— Purdue Fort Wayne Baseball (@MastodonBSB) April 13, 2024
At the top of the third inning the Mastodons took a seven zero lead over Oakland. Jacob Walker led off with scoring from second base. Grant Thoroman stole home and scored. After a reach on error, Nick Sutherlin scored on Cade Fitzpatrick triple, which Higgins also scored on.
— Purdue Fort Wayne Baseball (@MastodonBSB) April 13, 2024
Oakland scored at the bottom of the fourth, but Jackson Micheels hit a home run in the top of the fifth keeping the Mastodons in a big lead. PFW ends up scoring twice in the seventh and once more in the top of the ninth.
In game two the Mastodons fall short to Oakland. The final score was eight to three.
— Purdue Fort Wayne Baseball (@MastodonBSB) April 13, 2024
The Mastodons took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first after Walker score off of Thoroman’s single. Oakland scored three times at the bottom of the first.
Oakland had a four point lead, but at the top of seventh Higgins homered cutting the lead to two. Oakland expanded the lead with three more runs in the eighth.
After the doubleheader PFW is now 13-21. Oakland improves to 17-17.
— Purdue Fort Wayne Baseball (@MastodonBSB) April 6, 2024
The game started off slow for both teams. The Mastodons scored once in the second inning. Northern Kentucky started making a comeback scoring three times. PFW ended up scoring twice in the bottom half of the eighth inning. PFW’s Justin Osterhouse knot the game up with a two-out RBI double at the ending of the eighth.
Nick Sutherlin’s walk-off home run gave the Mastodons the victory in the 10th inning.
— Purdue Fort Wayne Baseball (@MastodonBSB) April 6, 2024
The Mastodons scorers for game two were Sutherlin in the fourth giving PFW a 1-0 lead. Jacob Walker and Grant Sawa scored in the fifth. The lead was 3-0 at the end of the fifth. Ben Higgins scored at the bottom of the eighth. PFW held NKU scoreless until the top of ninth.
The Mastodons improve to 12-18 and Northern Kentucky falls to 19-11.
This was a very tight game from the beginning. Saint Louis took a quick 7-0 lead in the first quarter, but the Mastodons came back quickly. The game was all tied up at halftime.
The second half of the game was close. After Renna Schwieterman made free throws, the Mastodons were down by two with 55 seconds left in the game. Saint Louis ended up scoring the next possession gaining a four point lead. The Mastodons came up short on the next possession sealing the win for Saint Louis.
The Mastodons finish their season 23-13 which is their most wins as a Division I program.
Amellia Bromenschenkel lead the Mastodons in scoring with 27 points and 14 rebounds for the night.
Shayla Sellers career as a Mastodon comes to an end. She finished top 10 in points and sixth in rebounds in the program’s history. She averaged 11.4 points for the 2023-2024 season.
Mastodons Guard Shayla Sellers
Saint Louis improves to 19-18 and will play in the WNIT Great 8.
After reaching a milestone in her officiating career in becoming the first female to officiate in the National Football League and the first to officiate in a Super Bowl, Sarah Thomas takes her professional experiences as a learning tool.
Thomas spent time meeting and interacting with students on the Purdue Fort Wayne campus last Tuesday.
Her message was clear, “prove to yourself that you belong where you are.”
Her message was not centered around her being the first, but rather ways students can be successful when they take that step into their professional careers.
Thomas urged students to find a mentor, someone to lean on when things get tough – because they will at some point. She went on to say “don’t look at these tough times as failures, but rather speed bumps.”
She urged both students on campus and those in attendance at her Omnibus Speaker Series appearance on that evening to reach for their dreams.
“That work ethic, that attitude, how you carry yourself, and your field presence, that recognition will come,” Thomas said. “Don’t do things for the recognition, do them because you love them.”
— Purdue University Fort Wayne (@purduefw) March 26, 2024
Thomas’ 10th season in the NFL has already begun as she is required to go through frequent testing to stay current on rule changes throughout the league. She does this all while raising her three children and working at a marketing agency.
It was brought up during the class lecture with students that officials in the NFL take a lot of criticism, but Thomas has trained herself to block out the negative noise and focus on what she can control in perfecting her craft.
Being in the public eye can have its negatives, but the importance of being self aware of what is being posted on social media and how we carry ourselves when we’re out is vastly important.
