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By Sarah Schaeffer and Becca Hess –

There’s a light at the end of the tunnel.

With only a few school days left seniors are counting down the days until graduation.  A mixture of emotions cloud the minds of the seniors as they spend their last days as a Penn Manor Comet. From being excited for college to being sad that they’ll have to say goodbye to friends, bittersweet covers it all. Many will go onto college or a type of trade school and others will join the military, work, or take some time off.

Based on the information from those seniors who replied with their plans for after high school, the two most popular schools for seniors next year are Millersville University where 24 have reported they will attend and Harrisburg Area Community College (HACC), where 18 have reported. The military will take at least 12 of our seniors and 11 others say they will either be working, taking a year off or doing missions work.

“It (University of Pittsburgh) had the program I wanted and I liked the campus. I wanted something in the city and my mom wanted me to stay in the state,” said Russ Thorsen.

“I’m excited to be on my own and be more independent,” said Kate Harrold. “(For the juniors) I would say, take your senior year seriously, don’t slack off. Get involved.”

Jess Huber plans to fly out of PA and into Texas for boot-camp this summer. Huber is enlisted in the U.S. Air Force.

“It’s a different career opportunity  and that’s why I chose it,” she said. “I’ll be doing online classes, so I’ll be getting my degree while I’m in (the Air Force).

“I looked for a good music school that was still going to be cheap,” said Jesse Griffith, who will be attending IUP.

“I’m gonna miss some of the teachers, especially Ms. Vita,” said Shayla Moore who also will attend IUP.  “I’m excited to meet new people in college and being able to focus on something I love.”

“There are a lot of things to do in college. I’m doing track and field at Delaware Valley College,” said Eli Marcelino. “I’m gonna miss some of the teachers, my friends and sports.”

Senior Logan Kramer will be traveling one of the farthest distances from home this fall when she attends Arkansas State University.

“I’m excited to meet new people and make new friends, and since I’m playing a sport (soccer), I’ll be close with my team,”said Kramer. I’ll probably get home sick in the beginning. I’m gonna miss seeing my friends everyday,” she added.

Penn State University-bound Emily Laughlin is excited to kick off her freshmen year.

“I can’t wait for the football games and for the Penn State pride,” she said.

Choosing a college is not always an easy task but for Laughlin, Penn State’s “home-like feeling” won her over.

Zane Kreider’s decision to join the military (National Guard) was based on a few factors.

“(I joined) because it’s a family tradition and the college benefits are good. In the next two years I’m looking at deployment to Kuwait,” he said.

Kreider explained how he’s excited to be deployed and he isn’t afraid because Kuwait isn’t that bad as of now.

Fellow senior Chris Gotwals, who is in the U.S. Army, is also planning on getting deployed but to a place often associated with danger and fear, but he isn’t scared. He joined the army for all of the reasons they advertise: to protect his country, his family and the college benefits.

“If NATO doesn’t pull out then I’ll be in Afghanistan in April (2013),” he said. “I’m not scared, and if i don’t go to Afghanistan I’m sure I’ll get deployed somewhere else.”

Senior Karla Mylin has plans that will take her to the other side of the world. She’s going to India, or at least she hopes to.

“I wasn’t sure of what I wanted to do for college, like a major or the college, and I’ve always had a heart for missions,” she said. “I’m nervous and excited about it. It’s pretty expensive though, more than $8,000 I think.”

If Mylin is able to raise the funds necessary for the trip she plans to go on the trip of a lifetime.

Senior Julie Schultz will travel to the UK for a royal college experience. This fall Schultz will make the journey to Scotland where she will attend University of Saint Andrews.

“It’s where Prince William went and during the wedding there were advertisements and a lot of information on the college, so I looked into it,” said Schultz. “It’s the only school in the UK on the common application. I applied on a whim and I got in.”

With a graduation rate of nearly 98 percent, the Penn Manor class of 2012 is in a great position for success.  According to research information about Pennsylvania graduation rates, Pa.  hasn’t made much progress in raising graduation rates from 2002-2009. It currently stands at about 80 percent.  Penn Manor is in great shape compared to Pennsylvania as a whole and especially compared to the national graduation rate of approximately 75 percent.

Although many have predicted the world ending in 2012, this is not the case for the seniors. This year, 2012, marks the beginning of their next step. A step that has required a great deal of preparation and, at times, been intimidating, but nonetheless is highly anticipated. It brings a new self image for the seniors as they prepare for college, prepare to become more independent and prepare for adulthood.

