Associate Professor of Psychology Pauline Guerin, a Pennsylvania native who joined the faculty at Penn State Brandywine in fall 2012 after living and working in Australia since the 1990s, will return “down under” this summer to present at the Thirteenth International Conference on Diversity in Organizations, Communities and Nations, at the end of June.

She will present “Racism, Sexism and the Power of Vaginas.“ Contrasting diunital and dichotomous logic, this paper explores complexities associated with vaginal medical and cultural procedures, including cosmetic surgeries and circumcisions, and relations to racism, sexism and power, she explained.

Guerin will remain in Australia for two months over the summer to work on a few research projects, including one on racism in child and family health services and another on how to teach racism to undergraduate health professionals. She will also work on the second edition of her book, Healthcare and Indigenous Australians.

In celebration of summer’s sweet arrival, Penn State Brandywine will host its annual Spend A Summer Evening Admissions event and Grill ‘n’ Chill barbecue on the campus lawn on Thursday, July 18 beginning at 5:30 p.m.

Prospective Penn Staters and their families are invited to join the campus for an interactive information session about the University admissions process called Spend A Summer Evening. The program will introduce attendees to the application process and the many opportunities available at Penn State. There will also be a tour of the campus where prospective students and families will learn about campus activities and hear from current students about what it’s like to attend Penn State Brandywine.

The Penn State Brandywine community, alumni and friends are welcome to join the campus at its annual Grill ‘n’ Chill barbecue on the campus lawn that same evening. This fun, summertime fête will feature live music, food, fun activities for the whole family concluding with the movie, GI Joe.

To register for the Spend A Summer Evening Admissions event, please visit http://bit.ly/SpendASummerEvening2013 or call 610-892-1200 for more information. No registration is required for the Grill and Chill events.

Penn State Brandywine Instructor in Chemistry and Physics Timothy Niiler received the award for “Best Poster” alongside a group of collaborators from A.I. duPont at the Gait and Clinical Movement Analysis Society (GCMAS) Conference held in Cincinnati, Ohio in May.

Niiler and his colleagues researched the variability in pedobarography (foot pressure) measurements to better understand the clinical significance of any observed differences. “It is now common practice to use foot pressure data to guide clinical decision-making regarding surgical interventions in patients with foot deformities or other orthopedic problems,” he explained. “Having a sense of the true uncertainty of foot pressure measures allows researchers and clinicians to determine if any measured changes in foot pressures are clinically important, if a treatment plan is warranted or if an intervention has worked as intended.”

Niiler’s work was among 89 posters in the areas of orthopedics, sports, rehabilitation, assistive devices, pathological motion, upper extremity, normal motion, neurology and modeling. Posters were judged based on originality; quality and completeness of methodological approach; quality of text, tables and figures and potential for the research to influence clinical practice.

According to its website, the Gait and Clinical Movement Analysis Society is a multi-disciplinary organization of physicians, allied health professionals, engineers, biomechanists and scientists working together to advance scientific knowledge, technical capabilities and clinical practice in the field of human movement.

Penn State Brandywine honored its student athletes at the 25th Annual All-Sports Banquet at the Towne House Restaurant in Media, where 80 athletes and their families celebrated the 2012-2013 seasons.

The campus recognized students from its 10 sports: men’s soccer, women’s volleyball, men’s and women’s cross country, golf, tennis, men’s and women’s basketball, ice hockey and baseball. Recruitment is currently underway for the campus’ new softball program, set to begin in spring 2014.

Players, coaches, staff and Penn State Brandywine athletic supporters came out to join the festivities and honor the students’ amazing academic and athletic accomplishments. The guest speaker for the banquet was University Park Athletic Director Dave Joyner, who presented the athletes with more than 130 awards.

The students were recognized for their athletic prowess and academic acumen with national, University-wide and Brandywine specific awards. Awards included All-Conference Team, Academic All-American, Outstanding Contributions, Newcomer of the Year, Coach of the Year, Delaware Valley Collegiate Hockey Conference (DVCHC) All-Conference and United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) All-American.

Students who have played varsity sports at the campus for four years were recognized, as well as recent graduate Bobbi Caprice, of Broomall, and senior Learon Pray, of Chester, who both scored their 1000th career points this year in women’s and men’s basketball, respectively.

Sophomore tennis player Stephen James, of Garnet Valley, was named Player of the Year by the Penn State University Athletic Conference (PSUAC), which also honored four Brandywine coaches with the Coach of the Year Award, including Coach Melissa Algeo (volleyball), Coach Larry Johnson (women’s basketball), Coach Stuart Ross (men’s basketball) and Coach Billy Haines (baseball).

The Michael Menichini Award, the highest Brandywine award for service to athletics, was given to Director of Student Affairs Matthew Shupp.

The James King Award, presented annually to an outstanding student athlete at Penn State Brandywine, was given to volleyball and basketball standout sophomore Brandy Flowers, of Philadelphia.   

With a lifelong career devoted to American and women’s literature, Phyllis Cole, professor of English, women's studies and American studies at Penn State Brandywine, will share her expertise as the keynote speaker of an international conference in Florence, Italy.

American women authors from the nineteenth century who engaged with Europe as readers and travelers will be the theme of “Transatlantic Women II: Nineteenth-Century Women Writers Abroad,” an author society conference dedicated to this theme that takes place June 6 through 9, 2013.

The conference is sponsored by the Margaret Fuller Society, the Catharine Maria Sedgwick Society and the Harriet Beecher Stowe Society.

Eighty participants from eight countries, from the United States and several European nations to Israel and Japan, are on the program’s agenda, and range from graduate students in the discipline to professors of international stature. “Scholars interested in the relationships between American women authors and their dialogue with the rest of the world will be attending,” Cole said.

Cole, a resident of Lansdowne, will present an address titled “Fuller, Browning and the Networks of Transatlantic Feminism.” She confessed that serving as keynote speaker is “a great honor but a daunting prospect.”  Not only will scholars from all over the world be present, but also “eminent American scholars whom I would be interested in listening to rather than addressing.”

The keynote “is actually near the end of the conference,” she said. “So it’s up to me to draw the threads together.”

Nonetheless, she is delighted to be a part of the second in a pair of conferences devoted to this specialty. Transatlantic Women I took place in Oxford, England and was so rich in content that a book was developed out of the presentations. She hopes the same will happen following this conference.

“Transatlanticism is an important innovation in literary studies,” Cole said.  “These women authors were writing and interpreting what was happening across Europe at a time of immense change in both politics and literature. Women pushed the boundaries in a way that was visionary and utopian for what women could become.”

Now putting the finishing touches on her presentation, Cole is also anticipating the scope of the event: two-and-a-half days of panels and papers in a city known for its history, literature and art. As a first-time visitor to Florence, she is relishing the thought of seeing the sights. One landmark of particular interest is the former home of Elizabeth Barrett Browning, where the British author and American Margaret Fuller had conversations over a period of seven months in 1849-50.

“It’s a wonderful group of presenters at the conference,” she said, “and the location couldn’t be better.”

Geysers, geothermal pools, glaciers, volcanoes, columnar basalt, tectonic plates, oh my! Iceland is a geologist’s dream. Just ask Penn State Brandywine Associate Professor of Earth Sciences Laura Guertin, who spent five days studying the country’s unique geological phenomena in early May.

Guertin traveled with 12 colleagues from across the United States as part of a short field study course hosted by the University of Texas Austin called “Exploring Iceland’s Physical Geography and Geomorphology.” Guertin said the experience was one of the highlights of her distinguished career and she can’t wait to share with her students at Brandywine the treasures she uncovered during her trip.

“The best way to learn geology is to go out and do geology,” Guertin said. “I teach my students about Iceland every semester. It’s a unique geologic environment. To be able to go to a geologic setting with fellow geologists, led by an expert of Icelandic geology (Jim Wysong) was really exciting!” she said.

Guertin said she’s most looking forward to bringing Iceland to life in the classroom now that she has seen and experienced its magnificence first-hand.

“It makes it real that I have visited and been there. It’s not someone else’s description, it’s my authentic experience,” she said.

“Instead of using someone’s images I find online or the images in the textbooks, I can now speak more about the specific features in my own photos and I can explain the broader setting and the context. I’ve learned more than what an intro level textbook includes so I can frame it better and get my students to realize the bigger picture about why Iceland is a good environment for us to learn more about and study.”

During her journey, which she documented on her blog, Journeys of Dr. G, Guertin visited volcanoes, glaciers, cinder cones, geysers, geothermal pools and other less-known geologic phenomena. She said the experience helped her better understand what’s going on with the retreat of the ice sheets and climate change and how Icelanders have harnessed their country’s natural energy sources. She was even able to stand on a glacier and see firsthand what is feeding the glaciers and causing them to melt. She said some of the waterfall systems are unique in Iceland compared to other places around the world, and she studied coastal erosion and cemetery stones, too. “There are several different components I can use in many different classroom discussions,” she said.

Columnar basalt at Dyrhólaey, a small peninsula located about 10 minutes from the village of Vik.

“Iceland is right on a plate boundary and I talk with my students about plate tectonics, the founding theory of geology, in my introductory geology courses. Iceland is so unique in its geologic setting because it straddles a boundary. There is no other place in the world like this particular one.”

In fact, standing with one foot on the Eurasian Plate and the other on the North American Plate was “my geekiest moment,” Guertin said with an excited laugh. Not only that, it was also the most terrifying. Where the two plates almost meet, there is a wide gap with a deep, never-ending abyss, which each of the geologists was eager to straddle, to the amusement of their non-geologist Icelandic tour guide, who claimed the experience was a first for her. “Looking down you couldn’t see the bottom. We had no idea how far down it went. It could have been really dangerous,” Guertin added.

During her stay, home base was the capital city of Reykjavik, where Guertin said she hopes to return one day to sightsee, but the field studies were mostly conducted outside of the city, where she climbed a volcano, got dangerously close to a vent in a hydrothermal field that could “melt the soles of your hiking boots,” visited the site of the assassination of politician Snorri Sturluson in 1231 and peered through the backside of a waterfall.

Notable stops on her tour included the Blue Lagoon geothermal spa, Gulfoss waterfall, a volcanic crater called Kerið, Geysir and Strokku geysers, Hellisheiði Geothermal Plant, Eyjafjallajokull Visitor Center (as in the volcano whose eruption and subsequent ash cloud grounded flights around Europe in 2010) and the Solheimajokrull glacier snout, to name only a few.

To read more about Guertin’s journey through Iceland and follow along as she continues to travel and study geology in the field, visit www.journeysofdrg.org.

Find the positive, build connections, love your family and experiment. “It's all about your attitude, graduates,” Penn State Brandywine Commencement speaker David Lipson Jr. ’78 Com advised the class of 2013 on May 4 in the campus gymnasium.
 
A Penn State alumnus who has worked hard to build a successful career in magazine publishing, Lipson shared a few life sessions and words of encouragement with the more than 100 graduates.

“Your path ahead will indeed be challenging, your dream job may not come right away, but hang in there,” he said to a rambunctious and excited crowd. “Now is the time to experiment. Find out what really turns you on, what really makes you happy … You can’t let the fear of failure stop you from moving forward.”

Lipson, a native of the Philadelphia area, currently serves as the president of Metro Corp., a publishing company whose signature titles include Philadelphia and Boston magazines. He has been associated with the corporation in numerous ways for more than 30 years. Lipson is a lifetime member of the Penn State Alumni Association and received the prestigious Alumni Fellow Award in 2008. He remains an active representative of the community. Penn State Brandywine students receiving their diplomas will join the largest dues-paying alumni association in the world that consists of more than 145,000 members worldwide.

Per Penn State Brandywine tradition, graduates were provided a few moments to say a few words of thanks to family, friends and mentors as they crossed the stage to receive their degrees. And as is tradition, these special words were met with many tears, laughs and cheers.

Class of 2013 proceeds into the gym.

Adult student Bethanne Seufert, who graduated with high distinction and a bachelor of arts degree in American Studies, said, “I want to thank all my fantastic professors … I especially want to thank my children who were my biggest cheerleaders and helped me study for tests, and I want to thank my husband for being there with me through it all."

As the sound of screaming supporters echoed through the crowd, Arielle Coleman, who received a bachelor of arts degree in communications, thanked her “crazy family … and my mom for believing in me.”

“To my graduates, our time is just beginning because soon we’re going to take over the world!” said Jamal Ayoub, who received a bachelor of arts degree in English.

His fellow graduate in the English department, Cordelle Mercer, had a more solemn moment. He dedicated his degree to his grandmother, who recently passed away. “I wanted her to know that I’m never going to let her down and I will always love her,” he said.

