january 31, 2008

First post, so we’ve got some background to cover and some catching up to do.

I started using ’social networking’ in 1995 when I got my first personal computer and logged into AOL. I was immediately amazed and thrilled at the idea that I could sit in my living room and meet and connect with people from all over. My best friend then started her own BBS and encouraged me to join. I did, and was soon playing L.O.R.D. with people from my local area and loving every minute of it. Then it happened – our little town got a real, actual, honest-t0-goodness internet service provider. I was hooked. My ‘hangout’ was the dal.net network on IRC. The people I met in those chatrooms quickly became incredibly close friends and over the course of several years I met many of them offline and developed very close personal relationships. I completely understood the power of networking and making connections. I met my current husband online, and after chatting with him for several years and becoming close friends, he sold his truck and all his belongings, quit his job and moved here to live with me. My kids fell in love with him immediately and it was as though I’d known him forever. It’s the best relationship I’ve ever been in and I’m so thankful every day that I was able to make that connection. Online connections are real, important and life-changing.

I started working at Penn State in the Materials Science and Engineering department in the spring of 2000. I actually worked there as a ‘temp’ placed by a temp agency in State College. I worked for one professor specifically in the “Center for Electrochemical Science and Technology”. Just me and him. Great guy – dull job.

One day the department head came into my office and said they were going to move me into the Undergraduate Administrative office in the department and move the girl that was in that job up to my job. He said it was a ‘better fit’. I was fairly psyched to change and do something different (and by different I really just mean SOMETHING) so I said that would be great.

I worked in the Undergraduate Studies office in MATSE until October of 2002 at which point I took a job with Penn State Undergraduate Admissions as an Admissions Counselor. I worked there for almost exactly five years evaluating applications, giving presentations about Penn State to prospective students and their parents, and I really enjoyed my job. The only problem was that there was no room for creativity or advancement and I kind of needed that.

I joined World Campus full-time in January of 2008 and I’m excited to be here, and really looking forward to the opportunities this position presents me. Penn State Outreach is an amazing, passionate, creative place to work and I feel incredibly thankful to be here and to have this position.

My job here consists of using social networking technologies to bring together students, faculty and staff. Using tools like Facebook, MySpace, Second Life, YouTube, twitter, Flickr, etc. we can connect students with Penn State, and with each other – and I think that’s “where the magic happens”.

I am also doing a small bit of academic advising with our veteran military students. My work in admissions had me working extensively with military students and adult learners, so this role is a good fit and gives me new experience as well.