety that I couldn’t go on. 

The worst was it happened at the end of the spring semester and I had all summer to dwell on this failure. I questioned whether or not I could actually be a communication major. “How can I be a communication major if I can’t give a speech?” I asked my mother, an English teacher. “Because next time you have to give a speech, you will pick a topic that you know and you will be confident with it. You’ll see. It will get better,” my mother said.

Luckily, at 19, I listened to my mother. Some 19-year-olds don’t, but I did. I liked the field of communication and I wanted to succeed in it. She was so right. In a classroom of 100 students, I had to give a speech. I asked to go second (as someone had already garnered the first place spot), and I picked a topic I knew well. I got over my speech anxiety after that, although I’ll never admit that I don’t get nervous. I’m always a little nervous in front of a crowd, but I don’t allow it to debilitate me as it did that time in class.

Fast forward ten years, and now I was the teacher in that classroom at Fort Meade teaching public speaking. A student of mine got up to give her speech. As I do when students speak, I smiled at her and nodded throughout, and she seemed to be doing rather well. Until, deja vu. She stopped speaking in the middle of her speech, put her note cards on the podium, and ran out the door saying she couldn’t finish. She couldn’t finish the speech.

Well, I had a classroom full of military and non-military students in the room. I got up and turned to them and said, “I don’t know if I can get her back in here to finish the speech, but let me see if I can speak with her. If she comes back in the room, I want you to give her a big round of applause and  encouragement. I’ll be right back.”

I left the classroom and went out into the hall. She was hunched over, her knees to her chest, lamenting the fact that she was so nervous, she couldn’t finish the speech. I sat next to her and knew I had to tell her my story. The story of my failure and humiliation. That I had been through the exact same thing she was going through now, and that my biggest regret was that I didn’t finish my speech. That I let the fear take over, and that I didn’t conquer it.

She listened, still a little leary of the idea of finishing the speech. But after a few minutes of coaching, of support, and of lifting her up and telling her how I couldn’t even tell she was nervous, she looked me in the eyes.

“Ok. Let me go finish that speech,” she said.

When the two of us walked back in the room, the students gave her a round of applause. She held her head high, positioned herself at the podium, and she finished that speech.

She finished that speech. I couldn’t have been prouder of her. And the students seemed pretty impressed, as well.

It was one of my greatest teaching moments ever. In fact, I now tell my public speaking students my story on Day 1 of class, so that those students who fear giving speeches, know I have been there before. There’s nothing like empathy to build student rapport.

So, what did I learn from my own failure and my student’s success? That we cannot let fear prevent us from tackling a task. We have the power to do it, and as Dr. Manning said, and I often repeat it over and over again in my head, I never want to walk away and say that I could have done better.

Stay positive and bright,

Stephanie

The Things I’ve Learned From, Podcast 3: You Don’t Want to Say “I Could Have Done Better”

As public speaking is the number one fear in America, with the fear of death coming in second, the truth is, most people would rather die than give a speech.

So here’s this week’s lesson learned, and it was said to me by our former university president, Dr. Kevin Manning. When he and I were talking about public speaking, Dr. Manning shared with me that he used to get nervous when speaking in public, but he quickly got over it when he realized he never wanted to sit down after making a speech and say, “I could have done better.” I had the same philosophy, and I’m going to share it with you by walking through one of my best teaching moments.

Years ago when I first started teaching, I taught part-time at a local community college. My full-time job at the Baltimore Orioles kept me incredibly busy, but my boss was kind enough to allow me to teach evening courses at the college. With locations around the area, I was scheduled to teach a course in public speaking at Fort Meade, an army base in Maryland where satellite courses were taught. I was young—in my twenties—and I’d only been teaching for a couple of years. I fell in love with teaching rather quickly, and now I’ve been teaching for 29 years, which includes my part-time teaching career, as well as my full-time teaching career at Stevenson University since 2008.

So, back to this particular public speaking course. We have to start at the beginning, with me as a student at Towson University in a course where I was required to give a speech. For this particular speech, we were given topics to cover. Mine was “speech anxiety,” something theorists in communication have studied and researched. I spent hours at the library researching this topic, and I think everything that followed was psychosomatic. I was never a comfortable public speaker in my younger days. It always gave me anxiety. My hands would shake, my heart would race, and I’d feel flushed. I was very, very nervous whenever I had to speak in front of people. In fact, my middle school chorus teacher told me once that she was very disappointed that I had not auditioned for the school play, and when she asked me why I didn’t, I told her it was because I had stage fright. In my head, I was petrified. On the day I had to make my college speech on the topic of speech anxiety, everything came to a head. It was a perfect storm of irony. While giving a speech on “speech anxiety,” my hands shook, my heart raced, and I felt like I was going to pass out. After requesting a short pause to get a drink of water, I came back to the podium and, in one of the biggest humiliations and failures of my life, I said out loud to a class of thirty students and my teacher, that I could not finish the speech. I was that affected and riddled with speech anxiety that I couldn’t go on. 

