The Quest of an Undergraduate Researcher
One of my passions is raising awareness for global issues. Click here for an ongoing list of charities & global voices on tumblr.
Email: saraeneville@gmail.com
Website: saraneville.tumblr.com
Twitter: @earthspacequest
The Nittany Lion approves! by Penn State Brandywine Canstruction
Please take a look at the Canstruction structures for this year’s competition and cast your vote! Canstruction is a yearly competition that encourages participants to engineer their own designs out of cans. All of the cans used in the structures will go to Philabundance to help alleviate hunger in the Delaware Valley.
Keep questioning,
Sara
P.S. VOTE FOR PENN STATE, THANKS!
We did it! We are… Penn State!
Vote for your favorite here (pick me, pick me!). Voting is open until May 24th and you can vote once a day :)
Even after we had some engineering problems during our practice builds, we managed to execute our design perfectly on Friday night. We spent 6 hours building, from 9PM to a little after 3AM, and our structure now stands at The Shops at Liberty Place in Philadelphia.
Check out all the photos here, and read up on our twitter account, @PennStateCAN!
Thanks & keep questioning,
Sara
Monday’s practice build for Canstruction: Mridul at work on the front wall, Aaron overseeing our productivity.
Monday’s practice build for Canstruction: Mridul & Lavanya correcting some misplaced cans on the front wall.
Monday’s practice build for Canstruction: Mridul & Eileen, working on the front wall.
Monday’s practice build for Canstruction: One of our fearless leaders, engineering professor Dr. Esparragoza, checking out our structure’s stability.
Monday’s practice build for Canstruction: Is it level?
Monday’s practice build for Canstruction: Birthday girl Lavanya hard at work!
Saturday’s practice build for Canstruction: the back wall, lookin’ brick-like and wonderful!
Saturday’s practice build for Philadelphia’s annual Canstruction competition: look ma! Look at what we built!
Saturday’s practice build for Philadelphia’s annual Canstruction competition: getting started!
Saturday’s practice build for Philadelphia’s annual Canstruction competition: All of our cans were packed in boxes and we were ready to can-struct!
WE ARE… PENN STATE! WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
(photo via pennstatebrandywinecanstruction @ flickr)
This semester I signed up for a 1-credit community service course after the honors program decided to participate in this year’s Philadelphia Canstruction competition. Canstruction is an organization that holds annual competitions all over the country that benefit food banks in the surrounding areas. The competition is a building contest — participants come up with a design for a structure entirely made out of cans! The design must be based on something meaningful to them and the local community. The rules are very particular, and they allow teams to use various forms of support — foam board, paper, etc. — as long as they are less than 1/4” thick. Teams get together to bring their designs to life during a ten-hour overnight build session, and the designs are judged the next morning. They will be on display for a week before all of the cans are packed up and given to the local food bank, Philabundance.
Penn State Brandywine applied to the competition earlier this year, and our design was accepted. The competition itself is this Friday, so we have been meeting to practice constructing our design. Our design is based on the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program. This program was created in 1984 as an anti-graffiti movement, and eventually morphed into efforts to beautify the city while improving the quality of life for its residents. Read more about the history here.
The Penn State Brandywine honors program created several potential designs, when we voted for our favorite, the Nittany Lion logo emblazoned on a brick wall — representing the friendship between the Penn State and Philadelphia communities — was the design that came out on top.
This past week, we had two practice builds to prepare for Friday’s competition, where we will be constructing our wall during an overnight build session at Liberty Place in Philadelphia. Our canstruction, along with other teams’ will be on display at Liberty Place for a week, so if you’re in the area, be sure to check it out!
I’ll be posting some more photos from our practice build, so be sure to check them out! We also have a flickr where all the photos from the build will be posted. As the designated photographer for the week, I’ll probably be shamelessly sharing my photos here on tumblr… stay tuned!
Keep questioning,
Sara
Part of the honors program’s mission on campus is civic engagement. In addition to my courses this semester, I’m taking a 1-credit option based on Philabundance’s annual Canstruction competition! In the fall, we decided to draft a sculpture of our own and submit an application for the competition. We’ve made it past the first round and will be can-structing our very own structure during the overnight build session in May.
All of the sculptures must be made purely of canned foods (like the image above), and after the pieces are judged all of the food goes to Philabundance! What a fun way to donate time and energy to a great cause. Can’t wait to get started!
Keep questioning,
Sara
T-7 DAYS UNTIL SCHOOL STARTS!
And jeez, I can’t wait! I’ve officially hit my summer doldrums period, where I don’t have much to do with myself, and the lack of structure is making me crazy. I can’t wait to start classes… I have an awesome schedule this semester:
One of my favorite things about Penn State Brandywine is the intimacy of the campus. Although there are no dorms (which makes connecting with peers a little difficult), the size of the school is perfect; students get the opportunity to really know their professors, and, in turn, professors remember their students! I took a required writing course last semester, and the professor is teaching the creative writing class in Paris in November. She’s excited about getting people to come, rallying the troops, so to speak, and it’s just so nice to have that connection, you know?
The honors program at PSU Brandywine is incredible, too. Without the dedication of the honors professors I would not have embarked on this amazing learning QUEST :) I think part of their dedication is the fact that the school is so small, and they can really invest all they have into their students.
The Cooper Honors’ Program Mission: Academic excellence with integrity, building a global awareness, and opportunities for leadership and civic engagements.
Our program provides a real sense of community in a school that does not have on-campus housing. Honors scholars are required to attend different meetings throughout the school year … well, saying “required” makes it seem like a chore … it’s not! The fact that we, as students, meet so often throughout the school year, makes it easy to connect to one another, not only on an academic level, but on a friendly level as well.
Part of the honors program is the Voice of Innovation Seminar Series. Here is a blip about the seminars from the PSU Brandywine Honors Blog:
This year we have an amazing line-up, including speakers from Canstruction, SCRUB - Public Voice for Public Space, and Urban Tree Connection. I admittedly fell off the bandwagon last year, with my incredibly busy schedule, so I’m excited to get back on board with the seminar series and help out our community!
Keep questioning,
Sara
