![BACKGROUND IN THE BUSINESS: Dressed by junior designer Kaitlyn Gerrie, senior Chamila Muñoz took to the “Dreamland” runway this past weekend. While it was her first time participating in the McCallum fashion show, Muñoz isn’t new to the modeling world.
I modeled here and there when I was a lot younger, maybe five or six [years old] for some jewelry brands and small businesses, but not much in recent years,” Muñoz said.
Muñoz had hoped to participate in last year’s show but couldn’t due to scheduling conflicts. For her senior year, though, she couldn’t let the opportunity pass her by.
“It’s [modeling] something I haven’t done in a while so I was excited to step out of my comfort zone in a way,” Muñoz said. “I always love trying new things and being able to show off designs of my schoolmates is such an honor.”
The preparation process for the show was hectic, leaving the final reveal of Gerrie’s design until days before the show, but the moment Muñoz tried on the outfit, all the stress for both designer and model melted away.
“I didn’t get to try on my outfit until the day before, but the look on Kaitlyn’s face when she saw what she had worked so hard to make actually on a model was just so special,” Muñoz said. “I know it meant so much to her. But then she handed me a blindfold and told me I’d be walking with it on, so that was pretty wild.”
Caption by Francie Wilhelm.](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/53535098892_130167352f_o-1200x800.jpg)
Lexi Rinaldi is the new Family Resources department chair at Xavier and is teaching three classes as a first-year teacher: Creative Textiles, Foods and Nutrition, and Child Development.
Rinaldi took this position following the retirement of Deirdre Van Sickle, who served the Xavier community for over 30 years and the Family Resources department for 20 years. Van Sickle recommended Rinaldi specifically to take her place.
“Mrs. Rinaldi is the very essence of what I represent and taught. She was my top Creative Textiles student, her cooking skills are literally off-the-charts, and even though she doesn’t have children yet, she was raised with great morals, values and principles,” said Van Sickle.
Rinaldi graduated from Xavier in 2013, after taking the Creative Textiles class with Van Sickle her senior year. She went on to earn her electrical engineering degree from NAU and then worked as an engineering program manager with Honeywell for the last six years.
Approaching retirement, Van Sickle reached out to Rinaldi to see if she would be interested in taking over. Tired of corporate life and still holding a passion for cooking and sewing, it was an easy choice for Rinaldi.
Rinaldi finds these topics extremely important to teach students. “They are all basic life skills that everyone should know the basics of,” she said.
Considering the popularity of these electives over the past 30 years, students agree that these skills are important to know reaching the next stages of their lives.
“I decided to take these classes so I can learn how to make good dishes for myself and for my family, and be mindful of the nutritional content and benefits of the food that I’m eating,” said Sophia DeCara ‘27, a student taking Foods and Nutrition.
Rinaldi reveals that her favorite class to teach is Creative Textiles because she gets to be one-on-one with the students.
“I get to help them with individual issues and then get to see when they finally get the ‘A-ha!’ moment, and that’s just super fun,” Rinaldi said.
She is looking forward to conducting the baby project in Child Development because it is a huge highlight of the class. She also wants to find ways to bring a cooking element into the class, such as exploring the nutrition of baby food.
Rinaldi also constantly stresses the importance of moderation in the Foods and Nutrition class and the significance of teaching students how to cook and make nutritious, healthy meals for their families in a society surrounded by fast food.
Caffeine is also excessively consumed in society today, even by high school students with high academic and athletic demands.
Rinaldi explains that caffeine raises blood pressure and cortisol levels, which is the stress hormone in the brain, causing anxiety and the crash of the body. She states that a banana is a much healthier alternative for getting energy throughout the day.
These are just some of the many lessons Rinaldi hopes to teach her students in her classes.
Van Sickle offers further advice to Rinaldi as she continues her first-year teaching at Xavier: “The best advice I could give her is to share your gifts, talents and passions with your students. If you love what you teach, then the rest is a cakewalk!”
This story was originally published on XPress on September 19, 2024.