The worst was it happened at the end of the spring semester and I had all summer to dwell on this failure. I questioned whether or not I could actually be a communication major. “How can I be a communication major if I can’t give a speech?” I asked my mother, an English teacher. “Because next time you have to give a speech, you will pick a topic that you know and you will be confident with it. You’ll see. It will get better,” my mother said.

Luckily, at 19, I listened to my mother. Some 19-year-olds don’t, but I did. I liked the field of communication and I wanted to succeed in it. She was so right. In a classroom of 100 students, I had to give a speech. I asked to go second (as someone had already garnered the first place spot), and I picked a topic I knew well. I got over my speech anxiety after that, although I’ll never admit that I don’t get nervous. I’m always a little nervous in front of a crowd, but I don’t allow it to debilitate me as it did that time in class.

Fast forward ten years, and now I was the teacher in that classroom at Fort Meade teaching public speaking. A student of mine got up to give her speech. As I do when students speak, I smiled at her and nodded throughout, and she seemed to be doing rather well. Until, deja vu. She stopped speaking in the middle of her speech, put her note cards on the podium, and ran out the door saying she couldn’t finish. She couldn’t finish the speech.

Well, I had a classroom full of military and non-military students in the room. I got up and turned to them and said, “I don’t know if I can get her back in here to finish the speech, but let me see if I can speak with her. If she comes back in the room, I want you to give her a big round of applause and  encouragement. I’ll be right back.”

I left the classroom and went out into the hall. She was hunched over, her knees to her chest, lamenting the fact that she was so nervous, she couldn’t finish the speech. I sat next to her and knew I had to tell her my story. The story of my failure and humiliation. That I had been through the exact same thing she was going through now, and that my biggest regret was that I didn’t finish my speech. That I let the fear take over, and that I didn’t conquer it.

She listened, still a little leary of the idea of finishing the speech. But after a few minutes of coaching, of support, and of lifting her up and telling her how I couldn’t even tell she was nervous, she looked me in the eyes.

“Ok. Let me go finish that speech,” she said.

When the two of us walked back in the room, the students gave her a round of applause. She held her head high, positioned herself at the podium, and she finished that speech.

She finished that speech. I couldn’t have been prouder of her. And the students seemed pretty impressed, as well.

It was one of my greatest teaching moments ever. In fact, I now tell my public speaking students my story on Day 1 of class, so that those students who fear giving speeches, know I have been there before. There’s nothing like empathy to build student rapport.

So, what did I learn from my own failure and my student’s success? That we cannot let fear prevent us from tackling a task. We have the power to do it, and as Dr. Manning said, and I often repeat it over and over again in my head, I never want to walk away and say that I could have done better.

Stay positive and bright,

Stephanie

5 Questions Writers Are Frequently Asked

Just having some fun today with a video answering the 5 questions I am asked most as a writer.

Sometimes we have to lighten up our day with a little humor to help us along. Right, writers?

Podcast 2: The Things I’ve Learned—Work Ethic is Everything

Podcast 2: Work Ethic is Everything

Episode 2 of THE THINGS I’VE LEARNED FROM PODCAST is here. Today’s Topic: Work Ethic is EVERYTHING

This week it’s all about work ethic. Thanks for joining me.

Spotify Link here.

Transcript is below:

I consider myself lucky. Securing my first job as a sophomore in college with a Major League Baseball team changed my life, and all for the better. As I mentioned in last week’s podcast, I was lally-gagging my way through college until I found a new major and a new purpose.

Do you remember what it is like to be 19 and naive? Nineteen and floundering, unsure as to where you will go or what you will do in life? Wondering to yourself what college will teach you and how you will use it in the future? I had all these questions. However, my early days at the Orioles helped me sort things out.

Enter two of my dear friends, Julie Wagner and Charles Steinberg. Not much older than I was at the time, these two were the department directors for Community Relations and Orioles Productions, respectively. Additionally, at the time, the Orioles had the best PR department in all of baseball, headed up by the late Bob Brown, a very nice man who was a little bit intimidating because of how good he was. We all called Mr. Brown, out of immense respect and maybe a little bit of fear.

