Welcome to CollegeTown!

This is a place for college students from Philadelphia and local areas to connect! If you're from Arcadia University, Antonelli Institute Art & Photography, Chestnut Hill College, Manor College, Montgomery County Community College, Penn State Abington, or Temple Ambler, your school is here! If you are not, what are you waiting for? Get your school involved with us!!

Give the Ultimate Gift - Help the Homeless on February 14!

By Ashley Pavone, CHC '11

The Joy of Sox, a great non-profit organization located in Radnor, Pennsylvania, has named Valentine's Day 2011 "Socks for the Homeless Day."


Senator Daylin Leach (Pennsylvania) is the sponsor and Doctor Kathya Zinszer, Chief of Podiatry at Temple University, will be at the event.


More details to follow...

Want more information about The Joy of Sox? Like on FaceBook!

Being a Senior 101 - Planning for Your Last Semester of College

By Ashley Pavone, CHC' 11, Intern

So, you've made it through three and a half years of college. You're reaching the home stretch as a college senior, moving toward a job.  How do you maintain the hard-working attitude that has gotten you this far, without feeling burnt out or unmotivated?

    1)  Ensure Your Graduation Requirements will be finished - You don't want a silly computer test or science class to keep you from graduating on time. Don’t wait to check your courses and make sure the last requirements will be completed during spring semester!
    
    2) Keep in close contact with your academic advisor/professors – You’re going to need job recommendations to go along with your resume, so put these people in the past just yet. It’s not a bad idea to start asking for them within the next month or so; maybe they’ll have some downtime to write about how great you are.

    3)  Use Winter Break for the ultimate recuperation - A month off from school sounds pretty good after the end of finals. Use this month to relax and sleep in, which will help renew your motivation.  If you have to work, make time for friends as a reward.

    4)  RESUME! – It would be pretty difficult (if at all possible) to hit the job market without one of these. Include every type of leader position you've held, along with clubs and organizations you've been involved with.

    5)  Begin looking for work for post-graduation - The jobs aren't going to find you; unfortunately, you have to go find them. Find a bunch of things that interest you, and start applying!

    6)  Stay involved in clubs and activities, but know your limits - don't overwhelm yourself, but don't miss your last opportunities to experience college life either.

Following these tips will help you reach the finish line to your college degree. Enjoy the rest of senior year, because let’s face it…this is the last time you’ll be one!

A college student's guide to home for the Holidays

From the Arcadia Tower December 15th
by Sean Kearney


For those who are regular readers of The Tower, you know I've always got your back on holiday prep guides. Well now we're at the big ones. The Christmas/Hanukkah, Kwanzaa season, as far as holidays go, is like playing the Superbowl on the same field ad as the World Series. In space. Irrelevant imagery aside, this is the big one. Get caught flat footed during this season and the holidays will swallow you whole. Here's a few tips to consider going into this holiday season.
Don't be a jerk. There's nothing worse than a Scrooge. Why do you think they made an entire play about Scrooge? Because Scrooge sucks and if he didn't change his ways you know those ghosts would have haunted his grumpy ass forever. I don't really believe in ghosts, but that's not the point. Your snarky comments about how Christmas is a display of gross American consumerisim don't humor anyone but you. You have all your life to be a jerk, don't do it now.
 By the same token, keep the holiday cheer in check. Some people are naturally Scrooges, and we've already determined that nobody likes them, but there is another side to this; crazy, crazy Christmas lovers. Christmas rules, but it is still just one day of the year. For all of you Christmas people who play Christmas carols from dawn 'til dusk, stop it. Carols are nice because they are a rare thing that are only appropriate to be played one time a year. None of us need a year's worth of listening in the days leading up to Christmas. Those of you who string your house with enough lights to make Times Square look like Amish country, take it easy. If you're doing it to be the best house on the block, see a therapist, If you just want to show your Christmas cheer that much, again, see a therapist.
Ghosts of high school past return. So you've been out with the family all day doing family things like hanging out and hearing and answering questions about college and you want to go out with some of your friends from home. So you meet up at an old favorite spot, go go a party, or head out to a bar. Be ready. Across that bar can be that dude that never grew out of his varsity letterman jacket or that girl that's in denial over going from popular in high school to irrelevant in college. Think they were annoying then? Try to handle them now, reminding you of their golden age. You can be the nicest person in the world, but trying to care will be tough. Just nod and smile.
Relax. If college teaches us anything, it is how to deal with more and more stress year after year. Finals mark the final hurrah in what at times seems like an altogether evil end to the semester. So much of success in college is keeping your cool while your nose is metaphorically pressed to grindstone. When you're home, take it all in. Each of us has a month to sleep in our comfy beds, have home cooked meals, and get showered with presents during the whole thing. Break will slip through your fingertips no matter what, so enjoy.
That's all I've got everyone, Have a nice break and see you in January. Happy Holidays!


Festive festivities on a college student’s budget: The wintertime guide to going out.