Here is a listing of plans seniors have for their lives immediately after graduation.

This is not then entire senior class of 2012. The senior map is a link to Google maps which has a pin marking each college listed below.

Senior Map

Arkansas State University

Logan Kramer

Art Institute

Kaitlyn Ibach

Belmont University

Kelly Lenahan

Bloomsburg University 

Alex Flurry

Becca Hess

Hannah Robb

Bryn Mawr College

Kayla Bixler

Cabrini College

Kierstin McDonald

Career and Technology Center

Amy Shoop

Central Penn College

Steven Morris

Consolidated School of Business

Jarkysha Jones

Davidson College

Harrison Manning

Delaware Valley College

Eli Marcelino

DeSales University

Corina Connelly

Drexel University

Alec Keck

Joey Jackson

Alex Kirk

Eastern University

Lindsey Ostrum

Ryan Martzall

Katrina Torres

Eastern Mennonite University

Alicia Ygarza

Elisa Ott

Kate Harrold

Elizabethtown College

Abigail Buckwalter

Brent Lefever

Embry Riddle Aeronautical University

Alex Cauler

Florida Institute of Technology

Alex Cummins

Franklin and Marshall College

Sarah Schaeffer

Geneva College

Chris Ressler

Goucher College

Maria Detweiler

HACC

Austin Hess

Jen Rote

Chloe Traup

Karli Heiserman

Dylan Kneisley

Elena Frank

Tonya Fox

Jade Hess

Dylan Keagly

Dani Sprankle

Iris Santana

Abby Schaefer

Maddie Shertzer

Demi Greenwalt

Tyler Maysilles

Kevin Holton

Braden Kruger

Brandon Schmertz

Indiana University of Pennsylvania

Shayla Moore

Logan White

Eric Schlotzhauer

Jake Harvey

Jesse Griffith

Brandon Schuman

Austin Richwine

Johns Hopkins University

Jake Schick

Lancaster Bible College 

Frankie Herr

Lancaster General College of Nursing

Alex Evans

Kym Kipphorn

Nicole Harnish

Amanda Nolt

Miranda Hahn

Becca Frankford

Lancaster School of Cosmetology

Katie Melrath

Kutztown University

Grace Gundel

Brianna Mackison

Lebanon Valley College 

Cody Stryker

Liberty University 

Austin Howett

Lock Haven University

Kendall Arment

Messiah College

Trevor Jones

Maegan Keperling

Eddie Bley

Michigan State University

Andrew Herr

Millersville University

Nick Zell

Amber Brenner

Clayton Secrest

Drew Purzycki

Bri Rice

Faith Zimmerman

Kelly Herr

Ryan Dettrey

Mike Nitroy

Devin Sanchez

Matt Kersic

Emily Sisson

Angela Oppido

Truman Mylin

Kevin Brubaker

Beck Shue

Zainab Gilani

Maranda Kurtz

Cameron Hughes

Colby Sangrey

Matt Weidinger

Ashley Bollinger

Dakota Jordan

DaYonte Dixon

Ohio University

Vicky Nase

Sal Dumas

Penn State University (Altoona)

Kristina Simon

Cheyenne Weber

Penn State University (Berks)

Patrick Simpson

Penn State University (York)

Kegan Minney

Penn State University (Main Campus)

Dylan Weber

Megan Haines

Emily Laughlin

Brian Sloss

David Mohimani

Janelle Musser

Cody Straub

Ian Toomey

Pennsylvania College of Art and Design

Cody Livingston

Point Park University

Mitch Wise

Courtney Jacobs

Rollins College

Emily Eddowes

Savannah College of Art and Design

Jenna Hess

Shippensburg University

Kelsey Rebman

Errol Hammond

Alex Lombardo

Simon Zimmerman

Jay Jackson

Austin Rowley

Stevenson University

Jessie Cappanelli

Andrea Tracy

Temple University

Billy Green

Tosh Chambers

Brendan Kincade

Bob Warfel

Michael Andrusisin

Weston Chambers

Sid Kreitzer

David Burch

Tyler Smith

Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology

Chris Fleming

Kyle Black

Ryan DiCamillo

Alex Sorce

Tommy Hotchkiss

Ryan Newswanger
Thiel College

Courtney Fatta
Universal Technical Institute

Dylan Tremellen
University of California (Los Angeles)

