PSU students honored with meteorology scholarship

The Ernest F. Hollings Undergraduate scholarship is a nationally recognized award that is given out every year. This year, four Plymouth State University students achieved this distinct honor.Daniel Michaud, Katherine Pingree, Jared Rennie and Melissa Payer are the four Meteorology students who received the award. The PSU students join others from schools across the country, including Stanford, Texas A&M and Harvard; 101 students nationwide qualified for the Hollings award.”I am really honored to receive the scholarship. I put in a lot of effort into my academics and it is nice to receive recognition for your efforts,” said junior, Katherine Pingree. “It is a great opportunity for anyone who gets it and it definitely helps for future careers. Having your name out there is a great thing and it is a of Sodexho. “In order to attract the students to the library, PSU brought all the media together and added the Commons Café.” The café has three bar-height tables with four chairs surrounding each. Along the left wall of the room, two computers sit on a counter with chairs for guests to use the Internet. Chris Mongeon believes that above the computers there will be a communications board that people would be able to post upcoming events, for-sale items, and so on.In the middle of the café is the two-way counter that separates the in and out ordering from the library. The two-room setup is to prevent students and guests from forgetting to checkout books. “The Commons Café is going to be a great place to hang out at, for both undergrad and grad students with all it has to offer,” states Dwight Fischer, Chief Information Officer.The café will serve eight different flavors of Starbucks coffee in decaf or regular. A Starbucks barista machine makes ordering drinks like lattes, cappuccinos, and espressos possible. Limited bakery items will be offered: muffins, scones, and croissants. A soup, salad, and sandwich of the day will be available with the possibility of a larger selection if demand the calls for it. To pay for Starbucks coffee and food, students can use cash or credit. They can use flex cash or as Chris Mongeon shared, “Those with a meal plan can choose an exchange meal to replace a dining hall visit.” Now that the library allows food and drink throughout, it will be equipped with more trashcans. Dwight Fischer explains that the message, “Leave no trace” will be visible throughout the library. Plymouth State University has adopted the slogan to remind visitors of the library of the importance of cleaning up after themselves, not only in the library but on campus and in the community as well. “I think the Commons Café is good,” said junior Nate Jackman, “because it is more convenient for students who live of the south side of campus to get some food.” The Commons Café allows the students and visitors to complete work without being inconvenienced to leave the building to get food and beverages. The Lamson Learning Commons will be having its grand opening on September 29, 2006 in the library from 10 – 11:30 a.m. The Commons Café will be serving free coffee and refreshments. The hours of operation for the Commons Café are Monday – Friday 7:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. and Sunday – Thursday 5:30 – 10:30 p.m.