A Night at Mt. Hill Tavern

Dr. Christian Brady and donors

The Schreyer Honors College, it’s a big title.  So it was with great pride, that the Penn State Harrisburg Honors program embraced going under the umbrella that is the Schreyer Honors College.  But with becoming a part of that, the Capital Campus Honors Program needs to expand funding as well.  The benefits that befall the students in the program are, unfortunately, not a free commodity.  For that reason, as well as to thank our existing donors, a few honors student, faculty, and staff gathered at the Mt. Hill Tavern in Harrisburg.

Alex Harztler and Jeshanah McLeod

In a wood-floored room, an intimate group of a little over twenty gathered, mingling and dining on hors d'oeuvres.  The room was abuzz with talk of upcoming theses that students were working on and the many benefits that the Capital College Honors Program gave to the students.  Amongst the speakers that evening were Dr. Kulkarni, Chancellor of Penn State Harrisburg, Doug Neidich, a donor as well as the owner of Mt. Hill Tavern, and Kevin Harter, a member of the Penn State Harrisburg Board of Advisers as well as a donor to the Capital College Honors Program, and Dr. Christian Brady, Dean of Schreyer Honors College.  All of the speakers boasted a pride in the honors program as well as recognized the work that Dr. Tawatnuntachai has done for the program.

Jessica Martin, Dr. Surra, Dr. Robinson, and Jeshanah McLeod

The event went without a hitch.  The food was excellent.  The conversation was flowing, and
the students got to interact with the people behind the Capital College Honors Program.

Written by Jeshanah McLeod

Photo Credits: Marques Paige

A Schreyer Afternoon at Penn State Harrisburg

Dr. Christian Brady

Over thirty Penn State Harrisburg honors students attended a wonderful afternoon gathering with Dr. Christian Brady, the Dean of Schreyer Honors College on September thirteenth.  Now that honors students at Penn State Harrisburg have the option of graduating from the Capital College Honors Program or the Schreyer Honors College, Dean Brady came to answer any questions the students had.  When answering one of his questions, Dean Brady emphasized that the general education requirement at Penn State provoked students to think critically and globally, and that was why employers tended to hire Penn State Graduates.  He also spoke about his successes while answering questions, informing the students of how he reached to where he is today.  To wrap up the session, one of the final points he made was that he opened himself to opportunities, and he encouraged students to do the same.

Written by Rosemary Yee

Sophomore, American Studies Major at Penn State Harrisburg

Photo Credits:  Marques Paige

A Letter from the Editor

It is back to the grind for some of us here at Penn State Harrisburg.  For others, it is a hearty welcome to college, a different world from what you're used to.  Either way, the campus is now flooded with faculty and students, where two weeks ago it was disturbingly empty.  It is back to the cramped lines in Stacks and the lines out to the first floor bathroom in Biscottis.  I suppose we can all be comforted by the fact that not much has changed, although Vartan Plaza is a definite visual improvement.

Our first week of classes has officially ended.  Some of us had a great week, meeting old friends and new friends, and, of course, finding out our class loads.  Others might have had a terrible week, but chin up, there's more time ahead of you to make the best out of the semester.  

In making the best of the semester, I encourage you guys and girls to get involved.  There are a ton of clubs out there, something for everyone.  Amongst those clubs is the Honors Club (not program).  The president, Bryan Tarkington, as well as the rest of the executive board, Zach Biggers, Vice President, Connor Slaybaugh, the Treasurer, and myself as Secretary, would love to have you around.  The Honors Club is hoping to do big things,  a possible name change for one, since it is open to not just Honors Program members but the general student body as well.  So keep your eyes and ears peeled for news about the Honors Club, and hopefully I will see some of you at future meetings.

I would also encourage you to come write for this blog.  We will need lots of writers with different experiences to speak of, not limited to the program experiences.  In an effort to turn a new leaf on a new year, I would like to shake things up for the former newsletter, now blog.

If anyone would like to help me with this endeavor (you must be a Penn State Harrisburg student), send an email to psuhbghonors@gmail.com.  I will be sure to reply to you.

Have a great semester and a fantastic year!  Until next time, goodbye Nittany Lions.