Landon Alecxih
University of Kansas

 Alli Long
University of Maryland

 Sam Valentin

Abby Barley
University of Pennsylvania

Ellen Blazer
University of Pittsburgh (Greensburg)

Michelle Dempsey
University of Pittsburgh

Selena Hasircoglu

Russell Thorsen

Jake Shiner

Megan Schlegelmilch

Brian Le

Ian Bricker

University of Saint Andrews

Julie Schultz

Virginia Tech

Lauren Pironis

Washington College

Jenn Hanner

Josh Morgan

Waynesburg University

Kayla Laukhuff

West Chester University

Sara Bennis

James Servansky

Natalie Dell’Estate

Alexa Stewart

Tim Deubler

York College

Taylor Gamber

Kara Overmyer

York Technical Institute

Phelan Good

Military – Zane Kreider (National Guard), Skyler Major (Marine Corps), Kyle Musselman (Marine Corps), Aaron Sellers (Marines), Chris Gotwals (Army), Nathan Harsh (Marines), Troy Hoke (Navy), Jared Hall (Marines), Liam Kline (Air Force), Jess Huber (Air Force), Andy Morales (Air Force), Cody Kemps, Julie Ault (Air Force)

Working – Alex LaFrance, Zac Jenks, Michael Schneider, Aaron Alleman

Taking a year off and working- Lauren Gerlach, Jake Mercado, Breiana Herr, Matt Shroyer, Adam Morris, Kami Mylin, Michael Schneider

Missions work – Karla Mylin, Emily Peris

 

By Iris Santana –

Some people claim being a mother may be the hardest job you’ll ever apply for.

There’s the diaper changing, bottle feeding, screaming at 4 a.m., the first steps, the ‘boo-boo’s’ (cuts) and the first day of school.

Even with all the work, some people still fail to realize that being a full time mother is basically the same as having a full time job. The pay is just different.

“You have a lot more responsibility. You have to do EVERYTHING, especially if you’re a single parent. You have to basically play Mom and Dad.” said Kayla Brown, a junior at Penn Manor.

Instead of getting paid every two weeks, a mother is paid everyday with laughs, smile and the satisfaction of caring for her child and giving them all that they need. Especially love.

“A lot of the time your not able to talk to them and bond with them as much because when they’re getting in, you’re leaving for work or practice.” said Brown, who wished her mother was a stay-at-home mom rather than a working mother.

Presidential candidate, Mitt Romney claims stay-at-home moms “lack the dignity of work”.

On April 15, in a small town hall in Manchester, New Hampshire, Romney stated this quote.

“I wanted to increase the work requirement. I said, for instance, that even if you have a child two years of age, you need to go to work. And people said, ‘Well that’s heartless.’ And I said, ‘No, no, I’m willing to spend more giving day care to allow those parents to go back to work. It’ll cost the state more providing that day care, but I want the individuals to have the dignity of work.”

“That’s false. It makes them work two times harder to provide more for their child to give them what they want and need.” Brown added.

The Pew Research Center say sixty percent of working moms work part-time because they feel that is the ideal situation compared to the 48 percent in 1997. The percent went up from 39 to 48 since 1997 for stay-at-home moms.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics state that 24 percent of working moms worked part-time in 2006.

The Pew Research Center also surveyed 2,020 men and women in 2007 about the increasing numbers of mothers of young children that are working. 41 percent of the people surveyed thought it was a bad thing. 32 percent thought it didn’t really matter or make much of a difference and 22 percent thought it was actually a good thing.

By Brady Charles –

So where are you going to college?  No, really, what have you decided?

Is it going to be the campus life, academics, athletics, location, or the cost of the college?

It is now the beginning of April, and time is dwindling for the 2012 senior class members to decide their future school.

According to Todd Cooley from examiner.com the top five reasons in helping students choose a college are academics, location, cost, size, and acceptance rate.

Number one: The top factor in deciding your college is academics and majors. The school needs to fit your desired major. The first thing you should look at is to see if they have your major, if not you may want to reconsider your options.

“I was being recruited by many schools, but as I looked further into these schools I crossed off all the schools without my desired major,” said senior Marc Summy who plans to major in premed.

“You don’t want to attend a school just to play a sport or for other unimportant reasons, the school you pick needs to fulfill all of your top requirements, including your desired major,” said Summy.

