The future always seems so far away. Fifty years ago, who would have dreamed that we would be carrying computers in our pockets. However, we did dream of many other things. The car and home of the future were designed and marketed to many Americans coming back from World War II. However, neither of those products ever became very successful but at the same time, these ideas showed that we never stop thinking about the future.

Dave Eggers shows us that even today the future is still so important for the human mind to imagine. He paints us a picture of a future taken over by technology, controlled by a over arching establishment much like today’s Google. The story seems very reminiscent of Orwell’s 1984. Big Brother can be seen as the Circle itself or the Three Wise Men who run the company. The Circle is constantly monitoring everyone’s activity. Everything is shared and everyone is more than willing to share. Eggers draws parallels from today’s social media universe. He hints at tech giants such as Facebook and Twitter in his explanation of the reactions and followers each user in the Circle interacts with.

Eggers uses today’s world as a warning to what will come in the future. He also alludes that the different ranks in the Circle are like those in Dante’s Inferno. The further Dante descends into hell the greater amount of pain and suffering he encounter. In Eggers The Circle, every time Mae moves up the circle, she is allowing herself to become more transparent. Although she may not see it as her descent into hell, we, as the reader, can see she is only becoming more distant from the world around her. As the story progresses you see Mae’s sweet nature turning into a cruel attitude to those who care for her. She ruthlessly destroys her ex-boyfriend’s business with her negative commentary. Mae becomes obsessed with overtaking her friend Annie, and refuses to listen to Annie’s warnings. She even distances herself from her family, leaving her with nothing but the people of the Circle.

I first read this book in late 2013, right after it came out. I found it to be an interesting concept. We are moving towards a world that is more transparent, and Eggers does a good job in portraying that concept. There are moments in the book that I believe there could have been a deeper dissection of Mae’s character. There is so much more to her than what I believe is in the book. Her submission to the Circle seems premature and perhaps even forced from my angle. The message Eggers provides is a good one, but I did not find it to be as moving the second time around.

Schreyer and Penn State emphasize the importance of gaining global perspective. Study abroad is a great way to gain global experiences. Last summer, I had the opportunity to go to Singapore! It was for a study abroad trip for an engineering design course. It was a 3 credit engineering class that took place at the National University of Singapore. It was very unique in that, Penn State students worked with students from NUS, and Brigham Young University to create a sustainable cleaning product.

Our class focused on the principles of product design. The ultimate goal was to come up with a final prototype of our product by the end of the three weeks. The class was great, but working on the project was so much more fun than I expected. We were in teams made up of students from every university. This allowed us to learn more about the student culture at NUS and BYU. I became really close to my team members, and we would hang out together even after class was over.

The trip wasn’t all about studying though. We got tons of time to actually explore Singapore and experience the culture. After class was over, we would head out to the metro station and figure out where we wanted to go. Singapore is a very small country, so you can get pretty much anywhere by the metro. Although the country is small, there is tons to see. The country is known for its dedication to being green, so you’ll find there are gardens everywhere. The most famous being Gardens by the Bay, which has these incredibly big fake trees called super trees. They’re as tall as some skyscrapers in New York City. There are also little neighborhoods that represent the different sides of Singapore, like Chinatown and Little India.

There is also this great man made island called Sentosa. It has theme parks, shopping, and restaurants, but more importantly it has beaches! The beaches are great. A couple other fun things we did was go on a Night Safari. Its actually the first night safari in the world. We also explored marina square, which is the downtown of Singapore. Most importantly, we tried so much new food. Food is a very integral part of Singaporean culture.

The trip is one of the best experiences I’ve ever had! I made incredible friends and got the chance to live in a new country. I couldn’t have asked for a better time! Studying abroad is an amazing opportunity that you should definitely try to do if you have the chance. Not all study abroad trips have to be for a full semester. The trip I went on was only for about three weeks. It can be hard to go for a semester, however there are many other options if you still want to study abroad. There are shorter trips during the summer or even trips that take place over break. These trips may also be cheaper than going for a full semester.

Over the last two years, I have had the opportunity to take many honors classes. These classes have always allowed me to challenge my way of thinking in some way. I have primarily taken math and science honors classes because those are the subjects that I really enjoy being challenged in. I also took a honors business ethics class for fun my first semester at Penn State because it was a one credit seminar course being taught by a guest lecturer from The University of Kent in England. I thought it was a great opportunity to learn something outside of my major. Although all of my honors courses have been very interesting my favorite honors course to this day is honors engineering design 100. I will admit that I wrote about this class last year as well, and I thought that by this time I might have experienced a better honors course, but it remains my favorite honors course.

ESGDN 100 is the reason I have continued to pursue engineering in college. The projects we completed in our class taught me a great deal about what engineering is truly about. Every project addressed a unique problem. We did everything from building a column of tape to designing carbon dioxide sensors, and even creating shoes to walk on water. Each project showed me how to successfully take an idea and bring it to fruition. I learned a great deal about working in teams and how to deal with group conflict in a positive way. It was the perfect introduction to what my future as an engineer will look like.

