For Katharine Uvick, of Camp Hill, the answer to her questions came in the form of a virtual internship with the U.S. Department of Energy. Working with a team of about 20 other students across the country, Uvick virtually collaborated on a mobile game for iPhones and Android smartphones.

“I’m used to working with people in person, so it was an adjustment,” Uvick said. “But [web conferencing] lets you have access to people with different talents in different parts of the world. This experience showed me challenges actual companies might face.”

The game (which has yet to be named) targets players interested or working in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields. Uvick has experience programming PC games as a Computer Science major and Communications Media minor, but she was new to the world of mobile games.

To play the game, users become secret agents and link buildings and energy resources on a map. It provides a challenging puzzle that roughly simulates the energy challenges the Department of Energy faces when conducting research and creating policy, Uvick said.

“The Department of Energy is involved in research and policy, so we wanted to provide a challenging game to promote that,” Uvick said. “The game simulates what they have to think about.”

Uvick’s internship required about 20 hours of work per week, which she divided among three groups: design, artwork, and programming.

As a member of the design team, she created the secret agent aspect of the game’s narrative, which will be integral in the final version of the game.

She was also involved with the creation of artwork for the game.

“It was a challenge because I was making a 3D model of a gas station,” Uvick said. “The game has a clean aesthetic, but I always picture those old-fashioned gas stations, which wouldn’t work. So I had to figure out how to make a gas station that’s modern-looking, but you still know what it is.”

Prior to her internship, Uvick had “minimal experience” with the language used to program mobile applications, JavaScript. She had to learn a lot as she helped to code the game from scratch.

“I had used JavaScript in my Web Architecture class prior to my internship, but not to the extent used in the game,” she said. “I was looking things up and learning it while coding the game.”

Production is still underway, but the team intends to release a public test version of the game in October.

Though she learned on-the-go during this internship, gaming and programming are nothing new to Uvick. Her mother, Della Hoke-Uvick, has a degree in animation, and her twin sister, Sarah, is a Communications major at IUP. Her father, Don Uvick, is an operations research analyst for the Navy, a job which mystified her until she learned the basics of computer programming in school.

“Even when we did Take Your Daughter to Work Day, I still had no idea what he did.”

Uvick dreamt of being a game developer since childhood, but she “gave up” on this in high school.

“If you tell your parents that you want to be a game designer, they might tell you to be a doctor or a lawyer instead,” Uvick said. “But they were supportive, and the Communications Media department really gave me hope.”

Uvick is excited to continue to build her knowledge of the gaming industry and production. She intends to apply for an internship at Lighthammer, a local independent gaming studio in Harrisburg close to her home in Camp Hill.

She also plans to attend the annual Game Developers Conference in California for the second time, and hopes that her internship experience will give her networking opportunities “and maybe even a job.”

By Emily Weber

“I enjoyed this visit very much. It was one of the best that I have had at a university,” Nachbar said.

Nachbar's online EducatedQuest.com is the only family-focused guide to the best values in higher education. He attempts to give them the information they need to calculate relative value as they choose between universities. He weighs cost against quality. He also looks at the local community, and Indiana fares very well.

In the course of his research Nachbar also spoke with Robert Cook whose endowment helps to support CHC.

It did not take long for the charm of Whitmyre Hall to return to the collected alumni. As Andy Snyder, who graduated from the CHC in 2000 and is now working as a policy specialist at the National Academy for State Health Policy, said, “It surprised me how quickly we were able to slip back into the groove of talking about big ideas in a big way.” That was encouraging for Janet Goebel, director of the CHC. “I so much enjoyed being able to talk with alumni whom I very much miss, to realize that they still love to talk about ideas,” she said.

One of the centerpieces of the event was the auction of Blind Lady Justice—a copy of an iconic statue that has been a longstanding decoration at the front of the Great Hall, to the highest donor of the evening. After some intense bidding, Ken Sosnick, class of 2003, took her home. She is now sitting in a conference room at the Office of Administrative Litigation at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Sosnick’s workplace. “She will watch over many negotiations and meetings in my office over the years to come,” Sosnick said.

Deep intellectual discussion, though, was not the only benefit of the evening. The alumni were also able to reconnect with each other and faculty and administrators of the CHC. “It was terrific seeing my friends again from the class of 2000. Sometimes you look back and wonder if the experience was really as great as you remember, and then you get together after so many years, and it's exactly like old times” Brian Ziman, also class of 2000 and currently a software engineer for Matron Avionics and professor at George Mason University, said. Sosnick agreed: “I was able to catch up up with fellow classmates as well as hear about many success stories from more than 10 years of graduates.”

Another special treat of the evening was the presence of Charles Cashdollar, professor emeritus of History at IUP and an HC Core faculty member for many years. Andy Snyder confided that the great conversation they enjoyed was probably “because we kept Dr. Cashdollar at our table all night.”

Goebel declared the event a great success, saying how great it was “to learn about the meaningful and interesting things the alumni are doing with their lives. Seeing so many people from our very first graduating class brought back wonderful memories.” Lisa Halmes, the administrative assistant often known in Whitmyre as the “HC Mom,” also deeply enjoyed the evening. “The event was a huge success! It was so great to get to see everyone! I knew the students in the HC always had a special connection—it truly showed,” Halmes said. Snyder, for one, did not want the night to end, and added, “I hope we’re able to do it again soon.”

After the conversations came to a close, everyone went their separate ways and took a little bit of the HC magic home with them.

Those attending the overnight Open House will have an opportunity to participate in an Honors Core class, meet with representatives from their major department, tour the Honors College and IUP campus, and meet current Honors students, faculty and staff.

“The Open Houses at the Cook Honors College differ in that there is very little ‘editing’ to what happens here. We don’t just place a few selected students in front of our visitors. Instead, we offer both high school students and their family members an opportunity to truly get to know the real, lived experience of the CHC, to meet all of our students and hear their stories, and to ask their questions and get candid, unscripted responses. There is something special about the community of the Honors College, and we want to share that openly,” states Heather Andring, assistant director of the Cook Honors College at IUP who works with the admissions process.

For more information and an online registration form, please visit the Cook Honors College website.

The Indiana University of Pennsylvania's Cook Honors College's Summer Honors Program is a place where talented high school students come together for one to two weeks and form a community of scholars who explore academic and collegiate living in a real college setting.

Working closely with dedicated professors offers promising students the unique opportunity to experience college life while still in high school. Students will live with counselor-in-residence in one of IUP's residence halls, share meals in the dining hall, and learn with IUP professors during each day's classes. Evening activities expose students to college life outside the classroom. The weekend includes opportunities for community service and recreation in the Indiana area. The program closes with a Saturday recognition ceremony with faculty and family.

The 2012 program dates are July 8-14 (session one) and July 15-21 (session two). Students may attend one or both sessions. 

More information and application materials.

Margaret Lucas of Biglerville, Pa., was named the overall contest winner with her essay entitled “Let Your Light Shine”. In response to being named a finalist, Margaret stated "I'm thrilled to be named a finalist in the Making a Difference essay competition, both to be able to share how important community service is to me and to encourage others to find ways to serve, learn, and grow. Thank you, Cook Honors College, for giving me this opportunity to write about something that means so much to me!"

“I thought the opera was a fantastic cultural experience, since I had never been to one,” said freshman Hannah Frishberg. “I definitely enjoyed it.”

Some were unsure if they would enjoy the performance, but were pleasantly surprised once they immersed themselves in the story. Freshman Christkelly Dornevil enjoyed “the outfits and their voices,” although she found that she “didn’t get that into it until the third scene.”

Since many first-time attendees have to adjust to some aspects of the opera, Dr. Matthew Baumer, an IUP Music professor who teaches fine arts for Junior Core, gave a lecture on the plot and structure of opera performances the day before the students attended La Traviata.

Frishberg found the lecture “very helpful plot-wise” because she was able to understand the story and she “didn’t have to read the supertitles so much, so I got a more fulfilling experience.”

She also learned a lot about the technicalities of operatic singing, and found that aspect of Baumer’s lecture “enlightening.”

Although it is not a requirement for upperclassmen to attend the opera, several sophomores and juniors returned to the Benedum Center for their second or third times.

“[La Traviata] was my third opera with the HC, and this one was probably my favorite,” said junior Sybil Watson. She enjoyed the “combination of the story and the music” and thought “the characters were more relatable.”

by Emily Weber

Their paper, entitled “Access to Formal Credit and Rural Economic Development: An Examination of Prevailing Assumptions in the Land Rental Market of Rural India,” studied the relationship of access to credit from the formal banking sector and how that impacted the decisions the farmers made about their farm’s productivity. “The basic assumption we were evaluating with the data is whether or not farmers who do not have access to credit from banks use that credit to improve their farm—basically, how access to credit affects a farmer’s behavior,” said Minich about their research. They found that, contrary to the generally true assumption, a farmer’s access to credit did not explain the production decisions he made.

DeRubis and Minich worked on the project together in an advanced economic research class called Advanced Econometrics. The project was daunting, and it was up to the two of them to frame the question, find the data, structure the data, and understand the statistical methods that would help them to make sense of their data. The project cost them many hours. “Advanced Econometrics was my favorite class at IUP. I enjoyed the freedom and creativity that doing independent research allows. There were many times I felt like giving up, but diligence does tend to pay off,” DeRubis said.

Paid off indeed. Christian presented the paper at the Pennsylvania Economic Association’s annual conference in June 2011 at Dickinson College, and their paper was awarded the Best Undergraduate Paper distinction. That distinction was more than merely a thumbs-up to the authors; the paper will be published in the Fall edition of the Pennsylvania Economic Review, a peer-reviewed economics journal. “Having a paper published as an undergraduate gave me renewed confidence in my academic plans, and I believe it will help me distinguish myself from other similarly qualified candidates during the graduate school admissions process,” DeRubis said.

