Page 8
The Behrend Beacon
From crowns
to text books
Soni, on location shooting another segment for her to
show that airs on Dish Network.
by Courtney Straub
news editor
On the surface, Deepti Soni looks like
an average, 18 year-old, college
freshmen. She goes to class, lives in
Niagara Hall, and enjoys shopping.
Despite her normalcy, Soni is very
unique in the fact that she was Miss Teen
India Georgia in 2001.
Soni won the Miss Teen India Georgia
competition in August 2001.
"My mom and dad and their friends
persuaded me to go into the
competition," said Soni, "Plus I want to
give everything in life a try at least once".
She beat out over 30 participants. The
competition was held at The Gwinett
Performing Arts Center in Atlanta,
Georgia
To try and win the title, participants
had to compete in four categories which
included a talent, question and answer,
evening wear and Indian wear.
errill 'lights' up 'tinker Center
by Lauren Packer
editor in chief
Steve Merrill, BLASC 09, lights u p
the Junker Center once again. A former
standout basketball player for the Lions,
Merrill no longer rocks the Junker with
a fade-away at the buzzer or a trey atop
the key.
Merrill now heads up "Friday
Night.... Lights On." Never heard about
it? That's because Merrill has taken on
the task of organizing and publicizing the
event on his own. But, the idea for the
event wasn't even Merrill's.
Call it divine intervention. Call it
heavenly. The inspiration for the event
sponsored by Catholic Campus Ministry
and Protestant Campus Ministry started
from a single vision.
"I guess you could say it's kind of odd
Senior standout student athlete Kis receives citizenship
by Syreeta Anderson
When filling out important forms, U.S. citizens
always check the box that says legal residents. What
if living here was not that easy? What if you had to
find somewhere you could call your permanent
address, live here for a certain amount of years, and
then take a test to be called a U.S. citizen?
Dario Kis, PLET 09, knows exactly what that
experience fells like. Kis, originally from Tuzla,
Bosnia and Hertzegovina, established a permanent
residence in U.S. in 1995 when his family left
Bosnia because of the war. After leaving Bosnia
his family had to worry about paperwork and legal
issues with staying in different countries.
"My parents and I have moved here and started a
ew life, getting our citizenship as something that
"My talent was Indian dancing. I have
done my arangatrum(graduated from
Indian Dance Academy). I have been
dancing ever since I was five" said Soni.
For the question and answer portion
of the competition, Soni was asked
which values her family has given her
that she would like to pass on to her
After each round contestants were
eliminated. Soni lasted through all four
grueling rounds to win the crown.
The competition was very beneficial
in helping Soni shape herself as a young
adult.
staff writer
evision
family.
Soni's answer was "My family always
sticks together through good times and
bad and I want to always remember that
value".
Soni also thinks it is very important
for younger members of the family to
respect their elders.
"I gained self-confidence and learned
that I can achieve anything as long as I
how it started," said Merrill. "I work
with FCA (Fellowship of Christian
Athletes) and we had a Bible study one
night. After the study, it was actually
like a vision. That's where it (Friday
Night... Lights On) really birthed."
The event happens not quite every
Friday night from 9-11 p.m. The entire
Junker Center is open later to allow
students to participate in board games,
basketball, soccer, volleyball,
swimming, water basketball, etc. CCM
and PCM also provide free food to feed
late night appetites.
"With basketball, I hadn't really been
able to do anything on a Friday night,"
said Merrill. "But I didn't really hear of
anything to do later in the night either."
Merrill, a nondrinker, heard that a lot
of people go to parties simply to get
together and hang out.
kind of made it official." said Kis
Kis received his citizenship in February 2003.
He was able to get his citizenship right here in Erie
through the International Institute. By law, you have
to stay for at least 5 years before you can apply for
the citizenship.
"(Living in America for five years is) why I had
to wait that long to get my citizenship," said Kis.
The process of getting his citizenship happened
over a large period off time.
After establishing a permanent residence in 1995,
Dario and his family waited six years to apply for
their citizenship. In 2002, the application was finally
processed. During that year, they had to go on
several interviews. Finally, earlier this year the
process was ending, he and his family had to take a
test about the English language, history and
• • • • :, „.$„„,,,, ..., i ,
a , iiii . ~. Ahno ,.., •
~,i „, ''ft:i,iiw - ,,'": r.:;: . .: ,51.,
Friday, October 31, 2003
American Women's Services
Sexually Transmitted Disease Testing
- Gonorrhea
- Chlamydia
- Syphilis
- HIV
Testing and Treatments are 100% FREE,
Toll
put my mind, body and soul to it," said
Soni.
Soni also met many new people during
the competition and made new friends.
Some of Soni's winnings included
concert tickets, Indian outfits, jewelry
and make-up gift certificates.
After winning Miss Teen India
Georgia, Soni received many invitations
to speak at local events.
