Kevin Hagopian, a teaching professor in the Department of Film Production and Media Studies, will present the annual First-Year Lecture, a requirement for all first-year students, titled "From High Noon to Black Orpheus: Self-Framing Modern Presidential Character Through Film Taste.”

About the lecture: Publicizing our tastes in popular culture — music, games, TV and movies — on social media is one of the most powerful ways we have of shaping others’ perceptions of ourselves. U.S. presidents and presidential candidates have long used their personal choices of favorite movies to shape a positive understanding of their “presidential character.” Presidential character fuses personal and leadership attributes in the same person — and invoking a shared and compelling narrative experience makes the claims about character as concrete and compelling as the movie itself. We’ll look at the public (and private) movie choices of presidents and presidential candidates from Franklin Roosevelt to Donald Trump as keys to the narratives these political figures have sought to tell about themselves.

Eric Maierson, a writer and two-time Emmy Award-winning video editor and producer, will be featured in the Journalism Speakers Forum. His work has appeared on The New York Times, The New Yorker, Time and The Washington Post.

Photojournalist Regina Boone of the Richmond Free Press, a weekly newspaper founded by her late father and owned by her family, will be the featured speaker as the Journalism Speakers Forum begins. She was previously a staff photographer for the Detroit Free Press, where she covered a wide range of local, regional and national stories, includign the Flint water crisis, Rosa Parks' funeral, and President Barack Obama's initial journey to the White House.

Session for first-year students led by Bellisario College Fellows. Register: https://psu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEpd-2ppj4jHtwqEkaQYDg-TqanrpZ7YCR9 (After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.)

Stay Safe & Stay Creative

Please join TLT's Maker Commons as we explore utilizing new technologies in creative ways! Bring an extra mask to customize using a variety of inspiring maker materials, including iron-on icons and rhinestones, neon and glow-in-the-dark puff paints, UV reflective paints, magic rainbow sequin fabric, and much more. Please remain masked while creating. Interested in learning how to design your own personalized iron-on icons? Stop by for live Cricut cutting demonstrations and a sneak peak into one of the projects Maker Commons has been working on. Participants can enter our contest for a chance to win a Customizable LED Matrix Mask! Stop by our table for more information.

Penn State President Eric Barron will host a virtual Town Hall event to provide updates and discuss the University’s plans for the start of fall semester. Barron will be joined by: Nick Jones, executive vice president and provost; Dr. Kevin Black, interim dean of the College of Medicine; Damon Sims, vice president for student affairs; and Lorraine Goffe, vice president for human resources.

"A Bridge to the Future: Making the Most of What's Next with Mark Lima ('87) of Fusion and Sarah Carberry ('97) of Google

Sixth session of a summer professional development series from the Offices of Alumni Relations and the Office of Internships and Career Services focused on skills and strategies that are especially valuable for recent graduates and current students. Sessions moderated by Assistant Dean Bob Martin.

"Maximize Your Social Media (TikTok, Too)," with Arianna Daivs ('09) of OprahMag.com and Jerry Rizzo ('11) of Panasonic North America

Fifth session of a summer professional development series from the Offices of Alumni Relations and the Office of Internships and Career Services focused on skills and strategies that are especially valuable for recent graduates and current students. Sessions moderated by Assistant Dean Bob Martin.

A virtual town hall to answer questions regarding the recent announcement that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement would no longer provide exemptions due to the coronavirus pandemic for international students taking a fully remote course load during the fall 2020 semester. Questions can be submitted via globalquestions@psu.edu. More info: LINK

The Best Answers to "What Did You Do During the Pandemic?" with Joanne Calabria ('74), a former VP of public affairs for CBS, and Laura Azar ('09) of Omnicom Health Group

Fourth session of a summer professional development series from the Offices of Alumni Relations and the Office of Internships and Career Services focused on skills and strategies that are especially valuable for recent graduates and current students. Sessions moderated by Assistant Dean Bob Martin.