SOME PUBLISHED ARTICLES

Profile - Susan Niczowski

In 1991 Susan Niczowski identified a niche market for freshly prepared foods designed for hungry, time-pressed consumers. “Why should gourmet salads be enjoyed only when dining at fine restaurants or when family get-togethers call for my aunt Melody’s famous mouth watering potato salad?” A question that she presented to herself before delving on her mission to create her dream product. It’s no surprise that she made it amongst Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women by the Women’s Executive Network (WXN) and her company scored among Canada’s 50 best managed companies in 2005.

Attired in a trendy, two-piece blazer and skirt in her office at Woodbridge, Ontario, Niczowki compares food with her clothes closet. “While the staples like meat and potatoes stay the same, the foods that you use to accessorize this dish change with the seasons like fashion,” she explains. “Food is Fashion” is a motto that the company is built around.

Born and raised in Downsview, Toronto, Niczowki acquired a degree in chemistry and mathematics from the University of Toronto and started working as a microbiologist at Shopsy's Foods, a leading meat plant and part of the Maple Leaf Foods Inc.

Even though she was satisfied with her position and “loved” her job, she decided to part with it. A quick scan of the market, made her realize that there was a need for fresh prepared gourmet foods. And she wanted to be the one to fill this untapped spot. So one day in 1991, she entered her mother’s kitchen and both mother and daughter began their quest for creating gourmet salads.

For Niczowski it wasn’t all about preparing salads - her degree in chemistry and experience working at a leading meat plant allowed her to develop the technology to preserve the freshness and quality of vegetables. She had come up with her dream product and soon began “tapping on delicatessen doors and one thing lead to another.”

Entering a kitchen with the basic raw materials and wanting to create a market crasher requires some guts and a whole load of positive energy. However, she remained adamant to get out the other end of the tunnel clean. She just “took it one step at a time,” and slowly and steadily began maneuvering those ingredients with her bare hands and soon gave birth to her gourmet products. “Like the Nike logo - Just do it!” she asserts with a certain degree of authority in her tone.

In order to cater to today’s image conscious consumers, Niczowski ensures that her products look as great as they taste through some “tender love and care. A lot of the vegetables are hand-cut as opposed to equipment processed,” she explains. “That utilizes more labour but at the same time the quality of the finished product is much better.”

Niczowski’s success is in part due to her awareness of the changing needs of today’s consumers, who switch food as often as they switch fashion. “We taste and travel all across the world to see what’s hot and what’s not,” says Niczowski.

Summer Fresh offers something new and exciting to the taste buds every season and recently launched a line of fresh chilled soups for summer with ingredients like strawberries, cranberries, blueberries. She has even managed to tap the Indian food market with the introduction of a line of Indian specialties including: samosas and pakoras.

Niczowski is married and has a two-and-half year old daughter. Raising a toddler and running a thriving food business is no doubt easy. But other than slight alterations, managing a family life together with a career isn’t a hassle for Niczowski. “I actually had her in my office up until she was 18 months old. She used to come to sales trips with me and see our customers.”

Even though she plays quite a significant role behind her company’s triumphs, her modest nature doesn’t allow her to take all the credit for it. “I can’t do it alone. Can’t do it without the great help and support from the people at home and my great team of employees at Summer Fresh.” She never once used the word I when telling me about her business, rather preferred using we. Niczowski firmly believes that, “The pleasures of good food and drink, good conversation and good company are all enhanced when we share them, benefiting mind, body and soul.”

Niczowski possesses an unconditional love for both work and family. She hasn’t sacrificed one for the other and doesn’t intend to, believing that balance is pivotal in order to get most out of life. Though, she stresses that one should always be happy in whatever he or she sets out to do. “You should wake up in the morning and enjoy going to work - life is too short.”
Susan Niczowski is an entrepreneur to the core. Not only does she offer tantalizing dishes for the taste buds every season, but she was the first to set off a blazing trend in the market place by categorizing food and fashion under one umbrella. The simple concept seemed to have worked wonders for Niczowski.

