Rain Date: April 13
Please join honors school alumni, students and friends for a ceremony celebrating Reenie’s life, followed by a walk (or drive) to the beach for the inaugural Reenie Menditto Moonlight Walk to see the moon over the ocean.
Please visit this page to upload any photos you have of Reenie.
Hosted by Jenna Gaudio ’09, senior vice president of operations at Vydia.
“Feeling like the odds are against you? When I graduated from Monmouth University in 2009, the sentiment of our commencement speaker was, ‘It’s tough out there.’ At the time, it was the worst economic recession my generation had ever seen and I was bartending at TGI Friday’s with the distant dream of paying off my college loans. In that moment, I began my journey of learning how to thrive in the worst conditions. Since then, I’ve gone from assistant to executive in a male-dominated industry, successfully ran the NYC marathon during my biggest transition of personal and professional life, survived a pulmonary embolism I was not likely to recover from, and was promoted in the middle of a pandemic. Finding success is not as easy as it sounds—and I’ve never met anyone that’s followed a straight path to the finish line—but I’ve learned there is a certain strategy and mindset that puts the odds in your favor. If you are struggling with motivation, can’t seem to get to the next level, or just aren’t sure where to start, let’s talk about the active role you can play to create opportunity in chaos.”
Jenna Gaudio is a senior executive in the media tech industry who specializes in building and scaling successful product, marketing, and operations teams. Gaudio currently serves as the senior vice president of operations at Vydia, an award-winning media tech company that powers the independent labels of music entrepreneurs like Kanye West, Akon, and Dre London. Prior to Vydia, Gaudio founded the marketing team at a video ad tech company and played a critical role in the company’s successful acquisition in 2015 for $33M. She has been awarded accolades including The Product Group’s Product Leader of the Year, NJBIZ’s 40 Under 40, and The American Business Association’s Bronze award for Female Executive of the Year and Women Helping Women. Gaudio also serves on the executive board of Jersey Shore Women in Tech, an organization that supports, educates, mentors, and develops a network for women in business. Gaudio graduated from Monmouth University Honors School with a focus in communication and screen studies.
Join us for a celebration of the life and works of Toni Morrison: author, activist, academic, and Nobel Laureate.
These events are free and open to the public. For questions or additional information, please contact Professor Linda Sacks at lsacks@monmouth.edu.
Sponsored by the Department of English, the Guggenheim Memorial Library and the Honors School.
Library 101
10:00 – 11:25 a.m. | Dr. Courtney Werner – Welcome; Professor Beth Sara Swanson – Opening remarks; Dr. Walter Greason – Keynote address
11:40 a.m. – 4:10 p.m. | Sigma Tau Delta: marathon reading of Sula, read in its entirety by student and faculty volunteers
4:30 – 5:50 p.m. | Dr. Anwar Uhuru: “Finding Self Regard in the Works of Toni Morrison,” followed by discussion
6:00 – 8:00 p.m. | Screening: Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am (2019), sponsored by the Honors School
Library 102
10:05 a.m. – 4:10 p.m. | Visit the Toni Morrison Gallery – enjoy food and refreshments
Magill 107
11:40 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. | Pedagogy Panel: “Teaching Toni Morrison”
1:15 – 2:35 p.m. | Scholarship Roundtable: “Morrison: History, Themes, and Craft”
Wilson 104
10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. | Open Room: Student & Faculty maker/creator space
10:00 – 11:00 a.m. | Collage Workshop with Professor Linh Dao, Department of Art and Design
2:00 – 3:00 p.m. | Collage Workshop with Professor Linh Dao (video)
Join us to support Honors School students who are presenting their Capstone Projects at the Fall 2019 Research Conference. Student presenters come from disciplines across the university, with projects covering unique topics within their majors.
Session 1: 1:30 – 3:00 p. m.
Opening Remarks:
Dr. Nancy J. Mezey, Dean of the Honors School
Break: 3 – 3:20 p.m. (light refreshments will be available)
Session 2: 3:20 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Closing Remarks: Dr. Nancy J. Mezey
For more information, please contact Kate Sosnowski at ksosnows@monmouth.edu or 732-263-5308.
The personal is the political has been a part of the American vocabulary since at least the 1960s. Initially this argument was a source of identity and politics-making in the male public arena, not the female domestic space. Recently, this personal has been targeted in both Western Europe and North America where varying nationalist resurgences have resulted in anti-choice legislation. In response, some American states have passed reproductive-specific protections through legislative acts of their own. Against the backdrop of culture war, what does this renewed attention to female agency and their bodies say about our broken, polarized present? What prospects lay ahead for women? And more importantly, what perils?
Dr. Nancy Mezey – Dean of the Honors School
Dr. Rekha Datta – Interim Provost
Dr. L. Benjamin Rolsky
Anne C. Deepak – Associate Professor of Social Work
Sasha N. Canan – Assistant Professor of Health and Physical Education
Lazara G. Paz-Gonzalez – Adjunct Professor of Nursing and Health Studies
The Provost’s Office, The School of Humanities & Social Science and the Department of History & Anthropology in conjunction with the Program in Gender and Intersectionality Studies, The University Library, The Leon Hess Business School, The School of Education, The School of Social Work, and The Honors School.
The Honors School presents a special screening of the acclaimed new documentary that takes audiences inside the world’s most powerful financial institution, Money for Nothing: Inside the Federal Reserve.
DATE: Friday, April 18
SCREENING TIME: 11:30 a.m.
LOCATION: Pollak Theatre
Watch the trailer: www.moneyfornothingthemovie.org
100 years after its creation, the power of the Federal Reserve has never been greater. Markets around the world hold their breath in anticipation of the Fed Chairman’s every word. Yet the average American knows very little about the most powerful financial institution on earth.
Narrated by acclaimed actor Liev Schreiber, Money for Nothing: Inside the Federal Reserve is the first film to take viewers inside America’s central bank and reveal the impact of Fed policies – past, present, and future – on our lives. As Ben Bernanke steps down, join incoming Fed Chair Janet Yellen, former Fed Chair Paul Volcker, and many of the world’s best financial minds as they debate the decisions that led the global economy to the brink of collapse and ask whether me might be headed there again.
