Melissa Turtinen, a writer and reporter
I am outgoing, hardworking, detail oriented and very organized. I graduated with a B.A. in Journalism and BDIC (Bachelor’s Degree with Individual Concentration): Architecture Interior Design and Travel Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2009.
To read more about my work experience please check out my resume.
Here are links to stories that I wrote for The Irish Emigrant – I traveled to Belfast, Northern Ireland and covered the Boston Bruins and wrote a game wrap and a sidebar, Belfast homecoming for some Bruins stars. I wrote various travel articles about Belfast and Northern Ireland: Northern Ireland’s Causeway Coast will live long in the memory, “She was fine when she left here,” Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter on foot: Grab a map and ditch the tour buses , Emigrant reporter falls for Belfast and Political tour of Belfast a real eye-opener for ‘Emigrant reporter.
I wrote a book review on the novel Orangutan and an article about Irish charities contributing in Haiti after the Jan. 12 earthquake for The Irish Emigrant.
Here are some links from the freelance sports writing I did for the Dedham Transcript – Local flavor on Nobles ice and Girls hockey draws to a conclusion.
Here are additional writing samples from the Massachusetts Daily Collegian.
I can be reached at Melissa.turtinen (at) gmail (dot) com.
A Helping Hand
Irish charities on the ground in Haiti
By Melissa Turtinen
Originally published in The Irish Emigrant on Jan. 18, 2010
Buildings crushed and smashed together, hospitals leveled, houses destroyed. A capital left in ruins and hundreds of thousands of people unaccounted for, many buried under a horrific landscape of fallen concrete and twisted steel.
That was the scene after the 7.0 magnitude earthquake devastated impoverished Haiti on Jan. 12.
The earthquake was a cruel blow to an already crippled nation. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere with over 80 percent of its people living below the poverty line. The nation has consistently struggled with political unrest and brutal natural disasters – but the massive destruction of life and infrastructure from last week’s earthquake will be remarkably difficult to overcome.
The most powerful earthquake recorded in over two centuries in Haiti struck just ten miles southwest of Port-au-Prince, the nation’s capital, just before 5 p.m. last Tuesday.
The first 72 hours were the most critical to recover those who could be saved but with debris filled roads and the lack of infrastructure, it was an overwhelming task. Stunned Haitians clawed through rubble with their bare hands. Medical centers were destroyed. Bodies lined the streets while others were buried in mass graves. Hardly anyone was able to contact loved ones to know if they were alive.
Thirty-year-old Haitian native Daler Jean-Louis, who has lived in Boston since 1999, just returned to the US from Haiti two weeks ago and has a number of relatives who have died or have been unaccounted for.
“I have family and friends in Port-au-Prince,” he told The Irish Emigrant. “Some of them are alright, some are wounded and some are dead. I have two cousins that are dead, my grandmother hasn’t been heard from and my aunt has a broken leg. It’s just awful.
“It is a major catastrophe. Pretty much all the houses are destroyed and there are aftershocks happening. I would go back there now to help if I could but people can’t get in and there is little food, water or shelter.”
All over the world, nations have rallied to send help to Haiti. Scores of non-profit organizations, who continue to request badly needed donations, have gathered supplies and people together in the relief effort, but the struggle to get the supplies to the suffering was a daunting challenge.
Several Irish-American non-profit organizations are reaching out to their communities looking for monetary donations to help the Haitians in this devastating time.
Concern Worldwide, founded in Ireland in 1968, has had a team in Haiti since Hurricane Gordon in 1994. Concern helps with emergency relief, community development and disaster prevention. Now the organization has been thrust onto the frontlines of one of the worst natural disasters in recent memory.
Concern is represented in three areas in Haiti – La Gonave, Central Plateau and Port-au-Prince and their immediate response to the earthquake was to get food, water, fuel, medicine and shelter to the people affected. Concern also helped with the search and rescue efforts to reach those trapped and stranded by the earthquake and are continuously assessing the situation in order to respond in the best possible fashion.
“Because we’ve been there so long we have an advantage in having local knowledge, local eyes and ears,” Concern Worldwide’s Communication Officer Joop Koopman told The Irish Emigrant. “[We were able to] quickly assess the damage and determine what the biggest needs will be.”
Communication has been difficult and, at time of going to press, 29 of their staff members were still unaccounted for. On Friday, they were hoping to establish a connection with their emergency coordinator in Haiti, Dominic McSorley – originally from Belfast but living and working for Concern in New York.
“He was awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Queen Elizabeth and last Monday,” said Koopman. “We had a little reception for him honoring him for his commitment to humanitarian work. Little did we know two days later he’d be doing precisely that.”
