Gymming

Happy summer ladies! I hope you are soaking up just as much sunshine and happiness as I am while I summer in Charleston, SC. My name is Ashlee and I am a senior in Mechanical Engineering and your Resource Innovations Lead for WEPO 2015! I am so excited to meet all of you lovely incoming freshman and jump start your Penn State experience. You’ve already made some great decisions choosing Penn State and WEPO.

In the past four years at Penn State, fitness has become my passion. Penn State has fantastic facilities for gymming and staying fit and I would love to tell you about them. We have three main gyms: rec hall, white building and IM building.

Rec Hall: This the biggest fitness center we have and it also happens to be my favorite. Located over by West Halls, its home to the Hepper Fitness Center which has more weights and treadmills than you’ll know what to do with. I love coming here and getting my cardio on in the loft area while I people watch the lifters. My favorite fitness class, boot camp, also happens in Rec.

White Building: Located right in the middle of campus, this gym is really convenient if you live in South or Pollock. Ninety percent of the fitness classes that Penn State Fitness offers occur in this building, so you can find me here at least five days a week. You can look at all the classes that Penn State offers here. I recommend boot camp, calorie killer, and power remix.

IM: IM building is brand new and gorgeous. It is right next to east halls, so for all you ladies living up there, this is for you. There are also a lot of classes held here, as well as a huge loft of cardio equipment and weights with a fantastic view of Beaver Stadium.

Ready to get your fitness on?! Your college experience doesn’t have to involve the freshman 15 with all of these great facilities at your disposal. Maybe some of you out there reading these are ready to change your life. I’ve lost 80 lbs since I started my freshman year and gone from being very unhealthy to a fit girl who loves working out. It’s possible!

Ashlee (center) and Melissa (right) participated in the Murph Challenge in honor of Lt. Michael Murphy, the only PSU Alum to receive the Medal of Honor.  The challenge consisted of a mile run, 100 pull ups, 200 push ups, 300 squats, and another mile run! 

I would love some new workout partners if anyone is willing to work hard with me! Melissa, the Design Lead, and I love to gym together.

You can purchase your gym membership here. Its available for one semester or two so you can try it out if you’re feeling cautious, but I know you’ll love it. Enjoy your summer! I can’t wait to meet you in August!

Ashlee Palm is a senior majoring in Mechanical Engineering, and is the Resource Innovations Lead for WEPO'15!

Gymming

Happy summer everyone! My name is Ashlee Palm and I am a senior in Mechanical Engineering and a WEPO 2014 Mentor! Welcome to the best university there is! The decision to study engineering at Penn State and become part of our big Nittany Lion family is going to change your life -- and we are so happy that you’re coming here!

Like most things in college, it’s easy to let working out slip to the side in your new exciting life full of classes, new friends, Thon, and clubs. As a lover of all things that have to do with working out, I’m here to tell you about your options for working out on campus at Penn State!

Rec Hall: Rec Hall is a huge building next to the West Halls that has a cardio loft, weight room, indoor track, and gyms for pickup games. There are courts for various indoor sports here too. A few of the fitness classes are held in Rec. I go to Rec to use the cardio equipment and lift because it is huge, so there is always a machine open somewhere. Watch out during peak hours though; you may have to wait for a treadmill!

White Building: White Building is right behind the HUB (if you can find it through the construction!) and has a smaller gym area similar to Rec in the basement and some classrooms/gyms for fitness classes (we’ll get to these later). This is perfect if you live in South or Pollock because it is less than a five minute walk!

IM Building: The IM building is next to East Halls and was just remodeled and reopened in March of this year! While I have never been here, I’ve heard fantastic reviews and the pictures look amazing. Since it is so close to East, I imagine a lot of you will find a home here. It has classrooms for fitness classes, cardio equipment, and weights.

Fitness Classes: When in doubt, I can be found in Calorie Killer or Power Remix. Fitness classes are my favorite way to work out at school. Classes are taught by other students who show you a great time while you work up a sweat. Become a regular at some of these and you’ll even make friends with the instructors! We’ve got everything from yoga, to Calorie Killer (a HIIT class) to Zumba and cycling. There’s a class for everyone and they take place seven days a week from around 8 am to 8 pm.

Wondering how to join? Membership to all of this and more can be found at this website: http://www.athletics.psu.edu/fitness/membership.html. You can purchase a membership for the whole year and save a few dollars, or buy a semester at a time. If you ever need a workout buddy, let me know! I’m always willing to hit the gym with friends and blow off some steam from an exam or a whole day of studying! Working out is one of the best ways to relieve stress.

Can’t wait to see ya’ll in August! Have a beautiful summer and welcome to Penn State.

Ashlee Palm is a senior in Mechanical Engineering, and she is a Mentor for WEPO '14!

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.