Congrats, ASR graduates!

Liz Johnson, Academic Records Specialist in OTR, will graduate with her M.Ed. in Elementary Education from the College of Education and Human Development.

Morgan Pasterski, Academic Records Specialist in OTR, will graduate with her B.A. in Communication Studies from the College of Liberal Arts.

Amy Brown, GSSP/One Stop, will graduate with her M.Ed. from the University of Minnesota, Duluth.

Dawn Graff, One Stop, recently graduated with an MBA from the Carlson School. After graduation Dawn took an amazing trip to South Korea to spend time with friends and family, eat delicious food, shop, and visit the Olympic host city!

Things we do (outside work): Dawn Demaske photography

Did you know that Dawn Demaske, OSF staff member, is a photographer? She holds a degree in art with a minor in photography, and while she's a third party billing expert, few things give her more thrill than the sound of a lens shutter.

Over the last several years, Dawn has amassed a portfolio of beautiful images taken with a Nikon DSLR camera. She focuses on nature and landscape photography and has recently been exploring night and astrophotography. Her most recent work includes photographs taken along the north shore of Minnesota—imagery full of dark, starry skies, towering evergreens, and sunsets cast across the frozen shores.

Dawn's other images include scenes from locations such as Wyoming, Utah, and South Dakota. Her full portfolio is available to view at dawnjdemaskephotography.smugmug.com.

The Cubicle Chronicles: March Meetings by Chris Abts

Things we do (outside of work): Gopher Zulpzes

Known as team Gopher Zulpzes in the puzzle world, this group of four has a knack for jigsaws. You might say their teamwork makes the pieces fall in place (ba-dum-ch!)

For the third year in a row, they competed in the St. Paul Winter Carnival Jigsaw Puzzle Competition that took place on January 27.

Pictured from left to right is Lindsey Konerza (ASR-IT), Deb Edwards (OSF), Ken Kiehm (ASR-IT), and Stephanie Kearley (OSF).

As you can imagine, the competition is all about who can complete their puzzle the fastest. Teams form in two categories, either in the adult bracket or the family bracket, and are four members each. All teams are allotted two hours to complete their puzzle.

But rather than using traditional puzzles for the competition, 500-piece PuzzleTwist® puzzles are used. The picture on each box cover doesn't 100% match the puzzle! Twisted, right?

St. Paul Winter Carnival Jigsaw Puzzle Competition 

The Gopher Zulpzes completed their puzzle in 55:05 minutes, landing them in 13th place out of 78 teams. Said Lindsey, "The puzzle that we put together this year was definitely harder then last year's puzzle and we finished more than 10 spots better then last year."

Congrats, Gopher Zulpzes, and thanks for sharing!

Lana Rosario plays SQuja' in A Klingon Christmas Carol

Do you like Star Trek, Charles Dickens, and opera? Then we've got a thing for you.

The best of these worlds collide as Lana Rosario stars in A Klingon Christmas Carol at the Mounds Theatre in St. Paul this December. See showtimes.

While Lana is a business analyst by day, she is a singer and performer by night. She plays the leading role in the Klingon opera and has performed at many theaters around the Twin Cities (read Q&A below).

A Klingon Christmas Carol is the "classic tale of SQuja’ learning the true meaning of courage and honor on the eve of the Long Night." It is delivered fully in Klingon with English supertitles (captions projected above the opera stage). Rumors has it that Lana has an uncanny ability to learn languages for opera—not your average talent!

Question and answer with Lana

Q: What part are you playing?
A: I am playing SQuja' (Scrooge). This is my sixth year in the show, but my first in this role.

Q: What is your background in theater?
A: I've been performing since I was a child. My bachelor's degree is in vocal performance and my graduate work is in opera and musical theatre performance. I've performed with Theatre in the Round, Hardcover Theatre, Nimbus Theatre, Box Wine Theatre, The Arts Nest, several Fringe Festival shows, and I'm a core member of Fearless Comedy Productions.

Q: What's your favorite part of doing this performance?
A: Being a Klingon is freeing. They tend to live life outloud, without much of a filter. You get to play lots of emotions. And speaking Klingon is an amazing intellectual workout.