Elke Leiael, who began working in Haiti a few months ago, sent a few text messages to Concern updating them on the initial situation. The reports, unsurprisingly, were awful.
“She told us it was very grim with dead bodies piled up in houses and on the streets,” said Koopman. “They are covered up in plastic sheets, rugs or not covered at all. Through [Friday] at least they were still experiencing some considerable aftershocks [and that’s a] danger for the collapse of structures. People are camping in the streets with no beds, no chairs, nothing. They’re selling water in plastic bags.
“Our biggest challenge is to establish that contact, that solid pipeline of supplies [food, water, medicine, shelter and sanitation],” added Koopman. “We’re busy raising money and putting out appeals. We’re counting on the generosity of people to help us.”
Concern has received spontaneous donations of goods, clothes and blankets. The main need, however, is money. No matter how small the amount, dollars and cents are or paramount importance in affording any charity the flexibility to react successfully to what is still a fluid situation on the ground.
“We are saying to people, if you want to help give us money,” Koopman said.
Another Irish-American non-profit – GOAL USA, the American arm of the charity established in Dublin in 1977 – is also working feverishly to help the people of Haiti. GOAL has teams on the scene and over the coming weeks, they will be providing life saving assistance for some of those in greatest need.
GOAL is looking to enlist civil engineers, doctors, nurses, logisticians and accountants that have experience working in third world conditions. GOAL has pledged an initial $362,000 and is also pleading for financial donations so they can continue their work effectively.
To donate to Concern visit their website at www.concernUSA.org/HaitiAppeal or call 1-800-59-Concern or 212-557-8000. Donations can be made to GOAL USA via their website at www.goalusa.org or by calling 212-831-7420.
Depth boosts Minutemen
By Melissa Turtinen
Collegian Staff
Nov. 3, 2008
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Massachusetts hockey coach Don Cahoon has stressed the depth of his offense since the start of the season and this weekend proved he was correct.
The Minutemen (4-1-1, 2-0-1 Hockey East) scored 14 goals in a variety of ways in their sweep of Providence (2-4-0, 0-4-0 Hockey East) over the weekend. The Minutemen won 9-4 Friday at home, with 12 different players earning at least one point. It was the most goals they have scored in 12 years. They added five more in a 5-1 win over the Friars Saturday at Schneider Arena.
The Minutemen used tips, deflections, slap shots, cycling and quick passes to score their goals this weekend. That ability will continue to benefit the Minutemen throughout the season, not allowing opponents to anticipate UMass in its offensive zone.
The point-earning powers of senior Alex Berry, senior Cory Quirk and sophomore James Marcou headlined the weekend. They entered the weekend having nine points as a line, and as they left Providence on Saturday they had 19 more – earning 12 points on Friday – totaling 28 for the season. All three of their skills compliment each other and add up to many goal-scoring opportunities.
“I think we’ve got good offensive capabilities. You’ve got one line there that I think we’ve all hoped would be prolific. You’ve got Berry who’s got great puck skills, Quirk who’s got a combination of skating and puck skills and is tenacious and Marcou who is just a brilliant play maker,” Cahoon said.
“You’ve got these guys playing in rhythm with one another and they are going to produce some chances, you’re hoping you are going to get goals out of them,” he added.
This weekend, Berry tallied six points on four assists and two goals, Quirk had four assists and one goal and Marcou earned three goals and five assists. But Quirk’s line wasn’t the only line that earned points this weekend. UMass had goals from nine different players over the weekend and assists coming from eight.
Freshman Casey Wellman has shown his speed and aggressiveness this season at center. Wellman and line mates Chase Langeraap and Chris Davis have the chemistry they need to lead the Minutemen offensively.
Wellman tallied three assists on Friday. Langeraap has earned a point in every game since his return from an injury on Oct. 21 – he has two goals and three assists in four games. He scored a goal and had an assist on Friday. Davis scored two goals over the weekend, and totals four goals this season.
Sophomore Michael Lecomte, who typically centers freshman Danny Hobbs and junior Will Ortiz, tallied two power-play goals this weekend. Lecomte has three power-play goals this season and one assist. Ortiz played only in Friday’s game, giving freshman T.J. Syner a chance at right wing on Saturday. Ortiz scored the ninth goal for the Minutemen on Friday on a hard slap shot in the slot.
Junior captain Brett Watson typically centers senior Scott Crowder and sophomore Brian Keane. Watson doesn’t have any points this season, but plays a key role in the defensive zone and on the penalty kill. Keane played only on Friday, giving sophomore Marc Concannon an opportunity to play on Saturday, where he scored UMass’ third goal of the game.
