March 26, 2007
Ding: Beyond the classroom
Continued from page 1
“other professor things” keeps her
busy, but the flexibility that faculty
members get is plenty. What she
can research on and what she can
teach every semester are just some
examples. Classes she teaches
include database, programming
languages, C++, and principles of
programming languages.
Ding’s life goal is to be a good
teacher, researcher, citizen and
mother. To be a good teacher, one
has to be passionate about what he
or she teaches, she said. Teachers
need to have a good record with
their students, in addition to care
and respect them. Of course being
the perfect teacher would be better,
but she said she could settle for
“good” also.
Her father is the one who inspired
her to always pursue her interests.
His words of wisdom to her were
to never stop learning, which Ding
has taken to heart.
Referring to her character, Ding
explains that she is a perfectionist.
“Whenever I do something, 1
want to do it perfectly,” Ding said.
But as she gets older, she realizes
that it is indeed acceptable to be
“easily adaptable” with her work.
Still, she considers herself to be a
hardworking person who always
strives to be the best person she can
ever become.
“In order to achieve your dreams,
you must be willing to work hard,”
she stated. “And in order to become
a better person, you must be
constantly learning.’
Research is one of her passions.
Currently, she is working on data
mining research. She is trying to
find hidden patterns in databases.
Other favorite pastimes include
reading, playing racket sports and
spending time with her daughter,
whom she loves very much.
Recently, she bought a dog for
her daughter because she “really
wanted one” to play with, Ding
said. Even though Ding was afraid
THE CAPITAL TIMES
of dogs, she is learning to adapt.
Their dog, Choo-Choo, a Jack
Russell Terrier, is pretty well
behaved, according to Ding. But
her dog is not all she is proud of.
Her daughter, who is in fifth grade,
came in first place in her class 24
game and won third place at her
school in Hershey.
“It makes me so happy that my
daughter is doing well here,”
she said. “A good education is
extremely important,” said Ding,
who is happy she is able to provide
one for her daughter.
Ding also wanted to share her
life’s philosophy with Penn State
Harrisburg students.
“In order to learn something, you
must practice constantly because
practicing is how we get better.
And if it’s something you really
want, then you just have to practice
it that much. That’s how you know
that you’re really interested in
something; when you just want to
be really good at it and you won’t
settle for less.”
Ding’s list of favs;
1. Would-be animal:
Dragon because it has the
power of bringing fantasy
to life
2. Food: Chinese food and
spicy food
3. Drink: Orange juice
4. Sport: To play,
badminton, but does not
have time to watch it on
TV
5. Traveled spots: Hawaii,
Italy, China
6. Singer: Karen Carpenter
Rally calls on legislature to make a change
Continued from page 1
enough to mange their college
loan debt.
Penn State is the largest single
contributor to the commonwealth’s
economy. This may not sound
impressive, but when you look
at dollar figures, we find that
for every dollar, which the
legislature invests in Penn State
through the appropriation, Penn
State returns nearly $2O to the
Commonwealth’s economy.
In recent years, the university’s
annual statewide economic impact
has totaled more than $6 billion
a year. With such an economic
impact, why isn’t the legislature
doing more to recognize the
university’s contributions.
Before the rally’s end,
those in attendance had the
opportunity to hear from some
of Pennsylvania’s legislators.
The rally’s most intense and
heartfelt comments came from State
Rep. and Penn State graduate John
Yudichak. In his opening remarks,
he promised to
call for higher
appropriation
as well as other
educational
reforms. As
a Penn State
graduate, he
commented
on his own
experiences
and concerns
with regard to
funding and
tuition. As he
noted that
the legislature did not fund
alternative fuel research. He
further commented on the
importance of funding similar
research programs.
Unfortunately, Rep. Conklin’s
speech and concern towards
alternative fuel research and
funding lost credibility when
he used the rally as a podium to
give his opinion on the Iraq war.
His lack of situational awareness
left several in attendance
wondering what the war had to
do with tuition.
Throughout the event, one
question continued to present
itself, why isn’t the legislature
doing more to fund higher
education. More importantly, why
hasn’t the legislature recognized
that 57% of Penn State graduates
leave the commonwealth?
Kiplingers finance magazine,
showed that on average,
Penn State graduates leave
college with a debt in excess of
$20,000. As the debt and tuition
continue to rise, it would appear
that legislators are ignoring
the needs of the citizens of
Photos by MARIN BENDORms/Capitoi Times the commonwealth. Event
turned slightly to face the students
behind him, Yudichak expressed
his concern for the futures of all
students. As he brought his speech
to an end, Yudichak, shared his
concern towards tuition and the
day his daughter chooses to attend
Penn State.
Rep. Scott Conklin, also addressed
the crowd and spoke about the
university’s research and research
programs. Conklin went on to
discuss Penn
States research
in the area of
alternative fuel
and the impact
such research
could have on
not just the
commonwealth,
but that nation
as a whole.
Conklin who is
also part of the
appropriations
committee
organizers hope to one day have
upwards of 1,000 students attend
the rally. They may ignore us
now, but as Livingston said “we’ll
be back.”
Allshouse
receives honor
OFFICAL PRESS RELEASE
Jennifer Allshouse serves as a
Police Service Officer at the Penn
State Harrisburg campus. Extremely
active in women’s issues, Jennifer
has presented a variety of educational
programs dealing with personal safety,
acquaintance rape, sexual assault,
and domestic violence awareness to
not only the campus community but
also numerous organizations and
groups throughout the mid-state.
She holds Instructor Certifications in
Rape Aggression Defense (R.A.DO.)
and Self-Defense Awareness and
Familiarization Exchange Program
’(S.A.F.E.).
She is an active member of
Penn State Harrisburg’s Liaison
Committee to the Commission for
Women and the Sexual Harassment
Resource Team. She also serves
as secretary and treasurer for the
Pennsylvania Association of Campus
Crime Prevention Practioner’s and
is an active member with Dauphin
County Domestic Violence Task
Force, Mid-Atlantic Association
for Women in Law Enforcement,
and the American Women’s Self-
Defense Association.
One of Jennifer’s most recent
accomplishments has been her role
as chair on the domestic violence
subcommittee. With a lot of help from
dedicated committee members and
women of the Penn State Harrisburg’s
Commission for Women, a fund
raiser was held and the Commission
for Women raised $2600 in donations
for the YQCA of Greater Harrisburg’s
Violence Intervention and
Prevention Program.
Recently, Allshouse was selected
to receive the 2007 Achieving
Women Award presented by Penn
State’s Commission for Women.
She will be honored at the April 9
luncheon at the Nittany Lion Inn on
the University Park campus. She will
be among seven Achieving Women
from around the University who
are honored.