ROCK ISLAND, IL (03/16/2012)(readMedia)-- Forty-seven Augustana College students studied and worked in Sydney, Australia, for the first two months of 2012. The international study program known as "Augustana in Australia" places students in career-relevant positions in Sydney and immerses them in Australian culture.

From your area:

Rebecca Anderson from Taylor Ridge, Ill., was among the participants. Anderson is a senior at Augustana and is majoring in biology. (More info on Anderson is available at http://www.augustana.edu/x37549.xml.)

Thomas Harris from Davenport, Iowa, was among the participants. Harris is a junior at Augustana and is majoring in biology. (More info on Harris is available at http://www.augustana.edu/x37561.xml.)

Clare Kilbride from Rock Island, Ill., was among the participants. Kilbride is a junior at Augustana and is majoring in communication sciences and disorders. (More info on Kilbride is available at http://www.augustana.edu/x37570.xml.)

The students completed a five-week on-campus internship seminar and a complimentary class in either intercultural communication or business ethics before leaving for Australia on January 2. Once in Australia, students worked for a variety of employers in numerous fields - from healthcare to education and from hospitality to non-profit work.

During their trip, the students also visited the ANZ Stadium, where the 2000 Olympics were held; the Sydney Opera House; and the Blue Mountains just outside of Sydney. Some students traveled to New Zealand and other areas of Australia, including Melbourne, Darwin and Cairns, where they were able to snorkel and dive the Great Barrier Reef. Students returned to the United States on March 2.

According to Karen M. Petersen, Augustana's director of business internships and the Australia program's director, "The highlight of the Australia internship program is the personal growth students experience by integrating into a totally new culture - both personally and professionally."

At Augustana, students choosing to intern or study abroad can receive financial support from the college thanks to a program launched in 2009 called Augie Choice. Focused on advancing student learning in the liberal arts in alignment with the college's strategic plan, Augie Choice grants students in their junior year or beyond the opportunity to receive a one-time grant of $2,000 to offset the expenses of study abroad, an internship or research project. Augie Choice funding, which recently surpassed the $1 million milestone, is a visible symbol of the college's commitment to experiential learning as a way of preparing students to stand out among their peers.

About Augustana: Founded in 1860 and situated on a 115-acre campus near the Mississippi River, Augustana College is a private, liberal arts institution affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The college enrolls 2,500 students from diverse geographic, social, ethnic and religious backgrounds and offers nearly 90 majors and related areas of study. Augustana employs 287 faculty members and has a student-faculty ratio of approximately 11:1. Augustana continues to do what it has always done: challenge and prepare students for lives of leadership and service in our complex, ever-changing world.

Iowa City, IA - Up next at Riverside Theatre is the area premiere of the gritty and complex Broadway thriller, A Steady Rain by Keith Huff, directed by Joseph Price.

A Steady Rain is about two Chicago cops, Joey and Denny, who are lifelong best friends and partners on the beat until a chain of events spirals out of control threatening their jobs, their friendship and their lives.

"Joey and Denny grew up together and have always lived 'back to back' knowing that they could rely on one another no matter the circumstances," Price said.  "We meet them in a sort of internal affairs purgatory...the men face a world where all seems lost and we witness their struggle to make sense of that world."

This gripping duologue features area actors Martin Andrews as Joey and Jim Van Valen as Denny.

A Steady Rain was performed on Broadway in 2009 and Huff is currently working on adapting the play for EON Films. Huff is a graduate of the UI's Playwright Workshop.

"The lives these characters live, what they see and are asked to do on a daily basis - it's slowly wearing them down - destroying them.  Both of them are looking for salvation.  Only one can find it. It's an exciting story to tell with complicated characters to explore," said Andrews.

Andrews is the Producing Director for Working Group Theatre and an MFA graduate of UI. He last appeared at Riverside Theatre in Working Group Theatre's The Toymaker's War and Riverside's All My Sons.

Van Valen is an Assistant Professor of Theatre and Head of Acting at Cornell College and an MFA graduate of UI. He was last seen in Riverside's summer productions of Ah, Wilderness! and The Two Gentlemen of Verona.

A Steady Rain also features lighting design by Bryon Winn, sound design by Katherine Horowitz, and costume design by Adriana Fernandez.

A Steady Rain contains strong language and adult content.

