Welcome from the Coordinator
Welcome to Penn State and the College of Engineering. You each have a wonderful opportunity to learn about your chosen field while here at Penn State, at the same time learning more about life and what it means to be a citizen in the 21st century. As an alumnus of PSU, I can tell you these memories you form here will last a lifetime.
To help you make the transition to college life, we have developed a large assortment of First-Year Seminars, around 50 different topics as of Fall 1999. There is a seminar, ENGR 100S, Introduction to Engineering, that is oriented to those of you who either don't know what major you want, or would like to know more about other engineering majors. There are other seminars that focus on one major. There are many seminars that focus on hands-on lab and design experiences. And many seminars introduce you to some of the latest ideas and topics, including environmental considerations, robots, solar energy, nuclear energy, and computers. Some of you may even take two seminars!
These seminars present you with several unique opportunities:
- Getting to know a regular faculty member in a small class setting
- Getting to know some of your peers
- Understanding what it takes to succeed at the university and in engineering
- Building your ability to use the many tools and resources of Penn State
On behalf of the College of Engineering, I welcome you to Penn State and wish you the best of success.
Andy Lau, Coordinator of First-Year Seminars
"It was good because it was different; I got to mess around with stuff."
"It gave me the opportunity to meet people in my major; it also provided information on options
in my major — maybe you learn that you will love it or realize that you will hate it;
you get to learn that during your first year instead of your third year in college."
"It was my favorite class in the fall."
"It was personal, informal, and hands-on; people get to know your name in the class."
"My seminar put everything into perspective, what I will need to know in the future and how it all ties together."