September 2010 Archives

HAPPY 1-MONTH ANNIVERSARY!

You may be asking, "whose anniversary is it?"

Mine and Penn State's.

I have officially been a freshman for a month.  And wow, has it gone by fast!

Before I go any further, let me introduce myself. My name is Denise Dagadu, I am a  proud resident of New Jersey. I have come to happy valley to pursue my dreams of getting a bachelors degree and I plan on eventually going to law school. I haven't set my mind on one major thus far, but I am testing the waters to see what fits best. Thus far I am one month closer to fulfilling my goals.

I am in the College of the Liberal Arts and am a Paterno Fellow Aspirant (which is a great program, I might add). In this short month I have learned so much and I have come up with 5 sure ways to survive in Penn State University as a freshman:

1. Don't be afraid to meet new people (we're all in the same boat, new to the environment)
2. Make weekly goals and stick to them (Procrastination = your worst enemy)
3. Get involved! (It's another sure fire way to meet new people and explore your interests)
4. TRY SOMETHING NEW (I've learned so much about myself this way)
5. Remember what you came here for (passing up a party to study won't kill you)
   

College is not like high school. You have to put in way more hours of studying but also, you need to be able to have fun. Time management is absolutely the key to success as I see it.

To sum up my first post, I'm having a blast finding myself while learning and being challenged by new things. And I can't wait to see where else I land myself in the next few months.

But last and most important, as a true Penn Stater, I'll proudly end this with a:

WE ARE!

The wall by my desk is decorated with an aerial photograph of a meandering river located near the border between Peru and Brazil. I haven't been there - I just found it in a magazine and like to look at it. The surrounding green forest contrasts strikingly with the water, which is the color of coffee with cream, a glossy stripe of light brown cutting through the trees.

Wait... coffee-colored water?  Eew. Would I want to stick my feet in that?  And I bet there are tons of mosquitoes.

Like a muddy but beautiful river, the idea of studying abroad can stir up contrasting emotions such as excitement and anxiety. Don't let the scary or confusing parts of the process outweigh the positive aspects!

Begin exploring your options at the Education Abroad Fair -

Tuesday, October 5 from noon to 5:00 p.m. in the HUB.

The Education Abroad Fair is your opportunity to

• meet with study abroad advisers for specific regions of the world,
• visit the College of the Liberal Arts table to find out how credits from abroad can fit into your academic plan,
• attend brief presentations on a variety of study abroad-related topics.  Click here to see the schedule of presentations.
  

Can't attend the Education Abroad Fair? No worries!

The Liberal Arts College's website gives you access to all the information you need to start planning for a summer, semester, or year abroad:

• Step 1: Research Programs

• Step 2: Meet with Advisers

    (Also, click here to see how study abroad can fit into your major.)

• Step 3: Think about How to Finance Your Trip

!! DEADLINES  !! DEADLINES  !!  DEADLINES !!

Don't wait until the last few weeks before a deadline to work on your application. It may take several weeks to compile all the information you will need to submit.

• To study abroad in FALL 2011 (or Academic Year 2011-2012), the application deadline is JANUARY 20, 2011
• To study abroad in SUMMER 2011, the application deadline for most programs is FEBRUARY 1, 2011. (Some programs have a mid-February or early-March deadline.)
• To study abroad in SPRING 2012, the application deadline is APRIL 1, 2011. Some programs re-open later in the summer, with an extended deadline of Sept. 15, but you will not have access to the entire range of programs/countries if you miss the April 1 deadline!
  

RECOMMENDATIONS

You will need at least one general recommendation (from a faculty member or academic adviser), and for some programs you also need an evaluation from a language instructor. Before listing someone as your recommender, ask for his/her permission. Next, list the person's name and email address in the relevant section on your application. S/he will receive an email explaining how to open the online recommendation form.

 "OMG, I can't be away from home for that long..."

If you are nervous about spending time outside of the U.S., talk to your peers, instructors, and advisers who have studied abroad and ask to hear about their experiences. Read the blogs at  PSU GeoBlog and on The Education Abroad Experience, written by students who are abroad this term. They don't gloss over the difficult aspects of studying abroad, but hopefully their enthusiasm will make a bigger impression on you and give you the nudge you need to go ahead and apply for a program!