There was much love for staff and faculty, too. “I’d like to say thank you to the professors, they really made the school more like a second home and I would like to thank my classmates. We are small, but we are mighty!” said Stephanie Byers, who received a bachelor of science degree in education.

“I would like to thank my family and all of the families that are here today for supporting us mentally, physically and financially. Thank you!” added Kim Ngan Nguyen, who received a bachelor of science degree in psychology.

To hear all the thanks and relive these sacred moments as the graduates say their final farewells before heading off the stage into the “real world,” watch the complete graduation video at http://bit.ly/PSUBWCommencementSP13.

To view and purchase photos from the ceremony, visit http://bit.ly/12bTmGf.

Penn State Brandywine Global Programs has released its upcoming study abroad lineup for the 2013-14 academic year.

In November 2013 (over Thanksgiving break), the campus will travel to Barcelona, Spain, followed by spring break 2014 in Rome and Florence, Italy and an additional trip in the spring to China. More details about these programs will be released shortly.

Students who wish to travel to Barcelona will receive a $50 discount if they sign up and pay their deposit by August 1.

Each of the three programs provides distance education courses with short-term travel to destinations worldwide. Courses, while not yet finalized, are available to students at any Penn State University location. Each course in each program includes pre-travel and post-travel coursework to be completed on an independent study basis, working with the instructor through distance education technologies and on one’s own schedule and pace.

The travel component of the courses is six to nine days in length, taking place during breaks in the University’s academic calendar. The program’s aim to bring international, academic and immersion experiences within the financial reach of as many Penn State students as possible. Accordingly, travel arrangements through Celestial Voyagers tour agency are designed to be very affordable, and scholarship opportunities are available, including the Brandywine Global Programs Award.

Please stay tuned for updates and visit the Global Programs page for more information.

This year, students in Instructor in Marketing Lori Elias’ Business Negotiations class hosted a number of charitable and awareness events on campus that raised more than $500 for various causes.

The class was awarded the Rosenberg Civic Engagement Scholarship, which provided the funds for the students to plan a number of initiatives on campus throughout the year. 

There were many teachable moments during the planning and implementation of these events,” Elias said, “but one of them was negotiating with each other for their portion of the seed money in exchange for other resources or needs. Another was educating each other on causes about which each student is passionate.”

After pitching their ideas and negotiating with classmates, each team chose their beneficiaries and started the journey of "daily business negotiations" with classmates, campus faculty and staff, and several persons and businesses off campus as needed to pull together successful events, Elias added. “They secured EMTs, donors for food (not paid for by the scholarship), facilities and many other resources that might surprise you.”

One of the teams, Team Komen, sold various items on campus to raise money in the support of Breast Cancer Research.

Team Red hosted a whiffle ball tournament and sold various items to raise awareness of and money for multiple sclerosis. The event, called Strike Out MS, was held on the campus lawn.

Team Awesome and the Dog Team pooled their resources to promote awareness of and raise money for the Delaware County SPCA. The groups sold a number of items and held fun events on campus to raise money for their cause.

Team Somaly Mam hosted a dodgeball tournament to raise awareness of and money for the rescue of victims of human sex trafficking.

A chapter written by Assistant Professor of Human Development and Family Studies Jennifer Zosh was included in the recently published book Design, Make, Play: Growing the Next Generation of STEM Innovators.

The chapter discusses the events Zosh and her colleagues planned for the Ultimate Block Party events in New York City, Toronto and Baltimore, which celebrated and educated more than 65,000 attendees and their young children about the science of learning and the importance of play in child development. In the chapter, Zosh also shares best practices for small-scale and large-scale scientific outreach events.

The book is for sale at http://www.amazon.com/Design-Make-Play-Generation-Innovators/dp/041553920X on Amazon.

Four Penn State Brandywine students presented their research at the Regional Undergraduate Research Symposium at Penn State Hazleton on Thursday, April 18. The event featured some of the best undergraduate research from five area Penn State campuses – Schuylkill, Wilkes-Barre, Lehigh Valley, Worthington Scranton and Brandywine.

Freshman Corey Young won second place in the arts and humanities category for her research and presentation, "The Rutgers Tomato, Super Foods and Environmental Philosophy." Her research mentor was Associate Professor of Philosophy and Environmental Studies David Macauley.

Sophomore science major Zachary Peterson presented his research on "The Earliest Stars in the Universe: Evolution of High-Mass Population III Stars" in the STEM category. His campus mentor was Associate Professor of Physics and Astrophysics Tim Lawlor.

Junior mechanical engineering major Rainaire Hansford presented his work on "Chronicles of Nair" in the STEM category. His campus mentor was Associate Professor of Engineering Asad Azemi.

Zachary Peterson, Corey Young, Rainaire Hansford (left to right)

Senior English major Rebecca Brophy's poster on "Evolution of Gender Perceptions During the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries in England and the Twentieth Century in America" was displayed, although she was not able to attend the event in person. She was mentored by Associate Professor of English Paul Orlov and Assistant Professor of English Elizabeth Womack.

Azemi and Macauley served as judges at this annual event celebrating outstanding research contributions made by undergraduates at Penn State.

Members of Penn State Brandywine’s business fraternity, Phi Beta Lambda (PBL), received top honors at the Pennsylvania PBL State Leadership Conference in Gettysburg in April.

Nine Brandywine students competed in sixteen competitive events and two members placed, qualifying them to compete at the PBL National Leadership Conference at Anaheim, Calif. in June.
 
Junior Kimberly Nowak, of Media, placed first in the state in the Computer Applications category and sophomore Steven Hargis, of Cherry Hill, N.J., placed second in the state in the Marketing Concepts category. Hargis placed first in the nation last year in Retail Management after winning at States.

Sophomore business majors Justin Chau and Theressa Ha competed in the Microeconomics and Macroeconomics and Marketing Concepts and Management Concepts categories, respectively; junior engineering major Norris Hua competed in Sports Management and Marketing and Microeconomics; freshman business major Ashish Kondapaturu competed in Financial Concepts; sophomore Chris Kramer competed in Accounting Principles and Impromptu Speaking and sophomore engineering majors Nga Lam and Steven Nguyen competed in Management Concepts and International Business and Word Processing and Hospitality, respectively.

Penn State Brandywine Professor of Management Veronica Godshalk and Assistant Professor of Business Administration Don Taylor attended the conference and Taylor judged in three of the competitive events.

Left to right: Norris Hua, Kimberly Nowak, Chris Kramer, Nga Lam, Ashish Kondapatury, Steven Hargis, Steven Nguyen, Theressa Ha, Don Taylor (adviser), David Vesely (alumni, professional member)

Penn State Brandywine’s annual Spring Soiree fundraiser held in April raised nearly $70,000 for students at the campus. The semi-formal event was held at the Phoenixville Foundry in Phoenixville.

Emceed by 6ABC Anchor Karen Rogers, the Spring Soiree brought friends, alumni and the community together for an exciting night of celebration and entertainment and to provide critical dollars to support new academic programs, scholarships and student-focused campus enhancements.

Left to right: Joe and Mary Jane Linker, Nittany Lion mascot, Kristen and Chris Casalenuovo

Guests enjoyed a live performance by alumnus Bill Handy’s five-piece jazz band and delicious food stations provided by Robert Ryan Catering. The event’s live auction featured vacation getaways to Jamaica, the Jersey shore and a trip to State College. Lucky guests also went home with a Coach bag, Phillies tickets, reservations to Talula’s Table, fine art and more.

Since 2008, this annual event has raised more than $300,000 for the students of Penn State Brandywine.
The Spring Soiree was made possible through generous donations from platinum sponsor Communications Test Design, Inc. (CTDI); gold sponsor Mrs. Jean Schaeffer; silver sponsors Franklin Mint Federal Credit Union and Wawa; bronze sponsors Connor Strong & Buckelew and Robert Ryan Catering and event sponsors Mark and Lauren Dambly, Exelon Power, Tranda Fischelis, Gailey Murray Communications, LLP and Sandra Ford and Stephen Mellor.

Zanya Stephenson received the Eric A. and Josephine S. Walker Award, a University-wide award given annually to full-time undergraduate students from each of the campus locations. The Walker award recognizes a student whose outstanding qualities of character, scholarship, leadership and citizenship have been directed into programs and services that have positively influenced fellow students and have contributed to the prestige and well-being of their campus and, hence, to the reputation of the University as a whole.

Labanaya Mookerjee received the Outstanding Student Service to Campus and Community Award, which recognizes a student who has given outstanding service to the campus and community through volunteering their time by assisting others or impacting the lives of others, thereby gaining positive recognition for herself and for the campus.

Theresa Malatesta received the Barbara Jackson-Williams Cross Cultural Understanding Award, which recognizes a student who has clearly demonstrated that individual differences are valuable and that learning about others who are culturally different is necessary and rewarding; who has shown the ability to gain the trust and respect of individuals who are culturally different from themselves; who has initiated programming efforts involving multicultural issues at Penn State Brandywine or who has provided outstanding service in a variety of cultural student organizations at Penn State Brandywine.

Eileen Fresta received the Outstanding Adult Student Award, recognizing an outstanding adult student who demonstrates initiative, tenacity and flexibility in overcoming obstacles to furthering her education; who serves as a role model for other adult students by sensitizing the institution to the needs of adult students and by establishing herself as a leader in the peer group; who achieves academic excellence as measured by cumulative GPA and whose clearly defined short and long term goals reflect the values and ideals of higher education.

There was a tie for the Student Club/Organization of the Year between the Gay-Straight Alliance and the Marketing and Advertising Club. This award recognizes a student club or organization that has shown exceptional involvement throughout the year. These clubs or organizations were active in recruiting new members and keeping them engaged and involved and contributed to the quality of student life and promoted campus involvement.

The No H8 (pronounced “hate”) Campaign was named Outstanding Program or Event of the Year, an award
that recognizes a program or event that has enhanced the quality of student life by promoting campus community and Penn State pride. This program demonstrates creativity, uniqueness and inclusion.

Advising and Career Services staff member Sally Ent was honored with the Club/Organization Adviser of the Year Award, which recognizes a faculty or staff member that volunteers their time to serve as a club or organization adviser. This adviser has shown that they are truly engaged in the activities and mission of the student organization and are committed to enhancing the student life experience.

Student Government Association President Pawel Zwierzchowski received the Deborah J. Erie Student Leader Award, recognizing a student leader who displays commitment and dedication to multiple organizations while maintaining solid academic standards. This student has shown how leadership involvement contributes to building pride in one’s campus and enriches the overall college experience.

Aimee Ralph received the Diane D. Shorter Service Award, recognizing a student or event, which contributes to the spirit of civic engagement through raising awareness of and enlisting campus involvement towards supporting a cause.

Linda Truong was the recipient of the Student Affairs Excellence Award.

Simeon Freeman received the Lion Pride Award for demonstrating commitment and dedication while acting as the Nittany Lion mascot. 

Three budding high school journalists from Delaware and Chester counties were recognized for their outstanding reporting and writing at Penn State Brandywine’s inaugural Communications in the Future Symposium on April 24. For its Pride in Print Competition, the campus received 74 articles written by students from 10 high schools for judging in three categories – news, features and sports. A finalist was chosen in each category and a Nook Color Tablet was awarded at Wednesday’s culminating event.

Woodlynde School senior Patrick Torphy, of Bryn Mawr, won the award for Best News Story for his article titled “Concussions: A dangerous risk finally being taken seriously,” which he wrote for his high school’s student newspaper, The Informer.

Avon Grove High School senior Bekah Curran, of Landenberg, won the award for Best Feature Story for her article “Klesius: Superstitions to scholarship,” which appeared in her high school’s student newspaper, Herald Sports.

Alex Roberts, of Brookhaven, also a senior at Woodlynde School and writer for The Informer, won the award for Best Sports Story for her article “Cheerleader loves to fly.”

Their stories were judged for value or importance, quality of reporting and quotes and quality of writing, by faculty and staff at Penn State Brandywine and members of the Press Club serving the Philadelphia Suburbs, who co-sponsored the event.

The talented finalists received their awards in front of a packed room that included fellow budding journalists who also submitted stories for the competition, communications majors at Penn State Brandywine, community members, friends and families.

Retired communications instructor and Regional Director of University Relations at Penn State Joe Biscontini served as the emcee for the evening.

A panel of four communications professionals representing key disciplines in the field – print journalism, radio, new media and public relations -- engaged in a lively discussion about the future of journalism, its changing landscape and cats (yes, cats).

