August 2011 Archives

Because of a life-long interest in fantasy and sci-fi literature, the Special Collections Arthur O. Lewis Utopia Collection sounded interesting to me immediately, so I decided to find out as much as I could about it.  Little did I know that I would stumble upon a veritable gold mine of information about utopia studies, founded by Arthur Lewis.  Not only do we have one of the premier utopia collections in our library, but we are also hosting a conference for the Society for Utopian Studies in October. Talking with Sandy Stelts, Curator of Rare Books and Manuscripts, I was quickly engrossed by our discussion of "utopian" books and the debate over the definition of a utopia.  When looking at some of the books in our extensive collection, I found many familiar authors such as Lois Lowry, Ayn Rand, Ursula K. LeGuin, Margaret Atwood, and Terry Goodkind.

So first things first: what is utopian literature?  Well, to the best of my understanding, the term "utopia" comes from Thomas More's novel Utopia, a description of a fictional society published in Latin in 1516.  The term "utopia" comes from a play on Latin roots, as "topia" translates to "place," but the "u" sound can come from either "ou" which means "no" (translation: nowhere) or "eu" which means "good" (translation: a good place).  This means that a utopia is generally seen as both a good place and one that is entirely fictional, and therefore unobtainable.  I have seen the differentiation between "utopias," as a general term for fictional societies and "eutopias" as the counterpart to "dystopias," which are negative futuristic views of society.  The literature overlaps a lot with the science fiction genre, especially in more recent works.  

So now that we've defined the genre enough for our purposes, it's time to talk a bit about the Arthur O. Lewis collections at Penn State.  I decided to focus my attention on the literature being pulled for the exhibition this October.  The literature will be organized into the following seven categories: architecture, gender and gender relations, travel and imaginary voyage, 18th century, communities, Arthur O. Lewis, and post-colonial.  I got to see first-hand some material being considered for each category and I will break them down and share some photos in the slideshow below.  

Architecture: The architecture section is important for the exhibition because it provides some very cool pictures of futuristic-looking buildings and designs of sustainable but non-existent societies. The Architecture category gives a visual representation of the ideas of idealistic societies living in authors' heads. It provides a guide to societies that can never be. 

Gender and Gender Relations: There seems to be a lot of gender-related utopias that conceive of possible societies and future worlds based on feminist ideals or worlds without one gender or the other.  The books investigate parts of our society that we take for granted and aspects that are affected by gender constructs. The covers for this section were some of the most interesting, so I made sure to include some in the slideshow below.  

Travel and Imaginary Voyage: This section has the advantage of making up a niche of the utopian genre. Specifically, these texts seem to always find the nowhere and provide awesome descriptions and illustrations of it.  The idea of seeking out or stumbling upon a utopian society makes one wonder what other kinds of societies may be out there.  It is the ultimate "the grass is always greener," if you will, unless of course one comes across a dystopian society.  

18th Century: Due largely to the work of Lyman Tower Sargent, a Utopian Scholar writing a bibliography of utopian works and currently residing in the State College area, our library's utopia collection is kept very up-to-date, and thus many of the texts are modern works.  The 18th century works in our collection show the significant range of the works available in our library.

Communities: This section was one of the strangest and most fascinating. My favorite by far was the Communities Directory, which was basically a phone book for communes and community-centered living (think the Amish if you have no other frame of reference for this).  The idea of communities here is the real-world application of utopian thinking. It's building the Sci-Fi futuristic perfect society and applying it to the world we have today. It's an interesting idea and one that I find fascinating, for it goes beyond the literature. 

Arthur O. Lewis: The Arthur Lewis part of this collection shows off the private collections of the man that started it all. Lewis was a founding figure of Utopian studies and just happened to be an Associate Dean Emeritus of the Liberal Arts at Penn State. His work helped to establish the Society for Utopian Studies. Because he was such an important figure for utopian studies, a section of this exhibition is devoted to him. Some of the books in this section that I saw were owned by Lewis himself. It's cool to see his own preferences within our collection.  

Post-Colonial: The post-colonial literature seems similar to the feminist literature because both envision a world in which particular historical disadvantages could be rendered irrelevant or a world in which fewer differences exist between people. It's interesting to picture a world that does not have the kind of problems that were caused by colonialism in the first place or a utopian world in which injustices could be recovered.  

