The fourth wall : a Penn State Mont Alto student periodical. (Mont Alto, PA) 2004-????, January 01, 2010, Image 3

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    Page 3
_ wasn’t easy. I spent
the spring of my sophomore
year studying in Greece, and I
transferred from there to Uni-
versity Park. During my previ-
ous semesters at Mont Alto, I
had barely been involved. The
handful of people I met during
my brief time in Mont Alto’s
THON club were at University
Park. But despite being a com-
muter, I was determined to in-
volve myself on campus. I
wouldn’t let my time living as
a Pringle in State College dis-
courage me. My plan was to
meet fellow English majors by
joining Mont Alto’s English
Club.
Later that day, I discov-
ered Mont Alto did not actually
have an English Club. Accord-
ing to Dr. Russo, most of the
English majors I had known
during my freshman year had
now graduated and the club
was defunct. = However, Dr.
Russo took my curiosity about
the club as an offer to become
English Club’s new president.
A week or so later, I found my-
self at the Mont Alto club rush
running the English Club table.
I had no idea what English
Club actually did, but I decided
to tell people we organized
open mic nights, and were
planning a trip to see a play.
And people signed up. In a
flash, I had become the presi-
even know what my club did.
Fast-forward four
months, and English Club has
hosted four open mic nights,
and is planning a trip to Wash-
ington D.C. to see Richard II.
Funny how these things work
out... I've also joined the Film
Club and Musician’s Club, and
I am a member of the Mont
Alto Film Project, in addition
to working at the Majestic
Theater in Gettysburg. I’ve
been told that I make a great
leader because of my confi-
dence in myself. Most of the
time, my confidence is a com-
plete illusion. At English
Club’s first meeting, I still did-
n’t know what I was supposed
to be doing. But I did know
that banned books week was
coming, so I decided to organ-
ize a reading of banned books.
If I really do make a great
leader, I think it must be be-
wanted to be in the English
Club, and I wouldn’t let the
fact that English Club didn’t
exist stop me.
Becoming involved at
Mont Alto. can be a daunting
experience, especially for com-
muters. | waited until my jun-
ior year to take a major role in
Mont Alto’s clubs. I hope you
don’t make the same mistake.
Mont Alto is actually full of
opportunities, if you are willing
to take the time and expend the
energy to make your plans
work. Don’t wait until you
move up to University Park to
become involved. For some of
you, it won’t be what you're
expecting. Last I checked, they
still don’t have an English
Club up there. If Mont Alto
doesn’t have a club or an or-
ganization that’s right for you,
then start a new one. You'll
get the hang of being a presi-
dent before too long. Above
all, don’t content yourself with
being just another Pringle in
the can. Be all you can be—in
class, in clubs, and in life.
Adam, Mo, Tyler, and other residents hanging out in the lobby
of Mont Alto Hall.