My Projects: Fire Posters

So my first project and the one that took the longest was the fire poster. I tried to do a lot of research on what other schools were doing. Although I'm all for innovation or originality, I also don't believe in reinventing the wheel. Unfortunately there was not much out there so I designed the posters myself with the information and policies Penn College have. By no means am I a graphic designer. I usually have an ear for music but not an eye for art. However, the important thing about these posters is I was given the opportunity to see what I could do. Residence Life saw this as a learning experience for me and I greatly appreciate it! So, here are my posters.

Bad Back

First of all, I finished 4 drafts of fire posters and sent them off to Brian. I still think they need a little touch up but at least we know the look I'm going for. Brian will be on vacation the next few days so I'll get feedback on that later.

Unfortunately, I spent my afternoon at the hospital here in Williamsport. I have a lower back infection that is getting worse and I went to see if they could do anything for it. They prescribed me some antibiotics and it's a wait and see thing. If it gets worse, they will have to perform a procedure. This has happened to me once before so I'm not too nervous. Just disappointed. Also, this probably spells the end of my Civil War Battlefield marathon I had planned for the weekend. The plan was to drive to Lynchburg, VA on Friday and over the weekend hit Appomattox Court House, Petersburg, Richmond, Spotsylvania, Chancellorsville, The Wilderness, Fredricksburg, Manassas, Monocacy, The Antietam, and Gettysburg. I don't even know if I would have got to all of those but the chance is now very slim.

Fire Safety Poster and Avation Tour

It was tough to go to work after an awesome concert last night but it had to be done. In the morning, I continued to work on Fire Poster Research. I reviewed Brian's comments on the Google Wave for the fire safety poster/video. Apparently there is already a video used so I am anxious to see that. I put more ideas to paper as far as a poster goes, I really want to find or make a fireman's cross logo. We'll see if I can find that or accomplish that.

In the afternoon, we had a tour of the Aviation Center. What a cool tour! I'm glad I brougt my camera to take a few pics. The Aviation Center is connected to the Williamsport Regional Airport and is part of the school of transportation. They work on planes, engines, study the aerodynamics, and all sorts of stuff. It was awesome! This is the last of our academic tours. I would say we ended on a great note! Here are some pics:

Remembrance

Upon arriving to work, the rumor I heard over the weekend ended up being true. A student of Penn College died in a car accident over the weekend. The whole campus is feeling pain right now. She was a really involved student and close with a lot of people, including the Residence Life staff. I never met her and didn't know a thing about her but I can relate to what the campus is going through as I had three friends pass away from smoke inhalation in a house fire.

I couldn't find the original article but here is an article that remembers the incident. Here's the story how I remember it:

During my First Year of college in 2002, I lived on the 3rd Floor of East Wing at Bailey Hall on the St. Paul campus of the University of Minnesota. The people I lived around were all different but a lot of fun. Over the course of the year, everyone seemed to have a connection with each other and we seemed to be like one giant family, not always happy, but a family no less. We all went our separate ways after the year ended, some people living in Bailey again, some to off campus housing. I returned to Bailey Hall with 2 of my neighbors from 3East, John and Tim.

September 20th, 2003 did not start out to be a normal Saturday. John usually spent his Saturdays in the Fall out hunting but for some reason he decided to stay. Tim usually spent the night with his girlfriend but he did not on this day. John and I had plans to attend the Gopher football game against Louisiana Lafayette later that night. The three of us were watching some football pre-game that morning when our neighbors, Kellen, Joe, and Eric (all three residents of 3East with us), knocked on our door and asked if we heard what happened. We said no and they told us Liz Wencl, Amanda Speckien, and Brian Heiden, members of our family, had died in a house fire. They were visibly upset as they were much closer to the three of them than John, Tim, and I. Between that moment of shock and going to Liz's funeral, everything is a blur. I remember bits and pieces but everything happened so fast.

Liz's funeral was first and time seemed to slow down. I had been close with Liz. We had a couple French classes together and I talked her a couple days prior to the accident. She always lit up a room and made everyone feel like they would always have her as a friend. Amanda's funeral was a couple days later and on the same day as Brian's. I went to Amanda's so I was unable to attend Brian's funeral. The finality of it all was unlike anything I had ever experienced. All I knew was how much I would miss them.

I can't claim to be their best friends like others can. I don't know if they considered me a friend. What I do know is they had an impact on my life. We shared the common experience of living in the Residence Halls of Minnesota and the trials of navigating our way through our first year of college. They taught me not to take any friendship for granted. I strive to make everyone feel welcomed, even if I know nothing about them. I strive to live life to the fullest, just as they did. I continue to remember.

There is no comparison to a fire and a car accident except that both are tragic. However, I can't help remembering what it was like. I feel for the faculty, staff, and students here at Penn College for what they are going through. I hope their wound will heal with time. Take care Penn College.

Free Friday Afternoons

I worked on some more campus fire safety research this morning. Nothing too special. I've tried to save what I can on another Google Wave. Much of it is repetitive. I then with the Links to the School of Health Sciences. This was an interesting tour. Like other tours, they point out the equipment because it is similar to or the same equipment used in the real world. Again, these students are getting a lot of practice in their work. The programs are also extremely competitive. Although this makes the programs tough to get into, it probably makes them more prestigious. Our tour guide also took us into the cadaver lab. We didn't actually see a body but it was freezing in there and definitely had a distinct odor. After that, it was a little fire safety research wrap up and then the weekend. Big hockey game tonight, Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final. Go Hawks! Past that, I don't know what the weekend holds!

Email Day!!

I spent much of my day figuring out email stuff. I received my password in the morning and sent out mass emails, celebrating my email address acquisition! Penn College uses Microsoft Outlook quite a bit, something I had never used before. I can access my email from the web and set up a calendar but it does not have a lot of the features that the Microsoft Outlook program has. I was unaware of this and ended up wasting much of my time trying to figure things out. Barb was a great help in trying to help me figure things out and her questions helped me figure out the disconnect between having the program and not having it. I hopped on a different computer and opened my email via the Outlook program and everything was the way it should be. Barb then taught me how to share my calendar and hopefully I will be able to see where I'm going in the future to help me plan my time and work. Because I have an email address now, I started to play around with Google Wave a lot more. I had found a fire poster that was done by the National Fire Prevention Association and posted it on the Wave started for our fire poster. It's a good poster but I think we can do a better job of marketing and tailoring the posters to Penn College students. I come from schools where the mascot is used as a marketing tool inside and outside the university. It makes sense to me to try and capitalize on the Wildcat.

In the afternoon, the Links, Krista and I took a tour of the School of Industrial and Engineering Technology. This was a tour that was spread all over campus. We pretty much walked from one end to the other. The students here have the opportunity to use a lot of different technical equipment, some of which I think is pretty cool (like making plastic bottles!!).

The tours have become a little more entertaining with the Links, mainly because the fact that I hold open nearly every door. Some of the guys are complaining that it's making them look bad. They say it in a joking manner but it could stem from a angry thought. I was taught to do those sorts of things and I tell the guys that it is a good habit to get into. One of the Links has taken notice and has started doing the same when I am unable to catch the door. I just hope it's not playing too much into the "typical" gender roles dynamic that was exposed at the Ropes Course. That's all for now!