The Communications in the Future Symposium panel (left to right): Phil Heron, Delaware County Daily Times; Elizabeth Fiedler, WHYY; Lauren Yapalater, BuzzFeed; Blair Cardinal, Buchanan Public Relations; Joe Biscontini, Penn State

Delaware County Daily Times Editor Phil Heron represented the “old school” side of journalism as he shared his thoughts on where the field is headed and how he’s adapted since the creation of social media and the rise of online-only news. He lamented that he spends far too much time on Twitter and one could find “pieces” of him scattered across the platform, but said he’s confident investigative journalism and local coverage will remain a vital piece of the news cycle.

WHYY Correspondent Elizabeth Fiedler has a passion for politics and urban life, and she, too, practices old school reporting techniques while using social outlets to reach her audience. She drilled home the point that “being a good writer could never hurt you.” Her advice to the students in attendance: exceptional writing skills will help them in any job in any field, not just communications. Fiedler said WHYY interns who work hard, write exceptionally well and prove themselves almost always land a fulltime offer.

BuzzFeed Associate Editor Lauren Yapalater was proof of that point. Having started at the internet-only, blog-like platform as an intern just over a year ago, she’s proving that there are careers to be had in new media. Yapalater shared the importance of online community, saying most new hires at BuzzFeed come from within the platform’s user community, and how she manages to work hard and produce engaging, viral content on a daily basis while spending several hours a day playing with the famous cats that visit the office and then blogging about them.

Rounding out the panel with a unique perspective on the intersection of her colleagues’ disciplines was Buchanan Public Relations Account Supervisor Blair Cardinal. Having begun her career as a journalist and editor for The University of Delaware’s student-run newspaper, The Review, Cardinal shared how mastering the art of news writing helped create a solid foundation for her career. She said understanding the inner workings of all communications channels is vital to a career in public relations. Success in the field takes determination, excellent verbal and written communications skills and the ability to find relevance in almost every story. Almost. Cardinal’s job is to pitch her client’s stories to print, radio and TV journalists as well as bloggers and other new media writers, so she was in good company. 

Since January 2010, senior American Studies major and Schreyer Honors Scholar Eileen Fresta has been a significant member of the Penn State Brandywine community. Her participation in civic engagement, academic achievements and undergraduate research successes has given her recognition as one of the most talented and involved students on campus.   

Fresta had the opportunity to present her research and senior honor thesis titled “Charting the Health History of Middletown Township, Pennsylvania, through a Study of the Cumberland Cemetery Interment Records” during the Pennsylvania Historical Association’s (PHA) annual meeting in November. The PHA honored Fresta with the Outstanding Poster Award, which is given annually to graduate and undergraduate students who present their research as evolving scholars in the field of Pennsylvania and Mid-Atlantic history.

She worked on her research during her involvement with the historic Cumberland Cemetery in Media. Fresta interned with the cemetery during the summer and had the opportunity to study the cemetery’s interment records that dated back to the 1800s. She was able to transfer the information into a computer program for further analysis, which included Delaware County residents’ date of birth, date of death, cause of death and where they where living at the time.  

“It was interesting,” she said. “It’s a cultural reflection of what was going on in Middletown Township at the time. I was happy to win the award and it was a very nice recognition.”

Fresta was also able to present her findings at the Eastern American Studies Association’s (EASA) annual conference in March and became the first Penn State Brandywine student inducted into the EASA’s honor society, Epsilon Alpha Kappa.

Assistant Professor of History at Penn State Brandywine Julie Gallagher attended the EASA’s conference and was delighted to see Fresta’s hard work pay off. “I am really proud to see our student’s accomplishments being recognized and the Eastern American Studies Association’s honor society is a wonderful example of that recognition,” Gallagher explained. “I think the American Studies program is a really great major here and it’s nice to see our students getting this exposure.”

During her three-and-a-half years at Penn State Brandywine Fresta has been named to the Dean’s List every semester and has been honored with seven different awards for her strong academic performance, undergraduate research, leadership in civic engagement and volunteer efforts. Most recently she was presented with the Undergraduate Faculty and Student Research Award during Brandywine’s Academic Recognition Ceremony on Tuesday, March 26. The award is presented to an outstanding faculty mentor and a student for their contributions to undergraduate research at Penn State Brandywine.

“Participating in undergraduate research here at Brandywine has been a great experience for me. It was not something I ever thought I would be doing when I decided to go back to school three years ago,” she said. “Receiving the Undergraduate Student Research Award was an amazing honor!  I know that none of my research would have been possible without the encouragement and assistance of my professors at Penn State Brandywine.”

Fresta has also taken advantage of the opportunity to help others in the community and around the world. Her involvement has inspired others and has created a caring culture at Brandywine.   

She has served as president of the Brandywine Adult Student Club for the past year, which has made numerous contributions to the community. The club recently teamed up with Philabundance in the “Spread the Love” campaign, which is dedicated to providing food for families in the Delaware Valley region by collecting jars of peanut butter and jelly. By setting up collection boxes on campus and holding fundraisers, the club was able to collect 115 jars for hungry families in the area.       

Her commitment to civic engagement has not only aided the local community, it has had a positive influence on different places around the globe. During her Foundations of Civic and Community Engagement course at Brandywine, Fresta and fellow classmates were able to raise more than $3,000 for a Haiti relief project. The class also supplied 50 drawstring schoolbags packed with school supplies for children in the country after it was devastated by an earthquake in 2010.    

When asked about her involvement in the Haiti relief project she said, “It was wonderful! It felt great to see the other students and the community so excited, they really got behind it.”

After graduating in May, Fresta plans to attend graduate school, where she will study American studies. Her goal is to one day bring history and technology together to help the subject become more appealing to younger generations. 

-by Mike McDade
 

Shawn Manderson’03 IST is ten years out of the collegiate halls of Penn State Brandywine and is already making a name for himself in the field of IT auditing. Since earning his bachelor of science degree with a minor in business administration, Manderson has traveled nationally and internationally, for the likes of Ernst and Young, ARAMARK and his current employer, FMC Corporation -- one of the world’s foremost diversified chemical companies, headquartered in Philadelphia.
 
In 1999, Manderson started college at the Hazleton campus with mechanical engineering as his intended major. But, that all changed two years later when he discovered the newly created IST major. Always the extravert, Manderson believed IST better suited his outgoing personality by combining his people skills with his love for computers and technology. With a well thought-out plan for success -- graduate in four years, live near a city for internship opportunities, networking and, ultimately, find a job where he could travel the world -- Manderson chose to finish his degree at the Brandywine campus due to its proximity to Philadelphia.

“I remember coming on campus and I just fell in love with the campus because the student body was diverse. The admissions staff that showed me around and the Lion Ambassadors were just amazing,” enthused Manderson. “Walking through all the buildings on campus, I felt at home. I knew Delaware County [the name of the campus at the time] was where I wanted to be. It was one of the best decisions I ever made because it set me up for my career where I am at today.”

While a student at Brandywine, Manderson was involved with a very active student government (SGA). They made diversity their mantra by creating the International Awareness club. He also wrote for the student newspaper The Lion’s Eye, played intramural basketball and baseball, worked part-time and interned with several local companies, including the campus’ ITS department. 

“Remember at this time (2001), IT was really starting to blossom,” said Manderson. “This is when IT was beginning to get more sophisticated than just fixing computers and going online. That was good timing for me because it gave me the hands-on experience and confidence I needed to go out in the real world.”

Retired employee Gordon Crompton, Manderson’s boss and mentor in Brandywine’s ITS department, had this to say about the driven undergraduate: “We loved him in IT. We were impressed with his work.” Speaking of Manderson’s involvement with SGA, Crompton continued, “Shawn practically rewrote the student constitution. He was a key member of one of the best student governments Brandywine has ever seen.”

After graduating in 2003, Manderson began his career as a consultant in Ernst and Young’s Risk Advisory Services practice in the Philadelphia office. After four years, he transitioned to ARAMARK’s Corporate Audit and Controls Services division. He obtained his Certified Information System Auditor (CISA) designation in 2010 and then joined the internal audit department of FMC in 2012, where he continues to work today. As an IT auditor for each of these companies, Manderson has traveled beyond the city of Brotherly Love to more than 30 states, parts of South America, most of Europe and he’ll be traveling “down under” this summer.

Manderson’s intense travel schedule -- more than 50 percent of his time -- doesn’t seem to hinder his ability to give back to his alma mater. He continues his connection with Penn State as an active member of the Alumni Council -- the governing body of the Penn State Alumni Association -- while concurrently serving his second term as president of the Penn State Brandywine Alumni Society, which helps keep alumni and students connected to the campus by hosting graduation dinners, networking events and fundraisers for the alumni and chartering an alumni-student mentoring group. The society is active, vocal and has a presence on the suburban campus. 

However, the biggest accomplishment of his tenure as president, according to Manderson, has been the establishment of the Penn State Brandywine Alumni Society Trustee Matching Endowed Scholarship in November 2011. Nearly $15,000 has been raised to date. “The best thing about this scholarship,” Manderson said, “is once we reach our goal of $50,000, it turns into a $100,000 gift for the campus. That’s a great feeling to have, knowing you are leaving that sort of legacy behind, but it’s a humbling one as well.”

Crompton added, “Shawn has done some incredible things for Penn State Brandywine. He is really dedicated to the students and the campus … he is out there really doing a lot of things for the campus from an alumni perspective.”

“Sometimes it’s important to take care of home as an alum,” Manderson said. And this is home.”

To get involved with the Penn State Brandywine Alumni Society or for more information visit http://alumni.psubw.org online.

-by Nancy McCann

Penn State Brandywine held its annual spring showcase called EURECA (Exhibition of Undergraduate Research, Enterprise and Creative Accomplishment) on April 16, in the campus’ Tomezsko Classroom Building Lounge. The annual event allows undergraduate students to present their research and creative endeavors that they have conducted during their time at Brandywine.

Penn State Brandywine is dedicated to giving its students the opportunity to conduct research alongside scholars, which takes undergraduates beyond traditional learning methods. By working on research projects students sharpen their critical thinking skills, become better team players and develop into more effective problem-solvers.

This year’s EURECA featured 20 poster presentations and four oral presentations from students in disciplinary programs such as technology, engineering, mathematics, social science and humanities.

“It is very important for students to engage in the type of long-range or substantial projects which were presented at EURECA,” explained Hans Schmidt, assistant professor of communications at Penn State Brandywine. “Through these types of projects, whether they involve research, enterprise or creative accomplishment, students learn about the thrill of discovery and gain many of the real-world skills that are so critical for success after graduation.”

Senior human development and family studies (HDFS) major Sarah Huppman, of Brookhaven, was presented with the Civic Engagement Award for her enterprise project “The Impact of Recent Educational Budget Cuts on Public Pre-Kindergarten in Texas.” The award recognizes a project that has made a positive difference in civic life for communities.

The STEM Research Award recognizes a project that is in the disciplines of science, technology, engineering or math and possibly holds significance to the general public. Sophomore science major Zachary Peterson, of Avondale, received the honor for his work titled “The Earliest Stars in the Universe: The Evolution of High-Mass Population III Stars.”

Senior human development and family studies (HDFS) major Jill Gillin, of Springfield, was this year’s recipient of the Social Science and Humanities Research Award for her research titled “Parent Perceptions of Educational and Electronic Products in an Electronic Era.” The honor recognizes a social science and humanities project that holds importance in the field of study and has a potential impact on the public.

“I'm very grateful for the experience I've had at Penn State Brandywine, especially working with Dr. Jennifer Zosh in the Brandywine Child Development Lab,” Gillin said. “Technology has changed children's culture dramatically, and Dr. Zosh and I believe strongly in the power of play. I have three young children of my own, so it meant a lot to me as both a parent and a student to take on this project. I'm proud of our work and participating in EURECA was truly rewarding."

The Enterprise Award, which honors an endeavor from any field, was presented to senior HDFS major Krista Jean Schug, of Berwyn, for her project “Family Move Nights: Health Promotion Council.” This award acknowledges a project with a meaningful undertaking and results in the possibility of everyday use.

Penn State Brandywine will host the Communications in the Future Symposium for budding high school journalists in the region on Wednesday, April 24.

The campus received nearly 70 articles written by students and published in their high school newspapers for judging in one of three categories: news, feature writing and sports. Submissions were judged based on value or importance of the story, quality of reporting and quotes and quality of writing for the campus’ Pride in Print Competition.

A winner will be announced in each of the three categories during the April 24 Symposium and reception, which will take place at 6:30 p.m. in the Tomezsko Building. Each of the three winners will receive a Nook Color Tablet®.

Students who have submitted articles for the competition are encouraged to attend this exciting event with their parents and newspaper advisers, which will feature a panel of professionals currently working in print journalism, public relations and new media. The community is also invited to attend.