If you studied abroad already (during high school or while at Penn State) and have some advice to share, we would love to hear from you!

Hope to see you at the Education Abroad Fair!

Political Science major Sean Healy and CLA Enrichment Coordinator Ashley Tarbet appear on episode fourteen of Liberal Arts Voices to talk about Teach for America.

Sean starts off the program by talking about his current role as the Campus Coordinator intern for Teach for America in State College this fall. He talks about Teach for America's main mission - to minimize educational inequity in low-income communities. Sean further explains how Teach for America hopes to impact these areas by placing well-trained teachers (recent college graduates) in these school districts for a two year commitment.

Sean covers some of the practical questions that students interested in Teach for America may have, including: the type of funding available in the program, the application process, the required training programs, and a variety of other resources.

CLA Enrichment Coordinator Ashley Tarbet discusses why Liberal Arts undergraduates might be interested in applying for Teach for America. She and Sean point out the benefits of the vast alumni network that accompanies this kind of program, as well as the types of careers that Teach for America alums have gone on to achieve.

Lastly, Sean talks about his plans for the liberal arts magazine he founded last year, Agora. Agora is a monthly liberal arts publication which provides a venue for students to voice their opinions on a wide variety of topics and to participate in a free exchange of ideas. Visit Agora's Facebook group to find out how to get involved in the publication. You can also contact Sean at sph5061@psu.edu.

Liberal Arts Voices: Episode 14

To subscribe to Liberal Arts Voices through iTunes, click here.

We encourage all of our listeners to write to us with comments, questions, or suggestions at laus@la.psu.edu. We may even respond to these comments on the next episode of Liberal Arts Voices.

After spring semester ended last year, I was on my way for starting my summer internship.  For this first internship with Hester Blum, I was taken on as a preliminary researcher of sorts.  Since I live in the Philadelphia suburbs, I was able to take the train into Philadelphia during the summer to go to many of the libraries there and put together a bibliography of works that looked suitable for Hester's project, to make her research easier and more direct when she got to these libraries herself.  Hester's project had to do with polar exploration in the 19th century, particularly artifacts printed in exotic locales, such as on board ship.

You decide to take WMNST 001, AAA S 110, LER 100, CAMS 012 or something along those lines--just to meet a General Education requirement. You discover that, as Gen Eds go, this course really isn't too bad. When the first exam comes along, you're pleasantly surprised to have done so well--and you continue to succeed in the course. Your scheduling date for the following semester comes up (quicker than you thought it would, of course), and you decide, based on your first positive experience, to take another course in this discipline to satisfy another Gen Ed requirement. This course appeals to you, too, and again, your test scores confirm that you "get" the material. You wonder about taking a 3rd course in this subject and you discover that you might be able to knock out another Gen Ed with this course using the standard 3-6-9 substitution (about which you'll learn in another advising blog post) or that you can use it to satisfy a Bachelor of Arts requirement for your major.

It might be in this 3rd Women's Studies; African and African American Studies; Labor Studies and Employment Relations; or Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies course when an idea starts to flicker. Could you minor in this area? Would the courses you've taken so far to satisfy Gen Ed requirements still "count" toward a minor? Could you even complete a 2nd major in this discipline that you never even heard of before you came to Penn State? In your next advising meeting, you learn that the answer to all of these questions is yes. And your interest begins to grow...

At some point, you might talk yourself out of this new idea. You wrestle with the question that nearly every Liberal Arts student faces at some point: What would you actually do with a major or minor in this discipline? What value would it add?

My answer to that is that only good things can come from aptitude, interest, and enthusiasm when they influence your academic choices, which in turn, affect your post-graduation plans.

So, what are some of these "good things," specifically?

• Students who are energized about their courses tend to perform well and their transcripts illustrate that success in a concrete way.
• Students who are curious about what they are learning are frequently motivated to establish connections with faculty members, and they become "known" in the academic community--an important professional development task for all Penn State undergraduates.
• Students who are enthused about a discipline tend to investigate related experiential opportunities--internships, research projects, education abroad, extracurricular activities, for example--and incorporate them into their educational plans.
• Students who pursue a unique interest are often asked about it in interview situations (Why did you decide to minor in Latina/Latino Studies or major in Labor and Employment Relations?) Because of their positive experiences, these students are able to talk about them enthusiastically--students can discuss what they bring to the table as potential employees with their specialized knowledge. They can elaborate on what they now understand, appreciate, and can apply in professional settings as a result of their studies.

