April 2008

Well we’ve nearly entered that void in time and space, otherwise known as the days between the last day of class and our first exam.  The library, blue loop, and white loop will undoubtedly have extended hours to take care of students studying into the wee hours of the morning.  Many of us will be postponing all other activities until we’ve read and reread every last shred of information for our exams.  And in one week, it’ll all be over.

I wish everyone the best of luck in their finals, and hope you all have a great summer!

Well it has finally happened.  Warm weather and sunshine have returned to Happy Valley.  Our days of being reclusive, hibernating in our dorms and apartments, and dreading that cold, windy walk to class are over.  The lawns of the HUB and Old Main are once again dotted with sunbathers, Frisbee throwers, and new this year–”zombies and humans” participants.  This is perfect weather for Blue & White weekend festivities, which is a welcome relief to the rain of the the past two years.  Take advantage of the weather and be sure to take a look at what’s going on for Blue & White weekend!

can you read this? Olny srmat poelpe can.
I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!

I am always amazed when I think about how some companies get their few years of fame and mass sales and then they fade back into the abyss while another company emerges for a time. This comment comes partially from looking at the transition of computer companies over the years. Although I am not terribly knowledgeable about this history of computer sales, from what I understand Apple was a key player in ensuring that many households purchased their very first computers. Everyone knew the Apple logo and they came to understand DOS in time. Then, with the creation of Windows, Microsoft spent many years in the spotlight as the computer of choice. This lasted for quite some time, at least in my observations. My family had to have purchased about three Microsoft computers within a decade’s time. However, all of a sudden, Dell showed up not too long ago using the pull system. They were making computers to fit every bit of the consumers’ needs, which was appealing to a great deal of people who cared about differentiating their purchase from others. Penn State even hopped onto this bandwagon and purchased quite a few Dell computers. However, with defects being prominent, the Dell craze did not last long. Finally, this leads me to speak about Apple once again. With new technology that dummy-proofed the now ancient Windows, the Mac has become the computer of choice for many.

Perhaps this is not terribly interesting to you, but I think it is worth acknowledging how a company can have its few years of glory at the front of the race and then runs out of steam. However, if the company continues fighting towards innovative, it can come back into the spotlight as Apple has done.

You are pursuing one of the toughest and best majors in Smeal. You will come out of college making $60k. Everyone is going to want to hire you and you are going to be so successful, making your way up in the ranks of a leading Fortune 500 company.

This is what I am told when I tell people that I am majoring in Actuarial Science. Sure, one of the reasons I chose not to major in Accounting or Finance is because Actuaries are fewer in numbers and they are still highly respected. The prospects of making a decent salary are good and that is honestly one of the reasons I chose not to go into something like education. I am not looking to become a millionaire but to be able to send all of my future children to whatever colleges they want to go to is definitely something I want to be able to afford. Oh, and I love math and stat (I know, I know… I’m weird). I am good at what I do and as far as math and stat go, I am really interested in the material I learn in my classes. But today I was talking to one of my coworkers and I wonder if I will really love my future job and be happy with the work I will do for the next 40 years of my life.

Matt, a Graphic Design major in the College of Arts and Architecture, works for the RIIT Group. Among other things, he creates various images for the Smeal College of Business - whether they be used on websites or on iTunesU. He showed me some of his creations and wow, I am jealous of his talent! He even took two minutes to show me a quick “demo” on how to create one of his masterpieces — TWO MINUTES! Matt loves what he does and it seems like he really has fun. He gets to be creative and his job is never the same from day to day.

When I was in middle school I enjoyed using PhotoShop (granted I only knew the basics) and I wanted to be a graphic artist. I once told my mom that I wanted to work for Hallmark and design their greeting cards (you can laugh). But as I grew up I kind of labeled that idea as “unrealistic” and committed myself to becoming a business student at Penn State. I had enjoyed art but because I never considered myself outstanding in that arena, and because I spent my free time playing sports rather than making art, I figured I didn’t have what it took to pursue graphic design in college. I knew that going into Actuarial Science would mean working in an office everyday with relatively fewer opportunities for creativity.

I am excited for my actuarial internship this summer and for the career that lies in my future, but I just wonder and HOPE that I will love my job and feel passionate about what I do. But isn’t that what everyone wants? Isn’t that what everyone strives for in life - “success” and happiness? I guess it is just something I will have to continually strive for and try to find in the years ahead.

Penn State would not be Penn State if in your daily walk from class to class you didn’t come across at least one construction project on campus. One of the main reasons I chose to come to this school is because of Penn State’s great respect for modern, clean classroom buildings. I can’t tell you how many schools I’ve visited that have had rundown, decrepit buildings. Furthermore, why would you be showing me this on a tour?? Don’t you have any better maintained buildings than this? At that point, you don’t even want to see the dorms. I can tell you that many people do appreciate the quality of structures here on campus. I gave tours for Undergraduate Admissions for a summer, as well as tours of the Business Building, and I received many compliments from people regarding the classroom buildings (we showed Thomas Building for Undergraduate Admissions). I write this after passing the renovation projects of Ferguson and Borland on my way to the two-year-young business building, next to the new forestry and food science buildings, only to see the Law School being built in the distance.