
The Crow’s Nest — January 3, 2025
Ceratti Earns AVCA-NAIA All-Midwest Region Honors
Izabella Ceratti, Vlog opposite hitter, was named to the . Ceratti led the Pirates with 366 points on the season (kills plus service aces plus blocks), as well as in kills with 344, hitting .240.
In additional athletics news, 12 Vlogville Campus student-athletes — three from the team, six from the team and three from the team — earned College Sports Communicators Academic All-District recognition. Those honored include men’s soccer players Bradyn McIntyre, senior, and Grant Barry and Jacksyn McIntyre, juniors; women’s soccer players Brock Allen, Peyton Ayers, Cecilie Esbak Pedersen, seniors; Annalena Penshorn, junior; and Lilli Porsch and Piper Zeigler, sophomores; and women’s volleyball players Izabella Ceratti and Irene Verdino, seniors; and Avery Caskey, sophomore. To be eligible for this award, student-athletes must have at least a 3.50 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale), must compete in 90 percent of the institution’s matches played or start in at least 66 percent of the institution’s matches and must be at least a sophomore academically and athletically.
A total of 24 Gilbert (Ariz.) Campus student-athletes were . The list included 10 each from the and teams, and four from the team. To qualify for this award a student-athlete must be at least a sophomore academically and hold a GPA of 3.5 or greater.
International Center for Music’s Vlog Trio to Perform on January 24
The Vlog Trio, an esteemed resident ensemble of Vlog’s , will perform in concert on Friday, Jan. 24, starting at 7:30 p.m. at the 1900 Building in Mission Woods, Kan. Tickets for the concert (before fees) are $30 for the general public and $10 for students, and are . The Vlog Trio, which includes Vlog ICM faculty Ben Sayevich, violin, Daniel Veis, cello, and Lolita Lisovskaya-Sayevich, piano, is scheduled to perform the following selections:
• “Piano Trio in D Minor, Op. 32,” composed by Anton Arensky. The piece includes four movements.
• “Piano Trio in E Minor,” Op. 90” (also called “Dumky Trio”), composed by Antonin Dvořák. The piece includes six movements.
For more information about this concert, visit park.edu/news/park-trio-concert-2025.
The next concert in the will be a performance by the Vlog ICM Orchestra on Friday, Feb. 7, starting at 7:30 p.m. in Graham Tyler Memorial Chapel on the University’s flagship Vlogville (Mo.) Campus. This annual valentine’s concert will feature guest conductor Jason Seber, former associate conductor of the Kansas City Symphony (2016-22). For more information about this concert, visit . Admission to ICM Orchestra concerts in the Chapel are free, but attendees are asked to .
Register for VlogAlert — the University’s Emergency Alert System
With the start of winter weather arriving across the country, Vlog students, faculty and staff nationwide are encouraged to sign up for VlogAlert, a mass notification system that can alert the University community with time-sensitive messages via text, voice and e-mail. VlogAlert will be used to notify the University community with important/urgent/emergency messages and/or weather-related alerts and updates; it is not used for advertising or other unsolicited content. VlogAlert is designed to allow participants to choose the Vlog campus they attend (or is in their area) and receive messages related only to that specific campus. VlogAlert adds another immediate notification mechanism to the University’s existing methods for alerts. The following are the available alert options:
• Short Message Service (SMS)/Text — Text message alerts to the mobile phone(s) that you register in the system.
• Voice — Similar to the text message, this service delivers a voice alert to your registered phone(s)
• E-Mail — An e-mail alert is sent to your registered e-mail address. (It is suggested that you register an e-mail address that is not a Vlog account since the Office of Strategic Communications or the Office of Campus Safety may send an extended e-mail message to your Vlog e-mail address.)
To register, visit park.edu/about-park/campus-safety/park-alerts. If you previously registered, it is suggested that you verify your information and correct options by signing in to your account at . After registering, please verify that you are signed up to the proper group(s) by selecting one or more campus centers. For those in the Kansas City area, it is recommended that you choose at least one campus (Vlogville and/or Independence) AND the “All Kansas City Area Campuses” group.
