Ohana Means Family, But Penn State Berks Means Family FOREVER!

Aloha! It’s Jeanine again! For the past few weeks the campus has been buzzing about Parents and Homecoming Weekend! Every year Berks celebrates this tradition and it continues to grow and grow (special shout out to the Homecoming Chairs- Josh, Amanda, and Melissa!). In the hustle and bustle of my crazy, hectic life (over involved senior problems!), the first rumblings of Homecoming started when nominations for Homecoming Court went out! In years past I’ve looked at the email, nominated the Seniors I thought deserved to be on Court and let it go until voting opened up. This year was different… I was a Senior and those deserving Seniors were some of my very best friends. (This will probably be a trend in my blogs… realizing that my time here is coming to an end and being both very happy and sad at the same time about it.)  So, I took a deep breath and sent in my nominations and went on with life. My biggest focus for that weekend was the Open House Program that admissions was running since I’m a Lion Ambassador and a self-admitted perfectionist, being on court seemed like a farfetched idea since I’m just me and there are tons of deserving candidates!

Fast forward a few days after nominations closed and I get an email in my inbox saying, “Congratulations, you’ve made it to court.” To say my jaw hit the floor was an understatement so I immediately ran out of my Res Hall Room across the hall to the boys suite (all of my best friends live in one section of The Woods… it’s super awesome) to find out that two of them made it to court! Text messages and facebook notifications later I found out that the majority of the court were people who I knew well or considered good friends! I was honored just to be nominated and figured that’s where it would end… none the less, I called my mom and told her she had to come! She agreed, of course, and I got back to worrying about Open House, C.A.B. volunteers to staff the events, and float building of course!

Freshmen Ryan (green shirt) and Chelsea (driving) helped us
with the “float” tons! It was pretty rocking!

Calvin, the C.A.B. mascot, saying, “Aloha!”   

As everyone talked about who to vote for and such, I kept to myself and worried more about my other jobs and being able to enjoy the weekend that was fast approaching. There was tons of stuff going on all weekend that I wanted to partake in first hand so that’s where my head was at. First up was float building on Friday. C.A.B. decorated a car and designated it the “C.A.B. Party Car!”

After floating building, we went to the SGA sponsored Bonfire and ate lots of popcorn! We also sang happy birthday to my best friend, Danielle, who turned 21 and celebrated by running around crazily all weekend for both Lion Ambassadors and THON! (Don’t worry guys, we took her to Wendy’s and got her a frosty at midnight… that was her only request of the weekend!)

Saturday morning came very quickly… 6 a.m. alarm clocks are not fun! I showered and got changed for the Open House. After much deliberation I grabbed one of my favorite dresses and a blazer to wear for Homecoming Court and opted for a Jeanine wardrobe staple… flip flops! (If you know me, you know that I would wear flip flops all year if possible.) The Open House went incredibly well… balloons were set up, signs put out, the Lion (who was probably the tallest one I’ve ever seen) was excited, and the Lion Ambassadors (once given coffee or OJ) were lively and ready to go! Seeing prospective students on campus always gives me a pep in my step so it was great! Once 11 a.m. hit though, it was time to focus on Homecoming. I grabbed my dress and got changed in the bathroom and we were off!

Kenny (my Homecoming Partner and one of my very best 

friends) and I got a picture with one of our favorites at Berks 

Blaine Steensland (Director of Campus Life)

The LA boys who made it to court were
nice enough to pose with me J 

Dr. Hillkirk holding the results and making us all anxious!

I walked beside the C.A.B. car (you can kind of see me in my first picture) and really just wanted to hurry things along! I was honored, of course, to be on court but really didn’t think I’d win so the perk was seeing my mom for me. As we lined up in pairs I got butterflies in my stomach! Lots of my friends were there and I was worried I’d trip! Once I made it down the aisle I waited to hear the results. Dr. Hillkirk announced Homecoming King first!

John Dolan,  who is one of the greatest people I know at Penn State Berks and one of the people I am lucky enough to call my best friend (he lives across from me and we basically take all of the same classes) won King!

I was so excited that I almost forgot to listen when they announced Queen. Much to my surprise...

I won Queen.. something I totally wasn’t expecting!

And this is what happened once we both realized we won together!

The entire Homecoming Court and last year’s King and Queen! 

We’re a good looking bunch!

In the moments of clarity that followed as I was being hugged and interviewed something became more clear to me than it had ever been before… Penn State Berks is my family. The people who I have spent the last four years with have changed my life…forever! The slogan of Homecoming was Ohana Means Family, but I think it should have been Penn State Berks Means Family FOREVER. I will forever be part of this university and these people forever a part of my life! I am so thankful and grateful for this crazy family I have found here at Berks! I can’t imagine being anywhere else! I spent the rest of the day with my family and friends. We went on rides and watched Hawaiian dancers! We stopped by and watched Despicable Me 2 (I love me some minions) and enjoyed time together!  It was the best Homecoming Weekend I could have ever asked for! The Homecoming Committee, especially Josh, Amanda, and Melissa along with Kelly Ann Ryan (Assistant Director of Campus Life) did an incredible job!

Movie night!

When they told me to make the most out of the four years I got at college I took it to heart, but I never thought it would be ending like this (and to think it’s really just the start of the end!). This definitely counts as one of the moments in life that takes your breath away! I am so happy I got to share it with one of my very best friends who I know I’ll have for life!

Intro Blog - Tye Morales

Hey there blog readers!! My name is Tye Morales and I’m a Sophomore Mechanical Engineering major here at Penn State Berks. I am originally from Reading and absolutely love that the Berks campus is right at home for me.  For me, academics has always been a huge part of my life. As mentioned before, I’m majoring in Mechanical Engineering and also minoring in Biology and Chemistry. If you haven’t guessed already I am definitely a science person.

