November 2004

In this Issue:

I cannot tell you how excited I was for Thanksgiving break. It had been almost a month and a half since our Fall break, and with the crush of finals looming I needed a little time to rest and gear up for what I know will be a hectic and stressful two weeks. As I stretched my legs and slumped up the path to my house late Monday night after a wearying drive home, I did something subconsciously that really surprised me: I tried to unlock the door to my house with my dorm room key. I laughed looking at the key, shook my head, blamed it on exhaustion, and headed into my house. My mom and brother Dan gave me big hugs, and we sat and talked for a little while before they went back up to bed. It was great to be home, and I don't just mean in my house, but with my mom and brother, and later on, my dad and my youngest brother, Mike, because they make me feel home.

That's the most important thing, of course. Feeling home. You could put my family and I in just about any house around, and while it wouldn't be the same in different surroundings, I'm sure that when we sat down around the dinner table and started talking and laughing, that I would feel home. Since I have been at SU our house has undergone a number of changes, and while startling at first, they don't really make a difference in the end, because I have learned that it is the people in the house that make it home, not the building itself.

Where am I going with this pretty common bit of wisdom? Well, although I chalked it up to sleepiness at the time, I couldn't help but think about my attempt to use my dorm key to enter my house. Was it just confusion? Or exhaustion? Or, I realized, was it that SU had come to feel just as much like home? I didn't know what to think at first, but now I am most definitely sure that it does.

One of SU's big drawing points is its beautiful campus. Everyone raves about the gorgeous buildings and the scenic landscape, (I personally am a sucker for the cloudless nights where the stars flood the sky), and I love this campus as much as anyone. But what makes this campus home is the people, most of all my friends. SU is not a hard place to make friends with so many kind, caring students and faculty walking around. I have been particularly blessed though with a group of friends, most of whom I met freshman year in the first few weeks of the semester, that make SU home.

I met Rob on move-in day freshman year; he was my roommate then, and he is still my roommate today. He is my best friend at SU, and I'd be hard pressed to think of any funny stories or Saturday night parties that he wouldn't be involved in. My whole crew is special to me though. Matt, who I met on the testing day in June before freshman year and who is always ready to have an 'awesome' time; Shane, who roomed with Rob and I freshman year and doesn't go to SU anymore, but who makes the group feel complete when he visits; Jori, who lived across the hall from me freshman year who was as stunned by my taste of music as I was by her crazy hair; Amelia, who lived down the hall and whose funny expressions I couldn't help but imitate; Sarah, who also lived down the hall and who is my surrogate mom on campus, taking care of me and giving me advice whether I want her to or not; Zach, who lived across from the bathroom and who I only met because he sat with his door wide open playing video games all the time; Bridget, who, you guessed it, lived in my hall and whose loud laugh brought me out into the hallway many a night; and Brad, who DID NOT live in my hall, but who showed up for movie night in my room and we let him in. That's my freshman year crew, and of course, since then we've added Taylor and Sara K., and many other friends to our group.

These are the people who have become my second family, whose games and performances I attend, who I tell my stories to and I discuss my problems with, and who I deeply care about. I can't think of anything better than sitting around and watching football with the guys on Sunday, or starting dance parties with the girls at parties where there definitely was not supposed to be dancing, or sitting in the cafeteria for hours talking about nothing, or going to each other's homes and visiting, or watching movies that we've seen too many times before, or more or less always being with one person from the crew and sharing whatever it is I am doing with one of my friends.

Yep, they are my second family and make SU feel home, and I am certain that there are other groups of friends that would say the same thing. Your job as APAN members is to help bring all of these different students to SU, so they can form these friendships and form these groups. And I assure you that you won't be lying to them when you say that this place will become their second home.

-Sean

The APAN Member of the Month section highlights individual APAN members who have contributed significantly to the expansion and success of APAN over the past few years.

The APAN Member of the Month for November is Craig Miller, Class of '74. The Miller family is an SU family through and through: Craig's wife, Patricia, graduated from SU with a Mathematics degree; his oldest son, Christopher, graduated in May with a Communication's Degree; and, another son Michael is currently a sophomore majoring in Business. Even more impressive is that his brother-in-law and sister-in-law also graduated from SU, and two of their children are currently attending SU!

