Josh NobleMarketing Major

"Eberly provided me with the opportunities and experiences beyond the classroom that exceeded my expectations! The extracurricular options and educational value offered allowed me to develop the business expertise and attributes needed to compete in a globalized job market."

I grew up in the suburbs of Pittsburgh as the youngest of three children. I was raised by Dennis and Patricia Noble, who always motivated me to complete any obstacle to the best of my ability. Being the baby, my siblings dwarfed my accomplishments, that is, until I started to shine at IUP.

I chose IUP due to the instability of the economy during my senior year of high school and the pure value that the school offered. I only applied to Penn State and IUP, and between the two, IUP offered the price, class sizes, and culture that I wanted out of a university.

The month before starting my freshman year, I was in a skydiving incident where I broke my leg during the landing. This posed a specific challenge since I was living in Elkin Hall, the furthest dorm from Eberly. Due to this injury, I had a difficult time my first year trying to find my exact niche. It wasn't until I started becoming involved in different student organizations and activities on and off campus that I started loving this school to the extent that I do now.

IUP has proven countless times to be a school that offers a heartwarming community with a loving faculty and staff that care about their value to the students. The faculty creates an atmosphere conducive to optimizing learning during one's time here, but the best way to learn is to take advantage of the extracurricular opportunities provided.

During my sophomore year, I joined the Student Government Association and quickly began to prove my worth to the organization. he following 2012/13 academic year, I held the e-board position of Public Relations Chairman. During my term I helped to improve the popularity of the organization through various social media outlets and advertising techniques. I learned to use my marketing education to promote to students in various markets in the student community.

Over the course of my time in SGA I have also continuously served on the Co-Op Finance Committee. This has taught me the knowledge to budget an allocated $3 million out of the total Co-Op budget of $8 million to student organizations at IUP. Now that I am a general senator, I still participate in events sponsored by SGA and events that the senators participate in.

I attribute my skills in interpersonal communication and professionalism to the time I have spent in the organization. The characteristics I learned in SGA have positively supplemented my education in ways that only attending classes could never provide.

Over the course of these four years, I not only helped to rebuild one of the most successful fraternities to grace this campus, but I worked to increase the popularity of the Student Government Association and the annual Business Golf Classic. Through these activities, my communication, writing, and networking skills were enhanced beyond what I could have ever imagined. The endless opportunities IUP and Eberly provide have truly molded me into the man I am today.