Susan Rosa, education professor, was recognized with the Joel D. Miller Award in June at the annual retired educators luncheon, held at Hammond Hall.

The Miller Award was established in 1955 in honor of the state senator and member of the Board of Education, who is considered one of the three founders of the State Normal School in Fitchburg (which was later known, of course, as Fitchburg State). Miller Hall is also named after him. The award is given to an educator who has demonstrated originality in their profession, given unselfish devotion to the profession and exerted an influence for good among their students.

For Ben DeTour ‘13, college was about taking full advantage of each and every opportunity. 

The Fitchburg State senior was just wrapping up his final semester of an internship at National Geographic Television in Washington, D.C. last spring when he had the chance to meet an alumnus whom he had been hoping to connect with for months. The two hit it off and a short time later, DeTour, originally from Belchertown, had a full-time job. 

Nick Wilson has always entertained dreams of being a history teacher, and figures a good way to learn about it is to live it. So he’s spending six months this year in the Czech Republic, studying its language, history and environment.

“Travel is something I plan to do because there’s no better way to learn than to go there, see it, and interpret it for yourself. I hope that by the time I’m 30 I will have lived on each continent.” Europe is the second continent he’s seen (after North America). “So, only five more.”

Kerry Alcott of Groton also completed her distinguished Falcon career this spring, but not before setting a number of records as a member of the women’s softball team.

Alcott originally enrolled at Westfield State, but transferred to Fitchburg State two years into her career.

“A lot of factors influenced my decision to transfer, among them was the school’s amazing special education program,” Alcott said. “I also played softball against Fitchburg State and witnessed an incredible team atmosphere and I very much wanted to be a part of that.”

Sound design is a very important aspect of filmmaking. Without sound design, a film can sound terrible. Unfortunately this is often overlooked, especially with student films. I, like many other film professionals, know how important sound design is. So, I made sure to take a sound-related class while at Fitchburg State.

Sound design was very simple at first and has evolved throughout the years. "Gravity"—my favorite movie of 2013—won an Oscar for sound, and rightfully so! Sound design isn't just making everything sound good, it's also about layering the sounds perfectly and making something sound real or the way the audience should hear it.

Although this week included two days off from classes it has been academically grueling for some. Monday was a day off due to Patriot's Day, a Massachusetts holiday that includes the Boston Marathon, the Red Sox at Fenway, and a whole lot of patriotism.

The second day we had off was Thursday, and that was due to the Undergraduate Research Conference. To learn a little more about it, keep reading. 

Alternative Spring Break was an incredibly humbling experience. I was able to help an 83-year old woman keep warm. Her house had no insulation, air conditioning or heat. Her name is Miss Mary Hudson and she was nothing but stunning.

On top of this, I was able to spend the week with amazing people doing amazing things in an amazing place. I cannot recommend doing this program enough.

Well, it's the final countdown.

High school students from around the U.S. have applied to colleges and they're beginnig to find out whether they've been accepted or not. Now it's up to the student which college is best fit for them. I figured since people are making their decision now, this is the best time to write, "Why I Chose Fitchburg State University."

Art drawing is one of the courses I am enrolled in this semester. Throughout the class we have done many different types of drawing. Coming into this class, I had barely any experience, but I can honestly say I'm getting to be pretty good at this drawing thing. I think I found my inner artist. 

This is one of the first drawings we did. I used pencil to draw the cube objects and then shaded it. Being able to come up with this drawing was difficult because I didn't know where to start. When I finally got started, I kept messing up so I found myself erasing a lot and fixing my mistakes. This type of drawing is called cubes in linear perspective and I'm quite happy with it. 

With spring break impending on the Fitchburg State community, I hear about everyone's plans. People going on vacations, seeing friends from home and reconnecting with a sense of peace from schoolwork for a week. I, on the other hand, have other plans.

Way back in September/October, I was selected to be a participant in Fitchburg State's Alternative Spring Break program. It is a program that is coordinated through Habitat For Humanity. This year, we are lucky enough to be traveling to Lucedale, MS. Where exactly is Lucedale? Right here!