Jeanine Snow

Jeanine’s Declassified College Survival Guide: Res. Hall & Welcome Week Edition

    As I enter my Senior year here at Penn State Berks and I think about being a first-year student, the first thing I think about, besides how old I am, is definitely all the tips and tricks I’ve learned about what to pack for the residence halls and how to calm those first day jitters (yes, I still get them at the start of every school year)! Since I think some of this stuff might be pretty useful, I thought I’d share!

What to Bring to the Residence Halls:

    Okay, first of all, remember when you toured the campus? Remember how big the residence halls were? You definitely don’t need to load up that Uhaul truck or five cars! Most of you will be sharing a res. hall with another student, so before move-in day, make contact with them (yes, it is okay to creep on their Facebook … we’ve all done it)! Make sure you decide who will bring the TV, if you can set up that video game system you are dying to bring, and if you plan on sharing food or going out shopping together. Girls, let’s be honest, you probably sort of want to know what the room is going to look like color-scheme wise, so don’t be afraid to send your new roomie (and hopefully insta BFF) some pictures, or talk about colors you like, etc.! You’ll quickly learn that less is MORE like I did, and you’ll see that Berks loves to give you free “swag” as we like to call it! You are going to accumulate lots of stuff so be prepared!

    Now let’s talk about some stuff you should definitely bring! Here’s my handy shopping list:

1.    XL twin comforter & sheets … I recommend something like this that I found at Target! Everything matches and it’s a pretty good deal! Don’t forget your pillows either!  5 pieces for the price isn’t bad!

2.    Laundry supplies! You’re going to need a basket, detergent, dryer sheets … the whole nine yards! Fun suggestion: get a laundry basket with wheels … best $16 investment I’ve ever made!

3.    Hangers!! Everyone has a closet on campus so utilize it! Bring hangers to save space in your drawers! They even sell fun colored ones at Target! (P.S. I love Target so I’m a bit biased)

4.    Clothes–make sure you bring clothes and a variety of them. Hoodies are a good idea even though it might seem like summer still! Also, jeans and dress clothes are a good idea! You never know when a presentation is going to pop up! But remember, don’t over pack!

5.    Laptop/Computer and all the necessities that come with! Make sure you buy an Ethernet cable (mine is hot pink so you can have fun with it), a flashdrive (I found this one and love it!),

head phones in case you watch a movie or need to do homework (Spanish class sometimes makes you listen to lessons), and anything else you can think of! Getting an external hard drive is a good idea! I wouldn’t worry about a printer ... the library is awesome for printing!

6.    Decorations for your room! Every college student secretly wants a little bit of home or comfort in your room! I suggest bringing pictures and picture frames, that pillow pet you think you might be too cool for now (believe me, most of us have one on campus … I have two … no shame), lights, posters, etc. If you aren’t sure if you can have it, check with your RA before hanging it! If you don’t have posters don’t worry, Residence Hall Council sponsors a HUGE poster sale on campus … you can stock up then!

 

7.    School supplies! Yes, you have classes, so stock up on pens, pencils, binders, notebooks, folders, etc! Whatever you like using will typically work for classes. Some professors may require certain things but you can always make a Target run or stop by the bookstore on campus to get hooked up!

8.    Planner!!! Okay, biggest tip I can give you … BUY A PLANNER!  You will thank me later! You might not be that busy right away but you are going to want to be able to keep track of those due dates and also the cool club events going on!

9.    Shower Supplies! Bathrobe, shower caddy, shampoo, conditioner, body wash/soap, towels, face wash, whatever is going to make you squeaky clean! Girls–don’t forget all your beauty supplies and girl stuff!

10.    Banking stuff, stationery supplies, insurance cards, etc.! You are basically an adult … you’ll need it all … I swear!

11.    Alarm clocks! Yes, our phones are wonderful for setting alarms, but let’s be honest, they could die, break, or backfire. Bring an alarm clock just to be safe!

12.    Music and Movies! I know personally music is my absolute favorite thing in the ENTIRE world. Make sure you have all your favorites with you on your computer, phone, or iPod! Bring your DVD or blue ray collection, too! Spontaneous movie nights always happen!

13.    Penn State Swag! We have A LOT OF PRIDE! Stock up on PSU gear. Need more?  Stop by the bookstore! Phil & Kristen can get you all the gear you need!

14.    A POSITIVE ATTITUDE AND OPEN MIND! It sounds cliché but this whole experience is going to be what you make of it! Put yourself out there and meet people! Make friends and memories because coming from this senior, I can PROMISE you that time flies!  Make the most of it from the very first second!

