"Dear Irvin" Spring/Summer 2018 by Bill Syrett

“Dear Irvin”

A note from your faculty adviser

Spring/Summer 2018

Dear Irvin Hall residents:

Can you tell me what these three people have in common: the dean of Earth & Mineral Sciences, the president of Penn State and Penn State’s just-named Inventor of the Year?  Think about it and I’ll get back to this at the end…

So, some of you are about to complete your first year at Penn State, and a few of you are about to complete your degree.  Congratulations!  Of course, rising juniors and seniors deserve credit for getting through the year as well, but earning that hard-fought degree and getting accustomed to and hopefully thriving in a large university setting are special challenges you’ll never forget.  I hope you created and strengthened friendships during the year and found that living in Irvin helped you reach whatever goals you had set in the fall.  Those of you who attended the 40^th anniversary celebration saw people who met here over three decades ago and forged lifetime friendships.  You’re in a good place.  If you plan to be back next year I look forward to seeing you in the fall, and you may look forward to another riveting letter or two from me!  If you are moving on and have any comments you’d like to share with me, good or bad, I’d appreciate your feedback.  Think of it like an Irvin SRTE and drop me an email at the address below.

There has been discussion about working harder to make sure first-year Irvin residents feel welcome, and I think that should be “goal number one” this fall.  I would be interested to hear what first-year students thought about 2017-18 (drop me an email) and returning sophomores should be an important part of this initiative for 2018-19.  Especially for new residents, shyness, a perceived language barrier or the feeling of “not being a part of the crowd” are reasons for someone to stay in the shadows and not get very involved.  But, odds are pretty high that they would welcome an opportunity to get more involved, first-year or not, if approached by a friendly face.  Expect more about this in the fall.

I am excited to be involved with Irvin and welcome your comments or suggestions.  Please write or stop by and visit if you ever feel that I could be a help.  I hope you do well on your final exams and projects.  Thank you.

So, do you think you have the answer to the introductory question?  You get a passing grade if you said they all are or were faculty in our wonderful college, but you aced the test if you realized they were each Irvin faculty lunch guests in the past 2 years!  So, please attend the Irvin lunches next year when you can, you never know what might happen, it is an opportunity few students get.  Have a great summer!

Sincerely,

Bill Syrett, Assistant Teaching Professor in Meteorology and Atmospheric Science and Faculty

                   Adviser to the best SLO on campus

Contact:     wjs1@psu.edu, Ph: (814) 865-6172, 606C Walker