Education: Hospitality Administration, Northern Illinois University
Professional role model:
It would have to be Kristalina Steininger, (@kristalinas) she took me under her wing when I was an intern at MGM Grand and she was Assistant Manager of Food & Beverage Marketing. She introduced me to social media from a brand’s perspective and taught me the rules of the road when it comes to representing a business in the Web 2.0 arena. Since I’ve moved on from my internship and began working at The Mirage, she has been a close friend and mentor of mine.
Favourite Blog:
As a big foodie, I really appreciate My Drunk Kitchen and The Kitchn. I get all my entertainment from MDK and all my recipes from reading The Kitchn!
Favourite mobile app:
Besides the regulars of foursquare, Facebook & Seesmic for my Twitter accounts, I am a big fan of Reddit Is Fun, SoundHound, and Path. And although it’s not an App, I’m becoming severely addicted to Pinterest.
When you’re young, Barbie dolls tend to be at the top of your wish list. Though there has been much criticism about the Mattel dolls’ proportions, in that they can potentially influence young girls to have misconceptions of what a beautiful body looks like, the brand is aiming to integrate social good into their marketing efforts, as evident in their Barbie I Can Be campaign.
On their new interactive website: barbiedreams.com, girls around the world are invited to share their career goals and aspirations. I know I had a dentist Barbie and Barbie versions of my favourite pop stars growing up, like the Spice Girls, so now the brand is engaging its consumers on the premise of Barbie’s multitude of career paths. The website is easy to navigate and is clearly integrated into their overall marketing strategy. Adolescence may be a time of innocence, but it’s nice to see Barbie encouraging young women to think seriously about the future. Likewise, it’s unnecessary for all campaigns aiming to empower young women to focus on body image. I commend Barbie for inspiring girls to consider their professional goals while browsing the web.
Remember, girls, it’s never too early to set up a LinkedIn profile, even if your profile headline changes from “Puppy Doctor” to “Public Relations Specialist” by the time you’re a college graduate.
Update (2025): This originally linked to barbiedreams.com, a YouTube ad and criticism about Barbie on Huffington Post, which are no longer available.
Year after year, beauty pageant contestants respond that their goal is to achieve world peace, but none of them summarize how to accomplish it quite like Mr. Simon (Ed Harris) in That’s What I Am (2011). “Human Dignity + Compassion = Peace” is a formula for everyone to take note of, not just Mr. Simon’s middle school students.
In this coming of age story, director Michael Pavone reminds audiences that the so-called strange individuals singled out by cruel bullies are not monstrous creatures who deserve inconsiderate treatment. Kind souls like Stanley (Alexander Walters) and Andy (Chase Ellison) make us wish that ruthless people would become more tolerant of others, without leaving nerds or exceptionally tall students to suffer for superficial reasons.
Some kids isolate themselves in washroom stalls to avoid bullies’ harsh comments, but according to the cool kids’ seating plan at this school, Stanley and his fellow tormented classmates, such as a headgear-wearing girl, must spend their lunch breaks in the dreaded ‘geek corner’. This is the closest thing they have to a safe haven on campus because it is unthinkable for any student concerned with social status to set food in this area of the quad. Given how much people develop at a young age, it is especially problematic when academically-inclined students who should be role models are routinely ridiculed.
Recess violence isn’t the only issue Pavone addresses, as he also portrays attitudes prevalent in the 1960s toward homosexuality. Accusing a teacher of being a homosexual and complaining about the whole world going to hell should not be done in the same sentence, but Andy’s father makes this connection during a rant. His unfair judgment of the award-winning teacher is not the father’s only shortcoming, but unfortunately the entire parent community shares his sentiment. The notion that a teacher’s sexual preferences should interfere with their employment, when no harm has been done, is unjust.
Pavone should be commended for creating a stunning film about growing up. Andy’s innocent stammering while talking to the beautiful blonde bombshell in his neighbourhood accurately captures the awkwardness of youth, especially once combined with his concerns about puberty-induced sweating. The fact that the school has a resident expert on cooties is hilarious. The boy’s role at school becomes troublesome when his advice leads to violence, but his title in itself takes reiterates the innocence of childhood when catching cooties is one of children’s greatest worries.
It is unusual for a film set in the 1960s to dedicate merely two lines of dialogue to racist prejudice and cast an African-American boy as the protagonist’s best friend without any havoc as a result. The setting is refreshing however because so many films made today focus on cyber-bullying via IMs and camera phones, whereas Pavone successfully gets to the core of middle school drama without any text messaging under the desk.
It’s a shame that such poignant storytelling is relegated to limited release because That’s What I Am epitomizes why films inspired by true events raise the bar for all other productions.
