• My name:  Ross Shutt
• Service organization:  Centre County PAWS
• Other participants:  Kolika Chatterjee, Simone Moniz, Kelly Burns, Shane Hetzel, Jorge Quezada
• What we did:  “Centre County PAWS is committed to finding forever homes for cats and dogs, educating citizens on responsible pet ownership, providing spay/neuter assistance, and ending pet overpopulation.”  As the proud owner of two former PAWS cats, it was my pleasure to participate in the Woofers Market fundraiser on Sunday, March 18, 2012.  MBA classmates and faculty came together to donate treats, crafts, and time in order to raise over $500 for this wonderful organization.

Volunteer: Damon Fisher

Client: Mifflin-Juniata Dental Clinic (MJDC)

I did my service immersion at the Mifflin-Juniata Dental Clinic. The MJDC serves the area’s (Mifflin, Juniata, Huntingdon, Snyder counties) low-income patients under medical assistance. The primary patients range from ages toddler-18 and the elderly. Continue reading →

The Smeal MBA Trailwork Crew, led by Ezra Nanes, partnered with the Nittany Mountain Biking Association (NMBA), The International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) and the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) to tackle a critical rerouting of the “Old” Maguire Trail in Rothrock State Forest. The Maguire Trail was a fall-line trail suffering from severe erosion. A reroute was needed to make the trail sustainable and to improve the user experience for hikers and mountain bikers. Continue reading →

• My Name: Viswanathan Adinarayanan
• Service Organization: Nittany Mountain Biking Association
• Participants: John Carlton, Kory Kiefer, Albert Lee, Paul Shotto, Terry Lin , Ying Yan (Jill) Chen , Gregory Hylinski, Raymond Morrissey, John Schaffer, Andrew Butler, Viswanathan Adinarayanan, Nathan Peruch, Tim Pace, Matthew Marler, Jorge Garcia, Erlend Wegger, Ezra Nanes
• Project: The project entailed cutting a new trail for two sections of the Maguire trail and closing a section of the old trail in Rothrock State Forest, which is located close to Tussey mountain in State College. The old trail had eroded and further usage of it meant that sediments of erosion were contaminating one of the water sources of State College. Such trails for recreational activities like hiking and biking in the area are maintained primarily on a volunteer basis. We were excited as a group to be on this project which brought us amidst nature and away from spreadsheets and powerpoints. The tasks that we undertook as part of the immersion was brush cutting, tilling, raking and leveling the trails. We are happy to have given back to the State College community in our small way and hope that the new trail will enjoyed by nature enthusiasts.

• My Name: Michael Lang
• Service Organization: Nittany Mountain Bike Association
• Participants: John Carlton, Kory Kiefer, Albert Lee, Paul Shotto, Terry Lin , Ying Yan (Jill) Chen , Gregory Hylinski, Raymond Morrissey, John Schaffer, Andrew Butler, Viswanathan Adinarayanan, Nathan Peruch, Tim Pace, Matthew Marler, Jorge Garcia, Erlend Wegger
• Project: Many folks use the area around Tussey Mountain for recreational activities such as mountain biking and hiking, and the maintenance of these trails is primarily done on a volunteer basis.  For our immersion project, we helped re-route two sections of the Maguire mountain bike trail in the mountains just outside of State College proper.  The original trail was suffering from the effects of erosion and to bring the trail up to current standards, we cut and cleared two new sections of the trail and closed off the section of the original trail that was no longer being used.