April 2009 Archives

Hey readers, Today is Wednesday which means we are halfway there to finally finish the last week of classes. People all over campus are dragging themselves to class and getting in those last minute assignments that may help out their grade in the end. Getting the will power to actually get out of bed in the morning to go to class where you know you will no longer be learning anything new for the final becomes harder and harder with every class meeting. Many students prefer skipping class but this is not always a good idea since many professors understand that a well prepared review is what a lot of students need to do well in finals. For example, my psychology professor is going through every question on the final and hinting to what material we should cover when we are studying on our own. This advantage is only for those students that take the time to go to class even when they would not be missing anything too important if they skipped. Other professors use the extra boost tactic to get students to show up for class when it is necessary. Here the professor would plan out a scenario to explain to the class along these lines, "if you are in borderline A or B it will all depend on your attendance record". If they see that you have taken the time to go to class and pay attention it will help you in the long run where as those that never show up will not get that extra boost. These are some ways my professors have encouraged attendance in their classrooms but I usually tend to see it as "if I pay to go to school I might as well use it to the fullest." Hopefully many students find the will power to finish the semester strong and are mentally ready for all the tests that are about to start occurring. Good luck to everyone with their last week of school! Thanks for reading, Jennifer

Hey readers, I know I have mentioned the beautiful weather outside so I decided to take pictures of Presque Isle for everyone to see the amazing sight. I hope you enjoy it! Thanks, Jennifer

Hey readers, I bet many of you already know some college students that are already in summer and relaxing from classes and especially tests. I wish we were already done but we are getting so close. Today starts the last week of classes before finals making students all over campus excited. There are 5 days left to this semester and the weather is still beautiful. This whole weekend has been perfect beach weather making it even harder to concentrate on studying for finals. This weather calls for you to go outside and spent a whole afternoon lying on the ground soaking up the sun. This is just a preview to the summer that is about to come but right now it is time to focus and get this last week over with. Now is the last chance many students have to get their grades up and complete any extra work before the grade book closes before the final exam grades.  One idea that I can still not get my head around is the fact that I am only days away from becoming a sophomore in college. I can still remember Welcome Week during the fall semester and being completely confused as to where to head for classes.  Meeting new people everywhere and trying to find that group of friends that you can relate to within all the new faces you see everywhere. I remember being so nervous for the curriculum I was about to confront with all the new methods I was about to learn from different professors. Now I am about to finish my freshman year at Penn State Behrend with only good memories to follow me through the years. I know many seniors are nervous about their first week of college but time is all you really need to get used to your new surroundings. Good luck to everyone in the last week of classes! Thank you for reading, Jennifer

Hey readers, Talk about amazing weather! When I turn on the weather channel and see that it will be 60 degrees outside I get excited but this weekend it has been even better. Yesterday after my friends and I finished class we decided to head to Presque Isle and it was a beautiful view. The climate was perfect and the timing was even better because nothing relaxes you more than the sight of the beach. We spent a whole afternoon staring at the beach and only once in a while did we receive a cold breeze. Not only was it perfect weather to go to the beach but later that same night we just went outside and stared out to the sky. Stars were all around and all you had to do was lay out in the grass with your blanket. Today it was even warmer which came to a surprise to many people all over Erie. This weather was made to take a tan or just take a stroll around campus. Tomorrow is still suppose to be nice therefore making it the best weekend to be outside since late August. (I think this is pretty precise.) Hopefully the weather will stop fluctuating and stay warm but we will be ready for anything. I hope everyone enjoyed the weekend right before the studying is suppose to begin for finals. I wish everybody luck this last week of class because everyone knows it can be very stressful. Thank you for reading, Jennifer