As important as academics are, recently I’ve found that I love being as involved with the campus life at Berks as I possibly can be. Currently I am a Peer Mentor, Lion Ambassador, and Schreyer Scholar. I am also the Co-Community Service Rep. for the Honors Club and served as an Orientation Leader.  I have had so much fun with my Penn State family and am looking forward to this year with them.

Hope everyone enjoys the blog posts to come :)

Tye Morales

Intro Blog - Kayla Welch

Hi, my name is Kayla Welch! I am currently a senior studying Early Childhood Education and minoring in Psychology. I aspire to be either a first grade or third grade teacher! I am very involved on campus. Leader positions that I hold are Orientation Leader for the past two years, a Lion Ambassador, and affectively involved in THON, the largest student philanthropy in the world. For the 2013-2014 THON season I am serving as the Family Relations Chair. Last year I was also a part of the Alternative Spring Trip where I, along with twenty-two other students, went to Punta Gorda, Belize. There, we helped build their library at St. Benedict School and got to experience Belizian culture.  I love Berks and I love the idea of how much you can be involved in and the family atmosphere, since family is very important to me.

Intro Blog - Zach Mourar

HELLO PEOPLE OF THE INTERNET!! My name is Zachary Mourar, but since we are friends now you can call me Zach. I am a sophomore here at Penn State Berks. I am a Community, Environment & Development major and, as you may know, that means I will be required to finish my degree at the Penn State University Park campus. That doesn’t mean I don’t love Berks though! Penn State Berks has been like a second home to me and I’ve loved every minute of it!

Lion Ambassador Fun!

When it comes to being involved I’m no Jeanine Snow, but I am a rather busy individual. I am currently in my first year as a Lion Ambassador (a group of students who give tours to perspective students and talk about how great the campus is). Along with being an LA, I am the Secretary of the Honors Club. This means I take minutes of meetings, help run communication, and just do other AWESOME stuff. I love the Honors Club, it’s another great thing Berks has to offer. From the annual trip to the sense of friendship in the club, it’s a great group to be involved in. When I’m not writing emails or showing off the campus, I may be working as a Campus Life Assistant in the Campus Life Office. I love this job, it helps me get to know so many people around the campus and even got me a few spots in some important committees. But, most importantly, when I work in Campus Life I feel like I am able to help my fellow students and that always brightens my day.

This is my girlfriend and me. We are PENN STATE PROUD!

So, as far as my personal life goes, I’m loud, outspoken, and a little crazy. I would describe myself as a man who loves his family, friends, God and country. My family means so much to me and so does my girlfriend, Samantha Paulson. We have been dating for over a year and we actually met here at Penn State Berks on the first day of NSO 2. Lets just say it was love at first “talk”…is that a thing? I don’t know, we’ll keep that one between us, okay guys?! After I graduate I want to go into the Navy and serve our country, and then eventually run for a political office. So basically that’s me, tell me about yourself. Oh yeah and…WE ARE…

Intro Blog - Katie Zambanini

Hello Everyone! My name is Katarina Zambanini, but Katie is just fine. I’m really excited to be writing to you now, and to have the opportunity to write to you in the future!

To start off, I am a sophomore at Penn State Berks. At the moment I’m undecided with my major, and I’m not sure which I am going to choose. What I do know is that it will be a major that I can complete all four (or possibly five) years at Berks! This is because I really love Berks. I love the campus, the people I’ve met, and the clubs that I’m involved in.  Some of those include Residence Hall Council, Lion Ambassadors, Campus Activities Board, and the Student Activity Fee Committee. Within these clubs I am president of Residence Council and the Secretary/Historian of Lion Ambassadors. I’ve never minded public speaking, it really allows me to interact and do my best to lead others. Meeting new people and making new friends is my second favorite thing. My first favorite is smiling! As corny as that seems, it’s true.

But, when I’m not running around with all of these wonderful clubs, I really enjoy spending any free time relaxing! I love when I can spend time with the ones that are dear to me. My friends, my boyfriend, and my roommate in particular are the ones that keep me sane. When I’m not with wonderful people I have ways that I can pass the time. I love watching movies and wrapping myself up in blankets. Back to the Future is one of my favorite movies, along with Pitch Perfect. I absolutely adore music! My playlist has way too many Beatles songs and 80’s songs. I especially love singing, and I’m fortunate enough to have the opportunity to sing at my church very frequently. Another love of mine is photography. I feel at home when I have a camera in my hand, and I spend a lot of my time behind the lens.

I’m really excited to have this opportunity, and can’t wait to see what I can write for you! Have a fantastic day- WE ARE!

Intro Blog - Taylor Green

Hello, my name is Taylor Green! I am a sophomore Finance major at Penn State Berks. This is my second and final year on campus, because I will be heading up to University Park for my Junior year at the Smeal College of Business. Because this is my last year at Berks, I am trying to make the most of everything!

My girlfriend and I receiving medals for academic achievement.

Currently, I am a Lion Ambassador, a Peer Mentor, and the Treasurer for Christian Student Fellowship. In August, I also served as an Orientation Leader, which was a ton of fun! I love having a presence on campus. One of the best benefits from being involved on a small campus, is seeing someone that you know wherever you are on campus - I love that!

My awesome group during Orientation! I am in the back, third to left.

Outside of campus and academic life, I love to skateboard and longboard. They are both fun and artistic stress relievers, which I have been doing for seven years now! I also love to spend time with family, my girlfriend, and friend, and I try to maximize doing so in my busy, but exciting schedule! I am a laid back person, but I am also very passionate when it comes to things that are important to me, such as academics and friendship. So, very briefly, that's me! I'm excited to report back what Penn State Berks has given back to me during this exciting school year!