It didn’t take me long to learn lesson #2 in this podcast series: Work Ethic is Everything. What those of us who worked for Bob, Julie, and Charles quickly found out was that it was a work ethic that showed your true grit. Sure, getting straight As in college is an accomplishment—but for me, I noticed it was the school of hard knocks working in baseball that determined who would rise to the top, could complete a task, and gave every last effort you had to make something successful? If you could do that, your value rose, the team wanted to keep you around, and you even, perhaps, found yourself in a leadership position or earned a full-time spot on the front office roster.

So many of my friends and I grew up during this era in baseball. We’re all still close, and we all tend to say the same thing: our work ethic was developed during the time we spent working for the Baltimore Orioles. You realized very quickly that you didn’t want to disappoint the people who were your mentors, your guides, and your teachers. Sure, we worked 60-80-hour weeks during the season. Baseball plays 81 home games, and you often had to be at the ballpark at 9 a.m. and didn’t leave until after the post-game notes were distributed to the media. Dedication. Commitment. Work ethic. That’s what I grew up with, and it’s what I still have to this day. I was trained with that philosophy.

Celebrating Julie’s induction into the Orioles Hall of Fame. From left: Jennifer Bumgarner, Stacey Haines, Charles Steinberg, Julie Wagner, Anthony Verni, Stephanie Verni, and Jen Steier.

If this sounds a little daunting, believe me, it was not. It was just what I needed. This driving notion of creating a work ethic built our characters. Bob Brown, Julie, and Charles were the best role models; they worked hard and taught us to do the same, sometimes by setting expectations and sometimes by example. The long hours spent working in baseball forged lifelong friendships similar to those found in the military or among those who work in law enforcement: there’s a bond of kinship that doesn’t fade with time, even if we don’t see each other as regularly as we would like.

Watching Bob, Julie, and Charles, and others in the organization work hard was inspirational and aspirational. At nineteen, I quickly realized who I wanted to be: I wanted to be like them. They had passion, drive, and a lot of fun along the way. It was a great place to grow up. I can’t tell you how many breakfasts at 2 a.m. I had with Charles or how many events Julie and I planned, organized and traveled to together. The hours spent working in baseball taught me everything I needed to know about achieving goals, and that hard work equals success in life.

Fast forward to today. I’m not nineteen anymore, and in my forties I completely switched careers from working in public relations and publishing to becoming a full professor at a university outside Baltimore. The ingrained work ethic I learned got me where I am today. In 2008, I secured a full-time job as a professor at a local university outside Baltimore. In 2009, I went back to school and earned an MFA in Creative Writing while raising two young children. I’ve written six books and a textbook. I could go on, but you get the point.

All of this started because I took a chance and mailed off a resume and cover letter to the Orioles that cold, February day. All of this because I learned about work ethic at a relatively young age. All of this because I learned from the best.

Nothing since then has ever been the same. I’m so grateful for all of it.

Signing off,

Stay Bright & Positive,

Stephanie

The Things I Learned From, Podcast 2: Work Ethic is Everything

Podcast 2: Work Ethic is Everything

Episode 2 of THE THINGS I’VE LEARNED FROM PODCAST is here. Today’s Topic: Work Ethic is EVERYTHING

This week it’s all about work ethic. Thanks for joining me.

Spotify Link here.

Transcript is below:

I consider myself lucky. Securing my first job as a sophomore in college with a Major League Baseball team changed my life, and all for the better. As I mentioned in last week’s podcast, I was lally-gagging my way through college until I found a new major and a new purpose.

Do you remember what it is like to be 19 and naive? Nineteen and floundering, unsure as to where you will go or what you will do in life? Wondering to yourself what college will teach you and how you will use it in the future? I had all these questions. However, my early days at the Orioles helped me sort things out.

Enter two of my dear friends, Julie Wagner and Charles Steinberg. Not much older than I was at the time, these two were the department directors for Community Relations and Orioles Productions, respectively. Additionally, at the time, the Orioles had the best PR department in all of baseball, headed up by the late Bob Brown, a very nice man who was a little bit intimidating because of how good he was. We all called Mr. Brown, out of immense respect and maybe a little bit of fear.

