The Circle, being the “most influential company in the world”, and Penn State, being a “world renowned University”, have many similarities. Coming to Penn State as a Freshman, much like Mae, I was very overwhelmed and somewhat terrified to begin this new chapter in my life. One of the most influential characters towards Mae was Annie. She stated that Mae should learn to “..foster the community. In fact, it must be a community” (Eggers, 47) The company puts up signs which state that “Humans work here”. It is a reminder that, yes, the company contains some of the best minds in the country, but it is not a sweatshop full of robots. Much like The Circle, Penn State has some of the best minds in the country as well. Students every where on campus are striving to make a difference in the world and possibly discover something new, but they do this all while having the time of their lives. Penn State and The Circle stress the fact that it is important to go out and have fun. You cannot hole up in your room (or office). You must go out and introduce yourself to people. Another similarity is that, on Mae’s first day at The Circle, many people came up to her and introduced themselves right away. I personally connected with this part, as on my first day, many people introduced themselves and truly made me feel welcome. I had not even been at Penn State for a full twenty-four hours and it already felt like home. Just like Mae, I was experiencing new things and meeting new people. I was surrounded by people of all different backgrounds, but somehow, we all were united by a common thing- being a Penn Stater- just as Mae and her coworkers did- being a Circler.
I completely agree with your idea about the importance of both students and employees maintaining their humanity. If we as hardworking individuals are not able to explore our passions outside of work, then the quality of our work will suffer. I also agree with your point about the importance of a cohesive, friendly community, as we can be much more productive when learning and working together.
I like how you spoke about your welcome to Penn State, since that’s something I hadn’t read about yet! The points you spoke about were unique but I agree with them fully, especially when you spoke about the importance of being a well rounded individual.