Shoes - The Essence Behind Manhood
Original version published in Gulf News, U.A.E

Shoes can complement an outfit, but they serve a greater purpose. They reflect our unique sense of style, taste and at times reflect our ancestral ties. Bata Shoe Museum is North America's most unique shoe gallery where every shoe holds a distinct historical and cultural appeal. The museum holds over 10, 000 pairs of shoes from across the world and through the ages.

Artifacts on display vary from Chinese, Egyptian, African and neo 19th century designs to modern works of art including footwear from the eminent Sex and the City, TV serial. Experience the glamour of showbiz. Get to see Britney Spear's shoe in her acclaimed 1998 single Baby One More Time, Pierce Brosnan's glitzy black pair in the 1999 movie The World is Not Enough, the “King of Rock and Roll” Elvis Presley's eminent pair and lots of other chic celeb designs.

Showcased separately is a dainty pink leather pair, bringing back memories of Diana Princess of Wales. The shoes belonged to her in 1986. Shoes on show also include those from renowned names in the industry such as Pietro (also called Pierre) Yantorny, Salvatore Ferragamo, Roger Vivier, Manolo Blahnik and Christian Louboutin.

For all those creative souls who believe that a shoe's true beauty is dependent on the degree to which it is decorated, The Beads, Buckles and Bows gallery is worth taking a look at. Elegantly put together and adorned, every shoe is embellished with lace, stones and studs. All products of hard work, creativity and commendable thought leaving a lasting impression.

Sonja Bata, founding Chairman of the Bata Shoe Museum, began collecting footwear in the 1940's. It was a hobby that she didn't expect would turn into a profession and give birth to a museum, attracting thousands from across the globe.
And as the years pass by, Bata's taste in footwear and her collections also seem to heighten. In an interview with Bata she said: “I have a better judgment now of what is rare and precious.” Bata believes that shoes are a great predictor of personality. “Look at the shoes people wear around you and you will find that you can tell a lot about their character. Shoes are very personal.”

Recently, Mrs. Bata's priceless 19th century slipper, once worn by the Nizam Sikandar Jah of Hyderabad made headlines. The gold, diamond-and-ruby coated pair was stolen on January 22, 2006 and was later recovered in a nearby church. According to Museum officials the pair is estimated to be worth CAD $160,000. “I could not believe that they really had been returned to us,” says Bata. “It happened because everybody cooperated: the press publishing the photos, the police with their investigation and three concerned citizens in a photo shop recognizing a picture of the stolen shoes.”

On May 6, 1995, the museum’s opened its gates for the public. The glamorous monument, resembling a large shoe box was constructed by architect Raymond Moriyama. It is conveniently located in downtown Toronto, minutes away from St George subway station.

There's no end to what flamboyant designs may make way in the years to come. As Salvatore Ferragamo, once said: “There is no limit to beauty, no saturation point in design, no end to the materials a shoemaker may use to decorate his creations so that every woman maybe shod like a princess and a princess may be shod like a fairy queen.”

The journey into this shoe planet is no doubt exciting and mentally engaging. Within a span of two hours of touring the museum not only had I gained a tremendous knowledge about shoes but oddly so, started noticing peoples’ shoes before their faces.

High Achievers Lag Behind, July 2008

The needs of some high-achieving students are not being catered to by the Canadian schooling system and that could put these children at a serious disadvantage, researchers say.

"In the Canadian system, we're not really used to supporting our smart students …the idea is if they're so smart they can take care of themselves," says Daria Danylchuk, founder of the Trans program for gifted children in a recent article in The Province newspaper in Vancouver.

Judith Robinson, an Ontario. high school teacher who has taught at numerous public and private schools since the 1980’s says that Ontario. school boards are also only concerned about those who are underperforming. “It’s a pretty sad state of affairs,” she says.

