Liberal Arts Voices

Read the perspectives of our current students

Liberal Arts Voices: Episode 18

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Junior Psychology major Porschetta Cody; junior Psychology major Amanda McKoy; sophomore Psychology major Carshena Culmer; freshman International Politics major Lauren Barnes; and CLA’s Multicultural Equity Coordinator Earl Merritt join Liberal Arts Voices for our 18th episode.

Porschetta, Amanda, Carshena, and Lauren are all Bunton-Waller fellows.  The students talk about their involvement in the Bunton-Waller Fellows Program and the benefits that they have experienced being involved in this community. The students also discuss the variety of other programs, clubs, and initiatives that they participate in at Penn State.

Earl Merritt talks about his role in the College of the Liberal Arts as the Multicultural Equity Coordinator. Specifically, the mission of Multicultural Equity Programs is to assist the College in providing access and equity to traditionally underrepresented students in higher education. Earl and the students talk about certain challenges that minority students may face on campus. Earl shares his perspective on how students can make the most out of their time in the College of the Liberal Arts by participating in research, other co-curricular activities, and planning ahead for graduate school!

Liberal Arts Voices: Episode 18

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We encourage all of our listeners to write to us with comments, questions, or suggestions at laus@la.psu.edu. We may even respond to these comments on the next episode of Liberal Arts Voices.

Message from CLA Multicultural Equity Programs Coordinator

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Earl F. Merritt
Originally uploaded by LAUSatPSU

I don’t need a friend who changes when I change and who nods when I nod; my shadow does that much better.
-Plutarch

Dear 2010-11 L A First Year Students:

Please accept my greetings to you on behalf of the College of the Liberal Arts. Your decision to start your enrollment in the College of the Liberal Arts, we will provide you with a myriad of opportunities to achieve your goals as a global citizen. This office is part of the resources available to you in the College. I look forward to seeing you at the College meeting on August 22nd this meeting will provide you with the opportunity seek clarifications on any concerns you have before classes start. You are about to continue a journey that will produce greatness. Hopefully the activities you pursue will support your full engagement in our Penn State community.

During the year you will hear from me about opportunities and relevant information for you to explore. Even though you will have a primary adviser in the College, I expect multicultural students to keep me apprised of their progress during the semester. You can always expect that I will ask you questions about your goals and objectives regarding your educational experience. For example: Are you thinking about graduate/professional school? How will research experiences fit into your goals? When are you planning to participate in education abroad? Did you think about applying for an internship? These are a small sample of critical questions for you to explore.

I look forward to working with you during your enrollment in the College of the Liberal Arts. You can follow in the footsteps of earlier students completing their undergraduate degree then moving on to graduate and/or professional school. Your mantra should be ‘We Are Penn State and We Strive for Excellence’!

Respectfully,

Earl F. Merritt

Multicultural Equity Programs
College of the Liberal Arts

What was the highlight of your summer?

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“Only a life lived for others is worthwhile” Albert Einstein

I pose this question after just returning from the CIC Summer Research Opportunities Program (SROP) conference held at The Ohio State University from 7/22-25/2010. This event is part of the capstone experience for some 464 students who have participated in an eight-week research internship attracting students in numerous disciplines who aspire to graduate study. The goal of SROP is to increase the number of students from underrepresented groups who will enroll and seek graduate degrees at CIC universities. Penn State University had a cohort of 31 students participating in this activity. There were three students from the College of the Liberal Arts in the aforementioned group. During the conference I met four other Penn State students participating in SROP at University of Michigan, Michigan State University, and Ohio State University. These students participated in poster sessions and discussion roundtables; networked with faculty and SROP alumni; and attended a recruitment fair.

We had the opportunity hear Astrophysicist Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson, director of the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History in New York as the keynote speaker. He shared his experiences as a young person growing up in New York. His early passion to understand and study the universe was a driving force directing his achievements. He is a frequent guest on the Daily Show, The Colbert Report, and hosts PBS’s show NOVAscienceNow.