Even though the Penn Manor guard plans to play basketball in college, it’s not going to be the major factor in deciding his school, he said.

Number two: Where is your college located? Is it a two hour drive from your hometown, or is it a $150 flight from Orlando to your local airport? Some people want to be away from home, but at the same close enough to home that they could make it home in one night if they really need something or just want to see their family. If you’re one of those people, location needs to be at the top  of your priority list.

“My biggest factor in my decision making for college is definitely the cost and location of the college,” said senior Reagan Forrey who is deciding between Millersville, West Chester, Shippensburg and West Virginia.

“I don’t want to be too far away where I’d have to take a plane home, but I don’t want to be too close where I’d feel at home,” said Forrey.

Number three: How expensive is your college? Paying for college is one of the top fears from prospective college students. Not to mention, it is by far the top fear of the parents. Cost of college is skyrocketing in the past decade. As the colleges you look at become more prestigious, the price range rises as well. When a school’s price is out of your range, seeking financial aid is a viable option for many students.

“In this economy I don’t want debt after college that I’d have to pay back afterwards,” said Forrey.

Number four: How long does it take you to get from one side of campus to the other? If it takes you over an hour to get across campus to your class, it may be too big of a campus. You want to be close enough to all of your classes, recreational places or the cafeteria so you don’t have to walk in the rain or snow for an hour to get their. Also, how many people attend your school? Some people prefer to have a small school where you meet everybody and no one is a stranger. Others prefer to have a big school atmosphere, either way it’s your preference.

“When I was picking my college, I took all of my visits to my prospective schools and really thought about the size of each school and how big the campus was. It was a very important factor in my college choice, I would hate to take an hour each day transporting to classes,” said senior Sara Bennis.

Number five: What’s your chances of getting into this school? If the school is out of your range you might not want to send in your application, just to save yourself some money. Know your limits and apply to schools that are in your  acceptance range. You can log onto www.collegeboard.com and search what each school’s requirements are.

“I was really interested in Johns Hopkins University, I was talking to the basketball coach of the school and he was very interested in me,” said Summy. “It is one of the top medical schools in the country, and I want to be a doctor so I was really into it.”

“Then he got to telling me all the requirements I needed to get into the school, and I started to reconsider it, the requirements were insane, and at that point I knew it wouldn’t work,” said Summy.

When it comes time for your choice, using all of these factors will narrow down your choices.

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Brady Charles, Jordan Rineer & Daulton Parmer

A local kid is livin’ the dream.

From being a Dallastown Wildcat to a Vermont Catamount, Patrick ‘Four’ McGlynn IV, led his team to the 2012 NCAA tournament.

“It’s crazy to believe I played him last fall,” said Jaq Presbery, a former Penn Manor basketball player.

“I’ve never played anyone with such quick feet, you cannot stop him. All you can do is try to slow him down, but that still never works. He can do so many different things during a game, he’s insane,” said Presbery.

In the 2010 Messiah Shootout, Penn Manor faced off against McGlynn and his Dallastown squad. McGlynn had his way against the Comets, scoring at will and carried his team to victory.

According to University of Vermont Men’s Basketball page, McGlynn averaged 24 points a game his senior year at Dallastown, along with five assists and four rebounds.

Besides being some 450 miles away, not much has changed in 2012 for McGlynn.

McGlynn led the Catamounts in scoring his freshman year (12.0 ppg), along with being named American East Rookie of the Year.

“It’s crazy to see him on the TV playing against some of the best teams in the nation (North Carolina)”, said Marc Summy a senior basketball player at Penn Manor who has a close relationship with McGlynn.

“We played AAU ball together, his dad coach’s my team, at one point we played together on a weekly basis in a church league. It’s good to see him playing so well at the D1 level,” said Summy.

The Catamounts won their first round match-up against Lamar University in the NCAA tournament 71-59, McGlynn led the Catamounts in scoring with 18.

Two days later, McGlynn tried to rally the troops and upset the number one seed North Carolina. The Catamounts fell to the Tar Heels 77-58, which ended a successful freshman year for Mcglynn.

The Catamounts finished the year 24-12 and won the American East title.

McGlynn has a lot of scouts talking about his game, the common word of mouth is with hard work put in on his ball handling, he could make the step to the NBA.

“He’s not a normal freshman,” said Vermont head coach, John Becker.