I hope from this post, you get a sense of how enthralling utopian literature can be. The reasons for writing utopian literature are many and varied and totally interesting. So please enjoy the utopian collection and try to make use of it if you can, because we have so many great works available.

This semester, the Penn State School of Languages and Literatures will officially launch its 11th foreign language program for study. Students are now able to enroll in the new Arabic Language minor, an option that was previously only partially fulfilled by the Middle East Studies minor. In the case of the Middle East Studies minor, Arabic courses could only count for half of the curriculum. With the addition of the Arabic minor, those wishing to truly focus on learning the language now have that option.

In addition to the 6 course levels available, there are several alternative options to fulfill the 21-credit minor requirement. Enrolled students are often able to conduct research, perform an independent study, or even participate in an internship for credit, based on availability each semester.

Anouar El-Younssi, a Penn State professor and native speaker of Arabic, said he was thrilled to see and experience the program's launch.

"The addition of the Arabic minor at Penn State comes as an important and logical step to reflect the growth of the Arabic program at the school. [It] comes at a time when there is an increasing demand for Arabic at the college level nationwide."

One of the top 5 most widely spoken languages in the world, Arabic is the mother tongue of some 250 million people worldwide, and finds its home in more than 22 countries spanning across the Middle East and North Africa.

Arabic is also one of the 6 official U.N. languages. Spoken in a region of strategic importance to the U.S. and other Western nations both politically and economically, there is a huge demand for it coupled with a huge shortage of speakers of Arabic in the Western world.

Arabic is unique among most languages; it's a language of 28 letters, written right to left, and spoken in some 30 different colloquial dialects. The various forms are branched into the North African, Egyptian, Levantine, Arabian, and Iraqi dialects, based on the patterns of the region in which they are spoken. Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) was instilled as a common thread connecting all Arabs under one tongue, but the format is used mainly in media and formal speeches rather than everyday conversations. Colloquial Arabic (CA) is essentially the non-uniform mother tongue of all Arabs, making it difficult for all Arabic speakers to communicate effectively as they move across the Arab world. However, being that Egypt is the source of a sizeable portion of the Arab population, media, and entertainment, Penn State professors primarily teach the Egyptian colloquial in concurrence with MSA.

In that sense, learning Arabic is a lot like learning two very similar languages simultaneously. Needless to say, it is an incredibly complex language. "Complex," however, is not the same as "hard." It is complex in the same sense as a patterned (and much less boring) puzzle would be. Every word that comprises Arabic is a part formed from a pattern. When all the parts are formed, it's a matter of connecting them each time in the (grammatical and logical) order that fits the pattern. Upon completion, speakers of Arabic have before them a seamless picture of a beautiful people, language, and culture. All rifts, myths, and misunderstandings can be clarified in the connection of the pieces.

With the addition of the minor, Penn State students now have an option to study a fascinating yet often unexplored language. Says Professor Younssi, "My dream, though, is to see an Arabic major become a reality at Penn State in the future." As more and more students continue to enroll in the program, perhaps this goal is not far from it.

Hello Liberal Arts Undergraduates:

Over the past few years, we in the Liberal Arts Undergraduate Studies (LAUS) office have sought to create a living online presence that is designed to cultivate community around the undergraduate experience in the College of the Liberal Arts at Penn State.

While many see social media as a marketing strategy that pushes information out to "clients," we in LAUS have sought to use social media technologies as an opportunity for students, faculty, and staff to engage one another and to reflect in public about the liberal arts experience at Penn State.

With the excellent support of our students, staff and faculty, our online community is thriving. But for its continued success, we need your voice.

As we begin this new academic year, I want to invite you to participate in our online community.

Our LAUS website and our newly redesigned College of the Liberal Arts website serve as a HUB for all the activities in the Liberal Arts Undergraduate Studies office. I hope you will visit it frequently and make it a favorite bookmark.

Our main LAUSatPSU blog is co-authored by liberal arts faculty, students, and staff. This blog focuses on the undergraduate experience in the College of the Liberal Arts. Here you will find posts from students writing about recent internship experiences; tips about advising from CLA advisers; episodes of Liberal Arts Voices, a bi-weekly podcast produced by the LAUS Office which highlights undergraduate life in the College; and much more.

Our LAUS Announcements blog draws attention to news, updates, and announcements that are important for CLA undergraduates. You should subscribe to LAUS Announcements to get the most recent internship postings, study abroad application deadlines, dates for a variety of College events, and other information related to life in the College.

