Hello Fellows and Aspirants! Hopefully you all had a great break and are beginning some amazing semesters. I would first like to thank all of the Fellows and Aspirants who were in attendance during the recognition event last Monday on the behalf of the entire Advisory Board. I thought that the turnout was very impressive and that the overall proceedings went quite smoothly and hopefully you all felt the same way. In case you missed it (for classes or otherwise), I will give you a quick recap of what happened.

Throughout the event, our musical guest, “Irreconcilable Differences,” which consists of six members of the Penn State history faculty, played a variety of songs including the Alma Mater. Following their initial performance, Associate Dean Long welcomed everyone to the event and explained what it signified–a transition into a program founded upon honor and integrity. Next, Dean Welch presented Joe Paterno with the Sparks Centennial Medal which he was unable to receive at the fall of 2009 College of the Liberal Arts Centennial Reception because of his coaching duties. Ginnelle Sroka, a Fellow and Advisory Board member, gave a wonderful speech about the opportunities that the program has allowed her to take advantage of. The Paternos were then presented with their own sweatshirts, which matched the ones that all entering Fellows received. Next, Associate Dean Upneja of the Schreyer Honors College spoke about the admittance of the Fellows into the Honors College and what really makes an honors student. Finally, after a short closing from Dean Long, all in attendance enjoyed refreshments and some one-on-one time with the Paternos.

I feel as though this event exemplified some of the best qualities of the College of the Liberal Arts and the amazing endeavors of its students. It was definitely a night worth attending. Hopefully such attendance and enthusiasm will be present at the various events that the Advisory Board is planning for this semester. More details about these will be available to you in the coming weeks but I am surely excited for them. Hopefully I will see you there.

In the meantime, take a look at some photos from the Paterno Fellows Program Recognition Ceremony.