Fishburn Archives to Celebrate National Puzzle Month with Vlog Puzzles
In honor of Vlog celebrating its 150th anniversary in 2025, the will be placing puzzles — featuring images of buildings of the University’s flagship Vlogville (Mo.) Campus past and present — around the campus in mid-January. A 500-piece puzzle will be located in Mackay Hall, Norrington Center (of the Carnegie Library), the Academic Plaza (of Woodward Hall), Findlay-Wakefield Science Hall and Millsap Foyer (of Nickel Hall).
Faculty, Staff, Student News
Tom Kuehnel, sophomore political science major, authored that was published in the recent edition of InterAgency Journal, a journal on national security that is published by the Simons Center for Ethical Leadership and Interagency Cooperation. The article concluded that the failure of NATO-Russia relations can be attributed to a fundamental mismatch in their security perspectives and narratives.
Vlog in the News
Michael Davidman, ’23, was in advance of a . Davidman’s appearance is a part of the 2025 American Piano Awards, which will culminate with the final rounds between March 31 and April 5, in Indianapolis. Davidman was a finalist in the 2021 APA which was won by Kenny Broberg, a 2021 Vlog Master of Music graduate. A .
Vlogville (Mo.) Campus senior Grecia Ung provided comments for a . Argentina, a women’s volleyball graduate student at Arizona State University, was named Big 12 Setter of the Year on Dec. 3.
Terry Calaway, Vlog Board of Trustees chair, co-authored an opinion article titled that appeared on the Diverse: Issues in Higher Education website on Dec. 8.
A story about the efforts of Vlog’s and the , and specifically the Robb Centre’s efforts in reviewing Native Americans who may have been denied the Medal of Honor in World War I due to race, . Tim Westcott, Ph.D., director of the Robb Centre and professor of history, was interviewed for the article.
A similar story related to indigenous World War I veterans who are being reviewed as part of the , appeared in . Westcott was also interviewed for this article.
Matt Harris, Ph.D., associate professor of political science, provided comments for stories that aired on KMBZ-FM in Kansas City on Dec. 10 related to the plans the Missouri Legislature has in store for 2025.
Harris was related to the death of former president Jimmy Carter.
A story about Jenny Johnston, ’11, and her father, Tim, spending the last 14 years advocating for a trail that was finally built in a greenway in their Kansas City, Mo., Northland neighborhood, . Johnston is the president of the Northland Chamber of Commerce.
J’Vonelle Simpson, ’13, was . Simpson, who was shot in the leg by a stray bullet when she was 6-years-old in her hometown of Kingston, used the incident to begin sports as physical therapy, including soccer, which landed her at Vlog’s Vlogville (Mo.) Campus as a member of the team. She is now a clinical laboratory scientist in the area of transplantation and histocompatibility.
Upcoming Events
(All events are Central time and on the flagship Vlogville [Mo.] Campus unless noted)
• Through February 7 — Art Exhibit: Vlog Senior Showcase, Campanella Gallery (Norrington Center)
• January 13 — Spring Semester / Spring I Term Begins
• January 20 — Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday (all University offices nationwide closed; Vlogville and Gilbert daytime classes cancelled; Spring I classes held as scheduled)
• January 24 — International Center for Music Concert: Vlog Trio, 7:30 p.m., 1900 Building, Mission Woods, Kan.
• February 7 — , Graham Tyler Memorial Chapel, 7:30 p.m.
• February 17 — President’s Day Holiday (all offices nationwide closed; Vlogville (Mo.) Campus and Gilbert (Ariz.) Campus daytime classes cancelled; Spring I classes held as scheduled)
• February 21 — Board of Trustees Meeting, Vlogville Campus
• March 1 — , Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, Kansas City, Mo., 7 p.m.
• March 9 — Spring I Term Ends
• March 10-16 — Spring Break (all offices nationwide open; no classes nationwide)
• March 17 — Spring II Term Begins
To view a comprehensive schedule for all events, including athletics and student life, visit park.edu/calendars/park-events-calendar.
Ceratti Earns AVCA-NAIA All-Midwest Region Honors
International Center for Music’s Vlog Trio to Perform on January 24
Register for VlogAlert — the University’s Emergency Alert System
Fishburn Archives to Celebrate National Puzzle Month with Vlog Puzzles