Let’s be honest. Everyone knows the price of college is getting higher and higher every year. More and more, high school students each year realize that college may be out of the question for them simply because they can’t afford to go.
Financial aid can be very helpful to some, and very unreliable for others. Out of state tuition prices could cost students upwards of $50,000, or even higher, a year.
Penn State Brandywine doesn’t come anywhere near that mark, but will still cost those who come from out of state around $20,000 as an undergraduate with no aid per the 2013/14 tuition schedule.
So how is it that so many people can attend this school from out of state? For Delaware students, there is some help, especially if a student is from the Wilmington area.
Penn State Brandywine actually has a partnership with those who attend high schools within the Brandywine School District in Delaware. Those high schools are Concord High School, Brandywine High School and Mount Pleasant High School.
Penn State offers a grant to those students who plan on attending the Brandywine campus from those schools; the grant allows the students to receive in-state tuition without having permanent residency in the state of Pennsylvania.
While any prospective student has the option to receive this grant, there are also some qualifications the student must have from high school to receive the full bonus of in-state tuition.
The qualifications include graduating with a GPA higher than 2.7 and scoring above a 750 on the two combined tests on the SATs.
Schools all around the United States are starting to offer similar options for students to attain their ultimate goal of attending the university or college of their choice, and graduating with a degree from it.
The grant that this university offers is a great opportunity for those who live close to campus, but just over the state line. Taking advantage of all the opportunities one has to reduce the cost of attending school will likely help in the long run.
“Giving students the opportunity to gain valuable applied experience and make connections in professional fields they are considering for career paths; and give employers the opportunity to guide and evaluate talent.” (source: National Association of Colleges and Employers)
Internships can be intimidating, and some students aren’t aware of what they are and what they could potentially do for them during and after their college career. For Penn State Brandywine students, they fortunately have Career Services to help them along in this experience. Furthermore, for students with specific majors, getting an internship is actually a requirement for graduation, and Career Services has proven a necessary resource for fulfilling this requisite.
Five majors at Penn State Brandywine have this requirement, and they are as follows: Business, Corporate Communications, Elementary Education, Human Development & Family Studies and Information Sciences & Technology. Each of these specifically holds a required number of hours / credits and has their own Internship Coordinator.
Credits and courses are usually associated with class work, and not many students are keen on class work. But don’t fret just yet! This is not your typical class. In the Corporate Communications major, for example, with Internship Coordinator Karrie Bowen, seniors are required to take the course for at least three credits and spend 120+ hours at the internship. These internship “classes” could translate to the most useful credits one will have in a college career.
“The internship being required for the major was a positive thing because it gives you hands on experience in the real world from things you learned in class,” sAnthony Olivastro, a Corporate Communications major who has just recently completed his internship with Crozer-Keystone, said.
Utilizing the skills you’ve been developing throughout your years at college, these internships provide the practical application of these skills, giving students the chance to see what the real world is like and decide what sort of job is or isn’t for them. The best part about the program is that it is not limited to just those required to the course.
For more information on internships and how to go about acquiring one, contact Career Services for the help you need and get involved to build that resume.
Have you ever wondered what happened to the name Penn State Delaware County? Or maybe you were curious as to where the name Penn State Brandywine came from and why the sudden name change?
Delaware county would be the ideal name considering the campus is located in Delaware county but there were reasons, some surprising, as to why the change was necessary.
“There were different reasons for considering a name change for the Penn State Delaware County campus, but there were three broad themes,” Bill Tyson, Brandywine’s Director of Marketing and Communications, said. “There was confusion between Penn State Delaware County and Delaware County Community College. There was a need to broaden the campus’s admissions reach beyond where it stood. There was a need to project a more collegiate image for the campus in keeping with its offering four-year degrees.”
Alternate names for Penn State Delaware county campus were narrowed down by the name
change committee to Penn State Brandywine and Penn State Media. The committee conducted a research to determine how key target groups would react to a new name both visually and by sound. Surveys were given to 20 participants from each target group consisting of campus faculty and staff, current students, the parents of current students and alumni.
