Behrend students su
Behrend students give blood for the Community Blood Bank on Wednesday
by Jennifer Primerano
staff writer
Seventy-seven Behrend stu
dents and faculty donated blood
in the annual fall blood drive held
by the Community Blood Bank
of Erie County this past Wednes
day.
For some students, like Dawn
McKee, participating in the Be
hrend blood drive is a regular fall
and spring activity. "You can
think hack and say, 'Wow!
"Be All That You Can Be"
by Erin McCarty
staff' writer
The Army Reserve Officer Train
ing Corps (ROTC) is hack at Behrend
after an eight year absence. Accord
ing to Behrend ROTC representative
Captain John Scott Gillespie, the in
terest has been "absolutely outstand
ing." In only one week of generating
interest for this program, 39 students
have signed up.
Behrend's ROTC program was
shut down in 1991 because it was not
satisfying the "Commission Mission,"
which bases a school's success in the
program on the number of students
commissioned upon graduation. Be
hrend was losing too many students
to University Park for them to con
tinue with the program. Now many
more students are staying at Behrend
instead of transferring to University
Park in their junior year; therefore,
ROTC was reinstated, this time in
partnership with Gannon University.
meta',
Happy Helperis Wanted.
(r - i 9 hts Not Required.)
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• Pre.-pined ochedas
Oztact us now to writ Through rxr holiday break at one of ots.
stereo. Ju9t call The toll—free number abamt.
MI pontos not oak& at d irtcrs.
Somebody's used my blood al
ready and they're alive because of
that, — said McKee, 05 Psychology,
who has donated blood four times.
According to Community Blood
Bank Nurse Supervisor David
Hughes, college campuses are an
ideal sight to hold a blood drive.
"Usually the response when we
do mobile drives is very accepting.
It takes less time out of someone's
day without them having to come
to us, - said Hughes.
The turnout for the blood drive
This typically four-year program
can he found in colleges across the
country, and its graduates make up ap
proximately 75ci of the Army's of
ficers. ROTC starts out with the Ba
sic Course in a student's freshman and
sophomore years. which consists of
Army 101, 102, 203. and 204. Each
course is worth two credits that can
he applied to General Electives. At
this point the student is under no ob
ligation to pursue a military career. All
materials, hooks, and uniforms re
quired for the Basic Course are pro
vided free of charge. In addition to
regular class times, students must at
tend early-morning physical fitness
sessions and a weekend of field train
ing each semester.
Students who are unable to com
plete the Basic Course dui ing their
first four semesters can make it up at
a five-week training camp in Fort
Knox, Kentucky, called "Camp Chal
lenge." Then they will qualify to go
on to the Advanced Course. Students
Seasonal ogles 9• Sales Support Associates
Year Found Positions Also Available
• full— and Pert—tine Saks Armes
• Full— and Part—flow Shack Repkrishers
(agalkbk 6 cm 3 p.m. a. 12 p.n. 9 p.n.)
Sent4o3:
KAUFMANN'S
THIS IS WHERE IT GETS GOOD
rt Blood Bank
PHOTO BY J
decreased approximately 15 6 7
from last year, hut according to
Hughes, all local donations this
season are down compared to pre
vious drives.
"Co those 77 individuals who did
donate blood, Hughes thanks
them. "Without donors, the sup
ply of blood will tall and there's
no substitute,'' he said. The Com
munity Blood Bank is the sole
supplier of blood to Erie's hospi
tals. At least 90'7( of the blood
collected will stay in Erie County.
may compete for two-year and three
year merit-haled scholarships which
pay lull tuition, a $450 annual hook
Captain Gillespie, Professor of Military Science
allowance, and a $l5O monthly sti
pend.
The Advanced Course is for stu-
OCTOBER 22, 1999, THE BEHREND BEACON, PAGE 3
NEWS
Engineering Fair unites
employers and employees
The 10th Annual Engineering Fair
was held in Roche Hall on Thurs
day, October 14. The job fair gave
students of the School of Engineer
ing and Engineering Technology an
appealing demonstration of what
companies are looking for in em
ployees. Over 75 companies were
in attendance at the job fair.
This fair is an attempt to bring
students, faculty, and staff together
with the delegates from various
companies. As the student atten
dance has increased year to year, so
has the number of representing com
panies. This concept, which began
as a regional and local hiring event,
has evolved into a full-scale engi
neering career fair that encompasses
national and international employ
ers as well as the traditional regional
and local ones.
Students of all semester stand
ing were welcome to attend tht..! fair.
Amanda McKain (Plastics Engi
neering Technology, 01 ) found that.
"it was a really great opportunity to
see what we can do when we leave
Behrend. For me, the best part was
talking to a company from my ,
hometown about the prospect of a
summer joh." Mckain went into the
fair with expectations. "I expected
a \cry chaotic place where students
were looking for a job and employ
ers were looking for students," she
says. Were these expectations met?
