Laetitia Tamko's second album, the soon-to-be-released, self-titled Vagabon, is written from the perspective of someone who found not just the space to call home, but also a firm grip on her artistic identity. Kholood Eid for NPR hide caption

Laetitia Tamko's second album, the soon-to-be-released, self-titled Vagabon, is written from the perspective of someone who found not just the space to call home, but also a firm grip on her artistic identity.

"I'm naturally soft spoken," Laetitia Tamko says. "But when I sing, I'm not soft spoken."

Much of Infinite Worlds, the first album Tamko recorded as Vagabon, was her with a guitar, singing achingly introspective songs about the search for home and safety. Tamko says when she recorded it, she was uncomfortable with how deep her voice was. But now, hundreds of live performances later, she's embraced it.

She recalls stumbling across a tweet where someone said she sang like she had peanut butter stuck at the roof of her mouth. She gives a self-assured laugh; she thought the image was hilarious.

"I don't know if I'm breaking any singing rules, but to me it doesn't matter," Tamko says. "You know, it's my voice and it's deeply personal and I don't want it to be perfect."

Tamko's second album, the soon-to-be-released, self-titled Vagabon, is written from the perspective of someone who found not just the space to call home, but also a firm grip on her artistic identity, and with it, the luxury of being interested in what happens when carefully set boundaries dissolve. On the new album's "Every Woman," Tamko lets herself sink into the lowest part of her register to sing about generational exhaustion. On "Please Don't Leave the Table," Tamko floats a Destiny's Child reference in a relaxed falsetto: "When you call, say my name, say my name." She tries the folk singer, the popstar and the bedroom indie rocker all on for size.

Tamko is in the middle of a process she calls "the death of [her] imposter syndrome." But the phenomenon feels like it merits a more active phrasing. Tamko is quashing her self-doubt.

She's done with "walking into a space and wanting someone to feel like I'm non-threatening by making myself really, really small." She's also been removing a tendency to downplay the strength of her art.

"I feel like I made an amazing record." She pauses, exasperated. "Why can't I say that?"

***

We are arguably at our healthiest when we set boundaries; when we let a relationship or a project enrich our lives without completely consuming us. But it is also very human to be completely torn asunder.

The music of Vagabon is perfect if you want to get a little heady about this tension. What does it take to feel fully alive without getting eaten alive in the process?

Or, as Tamko puts it, "How do I deal with interpersonal relationships as a person ... whose comfort and safety can easily feel threatened?"

"I'm naturally soft spoken," Laetitia Tamko says. "But when I sing, I'm not soft spoken." Kholood Eid for NPR hide caption

"I'm naturally soft spoken," Laetitia Tamko says. "But when I sing, I'm not soft spoken."

"I want to make you / A flood in my / Flood in my heart," Tamko sings on the bright and synthy "Flood." She first read the phrase "flood hands" in a book, though she can't remember which one. "It made me so emotional to read that because at that time I felt like I was so ... fragile, I could really seep through people's fingers."

"Flood" is about realizing that good can come out of our fragility. "It's the vulnerability that comes with putting down the barriers enough to let someone destroy you if that's what's going to happen," Tamko says. "And knowing that I could do that too, to someone else. I think because I've always felt victimized through my various traumas I didn't really see myself in that position having that power."

"I came back around / Knowing you'd wreck my s*** all over again / It's funny how I'll never regret / Going low for you," she sings on "Secret Medicine." Here, Tamko, doesn't so much chide the relatable relationship boomerang as self-destructive, she just marks it as just something worth noting.

Tamko and reigning pop queen Ariana Grande make really different music, but Vagabon and thank u, next, Grande's 2019 album about love and loss, both succeed for one of the same reasons: It is refreshing to hear songs about deeply felt emotions, written from the perspective of a woman who is invested in not just being kind to others, but also kind to herself.

"I grew up with a lot of people who were not interested in being self-aware," Tamko says. "And I made this decision that I was going to be as self-aware as I could be, and really introspective, and really interested in how to be a better version of myself."

Tamko describes Vagabon as a flex: she plays many of the instruments you hear on it, and she learned the digital audio software Logic Pro so she could produce it almost entirely on her own (she is the sole producer credited on all but one song). She did not listen to music while writing it because she didn't want to drown out what was already in her head, and she wanted to make music she couldn't reference anywhere else. Nonesuch Records home to a deep roster of musical veterans like Rhiannon Giddens, Philip Glass and Laurie Anderson will release the album.

To get pumped up to go into the studio and record, Tamko re-opened herself to music from the outside, and listened to a kind of "game day" mix of artists, mostly female rappers: early Nicki Minaj, Lil Kim.

"My faves are not humble bragging," Tamko says. "They're humble in their actions, but they're not humble."

Tamko was born 26 years ago in Cameroon, but has lived in and around New York City since she was a pre-teen; she's part of the generation that saw hip-hop become pop. Inspired by the collage-like music of Frank Ocean, she found a way to cram all of the sounds that personally move her pop, punk, trap, African music into this recording.

Vagabon feels experimental, perhaps exactly because the person who made it was using tools that were new to her. In her short career, Vagabon has been associated with indie rock, but her new music relies on less on the guitar and more on synths, sequenced drums and strings. Vagabon doesn't necessarily "defy genre," to borrow an overwrought cliche, but wonders why genre even comes up when there's so much more to talk about.

Tamko tries out keyboards at a music shop in Brooklyn. Tamko describes Vagabon as a flex: she plays many of the instruments you hear on it, and she learned the digital audio software Logic Pro so she could produce it almost entirely on her own. Kholood Eid for NPR hide caption

Tamko tries out keyboards at a music shop in Brooklyn. Tamko describes Vagabon as a flex: she plays many of the instruments you hear on it, and she learned the digital audio software Logic Pro so she could produce it almost entirely on her own.

***

Tamko can remember the first time she realized music made her feel better than anything else. She thinks she was about three. Her family was in the Cameroonian capital city of Yaound, where she was born and spent much of her childhood. It was a Sunday, at a gathering called a reunion, in a circle of about 25 women, singing together.

Tamko got right in the middle of that circle and she danced. An uncharacteristic behavior, perhaps, for a person who would describe herself as a shy kid. It was a feeling she would spend years chasing.

Tamko's family moved to the U.S. so that her mother could get a law degree. Before she could bring the rest of the family over to New York, Tamko's mother worked the counter at a Jamaican restaurant in Harlem (she eventually graduated from the University of Pennsylvania).