Conducting independent research is not merely a resume builder, however. It built the confidence of the two that research was not an activity that only Ph.D.s can accomplish. Both DeRubis and Minich are grateful for the opportunity they had to do the research, as well as present at a conference and have a paper published in a peer-reviewed journal. In thinking about the experience, DeRubis said, “I believe that doing undergraduate research is beneficial for any student, whether they plan on entering the workforce or continuing in their education.” Minich continues, “And that’s something that the professors are there to help you with. Dr. J. helped us so many times, keeping us on task, answering our questions, and fostering us to make the project our own and discover the solutions for ourselves. I can’t say enough about the difference he, and other professors here at IUP, have made on my ability to think and accomplish substantive achievements such as this paper.”

The accomplishments of these two are not limited to this paper. Mitch was unable to attend the conference because he was leaving for Georgetown to begin a program with the Fund for American Studies. The program consisted of a thirty-two hour per week internship at the U.S. Small Business Institute and three economics and political science classes at Georgetown University. “My experience was remarkable and one I will not soon forget. My Economics professor, Ben Powell, was a regular guest commentator on Fox News and a prolific researcher. My internship seminar instructor, Karen Czarnecki, has spent years working in the federal government and is currently chief of staff for Pennsylvania Representative Mike Kelly,” DeRubis said. His most memorable experiences, though, did not come from the classroom, but “with my newly acquired friends from France, Argentina, Iraq, Bahrain, Panama, Lebanon, and all over the world.”

Christian, on the other hand, traveled throughout Turkey and Cyprus the summer after his freshman year, visiting archeological sites and observing modern culture, with an eye to understanding how cultures choose to construct themselves and what from the history of the geographic area they choose to make part of their own. “It was striking to me, especially in Turkey. Turkey is religiously Muslim, though they have an officially secular state. It was fascinating walking around all these Greek, Byzantine, Ottoman, and Hittite ruins and realizing that the people who were living in Turkey now did not consider most of those peoples as part of their cultural identity,” Minich said. Also on the trip, he was able to observe the transmission of cultural ideas from one people to the next, whether intentionally or passively. The following summer, Christian worked at McLagan, a financial services consulting firm in Stamford, Conn. “At McLagan, I learned how important attention to detail when working with large amounts of data is, and how much work it takes to have data that is reliable,” Minich said.

As the daughter of an IUP professor, senior Robin Beisel was always told that college is what you make of it. She was this year’s recipient of the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties (APSCUF) scholarship, and has certainly made something of her four years in the Honors College at IUP.

An International Business major with minors in Marketing and French, Beisel is active in and out of the classroom. She is the Student Government Association secretary and a member of Beta Gamma Sigma Honors Business Fraternity, Phi Kappa Phi Honors Fraternity, the International Business Association, and French Club, as well as a volunteer for the American Red Cross.

She has also spent time overseas in France, which has strengthened her understanding of international business and her speaking skills. She studied abroad on two separate occasions and said that it, “enhanced [her] cultural awareness, and drastically improved [her] French language skills.” She recently completed a semester abroad in Cannes, France, and actually applied for the APSCUF scholarship while abroad.

Beisel was eligible for this year’s scholarship competition as a student at a PASSHE school and the daughter of an IUP employee. To enter, she was required to submit two letters of recommendation and write a 500-word essay about the role of unions in the United States. Her essay was titled, “American Unions: A History of Spirited Initiative”

It was the quantity and quality of her scholarship application that set her apart from other contestants, according to APSCUF Special Services Committee Chair Pablo Delis. “Ms. Beisel’s excellent essay...superb faculty feedbacks and her outstanding community service record put her over the top,” said Delis.

Beisel attributes her success in her academic and extracurricular pursuits to the supportive environment of the Cook Honors College. “The IUP faculty, particularly in the Honors College, have always been quick to help me with any new endeavor I have,” said Beisel. “Without [the faculty] I could not have accomplished all that I have done.”

After she graduates, Beisel plans to “study linguistics and international relations” in graduate school and hopes to work for the United States government one day.

—By Emily Weber

The Cook Honors College (CHC) at Indiana University of Pennsylvania announces its Fall 2011 overnight Open Houses for prospective high school students and their families. Open Houses will be held October 7-8 and November 11-12 in Whitmyre Hall, the Cook Honors College living-learning community.

Those attending the overnight Open Houses will have an opportunity to participate in an Honors Core class, meet with representatives from their major department, tour the Honors College and IUP campus, and meet current Honors students, faculty, and staff.

“The Open Houses at the Cook Honors College differ in that there is very little ‘editing’ to what happens here. We don’t just place a few selected students in front of our visitors. Instead, we offer both high school students and their family members an opportunity to truly get to know the real, lived experience of the CHC, to meet all of our students and hear their stories, and to ask their questions and get candid, unscripted responses. There is something special about the community of the Honors College, and we want to share that openly,” states Heather Andring, assistant director of the Cook Honors College at IUP who works with the admissions process.

For more information and an online registration form, please visit the Cook Honors College website.

The Cook Honors College at Indiana University of Pennsylvania announces the annual Making a Difference essay competition for high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors.

Consistent with our mission to create engaged and thoughtful citizens, the essay contest invites students to reflect on their own experiences with community service by answering the question “How have you been transformed by your own community service?”

Essay requirements and the essay cover sheet can be found on the IUP Cook Honors College website. Essays are due by November 5, 2011, with winners announced in December. Winning essays are eligible to receive over $2,000 in cash prizes, including a $1,000 first-place award.

At the Society for Research in Child Development conference in Montreal, Rachel came face to face with roughly three hundred paper symposiums, over 3,000 posters, and approximately 8,000 developmentalists who were also in attendance.

“It demonstrated to me the reason why I want to go into research,” said Rachel. “All these people had such passion for the field and wonderfully clever ways of studying various theories. I met researchers who I plan on applying to work with in graduate school, which is a huge advantage for getting into these highly competitive programs. Overall, it was one of the best experiences of my life and one that has definitely shown me that my current direction—becoming a developmental researcher of media learning during infancy—is the one I truly want to be on.”

In order to pay for attending this conference, the Cook Honors College Achievement Fund provided the means for Rachel to take advantage of this amazing opportunity. “Without the support of the Honors College’s Achievement fund,” Rachel explained, “I never would have been able to participate in an experience such as this. It may sound silly, but each time I felt intimidated or nervous about approaching a researcher at the conference (there were many ‘celebrity’ researchers there), I would think to myself, ‘Stop it! You have a purpose in being here. The HC wouldn’t have funded you if they didn’t think you could intelligibly talk to these people.’ And I think that’s another key feature of having support from the Honors College: it gives you the confidence to achieve because you have people like Dr. Goebel, Kevin, and the rest of the core faculty actively supporting you and encouraging you to succeed.”

Rachel transferred to IUP from Sarah Lawrence College in 2008 and, since then, has built herself a very successful college career. Achievements related to her chosen field include participation in an internship at the Melmark School for children with developmental disabilities, receiving the Psychology Department’s Stanley Lore Scholarship and the Board of Governors Full Tuition Scholarship, taking part in research projects at three different universities, and membership in Phi Kappa Phi, a national honors society that ranks her in the top 10 percent of her IUP class.

In addition to her many other psychology-related achievements, Rachel was also recently accepted to the Psychology Undergraduate Research conference at University of California–Los Angeles, for her honors thesis: “Infant Imitation of 2D Action Concepts on 2D and 3D Models.” Every year, this conference receives submissions from universities all across the country, but accepts just below half of all applicants.

“As of right now,” said Rachel, “my project is more theoretical, as I’ve designed the experiment, but I haven’t started testing fifteen- and eighteen-month-old infants yet. The study itself will investigate infants’ abilities to learn action concepts from a two-dimensional screen media, such as the television. I feel very honored to be included in such a program, and would not have entered my thesis if it [were] not for the support of certain faculty, especially my thesis advisor, Dr. Lisa Newell.”

This summer, Rachel is participating in an internship at Yale University, where she is employed as a summer researcher in the psychology department. The ten-week program is highly competitive, receiving over three hundred applicants for only eight spots. It is run through Research Experience for Undergraduates, which is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.

While at Yale, Rachel is working under Dr. Kristina Olson and Dr. Laurie Santos. Their research focuses on the development of social skills as investigated through evolutionary, developmental, and comparative perspectives. Rachel is working with young children and non-human primates, who will both act as participants in Dr. Olson and Dr. Santos’ experiments.

“It’s a really good opportunity,” says Rachel, “because not only are you compensated for doing something truly meaningful, you also get to see how a graduate research program is run. An experience like this ranks you nationally, which is a very important experience in several regards. I mean, for one, it’s key for a well-rounded CV, but it’s also a great way of deciding if you can realistically make research your full-time job, or even your future career.”

These accomplishments alone are enough to make Rachel a highly desirable soon-to-be graduate, but her success is not just limited to the field of psychology. Her other accomplishments include an Academic Merit Scholarship, receiving the Pennsylvania State Schools of Higher Education Women’s Leadership Award, presenting at multiple conferences, membership in Mortar Board, (a national honors society for seniors), Gamma Sigma Gamma (a national service sorority), SAGE: Students Advocating Gender Equality (which annually organizes The Vagina Monologues to fund raise for the Alice Paul House), involvement in a multitude of community service projects, and much more.

“As I’ve progressed in college,” Rachel explained, “I’ve realized that every opportunity is worth seizing, whether it’s a scholarship on campus, or a conference like this, or a random program. It helps you recognize that you have done something meaningful during your time here. I’m always applying to random things to see what happens.” She went even further to discuss what her experience in the Psychology Department at IUP has been like. “Dr. Zimny and Dr. Newell have been incredibly supportive of me and are always ready to encourage me to do something new. If I ever need to talk about something related to my research or otherwise, they are always willing to lend an ear and offer advice. These two professors have really made my experience in my department and at IUP in general exceptionally personal and very meaningful.”

