While the names of some college courses seem quite up-front and self-explanatory (i.e. foundations of sociology, principles of accounting, etc…) some courses are quite the opposite. This means you look at the course code, read the name aloud, and you’re still unable to even draw an intellectual guess at what the class could cover or what the purpose of the course could be. ACCT 410 was one of those courses for me. It took me until my junior year to figure out what the class even was, and my senior year to find out the importance of this course to me. In order to help inform you about this very valuable accounting course that Grove City College offers, and to prevent you from suffering the same confusion I encountered, I have written this for you, the reader, the future Grover, the future certified public accountant.
As you may have heard, the CPA certification is a great certification for anyone going into the field of accounting, whether you are planning to go into public accounting or not. This being said, would it not be nice to have the opportunity to take a class specifically created to assist you in studying for the CPA exam? That is exactly what ACCT 410 does. It was created to help students work through the material covered on the Financial Accounting & Reporting (FAR) section of the exam. It allows students the opportunity to work with CPA review software that covers topics found on the actual CPA exam and in a format similar to that of the exam. The significance of this course is not only found in the value provided by the course material and the topics covered, but also in the ability of the course to assist students in getting over the biggest hurdle in studying for the CPA exam – simply starting to study because students get the opportunity to slowly get used to the format and process of preparing for the CPA exam.
While this may not seem extremely significant to you, take it from a senior who will be sitting for this challenging exam in the upcoming months, this class is a blessing in disguise. Yes, a course like this is intimidating to think about and sign up for, but once you immerse yourself in the CPA review software and material, and begin to study, this will help you greatly in the following months and years as you continue your studies and one day obtain your CPA certification.
The CliftonStrengths assessment is an online talent assessment designed to allow people that take it to discover “the one true you.” Completing the CliftonStrengths assessment allows people to discover what they naturally do best; it helps them learn how to develop their greatest talents and allows them to use their customized results to live their best lives.
Widely known for its polls and employee selection research, Gallup (the company that makes the CliftonStrengths assessment) has conducted extensive research for over 30 years to identify talent that could be enhanced and used to pursue positive outcomes in work and educational settings. CliftonStrengths (formerly StrengthsFinder) is an online assessment of personal talent that identifies areas in which an individual has the greatest potential for building strengths. As an assessment based on positive psychology, its main application has been in the work domain, but it has been used for understanding individuals and groups in a variety of settings, especially higher education.
This year, Grove City College had several students take the CliftonStrengths assessment for free as part of a grant the College was awarded in order to foster a deeper exploration of calling and vocation for the students. The program development grant is from the Council of Independent Colleges, specifically their Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education. Grove City College has a mission of “equipping our students to pursue their unique callings.” This assessment endeavors to provide students with a common language of talents and strengths and attempts to promote a culture where students thrive both inside the classroom here at Grove City College, and in the outside world.
Today, CliftonStrengths is available in more than 25 languages and more than 20 million worldwide have taken the assessment. CliftonStrengths presents 177 items that each consists of a pair of potential self-descriptors, and most of these descriptors are associated with a “theme.” A theme is a category of talents, which are defined as recurring and consistent patterns of thought, feeling, or behavior. The assessment measures the presence of talent in 34 distinct themes.
I will write a series of blog posts featuring students and faculty who have taken the CliftonStrengths assessment and interview them about how it has helped them learn more about themselves and their talents and how they are utilizing those results in their daily lives.
Every year students at Grove City have the opportunity to take intersession courses provided by the College. An intersession course is taken for two-weeks, four hours a day, six days a week. Grove City offers these classes on-campus, and a select few are offered online. Intersession takes place in the winter, the last two-weeks of winter break, and in the spring, the first two-weeks of summer break. Not every class is offered as an intersession option, but many are, especially a lot of fundamental courses such as a science, accounting, math classes, etc., so students can get them out of the way before their “real” semester begins.
Sophomore Marketing major Gretchen Basham decided to take an intersession course this year, and she took hers during the winter session of 2019. Gretchen took Accounting 202, a required course for all Marketing majors, taken after completing Accounting 201. Gretchen said she decided to do this course for intersession because she wanted to get it out of the way in order to lighten her schedule for her Spring 2019 semester, and she knew she was not necessarily skilled or interested in this topic, so doing it for two-weeks straight was worth it to her in order to get it out of the way for her future schedule.