It didn’t take me long to learn lesson #2 in this podcast series: Work Ethic is Everything. What those of us who worked for Bob, Julie, and Charles quickly found out was that it was a work ethic that showed your true grit. Sure, getting straight As in college is an accomplishment—but for me, I noticed it was the school of hard knocks working in baseball that determined who would rise to the top, could complete a task, and gave every last effort you had to make something successful? If you could do that, your value rose, the team wanted to keep you around, and you even, perhaps, found yourself in a leadership position or earned a full-time spot on the front office roster.

So many of my friends and I grew up during this era in baseball. We’re all still close, and we all tend to say the same thing: our work ethic was developed during the time we spent working for the Baltimore Orioles. You realized very quickly that you didn’t want to disappoint the people who were your mentors, your guides, and your teachers. Sure, we worked 60-80-hour weeks during the season. Baseball plays 81 home games, and you often had to be at the ballpark at 9 a.m. and didn’t leave until after the post-game notes were distributed to the media. Dedication. Commitment. Work ethic. That’s what I grew up with, and it’s what I still have to this day. I was trained with that philosophy.

Celebrating Julie’s induction into the Orioles Hall of Fame. From left: Jennifer Bumgarner, Stacey Haines, Charles Steinberg, Julie Wagner, Anthony Verni, Stephanie Verni, and Jen Steier.

If this sounds a little daunting, believe me, it was not. It was just what I needed. This driving notion of creating a work ethic built our characters. Bob Brown, Julie, and Charles were the best role models; they worked hard and taught us to do the same, sometimes by setting expectations and sometimes by example. The long hours spent working in baseball forged lifelong friendships similar to those found in the military or among those who work in law enforcement: there’s a bond of kinship that doesn’t fade with time, even if we don’t see each other as regularly as we would like.

Watching Bob, Julie, and Charles, and others in the organization work hard was inspirational and aspirational. At nineteen, I quickly realized who I wanted to be: I wanted to be like them. They had passion, drive, and a lot of fun along the way. It was a great place to grow up. I can’t tell you how many breakfasts at 2 a.m. I had with Charles or how many events Julie and I planned, organized and traveled to together. The hours spent working in baseball taught me everything I needed to know about achieving goals, and that hard work equals success in life.

Fast forward to today. I’m not nineteen anymore, and in my forties I completely switched careers from working in public relations and publishing to becoming a full professor at a university outside Baltimore. The ingrained work ethic I learned got me where I am today. In 2008, I secured a full-time job as a professor at a local university outside Baltimore. In 2009, I went back to school and earned an MFA in Creative Writing while raising two young children. I’ve written six books and a textbook. I could go on, but you get the point.

All of this started because I took a chance and mailed off a resume and cover letter to the Orioles that cold, February day. All of this because I learned about work ethic at a relatively young age. All of this because I learned from the best.

Nothing since then has ever been the same. I’m so grateful for all of it.

Signing off,

Stay Bright & Positive,

Stephanie

Valentine’s Day in Italy vs. Valentine’s Day in America

Happy Valentine’s Day from Anna and me. Heart wreaths available under “Shop My Products.”

When I was undertaking a bit of research for Anna in Tuscany, a novelette I published in the fall about a female magazine writer who leaves American to live in Italy for a year and cover the regions of Italy (much like Stanley Tucci does in his television show Searching for Italy), I had to learn the differences between Valentine’s Day here and there. Ultimately, the novelette takes off when Anna discovers a love story unlike any she has heard between her neighbor, Matteo, and his late wife. And maybe, just maybe, Anna finds a little love of her own in Tuscany. So, I had to know how Italy celebrates this “love” holiday.

One main difference is in the name. We call it Valentine’s Day, and while some Italians call it La Festa di San Valentino, it is also called La Festa Degli Innamorati, the name I use in the novel. In America, we give Valentines to classmates (remember the cute little Valentines we would bring in a paper bag and give to our friends and fellow students?), friends, neighbors, children, and wanna-be lovers. In Italy, the holiday is celebrated ONLY between lovers and sweethearts. As well, the trend to connect a padlock or “lucchetti” to a bridge and throw away the key (a tradition that started about 20 years ago), is something lovers do to proclaim their love for another, as is mentioned in Anna in Tuscany.

Anna in Tuscany, a short read, about love for lovers of sweet stories, romance, and travel.

Interestingly enough, according to my research, the huge celebration that Valentine’s Day is today was imported from America to Italy, despite it having its origins in Roman history. Apparently, it was a nod to the Queen of Roman gods and goddesses, a queen named Juno, who was known to be the goddess Queen of Women and Marriage. Another legend links it to the legend of the priest, St. Valentine, who defied the Romans who banned marriage between lovers during wartime. St. Valentine, that little romantic sneak, would marry them. Let love reign.