Hey readers, I received alot of feedback from when I put up the list talking about college so I decided to post another one however this one focuses on Penn State only. Some of the "facts" relate only to the Penn State University Park campus but they are a good way at getting a laugh in. I hope you enjoy it as much as you did to the last list. :-) You know you’re from Penn State if... •You know that White-out is not just a way to cover-up writing mistakes •Zombie Nation isn’t a band….it’s a way to break bleachers •You know that a Beaver is not just an animal…It’s a county, a street, a stadium, and a dorm •You can fully participate in a debate whether it’s “Soda” or “Pop” •Half your groups on Facebook are related to the fact that Penn State is the #2 party school in the country •You hate Ohio and Michigan…Not just the Universities, but the whole states, and if you meet someone from either state, you automatically don’t trust them •Someone says “We are” you have to say “Penn State” •You don't actually know the Alma Mater, but you can sing it perfectly at every sporting event •Football is not just a game….it’s a way of life •You can’t understand why anyone from Pennsylvania would go to any other school •“Number one student section” is the best prize you have ever won •Most of your wardrobe has some sort of Penn State affiliation •You have ever shouted “WE ARE” at a tour group •Squirrels attacking people is an everyday occurrence •One word…“Thon” •Halloween is one of the biggest holidays •Every store has a staff made up of mostly Penn State students •You have been to a Late-Night movie at the HUB •Meeting the Nittany Lion is like meeting a celebrity •JoePa is like your second father •We don’t need names on the back of our jerseys…we know how good we are •You actually read the college newspaper •You're confused when restaurants in your home town don't accept LionCash •You would take a bullet for the Nittany Lion Mascot. •Football Games Remind you of the Movie 300. •Someone disrespecting PSU will make you fight a mob single handed. •You have ran after the loop to make it to class on time. •You've planned your education to graduate a semester late because you want one last football season. •When you graduate you get through by counting down till the next time your going to visit PSU. •Your car has atleast one PSU sticker/parking pass/magnet. •You can identify freshman by the ID's around their necks and the campus maps in their hands. •WE ARE...PENN STATE!!! Thanks for reading, Jennifer

Hey readers, I know many people out there are feed up with work, tests and above all grades. I can remember looking back during my last quarter as a high school senior thinking college would go by faster and that 4 months seemed too short to get any work done. I WAS WRONG! College semesters may take up less months of the year and classroom time is cut down dramatically but professors make sure they fit in all the information before finals comes around. One plus side to college will always be more time to yourself because classes usually only last from 50 to 75 minutes even though there are exceptions. However, many people don't calculate the amount of time you spend studying on your own in the library or in your room. The time you spend studying or even to keep up with the reading varies between students and the courses you take but everyone can agree that when finals come around life just becomes stressing. My friends are all busy trying to finish the semester strong with good grades. Not only is the mission to finish the semester strong but there is still new material being introduced in class that would be included in the final. What is suppose to be only 3 weeks left of school has never seemed to be so slow at the moment but then realizing that you do not have enough time to get all your work done. Now is the time to focus and organize. I am pretty sure I have mentioned it before but time management is what gets you through finals without breaking down too soon. Now is when students are not wasting as much time as before  and the library becomes home for many. If concentrating gets hard the library is the best place to get the most work done in the least amount of time. Hopefully students all around are coping well with the stress and realizing they are not alone. The trick is to remember that after all this SUMMER BEGINS!!! Thank you for reading, Jennifer

Hey readers, As I have already mentioned before sports up north are different from back home. For example, lacrosse is actually played here unlike in Miami where it is no where to be found. Football can be considered the American sport but fans here are alot more dedicated to their team here than anything that I have seen before. Now another example is back on the screen. The hockey playoffs are in full action and there are Pittsburgh Penguins fans all over campus. Florida has a hockey team named the Florida Panthers but I have never gone to one of their games. Hockey is not too big from where I come from and hockey fans in general are not too popular. I got the chance to see Sunday's game eventhough the Pittsburgh Penguins lost and now I completely understand why so many people enjoy the sport. It is very aggressive but at the same time it requires a great amount of skill and athleticism to play. Hopefully, Pittsburgh will not disappoint fans all over Pennsylvania and especially around campus. Even if your not a hardcore hockey fan like me it is still entertaining to watch some good hockey or even the fans scream for their team. Hockey fans are very emotional which is not necessary a bad thing to watch once in a while on a quiet week night. Lets hope the best for Pittsburgh fans and let the best team win!! Thanks for reading, Jennifer

Hey readers,

I hope you like the panoramas that I took of the gorge which is right behind the Almy and Ohio Buildings.