Some who were surveyed felt that Brandywine was more pleasing to the eye and ear and Media
was associated with being closer to the current campus location. From the name “Media” emerged confusion as to what it exemplified. Many participants felt the name suggest that the campus was a communications college, as in “news media.”
After being asked about their perception of the two possible names, a majority said Brandywine
seemed more collegiate and representative of a university of high standards. Still, there were some survey participants who did not believe any name change was necessary.
“I, as a student, would have thought it was a division of the Delaware County Community
College.” Brandywine student Rezwana Khatun said. “The name Brandywine gives this campus its own individuality, just like the other Penn State campuses.”
Following an evaluation of the survey results and taking into considering different view points
and suggestions, the University made a final decision to change the campus name to Penn State Brandywine. The name change took effect in the fall of 2007.
The Atlantic City Convention Center held the Atlantic City Beer and Music Festival, also known as Celebration of the Suds, on April 4-5. More than 100 breweries gathered from all over the country for the two-day sold out event.
Some people attended to see the wonderful live music provided, while others wanted to sample the different types of beers and ciders available. And yet a couple people just wanted to experience something different.
“Not only was the music enjoyable, but also the whole festival was an overall great experience,” Raquel Given said. “With the stage being right in the middle and being surrounded by unlimited beer samples, I couldn’t have asked for a better time.”
I walked from the Trump Plaza where I was staying and as I was walking, I noticed huge groups of people heading toward the Atlantic City Convention Center. Many groups were dressed in themes. Many had the same t-shirts on and others wore costumes. Some of the various costumes included a beer keg, sailor, captain of a ship and German beer girls.
When I walked inside the Convention Center, I noticed something amusing: people had yarn around their necks, and around the yarn, were pretzels. I said to myself, “If I come next year I know what is going around my neck.” It was such a great idea. Why spend four dollars for a hotdog when you can bring pretzels around your neck, which also pairs really well with beer.
I noticed people were gathering around a booth after we handed in our tickets and got our IDs checked. They were handing out little plastic beer mugs that were about four ounces. Since I’ve never been to an event like this, I liked the idea.
Upon walking in, Shock Top was the first beer stand I saw. I love Shock Top Raspberry Wheat Beer so I decided to get that first. Walking around while sipping on that, there was so much to take in. From the familiar brands of beers and ciders to the local, unfamiliar brands, there was so much to try. Some of the familiar brands included Anchor Brewing, Dogfish, Flying Fish, Magic Hat, Sam Adams, Sierra Nevada, Victory, Woodchuck Ciders, Yards and Yuengling. I sampled all of the new summer flavors some of the companies were releasing. I would have to say that my favorite that I sampled at the event and I even went back for thirds, was Woodchucks Apple Blueberry Cider.
The Saturday afternoon session featured the one band I have been very eager to see. The Dirty Heads closed out the afternoon with their reggae/hip hop vibes. I’ve been listening to them for a while now and it was my chance to finally see them live. They really put on a great show to close out the first Saturday session.
In all, it was a great, fun experience and a chance to get a huge group together to go out and try new brews that you or your friends would not normally try on a night out at the bar. I know I will definitely get a group together to go again next year.
The women’s softball team is a threat in the league — In its inaugural season.
Standing middle of the back in the league at 5-5 in conference play, Brandywine softball has really shown they are a competitive group despite boasting only 11 players and one upperclassman. However, assistant head coach Bobbi Caprice admits that the lack of players has been the biggest obstacle to overcome all season.
“The biggest challenge we have faced all season was numbers,” Caprice said. “We started off the season with 11 players, and our number one pitcher got hurt during spring training.”
Caprice also says other injuries have been problematic throughout the course of the season, but is optimistic that having a “competitive nature” will keep the team in playoff contention.
The loss of freshman starting pitcher Olivia Encarnacion was a blow to the team, according to Caprice. However, freshman captain Julia Allman believes the team was able to unveil another player’s hidden talent.
“We lost a key element from our team,” Allman said of Encarnacion. “But by Cheyanne coming in, we picked up something we didn’t expect to pick up.”
Now starting pitcher Cheyanna Murphy is a former pitcher for township softball years back, but has taken on the role of an outfielder since high school. The sophomore from Chichester has indeed been one of the biggest surprises this season, as she ranks third in the conference in strikeouts.
