Consider lending your time, vision, and leadership to have a more active role in helping our community. Become an executive committee member for Global Connections!
Available positions include:
President (Term Expiring in 2022)
Vice President (Term Expiring in 2022)
Public Relations Officer (Term Expiring in 2022)
Past President (Term Expiring in 2022)
Secretary (Term Expiring in 2023)
Additional information about each position is noted below. The Elections for the positions will take place in November. If you are interested to secure your spot on the ballot, please reach out to the Nominating Committee Chair, Melanie Miller Foster at [email protected] by October 8, 2021.
The description of duties for each of the positions, as described in our bylaws, can be found below:
Duties of the President – The duties of the president include presiding at the business meetings of the organization, presiding at the meetings of the executive committee, appointing standing and special committees and taking any other action necessary to carry out the mandate of the membership. The president will be an ex-officio member of all committees.
Duties of Vice President. The duties of the Vice President include serving as chair of the program of activities standing committee and assuming the duties of the president in the absence of the president.
Duties of Secretary. The duties of the secretary include keeping the minutes of all organization meetings and transmitting such minutes to the membership. The secretary shall be responsible for organization correspondence including, but not limited to, the organization’s official electronic mail. The Secretary shall also serve as secretary to the executive committee.
Duties of Public Relations Officer. The duties of the Public Relations Officer shall be marketing and advertising all organization activities and opportunities as deemed appropriate.
Duties of the Past President. The duties of the immediate past president include serving as an advisor to the president and chairing the nominating standing committee.
Global Connections celebrated a return to in-person activities with a catered picnic on Sunday, September 19.
At Holmes Foster Park, 38 people attended the event, including 12 who registered to become dues-paying members. Many of the attendees have been associated with GC for years, who expressed their happiness to see the organization thriving. American and international residents of the community sat and ate together and kept up a lively conversation.
Duplicate images of the welcome sign posted in University Park Airport were on display as a banner at the picnic as well as on the cake baked for the occasion. In the end of the catered picnic, the participants were gifted with a delicious take-home “Welcome to the community” Apple pie compliments of Gemelli Bakers.
Global Connections had a table with interactive activities as part of the annual LION (Living in One Neighborhood) Bash, hosted by the Borough of State College, on Thursday, September 9th.
The table was located at a wonderful location on the corner of College and Allen. Hundreds of State College residents interacted with the Global Connections mission that collaborative interaction can help develop inclusive, enriching groups. The Global Connections table had two “challenges”: The Chopstick Challenge inviting individuals to move a variety size of beans from one bowl to another with chopsticks and a Language Challenge where individuals had to identify the languages indicating “Welcome” on our new Global Connections Welcome Sign.
Special thank you to Membership Committee Members who helped staff and create the table including: Daniel Foster, Rita Graef, Shannon Holliday, Heyseon Kim, Melanie Miller Foster, and Bob Persiko.
Come join us for our next installment of our Keystone Culture series!
The event will occur in Zoom. The registration email confirmation will include the link.
The August 2021 installment explores US School Culture with State College Area School District Educators Andrea De Carle and Kizzy Nicholas. Kizzy Nicholas is a parent at Easterly Elementary, and Andrea DeCarle is a second grade teacher at Easterly Elementary School. In the session we will be talking about best practices for preparing to go back to school, including how parents can find out important information, dialogue with teachers, getting to know your child’s teacher, and the logistics of lunchtime.
Register today to reserve your spot! https://globalconnections.wildapricot.org/event-4431332
Just outside of State College, you’ll see buggies on the roads and horses pulling plows. If you’ve ever wondered about Pennsylvania Dutch Culture, now’s your time to learn!
Tim Parker will speak on his roots and knowledge of Pennsylvania Dutch Culture and Heritage. Learn about what makes this culture unique!
Tim Parker, his wife Sasha, and son Ezequiel live in the heart of South Central Pennsylvania. Not only is he a native to Central PA with deep Pennsylvania Dutch roots, but he currently lives in an area where some of the cultures even persist to this day. Although Tim’s educational background is in religious studies, he considers himself a connoisseur of Pennsylvania Dutch Culture and Heritage. After living all over the US and regularly engaging with different cultures Tim has come to realize what makes his family ancestry and culture unique.
The May 2021 installment invites Jose Miguel La Torre Ramos to speak on his home of Puerto Rico. Learn about the history of the island, the culture, and how the island has overcame recent struggles.
More about our speaker: Jose is from Puerto Rico and is studying at Penn State to receive a Masters in International Affairs and has a Doctorate in Philosophy from InterAmerican University of Puerto Rico. He wants to study and defend the right to education, health, and decent work as a human right. He is a member of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Student Advisory Group at the Penn State School of International Affairs.
Ever wonder where your food comes from and how to find fresh food grown just around the corner? Join us to hear from Dr. Bill Lamont . He will teach us about locally produced seasonal vegetables and when to find them in central PA.
Dr. William James Lamont Jr. is a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Plant Science at The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania.
He was born and raised in rural Pennsylvania and obtained two undergraduate degrees, one in Economics and Business from Lebanon Valley College, Annville, Pennsylvania and the other in Horticulture from Delaware Valley College, Doylestown, Pennsylvania . He received his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the Department of Vegetable Crops, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York.
Throughout his career, Dr. Lamont was a frequent speaker at growers’ conferences around the country and has presented papers at several International Workshops on Vegetable Production and Plasticulture. He was extremely successful in increasing urban agriculture in Philadelphia.
He and his spouse Phyllis have two grown boys and two grandchildren and live on 28 acres outside of State College, Pa. Dr. Lamont has also penned a twice monthly gardening column “Over the Garden Fence” since 2005 for the Centre Daily Times newspaper.
Join us on Zoom at 7:00 PM on Wednesday, Match 3 as we talk to Freddy Koumba, who is studying at Penn State and is from Gabon in Central Africa. Freddy will share about life in Port Gentil, Gabon, where his family lives.
More about our speaker: Freddy is from Gabon and is in America on the Humphrey Fellowship program studying teaching of English as a foreign language (TEFL) at Penn State. He is married and the father of 4 children. His family is in Port Gentil, Gabon. He graduated from Omar Bongo University & the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Gabon and received his TEFL certification from the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa. Freddy has taught English and French for many years and currently teaches business English at the Ecole Nationale de Commerce. He is interested in knowing more about the American way of life and would like to travel throughout the US after the program ends in June before returning to Gabon.
Join us on Zoom at 7:00 PM on Wednesday, February 3
We will talk to Cristina Marquez, State College resident from Cd. Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico. Christina will share her upbringing in Ciudad Juarez. Hear about her life and the regional culture that is a unique blend of Mexican and US cultures.
If you enjoy learning about other countries and meeting people from around the world, the Global Conversations events are designed for you!
More about our speaker: Cristina Marquez is from Cd. Juárez, Chihuahua, the city that borders El Paso, Texas.
She has a degree in marketing and a master’s in innovation from Tec de Monterrey University. Currently, Cristy is a professor of business at her home university. She is now in State College because her husband is a Fulbright exchange scholar at PSU studying for his Ph.D. in materials science. In her free time, Cristy facilitates mindfulness sessions for an online group back in Mexico. Also, she does yoga and enjoys crafting, dancing, cooking, reading, and watching movies. She loves spending time in nature, mainly walking.