The Education Abroad Experience blog is generated by the stories and experiences of Liberal Arts undergraduates as they study abroad and travel around the world. If you are interested in studying abroad this is a great opportunity to hear directly from your fellow students and to start thinking about the type of program that is right for you.

If you are an admitted or aspiring Paterno Fellow, make sure to check out the Paterno Fellows Program blog. You will receive direct messages from the PFP Director Jack Selzer and read posts written by students involved in the program when you subscribe to this blog.

I invite you to follow me (@LAUSDeanLong) and the LAUS office (@LAUSatPSU) on Twitter, to become our fan on Facebook, to subscribe to all of our blogs, to listen to the Liberal Arts Voices podcast and, most importantly, to join the ongoing conversation about the Liberal Arts undergraduate experience.

Sincerely,

Dean Long

I've often found the phrase "the perks of the job" to be an annoyance, mostly because it usually follows a lengthy, overstated summary of tantalizing luxury, fun-packed adventure, and stunningly gorgeous locales-all of which tend to put me into a frenzy of jealousy. It is quite nice, I must say, to be on the other side of the phrase for once.

You see, I was standing in the front (bow?) of a twelve-foot raft, fly rod in hand, surrounded by big, hungry rainbow trout, and trying desperately to cast without looking like a complete amateur. Oh, and the water was moving fast. And there were lots of rocks. At the risk of sounding like a wuss (I am), it was relatively intimidating. I was about two seconds away from going for a refreshing swim, my heart was pounding, and I was loving every second of it.

My internship at Fly Fisherman magazine has (of course) continued since my last blog post, and with quite a few interesting developments. I've continued to edit, format, and organize a "best of" anthology of the magazine's Seasonable Angler columns; I'm relatively close to finishing the collection in ebook form (available for Kindle and other e-readers). As the fall issue nears, I've been working with my boss Ross Purnell to edit and format its main articles, and I've even gotten to write a few short product reviews, which has definitely been the most interesting process of my internship experience thus far. Seeing the transformation of simple text documents into full-on magazine format, with photos, illustrations, captions, and advertisements has given me serious insight into an important process of the editing business.

A particular thrill has been writing a review of Mikey Wier's DVD Soulfish 2 (you'll hear more about him later) in the upcoming fall issue of the magazine. I've always wanted to write professionally, which is one of the main draws of an editing career for me; I hoped, but didn't expect, to get this opportunity when I applied for my internship. Thankfully, it's gone well, but the jury's still out. They're not calling me the Hemingway of DVD reviews just yet.

Truth be told, I'm still enjoying myself a lot. My editing skills continue to improve, and like I mentioned in my first post, the environment that Ross has created for me has allowed me to be confident and make relatively bold moves (as far as editing is concerned, mind you. It's not as if I'm James Bond in a cubicle, though I often like to think of myself as such). Ultimately, the combination of being good at (or at least feeling good about) my work, getting a chance to do some writing, and seeing how influential an editor truly is in the production of a magazine has begun to convince me that I could enjoy a career in the field.

Let us not forget the perks of the job. Two weeks ago, my family headed out to Lake Tahoe, California, for a week-long vacation. When Ross heard where we were headed, he quickly informed me that the Truckee River, which flows into and out of Lake Tahoe, is an extremely good trout river, and proceeded not only to lend me top-of-the-line fishing gear, but also to get me in contact two excellent writers and fishermen, Greg Vinci and Mikey Wier, who live in California and fish the Truckee often. What followed next were several incredible fly fishing ventures in the midst of a fantastic family vacation. Greg Vinci and his fellow fly fishing buddy Bruch Ajari treated my dad and I to a beautiful, wonderful day on the river, along with a wealth of kind, helpful knowledge that neither of us will forget; Mikey Wier and his fishing friend, Terry, put me in the front (bow?) of their aforementioned raft and gave me the rush of my fishing career. It wasn't always pretty, but I didn't fall in, I didn't snag Mikey or Terry with my fly, and I caught a few really nice fish (see the picture included with this post). Both fishing trips were an absolute blast; I'm a lucky man to have a boss cool enough to set me up for such things, and to have met people gracious enough to put up with me.

I left you with a quote last post, and this time I'll leave you with one that's closer to home. As I was fishing with Greg Vinci, my strike indicator hesitated, I set the hook... and nothing happened. "Was that a fish?" queried Greg.

"I don't think so," I muttered, "It seemed like a snag."

