What to Expect at Beautiful University Park, PA

As a Penn Stater, it would be fair to assume that I have some bias when I say that Penn State has the most beautiful college campus on Earth. But I didn’t choose Penn State for nothing! Our scenic campus, however, might be a bit daunting to newcomers because of its size (we have our own zip code!), but as a first year survivor, I’d like to give my sisters some tips on navigating the heart of Happy Valley.

Bring comfortable walking shoes! One thing I’ll never forget is mapping out my class schedule and realizing that my first class on Mondays was 1.2 miles away. While we likely won’t be walking that far (I had a pretty rough schedule), I would recommend wearing shoes that could accommodate 10-15 minute walks a few times a day. The dorms we will be staying in are some of the nicest we have on campus, but they are also a bit out of the way from classrooms!

While we’re discussing footwear, bring rain boots if you have them. You never know what the July humidity will bring! A small umbrella will also be a big help in the case of a rain shower on the way to a workshop. On the flip side, a humid July day with no rain can be exhausting. I never leave my dorm without a water bottle!

Bring a large purse or a backpack for anything you gather from all the workshops, whether it be papers, books, business cards, or freebies! If you are lacking in the bag department, we will be selling totes with our UALE 40^th Anniversary logo! There will be a variety of other UALE swag available, including logo buttons for only one dollar!

Bring your cellphone and or camera! It’s pretty cool to be able to ask that you bring your phone rather than tell you to leave it at home. With 130 + sisters, the school this year's school is at capacity. That means that the excitement will be ubiquitous all week. Capture every moment that you can! Photos and videos will help the memories you make last a lifetime, and they will also come in handy during the blogging workshop, where you will be able to share your memories and our good work with others all over the world wide web! Moreover, the college kid inside me is screaming “Network! Network!”, so having your phone on hand to exchange numbers with sisters and new friends will be a handy convenience during this incredible opportunity to connect with sisters from so many different backgrounds.

This is going to be an amazing week for all of us, whether you’re familiar with Penn State or not. I hope that you are all as excited as we at the Penn State School of Labor and Employment Relations are for the opportunity to gather in solidarity and continue to promote and improve our work for the labor movement. I assure you that Penn State is an outstanding place to do these things, but if you are at all concerned about anything involving our campus and what to expect, please feel free to message me, Jodi Rafalko, on Facebook or email me at jlr5979@psu.edu. We Are….sisters!

See you very soon!