College can be intimidating for first-year students who are still learning how to balance their priorities and responsibilities, while still enjoying their newfound freedom. Jon Vroman, founder of the Front Row Foundation, motivational speaker, and author of this year’s common reading for Penn State Berks, "Living College Life in the Front Row," will present a lecture that divulges his secrets for student success at 12:15 and 7:30 p.m. Oct. 12 in the Perkins Student Center Auditorium
What does the study of honey bees have to do with pollen variations and seasonal allergies? Science major Cassandra Darnell hopes to find out through an ongoing independent study she is conducting on the honey bees that she brought to Penn State Berks.
Dean A. Strang, best know as one of Steven Avery's defense attorneys in the Netflix documentary "Making a Murderer," discusses the inadequacies of the American justice system at 12:30 and 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 19, in the Perkins Student Center Auditorium at Penn State Berks. Due to the popularity of the "Making a Murderer" documentary, tickets are required for both presentations.
Penn State Berks benefiting THON, a student organization that helps to raise funds for the fight against pediatric cancer, is hosting their annual Cuts for Kids event from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 12 in the Perkins Student Center Multipurpose Room.
Walking onto a college campus after leaving the military can be a daunting experience for student veterans. That’s why The Home Depot Foundation and Student Veterans of America (SVA) are awarding the SVA chapter at Penn State Berks $10,000 for its veteran center on campus, as part of their Vet Center Initiative.
Students living in Sproul Hall at University Park campus and Oak Hall at Penn State Altoona no longer wait to hear the spin cycle complete or dryer buzz. WashAlert sends email or text notifications to students when their load of laundry has finished washing or drying. The online tool reduces the number of times spent visiting the laundry facility to check for available machines or to see if a load is complete.
Penn State Provost Nicholas Jones has approved a 50 percent increase in the amount of scholarship dollars for rising juniors from the Commonwealth Campuses who are part of the 2016 Student Transitional Experiences Program (STEP). These students will now receive a $1,500 STEP Scholarship Award, up from the $1,000 awarded in previous years.
The Penn State Berks Department of Theatre will present "The Complete History of America (abridged)" by Adam Long, Reed Martin and Austin Tichenor, at 8 p.m. Oct. 5 to 8, in the Perkins Student Center Multipurpose Room. Admission is free, and donations to the Theatre Department will be accepted. Seating will be limited.
Penn State researcher Priya Sharma is researching how blogging in the classroom can help students better understand and make meaning from their classes.
Penn State Berks will offer CREATEiT Learning By Making, a weekly professional development course for educators, from 5-8 p.m. every Wednesday, Sept. 28 to Nov. 30, in the Gaige Technology and Business Innovation Building. In this course, educators will learn how to use Maker tools to stimulate design thinking in students and how to develop a design culture in which exploration and problem-solving are seen as valuable aspects of the classroom community. There is a $225 registration fee, which includes instruction and materials.