Jordan, a Grade 2 child in a Toronto school was labelled by his teacher as having a learning disorder because he was easily distracted in class, says Noreen Shanahan in a recent article in The Globe and Mail. However, Psychologist Michael Pyryt of the University of Calgary discovered that Jordan was amongst the top one per cent of the population in terms of intellect, writes Shanahan. According to Pyryt's findings, Jordan was so bored by the monotony of school life that he didn't bother concentrating in class.

Why was everyday school work not challenging enough for this extraordinary Grade 2 kid? What can parents and teachers do to identify kids like him and keep them mentally engaged?

Deborah Ruff, the author of Losing Our Minds: Gifted Children Left Behind, says the problem lies with grouping. She writes that today’s classrooms contain children with a mix of all abilities so in class full of six-year-olds some kids could be learning letters while others could already be thinking analytically.

“When teachers teach, they teach to the lower third of the graph. So everybody at the top third of the graph is doing a lot of waiting, getting more repetition.” This often leads to discrepancies, writes Ruff. And that ignites boredom amongst the high achievers.

For Michelle Kovesi, a 17-year-old student at Colonel By School in Ottawa the ordinary school curriculum failed to stimulate her mentally. “I needed challenge,” she says.

So she opted for an International Baccalaureate Diploma instead. This system is “an intellectually rigorous pre-university course of study for students in schools worldwide, offered to highly motivated students…” states the school’s website. “Our school is the only one in the city offering an I B Diploma,” she says.

Sana Diwan, a primary school teacher at Harold Napper School in Brossard, Quebec, says that even though there is no formal identification criterion for gifted children in schools, the brighter kids should not remain bored in class.

Diwan doesn’t think the problem lies in the Canadian schooling system. She blames the teachers. Diwan says it’s up to them to identify gifted children and act upon their needs. “The teacher needs to make an effort to differentiate instruction.”

Diwan’s six years of teaching has taught her that advanced learners yearn for challenge in all that they do. “Gifted students need to be assigned tasks of the same length but the complexity of the task needs be increased. Also using real world problems can help make learning meaningful,” she says.

But how do teachers identify gifted learners in the classroom?

Carol Fertig, who has an M.A. in Educational Psychology and Gifted Education has been a teacher and education writer for 35 years and has been working with gifted children for about 16 years says, “Some schools use a compilation of test scores [to identify gifted children], with most scores being above 95 per cent.”

She believes subjective indicators used by many experts are more accurate in differentiating gifted children from the bright ones.

A bright child most likely enjoys the company of peers, enjoys school, is alert, is pleased with his or her own learning and has good ideas, says Fertig. In contrast, a gifted child enjoys the company of adults, enjoys learning, is keenly observant, is highly self-critical and has wild and silly ideas.

Fertig says that parents can play an active role in engaging their gifted children so they remain stimulated and are not bored. “I encourage the support of any interest the child may have including books, internet, and people.”

Above all, she says communication with the child is a must. “I encourage parents to talk to their children, giving them opportunities to really think and make decisions.”

She says exposing children to different experiences and encouraging them to attend cultural events can keep them stimulated. “Encouraging critical thinking skills is also vital…” she adds.

At the end of the day, school boards need to understand that “all children do not operate at the same level.”

Today’s teachers need to be able to adapt their teaching style to suit the needs of every type of child, concludes Fertig.

Musical Instruments Can Be Brain Teasers

How music can act as a positive reinforce in the lives of many young children, especially for those in developing countries who do not have any exposure to any music.

Original version published in the Education section of Dawn - Pakistan's largest English language newspaper with a week-day circulation of 138,000. This article was also selected by the Sustainable Development and Policy Institute, a think tank based in South Asia.

I decided to write about the impact of music in the schooling curriculum because I was a musician and having music in my life felt very liberating as a teenager. This article is aimed for government bodies who do not consider music as an adequate subject in a country's schooling curriculum. In order to reinforce my ideas and opinions, I refer to the following writers: Michael Merzenich, a neuroanatomist at the University of California, Psychologist E. Glenn Schellenberg of the University of Toronto and Gordon Shaw at the University of California, Irvine. I imagine my ideal reader or audience for this article to be parents and policy makers of third world countries.

