Steve Brinkerhoff is a part-time instructor at Sinclair Community College, who sees himself as an “average guy,” but said he’s had his fair share of dabbling in various activities.

“Enjoy people,” he said. “Learn to look for the good in everybody. Everybody has a unique story — you can learn from anybody. Swapping stories and telling stories, I’m sad to say, is a lost art,” Brinkerhoff said.

He has used this philosophy in many areas of his life, which caused a spark of interest in collecting stamps.

He said every stamp has its own story and that’s why he likes them.

Brinkerhoff said he has thousands of stamps in his collection.

Along with Brinkerhoff’s hobby of collecting stamps, he has been curious about certain things in life, such as the concept of humor. He loves humor and has studied it. He posed and analyzed the question, “what makes something funny?”

“Humor is a wonderful way of reducing some stress and a good way of helping people remember things,” Brinkerhoff said. “So I like to remember interesting stories that help drive a point home.”

Brinkerhoff also enjoys listening to and playing music. He has been playing the guitar for the past 50 years. He owns five guitars, as well as a banjo and a mandolin.

Throughout Brinkerhoff’s life, he has been heavily involved in many different physical activities and sports – including wrestling, soccer and running. He was a heavy runner, but after receiving a hip replacement, he is no longer able to do so. Therefore, instead of running, he has picked up swimming long distances.

Brinkerhoff has been teaching psychology for 25 years and has had many different experiences in the psychology field.

Brinkerhoff said he enjoys the learning environment within the classroom.

“I enjoy challenging people, getting to know the students and seeing progress,” Brinkerhoff said.

Brinkerhoff graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor’s degree in Educational Psychology and worked post-graduation as a therapist at the University of North Carolina. After graduation, Brinkerhoff worked for two and a half years at the Florida Division of Correctional, where he helped inmates obtain their GEDs. In addition he worked as a counselor for Dayton Christian High School for 12 years before moving on to Sinclair.

My name is Daniel Deaton. I’m 24 years old and in my short time on this planet, I’ve realized that you’re going to make mistakes. There are people you will upset by the choices you make and unfortunately, you’ll dabble in ignorance from time to time.

I think what’s most important is that you find the ability to learn from your mistakes and carry on with your life properly.

I’ve discovered my love for writing as a student at Sinclair Community College these past couple of months and have incorporated it into a daily practice. I did this by taking a leap of faith and applying at the Clarion, the student newspaper at Sinclair.

I’ve always had an interest in becoming a journalist. I can remember my aspiration coming from my history book in high school — learning about the famous Watergate scandal in the early 1970s. The two investigative journalists responsible for breaking the biggest story in American politics were Bob Woodard and Carl Bernstein. The magnitude of what they were able to do with their skill set of writing and journalism still gives me the chills.

After applying to the Clarion with only one Journalism class under my belt, I thought for sure I wouldn’t be considered. I guess you could say I’ve been accustomed to selling myself short. I had put this newspaper and my aspirations of being a journalist on such a high standard that I let myself fall deep in a dark place where only I could pull myself out.

I couldn’t help relating to the movie “Batman Begins” when a young Bruce Wayne falls into a cave and becomes surrounded in darkness. He can’t escape until his father pulls him out and conveys something defining and something that connects with me on an emotional level. He said, “And why do we fall Bruce? So we can learn to pick ourselves up.”

That bit of wisdom is my starting point. This is my beginning that I’ve adopted recently into my life. It’s true because no matter how hard you fall, no matter how many mistakes you make, you can rise above it and pick yourself up, again and again.

I’m a reporter now for the Clarion as of March and I’ve already made mistakes in my articles. I’ve incorrectly spelled someone’s last name and the name of a country.

Except this time when I began to fall, I recall a quote that I will always admire: “Every expert was once a beginner.”

Sinclair Community College’s Art Department looks to bring in the spring season with an art sale this month.

Associate Professor and Sales Coordinator Robert Coates is excited for this year’s art sale. Coates believes it promotes an understanding of one’s creation and the appreciation of accompanying work created by students.

“It’s a great way to advertise the rest of the college,” Coates said.