The family moved from Harlem to the Bronx, then to Westchester County, where Tamko attended high school. As a teenager, Tamko begged her parents, to no avail, for voice and guitar lessons.

Her parents eventually surprised her with an acoustic guitar when she was 17, just about to graduate. She remembers screaming when she found the instrument in the bathroom (still in its box from Costco) and then setting to work learning how to play it. She worked through the accompanying instructional DVD many times over and supplemented with UltimateGuitar and YouTube. During boring and lonely 12-hour shifts at her mother's parcel business on the weekends, she flipped on her webcam and played covers with her newest obsession.

Tamko's parents eventually surprised her with an acoustic guitar when she was 17, just about to graduate. She remembers screaming when she found the instrument in the bathroom (still in its box from Costco) and then setting to work learning how to play it. Kholood Eid for NPR hide caption

Tamko's parents eventually surprised her with an acoustic guitar when she was 17, just about to graduate. She remembers screaming when she found the instrument in the bathroom (still in its box from Costco) and then setting to work learning how to play it.

Tamko had an understanding with her parents: the guitar was just to be a hobby, for the moments leftover after work, school and chores. She "adapted to that to make them feel more at ease," she says, but watching award shows on TV had given her lofty private goals.

"I'm going to write songs and make an album and win a Grammy one day," Tamko says, letting out a big laugh. "That was the dream!"

Tamko lived with her parents while she attended the engineering program at the City College of New York. She started writing songs towards the end of college, inspired by a classmate, and soon she was playing punk shows at night and driving up to the Hudson Valley on the weekends to record.

She released an EP, Persian Garden, on Bandcamp in 2014.

"I got a drummer from the jazz department at my college and a bassist that was recommended by him," Tamko says. She paid everyone. "Now that I think about it, from the beginning I was ... interested in cultivating my vision without feeling tied to other people's things."

She did this all without telling her parents, stealthily moving her guitar in and out of her car when they weren't around to see.

"My parents always said, 'There is no room for starving artists here. After you finish your degree, do whatever you want,'" Tamko says. "I don't believe they knew how seriously I would take that."

Tamko played a cross-country tour the summer after graduation. She told her parents that it was a trip to see the sights this country had to offer and that her friends would be playing music here and there.

After she got back from that trip, Tamko says, "for many reasons that feel a little too personal to share, it became unlivable in my parents' house." She left with a backpack of her belongings, believing she would never return.

"I think it's ... for some reason, a compelling story to see how a person like me has been hurt, or feels hurt, or feels damned or doomed," Tamko says. She gets visibly emotional as she recalls this time, but prefers to keep the details private. "And I think that's why a lot of times when I'm speaking to anybody in the media, I lead with black joy, because that feels more radical and productive to me than, 'Of course that s*** happened.'"

"I'm constantly thinking about 'no suffer porn, no suffer porn, no suffer porn ... that is not how I want to be talked about," she adds.

After she left her family, Tamko spent her days working as a software engineer in Long Island City, and spent her nights playing DIY shows in the insular and overwhelmingly white Brooklyn indie and punk scene.

"My family wasn't speaking to me, I'm in this transitional period of friends and community where I'm done with college ... I'm in this music thing where I'm new and I haven't been in the scene for that long. I'm black," Tamko says. "I felt so displaced. And so a lot of those songs are about wanting to find my space and feel OK ... demanding that I should take up space."

She packed that demand into 2017's Infinite Worlds, Vagabon's debut album. Her lyrics, in particular, were so idiosyncratic that they make a listener grateful for Tamko's strange mind.

"I'm constantly thinking about 'no suffer porn, no suffer porn, no suffer porn ... that is not how I want to be talked about," Tamko said. Kholood Eid for NPR hide caption

"I'm constantly thinking about 'no suffer porn, no suffer porn, no suffer porn ... that is not how I want to be talked about," Tamko said.

In May 2017, Tamko couldn't help but notice that one of Spotify's subway ads bore a passing resemblance to a lyric from "The Embers," which opens Infinite Worlds. "Someone made a playlist called 'sorry I lost your cat' when they could have been making flyers," the billboard read, perhaps not realizing that the playlist's creator-maker had named it after Vagabon's song. The copywriter was right to realize that the phrasing was striking, though, even if they had not gotten to the satisfying second clause "It's just that I was so damn mad" which hits in such a way that it makes you realize exactly the kind of mad Tamko is talking about.

Depending on who is listening and when, Vagabon lyrics can speak to relationships between friends, or romantic partners or between a person and society.

"I don't have it in me to give everyone everything / Take what you need and go" Tamko sings on "Alive and a Well," the final track of Infinite Worlds.

This slipperiness offers an answer to the political pressure that critics tend to put on Tamko's art.

"Because of who I represent and at what time I decided to share this music, it just became this narrative put on me that I was gonna change the world of indie rock," Tamko told The New York Times for its 2017 iteration of the time-old "women in rock" conversation. "I appreciate that, but I'm really not here to change any world."

Tamko quit her day job at the end of March 2017, a month after Infinite Worlds was released, confident enough from the album's success that she could pay her bills as a full-time musician. She still lives on her own, but says she talks to her parents now, a thing she never expected to do again when she left.

Making Vagabon was painful because of how much pressure Tamko puts on herself; she says there was a whole period of time when she was so creatively paralyzed that she couldn't open her computer to work on arranging songs. But it is also the record that documents the happiest era of her life.

"I was feeling myself in a different way, to be honest," she says. "By the time I sat down to make this record, I went from not being sure I'd be OK to touring the world like, a bazillion times and doing the only thing that makes me happy. And ... I'm just different."

***

Tamko walks with Oliver Hill, a session player on keys, guitar and viola, in Brooklyn. Making Vagabon was painful because of how much pressure Tamko puts on herself; she says there was a whole period of time when she was so creatively paralyzed that she couldn't open her computer to work on arranging songs. But it is also the record that documents the happiest era of her life. Kholood Eid for NPR hide caption

Tamko walks with Oliver Hill, a session player on keys, guitar and viola, in Brooklyn. Making Vagabon was painful because of how much pressure Tamko puts on herself; she says there was a whole period of time when she was so creatively paralyzed that she couldn't open her computer to work on arranging songs. But it is also the record that documents the happiest era of her life.

Tamko had fun making the bridge of "Flood": A fill of booming drums takes us into the chorus; It's satisfying, but definitely dramatic.

