On Tuesday, Jan. 18, professional speaker Matt Glowacki came to campus to show those in attendance how to find and practice happiness. Glowacki isn't your typical 'be positive' speaker, darting around the stage spewing run-of-the-mill how-to-be-happy jargon. Although he moved quickly from one end of the platform to the other, he did it in a wheelchair. Born without legs, Glowacki, 37, had plenty of advice to offer the audience about identifying happiness and sharing it with others.
During the noontime hour of April 7, the officers of the student government association accepted an award recognizing the Abington campus as a "No Place For Hate" location. This is the fifth year in a row that Penn State Abington has received this coveted designation as assigned by the Anti-Defamation League. Lisa Friedlander, project director of "No Place For Hate" of Philadelphia was on hand to present the re-designation in front of a crowd of faculty, staff and students.
Approximately 175 students, faculty, staff and proud parents attended the annual Honors and Leadership Awards Ceremony on April 20 at Penn State Abington. The select group of student recipients, dressed in their business best, enjoyed an evening of much-earned recognition.
Chancellor Karen Wiley Sandler welcomed the guests and presided over the ceremony. Awards were given for academic excellence and exemplary leadership.
When the Morena-Lopez family arrived from Spain this summer, they visited popular U.S. tourist destinations: Orlando, New York and... Penn State Abington. So how did a tranquil suburban college campus wind up on an itinerary with Universal Studios and the Statue of Liberty? The family planned to stay with friends in Bryn Athyn for a few weeks. A little research and much discussion with Penn State Abington's Deanna Bosley led them to decide that the campus' Kids and Teen College would help fulfill the underlying goal of their visit: immersing their three children in American language and culture.
Dan Choi asked the Penn State Abington students to return with him to the so-called Triangle of Death near Baghdad, Iraq. The year is 2007.
Occasionally breaking into Arabic to set the scene, Choi described tribal reconciliation meetings he moderated as an Army lieutenant. His mission: to convince rival sects to abolish concealment, the denial of their faith by minority Muslims to preserve their jobs, homes, families and sometimes their lives.
But even as Choi encouraged Iraqi Muslims to embrace the concept of equal access for all, the West Point graduate was practicing concealment himself. His beloved career as an Arabic linguist only continued because of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," the U.S. policy that prevented homosexuals from serving openly in the military.
It could have been 1963. It appeared as if civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., with his powerful presence and message, was exhorting a room full of college students with "I Have A Dream." In reality, it was 2012, and the Penn State Abington students were actually being mesmerized by Jim Lucas, a presenter who bears a traffic-stopping resemblance in looks and speech to Dr. King, as he reminded them that the dream is still a work in progress.
Although companies are inundated with applicants, they still struggle to find qualified, career-track employees. Meanwhile, countless military veterans return home to discover a saturated job market. Enter a partnership between Penn State Abington, Workforce Opportunity Services (WOS) and Prudential Financial Inc. that successfully bridges the employment gap between businesses and veterans.
Like drawing back a curtain to let light stream in, the documentary "Miss Representation" details a glaring reality we live with but might fail to see: how the media contributes to the underrepresentation of women in positions of power and influence in America.
The 90-minute film, rated for children over age 14, will be shown at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 22, in Room 112 Woodland Building at Penn State Abington. Admission is $5; free to students, faculty and staff. Register at [email protected] or call 215-881-7800.
Alexia I. Hudson, reference and instruction librarian at Penn State Abington, recently was elected to the Executive Board of the American Library Association, one of the largest professional organizations in the nation. Her three-year term begins in June.