“This is a more balanced team than any other team I’ve ever had [at UMass],” Cahoon said. “Wellman is a talent in his own right, Lecomte is certainly an accomplished center iceman and Watson is a very good defensive center. You start with the anchors of each line, I like the composition of the forward lines and we’ve got some depth.”
This weekend, Cahoon rotated in two players that don’t see as much ice time – Syner and Concannon.
“The great thing about our team is we’ve got a lot of depth so far, a lot of guys that can fill in each others spots and, like I said, team speed is huge for us,” Davis said. “We have a fourth line that can skate very fast and get in there and disrupt other teams defenses, so coach has had no problem switching guys in and out and everyone’s been contributing.”
The Minutemen have scored 25 goals this season, for an average of 4.2 per game. In four of UMass’ six games, it has scored three or more goals – including a 6-0 win over Rensselaer and the 9-4 and 5-1 wins over Providence.
“[It's] great to see how many goals we’re scoring because in the past few years it’s been a little tough, but guys are putting the puck in the net which is huge,” junior defenseman Justin Braun said.
Braun and fellow defensemen senior Topher Bevis, senior John Wessbecker and freshman Michael Marcou all contributed offensively this weekend. Braun tallied three assists and a goal, Bevis earned an assist, Wessbecker assisted on two goals and Marcou assisted on another.
Melissa Turtinen can be reached at mturtinen@dailycollegian.com.
Arikian plays key role in offense
By Melissa Turtinen
Collegian Staff
Nov. 13, 2008
When Ben Arikian plays well, the Massachusetts men’s soccer team doesn’t lose.
UMass will defend its 2007 Atlantic 10 Championship this weekend after earning the No. 1 seed last weekend. Last Friday, the Minutemen defeated No. 10 Saint Louis, 2-1, in double overtime, to secure their spot in the postseason tournament. Two days later, they beat Charlotte, 1-0, to win the regular-season title.
With Arikian at center-midfield, UMass (9-6-3, 7-1-1 A-10) have a good chance at winning a second-consecutive title. The A-10 Midfielder of the Year has assisted or scored the game-winning goal in eight of UMass’ nine wins this season. He leads the team in points (14), assists (six) and game-winning goals (three). He is tied for second on the team for most goals (four) with junior Mark DeSantis.
“He’s a big part of our team. The way he goes, we go,” said UMass coach Sam Koch. “He played really well on Friday and really well [on Sunday] and when he does that we’re not going to lose.”
Arikian has played 93.57 percent of UMass’ season – 1,616 out of 1,727 minutes. He has started in 17 out of the Minutemen’s 18 games and is typically on the field for the whole game. On Sunday it was the first time since Oct. 24 that Arikian wasn’t on the field for the entire matchup – he sat out for two minutes due to an injury.
Arikian’s ability to move the ball around the field, make supporting runs and positioning himself almost perfectly on every play makes him an integral part of the team. He is a key player in UMass’ set pieces, taking corner kicks from the left, shooting right. When Mark DeSantis isn’t on the field, he takes the kick from the opposite side.
Arikian’s talent and game sense, combined with the leadership and experience of senior Mike DeSantis in the center-midfield position are nearly unstoppable.
“[Arikian and Mike DeSantis], the two of them together, when they’re clicking, we’re a hard team to beat,” Koch said.
Last weekend’s two home games were the most crucial matches in the Minutemen’s season to determine postseason play. And that weekend, Arikian played an important role in all three of UMass’ goals.
Against Saint Louis, Arikian served a corner kick to freshman Andrew Henshaw to put UMass on the board first. With 12 seconds remaining Saint Louis tied the game and sent the game into double overtime. In the 108th minute of the match, Arikian dribbled the ball down the midfield, moving his way through the Billiken defense to find sophomore Stuart Amick on the left side. Amick crossed the ball to Mark DeSantis, who scored.
“It’s just a great feeling when you can be a part of both goals, but it’s an even better feeling to be a part of that big win,” Arikian said.
But, little did he know in Sunday’s game he would be part of an even bigger win.
In the first half, he went up to head the ball near center field, but a Charlotte player had the same idea, resulting in a nasty collision. He returned for the second half with heavy bandaging around his head, only to head in the lone goal that earned UMass a regular-season championship title – while ending Charlotte’s season.
“It was pretty cool to score because after I got hurt I was pretty mad that that kid didn’t get a red card,” Arikian said. “But when the goal came, I just saw the ball going over the kids head and just took the opportunity to slide right behind him and the goalie was coming out. I saw where he was and I just popped it right over him. It was a pretty cool feeling doing that.”