Gretchen said that she expected intersession to be a simple way to get a class done in two weeks; however, she said she found the class to be challenging, but intersession proved to be rewarding. Although a good way to take a class, she found it to be more labor intensive than she was expecting but said it could vary depending on the course being taken.
Gretchen said one very helpful thing about taking an intersession course is that it forces you to focus specifically on that topic and course and devote all your time to it because that is the only thing you have going on for two weeks. She also said this forced her to learn all the topics in the class, in order to do well, which allowed her to achieve success.
Gretchen said she would do intersession again if she knew there was another class she was not particularly interested in and knew she would want to get it done in the span of two weeks. She said intersession was very helpful to her and would recommend doing it with friends because it can be more fun and exciting when everyone else is gone from campus, and you can use your friends as resources when you may need some help.
An intersession experience can vary drastically depending on the course being taken, if you are with friends, if you are living on campus, commuting for your intersession experience, or in the case of the online intersession, staying at home to complete your course.
Grove City College provides many opportunities to allow its students to get ahead, and potentially add more flexibility to their schedules for future courses and semesters. There are also often many intersession traveling opportunities, where faculty-led trips go abroad, and students can earn credit while doing so.
The Education Department at Grove City College is made up of a well-known, highly regarded program that provides the education students with the best experience they can get. From its highly qualified professors, to the extensive out of classroom work that the students are required to do, each student is sure to graduate with enough preparation to head into a real teaching career. As a part of the education major each student is required to meet a certain number of “field” hours, which is best described as going to a school to observe the classroom dynamic and teach a lesson to the students. These hours differ depending on the year of the student as well as what level of education they are studying. Starting first semester freshman year, the ED majors are presented with a number of field opportunities that are set up and arranged by the College. The only part that you have to do is arrange them into your schedule. In a small town like Grove City, containing only one elementary, middle and high school, one would think that finding an opportunity to teach in a classroom as a college student would be hard. However, with connections in the surrounding towns as well as the reputation that the ED majors uphold, they are able to go outside of Grove City for their fields. Some of the schools that students have done fields at are: Seneca Valley, Hillview elementary, Artman elementary, and EEC (Early Education Center – day care within the College). While doing fields at a school in Grove City is convenient, there is much to be learned when you are placed in a school in a different location that has a different environment. Starting fields freshman year puts our ED majors ahead of competing schools, and gives them experience right off the bat.
Like stated earlier, fields are primarily set up by the school, however it is up to the student to fit it into their schedule. Students can have as many fields as they want during the week, but they also need to keep in mind that they will have to take classes on top of that. Freshman year the fields are mainly observation, which is essentially sitting in on a class and watching the teacher give their lesson. After freshman year the fields become more intensive and the teaching is placed in the hands of the student. The students are required to come up with lesson plans and activities to help the class learn what they are being taught. These lessons can be done on just about any subject, as most of the education classes require fields as an extra asset of the class. Even though so much is learned from the fields, it is not always as glamorous as it sounds. “Learning how to control a classroom can be a tough task to accomplish and that it why it is so important to accept the fact that you are going to make mistakes, but also that you can learn from those mistakes,” said secondary and special ED major Olivia Alexandar. Regardless of the bumps in the road, the Education Department at Grove City does a phenomenal job of equipping their students with the necessary tools and resources to teach a class and teach it well. By jumping into the classroom right off the bat, the students have an ample amount of resources to use come graduation and are able to decide which level of education suits them best.
Grove City College has been known by many to provide its students with a rather rigorous academic curriculum. Whether you are a straight-A student, or if you sit somewhere more toward the middle of the class, it is usually rare to locate students on this campus that would disagree with the maxim regarding Grove City’s difficult course load. No matter what field of study you select, both the courses included in your specific program as well as the humanities core challenge you all over the intellectual spectrum. With this in mind, many of the students later on in their college years will still have credit hours to fill and take a very systematic approach to scheduling the general electives needed to reach their “magic number.”
