Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Diverse Friendships

One of the most amazing things about college is meeting diverse people. In my high school experience, I did not encounter very many international students. Throughout the 13 years of public education I went through, I must have met only a handful of international students, but in my first year of college alone, I met at least six. Penn State Berks is home to dozens of international students attending college, which is really cool! I am not trying to imply that only students from out of the country are considered different from you, because that is not at all the case! 

Lion Ambassadors
The Lion Ambassador group has people of all different backgrounds and goals!
I have met and continue to meet countless students at Penn State Berks who have very different backgrounds than me, have unique skills and talents, and are just overall great people. I have formed great friendships on campus, and I am so excited to have met so many people who are different from me! It has continued to be a wonderful experience. College is great, because you come in contact with people of so many different backgrounds, and you have the privilege of learning about their background, and what makes them who they are. 

Sometimes, we get so absorbed in our own lives, that we don't take the time to think about what makes other people unique. In college, you get the opportunity to learn how other people live life. You can learn about different kinds of work ethic, social aspects, and much more from a vast amount of different cultures. No matter where you go to school, this is the case. College is a great opportunity, because, if you are like me, you’ll hardly know anyone on campus when you first arrive, but when you leave, years later, you’ll have made lasting and lifelong friendships. The great thing is that new students arrive to campus each semester, so the list of new people to meet keeps on growing!

Take the time to learn about different people, and make lasting friendships that you would never have dreamed of forming. In the process, you can teach students of other backgrounds and cultures about yourself!

-Taylor Green

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Getting Involved!

Lion Shrine in SnowWhat's up crazy college kids!! I hope you've all had a wonderful break and an awesome snow day. Welcome back to another semester at Penn State Berks and I hope you're just as excited as I am.

I wanted to just take this post to write about a huge and honestly, for me, the most fun part of college. Getting Involved! Now yes, don't get me wrong, learning can be really fun. Especially for engineers, or maybe that's just me. But, being involved on campus through clubs, sports, or jobs is so much fun. You get to meet people with similar interest as you, but at the same time they may not have the same story or background as you. You become more rounded and I know that most people, including myself, have made some of their best friends this way.

Being involved also makes for a great résumé builder. Employers no longer look for the strict academic criteria. Many want to see an extracurricular aspect as well. Plus, we've got some pretty amazing clubs on our campus that employers recognize that build skills that are essential in any field.

2014 OL Captains
2014 OL Captains
Of course the biggest part of being involved is the fun. I've done so much that I've never really thought I would do and it's because of what I was involved in. On campus I'm the Community Service Rep. for the Honors Club and I've had the opportunity to cook for a shelter, play with Huskies (my favorite dog), and, as a member, had the opportunity to go to some great Broadway trips. As a Lion Ambassador, get to meet high school students and their families as they try to decide on college. Helping them in any way I can and giving a tour of the campus I love being at is one of the best feelings. I'm also so excited to be an Orientation Leader (OL) Captain this year. We are only in the beginning stages of planning next year’s orientation, but this group right here is full of truly amazing people and I'm so happy they are the ones I get to enjoy this with.

I can say all of this and I'm only part of a few of the groups on campus. Last week, we had club rush and I hope everyone enjoyed it. If you haven't thought of becoming involved on campus, give it a shot! You never know what could happen, who you could meet, or how much fun it could be. Make the most of your experience and no matter what club, sport, or extracurricular, know that you have people there who want to have fun too. After all WE ARE... PENN STATE!

Til next time,

-Tye