Hi readers, The weekend is so close and I can't wait until I finish this one bio test I have tomorrow at 11:15 am because then I am done. This weekend starts with the All-American Rejects concert at 7:00 pm tomorrow which many students are excited for. Any concert is always something to look forward to and having it on campus with a bunch of friends can't make it any better. Then on Saturday afternoon I have the last lacrosse game against the alumni group at 12:30 followed by the very anticipated Lacrosse Banquet. Since I first joined the lacrosse club this has been the topic that always gets the past players hyped. As far as I have heard it is the perfect way of leaving the academic year and the lacrosse season. Surrounded by teammates, music, and awards it can't sound like a bad time looking at it from any angle. Following Saturday night I get to go to a basketball game with a  couple of friends Sunday afternoon which has always been my favorite sport. This week had dragged on and I just can't wait until I finally stop thinking about school and tests and get the chance to relax before finals come around. I hope everyone is looking forward to the weekend as much as I am or relaxing before the madness makes us all crazy. Thank you for reading, Jennifer

Hey readers, I hope everyone had an amazing Easter weekend. I know it is always nice to go back home to catch a break from all the school work and on a plus side get a homemade meal in. Starting this Monday we only have 3 weeks left of new material and one week of finals. On my last blog I received a question concerning activities during the weekend. Since Erie is such a small town many potential students are pushed away thinking there is nothing to do anywhere on or off campus but this is not always true. I am not going to lie and say that campus is full of activities but there are interesting stuff you can find. Weekends can compose of anything from riding up to Canada for a couple of days to hanging out in friend's dorms. I have gotten the chance to go jet skiing in Lake Erie in the beginning of the fall semester and snow boarding during the winter. Movies are always an option during the weekends since they are provided by the Lion Entertainment Board for just a dollar per viewing. The Lion Entertainment Board also hold many weekend shows ranging from comedians to musicians in Bruno's which can be very entertaining depending on the show. The point to having fun in college is knowing what you find entertaining and searching for it. No matter if the campus is 4 times bigger than Penn State Behrend if your not willing to look around to find what you consider fun there is less of a chance to enjoy your time in college. Thanks for the questions and I hope this answered your question. Please feel free to respond, Jennifer

Hey readers, Everyday we get  closer to summer and the end of classes and it couldn't feel any better. This semester I have done so much work and a break is the most appealing idea in my mind. I get to go home in less than a month and spend some quality time with friends and family. This ending period between now and summer feels like the last quarter of my high school year. As I know many of my readers are seniors ready to graduate and move on to better and bigger things. Just like you all I can think about is the beach, sun, no homework, no tests, and sleeping in. I have always used my summers to the max and have refused to take classes in order to get ahead. However, there are always those students that enjoy getting ahead in high school as well as in college. I have meet many students that are taking a couple of courses just because they would have a chance of graduating early. Different people have different ideas over how to spend their summer but I just enjoy doing nothing in particular which is never a bad idea over how to spend my time. For now we can look forward to the Easter weekend and all the candy that comes along with it. Thank you for reading and please feel free to ask me any questions. Jennifer

Hey readers, As I am sure many of you already know this weekend is Easter. As a little kid I loved participating in Easter egg hunts with my friends to see who would get the most candy but as the years passed by it became more of a family reunion which was also entertaining. Since I've been living on campus so far away from home I have had to miss some important holidays and this would be one of them. Missing holidays is never fun but there is nothing that can be done by those students that can't afford just going home for a weekend since it is so far away. This weekend will be one out of the two weekends every semester where campus seems like a dead zone. I may be exaggerating but I enjoy having the suite to myself and spending some alone time. The plus side to all of this is that going home is just that much closer which also means summer is near. I want to wish everybody a lovely Easter weekend and for those spending it on your own just remember that it just makes your visit back home that much better in the long run. Thanks for reading, Jennifer

Hey readers, Just recently I passed by a Facebook note from one of friends titled, "You Know U in College When" where it speaks about certain truths about college life. Like most lists there are some things I would not agree with but this list is closest to reality than any other list I have seen mentioning college. There are many lies about college life you hear throughout your life and some unfortunately are true but the majority are lies. Some mentioned are so close to the truth that I have decided to share them and you can feel free to give me some feedback about what you think about them. Remember these seem right to me and it correlates to my experiences. Everybody have different perspectives and experiences but the ones listed below "should be" accepted by the majority of the students living on campus. Some are: 1. You check Facebook/Myspace more than once a day. 2.You wash dishes in the bathroom sink. 3. The standard of meals per day falls to two, sometimes just one. 4.Your trash is overflowing and your bank account isn’t. 5.You start joining clubs because of the free food. 6. You skip one class to write a paper for another. 7. Anything can be cooked in a microwave. 8.Going to the grocery at midnight is completely normal. 9.Old school Nintendo... and guitar hero... are pretty much the best things ever. 10.A canceled class is almost as exciting as Christmas. 11. You know what people carrying suspiciously heavy backpacks after dark are doing. 12.Class size doubles on exam days. 13.You press the automatic door opener instead of simply grabbing the handle when you approach a door. 14. Class size doubles on exam days. 15.  The elevators take forever but you'll wait 10 minutes just so you don't have to climb stairs. 16.You text faster than you type. 17.Dressing up for Halloween becomes cool again. 18.It's illegal to drink in the dorms yet they sell an assortment of shot glasses, beer mugs, tankards, etc. in the bookstore. 19.You go home for winter/summer break and suddenly your life back at college seems so exciting... 20.You know at least five people who've burned popcorn. 21.The Mall is no longer somewhere to go on the weekends, but becomes a once a month, if that, adventure. 22.You never realize how overweight you were, till you go home and your family makes sure you know. 23.Your Trash piles up because you are too lazy to take it out to the dumpster behind the building. 24.You smell the clear liquid in your water bottle before you drink it... just to make sure it's actually water. 25.Laundry is an all-day event. I hope you have enjoyed this list as much has I have. Jennifer