The panel of speakers includes Blair Cardinal, account supervisor at Buchanan Public Relations; Elizabeth Fielder, urban life correspondent for WHYY; Phil Heron, editor at the Delaware County Daily Times; and Lauren Yapalater, associate editor for BuzzFeed. The panelists will share their tips, experiences and thoughts on the future of communications and journalism.

Former Penn State Regional Director of University Relations and retired Instructor in Communications Joe Biscontini will emcee the event, which is sponsored in part by the Brandywine Communications Degree program and the Press Club Serving the Philadelphia Suburbs.

For more information about this event, please contact Gail Wray at 610-892-1472.

Directions to the campus

Penn State’s Vice President for Commonwealth Campuses Madlyn L. Hanes announced on Wednesday, April 10, the appointment of Director Emeritus of Academic Affairs George W. Franz as interim chancellor of Penn Sate Brandywine, effective July 1.
The search for a new chancellor, to replace Chancellor Sophia Wisniewska, who has accepted a position as regional chancellor at University of South Florida St. Petersburg, will begin this summer.

Franz is a long-standing, accomplished member of the Brandywine community and is well acquainted with the campus’ mission to provide high-quality, affordable education in the Philadelphia region. He taught history at the campus for three decades and served as director of academic affairs (DAA) from 1997 until his retirement in 2007.

“I am confident that Penn State Brandywine will benefit from his leadership and sense of community in this period of transition,” Hanes said. “We are grateful to George for his willingness to serve at this critical juncture.”

At the time of his retirement, Franz was lauded for his dedication to recruiting top-quality, innovative faculty. He was the recipient of the University's George W. Atherton Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, the McKay-Donkin Award for contributions to the welfare of faculty and was recognized by his colleagues for his leadership and contributions as a teacher, scholar and adviser with the Madlyn Hanes Award.

To honor Franz' commitment to hiring and retaining first-rate faculty, the campus created the George W. Franz Advising and Mentoring Award, which annually recognizes faculty or staff for their efforts in helping others achieve their potential.

During his tenure as DAA, Franz helped launch five four-year degree programs at Penn State Brandywine, including Business, Human Development and Family Studies, Information Sciences and Technology, Corporate Communication and Organizational Leadership.

Franz is an active community volunteer, serving on numerous non-profit boards and commissions, including the Chadds Ford Historical Society and Saint Michael Lutheran Church in Unionville.

He resides in Kennett Square with his wife, Kammy.

Schreyer Honors Scholar Labanya Mookerjee, a senior English major at Penn State Brandywine, was honored by the Eastern American Studies Association (EASA) with the Francis Ryan Award, in March. The honor is given annually to the undergraduate with the top research paper.

Competition was fierce, with numerous papers submitted from universities all over the East Coast, such as Boston, Rutgers and La Salle universities.

Mookerjee attended the EASA Conference, which was held at Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Va. and despite the strong competition, took home the esteemed award. She also delivered a presentation to conference attendees that highlighted her studies.  

Mookerjee submitted a chapter from her senior honors thesis paper to the EASA in February, which explores the connections between transcendentalism, feminism and social activism in the late nineteenth century through the life of Margaret Fuller’s disciple, Ednah Dow Cheney.

“I was really interested in learning about the research projects that others at different campuses were conducting. I saw some amazing presentations, ranging from Boston architecture to women in combat to the Harlem Renaissance,” she said.

Brandywine Professor of English, Women’s Studies and American Studies Phyllis Cole served as Mookerjee’s senior honor thesis supervisor and worked closely with her leading up to the conference. “Labanya's work is certainly evidence of what can be achieved on our campus,” Cole said.  “She has been a joy to work with and makes us all Penn State proud.”

“I had a very good supervisor in Dr. Cole. She really prepared me,” Mookerjee said. “We were up several nights in a row getting this piece ready for the conference. When I received the award, my first thought was ‘I wish Dr. Cole was here!’”

Assistant Professor of History Julie Gallagher attended the event and was thrilled to have Brandywine represented at the conference. “Knowing the quality of the papers that hers was up against speaks very highly of Labanya and her work,” Gallagher said. “I think we put out an opportunity on our campus for students to really seize the most of an educational experience.”

In preparation for her senior honor thesis Mookerjee conducted numerous hours of research using a variety of different outlets. During the summer she visited Harvard University’s Houghton Library in Cambridge, Mass. and the Massachusetts Historical Society in Boston to obtain information used in her paper.

“I was always really interested in transcendentalism, even since high school,” she explained. “In my first semester at Brandywine I had a class with Dr. Cole, who specializes in transcendentalism and feminism, so it was perfect. In my junior year, I took a women’s studies class with Dr. Gallagher, and I knew I also wanted to do something with feminism when it came to my thesis.”

Mookerjee will share her research at Penn State Brandywine’s Exhibition of Undergraduate Research Enterprise and Creative Accomplishment (EURECA) event, on Tuesday, April 16. 

Upon graduating in May she plans to attend graduate school, where she will study English.
 
 

To ordinary folks, stars in the galaxy may seem like tiny specks of light. But to Penn State Brandywine Professor Timothy Lawlor and undergraduate researcher Nick Rufo, one of those bright balls of gas is actually more massive than scientists originally reported and holds implications to the understanding of the universe’s evolution. 

Research conducted by Rufo and Lawlor about the irregular characteristics of what is known as “Caffau’s Star” suggests that it could actually be considered part of the sub giant category rather than a main sequence star. Translation: Caffau’s Star could actually be much more immense than initially described. This finding plays an important role in strengthening the understanding of star formation and helps researchers comprehend the evolution of the 13.8 billion-year-old universe. 

“The puzzle of stellar evolution is really about the origin of every one of us,” Lawlor explained. “One of the most fascinating things about stellar evolution and the evolution of the universe is how it becomes clear that a huge majority of all atoms that make up you, me and the entire planet can be traced back to the center of a very massive star that blew up long ago.”

Rufo, who spent his first two years at the Brandywine campus and is now a meteorology major in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences at University Park, worked closely with Lawlor to analyze data about Caffau’s Star. He was able to complete calculations using a computer code and produced all of the models that were compared to Caffau’s Star in the research process.

“Nicholas was a dedicated researcher,” Lawlor said. “He helped uncover that the mass did not fit that of a main sequence star, and that for the observed composition of lithium to match, the star would have to be significantly less massive, which was not likely based on the temperature. Working with Nicholas was one of the most productive collaborations I have had with an undergraduate researcher.”

While at the campus, Rufo participated in Penn State Brandywine’s spring undergraduate research exhibition called EURECA, where he presented the beginning discoveries of the studies he conducted alongside Lawlor. 

“I feel honored to have worked with a great professor like Dr. Lawlor,” Rufo said. “I never imagined I would have an opportunity working with Dr. Lawlor on a paper and doing research on a fascinating subject like astronomy when I was a student at Brandywine. I really enjoyed the experience and feel it gave me confidence and motivation.”

Rufo aspires to pursue a career in weather forecasting after receiving his degree from Penn State.  

-by Mike McDade

Penn State Brandywine will hold its annual Spring Commencement at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 4, when more than 100 Brandywine students will receive their associate and baccalaureate degrees. Joining them in the Commons Building Gym will be hundreds of family members, campus community members, friends and this year’s keynote speaker, David Lipson Jr. '78.

Lipson, a native of the Philadelphia area, currently serves as the president of Metro Corp., a publishing company whose signature titles include Philadelphia and Boston magazines. He has been associated with the corporation in numerous ways for more than 30 years.

He began his career in advertising at Boston Magazine and worked his way to Philadelphia after a period of time in New York with Metro Magazines, the national sales organization that was also a part of Metro Corp., and Manhattan, Inc. magazine.

Metro Corp. strives to improve the lives of readers while helping advertisers and sponsor companies reach the luxury high-end market. The company is credited with launching well-known programs such as the Philadelphia Wine Festival, Philly Cooks!, Design Home and the annual Best of Philly Event.

Lipson is a lifetime member of the Penn State Alumni Association and remains an active representative of the community. He is a member of the Corporate Leadership Council at the Philadelphia Zoo, Boy Scouts of America and sits on the Board of Directors of the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau. 

Penn State Brandywine students receiving their diplomas will join the largest dues-paying alumni association in the world that consists of more than 145,000 members worldwide.  

If you are unable to attend the program, you may watch it live from your computer. Go to our IT website the day of the event to watch the program.

“Softball is a huge step for us,” said Athletic Director Jim Gastner. “It’s a great fit for our campus as a spring sport and it allows us to enhance the opportunities for our athletes. Between the players we have on hand, along with potential recruits that have already expressed an interest in our program, we anticipate being a contender right out of the block.”  

Caserta, a Philadelphia resident, brings exceptional experience to the new Brandywine softball program as he most recently served as the head coach for Archbishop Carroll High School in Radnor. During his five seasons at Archbishop Carroll he led the Lady Patriots to the playoffs four times. In 2011, Caserta’s squad reached the Catholic League semi-finals at Arcadia University only to fall a run short of reaching the finals. He finished his tenure with the Lady Patriots with the record for most wins, with 66-37 during his five year’s there.

“I will do my best to put together a team that the University can be proud of,” Caserta said. “Recruiting high quality character student athletes is the [key] to a successful program. The name Penn State alone brings a sense of pride and responsibility … It is quite rewarding to know that a new program has the confidence in me to lead, especially at such a prestigious place like Penn State Brandywine.”

The Lady Lions will compete in the Penn State University Athletic Conference, challenging 10 other Penn State Commonwealth campuses. The women’s squad will also have the opportunity to face other opponents during the spring, as they will take a team trip to Myrtle Beach, S.C. for a week of softball competition.

“I feel blessed, fortunate and, of course, very honored to be coaching at this University,” Caserta added. “This is something I love doing, obviously, but being the head coach at Brandywine is even more special.” Caserta said his priority is “to be able to put a competitive team together.” To accomplish this, he will teach his players to  “play as a cohesive unit, make sure we continue to grow as a team and ensure that we are having fun.”

A land survey is currently underway, which will determine the best placement for the women’s future softball field. The team will host home games at an off-campus location until the new field is completed.

Recruiting for the new team is underway. Current and future students who are interested in playing softball for Brandywine can visit the Penn State Brandywine Athletics webpage and click on the “recruit me” tab. For additional information regarding the program, email Athletic Director Jim Gastner at JLG257@psu.edu.

-by Mike McDade 

Penn State Brandywine junior Rebecca Berkowitz, of Chester Springs, was one of 181 student leaders from across the country named a 2013 Newman Civic Fellow by Campus Compact, a coalition of college and university presidents committed to fulfilling the civic purposes of higher education. Berkowitz is a dedicated volunteer committed to lending a helping hand whenever she is able.

Berkowitz is known across campus for having her hand in just about every charitable endeavor she can find. From passing out cupcakes to children from the Walden School during their Fair Trade Art show, to supporting the University’s efforts to raise funds for sexual abuse prevention, she is constantly in search of volunteer opportunities.

“What can I do to give back with everything that is going on with Penn State?” Berkowitz found herself wondering. The answer: working with other students to bring the Blue Out movement to the Brandywine campus. She and other students from the group Penn State M.A.D.E (Making A Difference Everyday) coordinated bringing the University’s official Blue Out t-shirts to campus to be worn on Friday, Sept. 21, 2012, the day before the official Blue Out football game at Beaver Stadium. “Being a small campus, we were able to put a hand out just a little bit to help people who have been sexually abused,” she said of the day of awareness, which featured an information table, manned by Berkowitz and a representative from Delaware County Women Against Rape.

Berkowitz also helped with the campus’ Paper Plate Advocacy Project for Philabundance last fall. In honor of Constitution Day, students wrote messages about hunger on paper plates, which were submitted to Philabundance, the region’s largest food bank. For every plate submitted, the organization provided a meal to someone in need. The campus submitted nearly 300 plates.

She helped raise money for the MS Walk in Philadelphia, worked with Knittany Lion Needleworks to knit and donate scarves the Special Olympics and even distributed fair trade bananas to the community to help raise awareness about the fair trade movement.

A psychology major with a passion for helping children, Berkowitz hopes to pursue a law degree and eventually make a lasting difference in the lives of children in the juvenile system.

“I have a special interest in the legal system and being able to help people rebuild and reshape their lives,” she said. “Being able to give back is the greatest feeling and I definitely want to continue to do that. I would love to get involved with kids who are struggling … get involved with juvenile delinquents through criminal law.”

She added, “I like hands-on helping in the community. If I can be with a group of people, talking to them and listening to what their needs are, I’d like to be there to help.”