This impressive list of achievements and activities certainly showcases Rachel’s accomplishments, and indicates that she is a dedicated student and well-prepared adult. She plans to further her schooling in developmental psychology, and is now considering several different Ph.D. programs for her graduate career. During her upcoming conference and her internship this summer, we know that Rachel will make the Cook Honors College and IUP proud.

by Sara Patton
Class of 2014

The Indiana University of Pennsylvania's Cook Honors College's Summer Honors Program is a place where talented high school students come together for one to two weeks and form a community of scholars who explore academic and collegiate living in a real college setting.

Working closely with dedicated professors offers promising students the unique opportunity to experience college life while still in high school. Students will live with counselor-in-residence in one of IUP's residence halls, share meals in the dining hall, and learn with IUP professors during each day's classes. Evening activities expose students to college life outside the classroom. The weekend includes opportunities for community service and recreation in the Indiana area. The program closes with a Saturday recognition ceremony with faculty and family.

This summer, an English major from the Robert E. Cook Honors College at IUP is heading to Cambridge to participate in the Pembroke-King’s Programme. Several weeks ago, Elizabeth Elmore, a sophomore at IUP, was accepted to the program and offered a tuition scholarship for the Creative Writing and History classes she’ll be taking there.

Elizabeth is from Madison, Ohio. Some of her college accomplishments include positions as secretary of the English Club and president of the Book Club and two Alternative Spring Break trips to Texas, where she worked at animal sanctuaries. She plans to go to graduate school in the future and study either English or creative writing. “I came to the Honors College because of the reasonable cost,” Elizabeth said, “which hopefully leaves me with money to go abroad.” And this summer she has her first opportunity!

“It's an eight-week program jointly offered by the Pembroke and King's Colleges at Cambridge in England,” Elizabeth explained. “I was actually looking into applying for the Cambridge International Summer Schools, and I told my mom to Google it, and she found this program instead. I chose to apply for it because it was of a longer duration and lower cost than the usual Cambridge Summer Schools. At the time, it seemed like a longshot for me to be accepted. I unfortunately did not get a full scholarship—only a tuition one—but it’s still awesome.”

The Cook Honors College (CHC) encourages students to take part in study abroad programs, internships, and any other special skill-building and eye-opening opportunities available to college students. This particular Honors College characteristic continues to thrive. When asked how the CHC had helped her with the application process, Elizabeth said, “My main source of help was Dr. Goebel, who was really excited about the program. She helped me edit the personal statement that I won the scholarship with.”

Elizabeth also discussed her English class experiences at IUP and how those classes have helped her prepare for the program this summer. “I’ve taken Creative Writing and Creative Nonfiction,” she explained, “and I think my background in those classes will help me with the very intensive creative writing classes I'll be taking at Cambridge: Novel Writing and Screen Adaptation.”

Opportunities like this are crucial for becoming well-educated and prepared for the world outside the student realm. Experiences that differ from those had in the typical classroom environment are not only helpful in providing valuable job and people skills, but allow for networking opportunities as well. Elizabeth recognizes the useful characteristics of such experiences, saying, “I definitely think that taking classes and earning credits at Cambridge will make me more marketable when applying for internships, graduate school, and jobs. I also may consider going to England for graduate school, and this program will give me a taste of whether or not that would be the right decision for me.”

The Cook Honors College is designed to help prepare students for amazing experiences such as the program Elizabeth will be participating in this summer. Graduates from the Honors College are well-equipped to compete with graduates from better-known schools such as Yale or Harvard—and this process starts early! “Most of the people who typically attend [the Pembroke-King’s Programme] are from Ivy League schools and other prestigious universities like Berkeley,” Elizabeth said, “so it’s probably awesome for the Honors College that I will be a part of that demographic.”

Elizabeth is looking forward to the program this summer but hasn’t lost focus on the steps that it will take to get there. “[I’m] definitely excited,” she said. “I've never been abroad, so it'll be amazing to experience another culture while still having the comfort of a shared language. I'm especially excited for a course I'm planning on taking called Novel Writing. But right now it’s all about finding scholarships to further finance everything.”

This summer, Elizabeth Elmore has the opportunity to take part in an experience that will allow her to encounter another culture and explore possibilities beyond anything she knows right now. We congratulate her and wish her well on her journey!

On February 16, 2011, Janel Prinkey, Theresa Hoffman, Carrie McGraw, and Amy Bouch, all sophomores at the Robert E. Cook Honors College (CHC) at IUP, participated in the university’s annual English Undergraduate Conference. Their presentation, titled “Barbie: A Feminist Analysis of an Infamous Icon,” dealt with the way that Barbie portrays females and how she has influenced young women over the years.

Sitting down with Theresa Hoffman to discuss the conference, one immediately got the feeling that she had had a good time presenting and was excited to talk about her experience. In response to the question of why the group had picked this topic, Theresa stated, “We all loved Barbie dolls when we were little. I loved Barbies growing up, but looking back now, these are awkward dolls to be playing with.” She went on to explain how they approached the presentation and what they had decided to focus on.

To start, the presenters provided feminist analyses of the poem, “Barbie Doll” and the song, “Barbie Girl,” looking at the way Barbie is depicted as a bimbo and sex symbol, and how both Barbie and Ken fulfill traditional gender roles. Then, they used mathematical proportions to reveal to their audience the unrealistic and unhealthy way Barbie would look if she were a real person, and discussed other controversial dolls, such as the Pregnant Midge dolls. They ended their presentation by looking at kinds of advertising that make women look stupid and like sex objects, and a discussion with the audience about any additional thoughts on the topic. To top off their excellent presentation, all four women had fun and dressed up as different versions of Barbie to make the experience more fun and memorable.

When conversing with the ladies, it became evident that all of them had truly enjoyed their conference experience. Janel Prinkey in particular seemed pleased with the reactions to their presentation. “I loved presenting in front of the English major crowd,” she explained. “Not only were they exposed to feminist critique, but they were enthusiastic about the topic.” To expand on that, Amy Bouch added, “It's a somewhat laid back experience, and the people who come generally want to be there, so they are actually interested in what you are saying.”

Since all four women are CHC students, I was curious to find out if their experiences with honors core and unit presentations had helped or at all influenced their confidence and preparedness for the conference presentation.  In response to that question, Theresa earnestly declared, “Core absolutely helped.” She cited her experiences with core presentations and how they had made her more confident in performing in front of other people. “Probably what’s helped me more than anything,” she said, “is [learning] not to be afraid to get up and make a fool of myself. [Also], I’m used to answering questions from people during presentations. I’ve learned that there’s a gray area. It’s not all right and wrong.”

“The biggest challenge,” Janel continued, “is finding time to meet as a group to work on the project. As sophomore English majors who are also in the HC, we have little time to spend working on outside activities, but we made time to present at the conference. We knew that it would be a worthwhile experience.”

Amy, however, thought the biggest challenge was not making time to work together, but was rooted in more technical aspects. “I would actually say it was using the technology in the classroom,” she explained. “Janel made a video of pictures in Windows Movie Maker, but then when we went to open it on the computer it didn't work. It was most likely because the computer we were using didn't have the program. We ended up just looking at the pictures in Google and it turned out okay.” Laughing at the difficulties they had experienced, Theresa added, “I’ve learned [that] the more tech-savvy you are, the better. Especially if you’re going to use it in your presentation.”

All the presenters strongly encouraged others to participate in next year’s conference or similar opportunities. “Go for it!” Amy exclaimed. “It's a good thing to put yourself out there and show some of your work.” Janel agreed, saying, “This was a fun experience that gave us the opportunity to share the work that we had completed in a previous class. It was also on a really fun topic, so it wasn't as much work as it appeared to be.”

Theresa wanted to reassure anyone who has doubts about presenting, saying, “Anything that goes wrong for you isn’t going to be something that hasn’t happened before, so don’t be afraid to get up there and take that risk.” She added another incentive for presenting as well. “Employers want to have people who have public speaking skill or experience, so you want to have that on your resume. It’s such an integral part of any career, really.”

These CHC students are using the skills they learn in core to go beyond expectations and take advantage of the amazing opportunities that come their way. The ladies informed me that they might have an opportunity to give their presentation in a women’s studies class, but that they are currently awaiting more information on that particular possibility. They will also be presenting their topic again at the Undergraduate Scholars Forum on April 5, 2011. After talking about their future plans for their Barbie presentation, Theresa smiled and said, “Looks like we’re going to take the show on the road!”

Katie Stanko, a freshman at the CHC this year and one of the organizers of this overnighter, said, “I think the President's Day Overnighter was very successful. It gave the future class of 2015 a chance to get to know each other, to bond, to form friendships that will last the next four years of their lives. We made the experience fun but very [relaxed] and low key, so the students decided what they wanted to do. I think that's why so many of them liked it.”

Laughter and camaraderie were the overwhelming characteristics of the class of 2015 as they played a “Roommate Speed Dating” game, participated in various icebreakers, and listened to a panel of current CHC students talk about life in the Honors College. Later, a group called the Honors Connection divided the overnighters into three teams and provided each team with props, asking them to come up with quick skits using all of the provided materials. Each group came up with something hilarious, amusing peers as well as getting a taste for what Core presentations will be like in the future.

Laura Wilkins, another CHC freshman who helped out with the overnighter, was impressed by the natural ease with which the incoming freshmen interacted with one another. “Even when left to themselves, they came up with a game to play to help get to know each other. They were really friendly and outgoing and not afraid to talk amongst themselves. They were enthusiastic about getting to know each other as well as the upperclassmen,” she said.