"It's funny, I just wanted to be a little bit extra, kind of showy about it," Tamko says. "And I remember showing it to a friend when I first laid down the demo, and they were like, 'Woah, these drums are very Phil Collins.' And I'm like, 'Who's Phil Collins?'"

The drums are very Phil Collins. Think the iconic drum break in the 1981 smash hit "In the Air Tonight."

"I still don't know who Phil Collins is," Tamko says.

Despite years of longing for more formal training, Tamko has come to see her musical naivete as an advantage. She describes it this way: "If I try to cover a song, I'll play it so wrong that I'll write a song. If I learn a fifth of an African song on guitar, I will learn it the wrong way and I'll make my own thing. That's what I'm protective of."

Tamko is no longer friends with the classmate from engineering school who inspired her to start songwriting; he told her she was "bad at guitar," and people were only interested in her music because she was a black woman.

"I've had bandmates laugh at me because I didn't know how to speak, like, music language," Tamko says. "And a lot of those people went to school for it and studied jazz ... and I thought that was cool. I wanted to learn from them. But they didn't respect me enough to think that they had anything to learn from me."

For her 2019 fall tour with Angel Olsen, Tamko will play venues that can hold more than 2,000 people; she toured with Courtney Barnett and Julien Baker last year.

As we sit in her red minivan and play songs from Vagabon, Tamko tells me that the beat for "Full Moon in Gemini" was a "happy accident."

"I'm just kind of dragging the snare through all these different plugins that I don't know what they are, I don't know what they're doing," Tamko explains. "Just kind of clicking around, dragging, quantizing kind of wrong. And I'm like, hm, I wonder what a 1/32nd snare sounds like ... I do math and I'm like OK, what if it went really fast? How do I make trap hats? Youtubing, 'How to make hi-hats go fast.'"

The song starts with a kind of swirly mix of strings and synth, but when the chorus kicks in, this trap-influenced beat comes along, too, and Tamko's vocals wind through the newfound structure. That production lends a just-right balance to a song about staying still ("And I'll stay, stay with you in our bed / It feels so, so good") and knowing the moment won't last.

She says this process of taking what's in her head and getting it into an arrangement reminds her "very much how I felt as a programmer. Because I understand the concept, I can just get there by free information. Because the hard part is in me."

***

Tamko gave specific instructions for the Vagabon cover shoot: no black, no dark colors or dark lighting.

"There will be no darkness in any of this," she says. "This album is resilience and strength."

In the photo, Laetitia Tamko sits by herself against a deep orange backdrop, wearing a sleeveless black top and a hexagonal blue hat handwoven by the L.A. hatmaker Ariana Valenzuela. Tamko says that "it calls you in and invites a generous listen."

Does it also matter to her that her audience see her face, and know she's black?

"I think subconsciously it does," Tamko answers. "It was time for it not to be ambiguous. It was time for it to be explicit 'cause I'm explicit on the record."

There's an interlude in "Wits About You" a song about not being able to let something or someone go where Tamko makes a thinly-veiled critique of the indie-rock scene in which she found a fraught home.

"I was invited to the party," she sings. "They won't let my people in / Well then, nevermind nevermind nevermind / We don't want to go to your function."

Tamko is careful not to exclude any of her fans, but she notes that because she makes indie-rock music, and because of the scene she came up in, "a whole array of people" end up at her shows. It's clear she is implying that many are white.

Tamko decided to open for a few Jamila Woods dates at the end of 2017. She was fielding other offers, from big artists that she knew personally, but ultimately she chose to tour with Woods, whom she hadn't yet met. She knew that black people went to Jamila Woods shows.

"It felt important for me not just me emotionally, but for me as a musician to be able to play rock music in front of a 98 percent black audience, and for them to see me," Tamko says. "And it almost felt more nerve-wracking, like I wanted to be accepted. I wanted to impress them."

For all of Tamko's emphasis on artistic independence, she also seems intensely interested in community. She says her group text with musician friends Mitski Miyawaki (who performs as just Mitski) and Sasami Ashworth (who performs as SASAMI) "has saved [her] life so many times." In the liner notes of Vagabon, she credits them for being part of the "chosen family" that made the record possible.

Tamko is not interested in being the so-called "Cameroonian girl in indie rock." The question was never whether she was welcome in rock or any popular music genre, for that matter. "I'm African," Tamko says. "Most of your music will date back to that place." Kholood Eid for NPR hide caption

Tamko is not interested in being the so-called "Cameroonian girl in indie rock." The question was never whether she was welcome in rock or any popular music genre, for that matter. "I'm African," Tamko says. "Most of your music will date back to that place."

Tamko tells me she feels lucky to have them and then corrects herself: "It's funny; I stopped using the word 'lucky.' I have friends like that because I'm that friend. It's what I put out into the world and it's what they collectively have put back into me."

When she played a Pitchfork Music Festival after-party in 2017, Tamko specifically asked for Tasha, the Chicago singer-songwriter now signed to Vagabon's former label Father/Daughter, to play with her.

"When I was deciding to finalize the deal I did with Father/Daughter, I had a really long phone call with her about her experience and about the things she learned from working with this label," Tasha says over the phone. "And then when I was putting together tours and I was working on recordings, I kept going back to her because ... she's really gracious and honest about her experience."

Tasha said it felt especially important to hear another black woman tell her it's all right not to compromise, especially early in her career. It also mattered to hear Tamko's music and know it was coming from a black woman.

"There's just a very comforting feeling that happens when you realize the music that maybe you want to make that it's OK for you to do it, because somebody else is doing it," Tasha says.

Tamko is not interested in being the so-called "Cameroonian girl in indie rock." The question was never whether she was welcome in rock or any popular music genre, for that matter.

"I'm African," Tamko says. "Most of your music will date back to that place."

When asked whether the more electronic sounds on Vagabon were in any way an attempt to move beyond the indie-rock scene with all of its hangups, Tamko describes the shift in sound as a "rejection of being pigeonholed." Ultimately, though, she lands on a much simpler answer.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is that this album is me doing whatever the f*** I want because I can do whatever I want, you know?"

Continued here:
'There Will Be No Darkness': Laetitia Tamko On The Making Of 'Vagabon' - NPR

Jefferson Hills Council candidates say public safety and transparency in local leadership are at the forefront of issues that need to be addressed in the municipality. Six newcomers will square off on Nov. 5 for three open, four year seats on borough council.