Written by Jeshanah McLeod
Senior English Major in the Honors Program at Penn State Harrisburg

PSH outshines sunny Florida for one Honors Student

I can relate to the feeling one gets during college applications; it is traumatizing, exhausting, and problematic. With over 4,000 (and counting) colleges and universities to choose from across the country and at least 30 for you to choose locally, college applications can be arduous. Choosing a university you want to attend depends on a lot of things, including personal or financial issues, (they certainly played a significant role in my decisions). But I want to talk to you about two universities I have attended and perhaps convince you to choose Penn State Harrisburg or make you feel content if you are already attending PSH.

As a high school graduate from Orlando, Florida, my friends and I knew we would attend the University of Central Florida, which was just half a mile away from our homes. UCF, barely 60 years old, is the second largest university in America by student enrollment with over 55,000 students admitted annually. UCF, in my opinion, is also the most beautiful campus in America. An aerial view shows a flower-like shape of the campus, with the sidewalks and roads dotted with palm trees, scattered small lakes glistening like gems, and the entire campus shining like a diamond under Florida’s glaring sunlight. It’s the perfect dream college!

However, after attending the first week, it reminded me of the reason why I came to college: to learn, not for sight-seeing. Learning was a challenge at UCF, not that the teachers weren’t qualified but it was simply impossible for the professors to interact with me. With a minimum of 200 students in each class, and the labs taught by Masters students instead of professors, I simply had no interest in my courses. I had an urge to go back to my high school teachers for study help because going to my professor’s office hours was an ordeal in itself. I had no energy to wait an hour outside of their office to ask questions when 20 others are in line in front of me.

Although I enjoyed interacting with so many people and made use of a variety of campus activities and other resources UCF had to offer, I was not happy with what I learned, if I learned at all. I got through most of the classes by attendance points (which is recorded by electronic clickers) and “Googling.” Google was a boon; I had never in my life searched for anything as much as I did my freshman year. All I wanted was some individual attention because I had my own set of doubts that were never addressed in class properly. UCF has a faculty to student ratio of 42:1, the highest (and worst) in the country, which is nearly the same as most large campus schools, including Penn State’s University Park.

Thankfully, my family was relocating to Hershey, PA. I took this as a perfect opportunity to transfer out of UCF to Penn State Harrisburg, because I wanted to learn, not spend 4 years of my college “Googling” my doubts. I was mildly disappointed by the size of the campus, as it was hardly any bigger than my high school in Florida, but I learned that PSH is a young campus built on Olmsted Air Force base used by the US military during World War I, and I am now proud of this history in the making.

The entrance into Penn State Harrisburg

Penn State Harrisburg is a great campus to attend, as we are blessed with so many opportunities in a 10-mile radius such as: Penn State Hershey Medical Center and College of Medicine, Dickinson School of Law in Carlisle, Pennsylvania State Capitol, and Hershey Foods Corporation. This means more opportunities for us students to exercise our classroom skills and apply through jobs, internships, and volunteer opportunities, more variety than even the students at University Park on any other Penn State campus can get. I also am proud to be part of the wonderful Honor’s Program at Penn State Harrisburg, an active tight community of hardworking and competitive students at PSH. As an honors student, I have the opportunity to do intensive research in my major and interact with students like me who want to graduate with more than just a degree, but learn to apply our knowledge in the real world usefully. As prospective students apply to Penn State Harrisburg, applying to our Honor’s program is also a great chance for showcasing their talents while adding sophistication and significance to their degrees.

Out of the many important majors and minors PSH offers, both in bachelors and graduate programs, I chose bachelor’s in Science with a major in Life Science. PSH students will have many courses to choose from that can be tailored according to your 4 year curriculum. With fewer than 30 students per course, interacting with my professors inside and outside of class is possible, which greatly help me in understanding my subjects better. The quality of PSH’s education projects out to all of us students as our course teachings is very interactive and student-oriented. At our Capitol Campus, I am not just a random student sitting in an enormous auditorium but, Jyothi, a Penn State Harrisburg student with a name which will be remembered by my professors.

Written by Jyothi Kakuturu, junior Life Science major at Penn State Harrisburg in the Honors Program.