"It had to have been a fish. You're a bad liar," Greg said with a smile. "If you want to be a good fly fisherman, you'll have to get better at that."

I'm an eager student.

Since we're nearing the start of the fall semester, I wanted to present a few excellent opportunities for students to get in touch with an international perspective at Penn State.

Rooms Filled with Resources

Being an International Politics major and an avid language learner, I am constantly seeking methods by which I can keep in contact with the world that surrounds me. Naturally, I go about this process in just as many ways as possible. I look at it as a win-win way to pass the time; these resources assist me later in the classroom, and, as the New York Times put it best, also allow me to "join the conversation." Consequently, I don't have to feel so bad when I get completely distracted from impending class assignments.

Pattee Library has become a sort of hub away from HUB in the quest for what I've termed the Local's International. There are a number of international resources within the Pattee that I use on a daily basis. In two years at Penn State, they have provided me with endless entertainment, yet a hunger for more. One room I frequent is the News and Microforms Library on the ground floor. Including its physical and database formats, the N&M Library boasts a collection of more than 1,700 newspapers from 92 countries in 48 different languages. Included nearby is a collection of 30 news magazines, with several of them imported from overseas.

A read through the Times, a few articles from Le Monde, and one skim through an issue of Le Nouvel Observateur later, I almost forget that I have other resources at my disposal. Advancing further through the room, students can also borrow headphones to view television news in Hindi, Portuguese, Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, and English, based on this schedule.

It was by chance that I sat down in Stacks 2a one day across from a considerable section of Arabic scripts--history, poetry, fiction novels, Arabic-French-English dictionaries, and even learning texts. Of course the work I'd initially come there to complete would be left undone for several hours, but what I quickly discovered was that the entire floor was loaded with literature from French to Spanish to languages I'd never even seen before. Fascinated by another international discovery, Stacks 2a developed into a new and decidedly wonderful place to study, read, and explore.

Another room filled with international resources is the Arts & Humanities Library. Here, I whet my cultural appetite with a long list of foreign language films, CDs, and personal interest periodicals on site.

Involvement

Whenever possible during the semester, I attend the International Coffee Hour, which is organized by the Office of Global Programs at Penn State. Every Thursday from 3:30-5:00 p.m., students gather in the lounge on the 5th floor of the Boucke Building. Almost every week, students and organizations of a different country or ethnicity host the event, and all who attend enjoy a sampling of the coffees, teas, cuisines, and music from each respective part of the world.

Often, the sessions serve as a way for international students to build confidence in their English-speaking skills, but with a gathering of people from such wide-ranging ethnicities and backgrounds, there's no telling who or what carries the conversation each week.

Plenty of organizations at Penn State motivate an international perspective, as well. Despite this being my third year as a student at Penn State, I am certain to attend the Involvement Days in Alumni Hall during the first week of the semester to see what else I might like to join this year.

Additionally, the Office of Global Programs has several unique opportunities to get involved, including the Global Ambassadors, Peer Advisers, and Conversation Partners programs. Having participated as a conversation partner, I know it serves as a particularly beneficial program for the culturally curious. I was matched with Mohamed, a fellow Penn State student from Oman. I was glad to offer what help I could in English, and in exchange he offered lessons in Arabic, his native language.

Late last spring, Mohamed invited me to Arabian Nights, an extraordinary celebration of great music, art, dance, and, of course, food. I found myself at a table of Omani students describing with excitement how a celebration such as this might look in the Arab world. Surrounded by conversations in Arabic, performers dancing the dabka, a fashion show of each nation's traditional dress, and a playlist of rhythmic sing-alongs from the region, I couldn't help but smile.

The Education Abroad Fair approaches in the fall semester, as well. Rather than trying to get an idea of where to spend a semester abroad online, take advantage of the fair, when coordinators and past participants from many of the programs gather in one room. This can really help to get a better idea of where you like, the program you like in the place that you like, and even when and for how long to go.

Another fall event full of multiculturalism is International Education Week. For those in the College of the Liberal Arts who are seeking international career opportunities, this week also holds a fair to present various options for volunteering, interning, and working abroad.

These come paired with what I would guess to be hundreds of opportunities, events, and resources I've yet to explore at Penn State. Throughout the semester, be sure to check for the dates and more upcoming events on the University Office of Global Programs homepage.

How have you achieved your Local's International?