"Yes," she answers, "it was crowded
Wati a lot Of interaction he-
ROTC Returns to Behrend
dents serious about becoming an of
ficer. "They must contract for it in their
junior and senior years and will earn
S 150 a month for their efforts. As they
approach graduation, more attention
will he paid to what their particular
THE DEADLINE FOR ORDERING CAPS AND
GOWNS FROM THE PENN STATE BEHREND
BOOKSTORE IS FRIbAY, OCTOBER 29
by Karen McKim
stall . writer
ATTENTION SENIORS
~ ~
tween the students and employers."
Despite the crowd. McKain is glad
that she went. "It was a good experi
ence for interviews and helps people
in engineering know what's out there
as far as jobs."
The students weren't the only
ones pleased with the job fair. The
representatives from the companies
spent the day with smiles on their
faces and a successful outcome.
WCI Steel, based in Warren,
Ohio, has been recruiting at Penn
State Behrend since 1990, though
this is the first year the company has
visited the job fair. Administrator of
Organizational Development Rich
ard Kerlin feels the company will
certainly benefit from this opportu
nity. Mr. Kerlin has always found
Behrend to be an excellent connec
tion while recruiting. "This college
obviously has concern for its stu
dents which makes them a good
school to work with." While at the
fair, Mr. Kerlin, along with other rep
resentatives from the company, ac
cepted resumes and set up interviews
with students. For more information
on WCI Steel, Inc., visit their web
site at www.wcisteel.com.
Barb Horner, Human Resource
Manager at Greenhriar Industrial
Systems, also enjoyed her first year
at the job fair. Located in Fairview,
Pennsylvania, a division of
Greenhriar Industrial Systems,
Greenhriar Plastics currently serves
the housewares, toys, industrial ap
plications, and sports equipment
markets. Ms. Horner explained that
the company recently took On an in-
goals are regarding their military Ca
reer.
Their performance at the five-week
Advanced Camp is a major factor in
determining the branch of the Army
in which they will he placed. Upon
successful completion of the •
pro
aram they will he made 2nd
t.Lieu
tenants in the regular Army, Army
Reserves, or Army National Guard.
Although this commissioning is a
major part of the ROTC program, that
is riot its primary purpose. The aim
of ROTC is to make all of its partici
pants better citizens, whether they go
into the military or remain civilians.
"We want all students to take some
thing away from this course [that]
they can apply towards their careers
or community," said Gillespie, "be
cause only about 10 percent on aver
age pursue a commission as a 2nd
Lieutenant."
The ROTC curriculum stresses
leadership skills as well as a healthy
and active lifestyle. While participat-
tern. Because of the positive results,
they are looking for more interns for
the rest of the school year. The cor
poration is also looking for general
employees because their organiza
tion runs twenty-four hours a day,
seven days a week. If you are inter
ested in talking to a delegate from
this company. visit
wv w.greenbriitr .com for details
With their headquarters in
Cleveland, Ohio, the LTV Steel Cor
poration offers jobs in Cleveland, In
diana Harbor (southeast of Chicago),
and Hennepin (southwest of Chi
cago). A representative for the com
pany, Dee Tripp, feels this job fair
was a great opportunity. Ms. Tripp
says of Penn State Behrend, "The fa
cilities are exceptional, and the stu
dents are professional, talented, se
rious, and down-to-earth. The staff
has been very helpful." Ms. Tripp
says the company will definitely be
hack next year. For more facts on
this corporation, visit their web site
at www.LTVSTEEL.com.
Just a few of the other compa
nies in attendance were: Allegheny
Plastics, Inc., Crown Cork and Seal,
Delphi Automotive Systems, Erie
Plastics, FCI Electronics, GE Trans
portation Systems, Motorola, Proc
tor and Gamble, Steere Enterprises,
Toledo Molding and Die, Inc., Viking
Plastics, Inc.. and Yates Company.
There is no doubt that the job
fair will continue thanks to the ef
forts of the Career Development
Center who orchestrated the entire
ing in class and optional extracurricu
lar activities, students are given op
portunities to participate in many ac
tivities that they would not normally
have the option to experience. Rifle
marksmanship, rappelling, and water
survival are only a few examples.
Anyone is welcome to sign up for
the course. The Army currently in
cludes a variety of ethnic groups, as
well as many women. Approximately
20c7( of Behrend's cadets are female.
Students must he screened before they
can take the course, hut there are ways
to get around areas in which they are
lacking.
"The sooner we know a student
does not meet a certain eligibility cri
teria," Gillespie said, "the sooner we
can begin working on a waiver to get
them qualified."
Students who would like more in
formation on ROTC at Behrend can
check out www.p.verie.psu. eddadmis
s ion/ rote. lit ml or contact Captain
Gillespie at jsg 1 2 q_t , ' pstr.edu.