My list of good things could go on and on...but the important message is this: Your interest in a major or minor you've discovered is significant, so resist the temptation to dismiss it. Stand firm when anyone, including yourself, questions your decision to incorporate a less common discipline into your academic plan. Doing so can enrich your experience at Penn State, guide your next steps in meaningful ways, and shape who you are both professionally and personally.

So, as you sit in your general education courses, pay attention--not just to the lectures, the power-point presentations, and the readings. Pay attention to what resonates with you--and see where this discovery takes you.

If you are currently pursuing a lesser-known Liberal Arts major--or a "discovery major" in adviser lingo--we'd love to hear about your experiences so far.

Hello all, my name is AnneLiese Nachman and I wanted to take the time to introduce myself to this blogging community before I started contributing to it.

First thing's first; I have never blogged before, so I am very new to this. However, I am a Freshman, and trying new things is all part of the experience right? After I learned of this opportunity, I thought it would be a good way to contribute to this growing technological way of communicating.

So if you follow my blogs, you will be peering through a window into the life of a Freshman here at PSU. I will discuss some of the activities here on campus that I take part in such as the Eco-Rep program,the Blue and White Society, and the Paterno Fellows program. I hope to give you a sense of how some Freshmen perceive this Penn State community and all that comes with it.

I look forward to sharing!

This is the third of several special episodes of Liberal Arts Voices featuring this year's Penn State Laureate, poet and Professor of English and Womens' Studies, Robin Becker. Throughout the fall semester, Liberal Arts Voices will be collaborating with Penn State Live to cover the poems and work of Professor Becker.

In this podcast Professor Becker joins Dean Long; CLA Enrichment Coordinator and PSU English alum, Ashley Tarbet; English major Natalie Kovak; and English grad student William Woolfit to discuss Professor Becker's poem "The Lover of Fruit Trees." You can read the full version of "The Lover of Fruit Trees" on Penn State Live.

Professor Becker begins by describing how she found inspiration for this poem by observing her friend's experience gardening in the dessert of New Mexico. Throughout this episode, the group discusses a variety of themes that are evoked by the poem such as endurance, the ability to find the unexpected in miraculous places, and the love and awe inspired by natural landscapes.

We invite you to respond to this poem or to the question that Professor asks at the conclusion of her poem: With whom do you have rich and searching conversations? How might you describe those conversations or find images that evoke them?

Liberal Arts Voices: Robin Becker's "The Lover of Fruit Trees"

To subscribe to Liberal Arts Voices through iTunes, click here.

To watch a video of Professor Becker reading this poem or to read the actual poem, visit Penn State Live.

We encourage all of our listeners to write to us with comments, questions, or suggestions at laus@la.psu.edu. We may even respond to these comments on the next episode of Liberal Arts Voices.

When I decided to be an English major freshman year, the one problem I had with my chosen field was my lack of knowledge of where a degree in English could take me.  I've heard my share of "living in a box" jokes to know that many consider the post-graduation opportunities for people in my major to be slim.  I was determined that this would not stop me from pursuing the major that I truly enjoy, so I went on the quest for an internship in my field that would give me some background into what I could do with my beloved English degree after graduation.  Before recounting my tale, let me say a little about myself now.  I'm Rachael Green, a junior in Schreyer majoring in English and Psychology.  As I did when I was a freshman, I still think I will probably pursue a career in English upon graduation.  One career that I considered as a freshman (and that I am still considering) is a position in academia.  To test out this potential career path, I stumbled into an internship that allowed me to glimpse the research that those in academia conduct. 

In episode thirteen of Liberal Arts Voices, Associate Dean Long and Heather Summerlin are joined by CLA Internship Coordinator Ashley Tarbet and INTPL majors Eli Glazier and Amanda Craig. This episode focuses on Eli and Amanda's experiences as interns in Washington D.C. over the summer.

Amanda starts off the program by describing her internship with lobbying firm Capitol Associates, Inc. She helps us to get a sense of the role that lobbying firms like Capitol Associates, Inc. play in Capitol Hill. Amanda talks about the variety of jobs she had during her internship, including preparing federal registers and attending congressional hearings and firm briefings.