It was a combination of campus and courses that initially brought Craig to SU. Coming from suburban New Jersey, Craig loved the open space, tree lined walks, rolling hills and overall change of scenery that the SU campus provided. He also was impressed by the SU education and that, as a math major, he could take a significant number of business and computer science courses as well. Craig not only majored in Mathematics, but, as he puts it, "...minored in Computer Science, Pinball and Frisbee." Craig also kept busy as a member of the Student Activity Committee and take great pride in the radio show he created for WQSU FM. "During junior and senior year I was part of a three person team, referred to as the 'Trivia Triplets,' that hosted a Sunday night trivia show on SU's radio station. Teams from around the campus would gather around a radio and phone and compete for two hours and listen to music, call in answers to trivia questions, gain points and win prizes. I am still very close to the other two members of the team, Bill Bowman and Bill Dorman."

Craig thinks his time spent at SU served him well, both immediately after graduating and further down the road. "Since I couldn't make a living playing Pinball or Frisbee, I was fortunate to benefit significantly from both the computer science courses and business courses that were offered. I joined EDS...in their System Engineer Development program. They were interested not just in my programming and computer science skills, but in being an effective business leader at the same time. Had I not taken both sets of courses I probably wouldn't have been offered a job or if I had, I wouldn't have been as successful as I moved up the leadership ladder at EDS."

Over the years Craig kept in touch with Dr. Growney, the head of the Math and Computer Science departments during Craig's time at SU. Keeping updated made Craig want to give back more to SU, and that led him to APAN. Craig covers innumerable fairs in the New Jersey area, and is skilled at creating an interest in prospective students with whom he only has a few minutes to speak. Craig also is known for going above and beyond the call of duty, developing strong relationships with prospective students and their families, and making sure that those students have all of the information and materials they need to make an informed decision about SU. His dedication has paid great dividends, as he says, "I get the most enjoyment from knowing that several of the students I have talked to over the past few years are at SU and enjoying their time there... I saw several during the recent Family Weekend!"

Congratulations, Craig, on being the November Member of the Month, and we appreciate your commitment and dedication to SU!

When colleges and universities are interviewing prospective students, they are not just looking for students who will attend class, study hard, receive good grades, and live within their own little bubble. Of course grades are important, but what admissions counselors are looking for are active and involved students, who are interested in the community around them and want to play an integral role in that community. Many students at SU are this active sort, and SU provides many different opportunities for these students to get involved with the local community. One very popular way to get involved is through the Project House System.

Since its inception in 1976, over 337,740 hours of service have been volunteered in response to the needs on campus and in the surrounding communities. The current Project House System is comprised of seventeen student initiated community service projects. A Project House consists of at least ten members who volunteer between two and four hours of their time each week. Each house has a Project Manager, a student leader who facilitates activities and serves as a liaison between the group and their supervisor, the appropriate agency with whom they volunteer, and the Center for Service Learning and Volunteer Programs. All members of each house keep a weekly journal, in which they describe their activities for that week and include any insights, feelings, or ideas that they had while volunteering.

Not just anyone or any group can be involved in the Project House System. Groups who wish to form a Project House must first fill out a proposal, including: a mission statement outlining the purpose of the Project House, the goals of the Project House and the objectives for obtaining those goals, and a description of the value the Project House will have to the community. Students within these groups must maintain at least a 2.0 G.P.A. and not have a prior disciplinary record. Selected groups live in University owned houses, Shobert Hall, and Seibert Hall.