As it stands now, the team would have to win the rest of their league games in order to make playoffs, something Allman thinks is possible.
“I’m excited because you never know what can happen because each game is different,” said Allman. “We’re trying to get hype and make playoffs. We want to come out and surprise people, and I think we will.”
And surprising they are.
On Sunday, April 14, the team traveled to PSUAC defending champions Penn State Beaver for a double-header. In the first game, Brandywine trailed 8-6 in the final inning. It wasn’t until that last gasp to come back did the Lady Lions kick into full gear and take the lead to seal the deal with a 9-8 upset victory.
But the second of the double-header was a true thriller for the ages.
For the majority of the game, Brandywine struggled to get anything going on offense and made several errors on defense, which resulted in a nine-run deficit late in the game. With the team coming face-to-face with a true pounding (10-1 in the fifth inning), the offense was able to rally and put together three runs, cutting the lead 10-8. However, with two outs and down two runs at the bottom of the seventh inning, one of Brandywine’s finest hitters rose to the occasion.
That’s when freshman second baseman Stacey MacArthur exploded.
MacArthur bombed a grand slam over the fence, which put Brandywine on top for the first time in the final inning of play. MacArthur’s clutch hit helped put the game away, as Brandywine swept the PSUAC defending champions.
With the Lady Lions showing their competitiveness in just its first season of play, Caprice expressed her excitement for next season, as the team looks to build on this year’s production.
“We are looking forward to next year so much,” Caprice said. “The handful of recruits we have will be a big asset to the team. We are looking forward to watching our current players grow in their upcoming years as well as the new additions to the team next year.”
Students working their way through college are learning the details and intricacies of their respective majors in the hopes of success in the future.
Many times, however, they really aren’t able to put what they have learned to the test until it is time to do an internship or until they graduate and land that first “real job.” However, one determined group of students at Brandywine is getting a leg-up on putting that classroom knowledge to the test.
Dan and Nicole Angle lost everything in a tornado in Moore, OK last May, including their 9-year-old daughter, Sydney. Karrie Bowen, an instructor in the communication department and a friend of Nicole, did her best to help from afar when the tragedy hit last summer, but she says it never felt like what she was doing was enough. So when given the chance to make a difference, Bowen applied to the Laboratory for Civic Engagement in the hopes that her Comm 471 Public Relations class becomes the Rosenberg Class for the Spring 2014 semester.
David Rosenberg, a Penn State alum, is dedicated to the idea of civic engagement and community service. His focus with the Laboratory for Civic Engagement is all about wanting to make a difference, not just locally, but around the world. Rosenberg donates $500 of his own money to one class each semester. That money enables the class to make a difference. After applying for the donation, Bowen’s class was chosen to be one of the two Rosenberg classes this semester.
The class has chosen to organize a fundraiser to benefit Shelter Oklahoma Schools in honor of Sydney Angle.
“This is an amazing opportunity for them as a whole,” Bowen said of her students. “Not only are they getting both practical work experience in putting together this kind of event, but they are also getting a feel as to how important academic research is when you go into the ‘real world.’”
Bowen was very confident in Brandywine’s willingness to organize and host an event like this on the campus from the very beginning. She describes the campus as being “unbelievably accepting and supportive” of these types of events, while adding that Brandywine’s campus culture is a “give back to the community” type culture.
Junior Myeisha Matos, one of the students in the course, is genuinely optimistic that this event can bring forth the motivation needed to add shelter schools in Oklahoma. Matos envisions that the effort from such a distance will stand out and will ultimately become a difference-maker.
“Hopefully it will show the seriousness of the situation,” Matos said. “You don’t just organize a group of students from miles away and have them care so much about other people and especially the children if things shouldn’t be changed.”
Bowen has been a part of several fundraising events here on campus, but admits that doing an event this big can be somewhat stressful. However, she is very confident in her students.
“Each of them has spent the last three-to-four years working their way diligently through the Corporate Communications program, so I know that they can get the job done,” Bowen added.
The lack of first-hand experience isn’t really her concern but instead, Bowen believes it is the time remaining to organize and plan the event that presents the greatest challenge. But in the field of public relations, one must work quickly.