The Trib asked each candidate three questions. Here are their answers.

Karen Bucy

Political affiliation: Democrat

Municipality: Jefferson Hills

Why did you decide to run for election? I have been attending JH Council meetings since I retired from teaching in South Park School District. My desire was to become more informed on local issues. I want JH Council to treat residents and other JH council members with respect and dignity. I believe that I can help restore common sense, civility and a spirit of cooperative alliance on the board in order to protect the residents of our community. We should be able to work together and move forward productively.

What is the biggest issue that needs to be addressed? Currently, the UPMC hospital issue and EQT fracking issue seem to be at rest. However, a watchful presence regarding the two issues still needs to be in place. As a result, the internal JH Community tissue of the Jefferson Hills Firehall merger remains in the forefront.

This is a personal issue for me since my father, Ned Barbarich, was a longest-living lifetime member of Pleasant Hills Fire Department before his passing. I sincerely appreciate all the men and women who volunteer their time and service to our community. It is disheartening and disappointing that the JH Fire Department merger has come to a standstill and caused unnecessary division in our community. Fire safety and protection for this entire community without causing an additional tax burden to our residents is a priority. Since our JH community consists of 16.9 square miles, it is essential to have 3 local operating departments spread out among the borough to serve both our residents and schools in the event of a fire. I fully recognize that the decrease in volunteers has caused a manpower issue. Therefore, a consolidation of the three local departments can serve to provide additional assistance, equipment, and services. Communication from all the parties involved must be resumed so that a mutually agreed upon agreement of facilities, workforce and by-laws can be agreed upon.

What do voters need to know about you? I have lived in Jefferson Hills for the past 18 years with my husband and son. I am a retired South Park School District reading and English 7th and 8th (grade) teacher. I have over 30 years of experience working with unions, collective bargaining process and contracts. Respecting and listening to a variety of peoples opinions and researching the facts of the communitys issues is a crucial component to be a public servant. Communication, long term planning, and ability to the bring a compromised closure to issues are strengths that I possess.

Nicole Ruscitto

Party affiliation: Democrat

Municipality: Jefferson Hills

Why did you decide to run for office? I have always been a proud community member of Jefferson Hills. With a focus on property owners rights, I felt compelled to enter the race. I formerly lived at the border of Pleasant Hills and Jefferson Borough. Having strong roots in a community speaks volumes as to the care and commitment I will express. With that said, I also believe that transparency must be at the forefront of our new elected leadership. I have a vested interest in responsible and transparent decision making, regardless of the issue at hand. I welcome the input and challenges ahead and strive to keep the aesthetic character I love about Jefferson Hills at the forefront for our future generations. Community must come first regarding local business, public safety and appropriate community development.

What is the biggest issue that needs to be addressed? Positive communication skills and transparency must be at the forefront of local government. Being in education for 22 years, I have learned that listening and evaluating input is the best way to learn and lead. If elected, I promise to lend my ear (to) the community monthly at the local borough building. Local residents need a forum other than the monthly council meetings to be heard. I speak from experience that it can be somewhat intimidating to voice concerns at a council meeting.

What should voters know about you? I am a graduate of Thomas Jefferson High School and currently have two children in the district. I have taught and coached children in public schools for over 22 years. My late father, George Stoicovy and mother, Monica Stoicovy started their teaching careers in the West Jefferson Hills School District. My father was a beloved guidance counselor and football coach and my mother a librarian. I have a bachelors degree and a masters degree in education and hold dear the fabric of our community and strive to preserve its character for our future generations.

Keith Reynolds

Political affiliation: Democrat

Municipality: Jefferson Hills

Why did you decide to run for election? Our community is important to me. I am born and raised here and this is where my family has always called home. Recently, I have questioned our current councils decision making on a number of items and I believe that if I am going to question it, I should also be willing to roll up my sleeves and get involved. Being a member of council comes with the responsibility of looking at your neighbors eye to eye knowing that you did your best to protect their families and lead this community into the future. It is not about political parties and agendas, the residents of Jefferson Hills deserve only the best and I am committed to delivering the best possible community for them to raise their families.

What is the biggest issue that needs to be addressed? The culture in which our current council has governed our community. Residents elect council to the position and council should always keep the communitys best interest and safety as priority number one. For far too long, we have allowed real estate developers to influence our councils decisions. Growth is good and should be encouraged, but not at the expense of our community. Members of the community have the right to approach council with their concerns and be treated with respect. I promise that I will bring the community back to the people.

What do voters need to know about you? Being born and raised in Jefferson Hills I have always been active in the community and will always continue to do so. I am not a person that will not stand on a fence and waver on issues, the community will always know how I stand. I stood behind the residents in the Say No to UPMC movement because I felt they were mistreated and deserved better. I stand 100% behind the residents of Gill Hall in the recertification of their volunteer firehall. The Gill Hall section of Jefferson Hills is the fastest growing area and we need to take responsibility for their protection. With the decertification of Gill Hall VFC in January 2019, the residents have gone without fire protection from their neighborhood firehall. Having the residents rely on the neighboring fire companies to travel to their area for fire protection is unacceptable in my eyes. Our taxes are high enough, our community deserves better.

Melissa Girman-Steffey

Party affiliation: Republican

Municipality: Jefferson Hills

Why did you decide to run for election? After volunteering on the Jefferson Hills Recreation Board for nine years, I have experienced first hand what it is like to work with a cohesive team that has the best intentions when it comes to improving and growing our community. As a mother of three children, I have developed a strong desire to play a more active role in the decision making process that will lead to the betterment of our community.

What is the biggest issue that needs to be addressed? There are a number of items that need addressed within Jefferson Hills, but the main issue that should be focused on is the lack of a functioning fire department in the Gill Hall area. Safety and security for the residents will be at the forefront of the agenda.

What do voters need to know about you? I have worked with the current members on council seeking approval for community events, upgrading fields, refreshing our parks and pavilions and seeking ADA grants for a future walkway and playground additions at Andrew Reilly Memorial Park (885 field). Overlapping strategies between council, boards, organizations and individuals will help to ensure the success of Jefferson Hills. I believe open communication is the key to success within every aspect of decision making.

James D. Kingsley

Party affiliation: Republican

Municipality: Jefferson Hills

Why did you decide to run for office? To combine my business experience and knowledge gained as a committed, active community member to help us achieve the goals of Jefferson Hills as a safe, financially responsible and well-run municipality with forward-looking leadership.

