A Little Penn State Lovin'

I've really slacked on these lately, so here's another edition of:

Reasons I want to go to insert college here Penn State.

The Fun: OK, so here's the deal: Penn State is pretty much totally freakin' awesome. I know I haven't said that much, but they are. The fact of the matter is they have a "cow to cone" Creamery, a more than 100-year tradition of studying the awesomeness that is ice cream and is now part of a food science program. I mean, honestly, just look at this list of ice cream flavors. You can bet your sweet bippy we'll be having "Frozen Friday" blog updates if I get into this place. It turns out that PSU also digs their trees, which we know is something that'll make this tree-hugging hippy quite happy on a season-by-season basis. Anyone that knows me knows the only thing I hate more than Florida's sweltering heat is the complete lack of color-changing trees. I have a neighbor with a tree that actually mimics dying in the fall (more like in January) and coming back in the spring (more like in February) and I watch the stupid thing with idiotic fervor. So really, a picture like this makes me want to pack up and move even if I don't get accepted into the program. Now, the unfortunate thing is that my new "home team" would be the Pittsburgh Penguins, but I guess that'll be something to make Bob Batchelor happy. (I have to even out the nastiness of attending Penn State in some way, right?)

Of course, I can pretty much babble endlessly about things like Amish friendship bread, the fact that this is a 150+ year old institution, or the fact that the Carnegie Building (which houses the College of Communications) is pretty much the epitome of what I think a college building should look like, BUT... (you knew the "but" was coming)...

The Education:

• Penn State's College of Communications is awesome. Their faculty is deep, they apparently dominate at conferences and paper-writing, and they're one of the best comm. places around.
• They have a strategic communications track for their Ph.D. program. I can't make that up. The best part is that they actually tailor your doctorate education to your personal wants/needs and research direction. Mmm. Hockey.
• They also boast the John Curley Center for Sports Journalism, which is rad. Although I don't necessarily study sports journalism (yet), I think there's a wealth of information to be found in that area of study, especially if you're talking about sports communication. If nothing else, I know I'll be able to see a lot of great lectures. Hell, I might even be able to find the kids who plagiarized my paper about the league's integrated marketing campaign following the NHL lockout. *evil grin*
• The faculty seems fantastic, diverse, and they bring a wealth of professional experience to the table. Dr. Bortree does non-profit relationship building work, Dr. Haigh does public relations and multimedia work, and Dr. Dardis studies messaging and has worked in MLB. They also have a USF alumna, Dr. DiStaso, which is totally bonus.

So yeah, Penn State rocks my socks. Tomorrow: Why the University of Florida rocks my socks (despite the fact that it's Florida, that is).

Toodles!

- Mel(li) :)