This goes for animals, too. “I would like to help with the SPCA or animal rescue,” she said. “Over Thanksgiving my sister and I donated [essentials] to the local Chester County, SPCA … crates, food, toys, old newspapers, paper towels. We wanted to donate to the local food banks, but they had everything they needed, so we found a list online of things needed at the SPCA and drove over to donate.”

As if all that volunteering isn’t enough to keep Berkowitz busy, she works part time as a clinical aid at a local treatment facility and conducted research about short-term study abroad programs alongside Assistant Professor of Psychology Dana Martin.

On being named a Newman Civic Fellow, Berkowitz said she’s honored to be among such an inspirational group of students.

“It felt great to be nominated,” she said. “It’s an honor to be recognized for doing work in the community. There are tons of students on this campus who are also involved and it was an honor to be one of them who was selected. I was shocked. I think this campus contributes a lot to the community, too, so it was definitely nice to be nominated.

Each year, the final total is revealed amidst tears of exhaustion, elation and absolute pride as Penn Staters across the commonwealth celebrate another year that will go down in history. After months of canning, fundraising and prepping for the most intense all-nighter most of these students will ever experience, THON broke yet another record.

$12,374,034.46.

That’s how much money Penn Staters raised to fight pediatric cancer.

$12,297.12 of that came directly from Penn State Brandywine.

Instructor Karrie Bowen, adviser to Brandywine THON had this to say about the campus’ efforts this year.

“I could not be more proud of our campus and our students than I am right now. The large majority of students who are involved in THON this year are freshmen and sophomores, and even though it was a pretty daunting task, they jumped into the game with no fear. I think what stands out most for our THON organization this year is that on one level, they knew that THON requires a huge commitment, but I don’t think a lot of them fully understood the magnitude of it all. However, as a group they not only rose to the occasion, they went above and beyond. The dedication to the mission of THON with all of our membership this year really has been amazing, and I can’t wait to see what they do come next year. Dancers Chris Kramer and Tara Landis were unbelievable from start to finish. They both chaired committees (Tara was our Fundraising Chair and Chris was our Morale Chair), they canned and did events without any reservations and, as dancers, they were phenomenal ambassadors for our campus. Those two really do embody what THON is all about.”

Every year, the Penn State Brandywine Women’s Commission honors outstanding female members of the campus during its annual luncheon. The event serves as an occasion for students, staff and faculty to gather in celebration of the achievements of women on Brandywine’s campus.  This year’s honorees are staff member Gail Wray and sophomore Jessica Maginnis.

As is tradition, the campus welcomed a successful professional woman to serve as keynote speaker at the luncheon. Emilie Ninan, managing partner in the Wilmington, Del. office of Ballard-Spahr, lead the afternoon with a presentation titled “Owning Your Career: Lessons in Navigation.” Ninan shared her story and experiences about making it to the top.

In the Female Student of the Year category, human development and family studies major and Holmes resident Jessica Maginnis was selected to receive the honor. Maginnis embodies the complete Brandywine student and her solid academic performance and leadership on campus has made her a strong member of the Brandywine community and role model for other students.

Gail Wray, who has been a dedicated staff member at Penn State Brandywine for many years, exemplifies the commitment, enthusiasm and service that Brandywine promotes on campus. Her numerous administrative roles support students, faculty and staff members routinely and she is evidence of the positive impact that a single person can create. 

Penn State Brandywine was proud to recognize Wray and Maginnis as model members of the campus and their contribution to Brandywine has created a better surrounding for students, staff and faculty.

-by Mike McDade

Penn State Brandywine honored students, faculty and staff for their achievements and excellence in academia at the annual Academic Recognition Ceremony on Tuesday, March 26.

Friends, family and the campus community gathered together to congratulate more than 200 honorees that were presented with the Academic Achievement Award, given to students who have achieved a GPA of 3.5 or higher.

Sophomore Cody Bressler received the President Sparks Award for earning a 4.00 (A) cumulative GPA based on 36 Penn State credits completed by the end of the fall semester.

The President’s Freshman Award, presented annually to freshmen who have earned a 4.00 cumulative GPA based on at least 12 graded credits completed by the end of the fall semester, was awarded to Crystal Bowman, Melissa Le, Matthew Drissel, Rebecca Slomowitz and Jesse Hurden.

The Randall S. Stout Award was established in memory of Randall S. Stout, professor of economics at Penn State for 36 years. This award honors a senior who has demonstrated superior academic performance and outstanding participation in the bachelor of science in business program at the campus. This year’s recipient was Amanda Dzwill.

The Evan Pugh Scholar Award, awarded to juniors and seniors who are in the upper 0.5 percent of their respective classes and have completed at least 48 graded Penn State credits by the end of the fall semester, was given to senior Eileen Fresta and junior Nicholas Vico.

The Newman Civic Fellows Award, a national award bestowed by the national organization Campus Compact, was given to Rebecca Berkowitz. She was among 181 student leaders from 36 states and Washington, D.C. to receive this recognition. This award honors inspiring college student leaders who have demonstrated an investment in finding solutions for challenges facing communities throughout the country. Newman Civic Fellows are recommended by college and university presidents.

Associate Professor of English and Honors Coordinator Kimberly Blockett was presented with the Madlyn Hanes Faculty Award, which recognizes a full-time faculty member who has made outstanding contributions to the campus community through exceptional achievement in teaching, research, scholarship, creative activity or service. Her award was presented by Associate Professor of Ethnomusicology and Integrative Arts Paul Greene, who referred to the energy of Blockett’s “special kind of leadership … a kind of energy to be all I can be.”

Kimberly Blockett

The Undergraduate Faculty and Student Research Awards were presented to Associate Professor of Physics and Astrophysics Timothy Lawlor, senior Eileen Fresta, and Abigail DuFoe, formerly a Penn State Brandywine student who is currently attending University Park. This award recognizes the excellence in faculty mentoring and student involvement in undergraduate research.
Professor of Human Development and Family Studies Djuradj Stakic and Associate Professor of Earth Sciences Laura Guertin were presented with the Faculty Research Program Award, honoring and recognizing scholarly or creative excellence in the arts, humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, engineering, business or communication.

Guertin was also the recipient of the George W. Franz Advising and Mentoring award. This award was created to honor and recognize faculty or staff at Penn State Brandywine who have, over a period of time, excelled in helping others recognize and achieve their potential.

Part-time Instructor in Business Alan Randzin was awarded The Part-Time Faculty Award, created to recognize a part-time faculty member who makes an exceptional contribution to the students and to the academic community through outstanding teaching, advising and service. Assistant Director of Academic Affairs Patricia Hillen said in her introduction, “Alan has a positive, can do attitude, and a cooperative spirit with everyone he encounters whether dealing with students, faculty or staff.”

Alan Randzin and Patricia Hillen

Professor of Mathematics Charles Helou was the recipient of the Distinguished Teaching Award. He said the award was “particularly meaningful and gratifying, as it is based on my students’ appreciation for the diligence, enthusiasm, method and substance of my teaching. It also reflects a culture of pursuit of excellence on campus, well represented by many outstanding and inspiring colleagues.”

Distinguished Professor of Political Science Stephen Cimbala, recipient of last year’s award, described Helou as “among the campus leaders in service to the campus, University and profession … a mentor for other faculty and a ‘man for all seasons’ at Penn State Brandywine.”

To order or view photos from the event, go to Third Eye Productions or call 215-635-1988. 

Penn State Brandywine Instructor Kathy Meehan has been honored with the prestigious George W. Atherton Award for Excellence in Teaching, an award that is annually presented to only six deserving faculty members across the University. Named for Penn State’s seventh president, it recognizes outstanding teachers for their devotion and effort toward undergraduate teaching.

Meehan, senior instructor in human development and family studies, has made countless contributions to the Brandywine campus through her instruction and service and is passionate about developing undergraduates into skillful human service professionals.

She becomes only the twelfth Brandywine faculty member to receive this award since 1978 and has been a dedicated faculty member since 1999. “It feels motivating to win the award. Receiving it just makes you want to do more,” Meehan said. “I can be a very good teacher, but I can only be a great teacher because of the support I get here. Great teaching is only possible because of the support of our whole campus. It’s really about having a team approach.”

On Monday, March 25, Meehan was invited to Penn State University Park for the George W. Atherton Award ceremony, where she was honored alongside five other faculty members and presented with this esteemed achievement.

Director of Academic Affairs Paul deGategno was thrilled to hear about Meehan’s achievement and also believes having a team approach is the key to success. “I’m honored that she’s a part of our faculty,” said deGategno. “She’s extremely hard working and I think it’s a mark not only on her accomplishments but the accomplishments of our faculty as a whole.”

Meehan also serves as the internship coordinator for the human development and family studies program, providing undergraduate students with the opportunity to gain professional experience that prepares them for future careers.

“I want students to graduate from Penn State Brandywine as competent entry-level professionals,” she said. “The only way you can do that is to have a solid foundation of theory paired with actual experience in the field.”

Meehan’s passion for teaching can be experienced in the classroom and has truly benefited students at Brandywine. “When I see the students’ success, that’s my paycheck,” she said. “When you’re teaching a really difficult thing and all of a sudden you see them understand it, it’s a deep joy. Teaching is a passion that we have here. The privilege of helping people achieve their fullest potential, that’s huge to me. It’s all about the students.”

Get outside and enjoy the fantastic spring weather (when it finally gets here) in shorts and no shoes during Penn State Brandywine’s entertaining Common Read event “An Hour Without Shoes.” Students, faculty and staff are welcome to join this enjoyable open-air occasion and go shoeless on Tuesday, April 16, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. in the Vairo Courtyard to bring awareness to the health and education of individuals who can’t afford shoes.

Every academic year Brandywine comes together to share a “Common Read,” an active discussion and year of entertaining activities about a campus shared text. The 2012-13 Brandywine Common Read is Start Something That Matters by TOMS shoes founder, Blake Mycoskie.

Assistant Professor of Human Development and Family Studies Marinda Harrell-Levy will lead this shoeless event with a lively conversation on ‘Justice vs. Charity’ and campus organizations that emphasize involvement in civic engagement will share their work and results.

Attendees can also embark on a “path without shoes,” a walk on a path of gravel and sand on the campus lawn to experience what it’s like for those who cannot afford shoes.

From 12 to 12:30 p.m., certified Hatha Yoga instructor Lisa Dombroski will guide participants through a free, relaxing session on the lawn. Due to the limited supply of yoga mats, participants are encouraged to bring their own. 

Pack a lunch and bring a friend to enjoy the warm weather on Brandywine’s picturesque campus while promoting social awareness.  In the event of inclement weather, this afternoon of activities will be held in the Tomezsko Building Lounge. To find additional information regarding this event or to make suggestions for next year’s Common Read book, visit Brandywine’s Common Read webpage.

- by Mike McDade

Judy Wicks, founder of iconic Philadelphia restaurant White Dog Café, will visit Penn State Brandywine on Tuesday, April 9, from 4 to 6 p.m. as part of the campus’ Spring Speaker Series. She will present “Good Morning, Beautiful Business: Building a Caring Economy” in the Tomezsko Classroom Building Lounge.

Wicks started the now 200-seat restaurant as a small muffin shop in University City in 1983. Later, White Dog Café grew into a multi-location eatery with a nationwide reputation for community involvement, environmental care and trustworthy business practices.

White Dog Café offers a unique farm-to-table experience founded on environmental sustainability. All of the dishes are served with locally obtained and organic foods. By using seafood from Barnegat Light, N.J., poultry from Lititz, and vegetables from Perkasie, for example, White Dog Café creates relationships with resident farmers and strengthens the local economy.

Event attendees will hear highlights of Wicks’ esteemed career and copies of her latest book will be available for sale. 

This event is free and open to the public and light refreshments will be served. Penn State Brandywine will also welcome Poet Ethel Rackin to campus for a poetry and literature reading on Tuesday, April 2, at 11:30 a.m. during Brandywine’s annual Litapalooza Literary Festival. To find additional information regarding these events, visit Brandywine’s Spring Speaker webpage.

Young and Fettrow-Alderfer will be joined by Brandywine alumna Stephanie Tracy, who ran cross country and played soccer on the campus’ men’s team, and current Brandywine athletes Emily Lawry Thompson (basketball) and Brandy Flowers (volleyball and basketball).

Young was the first female to hold the post of director of athletics at Delaware State University and has been involved in intercollegiate athletics for more than 30 years.  In her current role, she leads more than 230 student athletes, 20 coaching personnel and an operating budget of more than $4 million. Young also serves as the "All Sports Camp" supervisor, which is the athletic department's six-week summer youth camp program. Among a long list of both personal and professional successes, Young, a 100-meter hurdler, made the 1980 U.S. Olympic Team when she was in high school. She also broke the world indoor record for 55 meter hurdles and was named Sports Illustrated National High School Athlete-of-the Year. She served on the Executive Committee for USA Track and Field for eight years and was assigned to the USA Track and Field Women's Olympic team selection staff for two consecutive Olympic Games.