What is the biggest issue that needs to be addressed? Public safety is the biggest issue that needs to be addressed in Jefferson Borough. Local government has the responsibility in emergency situations to provide the quickest, best trained and equipped first responders that is economically feasible.

What do voters need to know about you? I remain enthusiastic about this growing community where Ive lived and raised my children during the past 35 years. If elected, I pledge to work to create long-term solutions that benefit everyone.

Michael Lewis

Party affiliation: Republican

Municipality: Jefferson Hills

Why did you decide to run for election? I just stepped down as CEO of my company and was looking to get involved with the community. With a background of building and running a business from the beginning, I felt I could use those skills and experience to benefit the community.

What is the biggest issue that needs to be addressed? Ensuring that there is transparency in all of the issues that are being addressed in the community. The issue with UPMC was a major concern for many people. Regardless of which side you are on, there were meetings and discussions that happened behind closed doors that were concerning to members of the community that no one really wanted to talk about. It appeared that decisions were made to allow UPMC to build without concerns of the impact to the community.

What do voters need to know about you? I spent the last 25 years of my career owning a company where my first concern was my employees. My first thought is how can I help others and what can I do to better their lives and provide them with an opportunity to enhance their careers. Putting the needs of others first is something that I have spent my career doing so it is something I look to do as a member of council.

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Meet the candidates: Jefferson Hills Council - TribLIVE

Mr. Cohrs shared those concerns with the banks lawyers, including Richard Walker, a general counsel. They concluded that Mr. Zhang was operating inside the law, three people familiar with those discussions told The Times.

Mr. Zhang kept going. In 2006 he turned to another consultant named Huang to help the bank secure a role in the I.P.O. of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. The stock offering was set to be the worlds largest ever. The banks handling the transaction reaped not only huge fees but also coveted bragging rights.

That man, Huang Xianghui, was lacking in banking experience, and a background check found that the Beijing company he claimed to work for did not appear to exist at the address on his business card. But what he did have, according to the banks documents, was a previous affiliation with PetroChina, the state oil company. Mr. Zhang hired him.

Mr. Huangs original contract said he would receive $3 million for services that were solely focused on the energy industry. In a draft, someone crossed out the energy industry and wrote ICBC, a reference to the giant state-owned bank. Deutsche Bank went on to win a high-profile role in the I.P.O.

The success ingratiated Mr. Zhang with his superiors, especially Mr. Ackermann. Mr. Zhang would escort him to meetings with top Chinese leaders, including the president and premier, as well as to gatherings with cultural and academic experts, Mr. Ackermann said. While at Deutsche Bank, Mr. Zhang was appointed to a top government advisory body, signaling his insider status.

He introduced me to all sorts of people, Mr. Ackermann said in the interview. He was always an honest person and had good ethical standards.

But Mr. Cohrs, who was the head of investment banking, warned the companys lawyers that he was scared of how Lee Zhang was doing business and whether there was money being passed around in envelopes, the documents show.

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Inside a Brazen Scheme to Woo China: Gifts, Golf and a $4,254 Wine - The New York Times

Do you know your Personal Blueprint for Work & Life Success?

Our goal is to teach adults to be successful based on their own unique Personal Success Styles their personalities, their natural talents, and what they love to doso they can go for what they want and bring more harmony and joy into their lives.

We offer:

Life Coaching for Personal or Professional DevelopmentPersonalized coaching by one our Master Coacheslearn how to use your Personal Success Profile to create your personal blueprint for success and attract what you want in your career or personal life.

Workshops & Seminars for Personal or Professional Development, including:

Power of You Now! Workshop Facilitator Certification & Licensing Get all the details!

Contact us for information about these programs or get started now with your:

Get started now!

THE 3 STEPS TO A MORE EMPOWERED YOU:

Step 1: Let go of your Mistaken Identity.What is a Mistaken Identity? A Mistaken Identity comes from myths and mis-labels you might have grown up with:

You have to be better than everyone else.Youre not as good as everyone else.You have to give 100% to everything you do.Good grades lead to success in life.If you dont go to college you wont get anywhere.Forget your (talent or interest)youll never make it (as an artist, musician, firefighter).Its not possible to get what you want.Dont have unrealistic expectations.You have to be a good reader and good writer to get anywhere.Wait your turn.

Im only average.Im a troublemaker.Im the class clown.I ask too many questions.Im a daydreamer.Im lazy.Im too quiet.Im too noisy.

Step 2: Embrace your True Identity. How do you embrace your True Identity? Your True Identity is made up of several aspects that identify your Personal Success Styles. Some of these aspects are your Dispositions, Modalities, Interests, and Talents.

Your Disposition is the aspect that tells the world who you are. A quick way to determine your Disposition is to consider the following and choose the line you identify with the most:

a. Entertain/Move/Dob. Manage/Organize/Planc. Question/Experiment/Inventd. Bond/Talk/Relatee. Wonder/Think/Create

Does one of these make you think, Yes, thats me! I wish I could spend most of the day doing that

Now lets look at Modality. Modality is the aspect that helps you process incoming information in the way that works best for you. Complete this statement: I learn and remember best when I can:

a. see itb. draw itc. discuss itd. hear ite. interact with itf. read ith. write it

Your Talents are those gifts you were born with. Whether or not you are interested in pursuing them, they are things that come easily to you. Make a list of your Talents. Hint: Talents come in all forms so think beyond art, music, and sports. A person could have a talent for gardening, doing puzzles, talking, working with animals, negotiating, re-arranging furniture, telling jokes

And, finally, your Interests are those things that you love to do, things that you are passionate about. An Interest is not necessarily a Talent. It is good to recognize that Interests can be the most motivating factors in your life. Make a list of your Interests.

Your choices in these four areas tell the truth about YOU the REAL YOU! The real you needs to come out for success to happen. Knowing about your True Identity rekindles your spirit and you become ready to move forward by identifying what you want and taking action steps to make those things happen.

Celebrate who you are! Enjoy knowing the truth about you!Step 3: Use your Power TraitsLook at the choices you made in Step 2. These are your Power Traits.

If you chose #a for Disposition, your Power Traits are to entertain, to move, to do. If you chose #c for Modality, your Power Trait is to talk it out when receiving information. Your Talents and Interests are additional Power Traits.

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Personal Success - Learning Success InstituteLearning ...

