James McCarty bids Penn State Berks a fond farewell

It is hard to believe that 4 years of college have come to an end already. It seems like just yesterday that I was walking across the stage for graduation at high school, and now I will be walking across the stage yet again, except now I will have the prestigious title of Penn State University Alumnus.

I have plans to attend Lehigh University in the fall, where I will be pursuing a Master of Education degree specializing in Counseling and Human Services. Even though I will be getting my graduate schooling from another institution, Penn State will always be my closest Alma Mater, and I will forever bleed blue and white. 

Graduating for me is a bittersweet feeling. A person attends college to pursue a degree and graduate in order to get their ideal job, but I have always been a student at heart. If being a full-time student were a job, I would most definitely pursue it and get paid to attend classes for the rest of my life. I have loved every minute of my last 4 years, and wish it did not have to come to an end. I have viewed my undergraduate collegiate career as a lemon, and I have done my best to try and squeeze as much as possible out of my experiences. I think I can easily say that I have squeezed every last drop out of it. I do have more school ahead of me, and that excites me, a new start, new lessons, and new experiences; however it is going to take a miracle to be grander than what I have accomplished, learned, and experienced at Penn State Berks.

I ponder, what has made my last 4 years such a wonderful experience? What was the biggest defining factor that has progressed me to the point where I am today? I started my college career as commuting freshman, not knowing a single person on campus, not sure what I wanted to do with my life, and scared for what college had in store for me. I am now on the verge of graduating and feel as though I have accomplished more in 4 years than many other people do in a lifetime. One aspect stands out in my mind, as to why I have progressed so far in 4 years … it’s the staff, faculty, professors, and students at Penn State Berks. I have never come in contact with a more welcoming environment. I was constantly being challenged to succeed, while at the same time motivated and encouraged that I could accomplish whatever task was at hand. The people in our community are what make this college the best institution in the world, hands down. 

It has been a real pleasure to be able to write about my experiences for all of you. I hope each of my followers can see the opportunity Penn State Berks has to offer, and what a warm, welcoming place it has been to become educated, to learn, and to progress down the path of life. I would like to also thank all of my professors, fellow students, and the staff I have come in contact with over my college career, as well as my mother, step-father, brother, and sister. I can’t begin to describe how positively I feel about Penn State Berks, but all good things in life must come to an end. Trying to prepare myself to move on has been a struggle, but I believe Dr. Seuss said it best by stating, “Don’t cry because it is over, smile because it happened.”      

James McCarty - How I was “hit hard” by my night with Joey Kramer, drummer for Aerosmith

James McCarty
How I was “hit hard” by my night with Joey Kramer, drummer for Aerosmith

I had the privilege of meeting the drummer of the world-renowned rock group Aerosmith, Joey

Kramer! The Campus Activities Board (C.A.B.) scheduled Joey to come talk to our campus on his real-life experience dealing with depression, anxiety, and substance abuse. Joey has written a book to recap his personal experiences, “Hit Hard; Hitting Rock Bottom at the Top.”

I signed up to have dinner with Joey. It seemed so surreal to be sitting in the same room with a rock legend, let alone to be able to have an in-depth conversation with him. Once my haze of excitement calmed down and I was able to think rationally again, I had an extensive list of in-depth questions, which I used to understand his perspective.     

Some of the topics I asked Joey about included: what he used to cope with his depression and how it affected his peers; if he could try to put his feelings into words, how would he describe them; and if he were not in the music industry today, what profession would he have chosen.

It amazed me how down-to-earth Joey was. I was expecting a huge rock star with the ego to match. He said that the reason he wrote his

book and travels around the country giving talks on his experiences when he isn’t performing is because he wants other people to know that they are not alone.

He said, “I want others to know that depression can happen to anyone at any time in their life. I was sober from drugs and alcohol for eight years before my depression struck me. I want others to know that they aren’t alone.” 

Joey showed me the importance of giving back to others. This is a man who many would think has everything you could ever ask for in the world, and he wants to give back and share as many of his personal experiences with the world as possible.

Joey gave his lecture to a packed house. The auditorium was filled with current students, faculty members, community members, and even some of the local mental health workers that worked with Joey while he was going through substance abuse counseling at the Caron Foundation, right up the road in Wernersville, PA. 

The evening was truly an enlightening experience that I will never forget. Joey spoke for 25 minutes longer than he was scheduled, just to answer the audience’s questions, and following that he stayed to sign autographs for another hour-and-a-half. This really spoke volumes for how much the fans mean to Joey. By the end of the evening, he even knew me by my first name and thanked me for helping to control the crowd during autograph signings. 

Joey Kramer has become one of my newest idols, not because of his musical genius or rock star fame, but because he values others and wants to do everything that he can to give back to his fans.    

Kate Harley - Alternative Spring Break

Kate Harley

Alternative Spring Break

Over spring break, I was lucky enough to be on the Penn State Berks Alternative Spring Break Team on a service trip to Belize. What an amazing experience it was!  We stayed in a small town called Punta Gorda in the southern part of Belize, about 5 hours south of Belize City.  

While in Punta Gorda we worked with the local St. Benedict RC School. We helped work on their library, cleaning the building, and giving it a fresh coat of paint. We also created library cards for thousands of books that were donated for the school. We also put up ceilings in the principals office and their soon-to-come computer lab. Not only were we helping but I learned how to dry wall, which is something I never expected to learn in my life.   