Hey readers, I hope everyone had an eventful weekend and ready to get back on track. When considering a college many students look at the size of the campus and as I have already explained Penn State Behrend is a small campus. However being a small campus may work as an advantage if you stop and think about it. For example, a smaller campus means a smaller class size giving you a bigger chance at having important positions or responsibilities even if you are not an upperclassmen. For example, this semester I meet a 2nd year student who holds the title as President of one of the three fraternities on campus. Being the president of any social group such as a fraternity is a big resume booster and holding the title as early as a sophomore in college can help you in the future. I have also meet many students who have had the chance of writing in the school's newspaper, "The Behrend Beacon" as early as their freshmen year which can only lead to better chances in the future. One aspect I never really considered until a few weeks ago is how a small campus does benefit you when applying to graduate, law, or medical school. For example, a small campus means smaller classes and a better chance of establishing personal relationships with your professors. This helps when it is time to ask for a letter of recommendation from your professor since they would actually be able to recognize you and know what your abilities are exactly. This also helps since professors are always looking for students to help in their research and for them to remember you will always help your chances in getting the opportunity to participate in a research study along with your professor. This advantage cannot be found as easily in bigger campuses since many good students are constantly overlooked or forgotten when a chance may show up. Thank you for reading and if you have any questions please feel free to ask me. Jennifer

Hey readers, As my title reads we only have 5 weeks left until this semester officially ends. I can honestly say this Spring Semester has been hard on everyone. From all the people I have spoken to throughout the semester I have not heard anyone say it has been an easy semester. There is only 4 weeks left for learning new material and reviewing over all the old material for the final. The last and final week consist of only finals and once you are done with them you are free to go home. Some people have been lucky enough to have their finals on Monday and Tuesday only and be done but I finish Thursday night so I will have to stay in Behrend until that last Friday (May 8). It is near the end and all that keeps popping in my head is summer but I have to focus because the end comes faster than you expect. Professors usually warn you about slacking near the end because the material does come faster and more studying time will be required of you to keep up. STAY FOCUS is everyones goal right now in order to finish this semester off strong.  To all the high school seniors in the similiar situation I understand and remember the feelings I had around this same time last year. I didn't see the reason why I had to go to class any longer or study since I already knew where I was going to go for college but same advice to you, STAY FOCUS. I hope everyone has a relaxing weekend and enjoy their time off from all their busy work. Thank you for reading, Jennifer

Hey readers, I just received a question from one of my readers regarding how to get around Erie. One way most students prefer is having a car or at least a friend with a car to ride around. This is obviously the easiest and funniest way to get anywhere but this is an advantage most upperclassmen have. Many freshmen don't have the opportunity of owning a car and have to resort to the second option which is riding the bus. The Erie Metropolitan Transit Authority (EMTA) is the bus company provided in the city of Erie and is used widely by many commuter students in order to get to class on a daily basis. Luckily one main stop on the EMTA is right in front of  the Reed Union Building all throughout the day. There are routes that can take you to Walmart (which might be the most important store in your college career), the Millcreek Mall, and even Downtown Erie. Taking the bus may sound like a drag but once your own your way it gets better in time. Also moving around on the bus is cheaper since the Rub Desk located in the Reed Union building provides weekly or monthly passes on a discount price for students which can save you money on the long run. These two methods are the most commonly used by Behrend students and the only two I have had the chance of using this year. To get more in depth information about bus routes or schedules please click on the link below, http://www.emtaerie.com/index.html Thank you for reading and I hope I have answered your question Beth. Please feel free to ask about any concerns you may have. Jennifer