After looking at many different areas in the library, anyone can quickly see that there is a lot of Penn State memorabilia and trivia all over the place.  From the (recently moved!) stuffed lion in the lobby to the pictures and information all about the library and exhibits on past Penn Staters, we can see that there is so much out there to learn about our school.  But how often do we actually go out of our way to learn about the rich history around us?  In this post I want to let you know about our school's history and where learning more about Penn State is possible.

When on my tour of the Special Collections section (blogged about in my last post), I mentioned the cold storage and the collection of both black and white and color photographs.  Many of these photos are of Penn State and the surrounding area, as are much of the maps in the map room.  I'm sure I'm not the only one who has gone around Rec Hall looking at the photographs of old sports teams and therefore, I can't be the only one who finds older photos to be interesting and enlightening.  That being said, I was intrigued by the photo collections, a growing number of which have been posted online, and I believe that many of you will find them both entertaining and enlightening as well.

When looking at the online database, it seems to reflect the spirit one sees all around Penn State. Specifically, there are lots of pictures featuring PSU athletics, which Michelle mentioned was also the case for the pictures in storage.  This makes sense though, since it's pretty easy to photograph sporting events and teams.  My favorite pictures are those that show the evolution of the Nittany Lion mascot, which are featured prominently in the athletics pictures.  Picture collections, whether online or in person, are a great way to see the documentation of our University's history, and not to mention just fun to page through and see what those before us were doing.  

Another fun resource found on the library's web pages is a catalogue of all the digitized copies of La Vie, the Penn State yearbook (copies of the yearbook are also in the special collections library).  When I accessed the yearbooks online, I went right to the oldest copy (naturally) to see all the differences between the first and more recent yearbooks.  I think my favorite page of the old yearbook was the "Yells" page, which listed the chants for each of the classes from '89 to '92.  The '89 yell goes: 

"Haec! Hoc!

Eighty-Nine!

Every Time!

Roo! Rah!"

I'm not kidding.  Now, the yearbook did not detail whether or not this was a serious chant, but I'm personally quite glad that we have our "We are!" instead of "Roo Rah!" It was also crazy to see the small amount of people in each class.  It's a far cry from the many campuses, medical centers, law schools, and thousands of undergraduates and graduates alike that now populate the Penn State community.  The design, of course, is quite different as well.  No photographs grace the pages, and cute plate designs decorate many of the introductory pages.  Looking at the 2000 yearbook online, the graphics, photographs, and geometric use of text immediately catches the eye, which contrasts strongly with the whimsical designs and some hand-written entries in the 1890 yearbook.  Combined with the lengthier list of fraternities (and the addition of sororities), the amazing list of student programs, and the extended text in general, it is easy to see how our alma mater has progressed.  You can check out the yearbooks online for yourself by visiting the Penn State Libraries' website.

Another way to see the progress of our university is to see the physical expansion of the school through the buildings, architecture and landscaping.  The Penn State Landmarks are highlighted on the library website along with many more historical pieces focusing on Penn State, from its presidents to the history of the Nittany Lion.  The oral histories on the page in particular seem like a unique and amazing resource to be examined.  You can find all of these sources on the Penn State Libraries' website.  

I hope that with this post I have ignited a little interest in Penn State history in all of you.  I think we sometimes take our school and all of its amazing history and resources for granted, and we should be sure to take the time to discover all our school and our library have to offer-- often these resources are at our very fingertips with online access.  So go forth and learn!

Summer 2011 is coming to an end and lately I have been reflecting on how I have made use of my time. It all began the week after finals with LeaderShape. As on-site coordinator, I had an amazing time coordinating events and helping to provide the best experience for a group of 65 PSU student leaders. A day after the end of the program, I attended the orientation for my internship at the Office of Attorney General, Bureau of Consumer Protection downtown. My internship ends this week and I am amazed at how much I have grown and learned in so little time. The staff is great and so are my co-interns, but most of all, I have valued the opportunity to have a direct impact on peoples' lives on a daily basis.

When I applied for the internship, I knew it would be a great opportunity for me to better understand the field and see if I could pursue this as a future career path. I remember messing up a phone call on the first day, stating that I was calling from the "Bureau of Consumer Consumption". I remember getting paper stuck in the fax machine because I did not remove the staple. Now I look at these things and laugh, but at the time I was traumatized. But I also remember closing my first complaint, which was a big deal to me because as "Mediators" our job is to bring the consumer and producer to a common ground. Sometimes neither party is satisfied, sometimes both parties are content, but either way, once our job is done and a file is closed, it feels like a weight has been lifted off your shoulders.