This article about accomplishment is going to explain the meaning of success and shall answer the question: How to define success in life?In the following, you can find a definition of success and what it means to be successful in life.(For a more detailed explanation of success, have a look at what is success. Also, be sure not to miss: how to measure success and what does success mean to you.Definition of Success:Success (the opposite of failure) is the status of having achieved and accomplished an aim or objective. Being successful means the achievement of desired visions and planned goals. Furthermore, success can be a certain social status that describes a prosperous person that could also have gained fame for its favorable outcome. The dictionary describes success as the following: attaining wealth, prosperity and/or fame.

The only person that can answer the question above is you. I am neither able nor willing to prescribe the ultimate definition of success, as this is not possible. Every person is thinking differently about being prosperous in life and is defining success in another way, so there cant exist a definition that is suitable for all. It is very important that you know exactly how to define success in life! Make yourself aware what accomplishment, success, and prosperity in general means to you in your life. Some might define success as having luxurious cars and a huge mansion, whereas others consider a life full of joy and happiness with their family as the true meaning of success. Once you have figured out what is important for you personally you are able to focus on your visions and goals.

One of the most important key steps to achieving success in life is to know the meaning of success for your personal life. The true meaning of success goes far beyond the common definitions of success, such as having a lot of money, being wealthy, having a lot of tangibles and earned degrees. Quite the opposite: true success in life cannot be measured with the above-named factors, but instead with the amount of people that are able to live a better and more advanced life because of what you created. This is the meaning of success. Not the trophies people are collecting in their lives. Media and society let us often conclude that living a successful life means to be extraordinarily wealthy and have a lot of tangibles. But the meaning of success is to live a happy life and to make this world a better place for everyone.

The opposite of success is failureas it means to fail while trying to achieve aims or objectives. Besides this regular definition of failure, it also can be said that even wealthy and successful persons fail in their lives. Just think about the rich and famous and all their scandals, addictions and suicides. All of them were extraordinary persons but a lot of them were also extremely unhappy with their lives and were not able to see the meaning of success. Wealth cannot be defined with money, but instead with values in your life that make you a happy person, such as friendship, relationships, and your family.

Accomplishment is often associated with success, but it is not the same. Accomplishment refers to the results we desire when we attempt to reach specific goals. Basically it is the results that we plan or expect to occur. Success is the positive consequence or outcome of an achieved accomplishment.

Accomplishment can be seen as the process to become successful and with every accomplished goal you take a step towards prosperity and a life full of success.

In the following, I have found some very inspiring and motivating quotes that shall accompany you on your journey to achieve happiness.

Action is the foundational key to all success. ~ Pablo Picasso

Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other. ~ Abraham Lincoln

Defeat is not the worst of failures. Not to have tried is the true failure. ~ George Edward Woodberry

Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment. ~ Jim Rohn

Keep in mind the meaning of success and always try to remember how to define success in life, so that you will be able to live a life full of happiness and joy.

Photo by Fabio Aro

The article Accomplishment The Meaning of Success and How to Define Success in Life was presented by Personal Development Blog.

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The Meaning of Success and How to Define Success in Life

Achieve Success by Changing how you Think!

Get The Personal Success Training Program NOW!

In this Program we will look at how your imagination works and how your thoughts and emotions are all tied together to ensure your total success!

How to use your imagination, creativity and innovation to get you where you want to be. We will look at the relationship between your thoughts feelings actions and results.

We take you through how to draw mental pictures to visualise your goals and how to bring them into reality.You will learn how to become a possibility thinker and pinpoint what your purpose in life will be.

Through our workbook we lay out a success plan for your life. You will learn the secrets to avoiding dependency relationships and the importance of choosing carefully your inner circle of friends. You will find out why only 25% of people will ever like you. You will learn how to become a people magnate and draw around you, the support team that you need to succeed.

Do you know when you are at your peak? Its when you are learning to become really good at something! We believe that everyone has greatness within them along with some impressive ability they usually dont know even exists.

Your mind cant tell fact from fiction this is why so many people self-talk themselves out of success. We will show you how your mind can either work for you or against you and what to do about it.

This Motivational program is designed to help you achieve your goals, over the first 3 weeks you will be guided through The Personal Success Program which includes Create Personal Success,Organizational Skills,andGoal Setting and Getting Things Done.

After the three week long guided program, you will then be free to explore and study these courses at your leisure for a full 12 months!

Each week you willreceive an email guiding you through your Personal Success Journey.

Here's a quick look at the 3 week guided section of the program:

Course Fast Facts:

Course Delivery

Courses are accessed online via our learning management system by any device including PC, MAC, tablet or Smart Phone.

Recognition & Accreditation

These courses are internationally recognized and accredited by the International Association of Online Training Standards (IAOTS). The courses offered by Courses For Success are unique as they are taught in a step by step process enabling students to complete them quickly and easily, so that you can obtain your qualification sooner. All students who complete the course receive a certificate of completion. Courses For Success is committed to high completion rates and therefore 100% student satisfaction.

Entry requirements

Students must have basic literacy and numeracy skills.

Minimum education

Open entry. Previous schooling and academic achievements are not required for entry into this course.

Computer requirements

Students will need access to a computer and the internet.

Minimum specifications for the computer are:

Windows:

MAC/iOS

All systems

Students will also need access the following applications:

See the article here:
Personal Success Training Program - Online Courses ...

Reada sampling of thepersonal success stories of authors who connected with their new agents at PitchFest:

I came back with a new book.By Colleen Winter

I am where I am today as an author because of Thrillerfest. I first attended Thrillerfest in 2015. I remember landing at La Guardia airport and being absolutely terrified to be in New York city alone and headed to a conference with some of the most successful authors in the worldRead More

She said no.By Don Bentley

She said no. Id attended PitchFest for the first time, found the agent I wanted, and pitched my newly completed manuscript. Wed hit it off during our five minute face-to-face and shed agreed to read the entire novel. I sent it and waited on pins and needles only to get the dreaded rejection letterRead More

I came to an agent and blanked.By Sarah Cain

I was a professional writer of speeches and direct mail and press releasesnone of which are things people clamor to read. I had written fiction for years, mostly short stories and flash fiction. Then there was my novel. I had worked on it for about eight years. I had even sent out queries, all of which had been rejected.Read More

I wasnt really a writer.By D.A. Bartley

I wasnt really a writer. A reader? Absolutely. The first grown-up book I remember getting my hands on was an Agatha Christie. Ive worked as a lawyer and an academic, so I read professionally. I guess I wrote, too, if you count legal briefs and academic papers well suited for curing insomnia, but I didnt think of myself as a writerRead More