As the night progressed, groups of incoming freshmen could be found mingling amongst their peers and CHC upperclassmen. In one classroom, the tables were pushed aside and a videogame station was hooked up to a flat-screen TV. Students playing “Dance Dance Revolution” were jumping and moving on top of large floor pads in time to the music while, in the back of the room, a loud game of Guesstures was taking place. Bursts of laughter continued to erupt from this crowd as their friends flailed their arms ridiculously, trying to get their teams to guess the correct words.

In the room next door, a group of guitarists had gathered around the baby grand piano, strumming their instruments and singing with each other as other students sat and listened. Over in the Great Hall, tables were moved aside to accommodate all of the sleeping bags and pillows that had been spread out on the floor, ready and waiting for the overnighters when they finally tired of their games and conversations.

The next morning, the overnighters returned to the Core classrooms after having stayed up spending time with each other in them for a large portion of the night. They sat in and listened to the classes, getting a feel for how Core operates and finding intrigue and entertainment in the classroom dialogue. After eating a last meal together at the Hadley Union Building, the program ended and the overnighters went home. Juli Whetstone, one of the incoming freshmen, summed up the 2011 President’s Day Overnighter nicely: “It’s [been] nice to meet everyone before we start this Fall and get to know each other. It’s been a great experience.”

—Sara Patton

The open houses are for prospective students in their sophomore, junior, and senior years of high school who are interested in the Cook Honors College (CHC). With honors student panels, questions and answer sessions for parents, building and campus tours, mock core classes, and some laid-back hangout time with current HC students, the open houses will provide great opportunities for high school students to spend some time at the CHC and “try it on for size”.

Adam Santavy, a current freshman at the CHC who attended an open house during his college decision-making process says; “Attending the open house was the deciding factor on whether or not to come to the Honors College. I was wavering back and forth; I was very intimidated by the high academic expectations. The open house, mock core, and family-like atmosphere changed my perspective!”

When asked if he was worried about the overnight portion of the open house, current HC freshman Dave Gershgorn cheerfully replied with; “A little bit, but only because I was sleeping in a room full of relative strangers. Once you know some familiar faces, it’s not so bad.”

We encourage anyone who is considering the CHC, or anyone who is just plain curious about what CHC is and how it works, to attend one of the open houses and get to know us. Any student who wants to participate should complete the registration form or e-mail the Honors College (honors@iup.edu). We look forward to meeting all the prospective students!

Dr. Janet Goebel, Cook Honors College director, said: “It’s very inspiring to read the many individual reflections on the power of giving to others. The social engagement of America’s young people truly is making a difference.”

“I am continually heartened by the enthusiasm which younger generations have for engaging in some of the difficult problems which our society—and indeed our world—faces. These students in particular represent a broader movement of young people who are determined to make a difference, determined to act, to be proactive in efforts to improve the lives of others” added Dr. Caleb Finegan, founding director of the Center for Civic Engagement and Student Leadership.

The winners of the 2010 Making a Difference Essay Contest are:

First Place

Stephanie Tran—read her essay
Temple City, Calif.

Second Place

Caitlyn Connolly
Scarborough, Maine

Honorable Mentions

Cody Stewart
Indiana, Pa.

Laura Hlusko
Fredonia, Pa.

Jessica Liu
Bethesda, Md.

Ji Su Ha
Colorado Springs, Colo.

Simone Mokum
Philadelphia, Pa.

Julie Contos
Waynesburg, Ohio

Alexandra Constable
Bethel, Ohio

Benjamin Jury
Burbank, Calif.

Maria Hadley
Dracut, Mass.

Lexie Orlowski
North Apollo, Pa.

Returning to IUP on November 8, 2010, was a kind of homecoming for Dr. Fakhri, who sees the Cook Honors College (CHC) and Whitmyre Hall as “my Hogwarts.” During his four years at IUP, he felt he was a part of a family comprised of his fellow CHC students, as well as his Honors Core professors. It became evident how truly at home he still feels here when he helped set up the shot for his interview: he scooped up the Great Hall’s bust of Plato and positioned it neatly between the arm chairs usually occupied by chess players. With his wife looking on, and their baby daughter practicing her spitting (a recently discovered skill) in the background, he sat down to talk about just what the CHC means to him.

“I know how to write… academic-quality publications. I know how to present. I know how to talk… whether it’s one-on-one or in public, and those are all skills that were nurtured here. I know how to read a piece of literature, an academic publication, and think critically about it… all of those skills came from here [the CHC].”

The CHC taught him how to take charge of his education to make it work for him. He learned very quickly that it’s not all about going to class and taking notes; a big part of receiving an education is making things happen for yourself, and that’s exactly what Dr. Fakhri did. Thanks to the encouragement of his peers and professors, he went the extra mile in extracurricular work by doing his own research the summer after his freshman year.

Dr. Fakhri also felt right at home at Drexel University, where M.D. students are taught to take a humanistic approach to practicing medicine. His previous education at the CHC prepared him to not only think about things critically, but also humanely. Already having that “basic skill set” of critical thinking, writing, public speaking, and teamwork, thanks to the CHC, put Dr. Fakhri miles ahead of his fellow M.D. students.

All these experiences led him to his training at the University of Pittsburgh. By the time he got to Pittsburgh, he was ready to take on the challenges he would face there. Many of the CHC’s students study abroad at some point during their undergraduate career. It’s during that time abroad that many of them discover their true passions. Dr. Fakhri had a similar experience working as a doctor in India for six months. On the one hand, Dr. Fakhri ended up right where he expected: practicing medicine. However, his dream evolved into something new: “In some respects, yeah, I have an M.D. after my name, I see patients, but my interests have broadened significantly.”

Watch the interview.

By Theresa Hoffmann and Wendy Leuenberger

In 2008, his first play, The Optimist, was published. He wrote it during graduate school at Florida State University, where he studied directing. Mr. Chimonides studied acting as an undergraduate, but he could never find monologue material that really “fit” him in other plays. During a study abroad experience in England, writing his first one-act “absolutely blew my mind open.” According to him, this is exactly how people discover their true callings: “you try a bunch of stuff until something works.” For Jason Chimonides, writing works.

Currently, Mr. Chimonides is working on getting his new play, Serverlove, published. He splits his time between Indiana, Pa., and New York City as different theater companies try on the play for size. In October, Manhattan Class Company (MCC) performed a reading of Serverlove. A reading requires three or four hours of rehearsal before a public “demo” on the same evening. If MCC chooses to produce the play, it will become available for publication. Once it is published, it will be free for production by theater companies across the U.S. and Canada, just like The Optimist.

“I write for personal realization first,” says Mr. Chimonides of his writing process. “I start with an idea,” and that idea grows into forty to fifty pages of raw notes. “Writing is a way of thinking about the world . . . it’s [the play is] me and what I’m thinking about . . . me and my unconscious sit down together, it’s leading.” For Serverlove, his unconscious alerted him to the eerie way technology has been designed to become as user friendly as possible: when a video game feels it’s been played for too long, it suggests that the user do something else for a while; programs and gadgets remember “recently opened” documents and “recently played” songs; etc. Professor Chimonides started out with the thought: “I’m really patient with people, but not with technology.” From that, the world of Serverlove blossomed: “[a] virtual reality world ala The Matrix, just as real as the real world . . . [full of] beings you interact with designed to give you exactly what you want.” He hopes Serverlove’s “metaphor [is] universal.”

Mr. Chimonides has already put two or three months into journaling ideas and two months into a draft of the script. Now it’s finally time for him to “get out of the cave” and experience Serverlove with people. He’s “really interested in what it might mean for you.” The risk “that people don’t get it” is a risk worth taking. Hopefully, Serverlove strikes a chord with an acting troupe so audiences can soon interpret Mr. Chimonides’s latest work.

By Theresa Hoffmann

By Theresa Hoffmann

I never really knew anything about Second Life until I sat down with Katharine Uvick and she showed me what it’s all about. She logged on and her avatar, a blocky robot, appeared on the screen in front of a backdrop of a green lawn and cloudless blue sky. She flew to Whitmyre Island.

Robot Katharine walked up the front stairs of a virtual Whitmyre Hall. I had to do a double take. Was I looking at a photograph of the real building? No. This was definitely a digital copy. A closer look revealed pixilation like in any other video game. What I was looking at was an exact, 3D replica of our beloved Whitmyre Hall, home of the Cook Honors College. The robot opened the front door and walked in. Again I was shocked to see how meticulously Michael and his associate, Erin O’Brien, had recreated the building. The Great Hall looked almost exactly the same as in real life. There was a playable piano in the Piano Room. The paintings hanging in the virtual Philosophy Room were the same as those in the real classroom. I was speechless.

Katharine maneuvers her avatar back outside to show me how to build things. There are all kinds of “prims” to choose from. Katharine pulls a cylindrical prism out of thin air and starts manipulating its dimensions. She makes it silver and metallic and shows it to me from all angles. Then, as quickly as she made it appear, she makes it vanish. Katharine points out that her robot is made entirely of “prims.” She also explains that using SL will become even more exciting in the near future, as the virtual world will soon be updated. The hope is for the uploading capabilities of SL to be improved so that users can create, “not just avatars, but all sorts of objects, from furniture to buildings,” with more sophisticated tools in programs such as Maya and then upload them for use in SL. The whole look and feel of SL will become more clean-cut and slick. Once the updates go into effect, users may forget they’re not actually sitting in the Philosophy Lounge in real life. As if that doesn’t happen already.