While it is true that every student must take at least a few general electives independent of the rest of their classes, it seems to be a common theme for people to look for “GPA boosters” and seek for the most convenient option regardless of their actual interest in the material. As it stands, this approach comes off to a good amount of the students as “fine” and just a necessary step in completing the respective degree programs they find themselves working toward. The truth, though, is that Grove City offers many valuable courses beyond your average “underwater basket-weaving” (as one of my high school teachers used to say) type classes you may find at other universities.
Instead of being worried solely on the number value of your GPA, in my personal experience I have found it very rewarding to base my schedule on attempting to both challenge myself, but to also enroll into courses that I find interesting. Obviously, there is some type of balance that should be applied here, but generally it can be a rewarding decision to venture into unfamiliar waters. Especially in the context of a Christian worldview, God often reveals his plan to us in unexpected ways, which in this circumstance could be the discovery of a gift, talent, passion, etc. that would have been otherwise unrealized without leaving the typical comfort zone.
Dr. Wolinski of the Grove City College Physics Department leads a study on the development and uses of Gallium Oxide nanowires. Six young men of the department work week after week tuning machines and making discoveries on the possibility of building bridges micrometers wide. Part three concludes the process (as of current) with Kaleb Slaatthaug and Michael Thompson. Kaleb shows the camera how to bake gallium oxide wires onto a gold wafer base. Michael takes it beyond the present scope of the project, and ideas for potential uses of these wires and structures in the future.
Kaleb Slaatthaug
Yes, Slaatthaug. Imagine it as Sloat-howg. His name is Norwegian. He runs a device called a Tube Furnace for the team. The furnace is a device used for the stimulation of gallium oxide nanostructure growth. Kaleb will spend several days setting up a run of the furnace, pumping in the proper gases, getting it to the right temperature, sealing in the samples, then letting it run. He begins by inserting one of Zach’s sample wafers into the furnace, alongside a boat of gallium oxide. By the time the furnace is finished, strings of gallium oxide microstructures coat the face of Kaleb’s sample, attaching to little golden “Oreo Bumps” etched by the SEM. The gold provides the perfect base for gallium to grow on, and now the team has a plethora of structures to explore with the SEM.
Michael Thompson
But where to go from here? Michael Thompson has been with the project for years now, and knows a few things about the broader scope. The initial goal of the project was to build a bridge at microscale. With plenty of structures to work with, the project aimed to build a bridge out of nanowire. This goal has been significantly pushed back, but remains in sight. Michael’s job is to make building a bridge into a possibility again. He works with a device called a Nanopositioner, essentially a laser with several mirrors. It can show him the difference between wavelengths of light, and use that information to tell the thickness of a substance. This should allow for Michael to determine the thickness of a given wire and thus its usefulness for their project. First, however, he has to spend his time programming and calibrating his nanopositioner to get him results.
Have you enjoyed this series on the Nanostructure Study? If so, there are so many more studies and blogs to read about on Insider! Make sure to check them out, along with the video below for more details on Dr. Wolinski’s group.
Dr. Wolinski of the Grove City College Physics Department leads a study on the development and uses of Gallium Oxide nanowires. Six young men of the department work week after week tuning machines and making discoveries on the possibility of building bridges micrometers wide. Part Two consists of Zachary Johnson and Ryan King, programming and running tests with the SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope). The device images, engraves, and scans samples to give the team a good view of their work.
Zachary Johnson- Introducing the SEM
Zach begins today’s journey with the SEM. He does much of the actual sample scanning for the group. After Seth Byard creates a sample, he sends it to Zach to take some photos. Zach fits cut up silicon wafers into the SEM and vacuum seals the electron chamber for a clear image. After that, most of his work takes place on the computer, isolating the micrometers of area he wants to photograph. Inside the chamber, electrons bombard the sample and bounce off every which way. A specialized sensor inside can follow the motion of electrons and generate an image of what they bounced off of. At this point, Zach zooms and refocuses repeatedly until he has gone in far enough and has a clear image. The electron beam can focus in to allow for better photos, and can even concentrate enough to carve the samples themselves!
