Ceramic artist Michelle Ettrick, now an instructor in art at Penn State Altoona, took an unconventional path to get where she is today. Born in Panama, she came to the United States in November 1982. Nine years ago, after almost a year of homelessness, she says, “I started school in … Continue reading

After the spectacle that was the 2016 US presidential election, Shaheed Nick Mohammed, associate professor of communications at Penn State Altoona, started to write an article about what he saw as the “carnivalesque” in that election. As he was writing, he was also looking for a collaborator. He approached some … Continue reading

“One of the things a good poet seeks is authenticity of voice.” Patricia Jabbeh Wesley Patricia Jabbeh Wesley, professor of English, creative writing, and African literature at Penn State Altoona, had plans. The recipient of a Penn State Humanities Fellowship, she intended to spend her 2020 summer as she had … Continue reading

Thomas Liszka taught Chaucer for years as one of his literature courses at Penn State Altoona. Although he retired, he did not let go of his connection to the author of the Canterbury Tales; since retirement as associate professor emeritus of English, he’s been researching, writing articles, and—just for entertainment, … Continue reading

Education is the best provision for old age. —Aristotle By the age of 60 Harold Woodruff had been a teacher (elementary school and then high school industrial arts), and, when he “needed to take a break from teaching,” he says, he became a machinist and then a numerical controlling programmer/machine … Continue reading

The life span of a sneaker depends on its use. Running or walking, sport or recreation, function or merely fashion—they all wear out eventually. If they haven’t been completely worn out, sneakers may end up in a used clothing bin. More than likely, though, they will end up in a … Continue reading

Challenging times call for creative thinking and innovation—both of which Penn State Altoona’s Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities Fair (URCAF) has in abundance. Moving the Fair to an online venue this year was necessary, but it brought some unexpected benefits. Not only are the exhibits available for more than just … Continue reading

  History instructor Jared Frederick often uses items from his own personal collection as visual aids in his history classes at Penn State Altoona. But with the switch to online learning through Zoom this semester, Frederick has had to improvise. In his three classes—HIST 12: Pennsylvania history, HIST 21: US … Continue reading

Peace. We are all searching for it. In troubled times we may soothe ourselves in the arts—music, or books, or film. We may return to a hobby we dropped long ago. Many of us will turn to nature for its life-affirming qualities, the sound of birds, the wind in our … Continue reading

For the third straight year students from Seoul Women’s University, South Korea, traveled to the Penn State Altoona campus to work on a project with Altoona Security and Risk Analysis (SRA) majors for the Global Fellows program. Last year’s students concentrated on an app for the Lower Trail, part of … Continue reading