Thomas shared with the audience that she was scouted by the NFL while officiating a football game. She got their attention not because she was a woman, but because of her field presence and the way she carried herself.
She went on to say that she didn’t even know that scouts for NFL officiating existed, but because she carried herself with professionalism and dignity, she stood out.
Thomas continues to pave the way by traveling around the country sharing her experiences with students. To motivate and guide them into the mindset that anything is possible.
For more information on the Omnibus Speaker Series visit PFW.edu/omnibus.
— Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons Basketball (@MastodonMBB) March 27, 2024
With 11:40 left in game the Spartans took the lead after a made three pointer. They remained in the lead for the rest of the game.
The Mastodons had four players who scored double digits. Anthony Roberts had 18 points, Rasheed Bello finished with 13 points, Quinton Morton-Robertson had 12 points all coming from three pointers, and Eric Mulder 10 points.
All five Mastodons starters finished the night with double digit scoring. Shayla Sellers finished with 22 points with 8-18 shooting from the field. Destinee Marshall had 13 points, Amellia Bromenschenkel finished with 12 points, and Jazzlyn Lindo had 10 points.
The Mastodons shot 44.8% from the field and held Cincinnati to 34.7%. PFW improves to 23-12 and Cincinnati falls to 14-18.
The Mastodons are headed to the Super 16 on Friday Mar. 29 to play against Saint Louis.
— Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons Basketball (@MastodonMBB) March 25, 2024
PFW made their comeback in the second half. Rasheed Bello’s three-pointer tied the game at 50 with 10:19 left. The Mastodons were lead by as much as nine points with four minutes left in the game, but the Texans went on a run and retook the lead with 46 seconds left.
After the Texans made free throws, they led by one point 30 seconds left in the game. Eric Mulder ended up hitting a game winner to send the Mastodons to the CIT Championship Game.
Eric Mulder put the 'Dons up a moment ago with this hoop.
— Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons Basketball (@MastodonMBB) March 26, 2024
All five PFW starters finished the night with double digits scoring. Bello led the Mastodons in scoring with 21 points with 9-13 shooting from the field. Anthony Roberts hit 2,000 points for his NCAA career.
When curious guests looked into the Language Lab, they were greeted by heartfelt laughter, merrymaking, and bead necklaces as the French club invited them to join in on the Mardi Gras festivities.
“Mardi Gras, from how I see, celebrates it in a secular way, Francophone culture as well as our own American culture,” said the president of the French club Veronica Johnson.
Mardi Gras is a holiday, prominently celebrated in New Orleans which has a large Francophone community, known for its lavish costumes, fatty food, and carnival festivities.
In English, Mardi Gras translates to Fat Tuesday because it takes place the day before Ash Wednesday and the first day of Lent where many Christians abstain from consuming certain foods.
In the spirit of Mardi Gras, an assortment of foods heavily associated with the celebration such as pączki and king’s cake were provided for everyone to enjoy.
However, despite the joyous occasion, there was great uncertainty behind the scenes.
At the time of Mardi Gras, the French minor had not been suspended. But, there had been concerns about finding a full-time French professor, after the previous professor retired, before the start of next fall semester.
As of March, the university canceled its search for a French professor after already having started the hiring process. The reasons for this decision are still unclear, but the French minor was suspended soon after.
Although the university is willing to help a select few French minors who are further along in their degree fulfill their remaining credits, many French minors are being told to change their minors.
“This action set by Purdue University Fort Wayne sets a precedent for further reduction of foreign language programs throughout all levels of education,” according to their statement posted on Instagram.
The French club is a relatively new club at the university, having formed in March of 2023, but the French department has a longer and richer history at the university.
A large motivation for the formation of the French club has been to create an organized sense of community by providing opportunities for students to create strong bonds through participation in francophone culture.
This sentiment was also expressed by the French tutor Alisa Schrock about the role the French club and learning French has had in her life.
“It keeps me in on our French learning community,” Shrock said. “It’s important because not only do students share homework, but become friends through the time we spend together studying and learning new things.”
One exciting visitor at the event was the retired French professor Dr. Nancy Virtue. Even whilst retired, she maintains strong connections with the French club and former students who have created a close-knit community.
“The current group of students have been amazing at creating a sense of community,” Virtue said. “They’re really engaged, so that makes me so happy and easier for me to retire knowing that I was leaving the French program at such a vital moment.”