The environment on Whitmyre Island is, naturally, also modeled after the real Whitmyre Hall. There’s a huge sign outside that lists the rules of Whitmyre Island, among other things, they ask users to be quiet and productive and not to disrupt each other. Katharine explains her role as security for the island: there are security beacons all around, just like on IUP’s campus, that users can activate if someone else is breaking the rules or other wise being bothersome. “If someone is breaking the rules, I can remove them from the island.” Katharine hasn’t been fully trained yet, but among her responsibilities are cleaning up if users leave Whitmyre Island cluttered with their creations, make sure users are being respectful to each other, and that everyone is being peaceful and productive. Katharine tells of an incident when a user built a gun and shot at other users’ avatars on Whitmyre Island: “I’ve never kicked [out] anyone personally, but Michael Daniel [one of the creators of Whitmyre Island] had to kick [out] a female avatar.” Luckily, shots fired in cyberspace don’t harm users in real life.

As her robot avatar flew around cyberspace, Katharine explained to me that the whole point of creating Crimson Island, IUP’s SL property, in 2007 was to create a place where education could go beyond the boundaries of real life. Archaeology students can check out a virtual Mayan ruin, and CHC students, Katharine suggests, can visit the Great Hall from a thousand miles away while studying abroad. “I’m pretty sure that Whitmyre Island has hosted events and lecturers before,” says Katharine of her hopes to increase the CHC’s use of SL in this capacity. According to Katharine, this means students can have meetings for their Honors Core classes online, and even students who are home for the weekend can attend. For a school that values teamwork, SL might just be the greatest thing since sliced bread.

Katharine and Michael are ready to aid any new users in getting started. According to Katharine, it’s not that hard, “it’s all about getting used to the interface,” as it is with any other computer program. When a new user first logs onto SL, he/she is put on what Katharine calls “newbie island,” with a bunch of other new users. This is where he/she builds and names an avatar and learns how to navigate the virtual world.

Katharine is currently recruiting some of her friends to help with the project. There are, after all, an awful lot of responsibilities for only two people, especially if use of SL picks up as hoped. Someone will have to be in charge of organizing events such as virtual overnighters. “As I see it, the biggest advantage of Second Life is the fact that users can meet virtually from any location, whether it be different parts of campus or different parts of the country—as long as they have an Internet connection. One possibility that could come from this advantage could be for Honors College overnighters or open houses. What if students who could not physically come to the HC visited virtually, with the image of their avatars and the chat box projected on the big screen of the Great Hall? While there are some technical details and logistics to work out, I believe it would at least give these students, unable to attend [in real life], a taste of the Honors College.” Katharine has so much on her plate already; virtual event organizer is not necessarily something she’d like to add to her job description.

I know I’m ready to try SL just as soon as I get a decent chunk of free time to create my avatar. That’s the part I’m really looking forward to: building crazy things that could never exist in the real world. According to Katharine, Whitmyre Island is actually the ideal environment for such endeavors. Many SL users who aren’t CHC or even IUP students go to Whitmyre Island to build things because it’s just a great place in cyberspace to go and be productive. Sounds an awful lot like the real Whitmyre Hall to me.

More information about Whitmyre Island 

How to get started in Second Life 

IUP Magazine feature about Crimson Island 

Ray Edwards, a senior Economics and International Business double major at the Cook Honors College (CHC) of Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) is hard at work applying for graduate school, specifically doctorate programs. He is applying to no less than nine schools: Princeton, Harvard, Cornell, Penn State, University of Maryland, University of Virginia, University of North Carolina, and University of Georgia, as well as IUP. Though they all require an arduous application process, his most ambitious application is for the Rhodes Scholarship.

Oxford is Ray’s first choice for graduate school. He hopes to study politics, philosophy, and economics there for two years under the Rhodes Scholarship. Aside from the prestige of this program, he is excited by the idea of studying, alongside thrity-two other world-class students, the same topics many of today’s world leaders have studied, including the U.K.’s current prime minister, David Cameron. The way Ray sees it, many of the problems our society faces could be avoided if politicians understood philosophy and economics and if economists understood politics and philosophy. Ray is also drawn to the tutorial style of classes at Oxford: students in groups of one to two students are taught by faculty members, and together they read, analyze, and critique a written piece of work. Ray likes the idea of being an independent student and of learning without leaning on his peers.

This pride in individual work must come from his undergraduate studies at the CHC. His lucrative years on the IUP campus (as IUP’s student-trustee, he spoke at the 2010 Freshmen Convocation, welcoming the class of 2014—watch the speech on YouTube) have made him quite fond of the school. He, like the rest of the CHC student body, thoroughly enjoys an approach to learning that is not too distant from how Oxford classes work: classes in the CHC are seminar-style, with only twenty students per class. There are no tests in these classes, only readings, multitudes of papers, and deep discussion on any number of topics. Many entering freshmen quake at what lies ahead, but as a senior, Ray finds it hard to leave it all behind. “I’m going to cry for two weeks,” Ray said of graduation and saying goodbye to so many of his friends “forever.” For now, however, he is keeping in close contact with his fellow seniors, as many of them are also applying for prestigious scholarships. Stephanie Bearjar, for example, is hoping to win the Marshall Scholarship and go on to law school. Ray and Stephanie have been comparing notes in preparation for the GREs.

Why is Ray so driven? He considers his bachelor’s degree as just the beginning. He wants to “fill [his] toolkit” to the brim so that he is as marketable as possible when it comes time to start his career. If all goes well for Ray, he won’t be starting his career for another five years, two of them spent at Oxford among the greatest minds of his generation. He already has an application, eight letters of recommendation, and one personal interview behind him, but he has a whole set of interviews yet to go. The next step is statewide, and from there Ray aspires to go on to the regional level of interviews. The process is rigorous, but Ray’s chances are as good as anyone’s, if not better. For now, he’s fending off the nerves with school work.

(If you can’t see the interview above, you can watch the interview on YouTube’s website.)

“Just attending NCAAs was an amazing experience by itself, but achieving All-American status made it twice as fun,” Jackie said. “I had so many goals at the beginning of the season, but transferring to a new school, with a new coach, new teammates, new professors, and even a new major, I worried about how the adjustment might affect my season. I shouldn’t have been worried. My teammates were constantly telling me good luck or congratulating me for my times, watching the live feed of the events online, and texting me before and after each of my events.”

As a Speech-Language Pathology major in the Cook Honors College, Jackie has a challenging academic schedule. Clearly she loves a challenge: “I saw my hours of training and sacrifice pay off with some of my best swims ever. It’s a new year, I have new goals, and I expect many more of my team members to make it to the NCAA in San Antonio this year. I am pumped for the season to begin.”

Learn more about the IUP Women’s Swim Team.

The students also sampled of the Honors College’s interdisciplinary seminar, examining critical questions from the perspectives of anthropology, philosophy, biology, and literature.

One student stated, "I learned to think critically, develop reasonable facts behind my arguments, and became more open to new perspectives."

Current Cook Honors College student counselors also had an opportunity to reflect on their experience in the Honors College by sharing it with the high school attendees. One reflected, "I appreciated how far I have come in core by watching the campers in class. I see how useful the core curriculum has been and how much it has helped me to grow intellectually."

The high school students experienced campus life by living in Whitmyre Hall and dining in Foster alongside the fourteen current Honors College student staff counselors. Evenings included IUP’s many outlets for physical activity, games, campus tours, meditation, panels, and more. In order to contribute to the community, students spent a Saturday serving local nonprofit groups, volunteering a collective 232 hours!

The success of the SHP program stems from the collaboration of Academic Affairs, departments, faculty, and staff across campus. The program showcases the best of IUP to talented juniors and seniors as they begin their college application process.

“It’s a great way for us to build bridges to talented and gifted students. Even those who don’t ultimately enroll at IUP still go home and talk to peers and teachers about the wonderful academic experience they had on our campus,” said Janet Goebel, director of the Honors College.

(If you can’t see the interview above, you can watch the interview on YouTube’s website.)

“I research, analyze, and recommend policy,” said Mullick, who is based in Washington, D.C. “Currently, my focus is Pakistan's counterinsurgency/national security policy, ethnic/sectarian/religious schisms, and civil-military affairs in Pakistan, in the context of U.S.-Pakistan, India-Pakistan, and Afghanistan-Pakistan relations.”

Mullick has also served as an expert source in other national and international media, including Time magazine’s cover story on Pakistan, Voice of America, and CNN broadcasts.

A graduate of the IUP Cook Honors College, Mullick earned his B.A. in Economics in 2004 and an M.A. in Public Affairs in 2007 from IUP.

Learn more at Haider Mullick’s website.

Jennifer Ruelens, who earned a degree in marketing at IUP, was named by the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM) in the Journal of Property Management in the “30 under 30” spotlight highlighting some of the most notable young property managers in the country. She will also be featured in the upcoming book 50 Interviews: Successful Property Managers Advice and Winning Strategies from Industry Leaders.

Ruelens went to work as a leasing agent after graduation, and fourteen months later she was promoted to property manager at Property Management, Inc.

“I was fortunate to get a job leasing apartments, and realized quickly that my skills were uniquely suited to the successful operation of residential communities,” said Ruelens, 28, of Mechanicsburg, Pa. “I was quickly promoted in a year to a property manager position, and since then have managed portfolios as large as 469 units with teams of sixteen to twenty people.”

She earned her Accredited Residential Manager (ARM) certification in 2005. By the age of twenty-six, she took over management of 469 luxury residential units for Triple Crown Corporation in Mechanicsburg. She achieved the Best on Budget Award as well as several Best of Living Awards.

Ready for a new challenge, she recently switched industries to become director of Sales and Move Ins of senior living residences for IntegraCare in Camp Hill, Pa.

“I enjoy working in communities to improve the quality of life for people who reside there. Working in residential settings allows me to use my strengths and have a positive impact on the lives of the residents. Working with seniors has proved to be especially gratifying,” Ruelens said.

Ruelens, a member of MENSA, said she applies the critical thinking skills she developed while a student to business.

