Student Honors and Activities

Angels in our midst…
AE 5th year senior, Bill Buchko organized a group of eight Penn State students and people from his local church and community to volunteer for a week in the Dominican Republic on July 13-20, 2007. The group visited Haitian refugee villages to distribute food, clothing and supplies in cooperation with Dominican Crossroads, a program dedicated to meeting the most basic needs of poor Dominicans. (www.dominicancrossroads.com)

Bill’s spirit of service began in high school when he attended Catholic Heart Work Camp. During his sophomore year at Penn State, he joined Project Haiti, a student-run organization operating out of Penn State’s University Park Catholic Campus Ministry. The group was founded in 1997 by Father Fred Byrnes, in an effort to make Penn State students more personally aware of the economic disparity that exists between those living in the United States and those living in developing countries. Bill traveled with this group to Haiti during spring break 2005. He reported, “I instantly fell in love with international volunteering.”

Due to political unrest and gang violence in Haiti, spring break 2006 yielded a trip to the Dominican Republic where he participated in the volunteer efforts sponsored by Dominican Crossroads (photo above). When some of his friends showed an interest in doing this type of work, he decided to organize a trip for them so that they could get involved in this rewarding humanitarian experience. Bill returned to the Dominican Republic in July 2007 to continue this good work. He also created a website to share his experiences with others.
http://www.personal.psu.edu/wjb170/Dominican.html

Plans are already underway to organize another trip to the Dominican Republic for summer 2008. Their goal is to raise enough money to build a house for a family while they are down there (approximately $3,000). If you would like more information on volunteering for this group, or to donate towards a very worthy cause, please contact Bill Buchko at (wjb170@psu.edu).

Penn State Students Shine at Lighting Awards
Three groups of Penn State students received Design With Light awards at the annual Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IES) Philadelphia Section Award Banquet held Apr. 19, 2007.

Design With Light was started in 1999 by the IES Philadelphia section to raise awareness and understanding of the lighting design profession within the student community. Students from Philadelphia area degree-granting institutions and Penn State were invited to solve a design challenge with an original and innovative solution, and to express their solution through a presentation.

This year’s design project was the renovation of a retail shopping mall located in Madison, WI. Penn State winners included: First Place, Adam Kroll; Second Place, Jyotsna Bhamidipait and Gayoung Kim; and Honorable Mention, Nicholas Kutchi and Jason Green.

Phi Alpha Epsilon Initiation Ceremony
Phi Alpha Epsilon, the AE honor society, welcomed 29 new student members to its ranks on Apr. 23, 2007 at a ceremony and dinner held at the Allen Street Grill in State College.