Although the three-Rs play a pivotal role in a child's development, recent studies reveal that musical instruments can also play a significant factor in childhood development. Piano lessons may well condition the brain, just as muscle-building conditions an athlete, claims Michael Merzenich, a neuroanatomist at the University of California.

Pakistan lags behind in this area. Shouldn’t parents have an option of choosing whether they would like their child to be involved in extra curricular activities such as music in the private schooling curriculum in Pakistan? I feel this is the right time to increase awareness of this crucial subject area which has been ignored for decades.

As a child I attended a Convent school. For me, music in the form of playing an instrument and singing eased the pressure of attending a strict schooling system. Most importantly, it served as a medium for expression and personal autonomy - traits children, especially teenagers are constantly striving for.
I can still remember the day I attended my first music class. I had the choice of learning to play the flute, piano or violin. I opted for the violin -- somehow its majestic nature fascinated me. Recalling back on my first violin class -- I was 13-years-old, attired in my blue and white school uniform, overflowing with excitement and a little nervousness yearning to get my hands on this prized possession which was purchased in a classy black case. Even walking with this gadget in hand brought an indescribable joy within me as a new teen.
Only days later reality struck. I soon realized music wasn't all fun. The majestic instrument was most definitely a challenging one to play. Just like school work it required lots of concentration and practice.

Mr. Ramsell, my violin instructor, would always tap my right arm with his bow, so that I would loosen up and allow the bow to delicately graze against the strings on the violin to create appealing hum, rather than a high-pitched thud. I kept practicing, determined to master the art behind perfect playing. With time I did loosen up and every day I sounded a little bit better.

Soon the time came when I was ready to perform in my first solo school concert. I was by then also ready to take my Grade One violin exam, conducted by the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music in England. I passed. And I was ecstatic. The feeling was as rewarding as receiving an A on a school exam. I was no longer scared of this seemingly majestic instrument. This experience was most definitely a life changing one as I gained more confidence, zeal, persistence - and a whole lot of flexibility!

In a 2005 article in Psychology Today, Thomas Sexton says that children with consistent music training have better verbal memories than those who do not play an instrument. The findings reveal that the positive repercussions of playing an instrument seem to remain, even after a child has abandoned his or her music lessons. The study was conducted by researchers from the Chinese University of Hong Kong who studied 90 boys between the ages of 6 to 15. Half of those surveyed had music training from individual lessons while the others had no musical teaching what so ever. When tested for verbal memory, the children who received musical coaching performed much better than the ones who did not.

Meanwhile, an article in Psychological Science suggests that music lessons give kids a small IQ edge. Psychologist E. Glenn Schellenberg of the University of Toronto revealed that six-year-olds who took weekly piano or singing lessons throughout the school year exhibited an average IQ increase of seven points. Schellenberg says that musical training requires “children to pay attention for extended periods of time, to read notation, to memorize passages and to master fine-motor skills.” All of these learned skills leave a positive effect on a child for life.

Music can also be an outlet for children who are academically less able. Just like sports, your child may have an aptitude for playing instruments - a hidden talent that is just waiting to be unleashed. Parents of these children can gain greater satisfaction by appreciating their child's individual creative talents. And kids who may not be looked upon highly in the classroom can have something to boast about to their peers and teachers.

The importance of music was rooted in my family. My siblings play instruments. My mother played the sitar. But had I not been exposed to music as a subject at school, I probably would not have pursued the violin. Sometimes we learn of our talents through an in-born passion, but at times awareness of those talents only occurs through discovery. And discovery transpires if there are opportunities for people to build on their areas of strength.

It is about time, the performing arts such as music and drama be given proportional space in our schooling curriculum. Policy makes should seriously consider its importance, especially since this discipline has a great bearing on how a child performs as a student and as a future citizen. On a global scale Pakistani children are proving themselves academically. So why not show the world that our children are just as savvy melodically?