Ryan King- Software to Keep the Electrons Scanning
However, in order to use the SEM at all, Zach must control dozens of variables at the time, an arduous process for sure. Yet Ryan has come to solve this problem. His job for the research team is to create a program for the SEM, a job requested by the manufacturers themselves! Tescan, the company that built the SEM, has quite a number of clients who cannot keep track of the variables. In fact, they have a number of buyers who break their machines by running too many parameters at once. Ryan’s program keeps track of the parameters running and gives updates about them- warning users of dangerous situations before they run out of time. Ryan’s work is a pivotal part of the research, and is quite impressive to boot.
If you enjoyed this article, make sure to check out the video in the link below for the full story!
Dr. Wolinski of the Grove City College Physics Department leads a study on the development and uses of gallium oxide nanowires. Six young men of the department work week after week tuning machines and making discoveries on the possibility of building bridges micrometers wide. Part One of the series kicks off with an exhaustive look at the work of Seth Byard and Tim Magargee, the first steps of creating nanostructures for the study.
Seth Byard- Preparing Samples for Wires
Seth begins the whole process by synthesizing the samples his group will work with to create all their structures on. Without these basic building blocks there’s no point to the project. It all begins with a disk of silicon. Seth coats the silicon wafer with gold in a Sputter Coater- the first block on a long journey ahead. The atoms thick layer of gold is a substance gallium oxide can cling to, giving a wires proper surface for development. From there he purifies the surface of the wafer with a Plasma Cleaner, then applies a liquid called PMMA. The liquid ensures contact with electrons, giving the team an easy way to see their micro samples using an SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope). When Seth is done, the foundation for the whole project has been laid.
Tim Magargee- Testing Machinery
Meanwhile, Tim’s job for the project is to test a machine called the Ellipsometer. It is a device that uses a laser to measure the thickness of surfaces, down to only nanometers thick. Tim has spent his semester testing and calibrating the machine with a more translucent material. He still sputters gold, but clear material allows the Ellipsometer to get an exact read of the gold’s thickness. In the end, Tim ends up with a reliable test of the machine’s efficiency. He can now check his knowledge of a sputter’s thickness against the machine’s readout. When he gets enough tests done he will know just how accurate the readouts are and how much to calibrate the Ellipsometer.
If you enjoyed this article, make sure to check out the video in the link below for the full story!
“If you can go to school out of state and meet all new people and become comfortable in an all new place-you can easily enter a new job, neighborhood, etc. one day”- Julia Knepper
Choosing a college can seemingly be one of the most stressful decisions and important decision you can make. With thousands of different schools that offer the same majors and degrees, the decision gets even more challenging. To add on top of all of that comes the decision to stay in the state, or leave and go farther away from home. Being an out of state student myself, I know first hand the excitement and nervousness that comes with making that decision. Although a large majority of students at Grove City are from Pennsylvania or the surrounding states, our campus is fairly diverse in the sense that many of our students are from states all across the US. In order to better explain what going to school out of state is like, I reached out to some students on campus to share their personal stories.
Julia Knepper is a sophomore from Detroit, Mich. She heard about the College through family, which is a common reason why people come to Grove City. When asked about struggles that she went through during her first year she said, “It was hard being far away from my family and having to miss out on seeing my siblings grow up.” Not being able to go to your own home on the weekends and feeling like you are missing out are things that most out of state students experience during their time at Grove City. In my opinion, the best way to overcome all of the emotions would to begin being involved in the community on campus. This can be intimidating at first, but once you break down the potential barriers it is so rewarding. There are several different way to be involved on campus whether it be through clubs, Greek life, small groups or so many other things. One piece of advice that Julia would give to upcoming freshmen looking to go out of state would be, “Do it, learn to break away from what’s comfortable because it will force you to not only rely on God more, but to build a new community.” The community on Grove City’s campus is something worth emphasizing.
Molly Seirs, a sophomore from Colorado, found that having friends that live in Pennsylvania has been a blessing. She said that, “Knowing so many people that live near the college really helped my transition because I knew that I had so many different friends I could go home with if I needed a weekend off campus.” Having friends from around Grove City is a huge blessing to any out of state student, and since most of the students are from within the state, those types of friends are not hard to find. When asked to give one piece of advice to a prospective student, Molly said, “Trust God and go day by day trusting that He has a plan and purpose for your time here. College can be challenging for everyone even the people who live ten minutes away, but it’s also one of the best times of your life, so don’t waste it! Don’t be afraid to reach out to friends or even professors for guidance and direction when you are struggling.”
