Angelo Mazzamuto
Carlisle, PA
Major: International Business and Marketing
For Angelo Mazzamuto, choosing
the Robert E. Cook Honors College was a matter of love -- and
money. The school he first considered cost over $30,000 a year.
Soooo, Angelo began looking further. Then a friend told him about
the Honors College at IUP….
"I looked through their viewbook and…I
loved it! I thought the Robert E. Cook Honors College was a great
idea! It's a choice I'm glad I made. The Core curriculum, it seems
to me, enhances a student's ability to communicate with others,
to be open to differing ideas, to ask the right questions, and
to improve both written and spoken expression. One of the most
important things the Honors College, and the Core curriculum does,
is to help the student think on a higher scale – not only
the who, what, where and when, but more importantly, the why and
how. The most outstanding activity at the Honors College, to me,
is taking part in Core curriculum discussions. With Core, it seems
the professor and the student are on the same level and each side
is learning more and thinking more. Typically, in other colleges,
the student would just be listening and taking notes on what the
professor thinks is important – facts, dates and that sort
of thing."
Even the interior design and atmosphere of
Whitmyre Hall, Angelo soon discovered, helps to foster the challenging
and open discussion (and "brainstorming") that prepares
them, as no other program can, for operating successfully in the
"real world."
"We are unique in that we actually
have Honors College housing. Whitmyre provides us with classrooms,
offices for administrators and faculty – in a dormitory setting
– along with kitchens, lounge areas, computer facilities,
all in one building. Whitmyre was designed not only for Honors
College housing, but to support the curriculum itself. From the
elegant antiques to the Great Hall stage, each object, each detail
was placed to have some effect on the students, on the very quality
of life here. The stage, for example, was built so that Core presentations
could be performed before an audience that could then present
answers to the Core questions in a setting designed for this kind
of interchange."
That setting, and the way it is used by student
residents, advisors, administrators, faculty and staff alike,
has a powerful effect on daily life in the Honors College.
"It allows us to develop personal
relationships with almost everyone – from peers to professors
to even the custodial staff, we have a chance to be more than
just a face. It's all very personable. And that one-on-one interaction
carries over to support for academic and career plans. Every honors
student, for example, has the opportunity to study abroad, and
to take internships related to his or her major – and these
activities are actually strongly encouraged and supported. You
wouldn't believe how much help you can get from the administrators
here to reach these goals!"
And what academic and career goals, exactly,
has Angelo Mazzamuto reached at the Robert E. Cook Honors College?
"I've already joined two organizations
– the International Business Association and Circolo Italiano,
both of which are directly related to my major. In IBA, I learn
about other countries, their people, business, culture…things
that will help me to cope and to communicate with different types
of people when I moved into the real world and begin my career.
Circolo Italiano helps me interact with people who have similar
interests to mine…and it will keep me speaking Italian, with
professors and other students. And, as part of my major, I am
required to go to a foreign country for at least three months.
I'll be attending John Cabot University in Rome in the fall of
2001, taking classes for my major, and broadening to learn in
a different setting and culture. The following semester, I plan
to accept a business internship in Italy!"
And where will Angelo go from there? What
career? What "dream job?"
"For starters, I might be interested
in advertising and public relations, all related to marketing
– and working with people. I've learned concepts that will
be helpful in dealing with my future, but I am also a 'hands-on'
person and I know I'll learn more in day-to-day experience on
the job. I know I want to go out and see…so many places.
My dream? I'd want my company to send me all over the world to
market some product that will actually change life on Earth for
the better. Meet every race. See every city in the world. Use
my skills outside the United States and tap into undiscovered
markets. If there's one unique thing about the Honors College,
at least from my perspective, it is that it has so many programs,
organizations and groups that not only make it stand out from
other honors programs, but also reach out to all different types
of people. I like it that everyone has a chance to fit in –
and to be a part of something more…."
A community…of scholars…of difference…for
a world full of opportunities and challenges.
More information about Angelo
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