Signed with four agents.By Lissa Price

I will always be a big fan of of ITW and Thrillerfest because I owe my career to this conference. It was here that I met and signed with four agentsone film, one foreign, two litand also found my writers group. When I went to the very first Thrillerfest in Arizona, I looked up at the debut authors panel, just a handful of authors back thenRead More

Crossroads.By Sheena Kamal

About two years ago, I was working as a TV researcher for a crime drama series when an idea began to form for a project of my own. A dark, psychological suspense novel. Id never written a novel before, but the idea wouldnt let go and I found myself at a crossroads. In a moment of righteous conviction, I took the least logical path available. I quit my jobRead More

I decided to get serious and give PitchFest a try.By Robert Beatty

I had been writing novels and attending writers conferences for many years, but it wasnt until I attended ThrillerFest / PitchFest that I found a real agent and received a publishing contract with a major New York publisher. Heres how it happened: In the past, I had been to a variety of writers conferences throughout the country, attending all sorts of workshopsRead More

A place where authors help fellow authors.By Jeff Wilson

To me Pitchfest embodies what ITW and Thrillerfest really are, at their hearts: a place where authors help fellow authors. I joined ITW in late 2011 and attended my first Thrillerfest in the summer of 2012. I had a debut novel from 2011 and a new novel just out and was thrilled to be a part of everything. I made some great friends, many of whom were authors I had read Read More

Never give up. Never say die.By Richard Goodfellow

Richard! Youve finished the manuscript for Collector of Secrets, so why arent you trying to find an Agent? Those were the questioning words spoken over lunch by my friend Keren Deere (www.writegirl.org) back in 2008. I regretted vaguely replying that it all seemed too daunting, as that prompted a blistering lecture (seize the day). Read More

You Cant Run From Loveby Shannon Kirk

Im a member of the 2015 ITW Debut class for my psychological thriller, Method 15/33 (Oceanview Publishing). But the truth is, my first novel was written and self-published in 1984, when I was in Fifth Grade. Only one copy of Sentimental Sweetooth was created, handwritten by me. Fortunately, my parents saved this one precious copyRead More

Thrillers Are a Rare Speciesby Leonardo Wild

I found ITW while doing research on the thriller genre, and joined two years before my first ThrillerFest. I live in Ecuador, where thrillers are a rare species, so I was surprised to find out that there was actually an organization dedicated to writers in the genre. Im probably the only thriller-writer in Ecuador with 10 booksRead More

Never Surrenderby Kevin Hurley

Thanks to Thrillerfest and some very extraordinary agents and authors who attended, my novel Cut and Cover will be available from Skyhorse Publishing through major retailers for the Fall 2015 season. I will be pitching the sequel to agents at ThrillerFest X. When I walked into the Grand HyattRead More

I Got the Agent (and Editor) I Wantedby Walt Gragg

Wow! Did that just happen? Exactly two weeks from the day I attended PitchFest, I hung up the phone after being offered representation. Liza Fleissig is going to be my agent. And the best news is not only did I get an agent, I got the agent I really wanted. Liza was my first choice going into PitchFest. Read More

What if no one likes it?by Lauren Francis-Sharma

I had never pitched a story before. What if no one likes it? I thought. I practiced my pitch before and after the luncheon. I practiced even as I stood in line waiting for the start of PitchFest, while other attendees chatted. My legs trembled and the suit I wore felt like heavy armor. I only need one to say yes, I said to myself. I had tried query letters with Read More

Thrill Rideby Glen Erik Hamilton

A roller coaster starts off slow, gathering potential energy, as it ratchets almost lazily up the long upward track. A writer may work for months or years on their first thriller, driven to tell that story, sweating every bit of dialogue and twist of plot. Building suspense. Then comes the tipping point. Read More

PitchFest Was Brilliant!by Vaughn Ripley

My 89,000 word cyberthriller was complete and I was ready to run to the highest mountain, or at least a hilltop, and scream, I did it! I have no illusions about books and publishing You see, a few years ago, I self-published my memoir, Survivor: One Mans Battle with HIV, Hemophilia, and Hepatitis C. Read More

The Trick is to be Preparedby Simon Gervais

When I registered for the 2013 ThrillerFest last February, never in my wildest dreams did I think Id be signing with an agent before the event was over. I was confident the agents would like my pitch but never did I expect to hear from one of them only a few hours later. It was surreal Read more

A Gold Mine of Learningby James R. Hannibal

I was angry for a long time as my insanely patient wife and a bloodied punching bag in my garage will attest.In 2008 I was Gods gift to covert ops thrillers, a Stealth Bomber pilot with a Top Secret clearance and a gift for writing (were in my head here, not reality, so parts of that sentence arent really true). Read More

I Was Surrounded by Kindred Writersby Donna Owczarek

Shortly after completing the first draft of my novel, I somehow stumbled upon ThrillerFest while researching places to submit my work. It sounded great, especially because several of the agents I planned to query were going to be there listening to pitches, but I had some concerns. While I usually can manage to string together Read more

Prepare for Contingencies and Adapt Quicklyby Tom Shawver

This past July I attended my first ThrillerFest. I went in with a game plan that proved ineffective, but for reasons that I had not anticipated, ended up with an agency contract.The initial idea was to get an agent for a military thriller that I felt very strongly aboutstill doand had carefully revised over many years. Id had several almosts following numerous Read More

Next Stop: Publicationby Gustavo Florentin

PitchFest 2011 was the first time I had ever pitched anything to professionals in the business. I was told I had a good pitch. But I was a little shaky telling the story after my one-liner. I managed to pitch my thriller to seven agents. Of those, three asked for partials and two asked for full manuscripts. Most of these agents replied Read more

Ready, Ames, FireBy Daniel Ames

At PitchFest, anything can happen. Lives can change in less than three minutes. When Daniel Ames met Scott Miller from Trident during PitchFest, he was staring at his dream agent. Little did Dan know that shortly after ThrillerFest ended, he would sign with Scott. Although things happened fast when Dan met Scott, its the preparation that Dan did beforehand Read more

Face to Face Makes all the Differenceby Mike Stewart

PitchFest 2011 wasnt my first attempt to garner the attention of an agent. And, if Im any measure, Id bet many of the authors who attended tried for years before deciding to see if meeting agents face to face makes a difference. Ive been writing for seven years. Graphic novels, novels, new media writing and in several genres. Ive really committed. And submitted. Read more

