Strangers said hi to her everywhere she went. Nobody ever did that in Brooklyn, N.Y., where Medina grew up. Even her father, an immigrant from the Dominican Republic, felt nonplussed when he drove down from New York for a visit, and he ended up telling her to keep to herself. My father thought the students here were up to something.
Happy Valley is much more friendlier than New York.
That's where the S-Plan comes in, by providing student leaders who organize weekly activities for the six to ten students in their charge. The leaders develop relationships with their group by teaching them how to make the most of their years at University Park. Typical topics include time management, effective study techniques, interactions with professors, campus organizations and the best places in town for haircuts and other services. Groups also go to the movies and find other ways to socialize. According to S-Plan advisor Nathan Thomas, a community health educator, there is still a great need to support African American and Latino students at Penn State.