The way Charlotte played against Arikian proved how much of a threat he is at offense and defense. Arikian, who can be seen all over the field supporting his teammates or making plays, spent most of Sunday’s game getting fouled.
“Every team we play is going to try and do what they can to stop [Arikian]. They haven’t been able to do it yet,” Koch said. “But he’s definitely getting banged up in the process.”
Melissa Turtinen can be reached at mturtinen@dailycollegian.com.
Minutemen defeat No. 1 BU, fall to UML
By Melissa Turtinen
Collegian Staff
Nov. 11, 2008
Upsets don’t exist in Hockey East. Any team can win on any given day, and for the Massachusetts hockey team, that is exactly what happened this weekend.
The No. 20 Minutemen overpowered No. 1 Boston University Friday in a 5-1 win at the Mullins Center in front of 7,212 fans. But the momentum didn’t carry over to the next night when UMass lost, 2-0, to unranked UMass Lowell.
Each game started out similarly, as BU and UML dominated play at the start as UMass (5-3-1, 3-2-1 Hockey East) played stale hockey. Against the Terriers (6-2-0, 3-2-0 HEA), the Minutemen picked up their play and came out with an unexpected win. On Saturday, for the second week in a row, UMass lost to a team that rankings say it should have beaten – the Minutemen lost 3-1 at Merrimack on Nov. 8.
“Real ugly game from our standpoint,” UMass coach Don Cahoon said after Saturday’s loss. “I think we went into the game knowing it was going to be an ugly game, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be a good hockey game. You just know it’s not going to be very pretty – pucks are bouncing all over the place and ice conditions weren’t great.”
The amount of fans from the night before and the unusually warm weather for a New England November evening increased the humidity inside the Mullins Center for Saturday’s game, making the ice much softer and harder to play on.
The River Hawks (5-4-0, 3-2-0 HEA) adapted to the conditions better than the Minutemen as they controlled play for the entire game. The Minutemen struggled to make crisp, precise passes and keep control of the puck – ultimately shutting down their offense for the first time this season.
UMass sophomore Paul Dainton was in net, while Nevin Hamilton started for the River Hawks. Each goaltender made 22 saves in the game, and UML outshot UMass by a very slim margin, 24-22.
“[The River Hawks] ended up making a couple plays, scoring a couple goals, but we didn’t and that’s the game,” Cahoon said.
UMass Lowell’s ability to overcome the abnormal ice conditions ultimately granted them the win.
“[The] game is played on a lot of different surfaces and sometimes you just have to adjust and play. You obviously didn’t see the puck movement tonight that maybe you’ve seen a few times in the past and it affected us,” Cahoon said. “We’ve got to be able to play through that and be able to make an adjustment to our game to be able to generate a little more offense and we didn’t do that.”
The first period was scoreless, but 9 minutes, 37 seconds into the second period UML’s Michael Budd scored his first career goal in his second game for the River Hawks. They doubled the lead at 12:03 in the third period when Scott Campbell scored on UML’s man advantage – ending UMass’ penalty kill streak that had been perfect for the last 29 attempts.
In the third period, UMass seemed to adjust to the conditions, but a little too late. UMass outshot UML, 9-7, but still couldn’t come out with a goal.
On Friday, ice conditions weren’t a factor and the Minutemen dominated play for much of the game. The Terriers came out hard, putting a lot of pressure on their forecheck by sending two forwards deep into the Minutemen’s zone. This didn’t allow UMass to break out the puck efficiently.
With Dainton in net, and after withstanding the pressure from one of the top offenses in Hockey East during the first period, UMass was confident that his sharp play would continue to benefit the team for the remainder of the game, and it did. He made 30 saves.
After the first half of the first period, the Minutemen took control of play and didn’t let down for the rest of the game, putting pressure on BU’s goaltender Grant Rollheiser – who made 21 saves.
Senior Alex Berry scored the game-winning goal for the Minutemen and added an empty netter with less than a minute left of play.
Senior Cory Quirk put UMass on the board first, 7:03 into the game, when he received a pass from sophomore line-mate James Marcou. Quirk skated into the slot and backhanded the puck into the top shelf.
UMass returns to play next weekend with two games against defending national champion Boston College.
Game notes
The last time UMass beat a No. 1 opponent was Jan. 28, 1995 in a 4-2 win over Maine. Overall it is 2-12-1 against No. 1 teams … In the last 50 games, the Minutemen are 47-2-1 when scoring at least four goals … UMass is 0-3-1 when it doesn’t score at least three goals … The last time UMass was shutout by UMass Lowell was Jan. 4, 2004 … Freshman defender Matthew Irwin scored his first career goal against BU.
Melissa Turtinen can be reached at mturtinen@dailycollegian.com.
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