Hockey Valley

In light of it being THON weekend, I feel as though most people on campus have had their fill of news about THON, so for those of you looking for something else to do this weekend, I give you: Penn State Hockey.

Formerly known as the Penn State Icers, our team had only been a club sport until the 2012-2013 season when it joined the NCAA Division 1 league. Penn State did have a varsity team in the 1940's until it was dropped due to insufficient facilities. All of this changed in the summer of 2010 when Terrence Pegula, PSU alumnus and avid hockey fan donated an insane amount of money to the tune of $102 MILLION DOLLARS to Penn State hockey in order to build the arena we all know and love today.

Thanks Terrence!

Shortly after, the Big Ten Conference announced plans to sponsor and form a six-member Big Ten Hockey Conference in the 2013-2014 with the inclusions of teams from Michigan State, UMichigan, OSU, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Not saying anything, but there wasn't a conference until we said we were joining the NCAA, so make of that what you will.

Guy Gadowsky is our team's current head coach, and he took the team to a #1 ranking in the nation earlier in the season until a heartbreaking sweep by OSU after a penalty shootout and some questionable ref-ing.

"Why is this important to me?" you may be asking yourself. Well, the point of this post is that this weekend our team is returning home to play Minnesota on Friday and Saturday, and students can purchase tickets for as little as $17.25 to sit in the Roar Zone.

The Roar Zone is the student section. They are notoriously rowdy, like to pick on the opposite team's goalie, and are very good at slowing down while performing the cowbell cheer. They're noisily enthusiastic about supporting the team, especially our two players from Russia, and contribute immensely to the atmosphere inside Pegula.

Many times that I've been at a hockey game, the Penn State Football team has paid a visit, including Trace McSorley, Daeshawn Hamilton, and Marcus Allen. I also had the chance to talk to James Franklin himself, so you never know who you might run into at Pegula.

Should you decide to come to a game this weekend, you will most definitely have a blast, and you'll also get to hear some stands tunes favorites from the Hockey Band. Also, for those of you who have had the chance to experience the Beaver Stadium Chicken Basket, they are also available for purchase to satisfy all your cravings at the concession stands in the arena.

So if you're not into THON, you want a break from THON, you like chicken baskets, watching grown men get slammed into walls and seeing a winning team, I highly recommend going to a hockey game.

I'd give Hockey Valley 9 shaking pom poms out of 10


Photos courtesy of:
Multimedia & Broadcast Journalism Camp
Sports Business Daily

Escape from Winter

As we all know, this Thursday Happy Valley was slammed with the snow storm of the semester. Mother Nature teased us with hints of spring and almost 50 degree temperatures earlier this week, so this truly is a cruel change of weather. So, in honor of wanting to be anywhere warmer than State College right now, I'm going to give you the skinny on some awesome Study-Abroad programs in more tropical climates!

1. Cairo, Egypt

This particular program is open to all majors and all students in at least their second semester of their sophomore year. Situated in the center of the Arabic speaking world, students study through the American University in Cairo and can expect to get very familiar with the Arabic language. The best part? The current weather in Cairo is a high of 73 and sunny.

2. Melbourne, Australia

Monash University in Melbourne really loves American students! This program allows you to use federal and state grants to finance your trip, and the University Office of Global Programs also have grants and scholarships available to apply for. Monash University is also similar to PSU in that it has several campuses in and around Melbourne (which was also named the second best city in the world to be a student!). However, you need to be a Junior in order for your application to be considered. Sorry everybody. Australia is hot as sin, and Melbourne is no different with a high of 88 degrees next Wednesday. Wouldn't that be nice?

3. Atenas, Costa Rica

Good news! You could go to Costa Rica next year as long as you have a 3.0 and want to study ecology, economics, and sustainability! Costa Rica's Center for Sustainable Development Studies houses the students that embark on this adventure, and the town of Atenas is close enough that you could spend a weekend at the beach, go ziplining in the mountains, or visit the island's volcanoes. And while you're there you might as well go visit Territorio de Zaguates aka Land of the Stray Dogs aka Heaven on Earth in San Jose.