Next, Soni was offered a job hosting a
TV show entitled Community Round-
Up. The show is aired all over the United
States twice a week on Dish Network.
The show was not given to Soni
because she won the competition.
"They just saw me speaking and liked
the way I was presenting myself," said
Soni.
"I've seen the effects of alcohol and I
don't want people to go down that path.
Maybe, by just this event, we can get
people together with others who don't
like to drink so they don't go down that
path."
Now, thanks to the divine intervention
and Merrill's willingness to coordinate
such an event, students have the
opportunity to get together with fellow
peers on late night Friday night without
the alcohol.
When asked how his program fit into
the range of Behrend programs, Merrill
humbly stated that he doesn't like to put
his program up against the others on
campus.
"If somebody wants to do something,
there is plenty to do," said Merrill.
just try to open up the athletic side of it.
I try to tie in with it board games and
Not Just For Women
Contact us at 1-814-874-3500 at our
convenient Erie location!
Or Anonymous
Call 1-814-874-3500 or
Free:
Your Appointment TODAY
For
OPEN
government
Kis said, "The test was verbal and fairly brief."
After the test was over and all the paper work
had been processed and approved; there was a
ceremony in Erie's courthouse to announce their
new citizenship.
"It's nice to finally put everything behind us," Kis
said.
"I came to Behrend because of the excellent
plastics engineering program," said Kis.
Kis dedicates just about all of his time to studying
and sports. He keeps a busy schedule. While he's
not sure how many hours a week he spends
studying, but he is usually at school from 7a.m. into
the late evening hours. He's often working hard
studying or working on his senior project.
"I try to do things far in advance, plan when to
do my work, and most importantly get it done when
Free
Also Available:
Free Hepatitis Vaccinations
Free Critical Cancer Screening
Risk Reduction Counseling
Program Sponsored by the PA Department of Health
Confidential
1-877-874-3500
os - a - 01c3§3 cc
Basically on the show, Soni hosts
community events and gets to meet new
people
"I've met Ambassador Andrew Young,
the (Georgia) Gov. Sonny Perdue and
some Bollywood actors and actresses,"
said Soni
Despite the celebrity status she has
achieved in Georgia, Soni chose to come
to Erie for college. She decided on Penn
State after visiting the campus and
meeting the faculty.
"I really liked the environment when I
visited, I loved the: faculty and I
thought the atmosphere was amazing,"
said Soni.
Currently, Soni is majoring in
Communications and International
Politics as well as minoring in Political
things that people who aren't athletic can
do."
The event has already been held three
times this semester and looks like its
gaining popularity. The first time it was
held, Merrill estimated that 30-40 people
attended. The second time, however,
Merrill didn't have a chance to advertise
for the event as much as the first time
and attendance dipped. The third time
was a charm, however, and attendance
spiked upward well into the twenties.
Taking 17 credits worth of classes,
Merrill plans to go on to become a
chiropractor after his studies at Behrend
are over in the spring of 2004. Merrill
admits that organizing such an event, plus
having a full plate of schoolwork has
taken its toll on the event.
"My dreams originally were pretty big.
When I first thought about organizing the
Erika Jarvis, Features Editor
Science and Business
During high school, Soni was
incredibly active. She was the student
council president from 2001-2003,
yearbook editor from 2001-2003 and
attended various leadership conferences.
Now that she is in college, she is doing
her best to become active on campus.
Recently, Soni was voted into a
freshman senator seat in the Student
Government Association
As for her future plans, Soni is
determined to focus on her studies.
While it was fun and exciting to win
the Miss Teen India Georgia title, Soni
said she is not interested in pursuing any
sort of modeling or acting career.
event, I wanted to go all out. I wanted
to get those inflatable games, like sumo
wrestling and jousting," said Merrill.
Ever so modest, Merrill realizes that
he can only do so much and rejoices in
the fact that God has given him so many
students with which to enjoy "Friday
Night... Lights On."
"I really had to cut back on a lot of
my original plans, but I'm happy," said
Merrill. "I'm thankful the Lord gave me
40 people to join me."
Merrill is hopeful more people can
join the Friday night fun. The more
people helping, the better.
"I'm trying to finish up my credits and
organize this great event. As far as
having the event next semester, I'm kind
of praying about that right now." said
Merrill.
I plan to," said Kis about managing his time
Kis is an active member of the Behrend water
sports. He was on the varsity swim team for the
last three years and currently he is in his fourth year
and the captain of the varsity Water Polo team.
"Doing water polo and swimming is something I
really enjoy," Kis said.
It is hard managing schoolwork, sports and a
social life, but Kis seems to have the hang of it.
After doing sports for four years, he has come to
realize that, "your teammates become your closest
friends whether you like it or not ... spending time
with them outside of practice and at games is
something I have gotten use too."
In spite of it all Kis has a very optimistic view,
"it feels good to finally belong somewhere," he said.