Stephanie Kalina Metzger

When it comes to setting goals and joining the workforce, some students lag behind their peers for a whole host of reasons.
Perhaps they lack role models, or are wary of the unknown. Quite often it's simply the fact that no one has taken time to offer them guidance on how they can begin planning early to create the future they desire.
The organization Big Brothers Big Sisters, or BBBS for short, recognized the need for corporate mentoring and rose to the challenge by creating a country-wide “...

When I arrived during the lunch hour, I was struck by the steady stream of people coming and going as I scratched my head and pondered over the size of the establishment. It turns out that the restaurant is much larger than it appears from the outside. I found out later that it seats approximately 300 and spans 9,000 square feet.
The first thing we laid eyes upon when entering were two attractive waterfall walls and an attentive, smiling employee who greeted us and led us to a seat in a room ...

By the middle of the century the number of Americans 65 years and older will nearly double, according to Census Bureau statistics.
This article describes why behavioral health is important in the elderly population.

Operating a restaurant is nothing new for the couple that opened Valley Bistro at 4520 Valley Road in Hampden Township this past fall.
Steve and Jacqueline Ferentinos previously owned a restaurant in Baltimore and more recently operated the Brick City Bar & Grille in Midtown Harrisburg. Jacqueline’s father, John Mallios, owns the Keystone Restaurant in Harrisburg, where she helps out on weekends, so you can say she’s more than a little familiar with the restaurant business.
The Bistro is tuck...

I'm always amazed at people who enjoy winter. To me, there's not much to like, from the frigid temps, to the all-too-short days, to the fact that many historic destinations close down for months. I often feel like I'm racing against the clock as fall winds down.
Just a few months ago, a friend and I made plans to visit the Hans Herr House and Rockford Plantation and it crossed my mind that they may have already closed for the season. Thankfully, they had not and we were able to arrange a quic...

If it weren’t for a certain series of events, Yianni Barakos may not have had the knowledge, or the impetus, to open the Mason Dixon Distillery.
He peppers the story with humor as he harkens back to his childhood describing a trip to Greece.
“I visited my grandparents’ village as a kid, and I like to say that my heritage is hillbilly because you build what you need and you fix what you have,” said Barakos.
The boy became intrigued as he observed his coppersmith grandfather tinkering with the ...

Those of us who grew up with Italian grandmothers know what it’s like to live in an environment where food is an expression of love.
We’ve seen firsthand the smiles a good meal elicits. So, it’s no surprise that, as adults, we, too, are interested in creating a similar mood.
As a child, Christian DeLutis observed his grandmother creating praiseworthy meals from simple ingredients and soon learned that he was happiest behind a stove. His passion led him to the Pittsburgh Culinary Institute and...

Good chefs know when they have a winning recipe and while they may tinker around the edges, they recognize the importance of keeping the dish as close to the original as possible.
Such is the case with the Lehigh Valley Restaurant Group. The group, which operates 21 Red Robin restaurants across eastern and central Pennsylvania, recently named a new CEO to take the place of former CEO Jim Ryan, who retired. For Mike Axiotis, it will be business as usual, for the most part anyway.
Axiotis bring...

Matcha--A Healthy Trend

When you mention the "winter doldrums," almost everyone gets it. The "summer doldrums" are practically unheard of, that is, unless you're a Pennsylvanian. We toughed out a long winter thinking that dry, sunny days would make an entrance around June. Unfortunately, that didn't happen this year. In fact, we survived the wettest summer on record and almost every plan was scuttled by pesky precipitation. As I made plans for a winter getaway, I learned that St. Petersburg, Florida enjoys an averag...

Nestled in Pennsylvania’s Laurel Highlands about 70 miles southeast of Pittsburgh in Fayette County is the Nemacolin Woodlands Resort, a 2,000-acre playground offering an array of amenities to appeal to a wide range of travel tastes.
This fall, I took advantage of the opportunity to spend some time at the popular resort. The extraordinary art displayed throughout the property, as well as other interesting features, inspired me to learn more about the destination's history, its founder, its im...

When Josh Feldman made the decision to work in Manhattan, he was faced with a dilemma, wondering what to do with his beloved dog, Guvner, while he toiled long hours on the job.
After a bit of research, he decided on doggie daycare.
Impressed by his experience, he decided to start his own doggie daycare/boarding business when he returned to Harrisburg, opening up in a former plasma center on N. 7th Street. In just two short years, Keystone K9 was attracting more business than it could handle i...

Emily Schmidt learned at a young age that a good cup of coffee and a cheerful disposition can brighten a room on the cloudiest of days.
“My mom said that, when I was five, I always made the coffee and would go around serving it to company,” Schmidt said.
Later on, her desire to serve people continued into waitressing jobs.
“I just loved waiting on people,” she said.
Over the years, she would move to New York, return to Pennsylvania, marry and have three children, putting on hold a dream of on...

Fall is a lovely time here in Pennsylvania. The weather is perfect for outdoor activities and the leaves enchant with a vibrant display of color. For those of us who dread cold weather, it's also a time to savor the remaining vestiges of autumn before we are forced to hunker down for what often seems like an interminable winter.
If you're itching to get away, fall is also a fantastic time of year to visit the picturesque Poconos.

Fred Rogers may no longer be with us, but his memory lives on in the hearts of many. With the release of the “Won’t You Be My Neighbor,” documentary, Rogers’ popularity has grown to include a new generation of fans.
The Mister Rogers' Trail celebrates the man and his message.