Some of the current Project Houses include include: America Reads!, which promotes literacy in young people, instills the love of reading, advocates good study skills and aims to promote a positive self image, confidence and social skills in students; Arts Alive! which promotes an interest in all forms of the arts; Big Brothers/Big Sisters, in which volunteers serve as role models and provide appropriate camaraderie, support, guidance and understanding to their young companions; Selinsgrove Center Project, which provides meaningful friendships and recreational opportunities for residents of the Selinsgrove Center, for the Alzheimer’s and assisted living residents at Grayson View Retirement Community and for the residents of Eyer’s Manor Group Home; Student Association for Cultural Awareness (S.A.C.A.), which advocates awareness of diverse cultures, lifestyles and religions for the benefit of both the Susquehanna and Selinsgrove communities; and WomenSpeak, which strives to foster a safe environment promoting equality for students and allowing them to have an outlet for their gender or safety concerns, in addition to raising awareness in the community and campus about domestic violence, sexual assault issues and safety.

You can check out the complete list of SU Project Houses by clicking here!

Calendars, Schedules and Events

(Click the link to see all of the latest happenings on campus!)

Legendary George Carlin to Perform at SU

Four-time Grammy award-winning comedian George Carlin will perform in the Weber Chapel Auditorium at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, December 8th. Carlin, who performed a sold-out show at SU in 1992, has been performing as a comedian, an actor and a writer on radio broadcasts, television appearances and in stand-up since the 1960s.

Carlin's list of accomplishments is extraordinary. He has released two books that have made the New York Times Bestseller List, and he has a third due out this month. He hosted the first episode of "Saturday Night Live" and "MAD TV," and he has filmed 13 HBO specials. Carlin has appeared in numerous movies as well, including: "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure," "Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey," "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back," "Dogma" and "Jersey Girl." A member of the "Comedy Hall of Fame," Carlin has received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Comedy Awards and the Free Speech Award from the First Amendment Center at the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival.

Opening for Carlin will be comedian Dennis Blair, an accomplished performer who has opened for such stars as Rodney Dangerfield, Joan Rivers, Gary Shandling and Tom Jones. "I'm a comedian by trade who blends elements of music and stand-up comedy together in a style that can be best described as 'music blended with stand-up comedy,'" Blair states on his Web site.

Student tickets are on sale now at the box office in Weber Chapel. Tickets open to the general public on November 1st, and cost $25. Tickets can be purchased at the box office or by calling (570) 372-ARTS. Buy your tickets as soon as possible, because the show is guaranteed to sell out!

Top 5 Minors at Susquehanna

1. Psychology
2. Information Systems
3. Health Care Studies
4. Spanish
5. Business

Source: Registrar's Office, Fall 2004

In Case You Missed it...

Many students and parents that are in the process of applying to SU often have questions about The Write Option, a unique opportunity that SU now offers to all students applying to the university. As APAN members are on the frontline interacting with these students, we felt we should provide you a detailed, thorough summary of how The Write Option works, and who can take advantage of it.

Few students enjoy standardized tests, and while most SU students score well above the national average, some students just are not good standardized test-takers or do not feel their test scores properly reflect their academic course work. The Write Option is an alternative for first-year applicants to SU in which, instead of submitting SAT or ACT scores, the student submits two graded writing samples. This allows students' academic work in high school to speak for itself! In the past, The Write Option was only available to students in the top 20% of their class, but this is no longer the case! Now, any student can take advantage of this admission option -- there is no minimum GPA or ranking requirement.

There are, however, specific requirements for the two graded writing samples that students submit. The two graded samples must come from college preparatory courses taken in the junior and/or senior year. The samples should demonstrate an ability to communicate complex ideas, theories, and opinions, and to write effective, well-supported arguments, while also demonstrating the ability to apply knowledge gained in the classroom.

Examples of appropriate writing samples may include: an analysis of a book, a work of art, or a literary style; a research project from a natural or social sciences course (e.g., chemistry, psychology, etc.); a position paper. Students can send creative writing samples in addition to, but not in place of, their academic samples. Of course, if a student is not sure if a graded piece is an appropriate Write Option sample, they can simply contact the Office of Admissions, and an Admissions officer will be happy to let them know!

Crusader Athletics

Click the Image Below for all Your Crusader Sports News

SU Lady Ruggers Romp Through Playoffs

(By Jess DeSimone, Match Secretary)

On a beautiful fall day with many fans and parents in attendance, the women’s rugby team was named champion of the 2004 East Penn Rugby Union’s division three collegiate playoffs on Sunday, November 7th. This marked the third consecutive year the SU Lady ruggers have made it to the playoffs, and the first title ever won by a Susquehanna University men’s or women’s Rugby Team.

