WE ARE...PENN STATE

Imagine 110,000 people in Beaver Stadium chanting WE ARE…PENN STATE back and forth under the lights the night of a football game! That is Penn State Spirit! And that is what I am going to show you all about!

Penn State can offer you so much more than an exceptional engineering education. If you get involved on campus in organizations like THON, SWE, or Greek Life, you will really start to see the opportunities that await you outside the classroom!

Many people talk about Penn State Pride. I felt Penn State pride the first time I was on campus. PSU pride is the respect and sense of unity that PSU students have. At a campus of 40,000+ undergrads from all different backgrounds, there’s a variety of different perspectives, but we all have one thing in common. We are all attending Penn State to further our education and enrich our lives. That common goal is the starting point of so many relationships. For example, you can walk anywhere on campus and see a lion scout or lion ambassador giving a tour of campus and shout “WE ARE” and they will shout “PENN STATE!” right back! Can you do that on any other campus?

The one of the best example of Penn State is spirit is at a football game. Even if you don’t like football, it is an awesome way to meet people and feel like you belong to something bigger. Your physics teachers might have used t “The Wave” at a sporting event as an example for how sound or light travels. Penn State takes “The Wave” to a whole new level with a fast wave and slow wave! Check them out!! And don’t worry you’ll learn all about it at “Be a Part from the Start!” which is the freshmen orientation to teach you all the cheers and songs! Don’t miss it!

  

If you don’t like football there’s tons of other things to get involved in. THON is the largest student run Philanthropy in the world. Last year THON raised over 9.5 million dollars to support the Four Diamonds fund. The Four Diamond’s Fund provides money to further cancer research and supports the families of children with cancer. Click the links and see what it’s all about!

As you can see PSU has a lot to offer and WEPO is going to help you meet people to take advantage of all these incredible opportunities, because let’s be honest it’s not fun to go to things alone! I am planning fun activities like Broomball (a PSU classic) and Team Night (a night of team building games) to show you that as engineers we work hard, but we can have fun too! These activities will give you a chance to relax and have some fun!

I am very excited to meet all of you!!

Special note: Don’t forget sneakers and jeans for Broomball, you will be walking on an ice rink and I don’t want anyone getting hurt!!!



Sharon Waxmonsky is a senior majoring in Bioengineering. She has completed internship and co-op rotations with Johnson & Johnson.  Sharon has served as a Rover, Mentor and now Spirit Lead for the WEPO program. In addition, she is currently President of Phi Sigma Rho, an engineering sorority. Feel free to contact her at sharon.waxmonsky@psu.edu.

Wellness Strategies from Andi Amato

To keep healthy at school I try to always make time for myself, time to do something I actually want to do…aka I don’t study every second of everyday!  If all I ever did was study and keep to myself, I would go insane! This is especially important when I am stressed or feeling overwhelmed. I usually run to relieve stress either outside or at one of the gyms on campus. During stressful weeks I’ve also found it important to eat healthy to keep my energy up… then after an exam I always treat myself to something sinful! (Insomniac Cookies, Creamery Ice Cream, and Grilled Stickies are some of my favorites!)

In general to keep healthy, I find it best to just build working out into my weekly schedule. I also like to pick at least one class a week to take with one of my friends at the White Building. This way it’s both social, and it’s like an obligation since I can’t just skip out on a friend!

My roommate and I freshman year would also turn purple Christmas lights on when we had to stay up later to do a lot of work, it made the atmosphere just a happier place to study. We would also spontaneously redecorate our dorm room door to break up from the monotony of studying!   

Andi Amato is a senior majoring in Industrial Engineering. She has completed internship rotations with Exxon and Intel and will be graduating in May 2012. Andi is serving as your Wellness Strategies Lead for WEPO 2011 and the Engineering Undergraduate Council President this school year. Contact her at andrea.m.amato@gmail.com.

Greetings from Minden, Nevada: Terri Creech

Hi! I’m Terri Creech, WEPO 2011 Professional Development Session Lead. I am looking forward to meeting you all! A little bit about me: I am a senior in Industrial Engineering and I’ve been interning with General Electric Energy in Minden, Nevada since January 2011. I’ve had the opportunity to travel frequently with my job and I’ve really enjoyed the West. I was able to ski 24 days in the Sierra Nevada Mountains this winter! It was due to the Women in Engineering Program at Penn State that I was even able to have this opportunity in the first place.

At my session, you will learn about various resources available to you at Penn State, become acquainted with the crucial Penn State online tools like Webmail and ANGEL, and build your first resume before you even step into your first class! In order to get the most out of the session, prepare the following things prior to coming to WEPO:

- Make sure you know your 9-digit ID, your email address, and your password. You should have set this up at FTCAP. If you have not done FTCAP prior to WEPO, you will have an opportunity to do it during the orientation.

- A list of activities, leadership positions, volunteer roles, awards, and jobs that you had during your last two years of high school and the summer before.

- Any questions you might have regarding professional development and Penn State resources.

WEPO is a great experience and sets you up with strong connections inside and outside the college. WEPO will only enhance your experience at Penn State and is certainly worth your last three days of summer.

Please contact me with any questions you might have: Cpd.lead.wepo@gmail.com

Encouraging, Empowering, and Inspiring Women in Engineering.

Welcome to the WEPO 2011 Blog!

We are so glad you are checking out are very new blog, all about preparing for your freshman year and beyond as a female within the College of Engineering. We hope to show you all that Penn State and engineering has to offer and welcome you into the Women in Engineering Program (WEP).

The Women in Engineering Program Orientation, or WEPO is a 3 day program designed to get you acclimated with the college and meeting lots of friends even before your first day of class. As a participant, you will be assigned to a small mentor group led by an upper-level woman engineering student who will help you with all of your questions throughout the year. In addition, you will participate in a variety of sessions designed to get your ready for your first semester! These sessions include a design project, a workshop of wellness strategies, a seminar about professional development and an exciting spirit event.

I first got involved with the WEP program during WEPO my freshman year and have been hooked ever since. The experiences I had and the people I met truly shaped my freshman year and allowed me to transition to the collegiate lifestyle with ease. You would be amazed how many faces I recognized on the first day of class just because we all participated in the orientation program. I encourage you all to register now (spots will fill up quick!) to make sure that you don’t miss out on all the fun.

Throughout the summer, the WEPO leadership team will be posting updates about what to expect your freshman year, how to get ready and what has shaped their Penn State experience. Please feel free to comment on the blog if you have any questions at all; we are here for you! Don’t forget to subscribe to the blog so you can receive updates as they are posted each week and into the fall semester. I know that I can say this on behalf of the entire leadership team that we cannot wait to meet you all as your start your Penn State Engineering careers!

For the Glory!

Danielle DaSilva is a senior majoring in Mechanical and Bioengineering. She has completed internship rotations with GE Healthcare and GE Transportation and will be graduating in December 2011.  Danielle has served as a Rover, Mentor, Spirit Lead and now Networking Strategist Lead for the WEPO program. Feel free to contact her at DanielleDaSilva@psu.edu.