Penn State Berks students enrolled in the honors course Communicating Health in South Africa will travel with their professor, Dr. Holly Ryan, to Johannesburg from March 7-16, 2014, as part of the course curriculum to study issues of health and health communication.
Melissa Kenzari, Communications Manager from Mars-Dove Chocolate Discoveries, will visit the Penn State Berks Business Communication course on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2014, at 12:00 p.m., for an interactive lecture on social media, using a backchannel on Twitter and Facebook.
The 2014 Penn State Berks Engineering Design Challenge will be held on Tuesday, March 11, 2014, in the Gaige Technology and Business Innovation Building. The competition is open to both high school and middle school teams. Check in for the competition will begin at 8:15 a.m., followed by a keynote presentation at 8:45 am. The actual competition will start at 9:30 a.m. and will conclude at 1:30 p.m. Lunch will be provided. There is a fee of $100 to enter a team of students in the Design Challenge to cover the cost of lunch and materials.
Christopher Aredo, formerly a street-dwelling youth in Kenya, is currently an intern at Penn State Berks from Kenya Methodist University. He will discuss the Electronic Waste Jewelry Project brought to the Children and Youth Empowerment Centre in Kenya as a means of teaching the youth a trade, on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2014, at 1 p.m. in room 121 of the Gaige Technology and Business Innovation Building. This event is free and open to the public, and light refreshments will be served.
Penn State Berks raised a record $70,089.44 for THON, surpassing last year's total of $50,198.98 through a variety of fundraising events and activities throughout the academic year, and culminating in the 46-hour dance marathon to benefit the Four Diamonds Fund, supporting families battling pediatric cancer, held Friday, Feb. 21 to Sunday, Feb. 23 at the Bryce Jordan Center.
Penn State Berks students participating in THON announced that the college raised a record $66,223.33 to date during a send-off celebration on Thursday, Feb. 20. That total is expected to grow as online donations continue to come in during THON weekend.
The Berks County Chapter of the Penn State Alumni Association (PSAA) will hold a blood drive on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2014, from 3-7 p.m. in the Beaver Community Center parking lot. The blood drive serves to help replenish the blood supply for more than 20 hospitals in Pennsylvania.
Penn State Berks will host its annual Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Conference, titled "Today and Tomorrow 2014" on Tuesday, March 11, 2014. Approximately 100 eleventh-grade students are expected to attend the conference, which will feature instructors and students from Penn State Berks and the community who will provide workshops with the goal of encouraging the high school students to continue their studies in science, math, engineering, and technology.
Three Aksha Dance Company will bring Indian culture to Penn State Berks on Wednesday, March 5, 2014, at 8 p.m. in the Perkins Student Center Auditorium. This event is free and open to the public.
The Berks County Chapter of the Penn State Alumni Association (PSAA) will present a check for $9,000 to the Berks THON organization at their dancer send-off on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2014, from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. in the Multipurpose Room of the Perkins Student Center.