St. Louis-Area High Schoolers Honored for Foreign Language Skills

Madeleine Swanstrom of Villa was recognized for her achievement in foreign language skills.

  This information was provided by the communications department at UMSL. All those hours studying a foreign language have paid off for a group of St. Louis- area high school students who were honored for their achievements by the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Missouri–St. Louis. Twenty-four high school students from the greater St. Louis metro area received a Distinguished Achievement Award for Excellence in Languages at a recognition dinner held on March 21 in the Millennium Student Center on UMSL’s North Campus. Madeleine Swanstrom from Villa Duchesne and Oak Hill School was among the recipients. This is the first year the honors were bestowed. The award recognizes high school juniors who demonstrate outstanding …

• Photos (1)

Part II: An interview With Local Michael Costello, A Key Figure in Local Soccer Circles

After enjoying a local international legal career, Olivette resident turns to teaching at UMSL.

This is Part 2 of an interview with St. Louis native, former U. City resident now Olivette dweller who teaches in semi-retirement at UMSL. Yesterday, Costello talked about the particulars of his international business and legal career for several Fortune 500 countries. Today, he talks about how soccer fits neatly into his life. Patch: Lets switch subjects. How in the world did you get involved in soccer. Costello:  I started after I finished law school, I did post-graduate study in Europe. You can’t be there very long without being exposed to soccer.  (They call it football). The first time I got to London, all these people were wearing hideous scarves in the bars.Turns out, they were wearing the colors of their favorite soccer teams. When…

• Photos (1)

Michael Costello: Local International Attorney Now Teaches Business at UMSL

Olivette resident fluent in various languages and puts that skill to good use. Part 1.

This is part 1 of a two-part interview with Michael Costello, University City resident who moved recently to Olivette. Costello talks about his teaching duties in the business school at UMSL. Michael J. Costello is a life-long St. Louisan who has made his mark in international business. A graduate of St. Louis U. High, he holds a Juris Doctorate (law degree) from Saint Louis University, and has served s general counsel for Agribrands business and was international counsel for Monsanto Co and Ralston Purina. Costello, age 60 moved with his family from Ames Place in University City to Covington Lane in Olivette three years ago. In semi-retirement, he is an assistant teaching professor at UMSL in the College of Business Administration, and is…

• Photos (2)

Students to work with scientists during annual STARS program

82 students from 33 metro high schools.

  Academically talented high school juniors and seniors will get a chance this summer to research everything from plant responses to environmental stress, to a protein important for nervous system differentiation and cancer, during the 2012 STARS program at the University of Missouri–St. Louis. STARS stands for Students and Teachers as Research Scientists. The program pairs students with top research mentors from UMSL, the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, Saint Louis University, Washington University in St. Louis and the Solae Company. This year’s program will run June 11 through July 20 at UMSL. Besides conducting research and presenting papers, students will be introduced to information and skills needed for applications to colleges…

• Photos (3)

Villa Duchense Juniors Accepted into STARRS Program

They will work with some of the top scientists in the area this summer.

  Villa Duchesne and Oak Hill School juniors Kristen Buehne, Meghan Grojean, Sophie Flotron, and Morgan Link were accepted into the 2012 Students and Teachers as Research Scientists program at the University of Missouri–St. Louis. The Villa Duchesne students will be working with some of the top scientists and researchers in the St. Louis metro area. UMSL hosts this annual summer research program for academically talented junior and senior high school students.

• Photos (1)

Blanche Touhill to receive Outstanding Women of Missouri award

Exhibit on display at UMSL’s student center through Oct. 14.

Blanche M. Touhill, a historian, resident of Ladue and chancellor emeritus of the University of Missouri–St. Louis, has spent many years combing through historic archives. She will soon become the subject of a historical exhibit herself when she’s presented with an “Outstanding Women of Missouri” award in a ceremony from 2 to 4 p.m. Sept. 28 in the Century Rooms at the Millennium Student Center on UMSL’s North Campus.   The award will be presented to Touhill and Frankie Freeman, a prominent national civil rights attorney. Awards also will be presented posthumously to Dorothy Gaynor Blake, a musician and composer of the early 20th century; Jessie L. Gaynor, Dorothy’s mother and a children’s music composer; and Margaret Bush Wilson, an …

• Photos (1)

Redrawing the Boundary Lines

Ladue-Frontenac and other St. Louis area communities would be affected by proposed changes.

One speaker put it succinctly: Nothing is more political than redistricting, even though laws strive to keep the politics out of the process. The House Apportionment Commission, which is meeting to redraw boundaries for the Missouri House of Representatives districts, took public comments at the University of Missouri, St. Louis Wednesday. Chairman Joe Maxwell told the audience that two commission members--Trent Skaggs and Marlene Davis--submitted a proposed redistricting map, called Skaggs-Davis No. 1, during an April 28 meeting in Jefferson City. Several state representatives--especially from the city of St. Louis--praised the map as a good starting point for the commission, including Rep. Tishaura Jones, D-District 63 and Rep. Mike …

• Photos (4)

View Finder

View Finder of Ladue and Frontenac

Nothing Quite Like the Basketball Quarterfinals to Get the Fans Into the Action.

When it comes to March, the madness of the basketball tournaments takes a back seat to no one. Saturday, at UMSL and other locations around the region, the teams battled for berths in the state semifinals starting today and tomorrow. From the Patch communities, St. Joseph's Academy, McCluer North and St. Dominic's had their tickets punched for the big dance. Take a look at the action at the Mark Twain Center on the campus of UMSL where the Angels of St. Joe's and the Stars of McCluer North won their way to a trip to Columbia. Jim Baer took in all the action and presents these photos for your viewing pleasure.

• Photos (16)