The class also showed me why I love engineering. Engineering isn’t just about the numbers and the figures, it’s about being able to communicate your ideas to other people successfully. It’s about being able to work with other people even when the odds are stacked against you. Engineering is a career that requires a lot of teamwork and if you can’t deal with people at their lowest, you are going to have a very hard time being able to accomplish anything. I love this aspect of engineering. I enjoy working with others to be able to create a difference in the lives of others. The more I go through my classes the more passionate I’ve become about becoming an engineer. I can’t wait to wake up everyday knowing I have the chance to do experience a new challenge everyday. All this passion and realization for my love of problem solving started with one of my first honors classes at Penn State, EDSGN 100H with Matt Parkinson.

Shotime 2015 was a wonderful experience for me! It was my first Shotime as a mentor since I am a sophomore, and I had decided to partake in Shotime this year because of the great time I had last year. My mentors were excellent and I wanted the opportunity to provide the same warm welcome to other students like my mentors had provided me. The first day started out with registration and move-in. I already was taken back to my time as a freshman last year and how excited I was to start at Schreyer. Thankfully it didn’t rain as is so feared on any move-in day. Caitlin, my co-mentor and I, were anxious to meet our mentees and we were not disappointed. After Tears and Cheers ended, we were able to do some icebreakers and allow the group to get comfortable with each other. It turned out that our group of students was very social and did not have an issue getting along with each other. I was thrilled because I remember how last year I became more relaxed after I realized the other kids in my Shotime group were so easy and nice to talk to. I could see the same thing happening for the students in my group. I also had the opportunity to participate in Chris’ training for Playfair. I had so much fun learning the process that Chris goes through to make sure every student feels included during Playfair. Playfair was phenomenal, I believe all the mentees in our group had a great time and were excited to see what the next day was going to be like.

The next day was a more informative day for the incoming scholars. However, it also helped me. As all the new students were learning about the many requirements of Schreyer, I was reminded of several tasks I had to complete as well. The Distinguished Honors Faculty Lecture that followed was compelling to listen to and had a great overall message. I agreed with many of the points that Dr.Rues made in her presentation. I agree with her ideas about changing the world and the fact that we each have the power to make an impact. I do believe that every one of us can have a positive impact on the world if we pursue an idea we are passionate about. Her message was very powerful because she proved that anyone from any background can do this type of work if that is their goal.  It did seem like it was hard for the students to stay focused for both events, since they were back to back.

One of my favorite parts of the day was the book discussion. My roommate and I decided to host one of the discussion on the book The Honor Code. I expected something similar to my discussion last year where we mainly discussed the themes of the book and the different parts of the book. However, I was blown away by the in-depth conversation we had about the main theme of The Honor Code and how it related to the many aspects of today’s life. Our group related Appiah’s ideas to how we view politics today in this country. We also discussed how honor is related to the image of universities and especially Penn State’s image. Other topics discussed were related to war, the image of women in many countries, and even global economies. It was an excellent conversation and I was happy to see that everyone in our room was able to contribute to the discussion in some way.

The Brain Show was probably the most exciting part of the day. Caitlin and I tried explaining to our mentees how the Brain Show worked but they were a lot more thrilled when they walked into the room and saw the setup. The event was a great way to bring the group together because every time a team member would go up on stage the rest of the group would cheer for them. Even if someone lost, they would get several high fives when they came back. After the event was over, they could not stop talking about the different dance moves and questions. All the mentees seemed to have a good time and at this point it seemed they were very comfortable with each other as well. It was good to see they were adjusting well since that was the main goal for Caitlin and I.

The third day started out with the Town and Gown event. I thought the event was more interactive than it was last year which was nice. The students really got to talk to the members of the community and ask them questions. Our group was able to talk to the member from the Mount Nittany Conservatory and the woman from the Red Cross Association. The students enjoyed asking questions about the hike up to Mount Nittany since many of them are eager to cross that off their Penn State bucket lists. They also found out the best way to get there and what were the best points to hike to on the mountain. The representative Red Cross gave them great information on how they could donate blood and also how they could volunteer with the association.

The tug of war group event was fun, the entire team was able to get involved. Part of the team would tug the rope while the other half cheered enthusiastically for them. The other event that I thought was a great addition to Shotime was the diversity workshop. It is really important to know that college is a place to grow and explore who you are and the workshop allowed the students to realize that. It’s true that we don’t really ask these hard questions from ourselves or from others. The workshop was able to get the students to discuss their beliefs in a safe space and become more comfortable with each as an entire class. I really liked that concept and thought it worked very well. The only criticism I would have is that I feel that the students would have felt more open throughout the discussion had they had prior knowledge of the event.

