Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Embedded Course Trip to South Africa

Hello everyone! I had such an amazing Spring Break 2014! This past Spring Break I had the opportunity to spend 10 days in South Africa, Johannesburg specifically. I had the chance to go through an embedded Honors course here at Penn State Berks. This course and trip have taught me so much about how other people and cultures live. We did so many exciting things!

Penn State Berks Spring Break 2014 group

Petting baby lionsWe went to a place called “Lion Park” that houses many different animals, lions in particular. They send you on a mini-safari to see them. My favorite part of our trip to “Lion Park” was when we were allowed to PET A BABY LION!!! THAT’S RIGHT GUYS I GOT TO PET SIMBA!!

Another exciting and life changing experience was when I got to go volunteer at Nkosi’s Haven, a South African NGO that provides support and holistic care to those effected by HIV/AIDS. Playing and interacting with the women and children of Nkosi’s changed my perception on what it means to live. These children, despite living rough and hard lives, smile and play. This happy, youthful spirit puts a smile on my face and helps me remember that we are all happy to be alive.

Basically my week in South Africa was amazing, the people changed the way I think, the animals made me remember how small I am, and the food was to die for! Please, if you are ever given the opportunity to go abroad, do it! It is so incredibly worth it!

-Zach

Lions!

Friday, March 21, 2014

The Sweet Life of Planning Campus Activities

Jeanine at APCA
First morning of the conference!
Super excited and still full of energy!
#apcababy #apcaintern
Being on the Campus Activities Executive Board definitely has its perks! Before Spring Break I was given the opportunity to go to the Association for the Promotion Campus Activities Conference, or APCA, for short. APCA is basically a conference where students go and get to listen to different performers or speakers, test different novelty products, or play different games that are all available to be brought back to our campus! It’s basically a weekend of getting to dance, listen to music, and get lots of free stuff.

Although this would be my first APCA, I was given the unique opportunity to be an APCA Staff Intern! Basically I got to do a great deal of behind the scenes stuff. I put up signs, check breakout rooms, and also got to know the people who run the entire event.

Education Session Sign
Our Education Session Sign!
I have to admit I was a little bit nervous, especially since it was the first time I got to stay in a hotel by myself for a night! (The Hershey Lodge is amazing just in case you were wondering!) I was also nervous because four of my fellow executive board members and myself were presenting a breakout session on Series Programming (which I wrote the proposal for and am the current chair for at Berks). I was uncertain as to how it would go over, but we pushed on anyway!

Finally Friday arrived! It was crazy to start since I was working the registration table but I was relieved to see my delegation arrive! We had our breakout session starting in about two hours and we were all excited and ready to rock it! Luckily for us, the ed session room filled quickly and people were engaged and interested! We even got a great deal of positive feedback. It was such an incredible moment to see hard work and dedication pay off! I have never been so proud of something in my entire life!

Jeanine and John Doland with Adam Grabowski
John Dolan and I with Adam Grabowski!
He tweeted about us having his original
T-Shirts! #hispters
The rest of the weekend was just plain fun from that point on. I got to play with Mindy the Monkey, pet Pokey the Porcupine, make my own mug, laugh at comedians (especially my favorite Adam Grabowski), and hear amazing speakers like Bobby Audley all while being fed chocolate, dessert and other snacky food! I have to say that seeing the performers and learning more about all the hard work that not only they put into it, but the conference staff put into it is amazing! I learned so much and had such a fantastic time! I am so thankful for all the amazing opportunities that I have received by being involved at Berks!

Jeanine with Advisor Brittney and Bobby Audley
My advisor, Brittney, with Bobby Audley and I! We loved him!
He taught us so much about living outside the comfort zone
and never giving up! #DontBe #leadershipspeaker
Until Next Time Interweb Friends,
Jeanine

P.S.- Hashtags were kind of a thing all Conference! #muchlove

P.S.S.- I love my delegation more than words!
#berkscabswag
#berkscabswag