Students@Smeal Blog

Finals Crunch

Chris — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 18:31:45 +0000

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!

Sunshine & Warm Weather at PSU

Chris — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 14:14:32 +0000

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!

For Your Enjoyment

Diana — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 16:03:50 +0000

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!

Companies in the Spotlight

Tara — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 17:39:54 +0000

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.

Finding a Job You Love

Diana — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 16:20:51 +0000

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.

Beautiful Buildings

Chris — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 13:41:43 +0000

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.

School Pride

Tara — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 17:20:03 +0000

As a member of the Smeal Student Society, I occasionally take on the responsibility of giving tours of the Business Building to prospective students. This is always such a pleasure for me, because I really love being a member of Smeal and Penn State and I want to be able to express that to others with the hopes that they can find such a community-feel in their college experience.

Anyway, I was giving a tour the other day to a high school junior and his father. After about 20 minutes into the tour, the dad turns to me and jokingly expresses that Penn State students must be required to follow a dress code in which they wear PSU branded clothing so many days out of the week. What a comment. All that I could say was that “it’s school pride”. Everyone has heard of Penn State; everyone knows somebody who has gone to Penn State; our alum are often desperate to maintain communication with their alma mater; and of course…who can forget about Penn State football.

Never before had I taken the time to watch people pass by on this campus, noting whether or not they had any sort of Penn State apparel on. However, I suggest you do it just just to gain perspective. We’re addicted to this school. We bleed blue and white, as they say. Why did you come to Penn State? Smeal? For many Penn Staters, school pride and branding is a huge factor, because it is a label that can stick with you forever if you allow it.

5 More Weeks

Tara — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 16:47:19 +0000

It’s hard for me to believe how quickly this semester has gone by. I know people always say that…but if you are the type of person who likes to stay busy, it really holds true. So, now it is time to think about potentially late dropping a class (before April 11th), summer plans, scheduling, subletting your apartment, getting everything out of your dorm, internship or job transitions, grad school decisions, exams, papers, etc. We each have our own story of what will occur over the next few weeks and on into the summer.

Yes there is a lot going on, and yes you will likely get stressed and pull at least one long study night. However, I have always found that all of that balances out when I can have something to look forward to. For example, I have a huge test coming up on Wednesday, which I will put hours into studying for and reading over the chapters, so that I can retain every ounce of information possible. But through all of that, I can look forward to Saturday when I will go out to dinner with a bunch of my friends. Sure this doesn’t sound like much, but I promise you that having something to look forward to (no matter how small) invites more positive energy and spirits, making studying and the long list of 20+ things that need to get done before tomorrow manageable.

Mad Money Recap

Chris — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 19:05:38 +0000

For those students who attended the taping of CNBC’s ‘Mad Money’, it was nothing short of a total blast. Mad Money is particularly attractive to college students because Jim Cramer is smart, fast-talking, outspoken, and doesn’t tolerate B.S. I think a lot of students can relate to him because he wasn’t born into his fame. He hit a rough point in his life, but eventually found his way to where he is now. Jim’s high-voltage energy made for a lot of audience participation in the packed Eisenhower Auditorium.

A few members of our own Nittany Lion Fund put their reputations on the line and asked Jim his opinion on selected stocks. Much to their relief, Mr. Cramer generally agreed with their picks, and provided additional stocks for them to take a look at. To close up the show, Jim took a few questions from the audience and gave some final thoughts.

Mad Money is really geared towards young people interested in investing in their future, as it is fast-paced and chock-full-of useful tidbits of information. Prior to the Penn State taping of the show, I had never seen a single episode of Mad Money. I now find myself fascinated with Jim’s honest opinion, genuine interest in hearing what we at Penn State had to ask, and eagerness to help us pick the right investment options for ourselves.

Ethics

Tara — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 15:15:34 +0000

The ethics code is in every syllabus. On the bathroom stalls in the business building, there are ethics posters. We are required to take BA 242 (Ethics). Management majors are further required to take MGMT 451W (More Ethics). Why is is that this college focuses so much time and energy on ensuring that they have drilled this concept into our heads? I know that many people feel these required classes are not necessary because they already have strong ethics. Furthermore, this subject does not have right or wrong answers that can be evaluated in a test format.

However, with historical cases such as Enron and the Pinto Ford fires, the focus on ethics at the college level is at an all time high. These cases all started with individuals, just like you and me, making decisions that may have seemed harmless, but snowballed into disaster. In our work-life experiences, it is likely that we will be faced with with ethical concerns where the solution is not cut and dry. For example, do we take a gift from a customer and if not, how do you decline? Or, if your boss asks you to lie for him/her, should you do so or risk your job by saying no? We need to be made aware of real-life situations and analyze the various choices that we have, so that when we are faced with these dilemmas, we are better prepared to deal with them. Penn State really does know what it is doing in requiring such courses, despite the fact that they may seem redundant.