Thursday, October 29, 2020

The Origins of Theatre



Based in New York City, Janina Casey enjoyed an early career in television as a child, appearing in popular television shows like The Electric Company. Today, she is a financial professional who also sits on the National Urban Technology Center board. Outside of work Janina Casey enjoys hiking, traveling, and theatre performances.

Theatre is one of the oldest forms of entertainment in human tradition. Its early origins date as far as 2,500 years ago in Athens. During this period, ancient Greeks engaged in an organized form of choral singing and dancing in honor of Dionysus, the Greek god of wine and fertility. These performances usually told stories of myths and legends in Greek history.

Much later, around the 6th century, Greek ruler, Pisistratus, introduced art competitions in music, dancing, poetry, and singing into the celebrations that honored Dionysus. According to historical records, the singer, Thespis of Icaria, was the first winner of these contests.

Thespis was particularly famous for his animated performances, which involved him reciting lines of poetry in his characters' persona while standing on the back of a wooden cart. As such, history would credit him as the first actor in live theatre. He would eventually become the inspiration behind the word Thespian, which referred to an actor or actress. 

Wednesday, October 21, 2020

Urban Tech’s YLA Interface and How It Works

An experienced finance professional working in sales and equity research, Janina Casey earned her finance bachelor’s degree from St. Johns University, which recommended her for a Citibank summer management training program. Janina Casey is a supporter of Urban Tech, a nonprofit organization where she has recently been named a board member.


Also known as the National Urban Technology Center, Urban Tech is committed to change education and create solutions for students through critical thinking, digital storytelling, and social-emotional learning. Urban Tech engages students by utilizing popular music, relatable language, gamification, and animation, and this is achieved through applications such as the Youth Leadership Academy (YLA).

YLA is a software that provides teachers with an online multimedia program that develops essential life and social skills with the help of twelve online courses. The software interface counts with activities such as On The Reel, a set of animated short stories with thought-provoking questions related to issues that adolescents face on a day-to-day basis.

The Write To The Point activity allows participants to express their perspective in an e-journal, which strengthens their reasoning and language skills while promoting critical thinking. For assessing and evaluating the students learning, the software uses a TV-style quiz game called Final Answer - it measures retention but is not a traditional test.

Thursday, October 8, 2020

Safety Tips for Hikers

 

Friday, October 2, 2020

Urban Tech's YLA Program Increases Graduation Rates


Currently functioning as managing director of equities at BTIG, Janina Casey has also held executive positions at Telsey Advisory Group and Merrill Lynch. Janina Casey also sits on the board of Urban Tech.


Based in New York City, The National Urban Technology Center (Urban Tech) is a nonprofit that seeks to improve the education system through digital storytelling, critical thinking, and social emotional learning. They’ve developed a standards-based curriculum that prepares students for the 21st century.

Through the Youth Leadership Academy (YLA), Urban Tech works with underrepresented and underprivileged communities and helps provide students in those communities with the emotional and social skills they need to achieve personal growth and leadership skills. The YLA has trained 600,000 students in afterschool programs in 500 schools across the nation. YLA attendees saw a 46 percent increase in reading scores, 40 percent increase in math scores, and 67 percent increase in graduation rates. YLA attendees also improved self-esteem and self-efficacy.

For more information about this program or other Urban Tech programs, visit www.urbantech.org.

Clio Fashion and Beauty Awards

A New York resident with more than 15 years of professional experience, Janina Casey holds a bachelor of science in finance from St. John&#...