Recently in Study Abroad Category

The National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations has opportunities for students who wish to study abroad this summer in Morocco, Beirut, Oman, Yemen, and Jordan.  Information for each of the six programs offered can be found on the NCUSAR website.

Application deadlines are quickly approaching, so if you are interested, don't delay in checking the site for details!

Paterno Fellows will receive $1,500-$5,000 from the College of the Liberal Arts toward meeting their research, study abroad, and internship aspirations; and build a portfolio of experiences that will influence employers, professional schools, and graduate schools. These are the types of experiences that prepare students for leadership and that students and alumni describe as the most defining and unforgettable moments in their college careers.

The priority application deadline for spring 2013 College of the Liberal Arts Enrichment Applications is Saturday, December 1, 2012.  Students should apply for funds through the Liberal Arts Enrichment Funds online system, and indicate that they are in the Paterno Fellows Program.

For more information, please see: http://blogs.la.psu.edu/laus-announcements/2012/10/spring-2013-enrichment-funds-application-priority-deadline-december-1.html

Hello to all of our faithful Paterno Fellows Blog readers. I wanted to start this post with a sincere apology that my blog-posting timeline has been iffy at best. I spoke in my first post about getting involved on campus while retaining the academic standards which this program requires. On the one hand, I did just that (some may say too much) and branched out around campus. As it stands now I am the treasurer of an Israel group on campus, a General Board member of a campus Jewish life organization, and the secretary of my fraternity. On the other hand, I neglected my posting responsibilities, and for that I wanted to again, apologize.

However, this time off from blogging at my computer allowed me to get the full experience of First Semester Freshman year. I was able to go to all the fairs, rush a fraternity, solidify my national (both Israeli and American) identities as well as my Jewish identity in a place so inherently different than where I was before. It was one heck of a ride, and while stressful at times (like this past week, where I stayed up until about 6AM almost daily finishing the last of my work- YAY for the end of the semester!) it was an experience I believe I will keep forever. Whether good or bad, every experience over the past four months or so has come with a lesson behind it; those lessons which I (and, in fact, all freshmen) should carry for the rest of our collegiate careers and beyond.

And onto my final point of business: my next blog series (if you can call this one a series :D). Another great opportunity which the honors courses of the Schreyer Honors College and Paterno Fellows Program offered me was a special, one week course abroad in Egypt! And so tomorrow I depart to a place I have only read about. Hopefully, depending on internet conditions, I will be able to blog about my experiences while I am in Egypt. If not, then I hope to post one long post at the end of the trip so that, hopefully, this opportunity can continue in semesters to come and maybe even some blog-readers can go on the trip as well.

For now, that is all. Enjoy  your breaks and make sure to stay warm and safe. HAPPY HOLIDAYS! 

Today I had an early breakfast at Ivring's with a friend. (If 8:45 is considered early morning still) An energy bagel (mmm flaxseed and raisins) smeared with a melty mix of peanut butter and honey. Plus a half decaf, half regular cup of coffee. Maybe two cups of coffee.

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My name is Kate Thompson. Well, Katharine Elizabeth Trimbur Henry Thompson, but you can call me Kate (more for your benefit than mine). I'm a freshman with intended majors in Anthropology and Communication Arts and Sciences. Most people, I'm told, participate in The Paterno Fellowship as a way to gain entry into Schreyer. I'm a tad unconventional. My deal- I'm already a Schreyer Scholar. So what lured me to The Paterno Fellowship? A single word, on a single bulleted sentence, in a single PF Pamphlet (have you seen the new ones? They're lovely!). One. Single. Word. Travel.

Like most Penn State students, I grew up in PA. But, unlike most Penn State students, I grew up in a small sheep and goat farm outside a small town. An island of agriculture in the sea of suburbs. So while people down the road chatted with their neighbors, picked up their morning papers and walked their dog, I was side lined. My neighborhood was a field of corn. Picking up the Saturday edition of the New York Times ment a half-mile walk down our winding gravel driveway (it's very scenic, I assure you). And I've done a lot of walking. Walking to school, walking our goats (I used to try walking our rabbits as a little girl, but it never ended well), but mostly walking around the same small town for eighteen years.

When I arrived at Penn State my legs were all cramped up from lack of leg room. They tingled with the pin pricks and needles that come with cramped quarters. Don't get me wrong, I love my home. But I need to stretch out. Penn State here had me at "hello." The Paterno Fellowship had me at "Travel."

For me, This program is more than a chance to gain leadership skills, and earn academic honors; it's a way for me to loose myself in the wide world extending beyond the one I've known. To escape into a new internationality. Not to run away from something. But rather towards it. A chance to unfold a map out on my desk, point my finger to a location that catches my fancy, and then watch it open like a flower into vivid dimensional realities of peoples and cultures and ideas. I'm ready world. Oh, and I promise, I'll write.