The Commonwealth Commuter Experience

Penguins game- A PSU trip!

Hi! My name is Ashlee Palm and I am a sophomore bioengineering major. This past year I lived at home and commuted to Penn State’s Beaver campus (it’s about 40 minutes from Pittsburgh).

Last year, I remember driving myself to WEPO wondering if I would even fit in with all the other girls going since I would just be going home again in three days to live at home and commute to Penn State Beaver campus which is about ten minutes from me. The three hour drive gave me a lot of time to think and worry. Turns out, four girls from my team were also commuting from home to Penn State Beaver so I had nothing to worry about.

I’m talking to all my commonwealth women out there! The commonwealth experience is one that I have grown to love and will miss when I transfer up to University Park in January. Here’s a few tips to help you get the most out of your freshman year, even on the small campuses:

1. Reach out to people: As a commuter, I didn’t get the automatic friends that come with living in a dorm, so the first day of classes was a little scary. I knew I had my WEPO friends, but I wanted to meet a lot of people. The library is the go to place on our small campus, so I met almost all of my friends there or in classes we had together. Don’t be afraid to just sit at a table with someone you recognize from class and start studying together. That’s how I met my best friend (who also commutes)!
2. Visit University Park: One of the best decisions I made during my fall semester was to buy tickets to the All-U game for Penn State football. All the campuses sell tickets and shuttle students to one football game a season. The one I went to was against Iowa and it was one of JoePa’s last games. It was an amazing experience and led me to buy season tickets this year! Grab your friends and make the trek to see a football game! You will love it!
3. Take Trips!: The Beaver campus always had some events going that were fun trips to places like New York City and Chicago for only $20! If you have no exams coming up, take advantage of these trips and have a weekend away (bring some study materials so you don’t get behind though!). I went to Wicked and Beauty and the Beast in Pittsburgh as well as a Penguins game! I love hockey and going to that game with my girlfriends was an awesome way to spend a Tuesday night!



Beauty and the Beast- A PSU trip!

4. Lastly, Get Involved!: THON has a showing on every Penn State campus in the commonwealth and it is one of Penn State’s claims to fame. Joining clubs and organizations is just as easy on commonwealth campuses! Grab some friends and head down to the activities fair at the beginning of the semester and get involved. It’ll even help you make non-engineering friends to keep you sane when exams and homework are driving you crazy.

You already made two awesome choices with Penn State and WEPO so I’m sure you will have a great time when I see you in August! Enjoy the rest of you summer! WE ARE!

Ashlee Palm is a sophomore in Chemical Engineering. Ashlee started at the Beaver Campus. She is a rover for WEPO 2012.