October/November 2017
Volume 56 Issue 5
what’s in
What is a Golden Wolf?
THIS ISSUE
Photo courtesy of Polly Mathys
By Nick Sokolovich Contributing Editor
The History of Halloween
The Golden Wolf mascot posing at the football scrimmage. “I like how fuzzy it is,” Alvernia student Jimmy Wyatt said.
Living the Soccer Lifestyle in America
Men’s Basketball Pursuing Golden Season
Holleran Center After School Programs By Kristen Sipling Contributing Editor The Holleran Center for Community and Global Engagement is known around campus and around the Reading Community for its volunteering opportunities. Because of this, Alvernia students are well known and well-appreciated for the service that they complete. However, on top of the volunteer opportunities, the Holleran Center also employs students who then go to different schools in the Reading area to work with and mentor kids in different after-school programs. There are a total of five schools that Alvernia students visit and get the chance to interact with kids multiple times during each school week. The schools are: Millmont Elementary School, Tyson-Schoener Elementary School, Reading Intermediate School, Reading High School and St. Peter’s Parochial School. The elementary schools have about 50 children per program and run Monday to Thursdays from 2:30 to 5 p.m. The children are provided educational homework help, a snack,
and fun yet educational enrichment activities. “The kids normally start off with a snack, and then we get started on homework. After that, sometimes we do arts and crafts and other times we go outside for a recess to play games or do other activities” Alvernia student Mikala Persky said. Persky works with kids from TysonSchoener Elementary School. The Reading Collegiate Scholars Program serves the Reading Intermediate School’s eighth and ninth
By Alison DeLia Contributing Writer
grade students and Reading High School’s tenth to twelfth grade students. This program was launched in 2014 with the goal to help students in the Reading area attend college. This program does a lot with homework help because good grades are needed to get into college. They also assist with creating goals to help the students envision what they want to do once they exit high school, whether it is going to college, going into the military,
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Alvernia student Angel Kurien helps student with her homework.
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What is the Circle K Club?
Photo courtesy of Holleran Center
Finding FURever Friends at CatWorks
2017 marks the transition to Alvernia becoming the Golden Wolves. The mascot made its debut on October 14 during Alvernia’s homecoming weekend. It has received postive feedback from both students and staff alike. “I like how fuzzy it is,” Alvernia student Jimmy Wyatt said. The mascot dons the maroon and gold Alvernia colors by wearing a tank top, shorts, and shoes. Our wolf has golden fur and maroon and golden eyes. Most believe the Golden Wolf manages to
look cute and fierce at the same time. Being a Golden Wolf however means much more than a man jumping around in a fuzzy wolf costume. Our mascot has a lot of symbolic value that coincides greatly with the Franciscan traditions. It all dates back to the story of Saint Francis and the Wolf of Gubbio. Around 1220 when St. Francis was living in Gubbio, a menacing wolf was known for lingering outside the city gates. It killed animals and eventually people. Nothing done could harm the wolf and Gubbio was left in fear. That’s when St. Francis decided to meet
Getting involved on campus is a fun and rewarding way to accomplish required service hours. Clubs are a way to become integrated with campus activities and the community. There are numerous scholarship opportunities and friendships that can be made through clubs. Alvernia has a variety of current and growing clubs, including Circle K. Rosemary McFee is the faculty advisor for Circle K and also a criminal justice professor here on campus. “Circle K is an international service organization for college students,” McFee said. “It is part of Kiwanis International which is the main organization. There are subdivisions of clubs which branch from this, our club being one of them.” Circle K, like most clubs, accomplish specific tasks and goals. “Our goal as a club is to provide hands-on learning
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