Fettrow-Alderfer earned a degree in journalism from Penn State and was the University's first William Randolph Hearst Foundation award winner. She spent 10 years as a broadcast journalist; she began her career as a morning show anchor in Elmira, N.Y. and worked at the ABC station for two years before moving to Binghamton, N.Y., where she was the weekend anchor and weekday general assignment reporter. She relocated to Charlotte, N.C., where she was a general assignment reporter and finally made her way back to Pennsylvania where she served as the sports anchor/reporter at the CBS station in Harrisburg covering Penn State football, high school sports and minor league baseball and hockey. Fettrow-Alderfer won an Emmy Award for sports reporting in 2006. She currently resides in Philadelphia with her husband and has left broadcasting. She has taught communications classes at Penn State Brandywine and is involved with Uplifting Athletes, a national nonprofit that raises money and awareness for rare diseases. Fettrow-Alderfer is a diehard college football fan and hopes to pass her sports knowledge on to her two-year-old daughter Lexi. 

This event is sponsored by the Brandywine Office of Student Affairs and the Commission for Women.

Penn State Brandywine Chancellor Sophia Wisniewska has accepted a position as regional chancellor at the University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, effective July 1, 2013.

Wisniewska, who was the first in her family to go to college and began her career as a secretary at Penn State after graduating from the University, went on to hold positions at five different Penn State campuses. She received a bachelor’s degree in Russian from Penn State and went on to earn a master’s degree and a doctoral degree in Russian from Bryn Mawr College. Prior to her position at Penn State Brandywine, she served as dean of Temple University’s Ambler College.

Since her arrival at the Brandywine campus in 2005, Wisniewska provided strong leadership and successfully launched many new initiatives. She was instrumental in driving a strategic planning process that was created out of the vision of both internal and external stakeholders. She expanded academic offerings to include seven new programs and established an academic partnership with one of the largest medical schools in the Philadelphia region, enhancing medical school opportunities for students in the post-baccalaureate medical sciences program.

Wisniewska initiated a curriculum review of four-year programs and oversaw a thorough financial analysis of all academic programs. Additionally, she expanded the campus’ commitment to civic engagement and service learning through the creation of an externally funded center for civic engagement and public scholarship. Her partnerships with local institutions such as the Chamber of Commerce, the Delaware County Workforce Investment Board, the Middletown Business Association and Rotary of America brought visibility and opportunities to the campus.

The University will name an interim chancellor to oversee the campus during the period of transition and begin the search process for a permanent chancellor later in the semester.

Poet Ethel Rackin will join Penn State Brandywine in a poetry and literature reading during its annual Litapalooza Literary Festival on Tuesday, April 2 at 11:30 a.m. in the Tomezsko Classroom Building lounge. During this highly anticipated, free public event, students and guests are encouraged to share their own creative works by reading, reciting, chanting, narrating, rapping or even singing for their peers

This event proves each year to not only be a lot of fun for all of those involved, but also an excellent opportunity for the community to come together in celebration of students’ creative talents.

Rackin’s debut collection of poems, The Forever Notes, appeared in Parlor Press’s Free Verse Editions series in fall 2012. Her work has appeared in notable literary journals such as Colorado Review, Court Green, The American Poetry Review, Poetry East, and Volt. She earned her master’s of fine arts from Bard College and her Ph.D. in English literature from Princeton University. A Philadelphia native who once taught creative writing at Penn State Brandywine, Rackin has also taught at Haverford College and Bucks County Community College, where she is currently an assistant professor.

Middletown Township is hosting its 19th Annual Community Day at Penn State Brandywine on Saturday, May 11, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. This fun-filled outdoor event brings together the community, local businesses and the Township government to celebrate the hometown pride of Middletown Township. 

The event is organized by Middletown Township Parks and Recreation in conjunction with the Middletown Township Business and Professional Association. The objective of Community Day is to provide a way for the community to come together and enjoy Middletown Township and all that it has to offer. It has been a successful event over the years, thanks to the continuous support of its residents.

The event will begin with opening ceremonies, which will highlight Riddle Hospital’s 50th Birthday – the theme of this year’s festival. The event will feature local entertainment for all ages, including games, pony rides and an appearance by “The Berenstain Bears,” as well as a vast array of musical talents, including a teen music festival comprised of student bands and performers hosted by the Penncrest Junior Optimist Club.

Local restaurants and vendors will provide food, games, prizes and more. Cradles to Crayons, a non-profit organization that provides homeless and less fortunate children with everyday essentials, will collect new and gently-used toys, clothing, shoes and other basic needs for children in the five-county area. Middletown Township credits its sponsors with making Community Day possible, especially The Shirley Booth Team and Franklin Mint Federal Credit Union. 

For more information, contact Middletown Township at 610-565-2700 or visit www.middletowncommunityday.com. Also, please “Like” the Facebook page by searching for “Middletown Twp. Community Day 2013.”

The Middletown Township Parks and Recreation building is located at 27 North Pennell Road in Lima. Penn State Brandywine is located at 25 Yearsley Mill Road and Route 352 in Media.

Sessions will include goal setting, strategies for maintaining participation in fair trade activities through the summer and into the upcoming fall semester, as well as addressing issues like student recruitment and sustainability. There will also be sessions on working with campus food vendors, going through the application process for schools interested in becoming designated Fair Trade Colleges or Universities and a keynote speaker. Lunch will be provided.

Brandywine Associate Professor of Earth Sciences Laura Guertin, founder of the campus’ Fair Trade Trailblazers, will serve as a guide during the workshop. She helped the group of students on campus in their successful pursuit to become the eighth fair trade university in the nation.

Sarah DeMartino, who led the Brandywine TrailBlazers during her sophomore year on campus and has since transitioned to University Park, where she is the student leader of the Fair Trade Penn State movement, will join Guertin.

National Coordinator of Fair Trade Campaigns Billy Linstead Goldsmith will also serve as a guide.

Those interested in attending the training can sign up on the Eventbright page. To learn more about Penn State Brandywine’s fair trade efforts, visit http://tinyurl.com/fairtradepsubw.

The mission of Fair Trade Colleges and Universities is to inspire institutions of higher learning to support the Fair Trade movement in its efforts to seek equity in trade and promote sustainable development. Fair Trade Colleges and Universities harness the power of higher education in the United States to both raise awareness among students, faculty, and staff about the benefits of Fair Trade, and leverage the significant institutional buying power to purchase Fair Trade products. Achieving Fair Trade status means securing institutional commitment to embed Fair Trade principles and practices within administrative/ procurement policy and the social and intellectual fabric of academic communities.

Penn State Brandywine’s fifth annual  “A Night with the Pride” Beef ‘n’ Beverage event on February 22, raised nearly $4,300 to support student athletics and Global Programs.

The event, which took place at the Ballrooms at Boothwyn, included dinner, a drawing for more than 40 baskets filled with goodies and gift certificates and entertainment for the more than 160 attendees. Three lucky attendees went home with Flyers tickets, Phillies tickets and a weekend at an Avalon beach house.

“We always have a wonderful time planning this event,” said committee members Gail Wray and Theresa Walls. “We could not have thrown such a successful event without the contributions from the campus community as well as local businesses that want to support Brandywine Athletics and Global Programs. It’s such a wonderful event that brings together the whole Brandywine family in an evening filled with fun, dancing and excitement.”

Proceeds benefit the Tiz Griffith Intercollegiate Athletic Fund and the campus’ Global Programs Scholarship Fund, directly assisting Brandywine’s international travelers.

Since 2008, Penn State Brandywine’s signature spring event, the Spring Soirée, has raised more than $250,000 for student scholarships. This year’s event will be held at the beautiful Phoenixville Foundry on Friday, April 12, from 7 to 11 p.m. Proceeds will enhance the student experience, providing critical dollars to support new academic programs, scholarships and student-focused campus enhancements.

The campus is extremely excited to partner with 6ABC and Action News Anchor Karen Rogers, who will take the helm as the emcee for the evening.
 
The Spring Soirée will feature dinner, live music, dancing and spectacular live and silent auctions, including a weeklong escape to a private villa in Jamaica, vacation homes “down the shore,” Penn State and Philadelphia sporting event tickets and women’s and men’s fashion items. Catering will be provided by Robert Ryan Catering and Bill Handy’s five-piece jazz band will set the mood.

CTDI (Communications Test Design, Inc.), of West Chester, has generously committed to support Penn State Brandywine students as a Platinum Sponsor for the third consecutive year.

To support the Spring Soirée through sponsorship and/or an advertisement in the event program booklet or to purchase tickets to the event, please contact Alex Pratt at aep5006@psu.edu or 610-892-1253. Please visit www.bw.psu.edu/springevent for event updates and information.

Positions up for nomination for 2013:*

• General Board Member
  (3 spots available, 2-year term)
• Fundraising Chair
  (1-year term, special election)
• Campus Relations Chair
  (1-year term, special election)

Contact secretary@psubw.org to submit your nomination by April 1, 2013.

* Nominees must be in good standing with the Penn State Alumni Association.

The Penn State Brandywine Office of Student Affairs will host the Pennsylvania College Personnel Association’s Keystone Seminar "The Risk, Reward and Benefit of Hosting a Conference" on March 15. This Keystone Seminar Series is a one-day, drive-in professional development opportunity for higher education professionals (staff, graduate students and faculty). Past seminars have included topics such as grant writing in higher education, aiding students in distress and assessment.

The seminar will take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Main Building, Room 113. The registration deadline is March 8 and the cost is $25 for members or students and $35 for nonmembers of PCPA.

Director of Student Affairs Matthew Shupp and Assistant Director of Student Affairs Ronika Money are current members of the PCPA Executive Board. “We are excited to share this opportunity with both our campus and higher education professionals in the area,” Money said.

For more information, contact David Zlockie at zlockie@setonhill.edu or 724-830-1039.

A winner will be chosen in each category during the campus’ “Communications in the Future Symposium,” on Wednesday April 24 at 6:30 p.m. Students who have submitted articles for the competition are welcome to bring their parents and advisers to this fun event, which will feature a panel of professionals currently working in print journalism, public relations and new media. This event is also open to the campus community.

Each of the three winners will receive a Nook Color Tablet®.

Submitted articles should be no longer than 600 words; must be submitted by the high school newspaper’s faculty adviser; should be either an original print, a copy of the original or a scanned pdf of the original published article and must indicate the category in which it falls (news, features or sports).

The submission deadline is Thursday, March 14. Please submit by mail to: Pride in Print High School Newspaper Contest, Penn State Brandywine, 25 Yearsley Mill Road, Media, PA 19063 or via email as a pdf to newscontest@bw.psu.edu.

For more information about this contest, please contact Gail Wray at 610-892-1472 or visit the Pride in Print webpage.

Research conducted by Penn State Brandywine Assistant Professor of Human Development and Family Studies Jennifer Zosh has discovered that toddlers learn new words more effectively by using their knowledge about the world to infer the label of an object, rather than by simply being instructed and told which word goes with which object.

“Optimal Contrast: Competition Between Two Referents Improves Word Learning” has been published in the latest special issue of Applied Developmental Science.

Zosh, along with colleagues Meredith Brinster, University of Texas at Austin, and Justin Halberda, Johns Hopkins University, ran two experiments that gauged preschoolers’ ability to learn new words, comparing their memory for words learned through inference and instruction.

During inference trials, the children were shown a familiar object and a new, novel object and were asked to point at the new object. These trials required the children to use their knowledge of the familiar object and its label to eliminate that object and infer that the new word referred to the new object. On instruction trials the children were told the name of the new object and no recognizable objects were shown. Zosh and her colleagues found that even though children looked at the new object longer during the instruction trials, they retained the newly learned word better during inference trials. 

Zosh believes that these discoveries could help enhance people’s ability to teach children a variety of new information.

“People tend to think that parents must directly instruct their children by telling them the labels of the objects that surround them, but this research tells us that children are even better word learners when we ask them to figure things out for themselves,” Zosh said. “This finding enhances our understanding of the ways in which toddlers learn new words and may have interesting implications for learning outside of the domain of language acquisition.”

Zosh also started the Brandywine Child Development Lab, in which games are used to aid in the exploration of how children learn about new objects, numbers and language. The lab also gives undergraduate students a chance to take part in research while attending the Brandywine campus.

“I want to give the students a firsthand experience to see if they would like to be in the research field for themselves,” Zosh said. “My model for undergraduate involvement is from the ground up. I like to help students find their passion for a topic, design and run a study to examine that topic and present their findings. Having a complete research experience gives them the opportunity to fully experience the process of science.”  