“In our field in PR, everything is fast, fast, fast anyways,” Bowen said. “You’ve got to learn to move quickly because that’s how our job is.”
To have the opportunity to be a part of the Rosenberg course is something Bowen feels is an honor, not just as an individual, but her students as well, because she feels the course offers valuable life experience. Ultimately, Bowen wants her students to keep in mind of the importance of educating the public about safe shelters in schools, and most of all, Sydney.
“I just think that at the end of the day, this is in her honor, and if she is our motivation, we can do anything,” said Bowen.
The fundraiser is scheduled to take place on Sunday, May 4, 2014 at noon on the Brandywine campus. With various fundraising ideas still being discussed among the Comm 471 students, the group is excited to bring their ideas together to form a memorable event that Brandywine, Oklahoma and the Angle family will remember for a long time.
If you are interested in further information about the event or interested in helping out, please contact Marissa Malin: mkm5317@psu.edu.
THON does it again and shows the world what a dedicated group of people can do when they work together for one cause.
Since the 1970’s, Penn State has held one of the largest dance marathons of the year, with 700+ “dancers” taking a stand against pediatric cancer. This year, Penn State Brandywine THON was represented by two of their extremely dedicated members: Liz Gramlich and Jason Severin.
Gramlich, a sophomore at Brandywine, is the organization’s Family Relations Chair and helps the organization connect with a Four Diamonds family. Last year Gramlich made it her goal to represent Brandywine for 46 hours of dancing. She canned every day of every canning weekend for Brandywine, made multiple trips up to State College to attend meetings and helped at every event that THON had this year.
Severin, also a sophomore at Brandywine and who has plans of attending State College next year, was one of the dedicated members of Brandywine’s group who helped make this year’s fundraising campaign the more successful one to date. Jason’s dedication to THON included multiple days where he stayed in the same location from sunrise to sunset, collecting money for the Four Diamonds fund.
Thanks to their hard work, both Severin and Gramlich earned the privilege of dancing at THON 2014. For the entire weekend, they danced, played a variety of different games like giant Jenga, which was one of Jason’s favorite parts, and engaged in heated water gun fights with the kids and their families. They laughed, they cried and the helped the kids and their families forget about the issues they face daily.
Overall, both of the dancers loved just being there with the kids.
“The kids and everything they have to go through was the main reason I stood,” Gramlich said. “If they can go through dealing with cancer then I can deal with standing for 46 hours.”
Jason also shared his main reason for getting through the weekend.
“The primary thing was seeing the kids and how happy it was making them,” Severin said.
Both agreed their favorite part of the weekend was family hour. Family hour takes place in the final hours of THON weekend and is a time when Four Diamonds families get a chance to tell their stories of how they have dealt with a child having cancer. It’s capped off by a slideshow of kids who have since passed away because of cancer. It offers the biggest form of inspiration and motivation to finish the weekend strong.
“You hear all the families’ stories and learn what they go through,” Gramlich said. “It reinforces why you are there and standing 46 hours.”
Finally at 4 p.m. Sunday night, the dancers finally get to sit down. And that is when the top 10 fundraisers in each category (fraternities, club sports teams, special interest groups, commonwealth campuses and other categories) are revealed. That was also when Brandywine and their dancers were astounded. Brandywine THON was ranked in the top 10 for commonwealth campuses which has not happened in more than a decade.
“I absolutely flipped,” Severin said. “It just proves we can do anything. Possibly be at the top one day?”
Finally the moment everyone waited for arrived — the moment when the total amount of money raised for that fundraising year is revealed. The grand total of THON 2014 was a massive $13,343,517.33, breaking last year’s $12.3 million raised.
“It’s amazing we broke our record again,” Gramlich said. “So many people can come together like a family for kids with cancer and raise such large amounts of money.” With that THON 2014 comes to a close, but that also means planning for next year is already in the works.
A season filled with hard work, blood, sweat and tears has come to a disappointing end.
On February 25, 2014, Penn State Brandywine Women’s basketball team lost in the championship game of the Penn State University Athletic Conference to Penn State Beaver.