Confidence is one thing McGlynn always carries with him, it’s something that makes him.

Not a normal freshman.

 

 

 

By Tyler Funk –

As more and more shows end up on TV about driving fast or building cars there is more than there used to be. This season will kick off several show’s consisting of something to do with cars or modifying them. Shortly after motorcycles and dirt bikes came in and went, cars shined and a lot of attention was focused on them.

Not long ago, Pimp My Ride was the only car show to show anything to do with modifying a car. The phase came in and went. Not too long the TV show shutdown and there was nothing to be heard from them. There show consisted of taking random people throughout Southern California and customizing there vehicles to something that interests them or is their hobby. Even if your car is all rusted and one bolt from entering the junk-yard they will fix it all up to exceed your expectations! The show was hosted by rapper Xzibit and Chamillionaire was also there.  All of this will be done with no cost at all.

As of now, there are several shows currently showing on your Televisions at home. Those shows consist of, Top Gear, which is a British series of fast cars. The show is really about the adventures of three clever middle age blokes who travel the world conducting all sorts of elaborate competitions, races and challenges that push the boundaries of television and automotive acceptability. It is part reality show, part buddy movie, part “Monty Python.” Collected from cbsnews.com.

The History Channel is also broadcasting a television show which is the same as Top Gear but an American version of it. Richard Hammond, one of the co-stars of “Top Gear,” will travel to the United States in search for the most dangerous vehicles he can get his hands on, according to the New York Times.

 

Wheeler Dealers is a British television series produced by Attaboy TV for the Discovery channel, created by Mike Brewer and mechanic Edd China with assistance from technical ad-visor Paul Brackley. The main idea of the show is that Brewer and China are on a mission to save repairable enthusiast vehicles, by repairing or otherwise improving an example of a particular make and model to a budget, then selling it to a new owner. The guys restore vehicles to immaculate condition and there are many of people who love what they do!

There have so far been nine series of the program. Series 1 originally aired in 2003. The second half of Series 6 was aired in Autumn of 2009 on Discovery Real Time. Series 5 was renamed to Wheeler Dealers: On the Road; in this series Mike and Edd expanded their searching of cars by heading out into Europe hoping to find classic cars to buy and restore, according to DiscoveryUk.com.

 

By Jay Jackson – 

Penn Manor’s technology department is at it again. Named a 2011 School of Excellence in Technology, Penn Manor’s technology department has remained on the cutting edge with projects throughout the district. Penn Manor was one of three schools that won this award in the state of Pennsylvania.

The district’s head of technology, Charlie Reisinger, said it wasn’t one specific project or accomplishment that put Penn Manor on top, it was everything that is going on with technology around the schools.

Reisinger said it starts with the teachers wanting to use different techniques. Some even come in over the summer to learn new tools and programs, said school officials.

“The staff really responds to the ongoing support,” said Reisinger the head of the district’s technology department.

Penn Manor’s projects can be very unusual. From a second grade class video chatting another class in India to high school students creating podcast book reviews, the sky is the limit sometimes.

“We have a board that understands technology, its strategic value, not only operationally but from the instructional side,” said Reisinger in a recent interview for a Pennsylvania School Boards Association publication.

Penn Manor’s online newspaper has won multiple state and national awards. Going to an online paper definitively paid off for the district.

“Our print newspaper would be read by maybe a couple hundred people. By the time it was printed,  the news would be stale. When the decision to move 100 percent online came up, we knew there were risks involved- students would be publishing directly on the Internet,” said Reisinger.

It was a huge success that caught the eye of many through the county, state, and nationally.

“There were many reservations towards making the switch, but it has been a resounding success,” added Reisinger.

Penn Points has recently recorded their 375,000th view which is a major milestone.

“We will be at 400,000 before its third year is up,” predicted Susan Baldrige the journalism teacher who advises the student paper.

Penn Manor is truly breaking through with all of the innovative technology projects that are being done.

“Blogs were a big deal and so was Penn Points, ” said Reisinger.

Although it wasn’t just technology projects that caught their eye. Open source are programs that replace programs that are more expensive but actually work the same or better then the programs that the school district would have to pay for.

“Open source is a new and innovative, but it is also cost efficient. The teacher workshops impressed them as well, ” said Reisinger, “It saves a lot of cash.”

No wonder Penn Manor was named a 2011 School of Excellence in Technology.