Although Virtue’s retirement has been a catalyst for great change; the French department has seen a renewed sense of dedication towards foreign language learning, which is being ignored by the university.
One theme that kept coming up during the event was that of community. Culture brings people together. Simple acts such as eating together or living alongside each other gives us greater insight into each other’s lives.
The Mardi Gras event gave everyone there an opportunity to participate in a piece of culture and expand their worldview into different people’s learned experiences, which creates empathy for the people around us.
— Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons Basketball (@MastodonMBB) March 21, 2024
The first half of the game was close until the Mastodons went on a 20-4 run ending the half with a 12 point lead. Anthony Roberts capped it off went a dunk right before the buzzer.
— Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons Basketball (@MastodonMBB) March 20, 2024
In the second half Bowling Green started to make a comeback. With 8:50 left in the game they led by two points.
After a missed free throw from Bowling Green the game was tied 75-75 with 37 seconds left in the game. Eric Mulder made a layup with 15 seconds left giving the Mastodons the win.
— Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons Basketball (@MastodonMBB) March 21, 2024
The Mastodons had four players who scored double-digits. Corey Hadnot II finished with 10 points, Rasheed Bello had 11 points and two steals, Roberts had 17 points, and Jalen Jackson ended the night with 18 points and six rebounds. Jackson also took home MVP Honors.
The Cinema Center held a free screening of 20 Days in Mariupol and featured a Q&A with producer Michelle Mizner last month.
The film won best documentary this year at the 96th Academy Awards – the first time Ukraine has won an Oscar. The production covers the events witnessed by a team of Associated Press reporters trapped in the city of Mariupol during the first twenty days of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Video journalist Mstyslav Chernov, photographer Evgeniy Maloletka, and producer Vasilisa Stepanenkothey captured the graphic damage the invasion caused and the lives that were lost during it. The film does not hold back from showing the violence and terror happening in the region, leaving audience members shocked and moved by the scenes displayed.
In the film, news broadcasts from around the world use the footage that reporters filmed while in Mariupol. News reports from Russia showed how they accuse the footage of being fake news or that the people trying to survive in Mariupol are paid actors.
After the screening of the film, Cinema Center held a Q&A with Mizner, the editor and producer of the award-winning documentary, and Ann Livschiz, professor in the department of history at PFW. Audience members were able to ask questions about the film, and news on Ukraine now.
Mizner works for Frontline, a television series produced by PBS covering a vast number of topics. There, she edits hour-long documentaries for the show. With 20 Days in Mariupol, it was her first time working on and editing a feature length film.
Mizner worked closely with Chernov, who was one of the cameramen capturing the footage and is the director of the project.
Mizner mentioned that she was working with Chernov directly via satellite phones during the twenty days. He would send the footage over whenever they had access to satellite connection.
At the same time, Chernov and his team were also trying to avoid the Russians, risking their safety to inform the world of what was really going on in Mariupol.
She describes the work process with Chernov as “making an album.” She says she was the “producer” of an album and Chernov was the artist “who brings vision or something integral to them.”
Mizner mentioned how much the film means to Chernov and the rest of the reporters who captured the footage. The camera crew are all from Ukraine and were deeply affected by what they witnessed and went through.
Mizner mentioned her own connection and passion for helping create the documentary.
“There are many things that I hope,” Mizner said. “One of those things I hope is journalism. We think about journalism, and what it takes to make good Journalism, and the risk they take to gather that information.”
When Chernov came to the United States, both were able to finish the film with the footage they had. They were able to put out the message and facts in the film from the footage they gathered, to let people know what was really happening in Mariupol.
The event was held at the Cinema Center, a not-for-profit theater that shows a wide range of independent films and hosts unique events. Every year, they host their own film festival “Hobnobben,” showing local independent films and others from around the country.
The Center has held multiple events like this in the past, showing a movie, then holding a Q&A afterwards, with people who are educated on the topic. The goal is to allow citizens and audience members to engage with the material and ask their own questions, creating a space to hold important conversations.
After the event, audience members formed a lengthy line to thank Mizner for her work and for coming to the Cinema Center.
Mizner mentioned that all Frontline films are available for free on YouTube.
“They are long formed and deeply reported documentaries,” she said. She strongly encourages others to check them out at Frontline’s website, as they are a terrific way to learn about America and the world.