“My critical thinking skills gained at the Cook Honors College have set me apart in everything I have done since school,” she said. “It is amazing how critical thinking enhances all other education and training and just how little of it exists in business. I also firmly believe that my time spent in the CHC was critical to my confidence and motivation. Being surrounded by the achievements and abilities of my classmates forced me to expand my awareness and step up my game.

“Like most Cook Honors College students, I was always the big fish in the small pond and that limited my growth,” Ruelens said. “Coming to the CHC made me the small fish in a big pond of bright, ambitious students and superbly talented professors that forced me to grow beyond what I had ever imagined for myself.”

Ruelens maintains ties with the CHC and credits guidance from faculty and strong experiences as a student in preparing her for a successful career.

“Dr. Janet Goebel has continued to be a strong supporter, even since my graduation,” she said. “I know she is available to me for advice and counsel. During my studies at the CHC, Dr. Goebel took a personal interest in me and was a great support and guide for my studies and career plans. I also often reflect back on the classroom and project experiences with Dr. Charlene Bebko in the Marketing Department. She is an incredible teacher, and she also took a personal interest in me that helped me to have confidence in my capabilities.”

“I love the psychological aspect of sound design,” Huber explained. “A good designer is not just throwing some sound effects in or sound background music. A good designer is telling a story through their music and their sound. Every single sound you hear ought to be moving the story forward and engaging the audience or it shouldn't be in there. Watching the audience react whether consciously or subconsciously to my music and my sound effects and how they filled the room, you'd be surprised how powerful it really is and the dramatic effects it will have on a person.”

She was a sound designer in the IUP fall production of The Beauty Queen of Leenane. In the dark Irish comedy, the elderly and infirm matriarch, Mag, impedes the dreams and desires of her aging daughter who is forced to care for her.

Huber focused on amplifying the psychological elements to influence the audience.

“Take the death scene with Mag, if those few dying notes hadn't played as her body fell forward, there might have been a weaker element of fear in the audience,” said Huber, who was selected for the national competition for her outstanding achievement at regional festivals.

Only eight students in the nation are chosen to compete in each of eight categories including set, costume, light, sound and makeup design, stage management, directing and dramaturgy. The regional and national competitions are comprised primarily of graduate students.

The IUP production was one of only seven in its region, which includes all of Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Washington, D.C., invited to perform at the Region II KCACTF at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh in January.

“I initially went just to help get The Beauty Queen of Leenane up on its feet at the KCACTF Region II Festival,” she said. “I entered in a couple of sound designs into the design contest just to get some feedback from professionals and find out whether or not I actually have a shot of "making it" in the business as a sound designer. I am glad I went because not only did I win, I received some job offers as well as grad school offers. Most of all, I was told I was uniquely talented and had great potential in sound design from a professional, something no one else had told me before.”

Huber’s first major sound design was for Guys and Dolls followed by Hedda Gabler last spring.  “She worked very effectively not only in creating a design that well supported the production values -- but working closely with the production's videographer and lighting designer,” said Barb Blackledge, chair of IUP’s theater and dance department.

“This spring, she has taken on the sound design for a very theatricalized production of Bertold Brecht's ThreePenny Opera which also involved her learning about sound re-enforcement technology,” Blackledge said. Her contribution to The Beauty Queen of Leenane has garnered her deserved recognition, according to Blackledge. “Theresa has won the regional awards in sound design and is going to the national festival largely based on her outstanding work in sound design for this production,” Blackledge said. “Theresa also only came to discovering sound design as her primary pursuit towards her future in theater professionally. In fact, beyond this national level honor, she has been pursued by at least five major graduate programs in sound design across the country and has already received full ride offers to prestigious grad schools in this area.” Huber said she was able to incorporate her own personal style with the director’s approach.

“In The Beauty Queen of Leenane, I learned that it's okay to take the director's vision and put a little bit of my take on it,” she said. “I didn't have to be a marionette or just a sound engineer. I could actually design my own aesthetic and it would be unique and successful while complementary to the director's approach. I became versatile in my work and also learned not to ignore my own personal style.”

She also blended technical skill and her theatrical vision to enhance the sound design. “Technical skills that I learned included recording live sound and turning it into something else,” she said. “For example, I recorded pickles, meat, and oil frying and turned it into the flesh-burning sequence used in the show. I also took decent recordings of old Irish music and digitally edited in the sounds of static and crackling. I equalized them properly to make it sound like a tiny radio. I also learned how to convert flash files into wave files which means I can take videos
and turn them into sound effects. Little tricks like this really make a difference to a sound designer who works under a strict time constraint.”

Her abilities extend beyond sound design as does her experience.
 
“I have done everything from acting to stage management,” she said. “Good theater artists ought to have a basic understanding of all areas and apply it to their concentration. Because I have a background in all of the areas, I can communicate well with others and understand where they are coming from. I take everything I learn from them and apply it. For example, sound designers and lighting designers work directly with each other to make sure their aesthetics will flow well in telling the story.”

Huber expects to learn new techniques from other talented sound designers at the national festival.

“I expect to learn a lot,” she said. “I know many special classes in tech and design are offered to us free of charge. I am also expecting to meet some extremely talented designers from across the country. It'll be nice to meet people as enthused about sound design as I am.”

As a sound designer, she contends that, “Sound design is kind of "the odd one out" in theatre. To be a truly great sound designer, you have to be good or at least decent at science, math, programming, electrics, art, music, and many more things. I feel like this has been the one concentration in theater that uniquely fit all of my talents. I get to make the audience react just like an actor does, but I am hidden behind my work.”

Huber, who will be a sound intern in the summer at the Texas Shakespeare Festival, plans to earn a master’s degree in fine arts. “I have been accepted to many grad schools including UCLA, Cal Arts, Ohio University, and Urbana-Champaign,” she said. “I haven't decided where I am going yet, but I will soon, and it will be for a MFA in sound design. I will probably do touring shows and maybe look into design for film. Maybe one day I will teach sound design as it is a growing field.”

IUP has afforded Huber opportunities she said were not available through other programs of collegiate study. “I think IUP was the right place for me because no other school would have given me sound design opportunities unless I had a vast knowledge in electrics and signal flow,” she said. “I have only been doing this for a year, and I was still given wonderful opportunities here in the main stage. That has made all the difference and I'm so thankful to the faculty for that.”

Jessica Sabol, of Morrisdale, PA, has been awarded a 2008 National Selection Teams Fellowship to compete in the dramaturgy category at the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival in Washington, D.C. in April.

“I enjoy sharing my passion about the historical and critical side of a production with the company and audience to enhance their experience and further their learning,” Sabol explained.  “Most of all, I hope to make them want to do the research themselves going back to the sources. Discovering correspondences in what you already know and what you are learning is a very rewarding feeling.”

Sabol has served as dramaturg for IUP productions including The Beauty Queen of Leenane, a contemporary Irish dark comedy, and Kindertransport, a play about children being saved from the Holocaust.  She is the dramaturg for IUP’s current production of King Henry IV Part I

“As a dramaturg, I am typically in charge of much of the research and writing behind a theatrical production. This role, however, is different for every production, and I design my own process with each show I work on.  In The Beauty Queen of Leenane, historical research beyond the basics was not necessary so I approached it emotively for both the company and the audience’s emotional response and understanding.

 “I solely worked with history during Kindertransport, and for the department’s current production of King Henry IV Part I,  I am working to bring the understanding between the true history of England to the theatrical history created by Shakespeare.”

In her role as dramaturg, she also helps company with any questions, builds a web site for reference and tries to inspire the artists involved to use the resources provided to further their own knowledge and research for the production.  Sabol also uses a lobby display and program notes to further understanding, interest, and experience at the theater.

“I enjoy my dramaturgical work because it incorporates what I most enjoy about producing theatre—history and criticism behind a production or script,” she said. “When I was in high school, I was an actor and learned to love theatre by performing. Now, as an academic, I have grown to appreciate theatre more and more through dissecting scripts, choices, etc. and helping others to have a similar academic experience.” Sabol continues to evolve her dramaturgy skills by taking on the dramaturg role. “With Jessica's double major in English and theater and her exceptional writing skills, she has grown considerably in her dramaturgy skills despite only discovering last year that she had an interest in this area,” said Barb Blackledge, chair of IUP’s theater and dance department. “She did a masterful job in serving as dramaturg for our fall production of The Beauty Queen of Leenane. She was able to use this opportunity to exhibit her excellent work on this production at the festival as well as the competition exhibits there.”
The Beauty Queen of Leenane was one of only seven in IUP’s competition region, which includes all of Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Washington, D.C., invited to perform at the Region II KCACTF at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh in January.

“Honestly, the biggest enhancement of both my interest and skills was attending the regional KCACTF,” said Sabol, who was selected for the national competition for her outstanding achievement at regional festivals. “At the festival I was able to see others work, get feedback on my work, and attend sessions about dramaturgy.  I found flaws in my work and got new ideas and approaches from these opportunities in Pittsburgh, and I have since worked to better my product as I work with King Henry IV Part I this spring.”

Only eight students in the nation are chosen to compete in each of eight categories including set, costume, light, sound and makeup design, stage management, directing and dramaturgy. The regional and national competitions are comprised primarily of graduate students.

“To be invited on a Fellowship Scholarship to the National KCACTF is one of the most amazing opportunities I could hope for,” Sabol said. “It is really an honor to be selected, especially at the national level for my work. More than anything, I find it humbling because I never expected to go to festival as a sophomore.  Most of the students at nationals are graduate level.” Sabol is most looking toward working with like minds interested in dramaturgy. “At the festival, I am very excited to participate in workshops with world-renowned artists in my field of interest.” she said. “In fact, I will be working with the dramaturg from the Arena Stage in Washington D.C. which is the theater that I would be most interested in pursuing an internship or job with.  This festival gives me an opportunity to have a week of learning with individuals interested in dramaturgy, learn from professionals, and network on the national level.  It is an absolutely priceless opportunity.”

