October 2010 Archives

The following honors scholars were recognized as award recipients on October 28, 2010.

The Barnes and Noble Presidential Scholarship - Marc Bean, Sara DeMartino, Jordan Sprik

The Judge Louis A. Bloom Scholarship - John DiMaio

The Joseph J. Bradley Memorial Scholarship - Benjamin Bean

The Jane E. Cooper Endowed Scholarship - Eileen Fresta

The Delaware County Chapter of the Penn State Alumni Association Award - Allison Rodia

The Ralph B. and Shirley McFadden D'Iorio Scholarship - Zanya Stephenson

The Thomas Edward Hare III Memorial Award - Mary-Therese Capaldi

The Joan Impagliazzo Adult Student Award - Abigail Dufoe

The Brian K. Johnson Memorial Award - Joel Idicula

The Tim Mark Endowed Award - Labanya Mookerjee

The David and Florence Newman Scholarship - Jennifer Ballard

The Penn State Brandywine Academic Excellence Scholarship - Laruen Orner, Elizabeth Panos, Nina Zeoli

The PNC Financial Corp. Endowed Scholarship at Penn State Brandywine - John Formento

The Richard and Sylvia Schaffer Scholarship - Jennifer Santangelo

The Jane Housman Sheetz Memorial Scholarship - Jonathan Hartline

The W.W. Smith Charitable Trust Scholars Award - Benjamin Bean, Lauren Orner

The Victor Spizzirri Memorial ACE Award - Caitlin Rodgers

The John D. and Greta C. Vairo Scholarship - Douglas Hartline, Sara Neville

A group of honors scholars gathered for a first for our honors program - participating in a webinar to enhance our efforts in leadership and civic engagement.  On October 28, The Chronicle of Philanthropy moderated a 90-minute webinar on "Raising Money Through Social Media - Real Stories from Real Charities."  Scholars learned how a California organization used Facebook to raise $10,000, how a small Chicago charity used Foursquare to raise $25,000, how a charity in Charlotte used Twitter to raise $4,000, and how a fund-raising video campaign raised more than $21,000 for a youth charity in New York.  The webinar provided valuable tips and strategies for the honors community to consider for future fund-raising campaigns.

The Penn State Brandywine Honors Scholars were invited to participate in a very unique opportunity on October 26, 2010.  Some of scholars currently engaged in research projects traveled to Washington DC to attend a Congressional Briefing on Undergraduate Research and American Innovation.  The briefing was presented by the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR), in conjunction with the House Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Education Caucus. In a room filled to capacity, our Brandywine Scholars heard about the value of interdisciplinary research in the early years, from the hairs on gecko's feet to expanding glass. One of the important take-home messages from the event was that, "undergraduate research gives students an outlet to make a difference."

From left to right: Zanya Stephenson, Alex Harvey, Sara Neville, Ben Bean, Lavanya Mookerjee, Brooke Ballard

For National Honors Service Day, the honors scholars decided to keep their efforts and impact local. Concerned about reports of childhood obesity and poor nutrition levels, the scholars decided to team up with a Philadelphia elementary school to make sure fresh fruit would be provided in school lunches. On campus, scholars sold apples (thanks to Giant and Wolff's for the donations) and allowed donors to color an apple for an apple tree display. Through the combined efforts of those in the apple hats below and several others, the scholars raised $400.  Read more on Penn State Live.

The announcement for the Fall 2010 Voices of Innovation seminar series, organized by the Honors Program and financially supported by the Office of Student Affairs/SAF funds.

Monday, September 13--Canstruction, Inc.--A foundation of the Society for Design Administration (SDA), Canstruction® (http://www.canstruction.org/) is a trademarked design/build competition held in cities throughout North America and countries around the world.  Teams of architects, engineers, and students mentored by these professionals, compete to design and build giant structures made entirely out of canned foods.  The results are displayed to the public in each city where a competition is held.  At the close of the exhibitions all of the canned food used in the structures is donated to local food banks for distribution to emergency feeding programs that include pantries, soup kitchens, elderly and day care centers. Come hear about the Philadelphia competition and its connection with Philabundance!

Monday, September 27--SCURB, Public Voice for Public Space--SCRUB (http://www.publicvoiceforpublicspace.org/) is the public voice for public space. Through advocacy, education, legal recourse and community mobilization, SCRUB works to assure that the public has a "seat at the table" along side government and private interests when decisions are being made that affect Philadelphia's public spaces and the visual environment.  SCRUB is the "go to" organization for communities seeking: information and counsel about laws and regulations; innovative ideas; and effective strategies for protecting and advancing the visual appeal of their neighborhoods.  SCRUB is also Philadelphia's watchdog for public spaces that lack an organized constituency but whose quality of life affects all of us.  While outdoor advertising has been SCRUB's most celebrated issue, the organization's overarching focus is in strengthening Philadelphia's communities by making them vibrant, healthy places to live, work, play and visit.

Monday, October 25--Urban Tree Connection--(http://www.urbantreeconnection.org/) Urban vacant land is typically concentrated in socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods and is often linked to drug-related crime and violence. The City of Philadelphia is currently estimated to have over 30,000 vacant lots, many of which are overgrown, filled with trash and contribute to an appearance of decay and blight. Urban Tree Connection believes that community-based urban greening is a great way for residents of all ages to bring about positive change in their neighborhood. In addition to beautifying the neighborhood, urban greening projects also provide a variety of economic, environmental, health-related and social benefits. Urban Tree Connection involves neighborhood children in all our projects as they believe it is crucial to educate the next generation of urban residents about the immense value of urban green space.