There is a flower that blooms twice a year. It blooms in August/September when students start their new year of academic voyage, and in May/June when students finish an academic year of toiling. Each year there are new students coming and old students graduating, so the flower seems to be so understanding and blossoms for a new start of life on both ends. The flower is called Phoenix flower. In Chinese culture, every parent would wish their sons to be as grand as dragons, their daughters as gracious as phoenixes, to fly high and soar.
I have come a long way from a small village in Middle west of China to the “Champion City” of America. Don’t know about whether or not the Phoenix flower had blossomed bigger and longer during my years of starting and graduating, but I do know that celebrating victories is a great way to move forward with confidence and direction. In Pittsburgh, I witnessed some and I participated in some. One celebration I witnessed was a week before I participated in one, with both taking place in the Carnegie Music Hall on Forbes Avenue.
+Three Rivers Youth had their annual Nellie Leadership Award Gala on May 10th, 2013. It’s a beautiful event with a lot of successful stories, dancing, champagne, carefully picked dresses and delicately served food. Local corporations and individuals were recognized for their championship/leadership in the community to assist Three Rivers Youth’s mission by being actively engaged in a variety of youth programs that bring empowerment into each and every life they touch. Bank of New York Mellon, where Frank works, was a recipient of the award. So I was fortunately given a ticket to attend this genteel event.
Heinz College had our annual graduation ceremony on May 18th, 2013. It’s a programmed series of procedures with emotional input from each student who was going through the stage and on-wards to a new phase of life. I was especially heartened to receive an award that recognized my humble contribution as an active Heinzer as well as an active resident for the broader Pittsburgh region. I told myself this honor only meant more responsibilities to continue moving forward. Matt and uncle John Pennello attended the ceremony. They are my family in this country.
May, a beautiful season, when the most wedding in the U.S. occurs, is also a special season for me. I witnessed so many people in the Pittsburgh community who have been dedicated to their belief and vision for making a better community for each and every one. I participated in my own celebration as well as cheering on for other peers. From both experiences, I saw the direction I shall head. Who once said, “You can’t be what you can’t see.”? I have my deep appreciation for each and every relationship I have in the City of Pittsburgh, for they let me see what I can do and what I shall be.
Beer winning trivia @ Three Rivers Youth, Carnegie Music Hall
1. Three Rivers Youth is an independent not-for-profit welfare agency advancing a mission of support, advocacy and success to benefit abused, neglected, troubled, homeless and runnaway youth. Three Rivers Youth traces its origins to the day in 1880 when a Pittsburgh preacher could not find a shelter, orphanage, or alms house to take in “Nellie”, a 4-year-old girl he found wandering the streets in a neighborhood that today is located in Pittsburgh North Side. Established as the home for Colored Children, Three Rivers Youth is the SECOND oldest organization in the U.S. providing foster care and related services for adolescent children of color.
In 1853, the Children’s Aid Society was founded in response to the problem of orphaned or abandoned children living in New York. Rather than allow these children to become institutionalized or continue to live on the streets, the children were placed in the first “foster” homes, typically with the intention of helping these families work their farms. In 1874, the first case of child abuse was criminally prosecuted in what has come to be known as the “Case of Mary Ellen”. Outrage over this case started an organized effort against child maltreatment. In 1909, President Theodore Roosevelt convened the White House Conference on Child Dependency, which created a publicly funded volunteer organization to "establish and publicize standards of child care.” By 1926, 18 states had some version of county child welfare boards whose purpose was to coordinate public and private child related work. Issues of abuse and neglect were addressed in the Social Security Act in 1930, which provided funding for intervention for “neglected and dependent children in danger of becoming delinquent.”
2. The original Carnegie Music Hall was constructed in 1890 on the North Side (Allegheny City), next to Allegheny City Hall (site of Buhl Planetarium today). Other music halls were soon constructed in Braddock (1893), Oakland (1895), Homestead (1898), Carnegie (1901) and Duquesne (1904). These Music Halls were parts of the Libraries that Carnegie was constructing, 2811 in all, but only the earliest libraries received a true, acoustically-perfect music hall.
The original Carnegie Hall and Library on the North Side was in operation until the late 1960s. Although demolition of the building was considered, the interior was renovated in a modern motif and reopened in the mid-1970s. The new theater in the Music Hall was christened the Theodore Hazlitt Theater and became the home of the new Pittsburgh Public Theater. The Public Theater remained in Carnegie Hall until December of 1999. The Hazlitt Theater is now being operated by the City of Pittsburgh for the use of local theatrical groups.
Carnegie Hall in Oakland, part of the Carnegie Institute, is still considered one of the finest music halls in the city, and is definitely one of the oldest and most ornate. It is a perfect place for a concert performance, and is the weekly venue for the Pittsburgh Chamber Music Society concert series. [Thanks to The Brookline Connection---a look back in time at our community website]
Your ID @ Carnegie Music Hall
What’s the name of Pittsburgh Public Theater today? Where is it located?
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