These SROP participants have a leg up on the process of getting admitted to graduate schools because they have shown the initiative, commitment, and the desire to make a difference by engaging in the research process. Some of these students will continue to be involved in research when they return to their home institution. Over 59% of these students will graduate by fall 2011 with GPAs of 3.4 or above.

If you have not been involved in research, you should consider connecting with the faculty in your major this fall to open this new vista. Check with your advisor or faculty to learn more about research experiences in your major.

Take a look at some of the photos taken at the CIC Summer Research Opportunities conference:

How Will Your Journey Proceed in Liberal Arts?

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“To be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” – Nelson Mandela
The quote captures the essence of South Africa’s Ubuntu culture, “I am because you are.”

As you begin to embark on your college journey of discovery, what you will become at the end of the venture is the ultimate riddle. You may ask why such lofty thoughts during the summer. What better time to discuss the quality of humanness than during the World Cup which is centered in South Africa. South Africa, as a nation, was under the rule of apartheid policies until 1994. However the ethical and spiritual teachings of Ubuntu are reflected in its continual recovery.

Your experiences at Penn State will be based on the nature of relationships you develop. Relationships are processes that must be reciprocal. To be fully human you must develop the core values of mutual respect, mutual caring, mutual sharing, harmonious living together and a shared commitment to the ongoing work of peace through justice. The notion of sharing is a key concept in the world and our ethics define how we will operate.

Dr. Maulana Karenga (2010), the founder of Kwanzaa, posits the following as key elements for building a good world we want and deserve:
 

  • shared status
  • shared knowledge
  • shared space
  • shared wealth
  • shared power
  • shared interests
  • shared responsibility

The competencies that you acquire cannot evolve in a vacuum. This Penn State journey will expose you to an array of opportunities to start or continue making a difference in the lives of others. Hopefully you will capture the spirit of the Odu Ifa and fulfill the obligation of bringing good into the world. Build a better world!

What Risks Are You Taking?

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Earl F. Merritt
Originally uploaded by LAUSatPSU

Greetings! Let me begin by telling you a little bit about who I am. I grew up in Springfield, Massachusetts. I majored in History and Political Science as an undergraduate at Kentucky State College. Plus, I have graduate degrees in Counseling and Child and Family Studies. Currently, I am the Coordinator of Multicultural Equity Programs in the College of the Liberal Arts. My duties focus on recruitment and retention of underrepresented students in the college. One of my goals in the work that I do is to help students find ways to challenge themselves and to take risks that will positively impact their undergraduate education.

Now that you know a little bit about me, allow me to share a story that reflects how I learned to navigate my own undergraduate experience. My adviser Dr. Smith was a stern looking person but was also very communicative when engaged by students. Dr. Smith helped me to develop as a student by taking on academic challenges. I clearly recall seeking his input on my course selection one semester. I was interested in taking an upper level course that was rarely offered. He encouraged me to reflect on the class environment I would be entering, as a sophomore taking a course with upper level students. He wondered if I would I be up to the challenge of mastering material without much prior exposure. He asked me to explain how I planned to overcome that potential challenge, since I expected to earn an A in the course. Dr. Smith equipped me to become an educated problem solver through this exercise of ‘what if’. I assessed what I perceived to be the essential challenges that could occur and proposed possible solutions, thereby refining my risk taking skills. Based on my proposal he acquiesced to my request. In this course, I was thrust into a cohort of students that allowed my interpersonal and critical reasoning skills to evolve. I started examining materials beyond their surface meanings, seeking alternative explanations, proposing new directions to explore, and I developed a willingness to ask questions.

It is my belief that Liberal Arts students are uniquely gifted when they fully engage with the array of experiences offered at the University. Students should constantly ask what kinds of risks they can take to challenge and broaden their undergraduate experience.

What have been some of your growth producing experiences during your enrollment? What risks have you taken? Allow others to learn from your ventures.

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