Time Traveling in Philadelphia

When you think of Philadelphia, one of the first things you might think about, other from Philly cheesesteaks, is history.  When you think of Philadelphia with the Honors Program, you start thinking about visiting different historical sites and lectures that you would probably prefer to sleep through.  However, the Honor’s trip to Philadelphia was nothing of the sort.  Visiting the sites and listening to great, interesting historical facts from a Penn State alum was nothing like the boring history class that one would expect.

Honors Students infront of Stenton House

The first stop was the Stenton House, former residence of James Logan, who is not as well known as William Penn and Benjamin Franklin but certainly as important.  In fact, James Logan was a mentor to Benjamin Franklin, who visited Stenton House.  Walking through the well-preserved home, one can just imagine Benjamin Franklin sitting at the front of the house after being let in by a servant waiting for James Logan to see him.  But not even the thought of Benjamin Franklin humbly waiting on James Logan could eclipse Logan’s book collection, perhaps one of the best preserved book collections from Colonial times.  The entire trip through House with our guide Dennis Pickeral, the director, was a step back in time as we saw glimpses of how people lived in the past.

After the Stenton House, where we also met with Dr. Boudreau, we stepped back into the present by visiting The Bourse, a food court with anything and everything available--Philly cheesesteaks included.  Not only did we enjoy food, it was also a time for a few of us to sit and chat.  One of the best parts of the trip was getting the chance to socialize with fellow Honors’ students.  After all, we are a community of learners, and it is always a good thing bond with those in such community, especially people who have no qualms with reenacting scenes from Rocky, running up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

We again stepped into the past when we met with archeologist Debbie Miller, a former Penn State Harrisburg student.  She talked us through the process of archaeological digs, specifically her work at the National Constitution Center dig site.  It was fascinating to see the painstaking process of putting together pieces of the past--literally.  At the dig site, they found thousands upon thousands of broken crockery and are in the process of putting them together in order to decipher lifestyles from history.

Debbie from the National Constitution Center showing students some artifacts from the dig

We then had Dr. Boudreau as our guide, giving us interesting tidbits about Philadelphia as we made our way to Independence Hall.  Many of us could have probably done without knowing that Philadelphia streets used to be filled with sewage and animal carcasses, but you never know when that information could come in handy. Our group did the traditional tour of Independence Hall, many stops for pictures included.

Throughout the entire trip, we went back and forth through different time periods, soaking up the vast history of Philadelphia.  But we weren’t done yet.  We couldn’t leave Philadelphia without having gone on a Duck Tour.  Yes, a Duck Tour.

We boarded the “duck” and took off through the streets of Philadelphia.  Our guide told us some of the historical facts, most of which we had already heard, but he made sure to keep our group up to date with current information.  None of us will forget the hilarious stop outside the bridal store, driving into the water, or waving hello to every pedestrian we saw.

Students after the infamous Duck Tour.

Finally, we boarded the bus and set off for home, filled with happy memories.  The trip was both a learning opportunity and a chance for fun socializing.  Our program is filled with many different personalities, and when you combine them, these trips can lead to more fun than you could possibly imagine.  Just think, next time you could be doing the YMCA dance while on an amphibious vehicle.

Written by  Jeshanah McLeod,  junior English major in the Honors Program at Penn State Harrisburg

Honors Business Students Tour Chicago's Financial District

As individuals in the finance world, we are relentless and determined.  This proved to be true for the weekend of October 20-23.  The officers of the Finance Club, including myself, used time management and lots of persuasion to get the Chicago Trip approved for 2011.  The trip proposal included costs for the charter bus, the hotel fees, and the description of what the whole plan focused on, our tour through the financial district.

Our journey started in the parking lot of the Olmsted building where we met our bus driver, Joe.  We spent the next 11 hours on that bus.  We were all so excited for Chicago; the sleepless night barely phased us.  Once we had arrived at the Club Quarters hotel located in the Chicago Loop, we anxiously readied ourselves for what the day had in store for us.

Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) was first on our itinerary.  As Dr. Cusatis and myself led the group of the other 19 students down a few wrong turns, we made it.  After passing through security and riding the elevators up seven stories, we had a bird’s eye view of the trading floor.  Most of trading in the technological savvy world that we live in is done electronically.  But before the high speed of the internet, computers, etc. trading was done through open outcry.   Just as the name suggest, it was professionals in the exchange yelling out orders and using hand signals, which were first used in the 1970’s,  to complete transactions.  The CBOE still uses this form of trading in certain parts of their operation.  We were fortunate enough to see this up close and personal as our tour guide, Russell, led us through the floor.  It was amazing to see some of the best in the business in action.

Our journey then took us to the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) across the street, which had merged with CBOE in July 2007.  CME is a financial and commodity derivative exchange and are based out of Chicago.  Here we were able to see two different levels of open outcry trading take place, though only through the visitors view from above.  The CME’s trading floors were much larger and had more activity than we had previously seen at CBOE.  On the trading floor of CME you can distinguish one company from another and one job position from another by the color of their jacket.  For example, the corporation Cusatis&Crew who are trading in the pit might wear bright pink jackets to differentiate themselves from corporation Dr. T Traders who wear sunshine yellow.

Two students, including Evelyn Lenhart (right), VP of the Honors Program Club, on the Trading Floor in Chicago!

The group then had an hour or so for lunch.  Some of us decided to enjoy our meal at the Elephant & Castle which connected to our hotel.  Morningstar was next.  We were greeted by Melissa and Jessica who would be educating us on the ways of Morningstar for the next 45 minutes and then finishing with a tour of the building.  Morningstar is a leading provider of data and information within the financial industry in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia.  As students of Penn State Harrisburg we have complete access to Morningstar Direct, which I take advantage of on a daily basis.  I would recommend anyone who is going into Finance to get certified on Morningstar as soon as possible; a lot of the top firms that you could potentially work for after graduation use Morningstar.

Before Dr. Cusatis started providing his genius expertise to students at Penn State Harrisburg, he had worked with a very intelligent woman in trading named Patricia Chambers (Patty).  Patty now works at Newedge as a Vice President for the upstairs sales desk trading futures.  And that’s where we were lucky enough to end our tour, on the trading floor of Newedge.  As a leading entity in global multi-asset brokerage, Newedge is a world leader in multi-asset execution and are based out of Paris.  Patty showed us around while speaking about her background and explaining what the company does.  It was one of my favorite parts of the day.  When she was finished and we had asked all of our questions, we left Dr. Cusatis to catch up with his dear friend and made our way back to the hotel.

This trip was fantastic.  It was a great opportunity to see how this industry works and to network with professionals.  We all had a wonderful time and can’t wait until our next trip.  The plan for the Spring ’12 semester is New York City.  If you would like to join us you can speak to any of the officers of the Finance Club.  Cheers!

PSH Finance Club Group picture on their Chicago Trip

Written by Emily Padjen, Senior Finance major in Honors Program at Penn State Harrisburg

Resumes, Cover Letters, and More!

Some tips from Career Services!

Why is a Resume important?
It is, in most cases, your first contact with a prospective employer. Unless you are handing the resume in person to an employer, it is the only means that employer has to assess your fitness for a position. Without that personal contact, such as at a job fair, the resume is your "first impression" and perhaps your only chance to impress.

Therefore, your resume needs to be concise and easy-to-read with a format that allows employers to pick up on your Accomplishments, Background and Capabilities (ABCs) and want to interview you for their positions. The Career Services website at www.hbg.psu.edu/careers has instructions and numerous student resume samples under the link of  "Employment documents".  Check these out to see how your fellow students have showcased their abilities and get ideas for your own.

Is a Cover Letter important?
In a word, YES. Unless you are meeting an employer face to face at a job fair, where you have a chance to further introduce and explain your goals, etc., you should always send a cover letter with your resume.  The cover letter should be in a professional, business letter format, clearly explaining why you are writing, what makes you an excellent candidate for their position, and how they can contact you or that you will followup.  Again, see our web pages for examples of the cover letter.

What about a Thank you letter? 
ABSOLUTELY. A brief  thank you letter should be sent to any employer who interviews you, or whom you meet at a fair. This extra step, showing an awareness of business etiquette  (and just general good manners) can go a long way to helping you make a good impression on anyone who has helped you in your job search.

For more information please visit the Career Services blog at the link here.