There’s plenty more to bring so check out this awesome link from Berks Housing & Food Services: http://www.welcomeweek.psu.edu/WelcomeWeek/Berks/What-to-Pack.cfm

    So now that we covered some of the major things to bring to campus, let’s focus on curing those jitters! Coming to a completely new place is terrifying … no sugar coating needed, but it’s also exhilarating! You are making the biggest step in your life and pursuing your dreams as you become independent! The butterflies are normal … heck, if you didn’t have them I’d think you were crazy!

Anyway, here are some tips for how to get over that nervousness…

5 Ways to Get Over Those Butterflies:

1.    Attend New Student Orientation (NSO) 2 & Welcome Week Events: Orientation might sound lame but it totally isn’t! I met the majority of my best friends through Orientation weekend or the actual program! GO! You are going to make friends and memories that will last a lifetime!

2.    Remember, everyone else needs to make friends, too! Sure you might have the high school sweethearts who came to school together or the best friends who couldn’t bear to be apart, but typically other people want to meet friends just as badly as you do! Put yourself out there!

3.    Get involved on the Facebook page! There’s tons of eager freshmen waiting to meet you and chat with you!

4.    Don’t be afraid of upperclassmen! We don’t bite and we love taking first-year students under our wing to show them the ropes of Berks. We’re a huge family here, so don’t forget that! RAs, OLs, and Peer Mentors are your friends! Sometimes we might have to be the bad guy but that’s not our goal! Be our friends … we like you … that’s why we do these jobs

5.    Join a club (or five)! Go to Club Rush (8/25 or 9/4) and sign up to do something. You are going to meet friends quicker if you don’t hide with that pillow pet I told you it was okay to bring under the cute XL twin size comforter you just got!   

So, that’s it! Be yourself and have fun! College is the best time of your life (so far)! Step out of your comfort zone and do amazing things! Everything happens for a reason and you get to call Penn State Berks your home for some reason that will make sense soon enough! I can’t wait to see you all in the fall! I’ll be the girl in pink running around like crazy during NSO 2… which you are all going to!

Scott Lohin interns at White House

It took me awhile before I really thought about what was happening. I was following my boss, and we had already gone pretty far past the doorway. Finally my consciousness was informed that I was walking through the White House. I felt a little out of place as I tried to keep up, meanwhile trying my best to take in everything around me. Soon after, we passed by the Oval Office and were headed down a hallway. My boss pointed towards one end where I saw Bo, the dog belonging to First Family, wandering about. My brain went through another short circuit when I looked back up. The President was walking past us and asked how we were doing. It happened really fast, and afterwards my boss was laughing when she looked at my face.

During the Spring of 2013, I had the opportunity to intern for the Executive Office of the President (EOP). The EOP consists of the President’s immediate staff, as well as different entities that give counsel in their areas of expertise. The office that I worked in provided Information Technology to the rest of EOP, with a special focus on innovation and security. In the few months that I was there I met incredibly brilliant people – it was really cool to be a part of what they do.

(Lohin is a senior completing a dual major in Information Sciences and Technology and Security and Risk Analysis at Penn State Berks.)

Nick Yeager - "Working for the G: My Internship Experience at Google"

“The Internship” is about to hit theaters and with it comes a plot focused completely in ‘Googleland’ focusing on two Nooglers (Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson) who land an internship opportunity with the tech giant. After seeing a prescreening of the movie I thought it’d be fun to sum up my internship experience with Google and how it relates to the movie.

Background:

I’ve wanted to work for Google since I took my first tour of the New York City office in September of 2007. After seeing the facilities, learning about the culture and perks, and witnessing first hand, the awesome projects that happen there, I knew I had to work there someday. This is a short story through the journey which led me to Google.

I started early when it came to internships, being an IT Help Desk employee in the Library at Penn State Berks, I was offered an internship with the university’s IT department during the summer after my freshman year. The experience was a great stepping-stone and enabled me to continue moving my way to where I wanted to be.

The following summer I interned with FirstEnergy - an energy company with offices near Penn State Berks. FirstEnergy taught me a great deal of IT knowledge and helped solidify my IST education at Berks.

Always wanting more, I decided to visit the Career Fair at Penn State University Park Campus. I ended up leaving with an offer to Co-Op at Cisco Systems in San Jose, CA during my spring (2009) semester at Penn State Berks. Being conflicted about the opportunity as I’ve never traveled that far from home I consulted with Career Services. To make a long story short, after much deliberation I made the smart choice and accepted the offer.