Zosh’s former student and Penn State Brandywine graduate Laura Twiss-Garrity was one of the students who became actively involved in the Brandywine Child Development Lab’s research. Twiss-Garrity completed the research-based option of the human development and family studies degree and worked closely with Zosh.

“She played a key role in coding some of the data,” Zosh said. “This helped us to determine that even though children look more at the target object when we directly instruct them, they actually show better retention when they look less but have to figure things out for themselves.”

Zosh is conducting follow-up research at the Rocky Run YMCA in Media, where she is working with children of different age groups and trying to understand how age affects word learning. “We are asking questions that no one on Earth knows the answers to,” Zosh said. “It’s exciting to think how we can take this knowledge and use it to help teach children.” 

-by Mike McDade

Penn State Brandywine will welcome Andrew Douglas, director of education at the Bryn Mawr Film Institute, to campus for an attention-grabbing discussion about a pioneer of the film industry, Alfred Hitchcock. Students, faculty, staff and the community are welcome to join Douglas as he presents “The Master of Suspense: Alfred Hitchcock” at 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 14, in Room 101 of the Main Building.

Douglas will share some of the most exhilarating Hitchcock masterpieces with the audience through clips from The Birds, Psycho, Vertigo and more. Attendees will learn about the film legend’s movie making knacks and trademarks that transformed the film industry and earned Hitchcock the moniker “The Master of Suspense.”

Hitchcock’s notorious twist endings and gripping movie plots are sure to come to the forefront during Douglas’s presentation. The audience can expect a stimulating illustration of the director’s famous camera shots and revolutionary editing techniques that have been intensifying the viewers’ panic and apprehension for more than 70 years.  

In addition to teaching for Northwestern and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Douglas has presented at the International Association of Media and the Society of Cinema and Media Studies conferences and has written for The Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, published by Harvard Business School. He has also spent time in New York City, where he worked as a film critic.

This thrilling event, which is free and will include light refreshments, is part of Penn State Brandywine’s Spring Speaker Series, which will also welcome White Dog Café Founder Judy Wicks to campus at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, April 9. To find additional information regarding these speakers, visit Brandywine’s Speaker Series webpage.

Penn State Brandywine Associate Professor of Philosophy and Environmental Studies David Macauley has been honored this academic year with a fellowship from the University of Pennsylvania.

As a 2012-2013 Andrew W. Mellon Fellow, Macauley is spending the year collaborating with approximately 25 fellow scholars from the region who come together each week to discuss their work before presenting on their areas of expertise during the Penn Humanities Forum, a series of events promoting an ongoing cultural conversation.

“It’s a great group of people from different scholarly disciplines giving your work an interrogation, which is really valuable,” Macauley said of the Tuesday workshops.

The theme of this year’s Forum is “Peripheries.” For Macauley, it’s a topic that easily relates to some of his recent work. His current book project, which is under contract with Indiana University Press, explores the philosophical, ecological, political and aesthetic aspects of walking as a means to better understand natural and built environments.

“My research will be conducted on both foot and in libraries, as well as with pedestrian artists and activists, in an effort to grasp the manner in which power is either distributed or disrupted in the interiors and hubs or disseminated along the de-centered edges and paths of the modern city,” Macauley writes on the Penn Humanities Forum website of his approach to the topic.

“It’s the most basic way we connect with our environment – through physical movement on foot,” he said. Macauley often takes his classes at Brandywine out on excursions to the Tyler Arboretum and on the trails behind the Vairo Library on campus. During these walks, Macauley encourages his philosophy students to explore nature through meditation and reflection.

“Walking is central to what makes us human,” he said. “There are very few, if any, other living beings who are bipedal and who stand completely upright. This frees up our hands to write and construct technology or to play music and make art.”

Macauley also explores the politics of walking and looks at events such as the walks for Alzheimers, AIDS and the March of Dimes.  As part of this work, he maintains a blog called “Foot Notes on Walking”: http://footnotesonwalking.blogspot.com/2009_02_01_archive.html online.

The Mellow Fellowship has provided Macauley an opportunity to help bring philosophy to the public, something about which he is extremely passionate. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Greater Philadelphia Philosophy Consortium, which organizes events and invites well-known speakers to the area. “Historically, a lot of philosophy has occurred in bars and cafes,” he said. Such events are open to the public and encourage the community to engage in philosophical discussions about everything from beauty to death.

Perhaps the most invaluable element to Macauley’s role as a Mellon Fellow is the community of scholars with which he is now intertwined.

“It’s a little bit like going to a conference,” he said of his interactions with the Mellon Fellows. “I get that critical interrogation. I focus my thoughts and make arguments. It’s important to have a community of scholars. You never know who you’re going to connect with.”


Macauley’s most recent book, “Elemental Philosophy: Earth, Air, Fire, and Water as Environmental Ideas” (2010), examines the philosophical ideas and environmental issues associated with classical conceptions of the four elements. He explores ways of comprehending and responding to ecological problems, while tracing changing views of earth, air, fire and water through the history of ideas. In doing so, he generates a new vocabulary for and fresh vision of the environment with reflections upon stone, wood, snow and ice, clouds, light and shadows, heat and cold, space and night. This book was recently used in a class at St. Joseph’s College in Long Island, N.Y, where the students have developed and maintain an ongoing blog about the work:
http://www.elemental-philosophy.org/.

Macauley is also currently putting together a special issue of an academic journal and editing a book, which is under contract with State University of New York Press, on the subject of the four seasons—spring, summer, fall and winter—in relation to aesthetics, the environment and philosophy. He’s happy to discuss any of these ideas or projects with others when he’s on campus and not out for a walk.

The Penn State Brandywine Marketing and Advertising Club has been honored by the Worldwide Book Drive organization with the Bronze Book Award for its contribution of 307 books to charitable organizations. The books collected by the club will be dispersed internationally to promote global literacy.  

The book drive, which was organized by the Brandywine Marketing and Advertising Club, took place throughout the month of December and collected more than 300 books that will be sent to Kenya, Fiji and Nigeria in an effort to battle worldwide illiteracy. The Worldwide Book Drive is one of the largest used book donors in the United States and provided a platform for the Marketing and Advertising Club to donate used books to charitable organizations that focus on education and learning.

Brandywine students and club executive board members senior Amanda Dzwill, of West Chester, senior Katie Kashner, of Garnet Valley, senior Amelia Klaus, of Delran, N.J. and sophomore Allison Brown, of Glen Mills, played major roles in running the drive and were elated they were able to help collect the used books for a great cause. “The Worldwide Book Drive was a perfect initiative for the Marketing and Advertising Club to be involved in because it offered us a way to get our name out to the campus while collecting books for a great cause,” Co-President Amanda Dzwill said. “I was really excited about the award because it felt like all of the club's hard work and preparation for this drive had been worthwhile.”

Not only did the drive provide more than 322 pounds of books for charity, it also raised funds for the club. Every book published within the last five years that was donated earned one dollar. Proceeds raised from the drive will help the campus club affiliates receive memberships to the American Marketing Association. 

The Brandywine club is already planning another book drive that will take place in April and they hope to receive a higher honor. “We are so excited to be running this drive again this semester and we are hoping that this time we can get the Gold. We shoot high,” said Dzwill.

For additional information about the upcoming book drive or to get involved in Brandywine’s Marketing and Advertising Club, contact Amanda Dzwill at AQD5093@psu.edu.

-by Mike McDade
 

Penn State Brandywine’s annual Spring Soiree will be held on Friday, April 12 at the Phoenixville Foundry in Phoenixville. This semi-formal event is from 7-11 p.m. and is open to the public. The Spring Soiree brings friends, alumni and the community together for an exciting night of celebration and entertainment. All proceeds benefit Penn State Brandywine students. Last year’s Soiree raised more than $40,000 for student scholarships.

The evening's emcee is 6ABC's Karen Rogers.

Admission is $100 per person and will include live music, gourmet food, drinks and dancing. Live and silent auctions include vacations at luxurious tropical homes, fine art, men’s and women’s jewelry and sports memorabilia. Tickets to Eagles, Phillies and Penn State football games will also be available.

To donate an item for auction, or for more information on sponsorships, advertising or tickets to the event, contact the Penn State Brandywine Development Office at 610-892-1249 or email Connie Stankowski at cas34@psu.edu.

-by Mike McDade

Distinguished Professor of the Ceramic Arts and 2012-13 Penn State Laureate Christopher Parks Staley will visit Penn State Brandywine on Thursday, Feb. 21, at 11:30 a.m. to present “Art & Life: Where They Intersect.” Students, faculty, staff and community members are welcome to join Staley in room 113 of the Main Building as he discusses how people relate to objects and each other in a world of remarkable change.

Staley’s ceramic pieces can be seen in many esteemed collections, such as the International Museum of Ceramic Art in Fuping, China; the Smithsonian National Museum of American Art in Washington, D.C. and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, England. His artwork has also been displayed in dozens of one-person exhibitions and selected group exhibitions around the United States.

Staley brings global experience and knowledge to the forefront in his presentation as he has held lectures and workshops across the country as well as around the world in Italy, Canada, Brazil and Israel.

The Penn State Laureate is a symbolic position given to a full-time faculty member in the fine arts or humanities. Throughout the academic year, the faculty member appears at University and state events in order to bring a higher level of social, cultural, artistic, and human outlook and understanding to various audiences. The Laureate serves as a representative of the University who brings prominence to his or her own work while also bringing great credit to Penn State. Staley becomes the fifth Penn State faculty member awarded with the respected title.

This event is free and light refreshments will be served. For more information about Staley’s presentation, visit Brandywine’s Speaker Series 2013 webpage. 

-by Mike McDade

This semester Penn State Brandywine launched a new program that will recognize student achievements online and allow them to share these successes with the virtual world. Readabout.me acts as an online student profile showcasing outstanding awards and honors bestowed upon the students during their careers at the campus. 

Students will receive badges that highlight academic, co-curricular and athletic accomplishments, such as winning an award, making the Dean’s List, studying abroad, reaching an athletics milestone or earning a degree. A student will be assigned a profile when his or her first badge is awarded. Any subsequent badges will be added to that profile. These profiles can be customized by each student to feature a photo, related work experience, clubs and organizations and more.

Take a look at the campus’ profile page and click on the profiles of students who have already received badges for examples.

The profiles are laid out to appear as online résumés or professional summaries showcasing each student’s skills and experience, as well as official certifications or “achievements” awarded by the campus.

The idea behind these profiles is to allow students to create a positive online personality, which can be shared with potential employers.

Each student who receives an achievement badge will be notified via email and provided with a link to his or her professional profile. Parents are also able to receive notifications if their email addresses are provided. Students and parents are encouraged to share these accomplishments and profiles on social networks and to keep the information up-to-date.

For more information on how to create a profile once a badge has been awarded, please visit http://readabout.me/ online. Additional questions can be directed to Risa Page at RLP29@psu.edu.

Former Chester High School standout Learon Pray became the second Penn State Brandywine student to reach the 1,000-point mark this season on Tuesday, Jan. 22, in a home game against Valley Forge Christian College.

Pray needed only one point going into Tuesday night’s contest to accomplish the scoring breakthrough that only four other men’s Brandywine basketball players have achieved. His 1,000th point came three minutes into the game when he stepped up to the foul line and made a free throw.

“In my head I knew I would get it on the foul line,” said Pray. “I am very proud and happy that I did something I can look back on in the future when I’m done my basketball career.”

Pray is currently earning his bachelor’s degree in business from Brandywine and plans to graduate in May 2014. Upon receiving his degree he hopes to begin a career in the financial field.

Head Coach Stuart Ross is also proud of Pray’s achievement. “Learon has been with the Brandywine program through its peaks and valleys and I am happy to see him achieve something that he can carry with him for the rest of his life,” said Ross, who has led the team to a 14-7 overall record with a 11-2 conference record and has high hopes for the men’s squad this season, “We want to win as a team and remain humble and hungry to our goal of a championship.” 

The team will play their final home games of the regular season before heading into the playoffs on Saturday, Feb. 2, at 3 p.m. and Tuesday, Feb. 5, at 7 p.m. when they host Penn State Hazelton and Penn State Lehigh Valley, respectively.  

"Penn State University Brandywine The Vagina Monologues” will be held on campus Friday, March 22, at 6:30 p.m., and Saturday, March 23, at 2 p.m. in the Main Building Auditorium, room 101.

Both performances are open to the public. Student admission is $5 and general admission is $8. Proceeds will benefit Family Support Line, a local non-profit organization that aids children and their families in addressing the distress caused by child sexual abuse. Family Support Line has been utilizing in-depth prevention programs and dedicated treatments to provide support to victims of child sexual abuse for 25 years, according to its website.

