Penn State 2014! Blog 3: New Experiences

Hi everyone!

This past week of our internship at Penn State has proven to be quite the experience once again. We’ve done a range of different activities, and all have proven to be useful in my development as a professional. Three of the activities that have stood out to me include the compost site tour, team building at Shaver’s Creek, and attending diversity training.

Our 2014 NACUFS Penn State group serving up some breakfast!

We were lucky enough to be able to tour the compost site with Al Matyasovksky, the supervisor of Central Support Services in Penn State’s Office of Physical Plant. I was really impressed at the large-scale operation that Penn State has developed. Al explained to us the process of composting materials, how the mulch is created, and the systematic way that all of the waste is taken care of on campus. Penn State is taking great strides to eventually become a waste-free campus, which means that essentially everything that is typically tossed out would be repurposed for one use or another. As someone with a strong interest in sustainability, the work that Penn State is doing is truly exceptional and inspiring. I am sure that it will always stick out in my mind as one of the highlights of my summer.

Al gave us these pins for attending his waste tour! Too funny!

We also visited Shaver’s Creek, which is a beautiful environmental center tucked away in the mountains about a half hour away from campus. Carolyne was our guide and helped us work on team building during a hike. It was a perfect day of reflection, laughter and learning. We talked our strengths as well as our weaknesses and how to develop them into positive attributes. I really enjoyed getting the opportunity to listen to each of the interns explain their backgrounds and how they have developed to get to the place that they are today. Gaining that understanding of everyone really helped put it into perspective of how everyone we will come across in our lives will have had different experiences.We must be nurturing of everyone’s differences to be able to work together as a cohesive and successful team.

 

The interns and our internship coordinator, Maria Kim, goofing off at Shaver's Creek.

We also met with Curt Marshall, who is the College of the Arts and Architecture recruitment coordinator. We discussed the diversity that exists naturally within people. He guided us to stretch our minds and continually look past just the obvious ways in which people are different; rather than just think of physical or personality characteristics, we also looked at socioeconomic, sociopolitical, and personal habits to name a few. It was really helpful to have someone be upfront and honest about why differences should be cherished and why they must be understood for a group to function properly. Everyone agreed that Curt’s session was helpful. It definitely didn’t hurt that he had a fun personality!

Of course, it’s hard to not have the travel bug while you’re on the East Coast! Brittany, Caitlyn and I did a spontaneous 24-hour trip to visit the big apple, New York City! It was a fun trip that I’ll never forget... delicious food, the hustle and bustle of a city atmosphere, and getting lost on the subway were just a few of the highlights.

Caitlyn, Brittany and I in Times Square, New York.

I cannot explain enough how grateful I am for this opportunity. It has been a time of growth and learning; I’m surprised that after only two weeks I can confidently say that this program has been and will continue to be life changing. I can’t wait to blog again to fill everyone in on my experience! Until next time!

-Jessica