By Melissa Anderson-McDonald, CHC '14

It may not officially be winter just yet, but with dropping temperatures and with Christmas just a few weeks away, it's never too early to plan your winter festivities. Many people choose to stay inside instead of braving the wind and icy temperatures, most notably after dark. But the truth is, it's never too cold to have fun. So get out and do something fun or stay in if you must - just don’t be caught doing nothing with so much going on this season!


Christmas in Peddler's Village:
•       Shopping? many unique stores where you can find the perfect gift.
•       Perfect date night or group activity? Get a cup of coffee, make a gingerbread house, or admire the decorations in Philly.

Check out Macy's pretty lights:
•       Macy’s light show is not only free, but it’s also visually exciting! Bring the whole family!

New Year's festivities:
•       Keep it simple, keep it local with a fireworks show
•       Even if you have big plans for later, you can go to the Early Show at 6, and hey, it’s free! Yay something free.
•       You can watch the fireworks from Penn’s landing river or while ice-skating at River Rink.


Make your boyfriend fall in love with you:

What boy doesn’t love cars?  The annual auto show is most likely your boyfriend’s dream date, if he
hasn’t said I love you yet, he will after this:

Three Local Schools Team Up for Service Project


By Ashley Pavone, CHC '11, Intern
(from the Chestnut Hill Local, December 2, 2010)

     You might grab a steaming cup of hot chocolate to keep warm while watching a sports game, or just to stay warm in the winter weather.  But what if buying hot chocolate also meant warming your heart by providing an eager student with necessary school supplies?
      Students from Chestnut Hill College (CHC), Mount St. Joseph Academy (the Mount), and Norwood-Fontbonne Academy will be selling hot chocolate, collecting money and supplies for that exact cause at
“Stag and Doe Night” on Dec. 8 from 6-9 p.m.

Three Schools, One Mission

     Although students from these schools range in education level from Kindergarten to college seniors, they share one thing: the common mission of the Sisters of St. Joseph — unity and reconciliation.  In addition to this, the desire to help others is what propelled the idea for all the schools to share this connection.

Connecting the Schools
 
     The desire to associate and connect has been in the process for several years, with correspondences from the Campus Ministry centers and directors of each school.  Finally those directors, as well as a handful of students from each school

Prefeast Manifesto - Preparing for the Thanksgiving Holiday

By Sean Kearney, Entertainment Editor
From Arcadia's The Tower, Volume XXIX Issue 3
(Edited by Ashley Pavone, CHC '11)

     Every holiday has its own form of preparation: get green clothes for St. Patrick's Day, get your presents together for Christmas, try to figure out what the hell Flag Day is about.  Thanksgiving's coming up and there's plenty to prep for.  Thanksgiving requires an iron constitution (stomach) and expert planning.  Here [are] a few tips for your turkey-related endeavors:

Stretch That Stomach:  Half the fun of Thanksgiving is the great American past-time of eating your face off.  A few days before Thanksgiving, start drinking tons of water to get your stomach to Thanksgiving-size.  You don't want to walk into dinner with a small plate, gingerly poking around at some peas and corn.  People who don't eat tons at Thanksgiving simply can't be trusted.  Stretch that stomach and dare your grandma to offer you another piece of pie.  Also, it will be good to stay hydrated during the inevitable post-dinner catatonic nap fest.

Pace Yourself:  Being at school now for a few months, you can expect to forget how good a home-cooked meal actually is.  This home-cooked feast will leave you wanting to munch at a frightening rate...don't do it.  You need to plan for the future, and by the future, I mean plates 2, 3, and the subsequent desert of pies and other seasonal baked goods.  You don't want to hit that coma stage early.

Conversation Pieces:  We all love our families.  You wouldn't be prepping for Thanksgiving if you didn't.  But let's face it - things change.  You've been away at school for a few months, meeting new friends, partying with the old.  Your old life and your new one might not see eye-to-eye.  When your

Annual Empty Bowl Dinner Back at CHC


Kaitlin Leonard ‘14
(From the Chestnut Hill College Griffin, November 2010)

CHC student DJ Lynch Serves Soup (Photo by Ashley Pavone, CHC '11)
     The Empty Bowl Dinner returns to the College Thursday, Nov. 18, providing students the opportunity to lend a helping hand as Thanksgiving, the season for giving, approaches.  One of the College’s most anticipated and charitable events, The Empty Bowl Dinner was originally held at Arcadia University. Twelve years ago, the event made its way to Chestnut Hill developing quite a following.  Each year profits increase; last year it reached $14,000.
  
Benefitters of the Dinner

The Empty Bowl Dinner is sponsored by Northwest Philadelphia Interfaith Hospitality Network (NPIHN), an organization that offers it’s services to those in need. NPIHN is mainly a volunteer-based network that provides housing, food, counseling and tutoring to families in need. Everything at the Empty Bowl Dinner has been donated by the community. The ceramic bowls are made by the community, the soup is donated by local restaurants (each are asked to donate at least 5 gallons), and Chartwells donates the bread and desserts. Students are asked to make a nominal contribution of $5 (admission is $15 for everyone else).