Faculty, staff, students and Penn State alumni will serve as actors and volunteers for the performance, which aims to educate the campus and local community about sexual violence against women and girls while raising funds for the cause. Brandywine is one of 5,800 organizations worldwide to host a performance.

In conjunction with the performance of The Vagina Monologues on March 22 and March 23, we will also host two additional events to educate the community about abuse prevention:

• Thursday, March 14, Kelly Ace, director of client services at Family Support Line, will speak on campus about the agency, its services, and sexual violence at 11:30 a.m. in the Main Building, room 101.
• Wednesday, March 20, “Talk About It,” a student panel discussion on dating violence, 12:30 p.m., Tomezsko Classroom Building, room 103.

For additional information, contact Brandywine’s Clinical Counselor Ahyana King at AJK23@psu.edu or visit the Commons Building, room 211.

Order tickets here!

The Beef ‘n’ Beverage is open to the public and will feature entertainment, dinner and a drawing for more than 40 baskets filled with prizes and gift certificates. Guests could win Flyers tickets, Phillies club box tickets and even a shore rental in Avalon, N.J. Last year’s event raised more than $7,000 and proceeds benefit the Tiz Griffith Intercollegiate Athletic Fund. A portion of the proceeds will also benefit the campus Global Programs Scholarship Fund, directly assisting Brandywine’s international travelers.

Admission is $25 and will include dinner, beverages and entertainment for the evening.

To donate an item for the drawing, please mail it to Theresa Walls at Penn State Brandywine, 25 Yearsley Mill Road, Media PA, 19063 by February 8. Theresa can be reached at 610-892-1362.

To purchase tickets, donate to the scholarship fund or for additional information, contact Melissa Algeo, sports information coordinator, at MHL13@psu.edu or 610-892-1470.

Marple Newtown High School basketball prodigy Bobbi Caprice reached a career landmark on Friday, Jan. 11 when she scored her 1,000th point for Penn State Brandywine.

The four-year starting guard was five points away from reaching the milestone before Friday night’s game but reached her goal a mere 10 minutes into the first half to help Brandywine in a 65-48 home win over Penn State Schuylkill.

“It was a bit nerve wracking going into the game because all my family and friends were there, but I felt confident having five points to go,” said Caprice. “Once I hit my first shot it was a relief to know I only needed one more basket.” She becomes only the fifth women’s basketball player to reach this goal in campus history.

Larry Johnson, coach of the Brandywine women’s basketball team, has lead the Lady Lions to a 10-6 overall record and a 7-0 conference record this season. “It takes a lot of hard work to get yourself in a position to be able to be a 1,000 point scorer,” Johnson said. “Bobbi is what Penn State Brandywine basketball is all about -- hard work in the classroom and on the court.”

Caprice, a senior, will graduate in May with a bachelor’s degree in human development and family studies. Upon graduating she plans to pursue a master’s degree and hopes to become a high school guidance counselor. 

-by Mike McDade 

Swarthmore Co-Op was created in 1937, making it the third oldest food co-op in the country offering locally obtained, fresh, fair trade and organic foods to its customers. The Co-Op acts as more than simply a food market, hosting an assortment of events such as speeches, movie showings, tastings and courses every month while educating the community on local economy and the environmental impacts of food.

Brandywine Associate Professor of Earth Sciences Laura Guertin prepared the seminar series in hopes that it will raise awareness regarding the hunger and health challenges faced by local communities. “Educating students and getting them thinking about these challenges will hopefully lead to future action to improve food and health problems,” Guertin said.

Funding for the food seminar series comes from Penn State Brandywine’s Laboratory for Civic Engagement, which promotes the incorporation of civic engagement into the academic curriculum and co-curricular activities of students.

Noah Langnas, of Philabundance, and Karen Shore, head of the consulting division of The Food Trust, will speak on February 6 and 25, respectively, to complete this three-part seminar series. This free event is open to the public, as well as the campus community.

For more information on this and other events this spring, go to our Speaker Series 2013 webpage.

Philadelphia painter and muralist Ann Northrup will speak at Penn State Brandywine on Tuesday, Jan. 29 at 7 p.m. as part of the campus' Spring Speaker Series. Her presentation is titled "Do Not Pass Go; Go Directly to Art."

Northrup holds a master’s in fine arts from Boston University and a national exhibition record. In addition to landscape and figure paintings in watercolor and oils, she has completed eight large-scale outdoor community murals. Northrup has taught at many colleges and universities in Boston and Philadelphia, most recently at Philadelphia University. In 2008, she taught drawing and mural painting inside the women’s prison in northeast Philadelphia, and since then has taught and mentored ex-offenders, who have worked as her assistants on mural projects. In addition to her work as an artist, mural designer and teacher, Northrup is a national champion in a single scull.

"A Taste of Summer" by Ann Northrup (mural at 1312 Spruce St., Philadelphia)

Northrup’s visit, which will take place in the newly renovated professional classroom on the first floor of the Main Building (room 113), is part of a four-part Spring Speaker Series at the campus. The series is funded by a generous donation from a friend of the campus.

This event is free and open to the public and refreshments will be provided. Due to limited space, an RSVP is appreciated, but walk-ins are welcome. To RSVP, please contact Debbie Blanton at 610-892-1252 or DYB5@psu.edu.

As part of the speaker series, Brandywine will welcome Penn State Laureate Christopher Staley on Thursday, February 21 at 11:30 a.m.; Bryn Mawr Film Institute Director of Education Andrew Douglas, who will present “The Master of Suspense: Alfred Hitchcock,” on Thursday, March 14 at 7 p.m. and White Dog Café Founder Judy Wicks on Tuesday, April 9 at 7 p.m. More information about these upcoming speakers can be found at http://www.bw.psu.edu/springspeakers.

Guerin has trained, taught and conducted research around the world, including Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Italy and Brazil. Currently, he teaches social behavior, social science interventions, language and discourse. Along with Guerin’s extensive experience across diverse populations, he has also published four books, including “Handbook for Analyzing the Social Strategies of Everyday Life” and “Handbook of Interventions for Changing People and Communities.” He studied at the Universities of Adelaide and Queensland and has taught at James Cook University of Australia and the University of Waikato in New Zealand.

Guerin was invited to campus by Brandywine Associate Professor of Psychology Pauline Guerin, who has been a colleague of his in both New Zealand and Australia. The two have worked together and published extensively on research dealing with Indigenous Australian communities and social health and mental wellbeing, particularly while living in isolated communities. Pauline Guerin hopes that her Senior Seminar in Psychology students will gain valuable knowledge that is drawn from real world involvement across diverse issues.

Bernard Guerin brings a unique outlook to research that takes students beyond traditional teachings and is integrated across the social sciences, Pauline Guerin stated. The majority of his research focuses on working together with communities on issues of mental wellbeing, discrimination, mobility, sustainability of societies and attachment to country. Guerin has worked with Indigenous Australian, Maori, Somali refugee, and traveling communities. His objective is to incorporate community and social psychology with additional social sciences that can be used for intervention and examination.

Both of these sessions are open for all faculty, students and staff at the campus and light refreshments will be served.

-by Mike McDade

“Make sure your career supports your goals, not the other way around." This important advice was bestowed upon Penn State Brandywine’s graduating class at its December 21, 2012 Commencement Ceremony by fellow Penn Stater and keynote speaker Mike Arata.

Arata, an Upper Darby native, reminisced on his Penn State days, while assuring the graduates that graduation was just the beginning. “The scoreboard is reset for all of you today,” he said. “Your degree will always be one of your greatest achievements, but it is part of a bigger picture.”

The United Airlines exec encouraged the graduates not to define their successes in life by the amount of their paychecks, but to instead search for happiness. “Be happy,” Arata said simply. “If I look at everything around me and can’t be happy, then shame on me.” He later added, “I encourage you to find the small victories throughout your life.”

Arata attended the campus for two years before earning his degree in aerospace engineering at University Park in 1991. He began working at United Airlines after graduation and has spent his career moving up the ranks. In his present role, Arata oversees the airworthiness and configuration of the fleet of more than 700 Boeing and Airbus aircraft for the world’s largest airline. His team defines the technical requirements and modifications that ensure the aircraft and engines are maintained to the highest levels of safety and reliability.

A few of the more than 80 newly minted Penn State alums had some words of their own to share with their loved ones at the ceremony as part of a long-standing Brandywine tradition allowing graduates to share their love and thanks at the microphone as they cross the stage to receive their diplomas.

“I want to thank my family for believing in me,” said Wilmington, Del. native Jessica Romero, who received a bachelor of arts degree in communications. “This has been the best four years of my life.”

Dollie Small, a resident of Philadelphia, accepted her diploma (she earned a bachelor of science degree in human development and family studies) and then congratulated her mother, who earned a college degree that same day. “I want to thank my mother, who graduated today, too, but decided to be here with me instead,” she said.

Even faculty and staff at the campus received a few words of thanks from the graduates. Oxford resident Alex Della Ragione, who received a bachelor of science degree in information sciences and technology, said “I want to thank my faculty for providing me with an excellent academic experience.”

To view and order Commencement photos, go to Third Eye Productions or call 215-635-1988.

Scott Danby has already become a successful entrepreneur, heading up three companies in the 10 short years since his graduation from Penn State Brandywine in 2002 with a degree in business administration. He gives much credit to the business program, while admitting to a little help from luck, trust and good timing.

Danby comes from a family of Penn Staters and knew he wanted to be a Nittany Lion from an early age. “I’m one of quite a few Penn Staters in my family,” he said. “My dad and mom are both Penn Staters … When you grow up in a Penn State household where there’s everything Penn State and Penn State football’s on the TV each Saturday afternoon, you start to bleed blue and white.”

Danby earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from the campus while working at the family lumberyard – Danby Lumber Company in Kennett Square – that his father and grandfather owned and operated for more than 30 years. “To stay local was the best use of my time,” he said. “A lot of the core business classes that [Penn State Brandywine] offered were geared toward returning students, working students and adult students and were offered in late afternoon or early evening. By choosing that program and staying local, it helped me get into business quicker. Major kudos for the program. That’s something I benefit from even today.”

It was there at the family lumber company that Danby thought he would live out his career. But the road of life has its many detours, and he found himself starting a business of his own after being inspired by a guest lecturer that spoke to one of his capstone business classes at Brandywine.

In 2005, Danby started IronLinx Distribution, an order fulfillment company for small to mid-size companies that ship their products by parcel. The company is the “infrastructure behind the sellers,” as he described it. IronLinx provides a behind-the-scenes service of warehousing inventory, order fulfillment and shipping for small businesses, start-ups and e-commerce companies.

“Online there are thousands of new websites that pop-up each day – small companies, mom and pop operations – that sell products but may not have the expertise or the willingness to ship their own goods,” Danby said. “They’re marketers. They’re sales people. They sell. They don’t want to deal with the nuts and bolts of getting the product to where it’s got to go.” Enter IronLinx, which expertly handles all the fulfillment and shipping logistics for its customers but remains transparent to the end user. “We are just part of the backbone of the supply chain.”

While handling the fulfillment and distribution angle, Danby recognized a need in the packaging and transportation side of the business. He began some vertical integration and spun off two new divisions: IronLinx Packaging in 2010 and IronLinx Transportation in 2011. With the assistance of his brother Steve Danby, a 2004 graduate of Penn State Brandywine, the packaging division manufactures and distributes boxes for dry goods as well as agricultural and produce companies. Realizing the advantage of his company’s location in Kennett Square – the mushroom capital of the world – Danby caters to the local mushroom farmers. IronLinx Packaging makes between 24,000 and 30,000 mushroom boxes per day and delivers them to farms and businesses all within 10 miles of the Kennett Square plant. IronLinx Transportation, with its own fleet of trucks and drivers, delivers goods along the East coast from Maine to Florida. Danby employs nearly 20 people and the companies are open seven days a week; closing only on Christmas Day.

“Penn State provided me with a lot of the skill sets that are a must-have to be successful in business, but luck, trust and timing become a big part of it, too,” Danby said. “Merge that with a philosophy of constant self-improvement and creative ‘outside of the box’ thinking, and good things can happen. These are unfortunate times for so many, and business is tough. But it’s also a great time to start a new venture. It’s a time to be opportunistic, look for market niches,
 and define new strategies in a market that is in a constant state of change. When the economy eventually turns, business owners who have an unwavering work ethic and have implemented a solid plan will most likely be rewarded with profitable growth.”

For more information about Scott Danby and IronLinx visit http://www.ironlinx.com/about-us.html online.