In addition to her role as dramaturg for IUP productions, Sabol is the treasurer of the RECHC’s  TOST and Turned, a student-run service-theater group.  She directed a one-act production last year.  She has also written two 10-minute shows the group will perform this spring.

“I hope to continue as a dramaturg throughout my undergraduate career, but I think it will be helpful to my understanding as a dramaturg, and, hopefully, a playwright, to direct and act, so I am hoping to work in those areas starting next semester,” she said. “I would also like to continue working on scripts, and hopefully have a successful ten minute or one-act staged in the theater department before I leave.

“I really enjoy playwrighting.  I need to work more at it, when I find the time, but I would say that it is a larger passion to me than dramaturgy because it incorporates everything I do as a dramaturg into something I create. I love dramatic structure, and I think that a well-crafted script is one of the most beautiful forms of literature. A playwright gets to bring characters to life, and the playwright can only say what he or she wants to say through a character’s mouth.  It’s tough, and I still haven’t ever got it right, but it is very rewarding.”

“I'm very comfortable with the Great Hall space,” said Barbour, 27, a native of Morrisville, PA, who currently resides in Charlottesville, Virginia. 

 “I've performed there many times before and I even had one of my senior recitals there,” she said.  “I know the way the hall sounds, and I think it is a comfortable, intimate space. Also, one tune was to an accompanying video, and I knew I needed a space equipped with a video screen and a nice audio system. But the greatest thing about a Great Hall performance is that I love that space.  I practically lived there for four and a half years. I had the Honors College graduation ceremony on that stage, and I learned priceless things in that room.

“At our concert we premiered several works that I have written and arranged,” she said.  “I wanted to premier them in a special place, and I thought the Great Hall would be wonderful.”

She studied percussion at IUP and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in music performance with a double major in history in 2002.

She played quads for “The Legend,” IUP’s marching band, and percussion in Jack Stamp's Wind Ensemble, the IUP Orchestra and the IUP Percussion Ensemble.  She also played piano for the IUP Jazz Ensemble.

Since graduating, Barbour has embraced several career paths while her musical career has also flourished.

She manages two French restaurants and is studying for the sommelier test, which will accredit her with being a wine expert.  She handles promotional materials for bands at music booking agency Sam Hill Entertainment, teaches drum lessons and works with local drum lines and percussion sections.

She teaches clinics and hand-on workshops, and has guest lectured at IUP, Indiana University, Piedmont Virginia Community College, Bloomington (Indiana) South High School and Western Albemarle High School. She has worked with the Lotus World Music Festival in Bloomington, Indiana, and served as a sound preservation technician at the IU Archives of Traditional Music.

Along with her talent as a percussionist, Barbour is also an accomplished composer and singer.  She is an ethnomusicologist and her interests lie in classical percussion, Latin drum set and marching percussion.

Her compositions and arrangements have been performed by the IU Latin American Popular Music Ensemble , the MUMC Hand Bell Choir , and various drum lines, singers, chamber groups, and percussion ensembles.

Her accolades include performing in the Afro-Cuban ensemble Nasha, Brasilian samba drum lines Women of Mass Percussion and Samba Sensation, congas in the Joe Vento All-Star Big Band and the Afro-Hoosier International Afro-pop band.

She has also played drum set in several eclectic ensembles, including the girl punk rock band DUM(B) , heavy metal band Black Mojo, and several samba groups.

“Performing is so intense,” she explained. “I love the individual perspective that musicians can impose upon compositions. It's so interesting to study how different musicians interpret a work of music, and then to study that music and interpret it your own way. In that way, performance is like saying something. It's even more interesting to perform a piece that you wrote yourself, because then, you're saying something that you thought of to begin with.

“If you accept the soul/body duality of people, music is a way of creating a sonic physical environment that can transport both the performers and the listeners to another more metaphysical place. In such a perspective on music, the musician serves as a conduit to that other place. In that sense, performing is practically religious.

“Percussion is so much fun because it's so kinetic. Moving around so much is fun and audiences are almost always receptive to percussion performances.”

Currently, Barbour is timpanist in the Charlottesville Municipal Band , teaches drum line and concert percussion at Western Albemarle High School, and performs with several percussion duos: iMallet with I-Jen Fang, Kairos with Mika Godbole, and Wanderlust with Irish musician Ann Connolly. Erin also collaborates with Hang Drum player Dante Bucci, singer-songwriter Kathy Compton, and rapper MzMena.

“I'm also working on a bunch of compositions,” she said.  “One is a chamber piece for trio of vibraphone, marimba, and hang drum. The hang drum is this new form of drum in the steel drum family. It looks like a flying saucer and has an incredible tone.”

Also on her musical horizon are several projects.

“I am planning an album,” she said.  “It will be a jazz/Latin album and I will play vibraphone and sing with a jazz quintet.  I have two other research projects I am working on as well. One is a documentary/book about the history of marching drum lines. The other is a book/documentary about the history of the drum set.”
 
Barbour said she continually draws on her experiences and learning process of the RECHC.

“The education at the Honors College is one that really calls one to action,” she said.  “While I was a student I received much encouragement from the Honors College staff, professors, and Robert E. Cook to take action and do countless things I might never have done otherwise. Each summer I traveled all over the world to take special classes.  Each fall I traded stories with all my classmates who had also been all around the world doing research or taking classes. Such an environment makes the world seem small and, in a sense, conquerable. That view of humanity, plus the HCesque call-to-action attitude provides an incredible global perspective that I appreciate and draw from on an daily basis.”

Her advice to students is to “Talk to your professors.  Regularly plan out goals and drafts for achieving the goals, then get to it. Think big. Use all the resources available to you.”

“Anthropologists use cross cultural knowledge to address food access and food insecurity,” said Dr. Chaiken, whose research and focus is nutritional anthropology in third world countries.  “We have unique perspectives that bridge the gap between macro and micro-level perspectives because we understand better than others the cultural contexts of food production, allocation and use.”

Dr. Chaiken, who has taught anthropology courses at IUP for 20 years, completed her dissertation in the Philippines where she studied the means to successful adaptation on a tropical frontier.  Later in her career, she worked with UNICEF Kenya to improve child nutrition and survival.  She has also served as President of the Society for Anthropology of Food and Nutrition, established in 1974.

While her research in nutritional anthropology and her service to professional organizations have targeted chronically malnourished children, Dr. Chaiken said that her role in teaching is an even bigger mission. 

“I see the bigger mission is having students embrace and realize their role as global citizens,” she said.  “I want them to be aware of inequality in food access and be aware of their enormous privilege relative to so many people in the world.”

For those who are not so fortunate, she explained, “The deck is stacked against them. While partly attributable to global climate change, as droughts are more common, the real root of the problems of poverty and hunger are linked with long histories of colonial exploitation, population growth, government policies that favor the wealthy rather than the poor, and other complex factors. It is important to remember that virtually everywhere, when we are talking about the poorest of the poor, we are talking about women and children. When food is scarce, most adults can whether the storm.  Children can not.”

Statistics are grim for many children in undeveloped countries, where there are enormous food insecurities.

“You need food for metabolism, for growth, and for activity,” she said.  When children don’t receive adequate food, first they cut back on activities and become very passive, then their growth becomes stunted, and finally malnutrition compromises their metabolic function and they become very susceptible to infection. Chronic nutritional deficiencies cause diminished intellectual capacity. These are very serious problems because they affect so many children, for example, in the area I’ve been working in  “In Mozambique, 50 percent of children are stunted and not growing.  Children die from organ failure and infections from malnutrition.  Chronic nutritional deficiencies causes diminished intellectual capacity.”

Dr. Chaiken has worked with organizations such as UNICEF and Save the Children which try to improve agricultural production, provide peer education and access to technology and knowledge.  For women, the programs might target better hygiene, household nutrition and strategies for treating children with severe malnutrition.

“Despite the urgent need to address emergencies, relief should not be our first priority,” Dr. Chaiken explained.  “Relief is sometimes necessary, but the real priority should be development programs that build on local strengths and remedy the root causes of the problems of food insecurity.  We need to empower parents and incorporate local participation in these programs.  Local projects work when parents are involved, and mobilizing participation is not difficult as every parent wants their children to be healthy and happy.  We can provide resources and successfully rehabilitate even severely malnourished children at home with community-based strategies. Traditionally, a severely malnourished child would be sent to a hospital or clinic and be accompanied by a parent.  This places undue hardship on the family as the mother has to also cater to the needs of other children and contribute to subsistence production.

Better nutrition will improve child survival rates, she said.  A highly successful program instituted several years ago, she noted, is providing Plumpynut, a ready-to-eat, pre-packaged, high protein peanut butter and powdered milk-based food used to reverse malnutrition in severely malnourished children in their homes, rather than a hospital.  She noted that we have ample evidence that there are multiplier benefits from improving rates of child survival. When children live, their parents are more inclined to use family planning, population growth begins to decline, and standards of living improve. But the first step is improving children’s access to adequate and quality food supplies.

Accomplishing this goal is daunting, as food access is directly linked with global security problems. Citing the State of the World’s Children, a UNICEF-produced annual report, Dr. Chaiken said, “The bottom 10 countries are where there is political and civil unrest.  Nine are in sub-saharan Africa and the other is Afghanistan.”