Also, Costa Rica is currently a balmy 73 degrees, in case you needed some convincing.

4. Rome, Italy

For those of you that aren't quite ready to jump into shorts weather, PSU offers many programs in Rome, one of the easiest and probably the most fun is through the College of Communications and is the study of Roman Film and Photography. You need to be a sophomore, have a 2.5, and the dream of being a photographer for this one (just kidding). Students get to watch movies and get graded on them, explore the architecture of the city, and take pictures while they're doing it. Did I mention you also get to visit Florence and Venice? And that it's 51 degrees in Rome right now?!

5. London, United Kingdom

Finally, if you're happy being cold and soggy and are just looking for a change of scenery (and dialect) go to London! PSU offers a literal dozen programs based in London, and basically if you have a 3.0 and are at least a sophmore, you are likely to be accepted to one of them. Study topics range from theatre, to business, to engineering. While you're at it, you can visit the London Eye, Parliament, Big Ben, and all those other touristy locations during your free time. Just don't forget to bring a windbreaker and an umbrella because right now, it is 36 degrees and raining.

PSU has so many fantastic Study Abroad Programs, brochures for which can be found at Penn State's Global Education Page, and I highly encourage you to take a look and find one that best suits your interests (and weather preferences)

I'd give Penn State's Study Abroad program 7 chilled students out of 8

Photos courtesy of  Penn State Education Abroad website and Wikipedia

Cairo
Melbourne
Atenas
Rome
London

aMAIDSing

For those of you that didn't know, there was a cabaret show this past Sunday in the HUB called MasquerAIDS!

What a beautiful poster!

If you're not familiar with the term cabaret, it's pretty much just a concert of songs and dances on a stage without a set plot. I was lucky enough to be in the orchestra for this particular event.

In explanation, MasquerAIDS is an annual concert put on by the Penn State Thespians where all donations benefit the Centre County AIDS Resource. As one of the oldest clubs on campus, this is Thespian's 120th anniversary, and to honor that achievement,  the MasquerAIDS songs and dances were taken from the club's prolific past productions and possible future productions, which led to an awesome setlist and an wide variety of genres for the songs. It was interesting time to play in the orchestra considering Broadway songs are always in keys with tons of sharps and flats (not fun for musicians) and given the range of the music itself. I mean, the songs went from A Chorus Line's "What I Did For Love", to "Cell Block Tango" from Chicago, to "Heaven On Their Minds" from Jesus Christ Superstar! (Just listen to this song, it's one of my favorite Broadway songs ever!)

A lot of blood, sweat, and tears went into this production, and part of MAIDS's charm is that fact that nothing falls into place until show day. Parts of songs were cut, measures were missing, orchestra and vocalists were choosing two different tempos, and in at least one case, an entire song was rewritten and distributed on the day of the show! Although this may sound like I'm complaining, I definitely am not, and I wouldn't change any part of this process for the world. I truly believe that learning to roll with the punches and last minute changes makes you a better musician, performer, and person in general.

Anyway, show day began with a noon call time at the HUB for the orchestra (the vocalists and dancers were there even earlier to warm up!) and a hunt for a stool, 9 music stands, and a melodica.

Otherwise known as a mouth-piano (not really, but it is a real instrument!)

The plan for rehearsal was to get 2 runthroughs of the show down before our break for supper at 4... which did not happen. We got to run every song down at least once, but between some technical difficulties and getting songs to gel, we weren't able to run the entire show straight through. But it was okay! Things were falling into place and we were ready.

The cabaret kicked off at 7:30 pm on Sunday, and we had a really good turn out considering it's a niche audience and a strange night for a concert! The show ran smoothly, and I'm pretty sure our executive director Jerrod might have cried a few times just from sheer pride and emotion.

 All in all this was an incredible night. Even though you may have missed it, mark your calendars for next year's rendition! The Centre County AIDS Resource is also always accepting donations, and their website can be found here.

In the end, I'd give this experience 7 sharps out of 7

Pictures courtesy of:
Penn State Thespians
Thomann