The First Two Said Noby John Dixon

The first two said no. They were both really cool about it, explaining they werent actually repping young adult titles anymore, and both offered referrals to agents who did rep YA. I jotted down the recommendations, thanked them, and moved on, turning once more to the daunting yet oh-so-exciting event that was PitchFest. Read More

You Wont Be Sorryby Martha Pound Miller

Martha Pound Miller was born and raised on the Arizona desert. She married an architect, had three children and went on to become the Executive Director of the American Institute of Architects Society in Arizona for 20 years. Writing was always of primary interest but with a family and job, there was never time. Much later came retirement Read more

PitchFest Changed My LifeBy Boyd Morrison

Attending PitchFest can change your life. I know that sounds like some corny advertising promo, but it was literally true in my case. At the first PitchFest in 2007, agents met authors during the lunch session, with one agent at each table. Who you were sitting with was totally random. I was talking with author Jon Land Read more

Something Did HappenBy August McLaughlin

So youre going to fly across the country to one of the most expensive cities to attend a pricy conference? What if nothing happens? a friend asked after I registered for PitchFest. Im going. Something already is happening, I replied, sensing that his skepticism was geared more toward his stay-in-Los Angeles plans Read more

Success From Down UnderBy Mark Dapin

As a journalist and author, I am quite well known in the eastern states of Australia. This is a bit like being a household name in your own house. A couple of years ago, I wrote a thriller, King of the Cross, about the rise and (of course) fall of a Jewish gangster in Sydney. It won the Crime Writers of Australias Ned Kelly Award for First Fiction, I optioned the movie Read more

Never Have to Query AgainBy A. J. Colucci

Im a writer, not a salesperson. Id rather work on my novel every day for a year than spend one hour writing query letters. As it turns out, thats about the ratio I set while writing my novel, THE COLONY. After working on the book for five years, I sent out a meager 26 letters and received seven flat-out rejections, 14 requests for Read more

It Could Happen to YouBy Graham Brown

Ironically, Graham Brown almost missed the Thrillerfest 2007 Agent luncheon. Thanks to a flight delayon the red-eye, no lesshe arrived late at JFK and made it to the Hyatt just as the event was about to begin. I was completely wiped out at that point, and decided to skip the lunch. All I wanted was to check into my room and get some sleep. Graham confessed.Read more

It Could Happen to YouBy Jaime Freveletti

Ironically, Graham Brown almost missed the Thrillerfest 2007 Agent luncheon. Thanks to a flight delayon the red-eye, no lesshe arrived late at JFK and made it to the Hyatt just as the event was about to begin. I was completely wiped out at that point, and decided to skip the lunch. All I wanted was to check into my room and get some sleep. Graham confessed.Read more

Success!By Ron and Richard Goulding

Two brothersone a lawyer, one a doctorcombined forces in the 90s and decided to try their hand at writing novels. They jokingly call themselves cavemen, as they started out using typewriters and long hand to record their imaginings, sending their work to each other via snail mail. Then came the fax, which dramatically increased their speed ofRead more

PitchFest is designed to put authors and agents together for the purpose of pitching projects. This will be an unprecedented opportunity for those writers looking to get or change agents. And where better to have this event than in the heart of publishing, New York City? PitchFest is set up like a speed-dating event. You pitch your novel to an agent for a few minutes, get the agents reaction, and then move on to a different agent.

Please note: PitchFest is available only in a package with CraftFest. There are no one-day passes for Wednesday or Thursday only. Registering for ThrillerFest alone does not qualify you to attend PitchFest.

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Success Stories - ThrillerFest

Once I knew only darkness and stillness my life was without past or future but a little word from the fingers of another fell into my hand that clutched at emptiness, and my heart leaped to the rapture of living. ~Helen Keller

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Here are some other places youll see my work:

Personal Success Factors is listed as one of the top 50 personal development blogs of 2011. It has about 1,000 readers and averages over 12,000 views per month. Personal Success Factors features once a week articles regarding discovering your life purpose, your personal mission, and setting goals. I also write about formulating your personal and career development plan, creating your personal brand, and on subjects pertaining to personal leadership.

My name is Stephen Borgman, and Im the creator and writer here. Im a licensed clinical professional counselor, married with two kids, twoGeckos, four cats, one dog, and one hamster. I love writing, reading, running, counseling, and teaching. Read more: My Story (coming soon)

If you wish to write a guest post, advertise, or request to promote your product, book, website, service, or blog post, realize that it needs to pertain to the four categories of:

Discovering Your Life Purpose;Creating Your Personal and Career Development Plan;Identifying and Managing Your Personal and Career Brand;and Personal Leadership for Success

I also write this blog from a Christian worldview and set of beliefs, so the tenor of materials will be consistent with those beliefs.

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What does personal success mean to you?

Success means different things to different people. For some, it is financial, for others it is freedom, and for some it is being able to lead a certain lifestyle, while it is a combination of things to others. Therefore, there are many ways to achieve success, because it depends on what success means to each individual. With that in mind, there are some general key principles that the most successful people adhere to.

Og Mandino, in his book, The Greatest Salesman in the World, wrote, The greatest secret in the world is that you only have to be a small, measurable amount better than mediocrity and youve got it made. Most people are not willing to do the work that is necessary to achieve personal success. How would your life be transformed if you adhered to the seven principles of personal success?

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7 Key Principles of Personal Success | Career Management

Rock Valley College Personal and Success Counselings mission is to prepare students for learning and personal success throughout life. We educate and facilitate the growth of the whole person for living, learning, and coping in an unpredictable and diverse world. We work in conjunction with our colleagues across campus toward the promotion of a healthy campus environment for all those who learn and work at RVC by providing professional outreach and educational services and by fostering collaborative relationships across the campus.

The PSC Department seeks to create and sustain a campus environment that supports the holistic development of each student and contributes to their optimal academic success by:

Students will be provided assistance with feelings of anxiety, depression, inadequacy, loneliness, or any personal concern students may be struggling with. The Personal and Success Counselor will offer short term counseling and will provide community resources if long term counseling is the better solution for the student.

RVC Personal and Success Counseling Department has also partnered with Kp Counseling, Lantern Therapy Services, and Restore Counseling & Recovery of Rockford, who will provide reasonable payment options for students needing long term counseling needs, with or without insurance.

For more information on these free services for RVC students, call (815) 921-4281.

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Personal and Success Counseling - Rock Valley College