“If we’re concerned about the security of our country—terrorism, economics--we have to care about the standard of living in poor countries,” she said.  “We can go back to the UN Declaration of Human Rights.  We need to overcome stereotypes about poor people in third world countries being lazy.  They are incredibly hardworking and resourceful.  Why shouldn’t we use our wealth to help?  I hope to challenge my students to recognize the linkages between our lives and actions and the lives of others across the world. We need to recognize that the US government provides far less humanitarian aid than many countries, and that as citizens of this country we have a right to know how our tax dollars are used, and to influence our legislators in setting the priorities for foreign aid, among other issues. I hope they come to realize that we’re all in this together.”

A female, college aged student with a blond pony tail, a great sense of style and deep intellect, can teleport into the Great Hall at RECHC to read a book, relax in a chair or have a conversation with someone in another country. She is part of a new era in learning -- an Avatar with an intrinsic, educational value. She is a three-dimensional model representation of and created by her user, student Erin O'Brien.

O'Brien and fellow student Michael Daniel are recreating the RECHC in an online simulation using California-based Linden Lab's computer program called Second Life, an online virtual world, to interact with the real world.

"We're bringing the RECHC to the Internet with a physical representation of our ideas demonstrated through our curriculum and discussion groups," said O'Brien, a sophomore social studies education and Asian studies major from Glendora, CA. "I've talked to people in Holland, Spain and the UK. You can speak in a foreign language and ask questions and learn from them."

Motivated by their creativity, O'Brien and Daniel spend much of their free time developing their simulation. "We just started building this because we could," said Daniel, a sophomore economics and philosophy major from Mechanicsburg, PA.

Daniel has also developed a Teaching Heads Up Display (HUD) which can be used by professors who write lectures ahead of time and drop it into an object. That lecture will be delivered line by line to students during a class using Second Life or could even be read at another time.

"They can put a lecture in or note cards inside an object," Daniel explained. "Professors can use it as a presentation or allow students to pick it up and read it again."

Second Life has opened a new realm of possibilities for learning. The unique setting allows students and faculty to optimize their time while utilizing cutting-edge technology to provide an interestingly conducive learning environment.

"It allows students and faculty to interact with each other outside of normal classroom hours in a three dimensional world," said Dr. R. Scott Moore, an IUP history professor. "It provides students the chance to experience locations and exhibits virtually that they might not have a chance to see in person, archaeology sites or the Sistine chapel for example. For students interested in technology it offers them the chance to explore a new media for interaction and better appreciate the possibilities it offers for businesses and education."

The RECHC simulation operates on the university's Crimson Island, which is currently being developed by IUP faculty and students. Moore is working with Dr. Bev Chiarulli of IUP's anthropology department to develop an additional SL island exclusively devoted to archaeology that is funded by an IUP Academic Excellence and Innovation Award.

The island will include virtual recreations of Moore's work with the Pyla-Koutsopetria Archaeological Project in Cyprus and Dr. Chiraulli's work in Belize with Mayan culture, and an underwater archaeology site. They are working closely with Dr. Allen Partridge of the Applied Media and Gaming Center who, along with his students, is helping design and build the site. "We'll go to Crimson Island and have conferences for everybody when this is ready," Daniel said.

O'Brien and Daniel have created prims using complex, 3-D CGI (computer graphics imagery) to generate the complete layout and detail of the RECHC's Great Hall, where students socialize, study and utilize its library. They also plan to recreate all of the classrooms, offices and the lounge.

"Each of the things in this hall started out as a primitive object," O'Brien said. "The tables started out as a box and cylinders. We trimmed out the details from there."

Now the tables have the same appearance as those in the Great Hall with beveled edges and wood grain. The simulation of the room's décor including the walls, ceiling, windows, carpeting, artwork, chairs and books is detailed.

Moore said the SL technology is already incorporated into IUP classes and his plans are to bring it to two of his classes next semester. Moore's digital history class will introduce students to changes that digital technologies are bringing to the way historians research, write, present, and teach the past.

"It will examine literature on this media and study closely the state of digital historical work by scholars, teachers, archivists, museum curators, and popular historians," he said. "As they examine this work, students will also explore the fundamental philosophical and ethical issues raised by efforts to put history on line. It will also provide a basic introduction to some of the most common software used by historians to create digital history, including an introduction to "Second Life."

Led by Dr. R. Scott Moore, an IUP history professor, the team unearthed artifacts over the summer from the site, where close to the sea on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus a settlement flourished in the seventh century.

“There is something utterly serene about archaeological survey,” said Slade Powell, a senior history major and Asian studies minor from Pittsburgh, Pa.  “You might feel permanently hunched from bending over the tilled dry ground and the Cypriot sun might be baking you in your clothes like a potato in its skin, but somehow none of that makes a difference. You just line up your compass anyway, walk your straight line, and decide which fragments of a dead civilizations' remains are worth the eight seconds it takes you to put them in your plastic bag.”

Students discovered beyond the books what archaeology entails.

“I gained an overall appreciation for the process of actively pursuing archaeology,” said Mara  Iverson, a junior history major from Vandegrift, Pa.  “I also learned a great deal about what I like to study in history and how I enjoy going about studying it.”
Iverson also discovered that, “Archaeology is not for me, though it is exceptionally valuable as a method for uncovering the past. I also learned that I prefer the ideological rather than the practical. I like thought exercises and document research more than standing outside in the elements collecting physical data.”
In the fifth year at the site, near the city of Larnaca, Moore and student scholars continue to excavate and study artifacts to compare the culture of that settlement along the southern coast of Cyprus to similar eastern Mediterranean sites.  The work is part of the Pyla-Koutsopetria Archaelogical Project (PKAP) and is co-sponsored by the University of North Dakota.

“Our primary goal is research” said Moore, director of the project.  The focus, he said, is to discover what the archaeology shows about the trade, commerce and economics of the area.  “Cyprus is a major tourist attraction but we are fortunate in that the area we are working hasn’t been built up.”

Moore said the field experience enhances the academic learning.

“It’s reinforced in a different way than can be accomplished in the classroom,” Moore explained.  “We designed the project to be like a field school that provides hands-on experience.  What I like about archaeology is that it borrows new techniques and technologies from other disciplines.” 

Said Powell, “I didn't care about archaeology when I decided to go. I just wanted to see the country and maybe get an idea of what living abroad would be like. We visited sites all over the island: late Roman baths, early Byzantine basilica, one very early Christian church with
semi-preserved wall paintings, an Ottoman mosque, and modern Nicosia along the Green Line.  I can't even do justice to the variety and beauty of the sites we visited on our weekend trips.

Weekdays were just as busy, and just as wonderful.”

Students were also exposed to the collision of modern-day politics and culture.  Cyprus today is divided into Turkish and Greek zones.  While relations have improved between them, the border is still monitored by United Nations peacekeepers.

“For the students, they are exploring a different culture,” Moore said.  “I think it’s very important for students to get out of their comfort zone.  By doing this, you broaden your world and gain a better understanding of other cultures.  Who knows, you might consider doing something different with your life.”

Moore, who spends six weeks at the site every May and June, usually takes up to five students to the site where they spend three weeks collecting and documenting artifacts that are stored in the Larnaca District Archaeological Museum.   

The draw for students is more than the educational aspects.  “They want to go abroad,” Moore said.  “Cyprus sounds cool and exotic.  It adds to their experience.  It is very safe, yet so different.”

And that kind of exposure, he said, will help shape the students’ view of the world.

“I learned about a part of the world I do not often encounter in my studies,” Iverson pointed out.  “Cyprus combines Middle Eastern and Mediterranean culture. It was fascinating to see their history because America's is so much shorter and more insulated.  Cyprus, being a relatively prosperous island in the middle of a busy sea, bears the marks of the trade in goods and ideas that constantly moved through the ports through the centuries and continues today.”

Moore, who has plans to continue the program through at least 2011, is also looking for answers about the end of that once-thriving coastal community.

“If they were conquered or left,” he ponders, “why didn’t they return and rebuild?  Did they move inland or were they wiped out?”

The answers may lie in the archeological finds.  While local farmers have tilled up many artifacts, the teams look further below the surface for answers.

In the past three years, his teams have collected 11,000 artifacts, mostly ceramic shards.  However, this summer a graduate student from Scotland also joined them and used magnetic imaging to locate formations such as walls.

“A staggering amount of our artifacts are Late Roman in date,” Moore said.  “Since we surveyed less than 20 percent of the land we estimate that there are about 110,000 to 120,000 artifacts in our area, a one mile by ¼ mile section.”

Along with the significant Roman influence, there is evidence of early Christianity.

“Last spring there was a torrential rain,” Moore said.  “It uncovered part of a Roman wall around the main hill in our area, Vigla.  The magnetic imaging on Vigla uncovered what looks like a basilica, or church.  You can tell by the lines shown on the imaging.  You can clearly see the apse, or rounded end.  It was on the coastline to be seen, to reflect the wealth of the community.  We want to develop that site.”

As the usual temperature hit the 90s and often broke 100 degrees, the normal workday started by 7 a.m.  The team would stop for the day around 3 p.m.  With so many tasks to be completed, students were given the opportunity to work with the artifacts, usually by cleaning and recording them. 

“Everybody washes pottery,” Moore said.  “We soak the artifacts for half an hour and put them out to dry.  We then record their weight, color and type.”

The broken pottery pieces of dishes, fine wares, cooking wares, or coarse ware items were easily identified by the project’s ceramicist based on their style or decoration.

In addition to cleaning the artifacts, students also utilized special skills such as illustrating the artifacts or photographing and scanning them.

Said Iverson, “I liked imagining the real people who created the pieces and used them to help them live their lives. I like feeling connected to history rather than viewing it as something simply to be put in a museum, admired, and forgotten.”

Handling the items helped Iverson imagine the past and relate that, “A normal person used these dishes and water jug; the pieces of which I was scrubbing with a toothbrush sitting under the same sun they used nearly 2000 years ago.  We understand the past and ourselves better if we remember the similarities as well as the differences.”