Three Benefits of Traveling

New York finance professional Janina Casey graduated from St. John’s University with a BS in finance. More recently, she has completed programs in management training at, among other institutions, Princeton University and developed a successful career in equity research and sales. Outside of work, Janina Casey enjoys traveling.

Below are a few benefits of traveling:

- Reduce stress and boost mood. Many people experience sleep deprivation in their daily life. When combined with high levels of stress, this makes you more irritable and decreases your cognitive performance. By traveling, you experience a break in your routine and can catch up on your sleep, thus making you feel rejuvenated when you return home.

- Explore new interests. Traveling to new locations gives you a better idea of how others live and what their cultures are like. Through this exposure, you may learn about new interests or ways of living that you can develop upon your return home.

- Expand your comfort zone. Regardless of whether you travel with a group, as a volunteer, or on your own, you are placing yourself in a new location and new situations that can help you expand your comfort zone. As a result, you will experience a boost in confidence and be more willing to accept new challenges.

Urbantech NYC Initiatives

Since 1999, Janina Casey has been working in executive level positions at financial institutions in New York City. Janina Casey supports Urbantech NYC fundraisers and was recently elected to the Board of Directors. 

Urbantech NYC is a company dedicated to fostering an entrepreneurship ecosystem that supports both innovation and entrepreneurs looking to make cities more sustainable and livable. To this end, Urbantech focuses on four main areas: work, build, demonstrate, and connect. 

Urbantech NYC offers more than 10,000 square feet of affordable private and co-working spaces at Urban Future Lab, Hub @ GCT, and Hub @ New Lab, providing areas for innovators to create and connect. The company has also teamed with New Lab and the Regional Economic Development Council to develop a prototyping center and commercialization program so that Urbantech members have the tools they need to build and create. 

Further, the company is also looking for ways to help its members demonstrate their innovations and technologies on New York City infrastructure, to show in a concrete fashion how their work can solve problems. To learn more, visit www.urbantechnyc.com.

Teaching Children to Read with Educational Television

With a bachelor of science in finance, Janina Casey has almost 20 years of executive experience in equity research and sales. Before her professional career in finance, Janina Casey was a child actress and was nominated for her role in the children's educational television show The Electric Company. 

While many experts agree that today's children spend too much time with electronic media, a number of them including Milton Chen, who helped launch an educational programming partnership between the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and the U.S. Department of Education, believe that educational programming for children has positive effects. In a statement made in 2009, Chen concluded, "I come out on the side that specific television programs and experiences can very much support literacy."

Chen believes that well-designed television and media programs can contribute greatly to learning to read by enhancing a child's recognition of letters and sounds. These programs can also help children develop a love for reading. When working on shows like Sesame Street and The Electric Company, Chen helped to design and test teaching methods that promoted literacy. Still, expert research shows that excessive television viewing may be detrimental to children under two years of age, and that there needs to be a balance between watching literacy programming on television and practicing reading for children to become fluent readers.

Improving Hiking Endurance

New York executive Janina Casey focuses her work on the equity sales and research industry. Outside of her professional pursuits, Janina Casey enjoys hiking.

Although it very possible to improve hiking endurance, it must be done over the course of several weeks to ensure the body is properly trained. For those working Monday through Friday, most gradual increases will occur during the weekdays. If possible, hike three or four times each week, and periodically increase the length of the hike until you reach the desired distance. Meanwhile, the weekends can serve as marathon sessions. 

In addition to gradually increasing distance, it is important to stay active throughout the year. Depending on your location, there may not be an offseason for hiking. In that case, engage in activities that are more suitable to the weather in order to maintain stamina.

Finally, hikers looking to improve endurance should work on their strength and toughness. Outside of hiking, performing lunges, crunches, and calf raises will boost the strength of the leg and core muscles. In terms of increasing toughness, hikers can vary their workouts by completing hikes of differing intensities. They can also string together workouts so they are hiking multiple days in a row.