That winter, I was off to sunny San Jose for an awesome opportunity interning at Cisco. This was an incredibly rewarding experience but, again, always wanting more, I wasn’t ready to let myself be content. I wanted to go for the gold -- the experience I dreamed of, interning at Google. I figured since I was so close I might as well apply. Within a few weeks of submitting my resume, I was contacted (and to be contacted back from Google is an immediate accomplishment). During the following weeks, I spent many nights, sleepless with trembling nerves; preparing for interviews, cramming for abstract, obscure questions, and figuring out how to ‘beat’ their interviewing system. After two phone interviews with Google, I didn’t know how to feel. While the interviews themselves proved challenging, reading the interviewers and gauging their feedback to my responses was even more challenging. In the end, I got incredible news -- similar to Vaughn’s and Owen’s experience in The Internship -- Google wanted to extend me an offer for an internship position for Summer 2009. I eagerly accepted the offer and was set to have the best summer of my life.

My internship experience started out... quickly and overwhelmingly. One of the first things a Noogler (a new Googler) learns is that the information taught to you during your first few weeks of on the job training comes at you like a firehose. Too much to absorb all at once. After finally settling down, I was able to appreciate Google -- the company, the culture, the people and most importantly the work. There was never a dull day during my experience. While we didn’t play Quidditch, have adventures finding Charles Xavier, or competing against each other, we all found other ways to learn and engage each other. From intern scavenger hunts, to attending onsite Lady Gaga and Carlos Santana concerts, to attending the famous ‘intern boat cruise’ Google provided for us and treated us like royalty.

The summer of 2009 proved to be one of my best summers. Ending my internship at Google was difficult -- it felt like leaving paradise with all the friends I made, the experiences I shared, and the knowledge I learned. I knew, however, I had another challenge in front of me... Return to Google for the Summer of 2010.

Fortunately, all that’s required to return for a subsequent year of interning at Google is doing well your previous year and fortunately for me that must have been the case as I was extended an offer for the summer of 2010. After another year of experiencing first-class treatment -- including massages, onsite petting zoos and carnivals, participating in team offsites like paintballing -- I knew my future wouldn’t be nearly as satisfying as possible unless I worked for the G.

I spent the rest of that summer learning as much as possible, trying to secure a future with Google. By the end of my internship came my full time conversion interviews. Once again the interviews proved difficult. And then came the waiting game. It took nearly two months until a decision was made about my employment future at Google during which time I felt like a nervous father pacing the floor outside the delivery room during childbirth... Then it came, the phone call that changed my life and established my future. I got my offer for employment at Google. At the time, it was the happiest day of my life. Not only was I lucky enough have a job offer before graduating but it was with the company of my dreams.

I started working full-time with Google in January of 2011 in the Washington DC office. Since then my career has been successful and rewarding. I’ve had the opportunity to travel the world visiting sites such as Singapore, Australia, Paris, and Switzerland. I’ve also worked with many diverse teams at Google including our security operations team, network engineering team, and corporate engineering team. Recently I’ve moved to New York City in January of 2013 as part of my next step in hopes of one day becoming C [something] O at Google.

While the movie “The Internship” loosely followed the culture and experiences of individuals at Google, there are some interesting yet important differences. Interns do not compete with one another for a chance at a job at the tech giant. Also, all interns are typically assigned unique projects created by their intern hosts. These projects are tailored to the intern’s skills and experiences. One of the biggest truths of the movie is the amount of fun and difference Google makes on its employees lives. Google itself with all its perks and amenities is sometimes like graduating and going back to a college campus: employees can form their own interest groups (we’ve got juggling, acting, swing dancing, role playing, card playing, video gaming, etc), we go on offsite trips for fun (places like Miami, Vermont for skiing, etc), and tons of other things to make employees happy not to mention things like 18 free cafeterias in Mountain View, tons of guest appearances (Lady Gaga, Alex Trebek, Justin Bieber, etc).

In return for the freebies, however, Google expects one thing: honest, hardworking employees. A path to success is easy to carve if you stay modest, work for others and yourself, and stay dedicated to your work.

Google’s a great company, we strive to make the world’s information accessible and useful for everyone in the world, and every employee at Google, no matter how large or small their part is in this mission is valued and rewarded for their service. To me, I’m proud to be part of such an awesome mission -- knowing we’re trying to improve people’s lives through innovative technology. It’s challenging work but, in the end, it’s oh so rewarding! now... back to my nap pod!

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

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