In between planning my future, developing my skills, and adding to my resume, I had to take some time off for family, so I went back home (Canada) where I attended my sister's commencement ceremony. I believe this is the first college graduation I have attended and it was inspiring to see what I am working towards. Seeing proud families and ambitious graduates added dry wood to the motivational fire in me that had been slightly dwindling overtime. It was a kind of wake-up call for me and it helped me to revisit and analyze my goals for my senior year. I watched honors students, proud of their accomplishments, walking across the stage confident in their abilities and I was inspired to always be the best at what I do, because it pays off.

After roughly a week and a half of family time, I was back in State College for Part II of my summer: LSAT prep. I came home to a box of Kaplan LSAT prep books at my doorstep and two days later, classes started. Right away, we took the diagnostic test to determine our incoming level of preparation. Although the classes are only held on Tuesdays and Thursdays, the homework in between class sessions is very time consuming. There is a lot of homework, a lot of reading, and a lot of thinking that has required me to go beyond my traditional pattern of thought. All of this has been a challenge, but I can proudly say that my score has increased in the last month by 8pts, so maybe there is hope!

And finally, I found a job with PSU Lionline. It has been a greater experience than I expected so far. My co-workers and I even went to see Harry Potter together (AMAZING) and everyone seems to be passionate about the experience.  I will be taking a leave of absence in the fall to study abroad, but I will continue to work with PSU Lionline when I return to campus in the spring.

So much has happened this summer and I wish I could share it all. From ArtsFest to my birthday dinner to my experience as a student panelist for the College of the Liberal Arts' Spend a Summer Day program - it has all been amazing. Even the few spare moments I have had this summer have been productive. For example, in between Spend a Summer Day panel sessions, my friend Rachel and I came up with the brilliant idea to create a music video featuring some of the College's finest celebrities.

As my study abroad departure date draws nearer, it is gradually hitting me: I am going to England! I recently found out that Emma Watson (Hermione from Harry Potter) is going to be "studying abroad" at Oxford in the fall as well. Stay tuned for any pictures or posts because we will obviously become BFFs.  

But all of my summer activities end this week: my internship, my LSAT class, my job, Spend a Summer Day, even my lease. And it has been such an eventful and educational summer. I am not sure how I feel about it coming to an end. After the Summer Leadership Conference I will not set foot in State College again until January. I cannot imagine how it feels to graduate when I already feel this nostalgic about leaving Penn State for only a semester. At the end of the day, I'm taking the lessons learned from my experiences to create newer and better ones, so I can't complain.

Enjoy the rest of Your Summer!

Peace & Love Always 

As a college student you always hear your peers, parents, professors, and advisers talk about getting experience in the career field of a possible future job. This experience could be in the form of an internship, a research project, or a studying abroad program. Before I started school I knew I wanted to participate in several internships, but I didn't really know how or where to get started. When I got to school I started talking to my professors and advisers, asking their advice about finding appropriate internships and the proper ways to connect with internship sites.

I started networking and talking to different workers of agencies, like police departments and federal agencies. My first real internship dealing with my Crime, Law & Justice major was with the PG Police Department last summer. I think doing an internship really helps you focus on a potential career path. It opened my eyes to goals that I should set for myself, whether or not I decide to go into policing. Also, I have been told numerous times that an internship experience looks good on your resume when you go to apply for jobs after graduation. From my own personal experience, I can say that this is quite true. When I went to my interview for the Penn State Justice and Safety Institute, the interviewers were impressed with my previous internship experiences.

As a Crime, Law & Justice student, I think the most important things to accomplish before you graduate are: completing an internship, networking with agencies, making a list of short and long-term goals, and enjoying your college life. My college experience at Penn State has been positively shaped by each of these goals. I knew going into my internship that I would learn a great deal about careers in the police force. But I was also able to learn valuable life lessons. Indeed, the most important lesson I took away from my internship was if you treat everyone with respect, they will treat you with respect in return. I can honestly say that participating in an internship really helps better yourself professionally and personally. This year, I will leave my summer internship with a greater understanding of my career aspirations, and with a new family.

When you consider doing an internship as an undergraduate, you should talk to your adviser, network with the agency you want to intern with, do some background research, and just prepare yourself mentally. Completing an internship will open your eyes to so many things and may even lead you to change your mind about a possible future career.