If you ever want to spend time in Italy during Valentine’s Day, you may want to hit the two spots known to be the most romantic: Florence or Venice. Or, if Shakespeare worked his magic on you enjoy tragic romantic stories, as was the case in Romeo & Juliet, the city of Verona hosts a 4-day celebration of lovers. I tease. Hopeless romantics love it, too.

But if you, like me, can’t get to Italy right now, you can escape into a sweet story about young love, old love, and everlasting love in Anna in Tuscany. Settle in with some pasta and a nice glass of wine, and let Anna take you to Siena, where you’ll hear more and see what she uncovers.

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Anna in Tuscany is available on Amazon Kindle for .99. Enjoy.

The Things I’ve Learned from Podcast 1

Episode 1 of The Things I’ve Learned From Podcast

Here is the link to the podcast. The transcript is below.

Podcast 1: Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained

The Transcript:

Hello, there. I’m Stephanie Verni, and I’d like to welcome you to the first of my 5-minute podcasts that I’ll be posting every Monday for the rest of the year. For years, I’ve had this notion in my head that I wanted to write a book about the lessons I’ve learned along the way from working in baseball. I say that because my life changed the day I got a job working in Baltimore for the Baltimore Orioles. Up to that point, I was, to use a term from the baseball movie Bull Durham, lolly-gagging my way through my college career. I wasn’t too successful my freshman year because I was in a major I didn’t like. When I made the decision to change to Communication, my life began to change. One of the things that happened to me was I began to hang around other communication majors, and I heard them boast about their really cool internships they were getting. I had nothing. I was just in a new major that I was trying to catch up in at the time.

One day, something propelled me to stop at the University Union bulletin board and look at the posted internships and jobs. I saw a post that read “Public Relations Assistant – Baltimore Orioles,” and I was intrigued by the possibility of working for the Orioles. I went back to my dorm room, put together some semblance of a resume on a old, electric typewriter with green ink, and I marched it down to the mailbox on campus.

Two weeks later, I had a job working for the Orioles as a public relations assistant.

So, as I’ve looked back on my career, I can say for certain that there were people and situations that helped me learn and grow. But I can’t just stop at baseball, because like most of you, I’m in a constant state of learning. When I thought about writing that book about what I learned in baseball, it truly did have an incredible impact on my life. But since those days, I’ve been inspired by so many other things, that the idea for the book, while wonderful, has morphed into so much more.

We could all write this type of book, right? A book that muses on all the things we’ve learned along the way. Then, the idea came to me when I saw someone on Facebook ask if there are any good podcasts out there to listen to. My husband loves podcasts, particularly some of the short-form ones that he can listen to on his ride to work or while he’s working around the house. And that idea made me think that I can leave the writing of that book on the table, because my true love of writing lies in writing fiction.

But a podcast…a podcast is a great way to share quick things that we would like to share with others who value learning and growing. There are so many things I’ve learned from people, places and things I’ve encountered in my life thus far.

I’ve never tried to tackle anything like this, but I’m going to give it a shot and see how I do.

So the first Lesson is the one I learned from going for the job at the Orioles all those years ago when I was young and stupid and nineteen. And that lesson is NOTHING VENTURED NOTHING GAINED. I can’t tell you exactly why I stopped at the bulletin board that day and looked at all the jobs posted. I can’t tell you what made me concentrate on writing a cover letter and crafting some sort of dismal resume that day, but I did.

I remember when the telephone rang in my dorm room and my roommate answered and said, “Steph, it’s someone from the Baltimore Orioles on the phone.” I was in shock. I was asked to come in and interview.

I had to borrow my friend’s Mustang and drive in the sleety snow on a Saturday morning to old Memorial Stadium to interview for the job.

My now dear friend, Julie Wagner, interviewed me. We had grown up in the same town. Went to the same high school and university. I cheered for her brother on the soccer team. And yet, we did not know each other.

As she interviewed me, I sat up straighter and straighter. I wanted the job so badly I could taste it.

Luckily for me, she called and offered me the job.

My life changed that day, and there will be more to discuss about my life working in baseball and for people I admired and adored, but for now, Lesson Number One is NOTHING VENTURED NOTHING GAINED. Remember that.

That’s one of the the things I’ve learned from going for it.

Signing off today,

Stay bright and postive,

Stephanie