-All of the photos in this blog were taken and edited by Julia Knepper.
This year I took my first-ever science class at Grove City College. The class was Fundamentals of the Universe (SCIC 201), also known as “Baby Physics” and the class was on Wednesday nights, taught by adjunct professor, Dr. Jim Downey.
Dr. Downey is a very interesting guy. He has an extensive background of education and is very experienced in his line of work. Dr. Downey graduated from Grove City College in 1981 with a B.S. in Physics. He then took a career in the Air Force, both active and reserve Air Force, and he stayed there for 27 years until her retired as a Colonel. Dr. Downey also has a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Illinois, which means yes, he is a rocket scientist! Dr. Downey was a professor at Grove City College from 1992-2003, and then a Harvard Fellow from 2003-2004. He said Harvard was a very cool place to be and to learn. He also taught at the Army War College, which also was an incredible experience for him. Over these different educational experiences and career paths Dr. Downey has lived in six different states, with 11 different moves.
I asked Dr. Downey how it feels to be back on campus as an adjunct professor, and he said, “I have enjoyed the opportunity to teach physics again and particularly this course. When I was a full-time professor, I always loved teaching SCIC 201 as it was a way to expose mostly non-science people to a subject that I love and believe is important for people to know something about. I will admit when I first stepped back on campus it was a bit strange as so many years had gone by. However, it did not take long for the students to remind me how much fun teaching and learning with them can be. And it is always great to see my friends and former colleagues.”
Dr. Downey mentioned some differences in being a full-time professor and an adjunct professor here at Grove City College. He said that as a full-time professor you have essentially committed your life and career to the academy. But he said you also have the opportunity to interact with students on multiple occasions and in a variety of capacities. He said as an adjunct you also have a few advantages, such as, “the ability to focus on only one thing (assuming you are teaching just a single class). Another is a little bit of extra freedom in how you might engage the class because it is not your main job and perhaps the only thing that can happen is you are not invited back to teach again!” He also said the opportunity to bring in your professional experiences and perspectives can also be useful. Dr. Downey said the largest downsides are having to engage and disengage between your regular job and being an adjunct and a lack of opportunity to develop deeper relationships with students. You also are not really part of the rhythm and flow of campus life, so you can feel a certain detachment from the school.
I asked Dr. Downey if he finds it difficult to balance his day-to-day career and teaching here at Grove City. He said, “Yes. Clearly my priority must be to my work at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. What this most often means is that everything related to teaching at Grove City is accomplished in the evening hours and on the weekends. I know there have been times when I would have liked to work more on the class and have had to make choices just to stay on track. And any good professor will always be asking how they can improve what they are doing. However, there are also opportunities to try and share how something like physics can relate to certain aspects of my day job. And the Seminary is committed to having faculty and staff serve outside of the institution in a variety of ways. Ultimately, as in all things in life, you must figure out how to balance it to best serve all interests – not always an easy task yet a reality of life.”
Lastly in our discussion, I talked to Dr. Downey about Grove City College, and what he likes so much about this place from once being a student, and professor, and now coming back to teach once again. Dr. Downey said, “I suppose this could sound trite, but it is, in fact, the students. I am often asked what I miss most about teaching since the last 15 years of my career have predominately been in administrative roles. The answer is always the same – interaction with students. It is a joy and a privilege to speak into the lives of people with the hope that you will play a small part in preparing them for their future and whatever God is calling them to do. My time at Grove City now spans a couple generations between when I was a student and my most recent experience as an adjunct. So, I now have the entire spectrum and hope that giving back in this way closes the loop on how Grove City influenced my own life path.”
Currently Dr. Downey is Vice President for Planning & Institutional Effectiveness at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, and he resides in Franklin Park with his wife, and daughter who is a senior in high school, with another daughter in graduate school. Dr. Downey is also an avid Steelers fan!