Being at the school every day was so much fun. When the children had recess or any break in the day, they would run right to us. We got to read stories to them, play soccer, and just spend time with them. During our trip, we stayed with host families and got to eat the traditional cuisine. My all-time favorite of the week was my house mom’s homemade pico de gallo.  

Belize is such an amazing country. Everyone is so friendly there. You say “hello” to every person you walk past. The trip wasn’t all work; we had free time where we got to visit the Mayan Ruins. They were simply breathtaking. On our last day of the trip, we had a picnic at the waterfalls and also got to learn how chocolate was made.  I could not think of a better way to spend my spring break.  

 I am extremely thankful to Andrea Kolb, our adviser, for all the hard work and time that she puts into this program. I highly recommend this program to every student at Penn State Berks. Andrea wasn’t the only faculty member on the trip. We were also joined by our chancellor, Dr. Hillkirk, and his wife, and they worked on the site with us every day. It was great to see the passion for service that every member of the Alternative Spring Break team had. 

“Be the change you want to see in the world.” - Gandhi

Katie Eggert - THON

“At that moment, the greatest, most inspirational journey of my life had begun.”

Katie Eggert discusses dancing for THON

Early last week, I had plans of driving myself and 10 other students to University Park to begin the greatest weekend of the year. That weekend is THON. For those of you who do not know, THON is an organization that raises money and awareness for pediatric cancer for the Four Diamonds Fund. THON weekend is a 46-hour no-sleeping, no-sitting dance marathon. 710 lucky, passionate dancers are chosen to dance the whole 46 hours. Last Wednesday, I was sitting in the library getting some last minute things taken care of before leaving for the weekend until I received a text message from our overall THON chair saying she needed to talk to me. My first thought was “Oh my God I am going to get in trouble! What could I have done?” That was the moment I was offered one of the four dancer positions after unfortunately hearing one dancer could not do it due to illness. I began to shake and accepted the offer; I cannot even explain the emotions running through my mind.

The other three dancers and I all agreed on one thing: the magnitude of the event did not hit us until we entered the Bryce Jordan Center. Walking through the human tunnel entering the BJC was absolutely incredible. Before entering the BJC, I saw my parents and sister. At that moment, I began to cry at the amazing opportunity I had been given. We entered the BJC and went back to dancer storage where every dancer is given a locker to keep belongings, which is decorated by our moralers. My moraler was absolutely incredible and kept me going through the weekend, especially at my extreme low points. We walked out onto the floor and began to stretch. Six o’clock was quickly approaching and soon the countdown began.  “10… 9… 8… 7… 6… 5… 4… 3… 2… 1” At that moment, the greatest, most inspirational journey of my life had begun.

The BJC was full of energy and we couldn’t be any happier. When the first inspirational video was played, it struck me what exactly I was doing. I began to sob knowing I am a part of something that is so much bigger than myself. As time went by, my energy began to dwindle done. At one point of the weekend, it became very difficult to stay awake. I had ice down my back, was put outside a couple of times, and nothing seemed to be having a long-term effect. I was then placed in the ice bath. As much as I hated it, it definitely woke me up!!! 

This past weekend was the most amazing experience; there are no true words to explain. I cannot thank everyone enough for all the support and the encouraging dancer mail and letters. I also cannot thank you enough for the piggyback rides and foot massages. I dance for those who can’t. I dance for the fight. I dance for the cure. I dance for the kids. One day we will dance in celebration. Until then, we dance for the cure. FTK, always and forever.           

Tye Morales - Mechanical Engineering

Hi, my name is Tye Morales and I’m a freshman at Penn State Berks. I’m a Mechanical Engineering and Electro-Mechanical Engineering Technology major planning to stay here all four years. I am a commuter student from Reading, and I love being able to be part of Penn State and still be at home. I am getting more involved on campus, and as of right now, I am part of the Berks Honors Club and part of the Penn State Shreyer Honors College.

Speaking at the 2012 Chancellor's Circle Dinner

I choose to study in engineering fields because when I was in middle school, I was introduced to circuitry and what engineers do. Then later, when I got to high school, I took two of the engineering programs offered and loved what I was learning. Mechanical engineering is one of the more popular forms of engineering, but I became interested in it because mechanical engineering can be used anywhere and mechanical engineers can work with anyone. I’ve seen them work with architects, medical professionals, chemists, and the list really just keeps going. To me, mechanical engineers are at the forefront of the research and inventions that help everything progress. 

I’m hoping to use the Penn State Berks Mechanical Engineering program to better develop my design process and virtual design skills. The new resources we have in the Gaige Technology and Business Innovation Building are some of the best I’ve seen. I’m a bit of a “techy,” so I got really wrapped up in how much could be done. Part of being in the Penn State Schreyer Honors College is conducting research to be able to compose an honors thesis by the time I graduate. Mechanical engineering gives me great opportunities to not only do research, but to also decide what subject to research. In my future career, my particular interest is working in nanotechnology, and both of my majors allow me to harness the skills and understanding I need, and also do research for the Schreyer Honors College. I’m hoping to take what I learn in the Mechanical Engineering program and use it in designing nanotechnology that can be used in eco-friendly and hybrid mechanisms. Sounds a little tough, but I’m positive I can handle it with what I learn.

Penn State is one of the leading schools in engineering, and when I interned for an architecture firm, I was told that Penn State students graduate with some of the best training and experience. I already loved Penn State Berks before I heard about the M.E. program, but now that I can take advantage of it, I love being at Berks even more. I can’t wait to start working in the mechanical engineering field, and I’m confident that while I’m at Berks for Mechanical Engineering, I will be able to do what I want in the future.