The art sale encourages all participants to think outside of the box when it comes to what art should be sold. Sculptures and drawings, along with paintings and digital media, are only some of what being is offered at the event.

When it comes to ceramics that are finished or unfinished, nothing is left behind. Coates not only appreciates this fact, but also understand that this provides the Art Department with a percent of money to go toward scholarships for Art majors.

Coates’ determination to create the event came about when he spoke with a fellow colleague during his first year at Sinclair.

“Why don’t we have an art sale at this school?” he said.

With preparation and the help of others, Coates was able to not only create a sale that brings a highlight of art work and students together, but a fundraiser toward student scholarships and the Art Department itself.

Coates believes putting a price on your work and learning how to sell and talk at this event is a practice that you will add to your skill set for the future as an artist.

“Putting a price on your art is something I think everybody has a difficult time with,” he said.

Coates not only believes in this event’s foundation and representation, but agrees that it will sharpen your skill set as an artist.

Students are not required to attend, so Coates encourages all to take advantage whether participating or spectating.

Coates said that you can’t really go wrong by attending.

“It’s the best place to get a mother’s day gift,” he said.

The event will be held Tuesday, April 2 and Wednesday, April 3 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and on Thursday, April 4 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Building 13, on the second floor in the entrance hall.

For more information on Sinclair’s art sale, email Coates at [email protected] or check your daily newsletter on the school’s website at sinclair.edu.

Sinclair Community College’s annual Holocaust Remembrance and Education Series continues its 26 years of observance this April with the theme “Spirit of Survival.”

The Holocaust Remembrance Committee, comprised of Sinclair staff and community members, was formed in 1987 with the purpose of “encouraging the study of the Holocaust, to foster understanding between different cultures and to work against racism and ethnic prejudice.”

Sean Frost, Holocaust Remembrance Committee chair and associate professor at Sinclair, described the ambition of this year’s theme as not only an effort to emphasize the will to survive in the midst of mass murder, but to highlight those who survived and help communicate their experiences. “It’s really important to share those stories — to let the younger people hear these stories of survival and how that came about,” Frost said. “We know that all too soon the opportunity to hear first-hand accounts is going to be lost. Survivors are aging.”

This year, Holocaust survivor Sam Heider will deliver the “Spirit of Survival” keynote address on Thursday, April 4 at 12:30 p.m. in Building 14, Room 130.

Heider was relocated from Biejkow, Poland to the Bialobrzegi ghetto in 1941. He survived Nazi-occupation and the labor camp at Radom, but his parents died in the Treblinka extermination camp.

“Yom HaShoah: Remembering the Holocaust” commemoration will be held, with the help of Sinclair’s Campus Ministry, on Tuesday, April 9 at 12:30 p.m. in the Library Loggia. The student-led reading and reflection will be held in remembrance of those killed during the Holocaust.

A workshop for teachers and education majors will be held on Thursday, April 11 at 4 p.m. in Building 7, Room 006. The series of three workshops will focus on teaching about the Holocaust.

Sinclair Talks will present “Renate Frydman, A Survivor’s Story” on Monday, April 15 at 2 p.m. in the Library Loggia. Frydman is a Holocaust survivor with the Dayton Holocaust Resource center and a Holocaust Committee member.

Frost said the Holocaust Committee will also help promote the Dayton Holocaust Resource Center’s Max May Memorial Art Contest, which encourages Dayton-region students to create Holocaust-themed art projects and written pieces. Selected pieces from the contest will be displayed in the Sinclair Library in April.

Frost said he grew up with an awareness of the Holocaust, but the experience of hearing a Holocaust survivor speak while he was in college widened his perception of the event from being a tragic period in history, to something much more.

He described the chance of hearing a survivor’s first-hand account as a “visceral, gut-churning experience.”

“I think for students, anytime you get an opportunity to interact with history, it makes it more tangible and it makes it something that is living,” Frost said. “I think it can have an emotional impact, but it can also have a cognitive impact, so that students are encouraged to do more research and learn about the Holocaust.”

The Sam Heider keynote event, “Yom HaShoah” and Sinclair Talks events are free and open to Sinclair students and the community.

For additional information or questions regarding Holocaust Remembrance and Education, contact Frost at [email protected]