TOTEMS 2008

Total Orientation to Earth and Mineral Sciences

What is it?

TOTEMS -- Total Orientation To Earth and Mineral Sciences -- is a summer program just for first-year students in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences.

The adventure begins on Tuesday, August 19 with a chance for EMS to help you move into your dorm room early -- avoiding the insanity of "move-in Friday." The college will provide a well-earned lunch for you and your family. That afternoon - after you've said goodbye to mom and dad - you'll board a bus for beautiful Lake Raystown, an hour from the Penn State University Park campus. You'll spend the next three days relaxing and:

Enjoying lake activities, hiking, and the Raystown Water Park!
Participating in a cabin cooking challenge, midnite mini-golf and an Altoona Curve ballgame and picnic, plus a trip to the famous Lincoln Caverns.
Building a totem of your own.
Meeting fellow first-year students - make friends before your classes begin!
Getting to know some of our current students and faculty members on a first name basis.
Meeting some successful alumns of the college!

On the morning of Friday, August 22 you'll return to campus. That day, and over the next several days, students from all over the state, country, and world will arrive to start the new semester. And you will have already made several new friends, including professors!

What should I bring?

Casual clothes, toiletries, towels (bed linens are provided), sleeping bag, swimsuit, bug spray, sun block, sneakers, and cash for snacks and sodas from the little shops near the campsite. The college will provide food, accommodations, transportation, and the cost of any activities at Lake Raystown.

For more information, call Linda Spangler at 814-863-2751.