Eli also discusses his summer internship with D.C. think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). He talks about his main intern duties which culminated in the creation of a promotional video for PSU and CSIS. He also reflects on the variety of opportunities he had to network with experts in the field.

Eli and Amanda compare their stories as summer interns - places they went, people they met, etc. They also share their thoughts about life in D.C. - the food, museums, monuments. The D.C. interns give some helpful advice for CLA students thinking about completing an internship in Capitol Hill. Make sure to take a look at the blog posts that Amanda and Eli wrote about their internship experiences on our LAUSatPSU blog over the summer.

Liberal Arts Voices: Episode 13

To subscribe to Liberal Arts Voices through iTunes, click here.

To find out more information about internship opportunities for Liberal Arts undergraduates, visit our new internship website.

We encourage all of our listeners to write to us with comments, questions, or suggestions at laus@la.psu.edu. We may even respond to these comments on the next episode of Liberal Arts Voices.

It's that time of year again:  Fall Career Days time.  As the FCD committee member from Liberal Arts, I know that I'll be out of my office frequently over the next few days, working at the BJC in my pumpkin orange Career Days polo shirt.  I have met with a few Liberal Arts students over the past week to discuss their fair strategy, and look forward to seeing many more of you milling around the booths and talking to recruiters.

As mentioned in our recent announcement, the Fall Career Days website gives plenty of excellent tips for a successful career fair.  Many of you know them by heart:  prepare a 30-second professional introduction, make copies of your resume, dress conservatively, and perhaps most importantly, research employers in advance.  For Liberal Arts students, I like one particular piece of advice:  The fair is only as big as your top five organizations.  If you start thinking of the fair as consisting of the five employers you plan to approach, as opposed to over 400, the experience becomes much more manageable--and enjoyable!

A quick review of the employers today confirmed my belief that the fair does offer opportunities for many of our students.  While only you can make decision as to whether or not the fair is worth your time, I'll list a few here to give you a sense of the breadth and depth of organizations attending.

Did you know that Teach for America is one of the biggest employers of Penn State Liberal Arts graduates?  They will be at Tuesday's fair, as will the Peace Corps, another popular short-term post-grad employment opportunity.  Additionally, Philadelphia Teaching Fellows representatives will attend to recruit students in all majors except education to become teachers in critical need subject areas in Philadelphia's high-need public schools.  

Representatives from the Harrisburg Semester, a Penn State program that combines a public policy internship with an academic seminar in our state capital, will attend to discuss the program details and the various internships available through it.  A few federal government agency recruiters will also attend to discuss opportunities at the Department of State, the Central Intelligence Agency, and the Social Security Agency.

Students interested in behavioral psychology may want to check out the KidsPeace or the Meadows Psychiatric Center booths, whereas crime, law and justice majors looking for a career in law enforcement may want to plan on speaking with representatives from the Bethlehem Police Department, Lewisburg Penitentiary, or the Supreme Court Police.

Many major retailers attend the fair to recruit for their store management and sales programs.  You'll recognize the names:  Target, Macy's, Kohl's, Giant Eagle, Abercrombie and Fitch, American Eagle, Wegmans, and Wawa, to name just a few.  These types of programs tend to seek out well-rounded students in a variety of disciplines--often, no particular major is required--with stellar communication skills.  

Insurance company Liberty Mutual, meanwhile, is seeking out Liberal Arts students with strong analytical skills for their claims, underwriting and sales positions.  (They are also giving a special workshop to CLA students on Wednesday evening -- 6 p.m in 365 Willard.)  Students with an industrial/organizational psychology or labor studies background will find human resources opportunities available at a variety of companies, if they spend some time looking.  And economics students will want to consider talking with Bates White, a consulting firm offering services in economics, finance, and business strategy.  

This list, of course, is not comprehensive.  Even if it were, and if you had time to speak with fifty organizations, you might not walk out of the BJC with the perfect job in your pocket.  However, remember that the fair presents an excellent large-scale networking and professional development opportunity not available to your peers at smaller institutions.  If you do plan to attend, be confident and make the most of the experience.  See you at the fair!

