Still Life

With four guide ropes attached to it, the east-side clock face is raised into position. While it didn't seem that windy on the ground on Saturday, Jan. 28, winds higher up were strong, requiring extra guidance to bring the clock face safely to the Old Main bell tower.

Old Main clock faces installed

Ben White of New Vibrations Audio and Video works on a ledge of the Old Main bell tower, to remove the speakers from the old chime system. The company installed a new carillon system today (Jan. 27) that will play a digital recording made of the original Old Main bell that now sits adjacent to Old Main and other bells of comparable sizes.

New carillon, restored clocks being installed

The funeral procession for Joe Paterno made its way past Beaver Stadium and down Porter Road as crowds applauded on Jan. 25. Thousands lined the procession route through the University Park campus and downtown State College to bid a last farewell to Joe Paterno.

Joe Paterno's funeral procession

Coach Joe Paterno was on the field for the first half of the Nittany Lions' football game. Penn State beat the Iowa Hawkeyes 13-3 on Oct. 8, 2011, in front of an enthusiastic crowd at Beaver Stadium.

Joe Paterno through the years

Katie Knobloch and Andrew Adamietz, members of the a capella group Blue in the Face, shared a candle at the vigil held Sunday, Jan. 22, to mourn the death of Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, who passed away earlier in the day. Several thousand members of the Penn State and State College community came out to the Old Main lawn on Penn State's University Park campus for the vigil.

Thousands mourn Paterno's passing

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Penn State alumnus on the ground in Haiti helping lead relief efforts

Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Matt Marek, director of programs in Haiti for the American Red Cross and a Penn State alumnus, with Jonathan Romelus at a First Aid Post in Croix Desprez. Jonathan lost his twin brother in the earthquake.
Credit: Talia Frenkel Matt Marek, director of programs in Haiti for the American Red Cross and a Penn State alumnus, with Jonathan Romelus at a First Aid Post in Croix Desprez. Jonathan lost his twin brother in the earthquake.

University Park, Pa.— A Penn State alumnus who has been working in Haiti for about a decade has been among the leaders in helping to provide relief efforts to citizens since the nation was devastated by an earthquake on Jan. 12.

Matthew Marek, a 1998 Penn State College of the Liberal Arts graduate with a degree in economics, is director of programs in Haiti for the American Red Cross. A 36-year-old native of Plains Township in Northeastern Pennsylvania, Marek has been a major source of information for American media since the earthquake, which destroyed the Red Cross building where he worked in Port-Au-Prince.

To see an ABC News interview with Marek, go to http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=9551275.

To see Marek interviewed by CNN's Anderson Cooper, go to http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2010/01/14/video-rumors-of-a-flood/.

For a story on Marek from the Wilkes-Barre (Pa.) Citizens' Voice, based near his hometown, go to http://citizensvoice.com/news/local-red-cross-volunteer-describes-earthquake-aftermath-1.547812.

Photos by Marek from Haiti have been picked up by the Associated Press, as well. To view the American Red Cross photostream on Flickr, go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/americanredcross/.

After graduating from Penn State, Marek spent several years as an investment banker before joining the Peace Corps in an effort to see more of the world and help others along the way.

"When I got the chance to join the American Red Cross's work in Haiti, I jumped at the chance," Marek said in his Red Cross biography. "It seemed like a perfect fit. I don't want to sound too corny, but it's an honor to be associated with the emblem, and with what it stands for."

To donate to the American Red Cross International Response Fund, which helps the victims of crises around the world each year, go to www.redcross.org or call 1-800-REDCROSS. For other ways to contribute and efforts at Penn State to help the victims, visit http://live.psu.edu/story/43852.

 

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