See Lana perform throughout the month of December. Dates and tickets are available at moundstheatre.org. Thank you for sharing what you do outside of work, Lana!

The Cubicle Chronicles: Tea Time by Chris Abts

Did you know that Chris Abts (GPAS team) loves to read comics and graphic novels? He has an ever-expanding library at home, and even doodles his own stories. A few of his favorite series include Transmetropolitan by Darick Robertson and The Sandman by Neil Gaiman. If you see Chris around the office, and know anything about comics, bet you could strike up a pretty good conversation with him about it.

This week, enjoy an original Chris Abts comic—a goofy take on what to do when the shared watering hole needs a refill.

Thanks for contributing, Chris!

Things we do (outside of work): Amber and Stacia run TC Marathon!

Stacia Madsen (left) and Amber Cellotti (right) are co-workers, friends, and long-distance runners. Stacia hails from the GPAS team in Continuity and Compliance, and Amber leads Grad Ed Records in the Office of the Registrar. Together (as well as separately), they have braved all kinds of crazy conditions to crush miles in their tennies. Most recently they ran in the Twin Cities Marathon—notably one of the most beautiful urban marathons in the country (see the map). Together they also completed the Hotdash 10 Mile and Captiol Run 20 Mile, but these are just a few.

For fun, we did a Q&A and they each shared personal tidbits about running. Next time you pass Amber or Stacia in the halls, give them a high five for their accomplishments!

Q: Why do you like running?

Amber: Running is my stress relief. It's the best way for me to get out of my head and clear my mind when there's a lot going on. There is also a really great community when it comes to running.

Stacia: Because I get to eat more food! I run for bacon! (Seriously, I do!) I continue to run to feel empowered, accomplished, and a bada$$! 

Q: When and why did you start running long distance, or have you always?

Amber: I started running about 3 1/2 years ago and did it initially as a way to get in shape. My first race was a 5k through the Minnesota Brewery Running series, because beer. That same year I did the Twin Cities 10 mile and that is what hooked me on distance running. Being a part of the marathon weekend and running part of the marathon course was exhilarating (and exhausting). Part of distance running, for me, is the challenge and testing my limits. 

Q: What kind of training do you do for these races?

Amber: Oy. The training. It's soooo time consuming. I started training in April through my gym's run club doing speed drills and hills along with strength training and then got into my marathon training program at the beginning of June. I run 3-4 times a week and then cross-train (yoga, strength training, etc.) on the days I'm not running. I've never skipped a weekend long run (ranging 8-20 miles during the training), but mid-week runs were a bit more lax...due to laziness and not wanting to get up at 4am to run. :)

Q: What does it feel like when you're done with a race?

Amber: Sweaty and sometimes sore. Also, accomplished. 

Stacia: Running is not easy! No matter how many times I run, the first 10 minutes are always hard. But each run is an opportunity to persevere and challenge me to do more than I think I can. No matter how bad a run is, I always feel like I have accomplished something. This year I completed a 50K (31ish miles) trail race, a marathon, 1/2 marathon, and a trail RAGNAR in Wisconsin. I had doubts about my ability to complete each of those events, but after completing the 50K, I felt like I could do anything.

Q: What running shoes do you wear? Give geeky details.

Amber: I've changed up my running shoes a bit over the last three years trying to find the right one. Right now I'm bouncing between Saucony and New Balance. I prefer a neutral shoe with a wide toe-box and not a ton of cushion. I really like to feel the road when I'm running. My feet probably don't appreciate it, but it makes me feel more connected. 

Q: Headphones or no headphones?

Amber: No headphones! I joke that I like to listen to the sound of my labored breathing while I run. Also, for safety reasons, it's best to not wear headphones so that you are more aware of your surroundings. I do a lot of running in the street and do my best to not get hit by cars/bikers.

Last words: 

Amber: There's a really great community when it comes to running. I've been fortunate to meet a lot of great people through run clubs and there's a lot of support and encouragement. I don't always like running. There are times when it feels like a chore and I have to do a lot of self talk to get myself out the door, but in the end, I very rarely regret lacing up my shoes and running.

Stacia: The hours of training and pain are made easier by the support and community of runners and others who I get to run with and who continually inspire me. Thank you to all who have supported me and asked me about how a race went over this past year.