So, the regular period to drop or add a course from your schedule has expired and now you're realizing that a course just isn't for you. You may wonder what your options are and how they may affect you. First, you do have an option and it is called a "late drop". 

When you enroll at Penn State you receive 16 "late drop" credits over your tenure as a student. It is important you use those credits wisely because once they are gone you cannot receive more. The period to use them began September 2 and will be over November 12th. 
 
Second, this option can affect you so as you consider whether using late drop credits is right for you, let me propose some thoughts.  

1.  What is your reason for considering the drop?  

If it's because you are having a difficult time with the course material, determine (using a degree audit in eLion) if this course is required for your major. If so, dropping may not be a good option, because you'll be required to take this course again and the material will be the same. However, if you will be receiving a failing grade or will be receiving a lower grade than you want or need to meet a requirement, you may decide to late drop the class.

If the reason is that you have a heavy course load and this one class is particularly difficult but you foresee an upcoming semester where you can pair it with some less rigorous options, late dropping may be for you.

Many other reasons exist that may cause you to consider late dropping, such as: financial difficulty, personal/home obligations that are time-consuming and require you to have a lower credit load, realizing the course is not a requirement for you and this semester is more demanding than initially foreseen, etc. Any of these reasons should be weighed in light of the pros and cons discussed in this post and in consultation with an academic adviser.  

2.  How many "late-drop" credits do you have remaining?

If you are nearing the end of your 16 credits, look to the future.  How many semesters do you have left?  Could you use those remaining credits at another more critical point?

3.  Will late dropping this course reduce your credit load below 12 credits?

If so you will no longer be a full-time student and this may impact your financial aid and/or your health insurance coverage.  In this case, do not late-drop the course until speaking with the Office of Student Aid (814-865-6301) and checking with your health insurance carrier.

4. Is this course a prerequisite for future courses you need or desire to take?

If so, late-dropping this course could jeopardize your progress toward graduation and may not be right for you.

Now, I'm sure you're asking "how exactly do I late-drop a course?". Late dropping a course, once you've consulted with your adviser, is actually a very simple process. Log into your eLion account and use the Late Course Drop application prior to the November 12th deadline. Or, you can complete a Registration Drop/Add Form so that the drop can be processed by an adviser, the department offering the course, or the Registrar's Office. Please keep in mind that you will be charged a $6 processing fee for every course you late drop.

If you read over this post and thought, "I guess late dropping is not right for me. What do I do now?" Consider talking to your professor for feedback and recommendations on how you can improve in the class. Consider attending a tutoring session with Penn State Learning and visit your adviser to discuss options. I also strongly encourage you to visit your adviser if you still need to clarify whether using late drop credits is best for you.    

This is the second of several special episodes of Liberal Arts Voices featuring this year's Penn State Laureate, poet and Professor of English and Womens' Studies, Robin Becker. Throughout the fall semester, Liberal Arts Voices will be collaborating with Penn State Live to cover the poems and work of Professor Becker.

In this podcast Robin Becker joins Dean Long; CLA Enrichment Coordinator and PSU English alum, Ashley Tarbet; English major Natalie Kovak; and English grad student William Woolfit to discuss Professor Becker's poem "The Problem of Magnification." You can read the full version of "The Problem of Magnification" on Penn State Live.

Professor Becker begins by describing how her role as a teacher helped to inspire this poem. Specifically, she wanted to capture an unexpected moment of role reversal when a student becomes the teacher and vice versa. She wanted to explore the kind of broadening of perspectives and the interesting subjects that result from these interactions between students and teachers.

We invite you to respond to this poem or to the question that Professor Becker asks at the end of her poem: Role-reversals sometimes yield interesting material. Under what conditions might you imagine reversing roles?

Liberal Arts Voices: Robin Becker's "The Problem of Magnification"

To subscribe to Liberal Arts Voices through iTunes, click here.

To watch a video of Professor Becker reading this poem or to read more about it, visit Penn State Live.

We encourage all of our listeners to write to us with comments, questions, or suggestions at laus@la.psu.edu. We may even respond to these comments on the next episode of Liberal Arts Voices.

Being back at Penn State means that the summer is over. Though it may still be 90 degrees outside, I no longer have to spend the day in a suit. I still spend my day learning, but the subject matter is a little different. CATA is certainly a little different than WMATA.