At dinner everyone wrote their letters. I was surprised to see that everyone wrote almost two pages for their letters. Some of them had the others sign their letters and they all made sure they had each others’ numbers. It was just great to see that they had all become friends, after all that was the goal of this orientation. Late night with the dean was hilarious, I had a great time and I could see all my mentees laughing around me. The different quiz shows and the lip dub were very funny!

Being a mentor was absolutely amazing and I feel so grateful to have had such a great group of mentees! I feel so humbled to be a part of these students’ first days of college. To be able to make their transition to college even the slightest bit easier gave me so much joy. As a freshman last year, I was so thankful to know that I had some sort of group even before school started and I hope the freshman I had feel that way as well.  I am still in touch with my Shotime group and mentors so I know these relationships can really create an impact on the freshman. This was a wonderful experience and I would love to do it again!

This day topped off a great three days! I thought that town and gown went very smoothly. Our group was able to speak to the director of the Mount Nittany conservatory. The students really enjoyed that because many of them are excited to hike up Mount Nittany. They were able to ask plenty of questions concerning the trail. They also got maps to help them navigate their way around the trail and learn more about the conservatory. They also talked to a representative from the Red Cross. They learned about different opportunities to volunteer with the Red Cross. They also learned about what the Red Cross does in the community and around the world. After the Town and Gown event we headed over to tug of war. The entire time our team was cheering and rooting for each other! Our team came in second!!

The other event my mentees really enjoyed was the diversity workshop. I walked around to see how their conversations were going and they all were very interested to discuss why they believed in what they did. I was so happy to see that they were comfortable speaking about their ideas with their peers. Therefore, I feel like the workshop was a successful event for our group at least. After the event, we walked over to the lion shrine to take one last group picture together!

Dinner was fun because everyone was writing their letters. I was surprised to see everyone wrote almost two pages for their letters. They all traded numbers and followed each other on snapchat. Some of them had everyone sign their letters. It was just great to see that they had all become friends, after all that is the goal of this orientation! Late night with the dean was absolutely amazing! I thought Mike and Natalie did a great job creating a high energy event. I loved all the different quiz shows and especially the lip dub!

This experience was amazing and I feel so grateful to have had such a great group of mentees! I would do it again in a heartbeat! Thank you for giving me this opportunity because these three days were some of my best days of the summer!!!

Day two went very well! All our mentees were present for the making the most and DHFL events. I personally really enjoyed Dr.Rues lecture. I agree with her ideas about changing the world and the fact that we each have the power to make an impact really hits home for me. I do believe that each one of us can have a positive impact on the world if we pursue an idea we are passionate about. Her message was very powerful because she proved that anyone from any background can do this type of work if that is their goal. Also, I was happy that as mentors we were allowed to sit in on Making the Most of the SHC, because there was so much information that triggered my memory and reminded me of different things I needed to do during the year. I actually took out a pencil at one point and jotted down some reminders for myself!

After lunch, my roommate and I headed a book discussion for The Honor Code. We went in just hoping to engage the scholars and have a good discussion and we were more than satisfied! Our group was absolutely amazing, they had such great ideas and we had an extremely stimulating discussion. The freshman connected the main idea of honor to several different event that have occurred in the past and are occurring today. They related the idea of power to politics, government, even Penn State. They were able to constructively bounce ideas off of each other and made every member of the group feel comfortable about contributing. I was thrilled with the discussion!

Dinner and the involvement fair went well. Our mentees said they signed up for a bunch of clubs, most of them were very excited to be a part of thon! However, the best part of the day had to be The Brain Show! We tried describing to our mentees what Brain Show was but I think they were a lot more thrilled when they walked into the room and saw the stage. Every time a team member went up the entire group cheered for them. After the event was over, they could not stop talking about the different dance moves and questions. They really seemed to enjoy and overall the day was a great success! Hoping for a great finish to SHOTIME tomorrow!!

The first day for SHOTIME was fantastic! The day started out with registration and sign-in. I helped out with move in for Simmons. The parents and kids were all so excited to get their rooms set up, it reminded me of the day I moved in last year. The good thing was it didn’t rain! We did have a slight issue with one of the parents who was unhappy with the parking situation. Thankfully, we were able to calm down the situation and there was no other problems. After helping with move in, I moved to the sign in table for my next shift. After cleaning up, we headed to tears and cheers. It was so sweet to see all the parents and students grabbing tissues. Once that was over, we did a few ice breakers, and all the mentees seemed very talkative and were getting along really well! I was so happy to see everyone become friends and for the awkwardness to slowly fade away. Unfortunately, I had to run off very soon after dinner to help set up with playfair. It was incredible to be a part of Chris’ training! Playfair was absolutely phenomenal! I think I had more fun as a mentor than a mentee. Overall, I had an amazing day and am looking forward to another great day tomorrow!