Tickets for A Steady Rain, March 30 - April 15, are $15-$28 with discounts available for those over 60, those under 30, and youth. $15 students rush tickets are available on a first come first served basis 20 minutes before curtain. Tickets are available by phone at (319) 338-7672, online at www.riversidetheatre.org or in person at the Riverside Theatre Box

Office, located at 213 N. Gilbert St., Iowa City, IA.

Immediately following the opening night performance on Friday, March 30 there will be a reception and conversation with Huff in the theatre with a cash bar.

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Performance Schedule

Friday, March 30 at 7:30 p.m.*

Saturday, March 31 at 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, April 1 at 2 p.m.**

Thursday, April 5 at 7:30 p.m.

Friday, April 6 at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, April 7 at 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, April 12 at 7:30 p.m.

Friday, April 13 at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, April 14 at 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, April 15 at 2 p.m.

There will be no performance on Sunday, April 8.

*Reception and conversation with playwright Keith Huff in the theatre with a cash bar immediately following the opening night performance on Friday, March 30.

More people than ever are clipping coupons for their supermarket trips, but they're often not saving as much as they could, says Toni House, author of How to Reduce Your Weekly Grocery Bill to $85 Per Week - Or Less!.

"You can easily shave $5 to $20 off your weekly grocery budget with a minimal investment of time," says House. "Cutting your bill just $10 a week will save you $520 over the course of a year.

"Taking a couple of extra steps to ensure you can use all the coupons you clip will save you more money - and protect your investment of time in clipping them."

How can consumers take advantage of coupons without becoming consumed by them?

Let us count the ways!

• Learn different stores' rules. Call the grocery stores that are convenient to you (near home OR work), ask these questions and write down the answers: Do you have double or triple coupon days? (If so, what are they?) Do you accept other stores' coupons? Do you allow "stacking" coupons - using them on sale items?

• Seek coupons far and wide. The Sunday paper is always a good place to start, but most households also get coupons through direct mail. And you can find coupon deals at SaveYourMoneySaveYourFamily.com, Coupon-Lady.com and a host of other sites. If there are brand-name products you just have to have, try Googling the name and "coupon."

• Plan meals around your coupons. Say you have coupons for 30 cents off a box of pasta, half-off spaghetti sauce (a type you normally buy - not a pricey splurge!), buy-one, get-one canned mushrooms and $1 off a pound of ground chuck. Can you smell dinner simmering? For less than $4?

• Organize your coupons. An expandable folder, like you might use for taxes, is a convenient place to store coupons at home. You might organize it by product - frozen foods, snacks, meats, or by expiration date. If you're going to do some meal planning around coupons, you might want a section for those. As you clip, sort the coupons immediately so you don't end up with a big pile that never gets sorted or used. Clip the meal coupons together and drop them in either the meals section or, if you're organizing by date, the date the first one is set to expire

• Save up to 30 to 50 percent with "shopping club" cards. Many supermarkets now offer "shopping clubs" that provide members with special in-store discounts. These are no-clipping-required coupons that never expire! Sign up for free and get a "membership" card that clips to your key ring. When the cashier swipes it, the discounts are applied to your grocery bill. Some stores have an associated website where you can log in while you're planning your shopping list and see what discounts are available that week.

• Upload coupons directly onto your shopping club card. Stores that have a shopping club website may also post manufacturer and brand coupons there. Log into the site with your card ID number, then click on the coupons you want and they'll load right onto your card! Instead of carrying coupons to the grocery story, you get your discounts when the cashier swipes your card.

• Organize your shopping club cards and coupons with your smart phone. If you shop at a lot of stores, you may be carrying around a lot of shopping club cards. Ditch the cards by loading them on a free club card organizer app available soon at saveyourmoneysaveyourfamily.com. You'll also soon find a free coupon organizing app there. It will allow you to click on coupons online and load them onto your phone for the trip to the grocery store.

Planning ahead is the most effective way to use coupons. Since we know you would never dream of heading to the supermarket without a list -- because that's a huge money waster - just match your coupons to your shopping list before you head out the door.

Be sure to check expiration dates, brand names and quantities on the coupon (if it says "8-ounce tub of lard," don't grab the 24-ounce tub of lard!)

Imagine, if you save just $1 a week with coupons, you'll have $52 extra at the end of the year. And then you can get that splurge spaghetti sauce - and the 24-ounce tub of lard!

About Toni House