After losing eleven seniors and an assistant coach at the end of the spring 2004 season, the team had to work exceptionally hard to fill the void left by graduating so many seniors. To many, this year should have been a rebuilding year, but instead this was the dream season that faculty advisor and coach Jim Handlan has been striving for.

The playoffs, were hosted by the Lehigh Valley Rugby Club in Bethlehem, and included 12 women’s teams; four from each division, and six men’s teams; two from each division, for the men’s division finals. The Susquehanna Women’s first challenge match was LaSalle University. Susquehanna defeated LaSalle University in the semi-finals on Saturday with a score of 12-5. The next match was Gettysburg College, for the championship. Susquehanna women were victorious in the finals on Sunday afternoon with a score of 46-0 against Gettysburg College. Capturing the Division III EPRU playoffs advances the team to the East Coast Championships to be held in the spring.

APPLICATION DEADLINE REMINDERS

Saturday, January 1, 2005: Early Decision II Application Deadline

Tuesday, March 1, 2005: Regular Decision Application Deadline

Please remember that while most schools have their regular decision deadline in early January, our regular decision deadline is not until March 1st! Remind prospective students of this date, and encourage them to apply if they have yet to do so. That being said, many students will want to finish their SU applications in time for early January, so please offer any help and assistance that you can, and do not forget to use your fee waiver cards if you still have them!

FALL COLLEGE FAIRS & TABLE BANNERS

The fall college fair season is now over! Thank you to everyone who helped APAN cover over 80 fairs this fall. We realize how busy the beginning of the school year can be, so we truly appreciate you time and commitment to the SU community.

If you have yet to do so, please remember to fill out your College Fair Evaluation Form on the APAN Web site or on the hard copy provided in each package.

Additionally, if you received a table banner in your package, make sure that you return it to the Office of Admissions in the provided envelope. We are currently missing approximately 24 banners... if you have one please return it to us as soon as possible, or if there is a problem in returning it, please e-mail us at APAN@susqu.edu!

APAN WEB SITE UPDATE

We would like to remind you that all of the materials you receive via mail will also be available through links on our Web site, http://www.susqu.edu/apan/. A PDF version of the APAN manual is available to view and print on the APAN Web site. Please continue to check the APAN Web site as we are continually making updates and improvements. Many key aspects of the program are now run on the Web site. Members can update their personal information, refer a prospective student, submit their College Night Evaluation form, order an APAN Polo Shirt, and read their favorite monthly newsletter, The Pipeline!

REFER A PROSPECTIVE STUDENT

Please be sure to send us the names of any rising high school sophomores, juniors or seniors who you think would make a good Susquehanna student. You can submit the student's name on-line at http://www.susqu.edu/APAN/studentreferral.htm and we will send the student information about Susquehanna.

REPLYING TO E-MAILS

We here at APAN are continually sending out mass e-mails as it is the fastest and most efficient way to contact all members. If you are going to contact us in response to a specific e-mail, it is fine to leave the same subject line. However, if you are responding to us with an urgent or important request, PLEASE CHANGE THE SUBJECT LINE to reflect your request. E-mails with the changed subject line will be read and replied to as soon as possible. If you need to reach us right away, please contact Pam at 1-800-326-9672. Thank you!

APAN POLO SHIRTS

If you have not already ordered an APAN polo shirt, we still have a limited number available. The shirts cost $20 and are available in M, L, XL and XXL (add $2 for XXL). To order your APAN polo shirt, please click here.

ADDRESS/CONTACT INFORMATION CHANGES

Please be sure to keep us informed of any changes to your contact information (address, phone numbers, e-mail). IT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT THAT WE HAVE YOUR CURRENT E-MAIL ADDRESS. You can update your information on-line at http://www.susqu.edu/apan/UpdateInformation.htm and we will be sure to pass your updated information along to the Office of Alumni Relations.