It was a heck of a ride. The Lady Lions headed into the PSUAC conference quarterfinals as a four seed. The Lady Lions beat Penn State York 77- 69 in the quarterfinals to move onto the semifinals. In the semifinals, the team faced off against the number one seed Penn State Fayette.
Brandywine was down 15 points at one point in the game, but that deficit did not keep them down. The team battled back and tied the game at 80 with around one minute left in the second half. Freshman forward Stacey Macarthur lead the team with a whopping 31 points. Macarthur went 13 for 13 from the free throw line.
No matter the level of basketball, free throws will either make or break a team when it comes to winning games. The final score: Brandywine 86, Fayette 84.
With their big win in the semifinals, Penn State Brandywine women were off to State College to play in the PSUAC championship. The opponent standing in their way: Penn State Beaver.
Penn State Beaver came into the PSUAC tournament as the number 3 seed. They beat the number two seed Penn State Greater Allegheny in their semifinal game.
The championship game did not go the way Brandywine wanted it to go. Penn State Brandywine fell to Penn State Beaver 100 to 74.
Junior guard Myeisha Matos said nerves didn’t help.
“I think that we were way too nervous for the game and we beat ourselves because we were so nervous,” Matos said. “We focused more about the mistakes and less about the actual game and just playing.”
Senior guard Amanda Congialdi believes the team was lacking one characteristic and that’s why they fell short.
“We needed height,” Congialdi said. “Last season, we played Greater Allegheny who had the same team. We had good sized big women to get rebounds and for defense and we beat them. If we one decent sized girl to get rebounds this year, there is no doubt that we would have beaten them and won the championship.”
Penn State Brandywine women’s basketball team finished the season with 19 wins and 8 losses. Even though the season did not end with a championship, it still was overall a great season. The team will return 8 out of its 9 players, so a return to the PSUAC finals will certainly be the goal.
Some of Brandywine’s THON members extended their support for childhood cancer right before THON weekend on Tuesday, February 18by participating in the welcome home celebration for Brayden Chandler, a 3-year-old terminally ill boy from Springfield, PA.
Brayden was diagnosed with bilateral Wilms Tumor in early 2013. After battling for a little more than a year, doctors advised Brayden’s parents that the cancer has relapsed and “there is no further course of treatment to pursue.”
Brayden was coming home from his weeklong trip to Disney World, sponsored by the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Once arriving at the Philadelphia Airport, Brayden and his family hopped into a limo and enjoyed the escort home of more than 50 police cars and fire trucks.
All sirens were blaring, but not for any type of emergency. Brayden apparently loves loud noises, so the sirens of the police vehicles were nothing short of a sweet ending to a Disney vacation.
The limo and police escorts arrived home to more than 200 community members eager to cheer on and celebrate his return from his trip, and to encourage him to keep fighting his courageous battle.
The entire community stood outside his home and all down his block for almost two hours, eagerly waiting is arrival.
When Brayden’s father first stepped out of the limo with Brayden in him arms, the 3-year-old was understandable very overwhelmed. Soon after, a smile appeared as he realized all the love and support he has behind him.
“It was very overwhelming to see the entire community coming together to love and support our son,” Jackie Chandler, Brayden’s mother, said. “Over the last 2 weeks we have been on an emotional roller coaster and it was nice to see everyone send their unconditional love and support during a time when we need it the most.”
After the crowd slowly dispersed, the Chandler family allowed people to come into their home to offer words of care. The Brandywine THON representatives introduced themselves to the family, ensuring them that THON and the entire Brandywine community are there for them for support.
Our famous ‘Hello Brandywine!’ neon shirts, and different THON gear was also given to them as gifts.
“It’s heartwarming that so many people can come together for one child,” Ryan Stone, from Brandywine’s THON , said.
Brandywine THON would like to encourage all members of the Brandywine community to ‘Like’ the Brayden’s Buddies Facebook page, (www.facebook.com/braydenchandlerbuddies) where they can see pictures, make donations, attend fundraisers and stay up to date on Brayden’s
Rosemarie Owoc
Lion’s Eye Staff Writer, rvo5048@psu.edu
Pictured in attendance was Brandywine THON overall Ryan Stone, and members Rosie Owoc and Nikki Maginnis.
